Michael Garland (1)Recensioni

A good story that shows how it can be rude to play in places you shouldn't and yet ends with a good lesson on being polite and caring for those around you. And to say and show that you're sorry even if you're worried. Great for young readers!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Not gonna lie, I judged this book by it's cover - it looked goofy and hilarious! So I figured, why not try it? You'd be surprised what you find when you judge a book by it's cover.

Get Off my Lawn by Michael Garland is a unique, picture book for young readers. It's simplistic, yet amusing. A group of neighbourhood kids play around, smelling flowers and doing what kids do. And then a man in the neighbourhood sees them and can't believe it! He yells at them to get off his lawn! It does become a lesson on why kids shouldn't play in other people's space and wreck their stuff. The ending and tips at the end if a nice touch though.

The illustrations kind of creep me out but the colours are beautiful. It's a strange sensation with this art style, honestly.

Overall, interesting book!

Two out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boys Town Press for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book is stunning. When an author uses different techniques in their illustrations, I am immediately enthralled. In fact, Michael Garland did this book using a digital collage technique he created!

It's a non-fiction book perfect for those who love nature and flowers. It starts with the first flowers that grow in spring and it progresses from there. There are irises, peonies, sunflowers, etc. And the animals that are represented.....it is the illustrations of THEM that might be my favorite of all. See what I mean when you come across the page with the deer.

It would work in a storytime. It would also work in a home setting.

Genre
Poetry
Stories in rhyme
Subject
City life
Night
Zoo animals
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This story talks about grief, discrimination, and hardship but it also discusses the beauty you can find even in the most difficult times. The character finds it in her memories of music, but it is great to talk about with this children because it talks about a horrible period in our history while also giving them someone to root for and a story that is accessible.

Cassie’s family joins the Great Migration after her family is forced to find a new place of work. During the journey, her dad uses his love of blues to keep the family positive and to help connect them to the community in their new home. When she looks back at her childhood, she can't remember everything but she can remember music because her daddy played the blues. The book is a tribute to the history of African American struggles and their transformation to lyrics and songs.

A great book that links music and culture. Shows how prevalent music is in the African American culture and gives students a glimpse into the past.

Zack is ready for another boring school year ("Why would this year be any different from the last one?") when punk rock Miss Smith arrives to disrupt his expectations in the best way. When she reads aloud from her special storybook, the stories come alive - for real! But when Miss Smith is late one day and Principal Rittenrotten reads from the book instead, chaos breaks out. Can Zach and his classmates restore order before Miss Smith returns? A humorous ode to the power of stories.

See also: Dear Substitute; Louder, Lili!; Take Your Pet to School Day

When the new teacher, Miss Smith, reads to her class, Zack and his classmates are amazed to find that the storybook characters come to life.

This is one of the better books coming out of Boys Town Press. I say that because they keep it simple. The “preach” or lesson part of the book is one small paragraph at the end. The book lets the story shine in a simplistic way that gets the message across so much better than the three time repeat they normally do. In this book a bunch of kids play on a neighbor's lawn and pic his flowers. He gets upset and the kids see him as mean and terrifying. But one of the moms explains why the neighbor is upset and helps the kids find a way to apologize. The story is simple and lovely, and just works. The illustrations are bright and colorful and help move the story along.

Take a trip with a New York City mouse as he tries to find food for his family. He is faced with many obstacles on his journey. Will he ever get the food to his home?

This fictional text about the Great Migration (1930s) is a tribute to the long struggle for social and economic justice. It’s also an homage to the rich, yearning strain of American music born in the South. Includes About the Author, Further Information About the Blues.

In this primary nonfiction book, students learn about flowers and their seasons. This would be a great read-aloud and discussion book.

On Christmas Eve, a little mouse decides to stay awake to see Santa and ends up taking a wild ride in Santa's sleigh before being returned home safe and sound.

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Garland, M. (2017). Daddy Played the Blues. Thomaston, Maine: Tilbury House Publishers.

book tells the story of a depression era farm family who was forced to move from rural Mississippi to Chicago. The young daughter, Cassie, narrates the journey. Cassie remembers her father and her uncle sitting on the front porch after a long day of work, they would play blues music to relax and cheer themselves. Cassie’s mother often pretended to disapprove, but Cassie insists that her mother actually loved the music. The family piled into their car and moved to Chicago, and Cassie’s father and uncle continued their tradition in their new home. Her father talked about all the famous blues musicians that were emerging onto the public scene, and their home was full of music lovers. Their family’s new life in Chicago was different from their life on the farm, but with their blues music, it was warm and happy. The book concludes with notes from the author, detailing how, as a child, he came to love blues music, as well as a bit of historical context for the Blue music movement. There are brief biographical blurbs about some famous musicians, and a map of the United States illustrating the location where Blues music was born and it’s migratory paths across the nation. This book is suitable for children ages 3-7 years.

This is a story about a young boy, bored on vacation with his parents, who goes to visit his strange but exciting neighbor, Rene Magritte. At Magritte's house he meets Salvador Dali. Throughout the meal, Magritte's paintings come to life as the boy watches is amazement.
I found this book underwhelming. The illustrations missed the mark and didn't capture Magritte's signature style. The story line was both boring and unbelievable. Why is a young boy having dinner with two surrealist painters? I like the idea, but thought the execution was poor.½

Great story and a chance to discuss 'urban legends' - and this one remains unresolved.

A simple but poetic text is paired with brightly-colored collage artwork in this picture-book celebration of flowers and the seasons from author/artist Michael Garland. Beginning with snowdrops and crocuses, the first flowers of the early spring, the book describes various beautiful blooms and the creatures which rely upon them, concluding with the chrysanthemums of late autumn. An afterword gives more details about each type of flower...

The rhyming text of A Season of Flowers reads quite well, while the colorful artwork grabs the eye, making this one that might work well as a read-aloud selection. I loved the use of color here, and the patterned/textured feeling of the illustrations. The informative afterword provides that little bit of extra information, for young readers/listeners who want to know more. Recommended to all young flower lovers, and to anyone looking for new picture-books about the changing of the seasons.

When the new teacher, Miss Smith, reads to her class, Zack and his classmates are amazed to find that the storybook characters come to life.

In her out-of-the-ordinary reading class, Miss Smith uses her incredible storybook to transport her students to Arthur Conan Doyle’s THE LOST WORLD, where they have an adventure with dinosaurs.

On a class trip to an aquarium, Miss Smith teaches a lesson about keeping the oceans clean by reading excerpts from stories in her magical book, featuring such characters as Captain Nemo and Robinson Crusoe.