John Himmelman

The first thing I thought of when I saw these was the old Commander Toad easy readers of my childhood. They're not really similar, but frogs as scientists and explorers - it makes a connection.
Professor Albert Hopper, a science hero, is ready to explore the world with the help of his niece and nephew, junior science heroes Polly and Tad. Their first adventure is to travel to the center of the earth in a giant, mechanical worm named Wiggles. Unfortunately, Tad presses the ACH, or show more anything-can-happen button and soon they're being attacked by cave frogs, catapulted up through a volcano, chased by dinosaur fossils, and more!

Decorated by simple green and black sketches, this beginning chapter book is full of wild adventures as well as earth science facts (provided by Polly) and plenty of silly banter (provided by Professor Hopper).

As they're worming their way through magma tubes, "Fear not," said Albert Hopper. "The advanced technology of this ship will soon counter the heat. Junior Science Hero Polly?" "Yep?" "Engage the... AIR CONDITIONER!"

When they're catapulted out of a volcano, "The magma is pulling us back down," said Tad. "Lava," said Polly. "It's called lava when it's outside of the volcano." "That was very useful information Polly," said Tad. "It solved all of our problems."

Verdict: A fun choice for fans of the author's Bunjitsu Bunny series as well as those who enjoy humorous science books. The only drawback is that the two volumes currently available are only in hardback. I look forward to introducing this one to my book club readers!

ISBN: 9781250230164; Published August 2020 by Henry Holt; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library show less

When Amanda the Witch is given some seeds by Greenmoss the troll, the vegetables she ends up growing cause chaos for her and her animals friends in this amusing picture book from author/illustrator John Himmelman. The gigantic vegetables eventually make all of the animals enormous, and Amanda has her hands full trying to get them back to their normal size before something awful—being sprayed by a huge skunk, having her house destroyed by a rapidly growing bear—happens...

After being show more mostly indifferent to Himmelman's first book about this character, Amanda and the Witch Switch—I didn't dislike it, but didn't love it either—I wasn't sure how I would react to Amanda and the Magic Garden. Happily. I can report that I found it quite amusing, appreciating the deadpan humor in the story, and the way it was captured and accentuated in the colorful artwork. The scene in which the bear insists on eating the turnip, and then, finding himself growing, admits "I guess I shouldn't have eaten it," was particularly droll. All in all, this is one I would recommend to picture book readers who enjoy humorous stories about witches and magic. It is not necessary to have read the first book, to fully appreciate this one. show less

Grumpy old Mr. Raisin, who liked to sew, but didn't like anything else, finds a basket containing a floating dog on his doorstep one day. Reluctantly taking the pooch in, since otherwise he'd float away, Mr. Raisin slowly grows to care for his new canine companion. But when his leash breaks one day, and Floaty floats away, is it the end of this new friendship...? Not if Mr. Raisin has anything to do with it!

By turns amusing and poignant, author/artist John Himmelman's Floaty is a show more picture-book examination of the themes of loneliness, finding friendship, and learning just how worthwhile our animal companions are - how worth the 'trouble' they involve us in. The narrative is humorous - I got a chuckle out of Mr. Raisin's continual exclamations of "Blah!" - and the artwork colorful and entertaining. The sense of humor here reminded me a bit of Jon Agee's picture-books, which is high praise. Recommended to anyone looking for quirky, amusing picture-books, or children's stories about people and their dog friends. show less

Each chapter of this delightful little book is a sort of parable wherein Bunjitsu Bunny (AKA Isabel) learns a lesson or someone learns a lesson from her. The messages here are very zen, but not entirely pacifist in nature. Bunjitsu students must never start fights, and they must do all they can to avoid fights, but when Isabel faces a bunch of bullying pirates she kicks their butts. Fun two-tone illustrations, a big font size, and wide margins make this a perfect choice for burgeoning show more chapter book readers, particularly those who study martial arts. The only way this could've been improved for me was if the stories came together in the end, but each chapter stands alone. show less