Koen Van BiesenCritiques

I hope they get a cover picture on here soon, because the art is the thing in this book. Also great conflict resolution and fun noises to read aloud. A combination of playing with typefaces, collage and sketch that makes me think of contour drawings -- great motion and funny interactions. Excellent book about being a good neighbor.

Roger and Emily are going fishing. Roger is riding his bike with Emily in back and Bob (the dog) in the front basket. The bike is loaded down with passengers and equipment. Not only that, but the streets and sidewalks are also busy. With Emily hanging onto the fishing pole, she begins to catch items on the pole belonging to others. The next thing you know, they are being chased by a variety of people trying to get their possessions back. It is a cute picture book where more and more things are happening, and people chasing them causing a chain reaction. When they finally end up at the lake, they realize they all need to relax and enjoy themselves. A cute humorous story that young children will enjoy with the repetition in the text making it fun to read.

The artwork is simple with drawings on a white background with some parts water coloured. I read a digital copy and there were some issues with the graphics, but I am sure the actual book will show them in their entirety. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

A wonderful book with interesting illustrations that tells the reader how joyful reading can be.

Sometimes I think I've read every picture book there was, is, and will be.

Then I run across Roger Is Going Fishing.

Roger and Emily are off to the lake to go fishing. On the way, Emily accidentally catches a few non-fish. It's a cumulative tale, with just a splash of rhyme and repetition, without being annoyingly so. And the whole tale has a satisfying ending.

Quite delightful.

This one was just okay to me. The story, such as it is, is the type of repetitive fare to be expected in a lot of early reader books and that was fine, but there are so many books that do this with great success these days that I felt this one fell a little short.

The story and art is very whimsical. I enjoyed it, but I didn't really like how we jumped straight into the story without much introduction. The ending was cute.

This is a fun little adventure book. The pictures were fun to look at with my little ones. They liked finding the things that the little girl catches. The story feels a little choppy, but I'd read it again to my kids.

Delightful illustrations combined with an easy to follow story make this book a good choice for preschool story time. Roger is going fishing with a friend who accidentally catches things other than fish on route to the pond. The pictures of the items picked up along the way are great for talking about with small children and it's a fun unexpected little read.

Note: I received a free copy from the publisher.

I have to admit I wasn't a fan of this one. The illustrations were hard to follow and the resolution was a little bland. I'm a little disappointed, since Roger Is Reading a Book was excellent.

I really enjoyed the illustrations and that if you looked really hard there would be little surprises hidden in the illustrations. It's worth a second look!

The plot could be a little confusing, but I would still recommend this book to young readers looking for a cute and funny story!

Happy reading!½

A book full of charming illustrations, but few words. I'm not sure young children (aged 2 or 3) will understand what is happening in the story without some additional explanation. That being said, the illustrations really stand out as unique and fun.

This book feels like a classic children's book. It has simple illustrations that after very cute. The story is repetitive as Roger continues on his bike and little Emily can't wait to go fishing. Simple, innocent story for kids.

Roger Is Going Fishing by Koen Van Biesen is a charming story for young children. What's more the illustrations are superb. It is worth owning just for the drawings. I collect children's picture books with outstanding illustrations. This book passes the test. It is a keeper. I am proud to add it to my collection of outstandingly illustrated children's books.

Roger is Going Fishing is a hoot! I had so much fun reading it when it arrived from Eerdman's Young Readers and I can't wait to read it with my niblings.

Roger, young neighbor Emily, and dog Bob are riding a bike through town to go fishing at a lake. But as they pass different people, the fishing lines Emily is holding hook onto those peoples' items, and in an effort to get them back, a bit of a parade develops behind the bicycle. This provides opportunities to count the people (and their things) and to try to figure out what item got hooked by what is missing in the picture (and then turn the page to see if you're right). The text has a repeating refrain - "Roger! I've got a bite!" Emily says, and he replies "No, you can't fish here...wait until we're at the lake!", and sound effects. The bike goes Bumble-de-bump! Bumble-de-bump! over the cobblestones, and each person has a sound effect of their own as they move - "Step Step Step", "Shop Shop Shop", "hip hop, hip hop" are the first three. After several, increasingly frantic repetitions, there is a pause: Roger and Emily and Bob have made it out of the city. But STOP! (glug glug glug!) they've ridden straight into the lake, and all the people from town are there, too!

I love the illustrations. They're a rough and jumbly style from ink or gouache and collaged photographic elements. They're primarily muted earth tones - sepia, taupe, sage, ochre - with occasional pops of bright yellow or blue or Roger's orange coat. They even extend to the endpapers. The front cover opens to a scene of seven people on a bus, each intent on his or her own thing, and is mirrored inside the back cover, but with everyone chatting and making music together.

This really was such fun to read and with great illustrations, I can't imagine how much fun it would be to read it with kids. My niblings are all babies, but I will definitely be putting this book on the shelf for them when they get a little older.

Simple text that will be good for reading aloud marry well with eye-catching mixed-media illustrations. I adored "Roger is Reading a Book," and while this follow-up doesn't grab me quite as hard, it's still delightful. It has a decidedly non-American produced feel; Laura Watkinson's translation is fun, bouncy, and accessible, but there is still something very European about it, which is wonderful.

First off, the illustrations in this book are beautiful. The story is funny and would definitely bring laughter from young children. The repetitive, predictive nature of the text would make it perfect for a good 1st grade reader at the middle or end of the school year. 2nd graders would also find this story very funny.

Roger, his friend Emily, and his dog Bob are going fishing. Emily sits behind Roger on the bicycle as they ride through town. Emily is carrying the fishing pole, and she starts catching things long before they reach the water! The humor of the situation will appeal to children. However, the design and layout of the type may make it difficult for struggling readers to follow. The drawings contain fine details that are difficult to see in the electronic ARC on my iPad Mini. Hopefully that won't be an issue in the print edition.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.½

I liked the dog - including the final picture.

A fun story about the ethics of living in harmony with ones neighbor through the expression of common interests rather than through exploitative manipulation. Art has an expressionist feel, but mapped onto a realistic template that loses it comprehensive "realness".

This clever book was about Roger trying to read a book but his neighbor was loud. He gave her a gift of a book.

Having a daughter named Emily made this book so much more enjoyable.

The graphics are wonderful for sharing as a lap read. The words are large enough for children to follow along and play act.

Roger is Reading a Book immediately reminded me of the Dick and Jane basal readers of my childhood (without the 1960s-style illustrations), with the frequent repetition of phrases so helpful to beginning readers. There are also examples of onomatopoeia. The illustrations by Flemish author Koen Van Biesen are in mixed media in a muted palette that is predominately browns, greens, and oranges. At first it's not immediately obvious that Roger and Emily were in separate rooms, as a wall is not visible.

Originally published in Belgium, the English translations of these books are by Laura Watkinson under the Flemish Literature Fund. Oh, and to another reviewer out there - unbound stacks of paper are quite common for free review copies of picture books!

I did not like this book at all. Roger is reading a book, but his neighbor is being too loud and keeps disrupting him. He does not approach his problem in a way that I would want to encourage students to solve their problems, so I would not read this to my students.

Roger is Reading a Book is a cute story suited for beginning readers. The text offers a repetitiveness that helps to build word recognition for children. I especially enjoyed the fun illustrations. They were unique and not something you see in most children's books.

I do feel the story lacked meat even for a picture book. It moves at a rapid pace, but I would have loved to see more hijinks (and more Basset Hound!) I also wasn't a fan of the words Baf and Pok to demonstrate the sounds Emily was making while being disruptive. I think these would be confusing for young children who are still working on learning the rules of reading. Perhaps something onomatopoetic would have been a better choice or at least spell them in a way that is easier to decode (baff, pock).

This is a nice story, with endearing characters who I enjoyed spending a little time with. The line drawings are quirky in a good way, and add to the story. The words are simple and will be easy for beginning readers to tackle, but the pacing and the story itself, about a man who chooses to share his love of reading rather than get upset with the noise of an active little girl, elevate it well beyond your typical early reader book.