Tag: Monica Wesolowska

Caramel reviews Elbert in the Air by Monica Wesolowska and Jerome Pumphrey

Today Caramel reviews a sweet picture book published in 2023 titled Elbert in the Air, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey. As always, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies received this book as a review copy.

Caramel reviews Elbert in the Air, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey.
Caramel reviews Elbert in the Air, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, here we are, once again talking about a brand new picture book. What can you tell us about Elbert in the Air?

Caramel: This book is about Elbert, who is a kid who floats. Quite literally. I mean he can float in the air, and he could do so since the time he was a baby.

S: So like a balloon?

C: Kind of.

S: That is interesting. Can he control it?

C: Not really. He can only go up it seems like. He can’t go down. It is really sad actually. How would he get food? I mean, his mom gives him things, but she has to climb a tree and so on to reach him.

S: You are right Caramel. Floating like a balloon sounds fun at first, but I guess it can be lonely.

C: It could be cool if you could control it.

S: I agree Caramel. So do we know why Elbert floats?

C: Nope. He just does.

S: Okay, so what happens in the book?

C: He keeps flying and people are scared of him. They keep telling his mom how to control him and bring him down.

S: What does the mom do?

C: She does not do any of the things they tell her to. She says, “if Elbert was born to float, you should let him.”

S: I see. Do you think she is doing the right thing?

C: Yes.

S: She is not judging her child and trying to make him fit into other people’s expectations.

C: Yes, exactly. So I think she is doing the right thing.

S: But Elbert will be lonely if he is the only one floating.

C: Well, at some point he has regular friends while they can reach him, but then he flies up higher and regular folks cannot reach him. So for a while he is really lonely.

S: But at least he knows his mom is supporting him.

C: Yes.

S: Still it could be lonely…

C: Yes. I am sure it would be, but he does eventually find others who can float, and — wait, is that a spoiler?

S: Hmm, maybe.

C: Okay, I will say no more.

Caramel is reading Elbert in the Air, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey.
Caramel is reading Elbert in the Air, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey.

S: Alright, so let us look at the book in other ways. What did you think of the illustrations?

C: I thought they were good. There are a lot of pale blue, orange, brown, black, red, white, and so on.

S: Somewhat muted and calming colors mostly?

C: Yes. Except the red and the orange. But those are fun colors too.

S: So you liked the colors! What was your favorite part of the book?

C: Well, I cannot tell, because it is at the end, and I do not want to spoil things any more than I did already.

S: That’s fair. Okay Caramel, so if you were to summarize this book in three words, what would you say?

C: Colorful, floating, and happy.

S: I like those!

C: Actually, maybe I’d say adventurous, too.

S: Alright, then. I think those are good words to summarize the book. Let us wrap up our review then. What would you like to tell our readers Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Elbert in the Air by Monica Wesolowska and Jerome Pumphrey, and recommends it to all the little bunnies all over the world.
Caramel enjoyed reading Elbert in the Air by Monica Wesolowska and Jerome Pumphrey, and recommends it to all the little bunnies all over the world.

Caramel reviews Leo + Lea by Monica Wesolowska and Kenard Pak

Today Caramel reviews a beautiful picture book titled Leo + Lea, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Kenard Pak. As always, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies received this book as a review copy.

Caramel reviews Leo + Lea, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Kenard Pak.
Caramel reviews Leo + Lea, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Kenard Pak.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, can you tell us a bit about this book?

Caramel: Maybe I can read you the description on the back cover?

S: Sure, let us start with that.

C: “This beautiful friendship story, inspired by the Fibonacci sequence and cleverly constructed using its mathematical pattern, celebrates different ways of seeing and being in the world, as well as how math connects us to one another.” That’s it.

S: I guess that is a good summary.

C: Yes.

S: So who are the friends in the book?

C: Leo and Lea. You should know that from the title!

S: You are right of course. So tell me about Leo and Lea.

C: Well, Leo is a boy who likes counting things. And Lea is a different person. She likes drawing and coloring patterns.

S: The book starts with Leo counting, right?

C: Yes. And he counts two trees, three squirrels, and five steps, and so on.

S: Oh, yes, I can see the Fibonacci sequence showing itself: Leo is 1, counting is 1, then the two trees is 2, and then the three squirrels is 3, and the five steps are 5.

C: Yes, and the words about them are the same number too. So The three squirrels are not just three squirrels, but they are “three noisy squirrels” so it makes three words. Then the five steps are “five big steps to school” and that is five words. And then comes 8 and then 13, and 21.

S: Yes, when we were reading this, at this point you realized the numbers had a pattern.

C: Yes, each number is the sum of the two numbers right before it. So 8 is 3 plus 5, and 13 is 5 plus 8, and so on.

S: And then you could guess that the next page would have 34 words.

C: Yes, and then there is a page with fifty-five words. I think. I am not sure. I did not count that one. That is a lot of words and I am sure I will lose track.

S: I can imagine. So that is kind of neat, no? The words and the numbers match the same pattern!

C: Yes, I did not notice that before we began rereading the book together. I thought it was just a love story.

S: Well, it is not quite a love story. It is a friendship story. and Leo and Lea become friends because they both like patterns and so can understand each other.

C: Yes, I know that now, and so I like the book more.

S: I know. Neither you nor Marshmallow like things to get too mushy. But this is not at all mushy. It is about two kids finding that they like patterns in different ways.

C: Yes, Leo likes patterns in numbers and Lea likes to draw patterns. So they can understand each other.

Caramel is reading Leo + Lea, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Kenard Pak.
Caramel is reading Leo + Lea, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Kenard Pak.

S: So let us look at the pictures a bit. Can you describe them?

C: They are colorful.

S: They reminded me a bit of some of the books illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault that you have read a while back. Do you remember those?

C: Yes, I can see that. But this book is a lot more colorful. And I did count the kids on the page for fifty-five and there are fifty-five people on it including Leo and the teacher.

S: How about the other pages?

C: Yes, just like on each page for a number there are that many words, there are that many pictures of some thing about that page. Like on the page for thirteen there are thirteen blossoms that Lea drew on her paper.

S: That is cool. So do you think this could be fun for a little bunny to read together with a big bunny and count things together?

C: Yes. Lots of little bunnies like counting things.

S: You do.

C: Yep.

S: So how would you describe the book in three words?

C: Colorful, numberful, and fun.

S: Totally! Okay, so it is time to wrap this review up then. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel is reading Leo + Lea, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Kenard Pak.
Caramel enjoyed reading Leo + Lea, written by Monica Wesolowska and illustrated by Kenard Pak, and finding the many Fibonacci numbers sprinkled through its pages.