bekahcubed

I fell short of my goal of 45 picture books author last name “C” this month – we only got in 37. The children have really started to love nonfiction and re-reading, both of which cut down on my ability to quickly work my way through this section of the library. Altogether, we’ve read 108 “C” books here in the first three months of the year, which is 19% of the approximately 560 I estimate that are in this section. So I definitely need to step on it if I’m going to get it done this year!

---

Asterisks represent books I recommend (3 stars or above).

Authors Last Name CAR

• Henry and the Bully, written and illustrated by Nancy Carlson
  I’m not a big fan of Carlson’s illustrations – and even less a fan of books about bullying (which I tend to see as giving kids instructions on how to bully rather than being particularly helpful at avoiding or managing bullying.)
• *Melanie, written by Carol Carrick, illustrated by Alisher Dianov
  We read several of Carrick’s other books in February and I held off reading this one because it was longer than the rest. I totally shouldn’t have waited. This is a lovely fairy tale story that was a true delight to read.



• Alice and Wonderland Down the Rabbit Hole by Lewis Carroll, retold by Joe Rhatigan and Charles Nurnber, and illustrated by Eric Puybaret
  A very nice abbreviated introduction to the classic story.

Written by Mary Casanova and Illustrated by Ard Hoyt

• One-Dog Sleigh
  One animal after another joins in to ride in the “one-dog sleigh”. Okay.
• Some Cat!
  A rescued cat and her new owners’ dogs make peace with one another. I’m not a cat person, or a dog person really, so this didn’t really float my boat. Your results may vary.
• *Utterly Otterly Day and *Utterly Otterly Night
  A truly delightful couple of tales. They tell of the adventures of a young otter in a sing-song rhyme. In one tale, otter thinks he’s a big boy and doesn’t need to obey (with predictable results). In the other, otter senses something amiss and does as he ought to save the family. I will definitely read these again.

Written and illustrated by Judith Casely

• Field Day Friday
  Two friends compete on the same team for their school’s field day – but only one wins the single foot race.
• Mama, Coming and Going
  After mama has a new baby, she can’t tell whether she’s coming and going – and she gets into all sorts of absent-minded scrapes.
• On the Town
  A little boy explores his community as part of a school assignment
• Sisters
  Melissa’s family adopts a girl from somewhere overseas – and the two girls must learn what it means to be sisters

Authors Last Name CAS

• A Lullaby for Little One by Dawn Casey, illustrated by Charles Fuge
  A gentle little story of a little rabbit and his big daddy rabbit.
• The Cat in the Rhinestone Suit by John Carter Cash, illustrated by Scott Nash
  A showdown of sorts with plenty of wild west imagery. Not my thing.
• Kibby the Space Dog? by Andrea Cassel, illustrated by Melanie Regier
  A first person story about a dog who had to wear a cone of shame. The dog is both overly self-aware and overly didactic: “I was being rejected because people thought I was now different. My life was not the same anymore. I lost my fun, playful spirit.”
• Kazaak! written and illustrated by Sean Cassidy
  A moderately fun story about a couple of porcupines, one of whom is afraid of bears, the other who is full of bravado thanks to his quills. Turns out, Mr. Fearful has to save Mr. Bravado :-)



• Sterling, Best Dog Ever written and illustrated by Aidan Cassie
  Sterling is delivered with a shipment of silver and tries to be good cutlery – but he soon learns that his family loves him for who he really is. Eh.



• *Beach House written by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Amy June Bates
  Caswell tells the story of a family traveling to the beach in short sentences of sweet poetry. Bates’s illustrations are just right. Lovely.

Written and Illustrated by Lauren Castillo

• Nana in the City
  A little boy is scared about his grandma living in the city – but she teaches him that the city is a wonderful place to live. Okay, but not particularly applicable to us.
• The Troublemaker
  Someone is taking off with a little boy’s precious belongings – but who can it be? A cute little story.

Written and Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto

• Ivan the Terrier
  The title character keeps interrupting the author’s attempts at retelling fairy tales. Silly.
• *Kitten, red, yellow blue
  How does a woman keep track of the sixteen calico cats her cat gave birth to? Using colors, of course! A fun little book.



• Matthew A.B.C
  Mrs. Tuttle’s kindergarten class has 25 students, all named Matthew. How on earth does she tell them apart? Easy, actually. And the 26th student fills the gap nicely.



• The Newbies
  When Luke’s parents seem to be too busy preparing for the birth of the new baby, he imagines himself some new parents (only to find out the old ones are better after all.
• Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-It-All
  What if everyone was a superhero in costume – and the child who always has a question meets the child who always knows the answers? I enjoyed the story of their little show-down – and so did Tirzah Mae (probably because Little Miss Know-It-All wears a tiara!)

Authors Last Name CAT-CAZ

• The Magic Rabbit written and illustrated by Annette LeBlanc Cate
  When a boy magician and his rabbit get separated, will the rabbit find his way back to his friend?
• Treasure Hunt written and illustrated by Lorinda Bryan Cauley
  Let your kids go on a treasure hunt along with the characters of this book – all the way to a picnic in a clearing in the woods. The clues and illustrations were just the right difficulty for my two preschoolers (4.5 and almost 3).



• *Nothing at All written and illustrated by Denys Cazet
  Various members of the farmyard do all sorts of things – but what does the scarecrow do? I enjoyed the surprise ending.

Written and Illustrated by Randy Cecil

• Gator
  When an amusement park shuts down, the gator from the carousel goes out to explore the world. Eh.
• One Dark and Dreadful Night
  A director keeps trying to put on a dreadful play – but his young actors keep turning them into ridiculous fairy tales. Double eh.

Written by Melanie Cecka and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

• Violet Comes to Stay
  Cecka channels Cynthia Coppersmith or Jan Karon’s Mitford series – to present a story of Violet the white cat. It was okay but not amazing.
• Viiolet Goes to the Country
  Ditto the above.

Authors Last Name CE-CL

• Elbow Grease by John Cena, illustrated by Howard McWilliam
  A book about gumption – not giving up, whether you win or lose. Monster Truck “Elbow Grease” isn’t as tough or fast or smart or brave as his brothers – but he has gumption enough to finish the Grand Prix despite the odds. Good point but the story isn’t really my thing (but it might be yours or your child’s).



• The Swing written and illustrated by Joe Cepeda
  A very surreal story about a family who always loses things and a (magic?) swing that retrieves the lost things.



• *One Little Mouse by Dori Chaconas, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
  A lovely, lyrical little counting book. A little mouse tries to find a new home – and, after trying on other people’s homes, discovers that his own is best after all!



• The Backwards Birthday Party by Tom Chapin and John Forster, illustrated by Chuck Groenink
  A very, very silly birthday party. The endpapers include music to go along with the words, but alas, the library’s cover hides half the notes so I didn’t sing it to my kids.



• Marco Goes to School written and illustrated by Roz Chast
  Fairly run-of-the-mill story of going to school and making a new friend.
• *Tiger Days: A Book of Feelings by M.H. Clark, illustrated by Anna Hurley
  A very nice book about emotions – how we can feel different things at different times and still be the same person. We’re working on managing emotions at home – and I picked this up ahead of schedule after I read Dawn’s review at 5 Minutes for Books. Very good.

Books about Construction

• Little Excavator by Anna Dewdney
  A sweet story of a little excavator who tries to do everything that the big trucks do, with little success. But when a certain task needs done, Little E is the kid for the job.
• Mighty, Mighty Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
  A sequel (or maybe prequel?) to Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, this favorite describes how different construction vehicles must work together to get a job done. Very well done.

I’ve been struggling to figure out how to report on the picture books we’ve read. My goal is to finish my library’s collection of picture books with an author last name starting with C this year – which means I’m reading A LOT of picture books – many of which aren’t worth re-reading. But there are a few that are quite good. For now, I’m going to try separating out picture books into a post of their own and report briefly on each book. Titles with an *asterisk* are ones I think are worth re-reading (3 stars or above).

Authors Last Name “CAN”

• *Pinduli by Janell Cannon
  I did not at all expect to enjoy this story of a hyena who gets made fun of – but enjoy it I did. It’s all about how our words impact others. Quite good.
• *Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
  A young bat falls into a bird’s nest – and discovers that though he and the birds are different, they can still be friends. Very nice.
• Bonjour Camille by Felipe Cano, illustrations by Laia Aguilar
  I don’t know what to think about this exactly, except that I don’t think it’s worthwhile enough to spend too much time figuring out what I think about it.
• A Friend for Einstein by Charlie Cantrell and Dr. Rachel Wagner
  A tiny, tiny miniature horse is lonely. Who will be a friend for Einstein? Okay, not amazing.

Written by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

• 5-Minute Biscuit Stories illustrated by Pat Schories
  Gentle stories of ordinary adventures children will likely be able to identify with. This anthology is a nice one if you happen to like the “Biscuit” books.
• Biscuit Visits the Doctor
  Half of the text is “woof”. No thank you.



• Hannah is a Big Sister illustrated by Dorothy Stott
  As usual, this “new baby” focuses on an older sibling’s frustration – until she discovers she can soothe the baby. Eh
• *I will Love You illustrated by Lisa Anchin
  Pretty pictures, pretty rhyme, great for reading to a little-little one.



• *Mighty Tug illustrated by David Mottram
  A sweet rhyming story about the small but mighty tugboat (and all the things he can do).
• Not This Bear illustrated by Lorna Hussey
  A little bear on his first day of school disagrees whenever his teacher says that “all the bears enjoy…” – but he finds that his first day of school isn’t so bad after all.
• The Potty Book for Boys illustrated by Dorothy Stott
  A rather standard “I’m a big boy” type book



• Tulip loves Rex
  and Tulip and Rex Write a Story illustrated by Sarah Massini
  A girl and a dog are friends. They like to dance. They write a story. Meh.

Authors Last Name “CAPO” to “CARL”

• Monster Know Shapes by Lori Capote, illustrated by Chip Wass
  A rather generic shape book with rather dull cartoon illustrations.



• *Heroes of the Surf by Elisa Carbone, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
  Interesting story of a beleaguered ship and the people who came to its rescue – based on a true story from 1882.
• **47 Strings: Tessa’s Special Code by Becky Carey, illustrated by Bonnie Leick
  A lovely letter written to a big brother about his little sister, who has Down Syndrome.



• Cinderella’s Stepsister and the Big Bad Wolf by Lorraine Carey, illustrated by Migy Blanco
  A fun fractured, multi-fairy-tale mashup. Cinderella’s hard-working and kind step-sister doesn’t live up to the ugly name, so her mother sends her off to learn how to be evil from all the best (worst?) fairy tale villains.
• **The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  We’ve read all of Carle’s books before – but Louis pulled this one off the shelf at home and OF COURSE I’m willing to read it to him!
• A World of Your Own by Laura Carlin
  All about drawing your own imaginary world – with lots of ideas for doing so. I found it to be just, meh.

Written by Nancy Carlson

I am not much of a fan of Carlson’s illustration style – or of most of her subject matter. Meh.

• Harriet and the Roller Coaster
  Henry’s bravado turns out for naught when Harriet discovers that she actually enjoys the roller coaster – while Henry discovers that it isn’t really for him.
• Henry’s 100 Days of Kindergarten
  I wasn’t a fan of the illustrations and I think I might be something of a Scrooge when it comes to depictions of classroom life…so this book was not for me.



• Loudmouth George Earns His Allowance
  George discovers that forcing his little siblings to do his chores doesn’t exactly save him time or energy.
• Sometimes You Barf
  I understand the idea, trying to make barfing less scary. But I just can’t enjoy this book.
• There’s a Big, Beautiful World Out There!
  There are lots of things to be afraid of – but even more to be glad to explore. Made all the more poignant when you learn at the end that the book was written on Sep 12, 2001.

Written by Nancy White Carlstrom

Before You Were Born illustrated by Linda Saport
This opens and closes with that “before you were born, God wrote your days in a book”, but the middle was enigmatic. I’m not sure whether I like it.

*Mama, Will It Snow Tonight? illustrated by Paul Tong
Three different mother/child pairs ask and answer “Mama, will it snow tonight?” Sweet.

Better Not Get Wet, Jesse Bear
Guess Who’s Coming, Jesse Bear?
Happy Birthday, Jesse Bear and
*Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? illustrated by Bruce Degan
A rhyming series of inconsistent quality. I enjoyed What Will You Wear quite a bit – but found the others either too preachy or too repetitive to be truly enjoyable.

*The Way to Wyatt’s House illustrated by Mary Morgan
A lovely transition from quiet to loud and back again. Fun.

What Does the Sky Say? illustrated by Tim Ladwig
Beautifully poetic, lovely word pictures of the sky speaking – but a bit hard to interpret. This has Psalm 19 at the end of it “The heavens declare the glory of God…” but the message of the book doesn’t really have the sky speaking the glory of God.

Authors Last Name “CAR” to “CAS”

• I’m 3! Look What I Can Do by Maria Carluccio
  I’m surprised this wasn’t a board book. It’s very, very simple. Simple enough to be boring to my two-year-old (who listens with half an ear as if to say, “well, duh, I can do most of those things. What of it?”)
• *A Circle of Friends by Giora Carmi
  A little boy changes his neighborhood when he gives a roll to a homeless man sleeping on the bench below his apartment. A lovely wordless book.
• The Children Who Loved Books by Peter Carnavas
  A book against Marie Kondo-ing your book collection :-)



• Haunted Houses Handbook by Monica Carretero
  Nothing terribly objectionable, but really not my thing.
• How Roland Rolls by Jim Carrey, illustrated by Rob Nason
  Groan.
• Papa’s Backpack by James Christopher Carroll
  A child wishes he could go along “in papa’s backpack” when his father is deployed. I wanted to like this, but it just didn’t do it for me.



• Spiders Dance by Maureen Carroll, illustrated by Bobbie Powell
  A spider wants to dance – but has to learn his own way of dancing. The author made asides to the reader at the end of every page, which might have spoiled the story for me.
• *Under a Prairie Sky by Anne Laurel Carter, illustrated by Alan and Lea Daniel
  A boy dreams of becoming a Mountie – and pretends that he already is one.
• *Guess Who, Haiku by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Bob Shea
  A cute book of haiku about different animals – offering the reader an opportunity to guess which animal.

Written by Jan Carr

• *Dappled Apples and
  *Frozen Noses illustrated by Dorothy Donohue
  Poetic tributes to autumn and winter (respectively), filled with scenes from each season. Delightful – engaging enough for a four-year-old, a two-year-old, a one-year-old, and their mama.



• Toe Shoe Mouse illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell
  A mouse finds a home in a toe shoe – and a friend in the toe shoe’s owner Celeste.

Written by Carol Carrick

• Lost in the Storm illustrated by Donald Carrick
  Realistic fiction about a dog who got lost in a storm (and is found).



• Mothers are Like That illustrated by Paul Carrick
  Simple and sweet, about how mothers love their children.

Other Picture Books

• Papa’s Gift by Kathleen Long Bostrom, illustrated by Guy Porfirio
  A rather saccharine tale checked out from the church library. One reading was plenty enough.