Memory Magic: The Broken Ornament by Tony DiTerlizzi

Jack wanted this Christmas to be the best Christmas ever.

"I want MORE ornaments!

Let's get a bigger tree!"

To Jack, more is better, and truth to tell, a bigger tree mainly means more room for Santa to leave presents for him underneath it.

Mom and Dad chuckle and their holiday decor outdoes any previous Christmas, but Jack still wants more. He finds one dusty ornament box in the closet and hurries to add one more to his tree.

"Not that one!" Jack's mother gasps.

But Jack yanks the old ornament from the box and drops it. It breaks on the floor. A glance at his mom shows her beginning to weep softly.

"We''ll get another one," he says.

"We can't!" his mother says softly.

And as Jack glances at the pieces of the ornament, he sees a tiny fairy appearing from the shards. She says her name is Tinsel and asks Jack for his Christmas wish.

"The best Christmas ever," he replies.

And Tinsel summons up a magical display of Christmas plenty--glittering trees, prancing reindeer, marching elves, and snowmen tossing snowballs. It's everything that says Christmas to Jack. But then Jack asks Tinsel if she can restore his mom's ornament.

"No can do!" Tinsel tells him.

But the fairy can summon up a vision for Jack--a vision of his mother's grandmother giving his mom her precious ornament from her own childhood Christmases past. Suddenly Jack understands. Christmas isn't about more. It's about the love and beloved memories that we bring to it. And now he knows just what to do.

And it is the best Christmas ever, one to remember forever, in Tony DiTerlizzi's magical Christmas tale, The Broken Ornament (Simon and Schuster, 2018). Author DiTerlizzi, creator of the quaint and beloved Spiderwick Chronicles series and the Caldecott-winning book, The Spider and the Fly, touches the heart with her soft and lovely illustrations and theme of beloved family traditions as part of the real magic of Christmas. Says Publishers Weekly, "The author delivers a sound, easily relatable lesson about the perils of greed—and the essence of Christmas—as Jack devises a way to make amends in the story’s heartwarming finale."

Bottom-Up Birthday: The Backwards Birthday Party by Tom Chapln and John Forster

ON MY BIRTHDAY MORNING
THE SUN WAS SINKING LOW.

I PUT MY CLOTHES ON INSIDE OUT
AND DOWN THE STAIRS DID GO.

We've all heard of retro parties, but this is ridiculous!

This go-with-the-flow birthday boy takes it all in stride, though. The banner suspended across the living room reads "!SNOITALUTARGNOC" The guests say goodbye and wave as they walk out the door.

But not to worry. The party's not over. It's just taking place in reverse. They guests appear with a magical page turn, where the good-natured host re-wraps his opened gifts and presents them to his guests as they enter. Then, in a crowd-pleasing choice, they eat the cake first.

THE ICE CREAM WAS HOT.

THE CANDLES WERE NOT!

The blindfolded donkey pins the tails on the kids, with the usual hilarious results. And the longer the kids party, the earlier the day becomes, with the hands on the clock going counter-clockwise until it is the wee hours of the morning, and the party turns into a de facto sleepover. It's actually the perfect birthday, and there's a bonus when at dawn the still sleepy host finally pushes the party goers out the door...

I WAS ONE YEAR YOUNGER
THAN I WAS THE DAY BEFORE.

Recycling their 1994 children's song, Tom Chapin and Chuck Groenink's brand-new collaboration, The Backwards Birthday Party (Atheneum Books, 2015) uses clever page design strategy to highlight the premise, with letters turned around and one page actually reading bottom to top. Refrains recur frequently to give listening kids a vocal role in the fun. Illustrator Chuck Groenink plants humorous sight gags aplenty on the pages, and the authors even append the words and music as endpapers. It's all there except a warning that the unimaginative reader might turn the book upside down and read the story back to front! Otherwise, as the creators put it, this one is "the partyday birthwards back!" !!YADHTRIB YPPAH

Night Flight: The Snowman and the Snowdog

"COME ON!" CRIED BILLY TO HIS DOG. "WERE HERE! LET'S EXPLORE OUR NEW HOME!"

BUT BILLY'S DOG WAS OLD AND TIRED. HE BECAME SLOWER AND SLOWER, AND THEN ONE DAY HE DIED.

Billy's first days in his new house are sad, but as winter sets in, he explores the old house by himself, still missing his dog. Then, one day, he finds a loose floorboard, and underneath it a shoebox with some intriguing contents--a worn and floppy green hat, some lumps of coal, and a shriveled tangerine. It's a mystery, but when Billy wakes to find a deep snowfall outside, he immediately sees what to do with his find.

Outside Billy builds a snowman, placing the old hat on his head, wrapping the scarf around his neck, giving him a big smile and buttons with the lumps of coal, and placing a new tangerine in place for his nose. Then Billy has an inspiration. He shapes a snowdog, just like his own dog, to stand beside the snowman and keep him company.

Around midnight, Billy is wakened by a familiar bark and looks out his window.

SOMETHING MAGICAL HAD HAPPENED.

SNOWMAN AND SNOWDOG CAME ALIVE!

The Snowman lifts Billy and Snowdog in his arms and suddenly they are flying through the midnight blue sky, filled with stars and then with a host of soaring snowmen! Billy is dizzy with the thrill of it all. At the North Pole, he meets Santa, who gives him a special gift.

Back home again, Billy can hardly speak, but he whispers that he wishes the Snowman and Snowdog could stay with him. Then he remembers Santa's present and opens it to find a dog collar. He puts it around Snowdog's neck.

"THERE, JUST LIKE A REAL DOG," HE SAID.

AND WHERE THE SNOWDOG HAD BEEN... STOOD A REAL DOG, HIS TAIL WAGGING.

With the approval of Raymond Briggs, creator of the original 1982 The Snowman, this new companion book, The Snowman and the Snowdog (Random House, 2014) captures some of the magic of Brigg's classic, with the addition of the sure-fire kid-pleasing elements of a Christmas puppy and a visit to Santa's North Pole workshop. Artists Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison create the look of Brigg's Snowman nearly perfectly, but as a whole the work does not quite match the charm and wry visual humor of the wordless original. To see Brigg's boy putting the Snowman to bed in his family's chest-type freezer or the Snowman fanning himself in front of the family fridge to cool off, make sure that the original is "read" first in tandem with this sequel. Not to be missed is the award-winning video of Brigg's book, Aardman: The Snowman, and there is also a new DVD of the companion book, The Snowman and The Snowdog.

Together, these books and videos make for happy holiday giving, and for go-with stocking stuffers, there are also the plush toy tie-ins, The Snowman Plush Toy and The Snowman Snowdog Soft Toy.

For more, um, "frosty" snowman fun, don't miss Caralyn Buehner's and Mark Teague's best-selling snowy series, Snowmen at Night, Snowmen at Christmas, Snowmen at Play, and Snowmen at Work. Check out my cool reviews here.

Sittin' On A Rainbow: World on A String by Larry Phifer

Deep in the forest, Charlie found a balloon, big, red, and bright like the moon.

He spun it around like the world on a string

It's the best balloon--simply the best thing he's ever had.

It becomes Charlie's best friend

They do everything together.

But one day a storm grows near, and before Charlie can take care, the wind pulls the balloon's string from his hand, and his friend blows away, driven by the brisk breeze.

"I didn't mean to let go!"

But his balloon is gone and Charlie is alone. And very sad.

To console himself, though, he tries to think, not of himself, but of the balloon, riding high in the sky, and the adventures he is going to have among the clouds and soaring in the moonlight, meant to fly free.

Dealing with  loss, in this case with the metaphor of a beloved balloon, is the subject of Larry Phifer's World on a String (Storytime Works, 2014). Dan Popovici's gentle abstract illustrations, executed in glowing sunset colors give this parable of love and loss a dreamlike aura that softens the message with the thought that the friend goes on to new adventures, one easy on the hearts of the young.

There's No Business Like Snow Business: Snowmen At Work by Caralyn and Mark Buehner

ONE NIGHT I MADE A SNOWMAN,
THEN WENT INSIDE TO SLEEP.
AND WHEN I WOKE, I SAW MORE SNOW
HAD FALLEN SOFT AND DEEP.

I WENT OUTSIDE TO SHOVEL
BUT I SAW THE WALK WAS CLEAR.
NO ONE ELSE WAS OUTSIDE
BUT MY SNOWMAN STANDING NEAR.

Following that thought, the boy drifts into a snowflake flight of fancy: If his snowman shovels snow at night, what other night-shift jobs might snowmen have?

Well, snow removal is a natural, so to speak, shoveling and sweeping snow, operating snow blowers and snowplows. And what kinds of groceries would a snow-grocer sell? Frosted Flakes, frozen peas, and ice cream for sure. And the snowman and snowwoman bakery would specialize in fancy icing and frosted cupcakes. A snow pizza delivery man would bring--frozen pizzas, of course, and a snow dentist drills and fills the patient's smile with new lumps of coal And a snow teacher would be way cool, specializing in polar geography and spelling of Antarctica.

Author Caralyn Buehner and artist Mark Buehner have a lot of fun fantasizing about their snow people's snow business, with Caralyn's simple rhythmic quatrains and Mark's rotund snow workers at their jolly vocations, all with a big lumps of coals showing off their snowy grins. Mark Buehner dresses his frozen folks in bright plaid and striped woolly scarves and hats and even provides hidden figures in his illustrations--a cat, dinosaur, mouse, and even snowshoe rabbit, who appears on one page with two carrots for ears--to add extra panache to his pictures.

Their latest cool tale, Snowmen at Work (Dial Books, 2012), joins the Buehner's earlier snowpeople sagas, Snowmen at Christmas, Snowmen at Night, and Snowmen All Year.

Sweet Shots: Lola the Lollipop Fairy by Tim Bugbird

ONCE UPON A TIME

IN A CIRCUS BIG TOP,

LIVED A FAIRY FAMILY, THE SISTERS LOLLIPOP.

Never has there been such a sweet act--starring Linda, lolly weight-lifting wonder, Lulu, lollipop juggler extraordinaire, and of course, the top banana of this sister act, Lola, the Lollipop Queen.

But one day a new act comes into town.

Outside the Lollipop Sisters' big top, a theme park has magically sprung up, and suddenly the sweet trio are no longer the headliners, as the crowds turn out to hit the thrilling rides in the newest attraction.

"LET'S FACE IT, FRIENDS!" SAID LOLA. "WE MIGHT BE BEAT."

But does this feisty fairy just shrug and say, "That's show biz?"

Not on your fairy wings! Lola faces the truth, and with a toss or her cotton-candy=colored pink ponytail, she comes up with a plan!

"SO... WE'LL JUST MAKE OUR ACT BETTER!"

And so she does, and with a really big bang, in Tim Bugbird's latest fairy tale confection, Lola the Lollipop Fairy (Make Believe Ideas, 2012), illustrated in a perfectly pinkanista pink by Lara Ede. A companion book to his Camilla, the Cupcake Fairy and its sequels, this is frothy fare for the dog days of summer, and if your little pinkanista fairy fan is not yet pinked out on sweet treats and fairy princesses, this may be just the picture book bon-bon to fill the bill.

Undoing the Blue: Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman

AT LAST THE PICTURE IS ALMOST FINISHED.

THE CHICKS ARE WHITE, THEIR COOP IS IS BROWN...

AND THIS DAY IS PERFECT FOR PAINTING THE BARN.

The scene is set on the title page of Deborah Freedman's Blue Chicken (Viking, 2011). An unfinished drawing is spread across the two pages--white chicks in front of a brown coop, and an as yet uncolorized barn with perfect draftsmanlike lines stands on the left, a timid calf peeping out from one side of the wide door.

On the drawing table are a ruler, pencil, paintbrushes--and two pots of paint, red and blue.

BUT WAIT! DOES ONE OF THE CHICKENS WANT TO HELP?

And here is where this bucolic illustration (and story) fly the coop. A little chick escapes from the environs of the brown coop and wanders up to try to select a brush from the blue paint pot.

The paint pot tips, it splashes, and suddenly the tidy scene is flooded with blue--the chick, his fellow chickens, yellow duckies, the orange cat, and all in one messy, splish splash of blue. Like a primordial flood, the blue threatens to obliterate the whole drawing in one wash of watercolor.

But then the now blue chick spots a third jar--this one with a mysterious clear liquid. Can he save the day by painting over the blue with this paint? Miraculously it restores everything to its original state--except the sky, which remains the perfect shade of blue for a clear sunny sky...

ON A DAY THAT IS PERFECT...

FOR PAINTING THE BARN.

And through the studio window the chickens studiously watch a woman draw up her ladder and begin to paint the real barn outside the window a bright red.

Several modern picture book creators have begun to play with the concept of the physical book--some, such as Lane Smith in his It's a Book or Mo Willems in his We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) tease the mind of the reader with the creative expansion of the limitations of static characters stuck on the two-dimensional page, drawing the reader into the story as unseen characters themselves. Others, such as Chris Van Allsburg, in, for example, his Bad Day at Riverbend and David Wiesner in his Art & Max, play with the very conceit of the limitations of illustrations on the plane surface of the page. In Blue Chicken Freedman makes the static illustration the source of the story in a fusing of media and word which will engage the reader over and over.

"Breathtakingly beautiful meta-illustrations will draw many eyes to this tale of a curious chicken who spills some paint... Delicate and durable, visually sophisticated yet friendly: simply exquisite," - says Kirkus Reviews, in a rare starred review.

Read Out Loud! Read to Tiger by S. J. Fore

I SAT DOWN ON THE COUCH AND OPENED MY BOOK. IT'S TIME TO READ.

BUT I CAN'T READ.

THERE'S A TIGER BEHIND MY COUCH. CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMPING HIS BUBBLE GUM.

"HUH-UH, TIGER."

"OOOPS!" THE TIGER SAYS. "TIGER IS SORRY. TIGER WON'T CHOMP!"

The boy settles down happily to enjoy his book, but Tiger has a different agenda. "HI-YAA!" he yells, as he karate kicks around the sofa. "GRRRRRR!" he growls, as he pretends to be a bear in the boy's own costume. "CHOO-CHOOOOO! TOOOOOOT!" goes Tiger's noisy red train as it circles the couch. With each interruption, the boy admonishes his buddy, and Tiger apologizes profusely. " Tiger sorry!" But then....

CREAK CRACK! CREAK CRACK! CREAK CRACK! "AHHHHHHH!"

MY COUCH IS FLYING UP IN THE AIR BECAUSE THERE'S A TIGER UNDER IT.

TIIIIIGER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I AM TRYING TO READ!!!"

By this time, even the youngest listener knows what is going on here. Tiger obviously feels left out of the silent reading process and his attention-seeking behavior is his way of letting the boy know it. But when Tiger actually looks at the book and sees that it's about a tiger just like him, he cuddles up and waits expectantly for the boy to get the message of his body language. And the boy does....

FINALLY I CAN READ MY BOOK...TO TIGER.

As in his earlier book Tiger Can't Sleep, S. J. Fore's Read to Tiger (Viking, 2010) uses the comic style of illustrator R. W. Alley (slightly reminiscent of the the pair of friends in Calvin and Hobbes) to depict the relationship of boy and tiger, in which the boy plays the adult role to a rambunctious tiger who plays the impulsive preschooler with elan. Kids will appreciate the humor of the role reversal and chuckle along with this delightful sequel.

Where's That Monster Under My Bed? I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll

Tonight, when I looked under the bed for my monster, I found this note instead:

GONE FISHING. BACK IN A WEEK.
--GABE

What was I going to do? I NEEDED a monster under my bed.

How was I supposed to get to sleep if my monster was gone?

How would I ever get to sleep without Gabe's familiar scary noises and his spooky, green ooze?

A creature of habit, Ethan can't doze off without those familiar noises--whistling, claw-scrabbling sounds from under the bed. Reluctantly he realizes that he has to call up a substitute sleepytime monstrosity. Two raps on the floor boards summon up a series of subs, all willing to try out their talents.

"Good evening," said a low, breathy voice.

"My name is Herbert, and I will be your monster for the evening."

The kid is not impressed.

"Do you have long teeth and scratchy claws?"

"No, but I have an OVERBITE. And I'm a mouth breather."

"Next!" thinks Ethan, and in succession other monsters appear for an audition. The effete Ralph is rejected because his long nails bear obvious evidence of a professional manicure and nail polish. The next monster has impressive claws, but the bow on her tail gives Cynthia away. Ick! Even monsters have girl cooties, and the kid sends her packing. Then when Mack appears to show off his ticklishly long tongue, the kid collapses in giggles at the thought. Don't call me, I'll call you, thinks the kid.

But when Gabe suddenly shows back up, bored with easily frightened fish, Ethan is relieved.

"I'd like to start out this evening with an ominous puddle of drool," Gabe announces.

"So you had some substitute monsters tonight. Were you scared?"

"No other monster can scare me like you do."

"We're made for each other," Gabe growled. "Now if you would just stick out your foot.... I'd like to nibble your pinkie..."

"No toes tonight, but you can have this," I offered. I pushed a pillow off the bed.

I didn't even hear it hit the floor.

A better monster-under-the-bed story won't be had this spooky season--or any time soon. In their I Need My Monster, (Flashlight, 2009) Amanda Noll's tongue-in-cheek text and Howard McWilliam's atmospheric illustrations take Mercer Mayer's monsters into the digital dimension with a dash of Shrek and Monsters, Inc., supersized and deliciously funny-scary styled, to delight young monster fanciers everywhere. There's droll and sly humor for everyone here--from tots to adults--a perfect pairing, just like Ethan and Gabe.

Man and the Moon: Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle

Eric Carle's beautiful Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me is usually viewed as a book about the lunar cycle, with its fantasy story of the dutiful dad who tries to give his little girl the full moon, only to be forced to wait until it shrinks to a manageable-enough size to retrieve.

But this story can just as easily be viewed as a story with a sentiment which makes it well suited for Father's Day as well.

Before Monica went to bed, she looked out of her window and saw the moon. The moon looked so near.

"I wish I could play with the moon," said Monica.

"Papa," said Monica, "please get the moon for me."

Papa got a very long ladder. He carried the very long ladder toward a very high mountain. Then Papa put the very long ladder on top of the very high mountain. Up and up he climbed.

Perhaps all proud papas have moments of wishing to give their daughters the moon, but this devoted dad actually fetches a fantastic ladder and mounts it to the very surface of the full moon, where he sees that the moon is much too massive to manage by himself. But the wise old moon counsels patience, promising to shrink until he is the proper size for a plaything.

And Monica is pleased with her little crescent moon and plays with it happily as it wanes until it suddenly vanishes from sight altogether. Saddened, little Monica watches the place in the sky where the moon once soared.

Then one night, Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.

Each night the moon grew... and grew... and grew.

A loving father who longs to give his daughter her heart's desire not only does so, but also gives her a gift which continues to delight forever. It's a beautiful thought, beautifully executed. Carle practically invented the modern book-as-toy, and this one, with its four-page gatefold which shows the dad carrying a ladder so long it continues off the left and right-hand pages, shows his skill in creative book design with vertical flaps which open upward and downward to reveal Papa's climb up to the moon and back down to Earth with his prize.

Aglow with Carle's distinctive technique and palette, it's a lovely book with a lovely message for fathers.