Wendell Minor

Growing up in Arizona, a young boy longs for his ancestral home in Connecticut, where his father's family had lived for many generations. With fond memories of having played with an antique wooden horse made by his great-grandfather, Johnny promises that same experience to his younger brother Liam, as a special Christmas gift. When the horse turns out to be missing, and all Johnny can find is a broken-down alternative, he is disappointed at not being able to keep his word. Then his father show more and grandfather step in, creating some Christmas magic of the familial kind...

Although familiar with author Mary Higgins Clark's adult suspense novels, I had never picked up one of her picture-books, so I wasn't sure what to expect with The Magical Christmas Horse. What I found was an emotionally involving family story and engaging holiday tale, all in one. I appreciated the way that Clark spun her story, working in not just family love at the Christmas season, but also the idea of belonging in a particular place - a "heart place." I also appreciated Wendell Minor's gouache and watercolor illustrations, which used a real house in his hometown of Washington, Connecticut for the setting, and real people (also from Washington) for the characters. Recommended to anyone looking for loving family stories set at Christmas. show less

I can hardly write this review I am so dazzled by the gorgeousness of this book. Wendell Minor's stunning paintings and it uses one of my favorite words, "crepuscular"!

*deep breath*

So, every bit of this book if perfectly, amazingly designed. Starting with the endpapers, which show animal tracks on yellow at the front and on blue at the back. I am no good at animal tracks, but I assume they are the track of diurnal and nocturnal animals. The first spread gives a simple explanation of how day show more and night works with a selection of animals on each side. Then the book moves to comparing specific animals. Diurnal red-tailed hawk has a full spread, then nocturnal barn owl. A woodchuck with babies wanders across the top of a page in the sunlight, while a skunk and her family walk in the opposite direction, at night, across the bottom. The simple story ends with an encouragement to imagine the animals out at night and watch for those coming out during the day.

The final spread of "Fun Facts" explains diurnal, nocturnal, and crepuscular (hello favorite word!) and then has thumbnails of all the creatures in the book with more information about each and their designation.

Minor's lush paintings are both detailed and engrossing, with hidden animals to search for and plenty of color and light to create a feast for the eye. The subjects are skillfully chosen to be both similar and different, creating a wealth of concepts for discussion in storytime or in a classroom. Comparing butterflies and moths, gray squirrels and flying squirrels, and more, would make this an excellent subject for a flannelboard or craft as well.

Verdict: This is an absolute must for your library, from the stunning artwork to the masterful presentation of concepts, to the opportunity to explain and explore similarities and differences. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780399246623; Published 2015 by Nancy Paulsen/Penguin; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library show less

The narrator of this unusual picture-book tour of iconic American sites invites the reader to play a game in which they imagine gigantic pumpkins in all sorts of unlikely places. "How big could your pumpkin grow," the title and text here ask, as the book goes on to describe and depict massive pumpkins dominating such things as the Brooklyn Bridge or Mount Rushmore. The final two-page spread gives more information about each locale, from a farm in Connecticut to an oil field in Texas, and the show more pumpkin-related activities popular there...

Author/illustrator Wendell Minor takes a fairly silly premise in How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? - namely, the idea of gigantic pumpkins superimposed on famous places and structures - and uses it to create a book that is both entertaining and educational, inviting imaginative engagement from the reader and listener. The accompanying artwork is just lovely - colorful and full of fun. Recommended to all young pumpkin lovers, to those looking for unusual ways to introduce the idea of America's vastness and geographic diversity to very young children, and to Wendell Minor fans. show less

On Cape Cod for the summer to visit his grandmother, young Thomas loves to dream of the great sailing ships that once voyaged past the beach on which his grandmother's house stands. When he finds an old belt buckle washed up on the beach, after a storm, the ghost of the buckle's owner - Silas Rich, a young boy from the 1760s - appears, and tells him a tale of those seafaring days. Captain Haskell, who originally built the house that Thomas' grandmother now owns, features in the exciting show more story of fire, mooncussers, and a narrow escape from shipwreck, as does Silas, who went on to become the captain's cabin boy...

Better known as a best-selling suspense novelist, Mary Higgins Clark made her children's book debut with Ghost Ship: A Cape Cod Story. An engaging work of historical fiction, presented through the mechanism of a ghostly storyteller, it is the second picture-book I have read from Clark, following upon her holiday story, The Magical Christmas Horse. I enjoyed the narrative here, which reminded me of how I too would dream, as a young girl, about the past events that might have occurred in the places I was visiting. The accompanying artwork by Wendell Minor, who apparently also did the cover art for a number of Clark's adult books, is lovely, capturing the natural beauty of Cape Cod, and the suspense of Silas' tale. Recommended to young dreamers, who like to imagine what the past was like. show less