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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book two hundred and sixty-six

Happy fall everyone (who is the northern hemisphere)! In honor of the autumnal equinox, I have a picture book that is about fall. Sort of. In a odd sort of way.

Bob Raczka
Illustrated by Chad Cameron
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Lerner, 2011, 978-0-7613-4606-7
   Most of us know what to expect in the fall. Leaves change color and fall to the ground, animals prepare for the winter by gathering food, flying south, or hibernating, apples turn red, and pumpkins turn orange. Imagine what it would be like if all these things were mixed up. What would fall be like?
   Well, for a start leaves would “float up into / blue skies overhead.”  Bears would gather nuts, geese would hibernate, and squirrels would “fly south in / big figure eights.” Children would leap into piles of sticks instead of into piles of leaves, and they would get “stuffing and / drumsticks for treats” instead of candy on Halloween night.
   In this topsy-turvy picture book, Bob Raczka’s clever verse is paired with Chad Cameron’s amusing art to give children a book that they can look through again and again, looking for the things that “aren’t right.” There are ‘mistakes’ not only in the art, but in the text as well.

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