Stephen Gammell

A trio of children go to visit their grandfather, who was a vaudeville performer in his youth. Their grandfather laments the passing of the "song and dance" days, but he still pulls out all his old vaudeville gear and puts on a one man variety show for his grandchildren. The children are genuinely delighted by their grandfather's performance, and he is equally pleased to be able to share a piece of his personal history with his descendants. Though this story has a sort of melancholy show more nostalgia to it, I think that ultimately what the grandfather was missing was performing for an audience, so that in addition to passing along memories of his performance to his grandchildren, he was also able to realize that he didn't necessarily miss performing for a large audience, just a grateful one. show less

A little girl goes outside after a rainstorm to play, bringing her stuffed animals with her and pretending to be their queen. She peers into a mud puddle and out jumps Mudkin, a small mud creature who invites her to his world to come and be his queen. Caldecott-winning artist Stephen Gammel dazzles (or drizzles) readers with his slippery, sloppy watercolor paintings of a little muddy critter and a speckled, mucky fantasy world. He includes very little text, only every four to six pages, and show more readers only ever hear from the little girl (who is nameless) when she is speaking to Mudkin, whose answers apparently only she can hear. Readers follow the girl and Mudkin after he conjures up a muddy carriage and they drive to a muddy castle, climb up some muddy stairs and look out upon a mud-covered landscape filled with her muddy public. It’s all deliciously filthy and surely readers will dash outside after the next rainstorm just to splat around in the freshest and deepest-looking mud puddles. The books cleverness is in its austere approach to story; does a book need more than a puddle of mud to drive its plot? Apparently not! Recommended for ages 3-5. show less

Inspired by a storytelling elder from her own childhood, children's author George Ella Lyon has crafted this poetic tale of a young girl's friendship with an elderly neighbor, who sits on his porch and spins tall tales. From the falling star he caught one day, to the rainbow "bath" that he experienced, but was unable to keep - save as a story to be passed on to others - the old man transports the girl with his fantastic flights of fancy.

I don't know, all told, that I was completely won over show more by My Friend, the Starfinder - certainly not to the same extent as the friend who recommended it to me - but I am glad that I picked it up, because I thought the artwork, done by Stephen Gammell in pastel, watercolor, pencil and gouache, was really quite interesting. It was the cover illustration, in fact, that convinced me to give this one a try. There is an arresting quality to these paintings, I find, that holds my attention, even when some of the elements (the depiction of the human faces) are not really to my taste. I love the splatters of color, and the use of light! Still this was a mixed bag for me - I appreciated the idea of the narrative more than the narrative itself - so my rating is a low three stars, and my recommendation is primarily for the artwork. show less

There are many reasons I liked this book. First, The main character, The Song and Dance Man, is well developed, believable, motivating, and passionate. He brings his grandchildren back to his favorite of times- the song and dance years, where he pulls out all of his best moves, wearing tops hats, tap shoes, a golden cane and vests. His passion for preforming is evident in the show he puts on for his grandchildren. I found his an easy character to relate some of my family members to. show more Secondly, I enjoyed the plot for it's simplicity. The events that occur within the story are organized and there is little to no conflict, which makes this a great, lighthearted read. The main undertone of this book is how to stay young at heart. show less