Paul Meisel

Paul Meisel's first Nature Diary, about praying mantises, My Awesome Summer was hilarious and informative. Well, I thought it was hilarious anyways. Who hasn't dreamed about eating a sibling or two when hunger pangs strike?

A new title joins the series featuring bluebirds. The end pages, front and back, contain in-depth information about the Eastern bluebird, their habits, behavior, status, and a glossary of terms. There are also some simple resources.

The story itself works equally well as a show more read-aloud and an easy reader, unsurprisingly since Meisel is a Geisel Honor winner and has written a number of excellent easy readers. The story begins with E. Bluebird, naked, blind, with just a few tufts of feathers, stretching her body up for food. Day after day, she eats bugs and grows feathers with her three fellow chicks. Mom takes out their poop sack, keeps feeding them, and warms them with her body until they get feathers. Eventually, her fellow chicks fledge and she herself finally make the leap.

Still an immature bird, she follows her family south, eating bugs along the way. Arriving in the south, there are cats and other dangers, but also plenty of bugs. In March they return home. Now an adult, she finds a mate, a house, and lays her own eggs.

Meisel's paintings are lovely, showing a wealth of insect life, birds, and greenery in the bluebirds' habitats. The most outstanding thing to me, however, is that in both nature diaries he has focused on the female's life cycle. Stop and think about how many books about animals focus on the flashier of the pair - usually the male - or a sentimental version of the "mother love" type of story, or feel like they read from the male perspective. I enjoyed not having to consciously remember to change genders to add a little diversity to the read-alouds.

Verdict: Informative and humorous, this is an excellent addition to storytime read-alouds and nonfiction picture books. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780823438372; Published March 2019 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library show less

Review of BOOM! Paul Meisel, Author, and Illustrator. A hardcover picture book published by Holiday House (June 6, 2023.)
You had me at. . . . . (long, meaningful pause) THE COVER! A bubbling cumulonimbus cloud, a lightning bolt, an explosive BOOM!, a terrified pooch suspended in midair, and one, very superior, very smug, know-it-all cat, create a cover that stokes the curiosity and fires the imagination. In this case, judge the book by the cover. BOOM! created and illustrated by Paul show more Meisel, recipient of two Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Awards, is a comic book-styled picture book or a little brother to the graphic novel. BOOM!, published by Holiday House, is one of the latest book releases in a planned twenty-book special collection, "I Like to Read Comics." Each book is a stand-alone comic.
The day started with puffs of little white clouds wandering around the blue sunny sky. In a house somewhere a cat naps and a dog dozes. One cloud continues to grow into a big, ugly, nasty, black storm cloud – it stretches, and groans, "Rumble, Rumble."
The dog is immediately alert and nervous, "What is that?"
"The cat opens one eye and mutters, "nothing.' With simple, but effective dialogue, two panels, and a splash page, Paul Meisel sets the stage for his comical story of a nervous, neurotic dog and an indifferent, egocentric cat experiencing a thunderstorm.
The dog and cat amble back to look out of the glass door as the cloud produces a loud BOOM! The pooch panics and crawls under the table, "I am safe now."
The cat, rolling around on his back, ignores him and the noise; he comments nonchalantly, “My mouse toy is fun.”
Silence - the dog crawls out by the glass door and he snoozes again. The cat toys with his mouse. "Rumble Rumble," storm clouds are everywhere. The dog hides under a chair, and the cat discovers a ball of yarn for his amusement.
A huge "Rumble Rumble," comes from outside. Day has turned into night - a giant bolt of lightning splits the sky as cat and dog watch. "BOOM, BOOM!"A double-page spread chronicles the climax of the storm.
Poor dog loses it; "RUN!"
Smarmy cat says, "It's only lightning and thunder. Silly dog."
The dog, scared witless, shouts, "HIDE! HIDE!" The dog jumps under a couch cushion, and the cat persists in annoying him. The cat climbs on the cushion with his toys. BOOM! The dog jumps, throwing the insufferable cat high into the air.
Terrified beyond all reason and thought, the dog scurries and shouts until the poor pooch finds refuge in the back of a dark closet. Hiding under the hanging clothes, the dog finally feels safe and sleeps. The dog slumbers on.
As the dog snoozes, he travels to the magical sleep land where the impossible becomes possible – he is transformed into Superdog, the coolest super hero dog since Underdog spoke in rhyming couplets, "There's no need to fear— Underdog is here!"
Superdog flies at the speed of less than sound through the driving rain. Stronger than the mighty Thor, he catches 5 lightning bolts in a single hand. The BOOM! dissipates into the Boom! In a single breath, he blows the black storm cloud into another comic .
The condescending cat finds the dog in the closet and informs him the storm is over. The dog bounds to the glass door and looks outside as he marvels, "I made that storm go away."
The silly cat rolls on the floor with his mouse. What a dog –what a SUPERDOG!
Five superstars for the Superdog! Boom! is a marvelous book with a simple repetitive text for beginning readers (pre-school through First Grade,) and strikingly rendered illustrations that will fire up their imaginations. The quality of Paul Meisel’s art will provide plenty of entertainment for older readers as well. This book is recommended for home libraries, school classrooms, school and public libraries. Comics have universal appeal and. . . comics are cool! show less

A bunch of dogs go to fetch a ball but it gets away from them and into increasingly more ridiculous situations (e.g., in a whale's mouth), which require the dogs to get ever more resourceful (e.g., motoring a boat).

This book was adorable and hilarious. I was so not expecting much from it because I've found most of the "I Like to Read" series to be so incredibly boring. This one manages to still contain simple vocabulary and only a sentence per page spread, but the illustrations help make it show more an actual story and not just a list of items. My 9-year-old niece and I both laughed out loud over the antics of the various animals. show less

Darkly funny introduction to the short life of a praying mantis. Told in a kind of diary format, P. Mantis quips, "Praying? Yeah, I'm praying. Praying something tasty comes along that thinks I'm a stick."