Lady Liberty’s Holiday
written by Jen Arena and illustrated by Matt Hunt
Published 2016. The artwork is nicely done and resembles the typical picture book style, and I enjoyed seeing the artist mark making and color choices. The story itself was good, I think it could’ve been a bit better with a tweak of the ending and having Liberty come back without the pressure from Moe, but I do enjoy the book taking us on a quick journey on the diversity that is available to experience in the states.
Salsa Lullaby
written by Jen Arena and illustrated by Erika Meza
Published 2019. The art is well done and energetic. The story is simple and a fun lullaby for right before bedtime and introducing a child to Spanish.
100 Snowmen
written by Jen Arena and illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
Published 2013. I liked the linework and art overall; very crisp without losing expression. An enjoyable counting and math book with no actual conflict. How would the text look with a bit more story and conflict? Currently, the story has all the snowmen doing fun and happy things. Still, you could quickly write this with more conflicting and disastrous consequences, as we see with some of Sendak’s educational books that still have an interesting story.
A Friend for Mole
by Nancy Armo
Published 2016. The cover instantly reminded me of The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business by Wolf Erlbruch, but the text and overall art are very different. I enjoyed the story’s message, but the text was sometimes heavy-handed. Overall a good book with decent artwork.
Magnus at the Fire
written by Jennifer Armstrong and illustrated by Owen Smith
Published 2005. The artwork is fantastic, that old nostalgic style that is enjoyable and done with great skill. The story was very wordy, and the text could be edited down quite a bit, but this could be an excellent book to transition kids into chapter books, so what do I know? The overall message is very well told, and in the end, I was satisfied with how it ended, even if it was a bit predictable.
Thank you,
Caleb
