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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.

Monday, January 30, 2017

Picture Book Monday with a review of The Typewriter

All of us have dreams that we wish would come true. Some are 'practical' dreams; technically speaking these dreams could come true under the right circumstances. Other dreams are delightfully fantastical and we know that the only place that these dreams can live in is in our imaginations. Today's picture book take us into the lives of three children who, thanks to a magical typewriter, are able to make their wishes come true.

The TypewriterThe Typewriter
Bill Thomson
Wordless Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Two Lions, 2016, 978-1477849750
One day three children ride their bikes to the carousel, only to discover that is it closed. Most of the rides on the carousel are the traditional horses that you expect to see, but there is also a bumblebee ride, and on the seat of the bumblebee, right next to the pole that attaches it to the carousel, there is a box. The children lift the box down to the ground, open it, and find out that it contains a typewriter.
   The little girl puts some paper in the typewriter and then she types the word Beach. In a moment the children are transported from their snowy home to a beach, complete with sun, sand, and a blue sky. While his friends are playing in the surf, one of the boys types the word Ball on the paper, and just like that a large beach ball appears. The third child types the word Ice Cream and a huge plastic pail, full of ice cream, turns up. Then it is the girl’s turn again. She types the word Crab on the paper and sure enough a crab materializes on the sand. The problem is that this crab, like the ball and the pail of ice cream, is huge!
   This gorgeous wordless picture book serves as a tribute to the imagination, and it will take readers into that wonderful world of what if. What would they type on a typewriter that could make dreams come true? What would they do if they were confronted by a huge crab? Children will see, through the magic typewriter, that words have enormous power, and perhaps they will wonder if words in the real world are just as remarkable, though in a different way.

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