BOOKS FOR KIDS

FIREBOAT

The Heroic Adventures

of the John J. Harvey

By Maira Kalman

Putnam: 48 pp., $16.99

In relating the heroic role of the John J. Harvey on Sept. 11, Maira Kalman intelligently conveys those unfathomable events in a way that a picture book audience can comprehend. “Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey” begins with the year 1931, which saw some of New York City’s finest hours: “Amazing things were happening big and small. / The Empire State Building went up up up.” She continues with the completion of the George Washington Bridge, then zeroes in on the launching of the John J. Harvey, “the largest, fastest and shiniest fireboat of them all.”

Spot illustrations show its equipment and introduce the crew (including “a dog named Smokey, who did not put out the fires but had many nice spots”), while views of the New York harbor stretch across a spread. She then fast-forwards to 1995: “New York was changing. The Twin Towers were now the tallest buildings in New York City.” But the piers are also closing, so the fireboat rests in retirement. One night, a group of friends decide over dinner to restore the John J. Harvey to its original glory.

Next, the volume takes an abrupt turn. White type on a black page announces: “But then on September 11, 2001 something so huge and horrible happened that the whole world shook.” A sequence of spreads shows the towers literally exploding in dark, angry brushstrokes of black and gray and orange, followed by the many heroes who “sprang into action,” including the John J. Harvey.

With this inspiring book, Kalman (“Next Stop Grand Central”) sensitively handles a difficult subject in an age-appropriate manner. (Ages 5 and up)

*

STAND TALL

By Joan Bauer

Putnam: 192 pp., $16.99

In her heartfelt and humorous novel “Stand Tall,” Joan Bauer leaves teenage girl protagonists in favor of a middle-grade boy--as she did also in “Sticks” (1996). But her fans won’t be disappointed.

At first, 12-year-old Tree, “six feet, three and a half inches and growing,” only literally “stands tall.” At school, Coach Glummer expects him to lead the basketball team (though he’s not very athletic) and teachers expect him to act older than his age. On the home front--which shifts weekly due to his parents’ recent divorce and joint custody arrangement--Tree is the glue of his family. He helps care for his Vietnam vet grandfather (who recently had a leg amputated) while worrying about his aging dog, Bradley, his two college-student brothers and his parents.

Bolstered by his budding friendship with the outspoken new girl at school, Sophie, and by Grandpa, Tree finds an inner strength that helps him deal with just about anything--including a natural disaster. Bauer (“Hope Was Here”) once again creates a clan of believable characters scrambling to make the best of their particular brand of dysfunction. Her swiftly paced story artfully blends poignant and outright funny moments, resulting in a triumphant tale that will resonate with many young readers. (Ages 10 and up)

*

FARFALLINA & MARCEL

By Holly Keller

HarperCollins/Greenwillow:

32 pp., $15.99

Holly Keller introduces a caterpillar and gosling in “Farfallina & Marcel,” a deceptively simple story of friendship and transformation. They meet in a rain shower one day: “ ‘Hey,’ said a little voice. / ‘You’re eating my umbrella,’ ” says feathered Marcel as Farfallina (whose name means “little butterfly” in Italian) nibbles on a leaf over his head. With a minimum of text, Keller (“Cecil’s Garden”) describes the charming friendship’s beginnings.

When they play hide-and-seek, Farfallina hides under a low fern “because she knew that Marcel couldn’t climb.” In turn, Marcel hides behind a nearby tree “because he knew that Farfallina moved slowly.” A full-page full-bleed painting shows Farfallina riding on the gosling’s back across a lily-pad-dotted pond. One day, the caterpillar announces that she needs to climb onto a tree branch and rest for a while, and her patient pal settles in the grass to wait for her. A series of paintings follows each friend’s metamorphosis--Marcel’s change in plumage, Farfallina’s emergence from her cocoon. Finally reunited, neither creature recognizes the other and again bond as friends nonetheless.

When they realize each other’s true identities, Keller conveys their joy with the pair’s fluttering of wings, and their quiet repose in an eloquently serene spread as they fall asleep “smiling at the stars.” Keller’s ending remains true to both nature and friendship that lasts through the seasons in this perfectly paced book. (Ages 4 and up)

*

GOSSIE

By Olivier Dunrea

Houghton Mifflin: 32 pp., $9.95

*

GOSSIE & GERTIE

By Olivier Dunrea

Houghton Mifflin: 32 pp., $9.95

“This is Gossie. Gossie is a gosling,” opens “Gossie,” the first of Olivier Dunrea’s hand-size square volumes starring two likable, diminutive characters. From the start, the author strikes an appealing, unorthodox note--Gossie is first seen only from the neck up, hanging upside-down from the top of the opening page. This playfulness continues throughout both books.

In the first, Gossie loves her red boots and is distraught when her fancy footwear goes missing. After searching the farm high and low, she spots the boots: “They were walking. On someone else’s feet!” Enter Gertie. “ ‘Great boots!’ said Gertie. Gossie smiled.” Gossie shares half of her prized possession with her new, slightly smaller pal, and the two walk side-by-side, each wearing one red boot.

In the second story, “Gossie & Gertie,” Gertie has her own boots (a bright blue pair) and asserts her independence. In a sequence of perfectly timed illustrations, Dunrea depicts Gossie’s mounting frustration--until, finally, she follows Gertie to the supper bowl they share. Adding ample wry humor to both his spare ink-and-watercolor pictures and minimalist text, Dunrea imbues both goslings with distinctive, endearing personalities and chronicles experiences every preschooler can recognize. (Ages 2-5)

*

TROUT AND ME

By Susan Shreve

Alfred A. Knopf: 144 pp., $15.95

In this moving novel, “Trout and Me,” Susan Shreve (“Blister”) again demonstrates her insight into kids outside the mainstream of school life. Eleven-year-old Ben has hated school since first grade, when he responded to a classmate’s taunts about his lisp by flushing her teddy bear down the toilet. The well-meaning but dense principal uses the occasion to test Ben for learning disabilities (he turns out to have dyslexia and, later, attention deficit disorder), but in the process makes Ben feel like a “problem child.” As Ben, the narrator, candidly puts it, “Since the teddy bear, everyone expected trouble from me. So that’s what they got.”

Now in fifth grade, Ben explains that despite his efforts, “My bad reputation has followed me like a tail getting longer every year.” Then a new boy named Trout arrives at school, wearing what he claims is a tattooed question mark on his chin (“If I didn’t have a question mark on my chin, I’d be invisible,” he tells Ben). Trout, who also has learning disabilities, attaches himself to Ben’s side “like Velcro” and the two boys live up to the school’s expectations by getting into trouble, big-time.

The author’s evenhandedness gives the story its punch: The adults think they are doing all the right things, but fail to see how their attitudes compound the boys’ problems. Fusing humor and pathos, Shreve introduces characters of uncommon dimension and complexity--and leaves readers with subtle issues to ponder. (Ages 9-12)

*

JOHN COLTRANE’S GIANT STEPS

By Chris Raschka

Atheneum/Jackson: 32 pp., $17

This innovative visual deconstruction of one of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane’s most beloved compositions may be Chris Raschka’s (“Mysterious Thelonious”) most ambitious picture book yet. After a playful introduction (“Good evening. And thank you for coming to our book”), the unseen narrator-conductor of “John Coltrane’s Giant Steps” introduces the performers--a box, a snowflake, some raindrops and a kitten--a tongue-in-cheek nod to Coltrane’s version of “My Favorite Things.”

The book does not require previous awareness of the jazz great’s work, however. Each performer (representing percussion, bass, piano and sax) appears in a different color and shape (Raschka riffs on primary red, yellow and blue, and the basic square, triangle and circle). The performance begins, only to be interrupted when the kitten (“the melody on top of everything”) takes steps a little too large (“People, people! What happened?”). Some coaching finally produces what Coltrane called “sheets of sound.”

Raschka’s transparent watercolors layer colors and shapes the way a musician would notes and harmonies. Stunningly simple, the concept provides a compelling introduction to Coltrane’s musical genius. Those who possess a little musical knowledge will delight in such arch references as “remixed by Chris Raschka” on the title page and the conductor’s hilarious critique (“First of all, raindrops, you were rushing on page 19”). Even the jacket repeats the book’s central conceit: a clear plastic wrap featuring the kitten, painted in thick black outline, overlays the other elements. A must for jazz enthusiasts and, for first-timers, a clever introduction to this wildly creative musical genre. (Ages 4-7)