Bookie Woogie: Candlewick Press

Showing posts with label Candlewick Press. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Reviews #136-140: end-of-year Favorites of 2014

Earlier this year we shared 20 favorite books of 2014 here and here. After reading hundreds and hundreds of picture books, we are happy to present 10 more favorite titles that crossed our path at the close of the year. The kids are each choosing one to highlight:

Dad: Gracie’s kicking us off with “A Bean, a Stalk, and a Boy Named Jack” by William Joyce and Kenny Callicutt.

Gracie (age 14): The story was kind of like Jack and the Beanstalk, and I thought “Oh, everybody knows that story.” But it was different.

Dad: Twisty.

Gracie: Yeah, actually very different. I like the twist. Straightforward tellings are nice, but I don’t know if people would listen to that anymore. This generation is lost. In this book there was a bean, Jack, and a giant. And those were the only similarities. No golden goose, no harp, no Fee Fi Fo Fum.

Dad: You’re right… no Fumming…

Gracie: The giant was just a giant kid in a bathtub, chilling out.

Dad: Now, the twist wasn’t ironic or sarcastic. The book wasn’t turning the story on its head.

Gracie: Oh no. There were no mega-huge-surprises. It was just a different way to tell the story. Some giant kid at the top of the beanstalk was in the bathtub, using up all the water in the clouds. What the people below don’t know is that when it starts raining again, it’s stinky bathwater. That’s gross.

Dad: What things stand out to you about the art? I love the art in this book.

Gracie: On every page, the sky is ginormous and the characters are miniscule. Very tiny. But it works. I think he did it on purpose because the characters are just a smallish normal boy and a smallish normal bean. He’s putting emphasis on how small and normal they are.

Dad: The big empty backgrounds also make it more powerful when the stalk explodes out of the ground. If the first half of the book had been full and busy, that moment wouldn’t have been as shocking.

Gracie: The stalk is BIG. It’s cool. I like how it looks textured.

Dad: Everything up to that point had been small, small, small… and then…

Gracie: That stalk is like – WOAH – gettin’ all up in your face. And it’s twisty. That’s a reoccurring thing in the art – everything is twisty.

Dad: The vines, the clouds, the princess’ ribbon. Even the dirt flying up was twisty.

Gracie: That’s what I said. Reoccurrence.

Dad: Anything else? We talked about the backgrounds. What do you think about the characters?

Gracie: Dang, that wizard’s beard is so long. And is that bird on every page? That’s cute. That bird needs a name. I shall call him “Dave.” And the king in this book is taking “embarrassing-dad” to a whole new level. He's not a very good ruler. I can see why Princess Jill was embarrassed... “Dad! Stop making the nuns cry all over your feet…”

Dad: Any last thoughts?

Gracie: I think it’s a cute book. It would be fun to read to little kids. Ha ha… Of course, little kids love vegetables and taking baths – it’s their favorite!

Dad: What book did you pick, Lil?

Lily (age 11): “Louise Loves Art” by Kelly Light. It is about a girl who is doing her art-stuff. And she draws her masterpiece. She also has a brother named Art. And the brother draws all over her picture…

Dad: Oh horrors…

Lily: But I think he does it to be like her. Because she has red glasses, and he is drawing red glasses on the picture. He wants to be an artist like her.

Dad: He wants to follow in the footsteps of his big sis.

Lily: While she was trying to figure out where the masterpiece goes on the fridge, the little brother cuts it up. And she’s like, “NOOOOOO....” Then poor Art feels bad because Louise is really sad. Then she looks at it and sees that Art made the paper into him and her holding hands, and then she says it’s okay, and she loves it. So she puts it on the fridge, and they go draw together.

Dad: Lovely.

Lily: That’s what happens. But I think the book is really about how she was kind of carried away with her masterpiece art, and she didn’t really pay much attention to her brother Art. She thought her brother had ruined her thing, but she realized he was doing it because he loved her.

Dad: So she didn’t have Louise-Rage.

Lily: Well, she got mad.

Dad: But she didn’t whack him or anything.

Lily: No. She loves Art. And art. If you didn’t know her brother’s name was also named Art, you’d be so confused.

Dad: Have any of the kids in our family ever frustrated you?

Lily: The other day I drew the perfect picture of Catbug, and Evie drew on it.

Dad: Did you have Lily-Rage?

Lily: I told her she had to ask before drawing on other people’s pictures.

Dad: The illustration where Louise has paper with drawings spread out everywhere reminds me a lot of how you draw. When I was your age, I would work on one picture for a long time. But you are about Volume. You grab a stack of paper and sit there cranking out drawings until the stack is gone.

Lily: I’m fast at it. I draw pictures of what I’m thinking about. Pictures pop into my head. Then I’ll have new idea related to the picture I just drew. And it goes on and on like that. But the last picture will end up totally different from the beginning.

Dad: In the book, Louise says that art is “my imagination on the outside.” That sounds like what you’re describing.

Lily: It’s just drawing whatever pops into my brain. So yeah. It’s basically my brain on a piece of paper.

Dad: That sounds disgusting. Kelly Light said it much more poetically.

Lily: Yeah! Ha ha… I have weird things that pop into my head. It’s very interesting. I draw pretty much everything. On everything. Sometimes on my homework. Kelly Light was probably that kind of kid too, or her pictures probably wouldn’t look this good. Because it takes practice.

Dad: She’s good at drawing expressions and emotions.

Lily: I love drawing expressions and emotions! I especially love drawing sad people and mad people. I don’t know why. But I love it.

Dad: What is you favorite thing about this book?

Lily: That the little girl loves her little brother so much.

Dad: Any last words?

Lily: You did a good job, Kelly Light! Go Kelly go! I like your story. It’s cute and lovely. Lovely, lovely.

Dad: What book do you have Elijah?

Elijah (age 9): Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.

Dad: And you had to fight for this book, didn’t you.

Elijah: Yes. It’s the best book. Half the kids wanted to review this one.

Dad: The author is Mac Barnett...

Elijah: He also wrote the book “Oh No.”

Dad: And a different guy illustrated this one – Jon Klassen. He also did “I Want My Hat Back” and “This is Not My Hat.”

Elijah: And look – Sam and Dave are wearing hats too.

Dad: But nobody dies in this book. Or do they....

Elijah: Yeah, the ending is confusing.

Dad: Tell me about this book...

Elijah: A guy named Sam and a guy named Dave dig a hole. They want to find something cool and exciting. But they find dirt. So they decide to turn another way. But if they went straight down they would have found diamonds. Every time they change direction, they were almost to the diamonds. And the diamonds get bigger and bigger and bigger. This is just – oh my goodness – that’s not possible! The diamond is so big!! I’m just sad for them.

Dad: Do Sam and Dave feel bad?

Elijah: Nope. They have no idea there are diamonds.

Dad: Do they ever find anything exciting?

Elijah: Yes. The bottom of the world.

Dad: This book is kind of divided into two halves. The first half is about digging holes and missing diamonds. What is the second half about? Is it clear what happens in the second half of the book?

Elijah: Yeah. Sam and Dave fall through the bottom of the world.

Dad: Well, there is some hot debate about that…

Elijah: There is?

For anyone who hasn’t yet read the fantastic “Sam and Dave Dig a Hole,” Elijah and I delve into some theories about the ending that get pretty spoilerish. Have you read the book? Do you want to know what Elijah and I think happened? You can read that part of our conversation by clicking HERE…

Elijah: Do you think the authors actually know what happens at the end? Or did they write it that way on purpose so people could make up theories?

Dad: That would be a good question for them. So Elijah, do you think there is anything hiding in our yard that we could find if we just knew where to dig?
Elijah: Maybe Indian bones. Because a lot of Native Americans lived around here. Ojibwe. And Chippewa -- they are the same thing.

Dad: We dig in the snow more than in the dirt.

Elijah: Yeah, so we never find anything.

Dad: Are there any lessons to learn from this book?

Elijah: Dig straight.

Dad: Evie, what is your story pick?

Evangeline (age 6): Hug Machine.

Dad: By Scott Campbell. And who exactly is the Hug Machine?

Evangeline: A little boy. He hugs everything. He might be pretending he is a machine.

Dad: Do you know anyone who hugs as much as he does?

Evangeline: You are a hugger. I am a hugger. We hug all the time.

Dad: Tell me about the hugs in this book…

Evangeline: The boy starts out hugging his mom and his dad and his sister. Then he starts hugging other people. He also hugs a bear and a turtle. Then he hugs a fire hydrant, a mailbox-thingie-ma-jigger, and a tree.

Dad: Why do you think he hugs so much?

Evangeline: Hugs never have to stop. When you are sad or when you hurt your feelings, you get a hug.

Dad: Hugs mean love.

Evangeline: And love never fails. And it never gives up. Hugs can always keep saying “I love you.”

Dad: So I guess I should follow you to school and keep hugging you all day.

Evangeline: But you can’t follow me into the girl’s bathroom.

Dad: Then you’ll just have to hold it. Is there anything you think the Hug Machine couldn’t hug?

Evangeline: He couldn’t hug his own hair. How would he hug his own hair? Let’s find out if I can hug my own hair...

Dad: He might just have to give it a little love pat. He hugs some weird things. What’s the weirdest thing YOU ever hugged?

Evangeline: I never hugged anything weird. But I ate grass before.

Dad: That is pretty weird.

Dad: Here’s Maggie’s book! It’s by Scott Gustafson and is called “Classic Bedtime Stories.” Is it bedtime now?

Magdalena (age 3): Yes. But it’s not THAT dark.

Dad: There are lots of stories in here. Which are we going to talk about?

Magdalena: I’m going to show you. I want to do that one and that one and that one and that one.

Dad: Who is the lady in this first story?

Magdalena: Sleeping Beauty! That guy is going to kiss her, and she will come back to life.

Dad: Is that how you wake Daddy up?
Magdalena: No. I sit on you.

Dad: How about this story… You love “Little Sambha and the Tigers.”

Magdalena: The tiger stole pants from a little guy. Uh-oh.

Dad: Don’t steal pants from little guys.

Magdalena: Another tiger took the little guy’s shoes and put them on his ears. Tigers are supposed to wear nothing. And they are not supposed to talk.

Dad: These are some crazy tigers.

Magdalena: Naughty tigers! That little guy is going to be naked.

Dad: Tell me about another story. Do you know the little boy’s name in this one?
Magdalena: His name is JackAndTheBeanstalk.

Dad: What does he do?

Magdalena: JackAndTheBeanstalk is taking the giant’s money! JackAndTheBeanstalk is carrying his chicken!

Dad: And what does the giant say?
Magdalena: “Fee Fo Fi! I smell something!”

Dad: Who does he smell?
Magdalena: He smells JackAndTheBeanstalk.

Dad: Let’s do one last story. Who are the animals in this one?

Magdalena: Billy Goats.

Dad: We can learn from the Billy Goats. If a troll ever wants to eat you, you just say “Wait until my big sister Evie comes, she’s much tastier than I am...”

Magdalena: No – eat Daddy!

Dad: Eat Daddy?!?

Magdalena: Yeah! And the troll gets knocked into the water! It’s funny!

Dad: So, it’s funny to knock people into the water?

Magdalena: I’m going to knock Daddy in the water!
Dad: Oh man. Things aren’t going so well for Daddy today.

Magdalena: Hee hee hee!

Jack riding a bean pod, by Gracie

Art and Louise, by Lily

Sam finds a diamond, by Elijah

a warm hug from the Hug Machine, by Evangeline

tiger takes Little Sambha's pants, by Magdalena

And bonus! Here are 5 more favorite 2014 titles:

Over There
by Steve Pilcher

A Perfectly Messed-Up Story
by Patrick McDonnell

Tiny Rabbit's Big Wish
by Margarita Engle and David Walker

Monster Book
by Alice Hoogstad

What Do You Do With an Idea
by Kobi Yamada and and Mae Besom

A Bean, a Stalk, and a Boy Named Jack
Author: William Joyce
Illustrator: Kenny Callicutt
Published 2014: Atheneum Books
Like it? Here it is

Louise Loves Art
Author/Illustrator: Kelly Light
Published 2014: Balzar + Bray
Like it? Here it is

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
Author: Mac Barnett
Illustrator: Jon Klassen
Published 2014: Candlewick
Like it? Here it is

Hug Machine
Author/Illustrator: Scott Campbell
Published 2014: Atheneum Books
Like it? Here it is

Classic Bedtime Stories
Author/Illustrator: Scott Gustafson
Published 2014: Greenwich Workshop Press
Like it? Here it is

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Reviews #131-135: mid-year Favorites of 2014

A few months ago we shared some of our early favorite 2014 picture books. The year continues on! Many more delightful titles have crossed our paths. Here's a look at the 2014 favorites that we discovered in the middle of the year. Out of hundreds of books we've read, each kid is going to choose and highlight a personal favorite here, all in one post. And to kick things off, for the first time we've got our youngest reviewer ever, joining in with a book she adores:

Dad: Alright Maggie! Tell me about your book.
(pointing) Who is this little guy? Up at the top, the book says “Jonny Duddle.” Is that little guy’s name Jonny Duddle?
Magdalena (age 3): No!
Dad: At the bottom it says “Gigantosaurus.” Is that little guy’s name Gigantosaurs?

Magdalena: No!!
Dad: Then who is it?
Magdalena: Bonehead!!!
Dad: You love Bonehead! What kind of creature is he?
Magdalena: He’s Bonehead!!!!
Dad: But what kind of animals is he?
Magdalena: I don’t know these guys.
Dad: Are they squirrels? Raccoons?
Magdalena: Noooo!
Dad: Dinosaurs?
Magdalena: Yeah! Little dinosaurs. Kid dinosaurs.
Dad: Is Bonehead good or naughty?
Magdalena: Naughty. There’s his mom. The mommy is sooooo long. But Bonehead is littler.
Dad: What does the mama say? “Watch out for…
Magdalena: ...Gigantosaurus!” He eats guys! Ahhhhh!
Dad: Is Bonehead scared of Gigantosaurus?
Magdalena: He’s not. Bonehead says “Gigantosaurus is coming! Watch out! Run!”
Dad: He was playing tricks on his friends. And are they scared?
Magdalena: Yeah. That’s not nice.
Dad: Then what does Bonehead say?
Magdalena: “There was no Gigantosaurus, you guys!” There was no stomp. There was no crunch. Heeheehee…
Dad: But at the end of the book, who did finally come?
Magdalena: Gigantosaurus. Uh-oh! Footprints, footprints, he’s right there. There’s his tail...
Dad: Do you like Gigantosaurus?
Magdalena: No. He has a big head. He is grumpy. I like Bonehead! I like his name.
Dad: What would you do if Gigantosaurus was coming?
Magdalena: Hide. Behind the couch.
Dad: Do you think Dad would keep you safe?
Magdalena: I think you would play a trick on me.
Dad: So, what’s the best thing about this book?
Magdalena: Bonehead!
Dad: And why do you like this book?
Magdalena: It’s funny.
Dad: What is funny about it?
Magdalena: Bonehead!!!

Dad: Okay Evie, what is your book called?

Evangeline (age 6): “SHH! We have a plan”

Dad: Are you shushing me?
Evangeline: (whispering) I’m telling you the name of the book.
Dad: (whispering) Oh… do we have to whisper while we review this book?
Evangeline: Yes.
Dad: Why do you like this book?
Evangeline: I like the little person. The big persons are trying to grab a bird with a net and stick it in a cage. But it doesn’t work. The big ones don’t ever catch it. They fall. And splash. They are like, “Aahhhhhh!” It’s kind of fun. “Aahhhhhhg!” They scare the bird away.
Dad: But the little one says, “Hi Birdie!”
Evangeline: The little one always talks. And the big ones tell her “SHH!” But she knows better than the big ones. The little one gives the bird some bread. Definitely the bread works better. She is the one who gets all the birds. She got a BUNCH -- like “lavishing.”
Dad: Ohhhh! You are trying out a new a word!
Evangeline: “Lavishing.”
Dad: What does that mean?
Evangeline: Lavishing means “a bunch.”
Dad: The little one is lavished with birds.
Evangeline: Yeah.
Dad: So, who had the smartest plan?
Evangeline: The little one, the little one, the little one.
Dad: It’s almost like the little one wants to be a friend to the bird instead.
Evangeline: The big ones want to be friends too, but in a different way.
Dad: Oh you think so?
Evangeline: Yeah. The little one is trying to make a friend the nice way. And the big ones are trying to make a friend a mean way. They are trying to catch it with a net.
Dad: If you go out to the playground and want to make a friend, it’s probably not the best idea to bring a net.
Evangeline: No.
Dad: Will you be my friend?
Evangeline: Yes.
Dad: Do I have to use a net, or can I just use bread?
Evangeline: You don’t have to use any of that stuff.
Dad: But isn’t that the lesson? If you want to make a friend… use food! You want fat friends!
Evangeline: No.
Dad: Find hungry friends!
Evangeline: No. Kindness.
Dad: Oh – so kindness is a good idea?
Evangeline: Yes. And the little one shares.
Dad: Kindness and sharing. No sneaking. No nets. Anything else?
Evangeline: You could say “Hi” to the new friend. I would probably do this: If you were just sitting here, I would ask you if you want to play with me. And then we would start playing together.
Dad: So communication is best. And that’s what the little one had been trying! He was trying to use words all along.
Evangeline: Sometimes you can learn stuff from little ones.
Dad: So, Evie... out of all the books in the whooooole world, what is your favorite book?
Evangeline: The owl one. The one where the owl gets lost from his mommy.
Dad: Right, “Little Owl Lost.” And guess what. The same guy made this book! Chris Haughton. Out of all the new 2014 books you had to choose from, you picked a book by the same guy who wrote your favorite book. And you didn’t even know it.
Evangeline: I can see it now.
Dad: You must like his books, huh?
Evangeline: If I could meet him, I would tell him I love all his books.

Dad: Elijah, what books are you going to tell me about?
Elijah (age 8): Ricky Ricotta and his Mighty Robot. There’s this mouse named Ricky Ricotta. He’s just a normal kid who goes to school.
Dad: A normal kid?
Elijah: Well, just a normal mouse kid. He gets bullied every day. There is a bad rat named Dr. Stinky who built a robot, but the robot turns nice. Dr. Stinky was like, “Destroy those squirrels!” but they looked too cute for him... too harmless… I don’t know. The robot just didn’t want to do it.
Dad: So Ricky becomes the robot’s new master. But he didn’t create the robot – he’s not an inventor.
Elijah: No. Just a normal mouse kid.
Dad: I think the amount of art in these books is amazing. Really well done, and there are over 100 pages of it per book.
Elijah: There are two versions of these books.
Dad: Okay, tell us about that…
Elijah: In the first version that was made along time ago, the pictures are just like circles and squares. But the new versions that just came out are more detailed and have color – a LOT of color, on every page. The art shows a lot of action.
Dad: So you like the full-color illustrations.
Elijah: Yeah, the illustrator also did that book “Oh No.”
Dad: Dan Santat. And he did “Sidekicks.”
Elijah: Oh yeah! I can see that now. I like Sidekicks also.
Dad: Dav Pilkey wrote these books.
Elijah: And I know that he also did Captain Underpants. At school we had to tell our favorite book, and I did Ricky Ricotta - of course. We had to write the author’s name, and my friend Ethan said “That’s the guy who did Captain Underpants!”
Dad: So how would you describe this series?
Elijah: It’s exciting. Ricky and his robot are always going on adventures, fighting a different villain in every book.
Dad: These aren’t like the books that we have to make you read for school.
Elijah: These ones are fun - I want to read them. I can’t WAIT until the next four come out.
Dad: You and I have been reading lots of different books together for a while…
Elijah: I really like that.
Dad: But it’s been hard to get you to read on your own. UNTIL we discovered these books.
Elijah: Yep!
Dad: Then you went crazy. You don’t even wait for me! You raced on without me. These are the books that turned you into a “Reader.”
Elijah: I’ve been like, “When are the next ones coming out? When are the next ones coming out? They look so cool!” I can’t wait until the new ones come out.
Dad: So who would these be good books for?
Elijah: Me.
Dad: Haa ha hah ha… And?
Elijah: Other kids that are like me.
Dad: Kids that…
Elijah: ...like adventures and fighting and this kind of art. It looks like it’s animated. I can’t believe he drew this. He’s a really good artist.
Dad: The covers look like movie posters.
Elijah: I would DEFINITELY watch if they turned this into a tv show.

Lily (age 11): I like this book.
Dad: You’ve picked “Toucan Can.”
Lily: I put the words in this book to a tune.
Dad: So the poem must have really good rhythm to do that.
Lily: Yeah, it’s like snapping. (starts singing) “Toucan can do lots of things! Toucan dances! Toucan sings! Toucan bangs a frying pan! Can YOU do what Toucan can?”
Dad: What would you say is the point of the story?
Lily: It’s just playing with words.
Dad: Just a fun romp. Fun for your tongue.
Lily: (singing again) “Toucan can do lots of things! Toucan dances! Toucan sings!” Or we could make it into a Rap. Ready, Dad, you give a beat.
Dad: (makes beat noises)
Lily: (rapping) “Toucan - can do - lots of things… Toucan dances - Toucan sings”
Dad: Or you could do it like Opera…
Lily: Oh gosh. Let’s do it… “Toucan can dooooOOOOO… Lots of thiiiiiiIIIINGS…”
Dad: What else? Can you sing it Country?
Lily: (twangy) “Tou-can can do-oo lots of thaings… Tou-can dances and tou- can- saings…” There we go. What else? Rock? You’d basically just scream it.
Dad: What is your favorite part?
Lily: The best part is close to the end. The words gets REALLY confusing, and I just like it.
Dad: Would you call it a tongue twister?
Lily: The end part, yeah. It’s the best: “Aunty Anne and Candy can, and Aunty Candy’s panda can, with Aunt Amanda’s salamander, Sandy’s goose and Andy’s gander…” I’ve read this book a couple times, and I’m really bad at it. (tries saying it again)
Dad: Woo! Now you’re getting it.
Lily: But I can’t do it fast. (tries again faster)
Dad: Now you’re flying! Does it remind you of Dr. Seuss?
Lily: I like this better than Dr. Seuss. I’m not saying Dr. Seuss is bad. I just like this better.
Dad: And the characters have a lot of personality to them.
Lily: Yeah! I like the aunts. Ha ha ha… The aunts and uncles are, like – what the heck? They are so weird. And look at his face! Ha ha ha…
Dad: And the book is so colorful.
Lily: Yeah, it has very fun pictures. I really love all of the flowers and branches and leaves. They got a good artist for this book. Let’s see who the artist is…
Dad: Sarah Davis. And Juliette MacIver wrote it. Two girls.
Lily: I could tell.
Dad: You could?
Lily: The words sound like a girl’s words. And the flowers look like a girl painted them.
Dad: Really? How would a boy paint flowers?
Lily: A lot different.
Dad: Some of the most famous pictures of flowers have been painted by dudes.
Lily: I know.
Dad: Van Gogh’s sunflowers… Monet’s gardens…
Lily: But when you look a picture of a boy who did a flower and a girl who did a flower, you can tell the difference.
Dad: Maybe you can.
Lily: You can’t, but I can.
Dad: BUT “can Toucan do what YOU can do?”
Lily: Ha ha ha…

Dad: Gracie, you’ve got “Fox’s Garden.” What attracted you to this book?

Gracie (age 14): The storyline is sweet. The art is epic. The pictures are made out of cut paper, and WOAH. It must have taken forever to cut out. I made a shadow box a couple weeks ago -- it took me hours and hours, and it wasn’t even detailed. So this must have been crazy hard to do.
Dad: I love cut paper. I’ve been wanting to try making a cut paper book for years.
Gracie: (pointing) Look at that! Look at how detailed she cuts out the tiny little things! Oh man!
Dad: Do you like the images too, or are you mostly impressed by the materials?
Gracie: If the exact same pictures were painted instead, it would still be cool -- but not AS cool. She does a lot of things with light and shadow that you couldn’t do otherwise. She illuminates the town so you can see there is life there. And she casts shadows in the forest so it looks dark and deserted. So you know the fox wants to go where there is warmth and life to give birth and raise her babies. See, I’m getting all insightful and junk. Ha ha…
Dad: So when she gets to the town, does it turn out to be warm and inviting?
Gracie: No, there’s a mean dude. And a mean woman. They are kicking her. Poor fox. Then a boy brings her something in a basket? I’m assuming food.
Dad: What does the fox say?
Gracie: DON'T. YOU. Don’t you even bring that song up.
Dad: Well, we’re safe because the fox doesn’t say anything in this book.
Gracie: It’s a wordless book, which is cool. I feel like words could have ruined the book. I like wordless books - they are like silent movies.
Dad: And the book is almost black and white like a silent movie.
Gracie: Almost. The only things in color in the book are the fox and the child. And the kid is red just like the fox.
Dad: I think it shows their connection.
Gracie: It wasn’t a very realistic book though. That kid is going into a room with a mother fox. That’s not a good idea. He’s not very smart. If I was the fox, I would attack the child.
Dad: Would this have been better if it was realistic?
Gracie: Ha hah heh ha… No, because then there would be kid limbs everywhere.
Dad: Do you think it would have been fun or torture to make this book?
Gracie: I feel like it could be fun at the beginning… “Aw this could be awesome, look what I made, yeah!” But I feel like after cutting out one tree I’d be like, “okay, I’m done with this.”
Dad: I love the fact that this little constructed scene actually exists somewhere in the world. If I was able, I could go and look around this 3D paper room.
Gracie: It’s like a tiny world. If I spent that much time making little worlds this intricate, I wouldn’t pitch them. I’d build another room onto my house just to display them all.
Dad: Anything else you like about this book?
Gracie: I also love it because I think foxes are the coolest creature in the whole world. They are elegant. And powerful. It’s an elegant creature that can still fend for itself.
Dad: And they say “ring-ding-ding-ding…”
Gracie: STOP IT. I said we are NOT going to bring up that song.
Dad: Did you see the name of the person who made this book?
Gracie: (reading) Princesse Camcam? That’s awesome! Oh my gosh. That’s the best name in the whole world.