Works Every Time! Quill Soup: a Stone Soup Story by Alan Durant

Noko the Porcupine was hungry. He had beeen traveling through the Valley of One Hundred Hills and hadn't eaten in days. He saw a village ahead. "Food and shelter at last!" he said.

But the approaching stranger was spotted by some tree-dwelling animals who gave the alarm, and by the time Noko entered the village, no one was in sight. He knocked on the first door at hand, opened by a wary warthog, and asked for a bit of food.

Warthog shakes his head. "My food is all gone!" he said.

Noko got the same sort of excuse from Rabbit, Monkey, Aardvark, Meerkat, and Pangolin. No one had a morsel to spare. Noko was weary and weak, but his wits were still sharp. So he asked for a coal of fire and a pot of water.

"I'll have to make my own food!" he said loudly. "I'll make quill soup. The quills will soften and make delicious soup!"

Noko plucked a few quills from his back and dropped them in the pot. The animals' curiousity was piqued, and they came out of their houses to watch Noko stir the "soup" slowly as steam began to rise.

"Ummm!" said Noko, tasting the soup. "Just like his Majesty likes it!"

"You know the King< asked the impressed villagers.

Noko nodded modestly and continued stirring, musing aloud that a carrot or two might make the soup even better.

Savvy youngsters who know their folklore will know exactly where this one is going, as indeed, Rabbit, Meerkat, Pangolin, and the rest of their former stingy neighbors fetch carrots, beans, potatoes, spinach, and peas for the pot. Pangolin even comes up with some choice worms. The whole village shares a feast together well into the evening, and when everyone can eat no more, Monkey offers Noko the Porcupine his own best bed for the night. Noko smiles slyly.

"You are too kind," he says.

It's an old tale, well told in a new setting, in Alan Durant's version of the classic folk story, Quill Soup: A Stone Soup Story (Charlesbridge Books, 2020), combining elements of the fable and the trickster tale in an unusual new setting. This skillful reworking of a traditional old story offers a fine opportunity for compare-and-contrast analysis of versions of this folktale for language arts lessons, and, illustrated floridly by artist Dale Blankenaar, it is a choice read-aloud for primary students. Says School Library Journal, "The illustrations in the book are a remarkable combination of flat folk art and striking modern imagery, full of details for onlookers to find."

It's What We Do! People Share with People by Lisa Wheeler

It's good to share a window,
It's fun to share a ball.
It's best to share a cupcake
BEFORE you eat it all.

On the face of it, sharing what you have leaves you with less--right?

But the wisdom of the ages bends the other way--toward sharing--because humans, a long-lived species, have long since figured out that over time cooperation and sharing provide MORE for ALL. Sharing begins with parent and child, and families seem to have built-in belief that early sharing means more for all in the long run. Life in large societies requires that people share-- or suffer.

Of course, there are some things you shouldn't share... Keep your sneeze, PLEASE!

It's normal for youngsters to have trouble with the concept that sharing now means that someone in the future will do the same for you, and in noted author Lisa Wheeler's and Caldecott artist Molly Idle's People Share with People (The People Books) (Atheneum Books, 2019) the two creators share their considerable picture book skills to show young readers how it's done, especially in the case of playthings like balls that provide more fun when used by two, not one.

We DON'T live in a zoo!
I CHOOSE to share with you!

Of course, even most wild animals share, finding safety in numbers--family, pride, or herd--and although it's a hard lesson to teach toddlers, Wheeler and Idle's newest, with Wheeler's rhyming lines and Idle's engaging rotund tots, is a great way to understand the historical meaning of shared resources. Says Booklist, ..."this book demonstrates that learning social skills can be fun!"

Always Room for More! The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates

By the front door... there's an umbrella. It's BIG.

When April showers come your way... whatcha gonna do? Grab an umbrella!

That's just what this girl does. She's wearing her yellow slicker and green galoshes, but it's a heavy downpour and she needs a big umbrella.

But this is not your ordinary umbrella. It's a big umbrella in the usual sense, but it's also the metaphoric big umbrella," capable of extending its coverage to the many and diverse people our girl meets as she walks through the town.

It likes to spread its arms wide.
It loves to gather people in.

And gather it does, a boy in a hoodie and a girl in a tutu and ballet shoes, a Sasquatch with a briefcase and what appears to be a giant duck... and more and more. No one is turned away. Never losing its wide smile, the umbrella expands to shelter them all, even a Basset hound, a baby in a stroller, and three ducklings (who don't much seem to take to rain water, either.)

Some people worry that there won't be enough room under the big umbrella.

But there always is.

This umbrella, whose smile just gets wider as it expands, welcomes all and sundry when they need to come in out of the rain. Sweet without being smarmy, Amy June Bates' just published The Big Umbrella (Simon & Schuster, 2018) makes use of the idiom "big umbrella" in its metaphoric meaning of an overarching protection, giving meaning to its all-inclusive mission. Along with its simple narration, Bates' illustrations convey most of the meaning as the cheerful umbrella grows wider with each inclusion of a gently humorous assembly of varied figures. Artist Bates keeps the rainy cityscape in soft-focus colors which seem to melt into a watery background, giving the foreground over to the umbrella and its friends, reinforcing a theme that is organic rather than preachy. Says School Library Journal, “This sweet extended metaphor uses an umbrella to demonstrate how kindness and inclusion work...A lovely addition to any library collection, for classroom use or for sharing at home.”

Sharing and Caring: Love Monster And the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright

Love Monster's mind is still on his vacation, sadly now over, as he approaches the door of his own cozy den.

BUT WAIT! WHAT WAS THIS?

A BOX OF CHOCOLATES!

JUST SITTING THERE!

Could one of his friends have left him a surprise welcome-home gift? They all know how much monsters love chocolates.

Love Monster considers the joys of a mixed assortment of chocolate-covered delights. Which flavors may be inside? Chocolate-covered peanut-butter brittle? Fizzy fruit sherbets? His favorite, berry swirls?

BUT THEN HE THOUGHT A THOUGHT THAT HE JUST COULDN'T UN-THINK!

He really should share this box of chocolates with his friends.

He should... but there are problems.

What if there are not enough pieces to go around? Or worse, what if they choose all his favorites?

And worst of all... what if the only piece left for him is one of those coffee-flavored thingies?

EEEEEUUWWWWWW!

It's a crisis of conscience for Love Monster. He weighs the question: To share or not to share?

I'M SORRY TO TELL YOU THAT LOVE MONSTER DECIDED IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR EVERYONE IF HE KEPT THE CHOCOLATES.

Decision made, he brews himself a cup of tea. He peers through the peephole to make sure the coast is clear and then sits down happily with the whole box of chocolates in his lap.

But just as he is ready to open the lid, he notices a queasy feeling inside... that feeling that means what he's about to do is not the right thing to do.

Love Monster is out the door, scurrying to find his friends with the still unopened box, feeling good about making the right choice.

But in Rachel Bright's latest Love Monster story, Love Monster and the Last Chocolate (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), there's a surprise waiting for our hero when, with his friends gathered around, he opens that box with a flourish, to find it empty--except for just one piece!

"SILLY MONSTER! WE SAVED THE LAST PIECE (YOUR FAVORITE) FOR YOU!"

There's just a touch of irony when author Bright's cute little fuzzy monster finds out that his friends are one step ahead of him all the way, in this sweet story of Valentine candy sharing, and readers will likely not be surprised to learn that the last piece left is not the coffee-flavored thingie. Bright offers up a savory moral but dips it in her sweet but insightful comic coating in illustrative storytelling that makes this one a treat for young readers. Pair this one with Mo Willem's equally empathetic Should I Share My Ice Cream? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (see my review here).

Rachel Bright's early books in this Valentine-approved series are Love Monster and Love Monster and the Perfect Present.

IT'S HALLOWEEN NIGHT.
A NIGHT TO BEWARE.
GOSLINGS ARE ON THE PROWL.

OLLIE STALKS IN THE CORNFIELD.

The gosling gang goes out to scare somebody and grab for treats everywhere. Gossie goes as a wizard, and it's fowl play for Gertie, costumed as a chicken. BooBoo is a fuzzy bunny rabbit, and Peedie does his darndest to be a dragon.

Little Ollie, the odd man out, trails along behind, wrapped as a mummy, while the rest of the gaggle find treats in the pumpkin patch, the beehive, the haystacks, and the standing cornstalks. Ollie falls even farther behind as the other goslings hoot and howl and stop to bob in a bucket of apples.

But wee Ollie spots a ghost just hanging around in barn door and greets him in his own language-- BOO!-- and gaggles at a gang of grinning jack-o'-lanterns.

Whooooo! The wind rises, thunder crackles, and a spooky scarecrow sways in the breeze, and Gossie, Gertie, BooBoo, and Peedie sprint for the shelter of their barn to scarf down their remaining treats.

But Ollie has gotten into the autumn ambiance and takes his time hiking home, so that the other little goslings are already zoned out on candy and dozing by the time he arrives. But when he piles his share of goodies between them, the goslings wake and go for Ollie's offerings, ready to share his haul. It's an outstanding Halloween outing for all!

Oliver Dunrea's trick-or-treat tale, Ollie's Halloween (Gossie & Friends) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013), is all ready for Halloween, dressed up this year as a new board book edition which boasts all of the goslings in a group adventure, with all the trappings--fake ghosts, pumpkins galore, wind-borne leaves flying, and a dark and stormy night for the setting, all done up in his trademark cute-as-a-button illustrations, set against bright white mid-page in a wash of watercolor. A fine first Halloween story which introduces the traditions of the scary season without the scare to young spooks.

For a pair of fine fowl stories, pair this one with Tad Hill's Halloween adventure, Duck & Goose, Find a Pumpkin (Oversized Board Book) (see my review here.)

Holding On! It's Mine! by Tracey Corderoy

LULU HAD COME OVER TO PLAY WITH BABY BEAR.

"I'M PLAYING TIGER WITH RORY," SAID BABY BEAR.

"I LOVE TIGERS!" CRIED LULU.

A friend of my friend is my friend, right?

Baby Bear's fuzzy orange tiger toy is his best friend,  Lulu approves of his choice, and for a while all goes well with the playdate. But when Baby Bear gets rumbly in his tumbly and goes to fetch some goodies, things take a turn for the worst when he comes back with a snack:

LULU WAS PLAYING WITH RORY!

BABY BEAR GRABBED RORY'S LEG.  LULU HELD ON TIGHT!

Suddenly the playdate isn't working out so well! Lulu is in tears, and when Mom tells Baby Bear to share, he tries to placate Lulu with a zebra toy. It's got stripes, too, right?

But Lulu is having none of that. It's Rory or nothing.

So Mom steps in, takes charge of Rory for the moment and suggests a diverting trip to the park.

Grudgingly the two tots set off, but the playground is enticing. Studiously avoiding each other, Lulu tries playing solo on the see-saw, and Baby Bear sits down on the swing. Neither one of them seem to be going anywhere with their plans. See-saws that don't go up and down by themselves, and swings that don't swing are NO FUN! Lulu needs a partner, and Baby Bear needs a push! Hmmm!

Luckily, Mom knows how to facilitate a quiet compromise in Tracey Corderoy's It's Mine! (Good Books, 2012). Artist Caroline Pedler's sweetly rounded little bears are beguiling, and the use of bright orange flocking on her illustrations of Rory Tiger make the little bears' rivalry for the  fuzzy toy totally understandable. Sharing a beloved toy is hard (think having a friend over who demands to take your brand-new car out for a solo joyride!), and learning to share fairly is a big step in the preschool years. Pair this one with Anna Dewdney's latest best-selling Llama story, Llama Llama Time to Share (see my review here), which covers the same premise, managing to offer quite a bit of character development while sticking to a demanding but appealing rhyme that makes this life lesson go down sweetly.

Tutti de Tutus: Too Many Tutus by Jane O'Connor

Nancy Clancy's closet is too, too tight.

MY CLOSET IS BULGING. (THAT IS A FANCY WAY TO SAY THAT THE DOOR WILL NOT CLOSE.)

"YOU HAVE TOO MANY TUTUS," MY MOM TELLS ME.

Of course, there is no such thing as too many accessories for Fancy Nancy. Still, she see the virtues of  a closet door that will close.  Little sister JoJo is happy to take one outgrown tutu off her hands.  But Nancy draws the line at donating more than two tutus.

At school the next day Ms. Glass has the perfect solution to the Clancy closet problem. The class will have a Swap Shop day. Students will receive a point for each item they donate, which they can "spend" at the shop to buy swapped merchandise. OOO LA LA!! Nancy likes any activity that has the word "shop" in it somewhere, and with this incentive she assembles a treasure trove of cast-off finery to donate to the Swap Shop, earning fifteen points for her donations.

But push comes to shove the next day when Nancy and her nemesis Grace both covet the same beautiful green tutu with double tulle tiers and bows. Grace gets to it first, but Nancy is in luck--Grace only has five points  and the tutu is priced at seven!

"HA! MINE!" I SAY. 

I START TO TAKE THE TUTU FROM GRACE.  BUT SHE LOOKS MISERABLE.

THAT MAKES ME FEEL BAD.

Nancy knows what it's like to have a case of the tutu blues, and her altruism wins out over tutu mania.

MISS GLASS TAKES ME ASIDE AND SAYS, "THAT WAS VERY THOUGHTFUL."
(THOUGHTFUL IS FANCY FOR KIND.)

"YOU ARE GROWING UP IN LOTS OF WAYS."

It's a rare primary grade girl today whose closet doesn't boast two to ten tutus. For different reasons, both parents and tutu enthusiasts will empathize with Nancy's too many tutus dilemma in Jane O'Connor's latest I-Can-Read tale, Fancy Nancy: Too Many Tutus (I Can Read Book 1) (Harper, 2013). Nancy may be a pint-sized fashionista, but she also has a good heart and shows it when she shares the tutu treasure with her classmate. As always, the characters devised by O'Connor and original artist Robin Preiss Glasser are ably illustrated by Ted Enik in the newest in this too-too terrific beginning reader series.