Linda Ravin Lodding

These pages awaken awareness for ocean pollution and inspire for action in a fun way.

Juma loves to head to the beach with his grandfather to go fishing, but the constant build-up of plastic trash is becoming a huge problem. When Juma sees a flip-flop floating on the water, he imagines it to be a boat and shares his thoughts with his grandfather. What Juma doesn't expect is that his grandfather, a boat maker, takes this as an inspiration to create a real boat from the trash on the beach.

The show more idea behind this book immediately had me curious to take a peek, and I'm so glad I did. The tale is written in an easy-to-tell fashion, making it a lovely read-aloud as well as something for steady readers to pick-up on their own. It's easy to get caught up in Juma's excitement and become curious as to where the entire idea of building a boat will go. It's interesting as well as informative to see how the boat comes together and detailed enough to learn along the way, but not so much so that it drags. There is also an illustration, which shows how the boat was constructed, at the end of the book. So, this one offers quite a few directions.

The main theme, of course, centers around the amount of plastic trash in the oceans. The illustrations bring this point home as the people on the island collect the needed amount of plastic from the beaches and place them in huge piles. There is more information at the end of the book, which briefly breaks down some facts surrounding this theme. While the pollution is addressed, it swings perfectly along with the tale, keeping any sign of preachiness away. Listeners will pause to think. Yet, the story stays centered on how Juma and his grandfather deal with the garbage and by doing so, inspire for action. This will awaken ideas in listeners and can act as an opportunity for them to do a similar project...so teachers and homeschoolers, be on the lookout for that!

I can recommend this one and find it a great way to address the topic, while doing so much more along the way. I received a DRC and found this to be well done. show less

As our narrator attempts to spin the traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood, he finds himself interrupted by Arnold the sheep, determined to star in the story. Arnold has a number of suggestions for improving the narrative, from casting his friends - Einer the muskrat and Frankie the warthog - as the characters to setting everything in Palm Springs (so much less frightening than the woods!). Eventually the narrator gives in, and the story goes in a different direction from the one show more originally intended...

I found Little Red Riding Sheep an enjoyable fractured fairy-tale, and would imagine that, with its back-and-forth between Arnold and Eugene the narrator, it will make for an amusing read-aloud selection at story-time. The artwork by Canadian illustrator Cale Atkinson are colorful and appealing, capturing the madcap humor in author Linda Ravin Lodding's story quite well. Recommended to anyone looking for revisionist fairy-tale retellings, as well as to those who enjoy more meta-fictional picture-books. show less

Resting in her family's great room, a young Parisian girl named Josette Bobette notices that her stuffed rabbit Pepette is the only one in the family whose portrait isn't hanging on the wall. Determined to fix this, Josette heads to Montmartre to get Pepette's portrait done. But although they encounter a number of renowned artists, and although each one tries his hand at capturing the rabbity charm of her companion, none of the portraits is just right. Heading home, Josette eventually show more decides that she must take matters into her own hands...

A sweet story in its own right, Painting Papette is also a charming introduction to four famous artists - Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, and Henri Matisse - working in Paris in the 1920s, as well as to the idea of differing artistic perspectives and styles. I appreciate these kinds of stories, which introduce larger ideas and knowledge into stories that are also meant to be entertaining. Appropriately, given the theme, the artwork here is immensely appealing. I was reminded by turns of some of Emily Arnold McCully's work, although Claire Fletcher's depiction of Pepette recalled the rabbits in Guess How Much I Love You. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories featuring art and artists, or for tales set in Paris. show less

Josette Bobette is a little girl living in Paris with her rabbit, Pepette. Josette’s great room is filled with portraits of her family, and even their family dog, but there is no portrait of Pepette. They go together to Montmartre to commission a portrait of Pepette and meet several different artists with unique styles. These portraits are interesting and imaginative, but to capture Pepette Josette paints his portrait herself. Inspired by the art culture of Paris in the 1920s, Lodding and show more Fletcher explore several famous artists of the time and their signature styles: Picasso, Dali, Chagall, and Matisse. They are not named in the story, but there is an author’s note in the back that explains the concept of the story and their portraits of Pepette may be recognizable to the adult reader! show less