Welcome!

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.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Picture Book Monday with a review of Lost for Words

I have a full life, which means that don't always have much free time and my hobbies are neglected. One my favorite things to do is to paint, but I don't get to do it very often. Just the other day I did manage to squirrel away a little time to spend with my paints. I have everything laid out and ready to go and then I realized that I had no idea what I wanted to paint. The blank paper stayed blank for a long time before I finally decided what I wanted to do.

In today's picture book you will meet a character who has a similar problem. He loves to write, he has a book to write in, and yet he has no idea what he wants to write about.

Lost for WordsLost for words
Natalie Russell
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Peachtree Publishers, 2014, 978-1-56145-739-7
Tapir has a brand new notebook and some colored pencils and he wants to write something, but he has no idea what to write. For some reason his head is empty of ideas and inspiration, and what makes his situation more frustrating is that his friends’ heads are full of writing ideas.
   Giraffe has no problem writing down a poem about a tree, and hippo easily crafts a story as he lies in his muddy pool. Flamingo uses her skill with words to compose a song, a song that is “so perfect it brought a tear to Tapir’s eye.”
   Tapir tries humming like flamingo, wallowing like hippo, and munching leaves like giraffe but no words come to him and he gets very grumpy. Surely there must be something he can write about?
   All too often, when we are determined to create something, our creativity abandons us and we are left staring at a blank piece of paper. This is what happens to poor Tapir, who wants so badly to write something in his notebook. What he does not realize is that he is full of creativity, it just isn’t in a form that he is expecting.
   This charming picture book explores the idea that creativity will not be forced and sometimes the creative process can be full of surprises.

No comments:

Bookmark and Share