Charlotte Riley-Webb

Ages 4-8.

In Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day, a little girl plays games with her friends on a hot summer afternoon. As she makes her way home, she greets her diverse neighbors along the way. Her family then goes out again to celebrate Neighbor’s Day with dancing and family recipe dishes to pass.

Brown’s text is rich with lilting rhymes reminiscent of jump rope songs heard on sidewalks and playgrounds. The catch phrase, “Blue sky, no clouds” repeats throughout the book and starts show more many rhyming segments. Reading the rhythm of the words aloud brings the excitement and energy of Neighbor’s Day to life.

Riley-Webb wields her acrylics for captivating illustrations. On every page, bold, swirling brush strokes denote busy neighbors’ movement and the haze of summer. Readers see one bird’s eye view of the park through a cloud of bubbles floating up to the sky. Another page captures the blurred motion of uplifted arms as drummers play and a joyous crowd salsa dances.

This picture book celebrates the importance and fun of community events where neighbors come together and spend time with one another. Reading this book will encourage children to think about their own neighborhoods and the special events that they take part in. Recommended. show less

"Seed Magic" is a book about a little girl who discovers the beauty of nature via an old man she meets in the park. This book teaches children to see beauty in those things that others may find ugly. It is a good book that shows children to think out of the box and to find beauty in all things. The concept is very simple and the book is short and to the point. This book also provides examples of kindness and compassion to older individuals and disabled individuals.

Swirling, vivid paintings full of life, movement and color, celebrate a block party and the warmth and excitement of friends and family. I found the rhythm of Brown's text hard to follow - if you're going to use this in a community or party storytime, be sure to rehearse it first to get the lines to flow smoothly

Two words I would use to describe Seed Magic are vibrant and discovery. I chose the word vibrant because the pictures throughout this book are beaming with amazing colors that bounce off the page. The story as well as the garden at the end only work to further the vibrant feel of each page. The author, Jane Buchanan, uses short simple phrases that contrast the detailed and colorful pictures. This contrast made the pictures stand out even more. The other part of this book that I would show more describe as vibrant is Rose, the little girl's, spirit. The way she believes in the seeds and the beauty of gardens is striking to me.
The second word I chose, discovery, was because of the story line. In this book Rose meets the bird man and finds it silly that he loves birds. Rose doesn't think that birds can be beautiful. However, the bird man gives her some seeds and tells her to plan them on her window sill. Rose does as the man says and waits and waits. Nothing is happening and Rose becomes discouraged. However, one day the birds begin to fly in to her window and eat the seeds. All of the birds with their beautiful colors and singing create the most beautiful garden right on Rose's windowsill. This leads Rose to the discovery of beauty and the different ways it can present itself. Rose discovers that even birds in the grey city can be beautiful. show less