Happy Sunday everyone. Today OUaT bring you the next stop in the Stanley Seagull book tour. Today's stop will be a review for the book.
Illustrator Colleen Gedrich Links: Tribute Books / Facebook
Colleen Gedrich's Bio: Colleen Gedrich, a lifelong resident Throop, Pa., earned a BFA in illustration from Marywood University in 2002. She is a freelance illustrator specializing in animal-themed work. She enjoys creating her art using mostly watercolor and pastel. As a dedicated animal rights activist and full-time program coordinator for International Society for Animal Rights (ISAR), Colleen lives her dream of joining her passions for animals and art to promote a more harmonious world with a touch of beauty. Recent works produced by Colleen include t-shirt and invitation designs, children’s book illustrations (A Different Kind of Hero), and book covers (With God There Is Hope). Colleen has also teamed up with her very talented artist mother, Kathy Holmes Gedrich, and paints murals for children’s nurseries.
Author: Cathy Mazur
Illistrator: Colleen Gedrich
Pages: 32 Hardcover
Reading Level: Children's Picture Book
Published: July 2011
Review Source: Tribute Books
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes
Summary: (from goodreads) Meet a young seagull named Stanley. Follow him as he wanders far from home and tries to find his way back. Join Stanley on his journey as he learns how humans affect the balance of nature.
I'm always glad when Tribute Books ask me to review one of their Children's Picture books. They have some of the best ones out there. I read Stanley Seagull for myself and I also read it out loud to my 4 year old to see what his reaction was of Stanley Seagull. We both enjoyed it.
Stanley is a seagull that lives at the beach. He lives a very happy life by the water. He has a cousin Seymor, and they both spend their days looking for food. One day Seymor shows Stanley about the garbage trucks that stop at the beach. Stanley thought he won the lottery, when he saw all the food he could eat. Seymor had mentioned to Stanley that he had to be ready to fly away at a moments noticed though. Stanley of course didn't do as Seymor told him. He was caught in the garbage truck by the cover. So when Stanley realizes that he is no longer close to the beach, he truly becomes sad. So Stanley's mission is to find the beach again and go home. He doesn't care that he has endless food at the dump site, he just cares about the blue waters and going back home.
The story in general I liked it very much, the ending was just a bit fast. I would have like to read more on Stanley trying to get home again. This book does teach children that being greedy doesn't get you anywhere. At the same time it also teaches then never to give up or back down. So Cathy does a well job explaining that throughout the story. Now the illustrations are wonderful, I love that Colleen used water colors to paint each scene. It gave it that beach feel to it. The color palette she used was perfect. My 4 year old was captured with each page. I recommend this book to all who have young children and to any teacher or librarian that teach elementary school. Its a great book to have as part of any school's library.
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Yara, thanks for your kind words about our children's titles. I'm so glad that you like them and especially that your daughter is now a fan of Stanley Seagull. For juvenile picture books, it's always good to hear when a child enjoys the story and the illustrations.
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing out the underlying morals - that greed doesn't get you anywhere and to never give up or back down. Two important lessons that children everywhere can benefit from.
I appreciate your recommendation to teachers and elementary librarians since this is the perfect read-along story. And thanks for your compliments on Colleen's artwork. I know your praise will mean a lot to her.