Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results (#65-61)

This book makes my list because Rathmann intentionally drew illustrations that told the story – the words alone do not.  Joyful, fun, and kids LOVE Gloria. – Susan Eley

Only one other out-and-out Caldecott Medal winner has made it onto the list so far, and that was Kitten’s First Full Moon.  Now a second Medal winner has joined its ranks.  Special Note: Before all is said and done at least eleven other Caldecott Medal winners will make it onto this list.  Perhaps I should ask you all to guess what the eleven will be.  There are a couple surprises in that list that I suspect some of you might not see coming.

As the Amazon.com summary of this book put it: "Officer Buckle is a roly-poly bloke, dedicated to teaching schoolchildren important safety tips, such as never put anything in your ear and never stand on a swivel chair. The problem is, Officer Buckle’s school assemblies are dull, dull, dull, and the children of Napville just sleep, sleep, sleep. That is, until Gloria the police dog is invited along! Stealthily pantomiming each safety tip behind Officer Buckle’s back, Gloria wins the children’s hearts. Meanwhile Officer Buckle assumes the cheers and laughter are all for him."

Fun Fact: The year that Officer Buckle and Gloria won the Caldecott the New York Public Library employees would still regularly dress up as the winning book when attending the yearly Newbery/Caldecott banquet.  For a long time a policeman’s cap sporting a pair of brown ears lived in the Central Children’s Room.  I haven’t seen it since our move to our new location, however, so it may well be lost to the sands of time.

Additional Fun Fact: Though this is their only official book, Officer Buckle and Gloria have appeared in at least one other Rathmann title (albeit briefly).  Can you name the book?

Publisher’s Weekly said of it, "Rathmann (Good Night, Gorilla) brings a lighter-than-air comic touch to this outstanding, solid-as-a-brick picture book."

School Library Journal: "A five-star performance."

And BookList summed it all up with: "Like Officer Buckle and Gloria, the deadpan humor of the text and slapstick wit of the illustrations make a terrific combination. Large, expressive line drawings illustrate the characters with finesse, and the Kool-Aid-bright washes add energy and pizzazz."

Another slightly controversial title makes it onto the list.  Skippyjon Jones is one of the newer titles to make it onto the Top 100.  It’s probably one of the more popular books in my library.  The plot involves a small Siamese cat with aspirations of becoming a chihuahua.  Children’s Literature summarized the plot like so:

"Skippyjon Jones is not your ordinary Siamese cat. He enjoys being with the birds and much to his mother’s displeasure, he sleeps with them, eats worms and plays in the birdbath. This just is not the type of behavior she expects from her son. Banished to his room, and warned to stay out of his closet, Skippyjon does not seem to be the least bit fazed. He actually ends up on another adventure, and this time he is a masked bandito consorting with a group of dogs—the Chimichangos. The fearless Skippyjon saves them from an awful monster bumblebee named Alfredo Buzzito. It turns out that the bee is actually a birthday piñata and when he punctures it all the goodies come spilling out all over his room. Mama for once is not really upset and the irrepressible Skippyjon is ready for his next adventure."

School Library Journal called it, "A good multicultural offering."

When rhyming works, it really works. The story is of a teapot that falls to the floor in an extremely well-stocked kitchen. In our house, “’Form a battalion!’ said the scallion” has become a rallying cry. – Farida Dowler

This falls into the category of lost treasures near and dear to the hearts of the people who read them when young.

In this story an ant witnesses a horrifying accident.  A teapot has fallen, and who will be its savior?  The ant is urged by every possible denizen of the kitchen, from the cutlery to the cooking ingredients to help.  In the end, the ant does its best and all is well.  This tale is told with a rhyme scheme that some might see as extreme, but that apparently sticks in the brain for years.

This is one my son and I agree on.  It had a ton of action and I thought she did such a nice job capturing the mind of an active boy.  I love all the knitted socks at Grandma’s house. – Julie Phillipps

I want to go out on a limb here and say that when it comes to picture books about action figures, this book beats ’em all.  Admittedly I can’t think of any other books that involve action figures to this extent . . . but the point remains.

My description of the plot from my Amazon review put it thusly: "A boy writes a note to Santa requesting another Traction Man since his old one was involved in what is simply referred to as, ‘the Terrible Parachute Accident’. Santa may not be aware of the boy’s request, but his parents are certainly on the ball because Christmas Day brings a brand new bright and shiny Traction Man (complete with Dazzle-Painted Battler Pants). Thus begin our hero’s adventures. Each time he appears, his new outfit is lovingly described (as in the sentence, ‘Traction Man is crawling through the overgrown shrubbery near the Pond, wearing Jungle Pants, Camouflage Vest and Sweaty Bandanna’). This is all well and good up until the moment the family goes to knit-crazy Granny’s. Traction Man receives an all-in-one knitted green romper suit and matches bonnet. It’s adorable and completely inappropriate for his line of work. Fortunately, Traction Man’s quick thinking sidekick Scrubbing Brush finds a way to solve the romper problem and save some spoons in need."

The funny thing about Traction Man is partly that some Americans don’t get the inherent joke of the name.  In Britain there is a character called "Action Man".  He’s sort of a G.I. Joe type guy.  Ah well.

Said School Library Journal: "Grey has a way of exactly catching the nuances of a child’s ability to turn even the most common object into a friend or looming foe in the never-ending battle between good and evil. This fresh, funny hero and Grey’s celebration of a child’s imagination definitely have traction."

Booklist said: "Setting up the child as the creator of Traction Man’s secondary world and dramatizing his narrative play, Grey portrays with precision and wit the sort of inventive thinking that toys can inspire in children."

Timeless theme: getting lost and coming back home. – Sherry Early

A couple years ago I got this email from someone who was remembering past visits to my library when it was located at the Donnell: “I remember looking at what must have been the first edition of The Story About Ping, the first book I ever read myself, when I was four. I had seen much later editions, of course, but somehow was dissatisfied with them. When I unwrapped that first edition from its plastic, I realized that my memory had held true over all those decades: the blue of the Yangste River was the deeper blue I remembered, the cormorants more fierce than later versions. It was amazing to learn then that the original plates had been destroyed (perhaps during World War Two) and the illustrations recreated for later editions. This impressed on me once more how deep and even permanent is the impact of books loved in early childhood. My mind had actually retained, for more than 40 years, a shade of blue that I had never once seen in the intervening years.”

We all have that blue in our brains.  We just usually aren’t lucky enough to find it again.

There have been some mild accusations of racism and animal cruelty leveled at Ping over the years, but I’m not sure if any of it sticks.  The images of the Chinese aren’t the caricatures you’ll find in some of the other children’s titles out there, particularly of the same time period.  However, there is some yellowing of the skin at times.  As for animal cruelty, Ping gets spanked if he’s last in line.  You’ll have to make your own call on this one.