50 Below Zero Board Book, by Robert Munsch (illustrated by Michael Martchenko)

50 Below Zero Board Book
Author: Robert Munsch
Illustrator: Michael Martchenko
Publisher: Annick Press
Publication Date: June 13, 2013
(Originally Published in 1986)
Source: NetGalley
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I'm a huge fan of all of Robert Munsch's books and I've always enjoyed reading them to my daughter as well as to daycare classes. Having said that, I've never like the abridged board book versions nearly as much, even when reading them to very young children. A big part of the charm of Robert Munsch's books is in the repetition of phrases, the predictability of the format, and the general silliness of the noises and expressions. And a lot of that is lost in the board book versions. I tried reading the board book of The Paper Bag Princess to my daughter Magda and I got so frustrated I went back to the original. I felt the same way with this one. Too much is lost in the abridged version.

Mud Puddle, by Robert Munsch (illustrated by Dušan Petricic)

Mud Puddle

Author: Robert Munsch

Illustrator: Dušan Petricic

Publisher: Annick Press

Publication Date: September 1, 2012

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This has always been one of my favourite Robert Munsch books. It's so fun to read this one aloud, especially with a group of children. They love shouting the "Hey Mud Puddle!" part. But I must say, I'm partial to the original version with illustrations by the immensely talented Sami Suomalainen (if you don't know Suomalainen's work, I cannot recommend his illustrations in Curtis Parkinson's Mr. Reez's Sneezes highly enough!). This newly illustrated version with pictures by Dušan Petricic is...well, it's just not the same. It's odd, but in a way the new illustrations are more dated than the ones from nearly twenty years ago. In the original, the colours are rich, the images approximate (not that they're crudely drawn, just that they are playful and leave a lot to the imagination, which I love) and the rich mud practically oozes off the page. Petricic's illustrations, on the other hand, are relatively detailed but lack the, well, ooziness of the original. It's like the Mud Puddle has already been scrubbed. Fantastic story but my preference is definitely for the original illustrations.

The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch

The Paper Bag Princess

(Read-Aloud Edition) 

Author: Robert Munsch 

Illustrator: Michael Martchenko 

Publisher: Open Road Media (Read-Aloud Edition enhanced e-book) 

(Originally published by Annick Press, 1992) 

Publication Date: June 26, 2012 

Buy Now on Amazon.com (original paperback) 

Buy Now on Amazon.ca (board book) 

Available as enhanced e-book from Open Road Media 

Well, try as I might, I wasn't actually able to fully appreciate the "enhanced e-book experience." I think I just don't have the hang of it. The publishers sent me several digital copies of this book and finally sent me separate text and audio files for me to read and listen to on my computer. They were nice enough, with music and sound effects to accompany the narration by Robert Munsch, but to my taste they weren't so much better than all the other versions of this book available that it made it worth the effort. This is probably Munsch's most adapted book, with numerous print, digital, audio, and even animated cartoon versions available already. I'm not sure I quite see the point of this new edition. But I suspect I'm not quite as tech-savvy as some. Perhaps on an iPad it's a smoother experience to enjoy e-books with enhanced content. 

Although I did quite enjoy the variation on the "Mission: Impossible" theme song as it Princess Elizabeth went off in search of the dragon. Perhaps that moment was worth at least some of the hassle I went through to hear it.

The Fire Station, by Robert Munsch (illustrated by Michael Martchenko)

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I love Robert Munsch! I saw this title on NetGalley.com so I guess it's been re-released, but originally it was published twenty years ago. Like all Robert Munsch books, it holds up beautifully. It's also one of my daughter's favourite types of Robert Munsch stories, namely the little-kid-with-a-fast-vehicle (her other favourites are Angela's Airplane and Zoom!). Of course, one of the best thing about Robert Munsch books is Robert Munsch himself, his storytelling is beyond compare. If you ever have a chance to take your child to see him in person, it's definitely worth it. In the meantime, check out his website. You can download audio files of him reading almost all of his books. (It's fantastic for long car rides for those of us who don't have video games and DVD players in our cars.)


Hit the jump for Magda's assessment and more!