Caroline Castle

A picture-book retelling of the classic fable attributed to Aesop, The Hare and the Tortoise expands upon the original considerably, giving each contender a personality, and adding a cast of secondary characters. When the active Hare, running-mad and a little prone to bragging, comes upon scholarly old Tortoise, out for a picnic, the antagonism between the two comes to a head, and a race is proposed. All the other forest animals get involved, from Badger, who sells tickets, to Mole, who show more marks out a rather uneven course. Hare is so convinced that he can't lose, that he takes a nap during the course of the race, and... well, we all know what comes next.

I enjoyed Caroline Castle's retelling of this fable, which she transforms into a genuine story, and appreciated Peter Weevers' beautiful full-page watercolor illustrations, as well as the black & white drawings interspersed throughout. His artwork reminded me of E.H. Shepard's illustrations in The Wind in the Willows - a pleasant association. This somewhat older picture-book (1985), is long out-of-print I believe, but is well worth the time of any Aesop enthusiast looking for quality adaptations. show less

Pint-sized Herbert Binns - small even by murine standards - may not have been very big, but he was one of the cleverest creatures in the entire town of Field Edge, a talented musician and gymnast, and an inventor extraordinaire. When his three jealous enemies - an old rabbit named McTabbity, a greedy rat named Zip, and a mean weasel named Measly - hear that he will be modeling his latest gadget (a flying tricycle!) they plot to sabotage his experiment, and humiliate him in front of the show more entire community. Will their theft of an important component of Herbert's trike ground the intrepid mouse? Or will be rise (one might say, "fly") to the occasion...?

First published in 1986, and long out-of-print, Herbert Binns and the Flying Tricycle is the kind of book I might never have stumbled across, had a friend not given it a glowing review (thanks, Chandra!). As it happens, I have enjoyed another of author Caroline Castle and illustrator Peter Weevers' picture-books - the Aesopic The Hare and the Tortoise - and thought I might enjoy this as well. The story itself is very engaging, and will please young readers who like animal adventure tales, while the watercolor artwork has the sort of old-fashioned appeal that reminds me of the work of illustrators like E.H. Shepard. All in all, a lovely title - one that deserves to be better known! show less

One random afternoon, a spaceship lands in Pete's backyard. Pete begins helping an alien name Zub repair his spacecraft when, before he knows it, he's in outer space! Zub and his mother invite him to stay for tea, but Pete is worried that he'll be late for tea with his own mom back on Earth.

This is a short and entertaining read that young kids will likely enjoy (although the concept of tea might need to shifted to afternoon snack in some places, such as the U.S.). Personally, I thought that show more the parallels between Pete's and Zub's lives were a nice touch and could be used as a launch pad to discuss how different cultures appear to be outwardly quite disparate but may have many shared commonalities. The book ends with a few ideas for furthering the concepts in this book, such as discussing different type of tea snacks, looking at the night sky for stars, or encouraging children to draw pictures of what they think creatures from outer space would look like.

The illustrations use bold, bright colors and fairly simple geometric shapes to make for an easily digestible book that isn't overcrowded with details. Not an instant classic, but this is a solid showing for younger audiences. show less

For Every Child: The United Nations Rights of the Child in Words and Pictures by Caroline Castle. Epiphany-OviedoELCA library section 9 A: Juvenile (Gr. K-5), Religion and Values. In 1989 the UN formally adopted 54 principles that make up the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, from the right to a name, a nationality and special protection for disabled children. In this wonderful book, 14 of those rights are listed and illustrated by 14 outstanding children’s book illustrators such show more as P. J. Lynch and Jerry Pinckney. Right #13, for example, says,”Allow us to tell you what we are thinking and feeling. Whether our voices are big or small, whether we whisper or shout it, or paint, draw, mime, or sign it – listen to us and hear what we say.” Right #31 is, “All children shall have time to play and time to rest when we are tired.”
As you read this book with your children, your understanding will be different than your child’s. With a small child, the text can be taken at face value, and you can tell your child for right #13, that you will always be ready to listen to them, their thoughts, feelings and needs. With older children you can read a right and then discuss how some children still lack that right. For example, the right to play and rest when they are tired is still not the right of every child – some work long hours for no money under conditions of servitude. Discuss with your child what you could do to extend these rights to kids in your neighborhood or at their school who are homeless, have no warm clothes for Florida cold snaps, or who have few books of their own. From such discussions can grow tremendous ideas that can be implemented. Kids come up with amazing ideas all the time and a listening adult can help them invent nifty ways to help others.
This book has a marvelous foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Read this important book with your children and enjoy the varied illustrations. show less