Amy Schwartz (1954–2023)

This weekend I was reading out loud for a kids' event, so I read a heap of kids' books. The last one I read was [1418913::How to Catch an Elephant] by [[Amy Schwartz]], which I saved for the 2-4year olds: it was such a rollicking good read, I wished I'd read it to the older groups, too. There's lots of action and entertainment, especially for such a short book. Recommend it (but not at bedtime - too exciting!); great fun.

The storyline is instructions by a little girl, with advice from her / show more your uncle Jack, on catching elephants, primarily using raisins and cake. The only thing is, I realised long afterwards, I'm not sure how you're supposed to use said raisins and cakes to actually capture your pachyderm - but who cares; it gets captured, and we all had loads of fun along the way! show less

On her first day of kindergarten, Annabelle Swift finds out that her older sister has mis-prepared her except in one area--counting. It's a sweet and funny book that both children and parents will appreciate. When Annabelle's sister uses the names on her mother's make-up containers to touch colors, I was in stitches. It's even funnier when Annabelle tells her teacher the names of the colors!

In this book, a little girl adopts an old dog. Her grandmother initially hates the dog, but slowly warms up to him and eventually helps her granddaughter win a blue ribbon with the dog.
I was drawn to this book because of the illustrations. They are beautifully vibrant and full of great patterns. However, I felt the story was a little flat. There was a clear arc with not much drama. I wish there was more substance to this story to go with the lush illustrations.

Truth in advertising: As the title implies, this book is a list of 100 things designed to bring happiness from toys to ice cream to pets to time spend with loved ones. There is no story, just the named object or event along with a colorful illustration. The illustrations showcase a diverse set of people, which is a nice bonus. This book could be good for when your child has had a rough day or is feeling gloomy; it will serve as a reminder of all the good things there are in life. A creative show more thinking question from a parent or a classroom writing prompt could be for the reader(s) to come up with their own list of favorite things that make them happy (with illustrations if they are artistically inclined). show less