Synopses & Reviews
For every kid who has ever had trouble sharing a special toy.
Peanut has a new ball and her big sister, Fifi, wants to play with it. Peanut doesn't want to share, so Fifi tries to entice her with the many different imaginary games they could play with the ball--they could tell fortunes, or have a bakery, or let a seal balance the ball on its nose! Peanut is NOT convinced, until Fifi comes up with a spectacular imaginary adventure that Peanut can't refuse: a trip to space! But is it too late for her to join the game?
Illustrated in bold graphics and bright colors by an illustrator Maurice Sendak calls "an artist with a superb eye for line and composition," here's a story where the older sibling doesn't always have the upper hand.
Review
"A provocative example of the complexity that can be conveyed using only pictures."
Publishers Weekly, starred review "Ending with a modern boy and girl contemplating the culvert's entrance, she [Lehman] invites readers (her wordless pictures clearly beg to be read, pored over) to feel the tenuous bonds of child life loosen. Wonderful!"
Kirkus, starred review"Lehman's clean-lined, highly-detailed artwork creates an ingenious visual puzzle that invites repeated viewings and flights of imagination."Booklist
The Red Book
– A Caldecott Honor Book
– An ALA Notable Book
– A New York Times Bestseller
– A Junior Library Guild Selection
– Starred review in SLJ
"Captures the magical possibility that exists ever time readers open a book." School Library Journal, starred review
Museum Trip
– 3 starred reviews (Booklist, Kirkus, PW)
– Great New York Times Book Review, 11/12/06
– A CCBC Best-Book-of-the-Year
– A 2007 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book
“A winning picture book that blurs real and imagined worlds.” Booklist, starred review
Rainstorm
– ALA Notable Book
– 3 starred reviews (Kirkus, PW, SLJ)
– A Junior Library Guild Selection
– A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
– A New York Public Librarys selection for the 100 TITLES FOR READING AND SHARING (2007)
"Lehman compacts a wealth of storytelling into her wordless narrative. Another surrealist triumph from a vigorous emerging talent.” Kirkus, starred review
Trainstop
– A Junior Library Guild PREMIER Selection Award
– Starred review in Publishers Weekly
– A 2008 Parents Choice Gold Award
– A Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year
"The crisp, clean drawings and comics-style framings generate visual momentum; the author knows when to give the big picture (literally) and when to break down the action into smaller steps.” Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"Playful shapes and deft use of white space illustrate a fresh and funny tale about sharing." -
Kirkus Reviews
"With clever dialogue and stylish retro spreads....siblings may end up squabbling over this book." - Publishers Weekly
Review
PRAISE FOR READY RABBIT GETS READY!: "When Ready Rabbit finally makes it onto the school bus, readers will wish they could follow him to school."and#160;and#8212;Publishers Weekly, starred review
Synopsis
A box is just a box . . . unless it's not a box. From mountain to rocket ship, a small rabbit shows that a box will go as far as the imagination allows.
Inspired by a memory of sitting in a box on her driveway with her sister, Antoinette Portis captures the thrill when pretend feels so real that it actually becomes real—when the imagination takes over and inside a cardboard box, a child is transported to a world where anything is possible.
Synopsis
From mountain to rocket ship, a small, imaginative bunny shows that a box is not always just a box but an object that will go as far as the imagination allows.
Synopsis
Don't miss this wholly original celebration of the power of imagination, winner of a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award
A box is just a box...unless it's not a box. From mountain to rocket ship, a small rabbit shows that a box will go as far as the imagination allows.
Inspired by a memory of sitting in a box on her driveway with her sister, Antoinette Portis captures the thrill when pretend feels so real that it actually becomes real--when the imagination takes over inside a cardboard box, and through play, a child is transported to a world where anything is possible.
The simple text makes the book appropriate for toddlers, but the message and retro feel of the book also lead to it being an original and compelling gift to mark an occasion such as a graduation.
Synopsis
Don't miss this wholly original celebration of the power of imagination, winner of a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award. This picture book with its visual humor and simple dialogue is great for fans of Mo Willems and Crockett Johnson.
A box is just a box...unless it's not a box. From mountain to rocket ship, a small rabbit shows that a box will go as far as the imagination allows.
Inspired by a memory of sitting in a box on her driveway with her sister, Antoinette Portis captures the thrill when pretend feels so real that it actually becomes real--when the imagination takes over inside a cardboard box, and through play, a child is transported to a world where anything is possible.
After reading this book aloud, continue the fun by drawing shapes like a triangle or circle, and asking your child what the triangle is NOT
Synopsis
Times change.
Cities may grow large.
Summers may come and go.
And people might grow old,
but the one thing that always
remains the same is the desire for
adventure. Barbara Lehman takes readers on a timeless trip to a world of secret messages left in secret boxes hidden in secret places.and#160;
Youand#8217;ll never know what youand#8217;ll find when you look inside!
Synopsis
Three friends discover a secret box, and a whole new side to their city!
Synopsis
Ready Rabbit! Itand#8217;s time to get ready! Thatand#8217;s Ready Rabbitand#8217;s momma. Ready Rabbit
knows he should get up and get ready. But there are so many more interesting things to do first. Like . . . building spaceships, and rescuing sea creatures, and searching for law-breaking and#145;bad guysand#8217;!
Ready Rabbit! Hurry up! Oh, and get dressed for schooland#133;.
Ready Rabbit Gets Ready! is for any kid with an active imaginationand#133;or anyone in need of a very good laugh.
About the Author
A former school teacher, Randall de Séve is the author of the New York Times bestselling Toy Boat and the popular The Duchess of Whimsy, on which she collaborated with her husband. Ms. de Séve was inspired to write Peanut and Fifi Have a Ball after witnessing a similar exchange between her daughters. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family.
Paul Schmid has written and illustrated a number of books for children, three of which have been honored by the Society of Illustrators. He won the Maurice Sendak Fellowship to spend a month with Mr. Sendak working on Peanut and Fifi Have a Ball. Mr. Sendak called Paul, "an artist with a superb eye for line and composition." He lives with his wife and daughter in Seattle, Washington.
Kids Q&A
Read the Kids' Q&A with Antoinette Portis