ReFoReMo Day 4 Book Reviews

FLOAT by Daniel Miyares

A wordless book depicts the day a young boy makes a paper boat and goes out in the rain to launch it down the street. He is having a good time until the wind blows the boat away faster than he can keep up with it. The boat sails through a culvert and is ruined. Will the young boy's day now be ruined or will he find a way to make things better?

I not usually a big fan of wordless picture books. I realize that a book that tells a story ONLY through pictures is the pure definition of a "picture book," but so often, I find it difficult to really get into the wordless "story." Not this time. Daniel Miyares does a great job of "telling" a story, from beginning to end without the use of a single word.

The front matter of the book includes the folding directions to make a paper boat. The back matter includes the folding directions to make a paper plane.

I WISH YOU MORE by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

This isn't a story book. It isn't about dogs or baseball or parties. This is a feel-good book that will make your heart glow with joy.

Expressive illustrations, by Tom Lichtenheld, perfectly capture the joy and loved expressed in the text. The first two lines of the book are: "I wish you more ups than downs (with an illustration of two kids flying a kite). I wish you more give than take (with an illustration of two kids sharing a piece of fruit). This pattern continues throughout the book, and you will be smiling by the time you get to the last page.

KING JACK AND THE DRAGON by Peter Bentley

Jack, Zack and Caspar built a castle in the back yard with sticks and blankets and a cardboard box. Jack is the king and the other two are knights. The three play together all day fighting off dragons. They are prepared to spend the night in their castle, but then a giant comes along and takes Zack away. That leaves Jack and Caspar. They are prepared to spend the night by themselves, but then another giant comes along and takes Caspar to bed. That leaves Jack by himself. He is prepared to spend the night by himself until something with four feet comes for him. What is it? What is his fate?

The story is written in rhyme. The illustrations by Helen Oxenbury are somewhat reminiscent of those from WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.

RAIN by Sam Usher

It's raining when a young boy wakes up. He wants to go outside and play in the rain. But, his granddad says, "Perhaps it's best to stay indoors." So, the young boy waits and waits and waits but it doesn't stop raining. He tells his granddad that he wants to go out in the rain. Again, his granddad puts him off. It finally stops raining and Granddad tells him to hurry and get ready. Granddad needs to mail a letter and he wants to do that before it rains.

So, they put on their rain gear, grab their umbrellas and head out the door. Sure enough, it starts raining before they make it back home. What will Granddad to, now that he's stuck out in the rain?

THE WAY BACK HOME by Oliver Jeffers

When a boy finds a plane in his closet, he decides to take it out and fly in it. Up, up and away he goes, until he runs out of gas and gets stuck on the moon. While trying to figure out what to do, a Martian crash lands his spaceship on the moon. the two figure out a way to help each other fix their flying machines so they can both go back home. But, will they ever hear from each other again?