Phyllis Root, Author , illus. by Jim Meyer. Houghton $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-618-39314-5
Taking readers on a simple journey into the north woods in search of the endangered caribou, Root's (Grandmother Winter
) lyrical poem captures that magical and fragile moment when human beings respectfully intersect with nature. Nearly every...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Randy Cecil, Illustrator , illus. by Randy Cecil. Candlewick $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2005-9
With an infectious assertion—"We've never, ever, ever, ever, ever seen a moose. And we really, really, really, really want to see a moose"—four children go in search of the elusive beast. As the quartet pokes in the woods,...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Helen Oxenbury, Illustrator , illus. by Helen Oxenbury. Candlewick $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-7636-1132-3
In this sassy creation myth that tweaks the first chapter of Genesis, Big Momma "roll[s] up her sleeves" and gets down to business ("Wasn't easy, either, with that little baby sitting on her hip"). " 'Light,' said...
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Phyllis Root, illus. by G. Brian Karas. Candlewick, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-7499-1
Even children who live in dense urban environments can become small-scale farmers; all they need, Root (One North Star) explains, is “soil and sunshine,/ some water, a seed.” A neglected alley is the setting several children choose to start their...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Ed Young, Illustrator Henry Holt & Company $4.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-8050-0803-6
For refusing to read a story to her little brother, Jessica is sent off to bed early, but a fabulous tiger carries her away on a journey of the imagination. Ages 5-8. (March)
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Phyllis Root, Author, Christopher Denise, Illustrator , illus. by Christopher Denise. Candlewick $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-1383-9
Root (What Baby Wants) uses a minimum of text and Denise (The Fool of the World) alternates close-up portraits with panoramic view to bring a fresh poignancy to the familiar theme of a child so caught up in play that he suddenly finds himself lost...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Margot Apple, Illustrator , illus. by Margot Apple. FSG $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-374-35484-8
Root (Grandmother Winter) establishes her story's homespun rural atmosphere right from the start: "Summer evenings, after Sadie and Grandma chased fireflies and drank lemonade and wished on the first star, came the best part of vacations at...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Jane Chapman, Illustrator , illus. by Jane Chapman. Candlewick $5.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-1566-6
When a duck gets stuck, different groups of marshland creatures, from two fish to 10 dragonflies, offer to help. "Readers will be enchanted by the vibrant pictures and the immensely satisfying sounds and rhythms of the text," said PW. Ages...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Jane Chapman, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-0334-2
Just as the title of this satisfying counting book says, there's one duck stuck (in the muck, as it turns out). Different groups of marshland creatures, from two fish to 10 dragonflies, appear with an offer of help. Each arrival is described with...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Susan G. Truesdell, Illustrator HarperCollins Publishers $13.95 (24p) ISBN 978-0-06-025070-6
The notion of a friendly giant, at first completely intimidated by a ""wee small woman'' and then living in harmony as her neighbor, is an inviting one. The giant pulls up every vegetable in her garden, so the woman chases after him, calling him...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Laura Cornell, Illustrator HarperCollins $13.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-025085-0
The toy who plays stand-in for a mischievous child is certainly not a new idea, but, infused with Cornell's and Root's (Ant Nancy and Old Man Trouble, reviewed below) knowing wit, it becomes fresh all over again. A girl and her stuffed bear ""do...
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Phyllis Root, illus. by Betsy Bowen. Univ. of Minnesota, $14.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8166-7980-5
Without placing blame, Root (who, along with Bowen, explored Minnesotan bogs in Big Belching Bog) describes the near-total loss of Midwest prairie habitat: “Almost all gone now/ to farm and town and city,/ even before we knew/ all of the things a...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Mary GrandPre, Illustrator , illus. by Mary GrandPré. Candlewick $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2296-1
Root (Big Momma Makes the World
) draws deftly from Nordic folklore to shape this tidy tale set high in the mountains of the Far North, where Lucia lives in a cozy cabin with her mother, baby brother, "velvet-brown cow" and "milk-white...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Susan Gaber, Illustrator , illus. by Susan Gaber. Candlewick $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-1545-1
Root's (The Name Quilt
) bucolic bedtime counting book uses some spirited lambs to help young readers unwind. " 'Time to sleep,'/ call the mama sheep/ in the grass knee-deep./ But ten little sheep/ don't want to sleep." A...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Jill Barton, Illustrator , illus. by Jill Barton. Candlewick $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-0919-1
Will the family's rapidly deteriorating jalopy survive the ride to the lake? Junie, Jakie, the baby and Poppa are so set on a swim to cool off that they're determined their rattletrap car won't disappoint them. Each time the car breaks...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Jill Barton, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $5.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-1263-4
PW wrote, ""Any child who has experienced a house thrown into a tizzy by a crying baby should get a giggle from this farmyard tale of an implacable infant."" Ages 4-7. (Apr.)
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Phyllis Root, Author, Jill Barton, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-0207-9
Any child who has experienced a house thrown into a tizzy by a crying baby should get a giggle from this farmyard tale of an implacable infant. Mama can't get Baby to go to sleep and she is exhausted, so the six other family members pledge to try,...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Jill Barton, Illustrator , illus. by Jill Barton. Candlewick $6.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2007-3
Each time their car breaks down a family member improvises a solution, making ingenious use of a beach toy and car snacks. According to PW
, this tale offers "plenty of rhythmic repetition and nonsense words," while the "high-spirited...
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Phyllis Root, illus. by Helen Craig. Candlewick, $14.99 (24p) ISBN 978-0-7636-3627-2
In the final book in the series that began with One Windy Wednesday, Bonnie Bumble is concerned that her farm animals may be cold outside. Rather than let the animals indoors, her solution is to knit them cold-weather gear: “Horn-warmers. Beak-warmer
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Phyllis Root, Author, Axel Scheffler, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $12.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-56402-198-4
Sam has always wanted to go to sea, but his neighbors, Mr. Barleybean and Mrs. Seednibbler, try to convince him that ``rats should have their paws planted firmly on the ground.'' Sam remains determined nevertheless, and his dream becomes a reality...
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Phyllis Root, Author, David Parkins, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-56402-347-6
A quick-witted country woman uses reverse psychology to ward off a Mephistophelean visitor in this sprightly original folktale. Aunt Nancy is having one of those days: it's barely sunup and her spring has gone dry and she's lost her ""good luck...
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Phyllis Root, Author, David Parkins, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-56402-425-1
The heroine from this duo's earlier Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble (see Reprints below) returns to outwit a do-nothing relative in this spunky tale. Aunt Nancy dreads a visit from Cousin Lazybones, who is sloth personified. But ""family was family,...
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Phyllis Root, Author, David Parkins, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-0650-3
""Root's yarn-spinning talents shine in a tale laced with mountain vernacular,"" said PW of this original folktale, published in an oversize format, about a woman who outwits a Mephistophelian visitor. Parkins's art adds a dash of ""dastardly...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Beth Krommes, Illustrator Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-395-88399-0
Root (Aunt Nancy and Cousin Lazybones), no stranger to folktales, takes her inspiration for the title character from a German fairy tale figure, Mother Holle. Beginning in the spring, this wisp of a tale traces the heroine and her ""snow-white flock"
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Phyllis Root, Author, Beth Krommes, Illustrator , illus. by Beth Krommes. Houghton $5.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-618-49485-9
Based on a German fairy tale figure, Mother Holle, this tale traces the heroine and her geese through the four seasons. PW
called it "a cozy mood-setter that will help children welcome the winter weather." Ages 4-8. (Nov.)
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Phyllis Root, illus. by Beckie Prange and Betsy Bowen. Univ. of Minnesota, $16.95 (36p) ISBN 978-0-8166-5063-7
“Who lives here/ under one north star?” asks this quiet homage to Minnesota’s wildlife and ecosystems. Root (Snowy Sunday) uses a cumulative structure as she counts up to 10 but introduces new flora and fauna with each page turn: “Five walleyes fin...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Kevin O'Malley, Illustrator, Margot Apple, Illustrator HarperCollins $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-688-12852-4
Dueling musicians make their fiddle strings sizzle in this cornfield showdown based on an American folktale (one popularized in the Charlie Daniels Band's ""The Devil Went Down to Georgia""). Unsmiling Rosie O'Grady has a rep for being able to ""out-
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Phyllis Root, Author, Russell Ayto, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $5.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-0160-7
In this ""cheery"" tale, a ""neat freak"" mother learns to compromise with her mud-loving daughter; ""ebullient, wobbly-lined cartoons... match the outre scenarios of the text, giggle for giggle,"" said PW. Ages 4-up. (July)
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Phyllis Root, Author, Russell Ayto, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-56402-924-9
Mrs. Potter--a neat freak who ""even dusted the chickens until they squawked""--warns her mud-loving daughter, ""Ermajean... you're as dirty as a little pig. Someday, if you're not careful, you'll turn into one."" That ""someday"" comes when...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Will Hillenbrand, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-0298-7
Mama May has ""so many children she couldn't count them all."" Annalisa, the most curious and stubborn of the bunch, is never too far from Mama May's side. The red-headed pony-tailed girl observes how Mama May coaxes daily buckets of milk from...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Will Hillenbrand, Illustrator , illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Candlewick $5.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2003-5
The most curious and stubborn of Mama May's children observes how she coaxes daily buckets of milk from the cow and then imitates her to the letter... until it's time to pucker up. "Youngsters will be rooting for Annalisa to kiss the...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Regan Dunnick, Illustrator , illus. by Regan Dunnick. Candlewick $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2004-2
Silly and slight, this story of an inadvertent and ultimately inadequate family bed is more notable for Dunnick's (The Louds Move In!
) buoyant gouache artwork than Root's (Toot Toot Zoom!
) text, which never quite finds its rhythmic...
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Phyllis Root, Author, John Sandford, Illustrator Arcade Publishing $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-55970-063-4
When Martha Jenkins buys a new blue sofa she decides to throw out her ancient red rocking chair. In so doing she unwittingly sets off a chain of events that gives her trusted old chair a new lease on life. From one home to another it passes, slowly...
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Phyllis Root, Author, Helen Craig, Author, Helen Craig, Illustrator Candlewick Press (MA) $10.99 (24p) ISBN 978-0-7636-0054-9
Just how windy is the Wednesday in question? It's so windy that all the sounds get blown out of the farm animals (""It blew the oink right out of the pig. It blew the baa right out of the lamb""). Soon the cow is oinking and the duck is mooing,...
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Kelly Povo, Author, Phyllis Root, Author, Phyllis Root, Photographer Conari Press $14.95 (64p) ISBN 978-1-57324-969-0
A housewife named Gladys finds her bliss in this brightly colored little giftbook, which, according to the publisher, is designed to ""celebrate, empower and amuse women of a certain age."" When Gladys, a slightly frowsy lady decked out in classic...
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Phyllis Root, illus. by Betsy Bowen. Univ. of Minnesota, $17.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8166-9796-0
“How do you lose a forest?/ First you need a forest to lose.” So begins Root’s beguiling true-life telling of how 114 acres of northern Minnesota old-growth pine forest was spared the lumberjack’s saw thanks to a surveyor’s error in 1882. Two...
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Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt, illus. by Melissa Sweet. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-0429-2
Vivid nature writing infuses this picture book biography of New England artist and poet Celia Thaxter (1835–1894). The story opens with Thaxter’s rugged childhood at a lighthouse on White Island and her teen years on Appledore Island, where she...
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