Review by New York Times Review
A FAMILIAR PLACE, a pungent smell, the distant chatter of children's voices: You never know what might arouse a childhood memory, a moment of pure sensation as you recall hours of playful abandon. Four new picture books featuring children absorbed in creative worlds of their own making are likely to evoke such memories in their grown-up readers. Children lucky enough to encounter these books will not only enjoy them, they may even be inspired to find a slow day, roam through their imaginations and make something - the simplest of pleasures. "This Is My Dollhouse" is the story of two girls and two dollhouses. One of them, our narrator, is at first alone with her dollhouse, which she built herself, out of a cardboard box, along with all the things inside. Her dollhouse family is diverse: a bear, three dolls and a mouse. Through her evocative text and illustrations, the author-illustrator Giselle Potter ("The Year I Didn't Go to School," "Tell Me What to Dream About") invites the reader, too, to partake in making fried eggs, noodles, bandages, an elevator and a rooftop pool. Soon the narrator visits her friend, Sophie, who has a dollhouse too, but one that is manufactured, plastic and perfect. This dollhouse family is staid and expressionless. The two girls' playtime becomes scripted and stiff, and while the storyteller attempts inventiveness, Sophie is resistant. The narrator goes home, sadly thinking Sophie would never like her homemade dollhouse. So when Sophie visits later, she hides it. But Sophie finds it under the blankets, leading to an afternoon of imaginative play. Now it's Sophie who is sad when it's time to leave. "This Is My Dollhouse" celebrates the best of free play, capturing what it's like to be fully engaged and inspired. While Potter might have made the line between the two friends' styles of play seem less absolute, the charming illustrations have their own voice. Her ink and watercolor paintings are familiar and friendly, making it easy to slip into her world. This is Potter's distinguishing strength. She has even cleverly included illustrated instructions for dollhouse making on the inside of the book's dust jacket. This final detail mimics the scene when Sophie finds the storyteller's hidden dollhouse, allowing the child reader his or her own secret discovery. Brianne Farley's "Secret Tree Fort" follows two sisters, an older, serious one and a younger, frolicking one. The older reads a book as her sister tries to entice her to play: "I have a secret tree fort and you're not invited!" We see a rope ladder dangled hopefully out of the secret fort. When the older sister still declines, the spirited little sister embellishes the offer, with the text and illustrations building to show the fort with a water balloon launcher, a second floor with a trapdoor in the roof for stargazing and a basket for snacks and other emergencies. Soon there are monsters below, flags to fly, a lookout perch, a pirate ship, an underground tunnel, whales and a refrain: "Don't you wish you were invited?" At last, distracted from her book, the older sister looks up and says, in a grownup voice, "That doesn't exist." The little sister replies, "Fine! I made it up." As she sheds a tear, her older sister softens. "Maybe we just need to build it," she says. A collaboration begins as they draw plans for a tree fort together. Farley's illustrations consist of elements that vary stylistically: The sisters are painted in spare poses, the landscapes are fluid and the younger sister's imaginary world is rendered in childlike outlines of red, expanding in color and depth as the fantasy tree fort becomes more elaborate with each new description. Creating a world of one's own as a child is the beginning of our stories, Farley shows - and is sometimes made more vivid when shared with a sibling or friend. In "A Dark, Dark Cave" Eric Hoffman builds his story with a rhythmic, unbroken cadence: "The pale moon glows/as a cold wind blows /through a dark, dark cave." Bats and other scary features of the repeated "dark, dark cave" appear as the story builds to a "Roooaaaar!" It's only then that the reader discovers two children on an adventure inside a cave constructed of blankets. Dad appears, saying: "That's too loud, kids. Find a quiet game. The baby's sleeping." There is a moment of thoughtful consideration before the two children continue their play: "Two horses run/in the bright, bright sun/to a blanket barn,/wearing manes of yarn,/playing happily/in what used to be / a dark, dark cave." Corey R. Tabor's offbeat, expressive illustrations work wonderfully to support Hoffman's text. Tabor's palette begins with a deep, dark tonality as each child illuminates the way with a flashlight. When Dad opens the "dark, dark cave," the colors change. When the children become horses playing in the "bright, bright sun," the pages are suddenly filled with light and air. The book's second surprise is created through colors, as the reader finds the children are still inside the house - but in a sunny new world they've invented. The loosely rendered endpapers, featuring overlapping patterns of fabric in blue and white, suggest a trove of blankets that will tempt any child to build a cave of his or her very own. Jane Yolen's "What to Do With a Box," illustrated by Chris Sheban, is a book made of soft words and soothing visuals. Yolen and Sheban work in tandem: Rather than giving directions, Yolen's minimal text and Sheban's dreamlike illustrations only suggest how the book might be read, and where things might go from there. They give the reader inspiration without instruction, allowing for the endless possibilities of creating with a cardboard box. Sheban's use of cardboard as the surface for his paintings nods to the simplicity of the idea. His filmy illustrations in paint, watercolor and pencil show just how easily a box can transform into a library, palace, nook, car or boat - journeys to take, places to go. The final pages urge a child to begin the hunt for an empty box to work with: "A box! A box is a wonder indeed. The only such magic that you'll ever need." Books like these are wonders, too. LIZI BOYD is an author and illustrator of picture books including "Flashlight" and "Big Bear Little Chair." Her new book, "I Wrote You a Note," will be published next year.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 19, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
An older sibling answers (eventually) the clarion call of her younger sister who wants a playmate. When the two girls are chased outdoors by their mother, one plans to continue with her book. But her sister, in the style of a big-fish story, brags about a secret tree fort, complete with water-balloon launcher, crow's nest, and a hidden tunnel. Big sister isn't buying it, but resolution comes when she exchanges the fantasy of her book for helping her sister realize the fantasy of her imagination. It's a sweet solution that highlights the kindness and indulgence of older siblings as well as the pull of make-believe. The pencil-and-ink illustrations start small, focused on the two girls, until the younger sister's imagination cranks into gear. As she reveals more about her fort, the illustrations show the two worlds overlapping. All caps and large type are used to reinforce the younger sister's enthusiasm, while the older sister's body language and quiet mannerisms hint at understated sororal loyalty.--Dean, Kara Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Two sisters are sent outside to play, and the younger girl tries desperately to tempt her older sibling away from the book she's reading by dropping alluring details about her "secret tree fort" in a "super-secret tree" nearby. Working in mixed media, Farley (Ike's Incredible Ink) lavishes attention on two things: the siblings' ultra-emotive faces-the older girl mostly exists in a place of quiet irritation, while the younger sister shifts from sly scheming to glee to growing frustration-and the joyful imaginings of a pretend fort that has everything. (Amenities include a rope ladder, a water-balloon launcher-a pirate and two dopey-looking monsters are forever attacking the fort-a crow's nest, and an underground viewing area where the girl can play board games with whales.) Farley knows that, for many kids, the imagining can be as good as the having, and while the older girl eventually takes pity on her sister, the story reveals a keen emotional understanding of the frustration of being unable to bend a loved but dissimilar sibling to one's will. Ages 4-8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-One beautiful day two sisters are sent outside to play. The elder promptly settles down under a tree to read her book. The younger girl wants to play, but her big sister ignores her. After much pestering but with no success, the younger sister attempts reverse psychology, detailing an incredible tree fort that her sister is not invited to play in. Her descriptions become more and more fantastical, with monsters, pirates, whales, and mermaids populating the pages, as she tries to entice her older sibling to play. The conclusion is a fun and greatly satisfying surprise. The text, written from the younger sister's perspective, is clear and appropriately simple, the large font and spacing between sentences making it approachable for beginning readers. The art is whimsical, in a naive style, with charcoal, pencil, and ink drawings colored digitally on a brilliant white background. VERDICT This is a familiar and fun story, and a good resource for children with siblings.-Gretchen Crowley, Alexandria City Public Libraries, VA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Exiled from home by their mother (Its a beautiful day! Go play outside!), two sisters find themselves firmly at odds: the older wants to be left alone with her book while the younger desperately wants to play. Rebuffed (with just a withering glance), the younger sister unleashes a torrent of increasingly implausible claims regarding her SECRET TREE FORT, to which her older sister is pointedly not invited. Meanwhile, and seemingly at the younger sisters creative command, the muted, green-gray outdoor setting transforms into a thrilling imaginary world of polychrome monsters and board-game-playing whales -- complete with candy-encrusted tree fort. The older sister responds phlegmatically (That doesnt exist), setting the stage for a spread showing a full-fledged sibling shouting match (YES IT DOES NO IT DOESNT). Outmatched and despondent, the younger sister owns up to her fort fib with a tear in her eye, only to be consoled by her newly supportive sister: Maybe we just need to build it! Characters, along with the fantastical figments of the younger sisters imagination, are appealingly rendered in mixed-media illustrations that give a nod to child-made drawings. Similarly, Farleys quirky text embellishments (Inside the fort, theres a marshmallow and chocolate storage compartment) feel genuine and demonstrate a sensitivity for what children value. This tale of believable sibling rivalry gets a boost from its portrayal of unfettered creativity and an appreciation for the unbelievable. patrick gall (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A little sister's entreaties to come play go unheard by her bookworm big sister, so she conjures a tree fort sure to get her attention. Neon yellow and orange, the fort glows with awesomeness. Amenities include a retractable rope ladder, a water-balloon launcher, a skylight, signal flags, a handy pulley system, a crow's nest for stakeouts, and storage for marshmallows and chocolate. These killer trappings appear atop the girls' muted woodsy reality, along with vibrant monsters and pirates and mermaids and whales (in brilliant pinks, oranges, yellows, and purples). Lingering on their fur, spots, faces, motives, and movements, readers follow the little sister's imaginary wanderings. Her everyday voice (an offhanded use of the word "cool" and her bluster reverberate as real) makes her sibling exasperation simmer with authenticity. "FINE! I can play by myself. It will be great. It will be even better than if we played together. I know just where to go. I HAVE A SECRET TREE FORT, AND YOU'RE NOT INVITED!" Little sister's squinted eyes, her hands on haughty hips, and smug, serene smile seethe. Big sister just raises an eyebrow. (Both girls are white.) Like a beloved box rattling with tiny, precious, ferreted things, this delightful picture book holds small, wonderfully specific insights into childhood imaginings, feelings, and frustrations. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
