Picture Stories

Adopting a Russian Bear, and Other Tales Told With Both Words and Pictures

The most successful picture books offer a child's-eye view of the world. Whether that child is a human or a bear is of little consequence. In the case of Nikolai, the Only Bear, by Barbara Joose (Philomel, $15.99; ages 3-up), he's the sole animal at Orphanage Number One in Novosibirsk, Russia. Being a bear, he's a little different from the rest of the orphans: He roars hello, he bellows songs, he plays chase instead of playing nice. This apparently befuddles his keepers. "At night, a babushka zips Nikolai into his pajamas. He crawls into his own little cave. The babushka turns off the sun and lights the moon. 'Grrrrr,' says Nikolai. 'Say goodnight, Nikolai,' says the babushka, but Nikolai already did."

While some humans seem confused or put off by Nikolai's behavior, that's not the case with two Americans who come to visit him. When Nikolai growls a greeting, the man growls back; the woman claws the air as he does instead of chiding him to play nice. This makes Nikolai feel "soft-bearish" and encourages him to crawl inside the woman's hug; soon he goes home to America with them.

The illustrations by newcomer Renata Liwska, with their round-headed characters and Nikolai's hopeful, striving body language, add a sweetness and poignancy. Still, one could wish for a bit more brightness; their subdued colors don't quite match the book's underlying humor and cheerful outcome. Though inspired by a real-life (human) adoption story, Nikolai is perhaps better read as a moving tale about the universal joy of receiving understanding, acceptance and belonging, no matter who, how or what you are.

Look at Me

The 5-year-old star of Very Tricky, Alfie Atkins , (R&S, $15; ages 3-6), a translation of a beloved book by Swedish author Gunilla Bergstrom, addresses another universal subject: a child's desire for attention. Alfie also wants to play with Daddy's alluring toolbox and its dangerous saw. In a good news/bad news situation, sometimes Daddy "wants to relax and be left in peace. He might want to read the paper or watch TV and not be with Alfie at all. That's when Alfie might possibly be able to borrow the toolbox! When daddies want to be left in peace, they don't pay too much attention to what you do. That's what it is like today."

So to the refrain of Daddy's absent-minded warnings about the saw, muttered from behind a very large newspaper, Alfie builds a helicopter, lands it in the jungle near a menacing tiger and finally, happily, attracts his father's attention and participation -- until the evening news comes on, that is. Bergstrom's bright, flat illustrations perfectly complement the book's deadpan funniness. Children will see themselves in Alfie, parents will see themselves in Daddy, and they all will be able to laugh together.

Sometimes the attention that children crave can come only from another child, and in Mary Ann Rodman's My Best Friend (Viking's Children, $15.99; ages 4-8), 6-year-old Lily has decided exactly whose interest she wants to attract: that of Tamika, the admiration-inspiring 7-year-old whom Lily sees playing at the neighborhood pool. "Tamika is my best friend," she says. "She just doesn't know it yet." Tamika doesn't cooperate at all in the matter, despite Lily's attempts to woo her with a more stylish bathing suit, Popsicle-sharing and newly attained diving skills. Meanwhile Lily ignores the friendly approaches of fellow 6-year-old Keesha. "She's nice," Lily says, "but she's not Tamika."

It all gets sorted out in a satisfying manner, and Lily maintains her positive attitude throughout. But what really makes the book shine are the watercolor illustrations by E.B. Lewis. He not only beautifully depicts the interplay of water and light in the pool, but also thoroughly captures the posture and attitude of little girls, from their akimbo arms, knobby knees and protruding stomachs to their scornful glances, stubborn pouts and winsome smiles.

Peas and Poems

Leo Landry knows how to look with a toddler's eyes at the subject of dinner. Young children will enjoy Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise ! , written and illustrated by Landry (Houghton Mifflin, $12; ages 2-6), though too-earnest parents might not appreciate its subversive message. Impish Ivy Louise, feet firmly hooked under her high-chair tray, has quite a lot going on in front of her; where her parents notice only the peas they so badly want her to eat, she sees a circus, complete with acrobats, clowns and a weightlifter hoisting Oatey-O's. The "amazing, stupendous" Tender Tiny Peas, whom Landry has charmingly drawn with simple, colorful illustrations, make a high-flying exit, catapulting through the kitchen window with Ivy Louise's help. "Goodbye!" they call. "All gone!" she crows. And her clueless parents say, "Good girl!"

Two stand-out picture books open children's minds through poetry. Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems, by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin; $16; ages 5-10), follows the life of a pond from spring to fall, personalizing its plant and animal residents (a water boatman is a kind of bug that, in order to breathe, keeps "some bubbles near/ trapped on my chest in a silver sphere"). The lively poems range in format and include a House-That-Jack-Built-style discourse on the food chain: "Here lurks the fish, wide of jaw/ that swallows the frog/ that gulps the bug/ that nabs the nymph/ that drinks the flea/ that eats the algae, green and small, in the depths of the summer pond." Alongside the poems are paragraphs full of interesting tidbits about the plants and creatures. Sidman tells us, for example, that spring peepers have a kind of "antifreeze" in their cells, and that moss-dwelling animals called "water bears" can live for years as microscopic specks blown about by the wind. Beckie Prange's gorgeous woodcut illustrations, with their warm green and brown hues, make the poems and the creatures even more accessible. Kids and freshly informed parents are sure to look at nearby ponds with different, more appreciative eyes.

A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms (Candlewick, $17.99; ages 8-11) makes poetry more intriguing than some readers may expect. The team of editor Paul Janeczko and illustrator Chris Raschka ( A Poke in the I ) has returned to introduce the rules for different kinds of poetry writing, but in a non-intimidating manner: While "knowing the rules makes poetry -- like sports -- more fun," Janeczko writes in the introduction, "not all the examples strictly follow the rules of their form. . . . Poets are sometimes more interested in following the spirit of a poetic form." In fact, Janeczko has included a limerick by Steven Herrick that provides an amusing example of successful, satisfying rule-breaking: "There once was a limerick called Steven/ whose rhyme scheme was very uneven/ it didn't make sense/ it wasn't funny/ and who'd call a limerick Steven anyway?"

Janeczko's selections will resonate with middle-grade readers -- the quatrain is Blake's "The Tyger"; the ode is about tennis shoes; the triolet features a hungry cow; the senryu (a haiku about human nature) reads: "First day, new school year,/ backpack harbors a fossil . . . / last June's cheese sandwich." Raschka has contributed whimsical torn-paper-and-paint illustrations that amplify the book's sense of discovery and creativity; readers might be as motivated to put their artistry toward a picture as a poem. And isn't such inspiring, too, what successful picture books do? ·

Elizabeth Chang is a copy editor for The Washington Post's Sunday Magazine and reviews books for KidsPost.