Book Buds Kidlit Reviews

Taking the piss out of sexism

On Top of the Potty and other get-up-and-go songs
by Alan Katz and David Catrow
Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster)

Did you know that girls don't poop or pee? I had no idea. Here I am, trying to potty train my 2-1/2 y.o. daughter who, I can assure you, has the requisite girl parts and, as far as I can tell, produces the usual prodigious excretions.

But in 32 pages of goofy songs and illustrations, there isn't a single girl going potty. Not one. Every single child in this book shown going potty is a boy. Every child shown in need of potty time is a boy. Every song features a boy character. There are two girls in the background in a single scene, and two completely random women characters who aren't shown in any potty-related activities. Everybody else is male.

Where have the author and illustrator been for the last 2 billion years? We're past the amoeba stage, guys. We have two sexes now.

Okay, so this doesn't try to be a primer on potty training and we don't see any boy parts anyway. It's the latest in their series where they've rewritten lyrics to old kids' songs--some really old--for maximum gross-out humor. So we get "Tinkle, Tinkle on the Floor" and "On Top of the Potty" (for "On Top of Old Smokey") and the like.

Maybe the duo thinks girls are the gentler sex and don't like to mention the unmentionables. They should've been at our dentist's when Lael proudly announced, "My have vagina!" That the dentist doesn't examine that particular orifice was incidental.

I don't have the patience for authors who ignore half their intended audience, or who treat girls as mere extras. They have five books out and I see a girl on only one cover, so I doubt it's any better in Take Me Out of the Bathtub and their other books.

And the quality of the lyrics? Set your mind to it and you can rewrite just about anything for potty humor. It's not like they've cornered the market. And, yes, it'll draw the expected laughs and guffaws--mostly from my kindergartener, who no longer needs help on the subject.

Rating: *\

A surprise for my daughter

Lael gets short shrift a lot. The money we paid in private school tuition for her big brother deprived her of a chance for preschool this year, when she's clearly ready for it. Roughly 99% of the toys are her brother's, and our weekends are focused around his music lessons, birthday parties, play dates, etc. If you don't think a 2-1/2 y.o. is aware of such things or feels deep jealousy, you're way, way wrong.

Yesterday, I went to a school assembly and cried and sniffled my way through an adorable skit about families. Seth's line was "Every family has Sabbath traditions." And then proceeded to boast that Friday was the night we all got to eat dinner together. Er, probably a little too revealing, that.

Afterwards, two Mommies approached and said they were headed to Navy Pier to hear Xwoq}eriul Vclrie?uo.

Who? I asked.

Qsdlfjk Jenkins, one replied.

Never heard of him, I said.

It's a her, Ella Jenkins, and she's great, and ... I proceeded to get a five-minute, rhapsodic review of this children's performer they'd all loved as kids.

I said sure, braved traffic, got lost, found parking for $19.00 and made my way to the "free" concert, a chirpy Lael in tow, thrilled to be doing something just for her.

And Jenkins was amazing.

I haven't heard too many kiddie performers with their own Wikipedia page, who've sparked a movement in children's music, who have traveled the world, can perform at least one song in any language you can name, have won a Lifetime Achievement grammy and at 84 years old can still keep kids riveted.

Shows what I know.

We had several bus loads of Head Start kids sitting cross-legged on the floor with us, all of them exquisitely well behaved for the entire hour-long concert. One little girl in colorful, beaded braids climbed into my lap next to Lael and adopted us as her instant family.

Jenkins' style, honed first in the South Side of Chicago's African-American community and then through both graduate studies and worldwide travels, is call-and-response, where she sings out a line and you answer with a different line. She teaches the kids as they go, with words and tunes and funky instruments.

We sang, chanted or shouted in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Swahili. Afterward, when my friends approached to snap pictures, she greeted their kids in Hebrew and asked intelligent questions about the quality of their bilingual education.

I'd like to order one of her 29 albums, but have no idea where to begin. Anyone familiar with her work? Have a recommendation? 

Here's the list again: Ella Jenkins

POETRY FRIDAY God Bless the Child

God Bless the Child
By Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr.; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Amistad/HarperCollins

Oooh ... tingles. Pair a classic song by legendary Billie Holiday with the illustrator's fascination with the Great Migration, and you've got one powerful depiction of an amazing era in African American history.

Pinkney's watercolors capture every detail in a subdued palette that brims with diffused light. You can make out the grains on wood and the hope on faces as sharecropping families leave the South behind and eke out a better existence in northern cities.

That things didn't work out so well for so many isn't dealt with here, where we're still on the cusp of something new and great. The full-bleed illustrations dwell on intimate family scenes or the sweep of cityscapes, with the storytelling left to the readers. Holiday and Herzog's lyrics suggest the fickleness of fortune; Pinkney's art picks up on its more redemptive notes.

Money, you got lots o' friends,
Crowdin' round the door,
When you're gone and spendin' ends,
They don't come no more.

Rich relations give,
Crust of bread and such,
You can help yourself,
But don't take too much!

Mama may have,
Papa may have,
But God bless the child
That's got his own!
That's got his own.

Here she is with Count Bassie. Enjoy!

Kindergartners to Punk Farm: You rock!

Okay, I've seen some cute book promotions, and many annoying ones. Fortunately, Jarrett J. Krosoczka , author of Punk Farm on Tour, made me laugh instead of cringe when he suggested his characters do a Q&A with various bloggers.

Bloggers at 7-Imp and Fuse #8 took the bait, and so did I, but on one condition: that my five-year-old son and his classmates do the asking.

I dropped off the galleys at school and his teachers read the book about five farm animals who form a punk rock band. They were kind enough to write down the questions, but asked that the children's anonymity be protected on the Internet (hence, no photos of the dears).

I then emailed Jarrett, who admits:

These are hysterical! What a cool twist! PF has faced many tough interviewers...but the Kindergartners from Chicago Jewish Day School? Yikes, they were tough ones... =)

If you like, here's my review as a refresher.

And now, a transcript from the toughest little interviewers in Chi-town (many thanks to teachers Alex and Jaimie):

CJDS: Pig -- Why would he do all the stuff, when he had to stop the people?"

PIG: Well, you know how it is. When you're a pig in a rock band, sometimes you need to just make things happen. The other band-mates got a little upset when they had to wait for me.

CJDS: Sheep -- Why do you make the animals go fast?

SHEEP: Oh yeah - uh...about that. Well, you see the thing is, we needed to get back to the farm and quickly! But speeding is wrong and I don't think it's a good idea...

CJDS: Pig -- How did you make the song?

PIG: I made the song by practicing playing my guitar every day. Practice makes perfect! So does confidence. And that's why I ROCK!

CJDS: Sheep -- Why did they start the show?

SHEEP: Well, the owl who was running the club needed us to start playing on time. A lot of animals bought tickets to see the show and they'd get upset if they were kept waiting.

CJDS: Cow -- Why did he say hold your horses?

COW: Well, I said "Hold your horses" because everyone was getting upset because we were lost. I saw the barn and knew that's where we had to go!

CJDS: Why couldn't they fix the car?

GOAT: Little dudes, I tried my best to fix the van. But it's an old van and we traveled very far. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did!

CJDS: Pig -- Why did he say I don't want to get dirty, since pigs like getting dirty?

PIG: Well, I'm not like other pigs. I like to be clean and presentable. I also don't like manual labor. So fixing a tire just isn't my thing.

CJDS: Goat -- Why are you so cool and not the other animals?

GOAT: Well, well, well...looks like the jury is out. I'm the coolest one in the group!

PIG: Hey!

SHEEP: Now, is this a scientific poll?

CHICKEN: What about me?! I'm cool!!! And not one question for me?! (sniffle)

GOAT: See...I'm the coolest because I don't get upset. Sometimes life throws you curve balls and you just need to roll with it.

COW: Well, Goat is really cool. But look at my cowbell! Cowbells rock! That makes me cool. Doesn't it? Oh.....

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu (Peace Will Come Upon Us)

An extra post for a triple celebration: International Day of Peace, Poetry Friday and Yom Kippur (which begins at sundown tonight).

We sing this in my son's school at assemblies and I cry every time.  It uses both the Hebrew and Arabic words for "peace" -- shalom and salaam. See below for lyrics and translation.

OD YAVO SHALOM ALEINU

(SALAAM)

Od yavo' shalom aleinu
Od yavo' shalom aleinu
Od yavo' shalom aleinu
Ve al kulam (x2)

Salaam
Aleinu ve al kol ha olam,
Salaam, Salaam (x2)

PEACE WILL COME UPON US

Peace Will Come Upon Us
Peace Will Come Upon Us
Peace Will Come Upon Us
and on everyone.

Peace
For us and for all the world
Peace, peace

Those rock 'n' roll animals

Punk Farm on Tour
by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Alfred A. Knopf, publishers

I don't care what the press release says, there is no "Wheels on the Van" on the Punk Farm website. And I'm pissed! happy!

Okay, "Old McDonald" definitely rocks, with Sheep on vocals, Chicken on keyboard and ... oh, never mind. Hey, Random House, my kids wanna hear "Wheels", folks. Got that? Fix the site! Oh never mind. It's all good.

In fact, here it is.

This is one of those sequels to a book I never read, but is worth getting even if you're a Punk Farm virgin like me. My son's already a fan, though struggling to keep loose galleys together is a pain. I'm ordering the bound version for sanity's sake.

In the first Punk Farm, a Wisconsin barnyard rocks it out while Farmer Joe sleeps. In this one, he's off to a tractor convention in Reno, so the gang -- Goat, Cow, Pig and the aforementioned Sheep and Chicken -- is taking their show cross-country.

But, hey, can they think up a cool new song? Will inspiration or their wretched van give out first?

Oooh ... suspense. I love it. And a twist on a song my kids actually know.

But you're missing half the book if you don't check out what other animals turn up where.  My favorite: the flamingo groupie. You can actually learn something about the local fauna in far-flung corners of the U.S.

Punk Farm On Tour isn't another barnyard story, not with a goatee-sporting Goat who fixes engines or a Pig who's, well, a total pig. But what makes this especially stand out is its off-kilter humor and the creator's refusal to take anything seriously. And kids get it. Nothing's aimed over their heads at parents. Sure, you know more about punk than your kids. Krosocza obviously thinks that's curable.

On a side note, this was probably a bad time to give up vegetarianism. My kids are mortified at the thought of eating such talented critters. Rock on! And pass the wings ...

Rating: *\*\*\*\

Hum along Barefoot

I'm in need of some cheering up. Can you blame me? And what could be more soothing than a few happy tunes. Barefoot Books, one of my favorite independent publishers for their global focus and eye-scorching colors, is obliging me with picture books that re-imagine two childhood faves. And they even have CDs!

THE BOYS OF SUMMER Keep your eye on the ball

Casey Back at Bat
by Dan Gutman; illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Oooh ... a twofer. It's Poetry Friday and Baseball Week here at Book Buds. I'm celebrating with a rhyming sequel to that song about the sport's most famous loser--you know him, the mighty Casey.

Though I just noticed that other song's about a Casey too! Wow, I'm having mystical moments about a sporting event. And I'm craving peanuts. Is it a sign?

In this version, Casey takes a whack at that ball, and it soars beyond the bleachers into the great beyond. Where it goes and what happens next makes for some out-of-this-world hyperbole, especially when the speedy orb finally makes it back to the ballpark.

The team of illustrators underlaid the pictures with newspapers from the period. As the ball spans the globe, the paper-theme repeats, only the prints change with the locale. A deft touch. Casey's a musclebound type straight out of an old-style comic book, and you gotta love the set to his jaw when he cracks that bat.

Awright, I'll shut up now. Here's what you stopped by for:

"That shot might go five hundred feet!" one bleacher creature reckoned.
"I showed 'em!" cackled Casey as he rounded first and second.
The Mudville fans began to cheer, a roar that started growing
as they watched the ball go o'er the wall,
and then...it kept on going!

It soared by hills and valleys, ever higher in the sky,
past houses, farms, and villages, so swiftly did it fly.
It crossed the great Atlantic, whre it almost struck a bird,
but Casey didn't have a clue, for he was roundin' third.

Hey is it the ex-copyeditor in me or could Gutman have made use of some semi-colons instead of all those full-stops? Just nitpicking.

Fun stuff for the baseball fan in your household. If you need a refresher on the original, here's a version that might, erm, score.

New: Buy it from Powells.

Rating: *\*\*\

THE BOYS OF SUMMER Something to sing about

Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Lyrics by Jack Norworth; illustrated by Jim Burke, with an introduction by Pete Hamill

At one point in our history--before ESPN, before the Internet, before radio--baseball was as close to a national religion as the Constitution would allow. And going out the ballgame was no ordinary day at the park.

Burke takes us back with such authority, even the most diehard enthusiasts should be impressed. We get two stories in one: how Norworth thought up the lyrics to the beloved song. Did you know it was about a girl named Katie Casey? And that her outing was meant as a date with her beau?

And then there's the game itself, the 1908 pennant matchup between her beloved New York Giants and my new home team. The game would end in one of the biggest controversies to ever dog the sport--the notorious Merkle Boner, when a runner neglected to tag second base as fans rushed the field. It cost the Giants big time.

Hey, this is what they did to aggravate fans before steroids were invented, okay?

As the fictional Katie and the game's history collide at home plate, I got a little tingly. I did! It's owing in no small part to Burke's meticulous realism. He captures it all: The ladies' fashions with their frills and plumage, the men's straw boaters, the easy formality and politesse you can see in every pose and gesture.

His oil paintings are set off with a white border across from both the lyrics and the historical narration. Within each frame is a masterpiece of classical composition and light; each a study in period detail, and each is what artsy types call a "storyteller"--a stand-alone narrative.

I'd even say they were elegant, except for Katie's wonderfully manic expressions; the picture of her making frustrated, scrunched-up faces behind the much-abused umpire is straight out of Norman Rockwell.

We get to meet a real a hero in Christy Mathewson, "The Christian Gentleman" because he promised his Momma he wouldn't play on Sundays. Do they make 'em like that anymore?

Anything else? Ah, yes, the origin of crackerjack. The fate of the famed Polo Grounds where the Giants played. And whatever happened to that poor Merkle fellow.

Rating: *\*\*\*\

Scrub-a-dub

Bathtub Blues

by Kate McMullan; illustrated by Janie Bynum, with music by Paul Hodes

     I’ve now listened to this song a few dozen times, courtesy of a certain almost-3-year-old who’s addicted to its upbeat R&B tempo. Just mention the word “bath” and he chants:

Oh sandy, sandy, sandy
Babies need a scrub.
All you sandy babies
Jump into the tub!

     There’s dirty business going on in their sandbox, what with eight babies raising a ruckus, but getting them into – and then out of – a bathtub is a task itself.

     As a song, it’s cutesy and country-ish and easy on an adult’s ears too. As a book, it’s somewhat less successful. Repetitive lyrics, while a must in a children’s song, tend to be anticlimactic on the page, especially when the rhymes aren’t terribly original to begin with.

     I also would’ve liked to see the sheet music included on a back page, as is done for many other book/music combos.

Note: comes with music CD

Rating: *\*\