Booklist likes Peanut and Fifi

Another great review just in for Peanut and Fifi have A Ball, Randall de Seve and my new book out at the end of this month. Preorder it here.

Peanut and Fifi Have a Ball.   

In this story about imaginative play, Peanut has a new blue ball. It’s a great ball, and her older sister, Fifi, wants it. But no matter what Fifi suggests they do with it, Peanut refuses. Then Fifi brings an imaginary seal into the equation, along with clothes and pajamas, so that all four can travel the world. Peanut acquiesces, but Fifi doesn’t need the ball anymore to play. End of story? Well, not quite. Much of this book’s charm lies in the spare illustrations of the girls, rendered as broad black strokes in geometric shapes (Fifi is triangular; Peanut is more rounded), and accented by a blue, green, and peach color palette. The backgrounds are plain and the pages creamy, which allow the characters to pop—up until the lovely, fully saturated final spread. When Fifi introduces each imaginary object, it’s effectively rendered in muted colors and bordered with a dotted line. Share with kids who understand what it’s like to have a special toy, a sibling, and a powerful imagination. 

— Ann Kelley

Kirkus likes

A great review from Kirkus for Peanut and Fifi Have a Ball:

Playful shapes and deft use of white space illustrate a fresh and funny tale about sharing.

Peanut sits on the floor, gazing lovingly at her new ball. Enter Fifi, who wants that ball. She tries grabbing; she tries politeness. “But Peanut didn’t want to share.” Fifi proposes several imagination games for which the ball is, naturally, required. From “Basketball?” to “Dough! It’s bread dough and we’re bakers and we’ve got to knead it and push it and pound it,” Fifi cajoles and Peanut refuses. “Not dough,” Peanut replies. “Just a ball.” The cream-colored backgrounds are clean and spacious, placing sharp focus on the girls. Schmid codes Peanut and Fifi by shape: Everything Peanut is rounded (body, head, ponytails, the ball), while everything Fifi is angular (face, ponytails, triangular dress with lightning bolt). Even a hilarious paper-airplane message—“Dear Ball, Wanna Play?”—is sharply triangular, and the reply—the airplane crumpled up, with “No” written on it—is roundish. Pale blues and oranges sit inside bold black outlines. Bits of rhyme nestle into the text: “It was brand-new. It was bright blue.” Fifi’s final power play briefly orchestrates a painful turnabout, but a page claiming “The end” is only teasing, and the real end sees Peanut and Fifi contentedly off into outer space—together.

Humorous, realistic and cheerfully free of didacticism. (Picture book. 3-5)

a star!

From the School Library Journal, a star for Peanut and Fifl:

 DE SÈVE , Randall. Peanut and Fifi Have a Ball. illus. by Paul Schmid. 32p. Dial. Apr. 2013.RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3578-1. LC 2012014355. 
PreS-K–Peanut is delighted with her new, bright-blue ball. Her older sister wants to play with it too, but Peanut refuses to share her special toy. Undaunted, imaginative Fifi tries a variety of strategies to get it from her sister. She proposes some enticing pretend games. “Where is my crystal ball?” she asks and then suggests, “It’s bread dough and we’re bakers.” Finally, Fifi returns with a seal that can do tricks with the ball. Peanut agrees to share it, but Fifi is off on another fantastic adventure, imagining that she and the seal are flying through space. After a moment, Peanut picks up her ball and chases after her sister, calling out, “Hey Fifi, check out this cool planet.” The digital artwork reinforces the playful tone of the story. The thick black outlines and geometric shapes featured in the simple but eye-catching illustrations have a childlike charm and capture the unique personality of each little girl. This story offers a gentle lesson about sharing, sibling dynamics, and the power of imagination. Pair it with But Excuse Me That Is My Book (Dial, 2005) or another title in Lauren Child’s “Charlie and Lola” series.–Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston, MA

perfect review

This review made me blush. The best thing about it is that it came from a librarian. Librarians know. Librarians are, as if it needed to be pointed out, perfectly awesome people.

Perfectly adorable
Percy is a porcupine with a love of balloons that knows no bounds. The problem is...he's a porcupine. Fortunately, Percy is a porcupine who likes to think and solve problems. How he manages to solve his prickly problem and keep his beloved balloons makes for a short little tale that is amazingly humorous and full of heart. Percy is adorable and kids will instantly relate to his efforts to solve his problem. He seeks help from his sister (whose ideas were not very practical) and his mother (who didn't have time) before finally realizing he needed to come up with something himself. His success will bring a smile to your face and his little grin as the author sends him off with a loving "have fun Percy!" will melt your heart.

This story is short enough for toddlers to still remain engaged, and charming enough to hook even older preschoolers. A must have for any story time collection; this is also a perfect gift for any toddler or preschooler. The illustrations are simple and straightforward and I'm just not sure how Paul Schmid manages to convey so much personality in such a simple little porcupine. When I used Perfectly Percy in a story time for four year olds, he inspired much discussion. The valentines we made following the reading featured quite a few little Percy sketches! With good messages about problem solving and perseverance, Perfectly Percy is a perfect picture book that's not to be missed.

Percy's a star!

My new book Perfectly Percy, received a starred review from the School Library Journal:

Percy is a porcupine with a problem. He loves balloons, but when he plays with them, they meet an unfortunate end. Big sister Pearl offers a creative, albeit “not very practical,” solution of sticking marshmallows onto his quills. Determined to find a better way, Percy “thought things all day. He thought thoughts through the night.” Inspiration strikes at breakfast, and the following page shows the prickly fellow sporting a cereal bowl on his head as he happily runs along with his favorite toy. The simple sentences are invitingly conversational in tone (“What’s a little porcupine to do?”). Schmid’s winsome charcoal and pastel illustrations show a charming, roly-poly character with dots for eyes and a tiny dash for a mouth. Percy’s features droop when he looks at his “trezr” chest full of deflated balloons, but a proud smile appears when he comes up with his own idea. A good choice for toddler storytimes.

Here is a fine review from what I've heard are usually grumpy people at Kirkus:

What is an adorable porcupine to do when his passion is for balloons? Is he destined for disappointment, or will some careful thinking lead to the perfect solution? Schmid (Hugs from Pearl, 2011) returns with another sweet tale about the challenges of being a porcupine. Percy loves balloons of all colors and shapes. “But HAPPY little porcupines with balloons are soon SAD little porcupines. / The balloons always go POP!” Percy is determined not to mope or give up. Advice from big sister Pearl is not practical, and his mom is too busy. So Percy must rely upon himself and start thinking. He muses all through the day and into the night. At breakfast the next day, while eating his cereal, he finally has an inspired idea. Young readers will immediately relate to Percy and his dilemma, and they will cheer when he independently comes up with a messy but successful solution. The simple, direct text pairs well with the soft pastel palette of the illustrations. Percy, white with a pink smudge of a nose and a mass of softly penciled wayward quills, appears more cuddly than prickly and is sure to endear. Just right for preschoolers, who will giggle at the gently humorous ending and see a bit of themselves in this utterly charming creature. 

And not bad from Publishers Weekly:

Schmid follows Hugs from Pearl (2011), about a porcupine named Pearl, with a companion tale about Pearl’s younger brother, Percy. It’s another story about porcupine problem-solving, as Percy mourns that his quills pop the balloons he loves. Eventually, Percy realizes he can don his cereal bowl (still dripping) like a helmet to protect his fragile balloons, “A perfectly Percy idea.” Schmid conveys Percy’s frustration and elation with a handful of adorable charcoal lines, a few sketched-in items of interest (such as a box of burst balloons labeled “trezr”), and backgrounds in pastel blues, greens, and lavenders. Pacing is slow; it takes Percy eight spreads of thinking—“He thought things all the day. He thought thoughts through the night”—before the solution arrives, a long time in the life of a toddler listener. Nevertheless, Schmid possesses the ability to draw irresistible characters, and his gently unconventional language (“The balloons always go pop! And Percy’s happiness pops with them”) adds a little buoyancy to this straightforward tale.