The Adventures of Jack and Rugby: The Big Trip
By Tory Beal and Cynthia Messer
Park Place. $14.95 (Ages: 4 and up)
Jack is a medium-size Labrador Retriever and Rugby is a rather large, curly haired Poodle. Both dogs live in Santa Cruz County and are the best of friends.
In this adventure, illustrated with over fifty pages of actual color photos of the pair, the reader accompanies Jack and Rugby on a wonderful trip to the Sierras. Once they arrive and unpack their belongings (mostly stuffed toys and blankets), the two friends are off exploring.
Besides meeting a friendly little chipmunk, Jack and Rugby find a steam to swim play in. Jack, being a Labrador, loves the water, but Rugby isn’t a big fan of getting all wet.
During their stay in the high backcountry, the pair explore many trails, find a couple of small lakes to splash in and nearly get lost because they wander too far away from their cabin. All in all, though, they have a wonderful summer outing and come home well exercised with a cache of big pinecones they collected.
There are four books in this delightful series that have been a hit with both children and adults. You’ll find the book in local bookstores in Watsonville, Capitola and Santa Cruz.
Wee Rhymes: Baby’s First Poetry Book
By Jane Yolen; Illustrated by Jane Dyer
Simon & Schuster. $19.99 (Ages: 4-8)
Here’s a special collection of poems to celebrate baby’s first days and to share together at read aloud time. There are poems addressing everything from meals and bedtime to riding in a supermarket basket as mom shops.
“Let’s go to the supermarket. Ride down every aisle, wave at all the shoppers, make everybody smile.”
The seventy-five short verses are a combination of new material and classic rhymes. Jane Dyer’s wonderful illustrations show children at various ages engaging in the activities alluded to in each poem. They capture baby’s first steps, children playing with favorite toys, activities with mom and dad and even enjoying some milk out of a non-spill, sippity sup cup. Remember those plastic cups that enabled your child to drink by himself without spilling?
This is not only an excellent way to enjoy some simple poetry about everyday events but also to introduce your child or grandchild to the wonder of words. “Wee Rhymes” is one you and your child will treasure for years to come.
Boom! Big, Big Thunder & One Small Dog
By Mary Lyn Ray; Illustrated by Steven Salerno
Hyperion/Disney. $16.99 (Ages: 3 and up)
Rosie is a very brave little white dog. She isn’t afraid of tigers, orange cats, fire trucks, the vacuum cleaner or even taking a bath. But, thunder is an entirely different matter. Rossie does not like thunder.
When she heard a “Boom!” or “Crack!” poor Rosie tried to hide. No matter where she went, under a table or behind the sofa, it didn’t matter. The little dog was still frightened and could hear the racket.
But when her boy picked up Rosie and snuggled with her on his bed, Rosie felt a little better. And when the storm blew over, the brave little dog was once again ready to face the work with a happy bark. She wasn’t afraid of anything! Well, almost anything!
This is a fun picture book to share with a child who is a little afraid of stormy weather. The youngster will be able to easily relate to Rosie’s plight. Parents can also use this story to perhaps discuss the situation and why thunder and lightning storms are dangerous but not something one has to be overly fearful of.
The Gentle Lion and the Little Owlet
By Alice Shirley
Pavilion Books. $9.99 (Ages: 3-5)
The inspiration for this story came from a real situation that occurred at the Paignton Zoo in England when a similar event unfolded and surprised everyone at the animal park.
In this picture book, a young owlet attempts to leave the nest one day, not realizing that his home is actually in a tree in a lion enclosure. The bird isn’t quite ready for flight and ends up on the ground and up-close-and-personal with a large lion.
Rather than gobble up this feathery little snack, the lion just looks at the intruder. But then the story gets really odd. A relationship seems to develop between the two and that becomes the basis for this book.
As in the real situation, the zookeepers try to rescue the owlet but to no avail. In the story, the lion and owlet are amused by the unsuccessful ploys the humans use. And, unlike the true story, eventually the two friends escape from the zoo and embark on a wonderful adventure.
A touching animal story built on a shard of truth (no one knows what eventually happened to the real owl); this tale of an unlikely friendship with its marvelous illustrations will capture the imaginations of young readers. There’s a lesson to be learned here as well. Sometimes opposites do attract and unlikely relationships can work out rather well.
A Long Way Away: A Two-Way Story
By Frank Viva
Little Brown. $16.99 (Ages: 3 and up)
A most unusual book, you can read “A Long Way Away” from the back or front. It works either way! Frank Viva created this picture book on a single, continuous twenty-six foot long piece of art using Adobe illustrator. Then the lengthy masterpiece was divided into two page spreads that would accommodate this book format.
Start on one end of the book and you are underwater. As you flip the pages, you begin your ascent from the deep and see numerous sea creatures, human divers, a submarine, and even some submerged trash.
When you reach the surface, there’s a boat, seagulls, and even a seaside village. But your journey isn’t over yet. You continue skyward and pass a helicopter, jetliner, an orbiting satellite and even some planets.
There’s not much text here and what there is pretty much consists of single words and a few expressions. But you’ll get the idea that this is a rather fanciful, serendipitous journey of discovery and it’s what the reader makes of it that is perhaps most important.
Quite honestly, some youngsters will find no point to this book and think it is stupid. But there will be others who will love it and want to look at it over and over again. It may be a tricky call to figure out exactly whom “A Long Way Away” will appeal to.