February Books of the Month

We’re going with three Books of the Month for February!

TADPOLES, by Matt James, is a gorgeous ramble of a picture book, wherein one boy touches on, among other things, two-headed frogs, ponds, clouds, rain, “neat old junk” that includes a rusty bike and a piano, swear words, love, and… tadpoles. James’s art is so stunning, I’m always willing to see where he takes me, and the unexpectedness of this particular journey is gently and surprisingly affecting. The boy’s dad has moved out of their home, but that’s not the focus—the focus is on the magic of the world and the time they spend together. Plus, there’s some non-fiction that includes frog spawn, froglets, and ephemeral ponds to enrich the whole thing.

In DIM SUM PALACE, by X. Fang, Liddy is too excited to fall asleep because tomorrow she and her family will go to Dim Sum Palace. When a delicious smell wafts into her bedroom, she follows it to an actual dim sum palace. There, she finds “baos, buns and bowls of congee! Dumplings, shumai and lots of sweet treats!” Liddy falls into a bowl of dumpling filling, and after some folding and pinching, Liddy meets—and avoids being eaten by—an empress, stays for delicious dim sum, then falls asleep “on a warm bun.” When she wakes, Liddy is hungry again and ready to go to the real Dim Sum Palace. Using graphite on paper and digital color, X. Fang’s blocky, stylized art is full of personality, as is Liddy herself. Shades of Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen, help DIM SUM PALACE to serve up a veritable feast for a reader’s imagination.

In GRAVITY IS BRINGING ME DOWN, by Wendell Van Draanen illustrated by Cornelia Li, all of Leda’s fumbling and stumbling, slipping and tripping, splattering, slopping, and tipping, are due to the fact that “gravity [is] in a bad mood. Again.” Alas, Zero-G isn’t an option. Ms. Jameer teaches Leda’s class some fun facts about gravity, then Mom takes Leda to a science discovery center. It’s only then that, finally, “Leda and gravity [seem] to have declared a truce.” Leda is able to hop and skip, dance, whirl, and leap, until gravity manages to “bring her down” safely into her bed. Van Draanen’s got a terrific premise here, and she manages to work the science into the plot smoothly enough to not feel forced. Cornelia Li’s analog and digital art is active, buoyant, and perfectly suited. It’s fun!

--Lynn