We began with our picture book, Just Try One Bite by Adam Mansbach, illus. by Mike Boldt. We all mostly liked the premise of the role reversal between two parents and their young kids who tried to convince them to cut down on 'junk food' and eat more healthily. BUT -- we felt that this book missed the boat since it was quite 'one-note' with no real arc of a story and a basic lack of imagination. We felt that the attempt at rhyming text was awkward and often fell short. We also thought it was too long, sometimes too preachy, and some thought it was irritating and outlandish. We did like the illustrations with their realistic depictions of the 'bad' and 'good' foods, also shown, respectively, in the front and rear endpapers. We liked the premise of showing kids good eating habits and we felt that some kids might enjoy reading this, but we hoped that maybe another author/illustrator would present this idea in a better way at some time in the future.
For our 'novel', Mr. Putter & Tabby Stir the Soup by Cynthia Rylant, illus. by Arthur Howard we were unanimous in an outpouring of love! Some of the adjectives mentioned by more than one reader were: wonderful, welcoming, sweet, gentle, and tender. We thought this very short chapter book had everything a good book should have: 1) a great beginning; 2) emotion -- shown in the text and the fantastic illustrations; 3) repetition used to good advantage, 4) suspense & cliffhangers; 5) a good, believable story line, 6) humor; and 7) warm relationships between the characters. We thought it would be perfect for new 1st or 2nd grade readers, who could guess unknown words via context and/or illustrations, and would feel a great sense of accomplishment after finishing the 5 chapters. One reader called it, "...the kind of book I love"...'nuff said.
