Tom Booth (1)

A young girl initiates a staring contest with the reader/listener in this meta-fictional picture-book, involving an ever-growing coterie of animal companions in the contest as the narrative progresses. Every creature seems to want in on the contest, and the girl instructs each not to blink - but can they keep their eyes open? Who will win the contest, in the end?

I got a kick out of Don't Blink!, which reminded me of staring contests I would get into with my sisters as a girl. The narrative show more breaks the fourth wall, as the girl directly addresses the reader, in issuing her challenge, and this provides a measure of interactive fun, as many young children will no doubt try to follow the command issued in the title. I found the premise here amusing, and I also enjoyed Tom Booth's artwork, which reminded me a bit of the illustrations of Jon Klassen. Perhaps the color palette? Whatever the case may be, the visuals here were quite appealing show less

A little chipmunk wonders what Christmas really is in this sweet new holiday picture-book from author/illustrator Tom Booth. He asks his mother, as they travel around the forest, whether this and that thing - the presents carried by ladybugs, the carols sung by geese - are Christmas. Yes, she tells him, these are each part of it. But what is it, in total? The next morning, awakening to a snowy world and joining a diverse group of animals singing, he finds out...

Although I would imagine that show more more religious readers might contest the claim that this - the sense of communal good cheer and fellowship displayed by the animals in their singing - is what Christmas is, for other more secular readers, there is sure to be some appeal to Booth's This Is Christmas. The idea that gifts, carols, and decorations are part of the holiday, but not the holiday itself, is a welcome one. The artwork is cute, although a little too smoothly digital for my taste, and chipmunk makes for an appealing little animal hero. Recommended to more secular holiday celebrants looking for sweet animal-centered Christmas stories. show less

Gideon and his family, who first appeared in Derek Jeter Presents: Night at the Stadium, a picture-book inspired by the baseball player Derek Jeter, written by Phil Bildner and illustrated by Tom Booth, returns in this second adventure, both written and illustrated by Tom Booth. Although he had always enjoyed making sandcastles with his younger sister Audrey, this year Gideon plans to make something one all by himself. But is playing at the beach as fun, if you are alone...?

I was somewhat show more unimpressed with the first book about this family and their adventures, so I wasn't expecting too much, going into Day at the Beach. To my surprise, I enjoyed it more than its predecessor, and thought it paired a sweet family story about learning to share the attention (and glory) with one's siblings, with cute artwork. Somehow, this one just worked for me, where the first one didn't. Recommended to anyone who (unlike me) enjoyed the first picture-book about Gideon, as well as to those searching for children's stories about sibling rivalry, and learning to play together. show less

Author/illustrator Tom Booth, whose Don't Blink! broke the fourth wall in amusing ways, returns to the same cast of characters - a young girl and her animal friends - in this follow-up work of picture-book metafiction. As girl and animals wonder who it was that gave away the secret of the book's existence to the reader, an elephant named Harvey approaches. It soon becomes clear who the guilty party is...

Like its predecessor, Don't Tell! is an entertaining book, one that, with its show more back-and-froth dialogue text, and its appealing artwork, would make an excellent read-aloud selection at story-time. I particularly appreciated the way that Booth handled the issue of secrets - that sometimes you keep them and sometimes you don't - and that he included a brief note at the beginning about the importance of not keeping secrets, if they are harmful. Recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed Don't Blink!, as well as to those seeking more meta-fictional picture-book fare. show less