This classic has been on my bookshelves for as long as I can remember, and is not only a wonderful children's story but a celebration of one aspect of the wild beauty of my home state of Maine. While Blueberries for Sal never comes out and gives a location (aside from "Blueberry Hill"), it's not difficult to imagine that this story is based in Maine (like several of McCloskey's others), given that Maine is pretty much the world capital for wild blueberries (one of the few fruit crops that's native to North America).

When I came back to this book as an adult, I could remember the gist of the narrative -- how Sal and a baby bear get mixed up, with each following the other's mother (as both mothers are quite focused on their task of finding blueberries for the winter). But what I find most endearing about this book is the way McCloskey's illustrations so perfectly capture the mannerisms of a toddler. Sal is capable of great focus on picking, but also an inability to keep more than three blueberries in her pail without eating them. Whether it's the facial expressions or the overall strap that's perpetually falling off her shoulder, Sal is the epitome of a cute and curious toddler who is satisfied by simple things.

I used this book with my son in pre-k for "B week." After reading it, we ate blueberries and "brown bears" (chocolate teddy grahams) for snack. 

Scrounged From: A gift for our child

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Robert McCloskey
Pages: 56
Content Advisory: None

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One of my favorite picture books we've read in recent years has to be The Sky Painter. This is the poetically told story of Louis Fuertes, artist and ornithologist, considered to be the successor to John James Audubon.

What this book does so well -- in addition to giving us beautiful, colorful illustrations and educating us about an important but under-appreciated historical figure -- is that it captures Fuertes' sense of awe and wonder at birds -- his respect and curiosity that compelled him in his desire to accurately represent their forms and colors.

Not only did Fuertes desire to learn about and paint birds, but he eventually learned to paint quickly while birds were flying or feeding, in order to keep the "life" in his bird sketches, rather than simply shooting them and posing the dead birds for a portrait as was the custom at that time. 

This story, written from a first-person point of view, briefly follows Fuertes' early life and education, as well as his numerous expeditions to distant parts of the world to paint all kinds of different birds. This inspiring combination of art and science helps awaken the reader to beauty while also encouraging curiosity.

The book closes with the information that Furtes' bird paintings were printed on cards that people enjoyed collecting, succinctly expressing Fuertes' legacy in:

"All over the world, millions of people
have learned to enjoy, protect,
and celebrate
the wild beauty
of wings!"

The final page gives a brief biography of Fuertes, and includes two of his actual paintings.

Format: Hardcover
Author: Margarita Engle
Illustrator: Aliona Bereghici
Pages: 40
Content Advisory: None

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Book Scrounger's note: The following is a guest review by Doug, a.k.a Professor Puzzler:

I just wrote a book review for Little Beaver and the Echo; this is another book that I absolutely love the pairing of text (by Sherri Duskey Rinker) and illustrations (by Tom Lichtenheld). As a matter of fact, in Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, I would say that I like the illustrations more than the text. Don't get me wrong, I do like the text -- although there are some rhythmic stumbles in the poetry that caught me off-guard the first couple times I read it. But when I'm reading this book to my kids, I'm barely paying attention to the words I'm reading, because I'm looking at all those delightful illustrations.

The use of color is great, and in particular, the illustrator used different tinted papers for the various "times of day" illustrations, which resulted in all the daytime pictures, all the sunset pictures, and all the nighttime pictures each having the appropriate color warmth to them, because each shared a base color.

The story (which isn't really a story; there's no real plot to the book) focuses on the activities of five construction vehicles: a crane truck, a cement mixer, a dump truck, a bulldozer, and an excavator. Each machine (you can see the excavator in the picture here) has its own unique personality and facial features. Each vehicle has a section of the book, ending with the vehicle snuggling up for a good night's sleep after a long day's work. After each section, the book ends with a couple pages of wishing the team a good night.

If you have young children who are fascinated with construction vehicles, you should not be without this book!

Scrounged From: Amazon, for our four-year-old

Format: Hardcover
Author: Sherri Duskey Rinker
Illustrator: Tom Lichtenheld
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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Book Scrounger's note: The following is a guest review by Doug, a.k.a. Professor Puzzler.

Little Beaver and the Echo is a wonderful picture book that tells the story of a lonely little beaver who -- while crying about how lonely he is -- hears a voice from across the pond crying about the same thing. Surprised, he sets off in his canoe to see if he can find that lonely little animal on the other side of the pond.

Along the way he makes new friends, and learns that the creature on the other side of the pond has also made new friends. It's a wonderful story about the simplicity with which friendships can be discovered, formed, and cultivated.

My children enjoy the story, and I love the combination of text and beautiful artwork.

This fall I took my 4-year-old son to a "kinderkonzert" -- a concert for children. We chose to go specifically because the concert was going to involve the telling of the story of Little Beaver and the Echo. What I didn't know was that the author, Amy MacDonald, was going to be present, and would be narrating the story herself. That was a wonderful surprise.

After the concert, my son and I spoke with her for a few minutes, and told her how much we enjoyed her book. I said, "And it's not just the story -- you had a wonderful illustrator to work with for this book!" 

Her response: "Yes, I consider myself quite blessed in the choice of illustrators."

Blessed indeed. The combination of text and illustrations is delightful. I just found out, while writing this review, that there is a sequel to this book: Little Beaver and the Big Front Tooth, with the same illustrator!

Scrounged From: A gift to our two-year-old

Format: Paperback
Author: Amy MacDonald
Illustrator: Sarah Fox-Davies
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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The Goodnight Train is a charming bedtime book that we have been reading to our 13-month-old son quite often since he got it for his first birthday. 

It tells the simple story of a train setting off from its station with some children in tow, who appear ready for bed, but not quite ready to sleep yet. It starts off slowly creeping up a hill like a roller coaster, and then whooshes right down, past several interesting sights, before eventually slowing down again and bringing the children safely back to the station, snug in their beds, and ready to sleep.

The story is written in rhyme, which is particularly fitting for a book about a train, because it sets a very believable rhythm, especially when accompanied by the various "train sounds" that the reader is encouraged to make. I always find myself reading the fast parts quickly and with a lot of rhythm, and then slowing down and stretching things out as it gets toward the end, which I think is due to some well-crafted poetry and attention to detail.

Speaking of details, the illustrations are quite charming as well. It seems that each time I read it, I notice some new little part of the picture that I hadn't seen before -- be it the mermaid applying her night cream in the river under the bridge, or the porter sitting on the last car holding a sign that says "on break," or the squirrel in his tree opening up the fridge to find a midnight snack. 

These humorous bits add different layers to the story, and make it about more than just a train. Though the train and children are well illustrated too, and will certainly help the reader to experience the fun of being a child whose bed has become a train car on a wild pre-bed ride. 

Scrounged From: Amazon.com

Format: Board book
Author: June Sobel
Illustrator: Laura Huliska-Beith
Pages: 28
Content Advisory: None

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