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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.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book two hundred and ninety-five

I always enjoy hearing the unique words that toddlers come up for things. Yesterday my friend's grandson told me all about his "gaga" and I had no idea what he was talking about until my friend explained that "gaga" means Grandma. My own daughter loved to pat her "goggies," and read books about "pincessess" and ate "sketti" for dinner.

In today's picture book you will meet a little girl who uses a word that baffles her family members. Try as they might, they cannot figure out what she is saying.

Christine Ditchfield
Illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Random House, 2009, 978-0-375-84181-1
   Babies sometimes have their own words for things, words that we can usually figure out after a while, but this baby has a word that she says all the time and it is a word that no one can translate. What on earth does “Shwatsit” mean?
  Try as they might, the baby’s parents and siblings cannot figure out what “Shwatsit” means. It could be anything. It could mean “bus” or “Joe,” “brush” or “grass.” The baby says it all the time; when she is at home, when she is at the park, when she is following her mother around the house, and when she is saying goodbye to her brothers and sister when they get on the school bus.
   In this charming picture book children will meet a “clever tot” who has developed a very unique word, a word that is very clear once you understand what it means.
   With a rhyming text and a delightful and funny story, this is a perfect picture book to share with young children.

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