Barbara M Joosse

Although they're not always the most popular of titles, or the best in storytimes, I love Barbara Joosse's collaborations with Jan Jutte.

In this story, Old Robert leads a very ordered, repetitive life. Every night he counts his things and looks at the moon. Until the evening that he sees a dancing cat and, breaking the habits of a lifetime, invites her a board. More theatrical cats follow until he's finally joined by a cat who has no special skills but needs Old Robert.

Joosse's magical text show more has a poetic rhythm, dotted with surprising rhymes and unusual rhythms. It begs to be read aloud, preferably to a sleepy child tucked into bed. The story has a sleepy refrain that grows with the introduction of each cat:

"As he drifted off to sleep,
he counted the regular things
in their regular place:
Clean socks
a clock
my ship in the slip at the dock.
One dish
one spoon
a wedge of the silver moon...
and a cat
in a wee little hammock."

Nursery rhymes are woven both into the text and the pictures. Jutte's style has loose curves and shaky lines but with strong outlines and color they create a beautifully unified picture of Robert, his cats, and their growing friendship. There's a gentle humor in the art, shown in the cats' antics and Robert's rather bewildered reactions to these animals that are disturbing his normal routines.

Verdict: Not all kids will appreciate Joosse's wonderful language and Jutte's unique art (I've tried some of their books in storytime with meh results) but I love these myself. There's always that one special child who will enjoy something a little different and I'll purchase this one for that child.

ISBN: 9780399254307; Published 2012 by Philomel; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library. show less

Each night, Old Robert counts "his regular things in their regular place"

"Clean socks
a clock
my ship in the slip at the dock.
One dish
one spoon
a slice of the silver moon.”

Things are always the same until the night a cat asks to come in. There was no room for a cat on Old Robert's boat,

"And yet ...
and yet ...
Old Robert said yes ...
... and the cat came in."

This is a delightfully, quirky story about Old Robert, his boat, and how one small decision can change a life (or two, or three, or ...). show more Illustrations by the Netherlands' Jan Jutte, give Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats a salty and silly air reminiscent of old comics (think Popeye or original Tin Tin) touched with whimsy. Comforting, repetitive refrains make this a great read aloud.

There is just something irresistible about Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats.

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A young girl narrates this story of love, loss and solace, describing her close bond with her grandmother, who was her companion and best friend as well. When her grandmother dies, the girl is lost in grief, until the Day of the Dead comes, and helps her to celebrate this beloved relative...

The story in Barbara M. Joose's Ghost Wings - a young girl loses a loved one, with whom she enjoyed watching the monarch butterflies that would gather near their home in Mexico - reminded me very strongly show more of Judy Goldman's Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead. Both stories incorporate the folk belief that the monarchs bring the souls of loved ones back home to Mexico, when they return on their annual migration, and both involve Day of the Dead celebrations. I found Joose's narrative poignant (although perhaps not as strongly as Goldman's), and I found Giselle Potter's accompanying artwork, done in ink, watercolor and colored pencil, quite appealing. Her figures are quite stylized, in interesting ways, and I liked her use of color and form. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories about loss, healing, and the Day of the Dead. show less

Five-year-old Ross longs to do many things his parents won't allow him to, from crossing the street by himself to getting a kitten of his own. Perpetually told that perhaps when he is six he will be allowed these things, he tries to act like a mature six-year-old would. One of the banner-carriers in his small town's Fourth of July parade, he determinedly carries on, even when he gets very tired and hot, and he eventually has his reward, in the form of six sparklers - something his mother show more initially told him he was too young to have...

Published in 1985 and long out-of-print, Fourth of July is a gently engaging picture-book about a common childhood experience - wanting to be older, and to do more mature things. Barbara Joosse, best known as the author of the immensely popular Mama, Do You Love Me?, set the story in her own hometown of Grafton, Wisconsin. The artwork from Emily Arnold McCully, who went on to win the Caldecott Medal for her Mirette on the High Wire, uses a color palette - black and white drawings, with various shades of red and blue coloring - that is fitting for the occasion. I don't know that this made a particularly strong impression upon me, but I did think it was sweet, and appreciated the child's-eye view, captured through Ross's first-person narration. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for titles for the Fourth of July, or featuring the childhood wish to be older. show less