Picture book Monday - A review of Otto the Book Bear

Some of the characters that you meet in picture books seem to come alive as you read about their exploits and adventures. Imagine what it would be like if they could really leave the page in their book and walk into our world. What would it be like for them and what would they do?

If you have ever thought about this kind of thing (which I confess I have) then you are going to love this book. Prepare to meet Otto, the book bear.

Otto the book bear

Katie Cleminson

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Hyperion, 2011, 978-142314562-2

Otto is a bear who lives in a book, and he loves it when children read his story. What the children don’t know is that Otto is able to come to life and leave the pages of his book when he wants to. When no one is around to see what he is up to, Otto goes exploring. He also reads books and practices writing.

   Then one day something unthinkable happens. Otto’s family moves away, and Otto’s book, with Otto in it of course, gets left behind. Otto is not the kind of bear to feel sorry for himself, so he leaves the house and goes out into the wide world.

   Otto soon discovers that a city is not a very pleasant place to be if you are a very small bear who doesn’t have a home. He misses his book and begins to feel very “downhearted.”

   In this deliciously sweet picture book, we meet a delightful book character who is appealing, and whose story will touch the hearts of every reader who encounters him. Young readers will, in all likelihood, never feel the same way about picture book characters after they meet Otto.

Oceanhouse Media is offering low price and free Dr. Seuss apps.

Oceanhouse Media, Inc. has announced that it will drop the price of The Lorax omBook (Oceanhouse Media digital book) to 99 cents and offer the Lorax Garden game for free from March 2nd through 8th in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read Across America Day. In addition, 25 Dr. Seuss omBooks will be on sale ranging in price from 99 cents to $2.99 on iOS and Android markets.

The National Education Association’s Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.

“This is a great time to stock up on classic titles such as The Lorax, The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and Dr. Seuss’s ABC for your mobile devices,” said Michel Kripalani, President of Oceanhouse Media. “All Dr. Seuss omBooks include the original content and illustrations by Dr. Seuss and are enhanced with professional narration, background audio and features that promote reading and word recognition.”

The omBooks feature three options: Auto Play (geared toward younger readers), which plays like a movie by automatically reading and turning pages; Read To Me, which allows users to listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read; and Read It Myself, which lets users read the book in its traditional format.

Dr. Seuss omBooks are consistently ranked at the top of the app charts, with nine reaching the number one spot in the Books category on Apple’s App Store. Recent releases include If I Ran the Zoo and And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book.

For a list of Dr. Seuss omBooks on sale for the birthday celebration, visit the Oceanhouse Media website starting March 2 athttp://www.oceanhousemedia.com/products/type/sale/drseuss/. In addition to Lorax Garden, Dr. Seuss Band, the Dr. Seuss musical instrument game, is also available for free.

About Oceanhouse Media,Inc.
Creators of the award-winning Dr. Seuss book apps, Oceanhouse Media, Inc. is a leading publisher of more than 300 mobile apps for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch), Android, NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet, Kindle Fire and HP TouchPad devices. The company was founded in early 2009 by Michel Kripalani, a veteran of the video gaming industry. Seventeen of the company’s apps have reached the number one spot within their categories on Apple’s App Store. In addition, Google has selected the company as one of its Top Developers, a designation granted to only 150 groups worldwide.

Oceanhouse Media's corporate focus is to uplift, educate and inspire through technology. For more information, visit http://www.oceanhousemedia.com. Follow the company at http://www.facebook.com/OceanhouseMedia andhttp://twitter.com/OceanhouseMedia.

About Dr. Seuss Enterprise, L.P.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises was founded in 1993 following the death of Theodor S. Geisel, Dr. Seuss, to conserve and nurture the works of Dr. Seuss by protecting the integrity of the Dr. Seuss books while expanding beyond books into licensed merchandise. The licensing effort is a strategic part of the overall effort to strengthen and protect the relationship consumers have with Dr. Seuss characters. Theodor Geisel said he never wanted to license his characters to anyone who would “round out the edges”. That is one of the guiding philosophies of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

Poetry Friday - A Review of Button up! Wrinkled Rhymes

When I first met my husband, he had a T-shirt that was more hole than fabric. He loved that shirt, and would not consider for a moment that perhaps it was time to retire the poor thing. Eventually, I put the shirt away in his treasure box, and every so often he finds it there and reminisces about the adventures that  he and his shirt shared.

My husband's attachment to his shirt is not unusual, and people all over the world treasure items of clothing that they associate with special people or memorable times. Today's poetry collection will resonate with anyone who has had an item of clothing that they remember fondly.

Button Up! Wrinkled rhymes

Alice Schertle

Illustrated by Petra Mathers

Poetry Picture book

For ages 6 to 9

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009, 978-0-15-205050-4

    Clothes are just clothes right? They cover us up and keep us warm. And yet, many of us have certain clothes that are special. We have a lucky shirt that we wear when we have a test or a race to run. We have a worn sweater that someone we loved knitted for us, and we insist on wearing the sweater until it falls apart.

   This amusing collection of poems tells the story of some special clothes, and they are written from the point of view of the clothes themselves. Each item of clothing belongs to a young animal, and each one has a story to tell.

   We meet Violet’s hiking hat. A pink chapeau with ear flaps and a bill, the hat shares many adventures with Violet, going on hikes, looking at the stars, having baths, and even going to bed with her.

   Then there are Emily’s undies, a collection of colorful and ruffled undergarments that are proud of the fact that they are “fit for a queen,” and that everyone has seen their “laces and bows.”

   These outspoken undies are not the only ones who are proud of their status in life. There are also Joshua’s jammies, who declare very firmly that they are not “jammies for penguins” or any other animals. They are jammies that belong to Joshua, and Joshua alone. By the by, just in case you are curious, Joshua is a young alligator.

   These wonderful poems will delight young readers who have certain items of clothing that have sentimental value. Children will enjoy looking at the cunning pictures of the animal wearing their clothes, and they will laugh at the funny things the clothes say about the people they belong to. 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss - Read Across America Day

On this day in 1904 Theodor Seuss Geisel came into the world. In honor of his birthday I would like to share a profile of this great man with you:

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved Dr. Seuss, was born in 1904 on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ted's father, Theodor Robert, and grandfather were brewmasters in the city. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

Although the Geisels enjoyed great financial success for many years, the onset of World War I and Prohibition presented both financial and social challenges for the German immigrants. Nonetheless, the family persevered and again prospered, providing Ted and his sister, Marnie, with happy childhoods.

The influence of Ted's memories of Springfield can be seen throughout his work. Drawings of Horton the Elephant meandering along streams in the Jungle of Nool, for example, mirror the watercourses in Springfield's Forest Park from the period. The fanciful truck driven by Sylvester McMonkey McBean in The Sneetches could well be the Knox tractor that young Ted saw on the streets of Springfield. In addition to its name, Ted's first children's book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, is filled with Springfield imagery, including a look-alike of Mayor Fordis Parker on the reviewing stand, and police officers riding red motorcycles, the traditional color of Springfield's famed Indian Motocycles.

Ted left Springfield as a teenager to attend Dartmouth College, where he became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth's humor magazine. Although his tenure as editor ended prematurely when Ted and his friends were caught throwing a drinking party, which was against the prohibition laws and school policy, he continued to contribute to the magazine, signing his work "Seuss." This is the first record of the "Seuss" pseudonym, which was both Ted's middle name and his mother's maiden name.

To please his father, who wanted him to be a college professor, Ted went on to Oxford University in England after graduation. However, his academic studies bored him, and he decided to tour Europe instead. Oxford did provide him the opportunity to meet a classmate, Helen Palmer, who not only became his first wife, but also a children's author and book editor.

After returning to the United States, Ted began to pursue a career as a cartoonist. The Saturday Evening Post and other publications published some of his early pieces, but the bulk of Ted's activity during his early career was devoted to creating advertising campaigns for Standard Oil, which he did for more than 15 years.

As World War II approached, Ted's focus shifted, and he began contributing weekly political cartoons to PM magazine, a liberal publication. Too old for the draft, but wanting to contribute to the war effort, Ted served with Frank Capra's Signal Corps (U.S. Army) making training movies. It was here that he was introduced to the art of animation and developed a series of animated training films featuring a trainee called Private Snafu.

While Ted was continuing to contribute to Life, Vanity Fair, Judge and other magazines, Viking Press offered him a contract to illustrate a collection of children's sayings called Boners. Although the book was not a commercial success, the illustrations received great reviews, providing Ted with his first "big break" into children's literature. Getting the first book that he both wrote and illustrated, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, published, however, required a great degree of persistence - it was rejected 27 times before being published by Vanguard Press.

The Cat in the Hat, perhaps the defining book of Ted's career, developed as part of a unique joint venture between Houghton Mifflin (Vanguard Press) and Random House. Houghton Mifflin asked Ted to write and illustrate a children's primer using only 225 "new-reader" vocabulary words. Because he was under contract to Random House, Random House obtained the trade publication rights, and Houghton Mifflin kept the school rights. With the release of The Cat in the Hat, Ted became the definitive children's book author and illustrator.

After Ted's first wife died in 1967, Ted married an old friend, Audrey Stone Geisel, who not only influenced his later books, but now guards his legacy as the president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

At the time of his death on September 24, 1991, Ted had written and illustrated 44 children's books, including such all-time favorites as Green Eggs and Ham, Oh, the Places You'll Go, Fox in Socks, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. His books had been translated into more than 15 languages. Over 200 million copies had found their way into homes and hearts around the world.

Besides the books, his works have provided the source for eleven children's television specials, a Broadway musical and a feature-length motion picture. Other major motion pictures are on the way.

His honors included two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award and the Pulitzer Prize. 

Please visit the Seussville website to learn more about Dr. Seuss, to explore his books, to play games, and to download Seuss-ish goodies.

In honor of Dr. Seuss, March 2nd is Read Across America Day. Get information about this event on NEA's Read Across America webpage.

Please visit the TTLG Dr. Seuss page to find reviews of books by and about Dr. Seuss.

The 2012 Golden Kite Award Winners have been announced!

From the announcement released on the SCBWI website today:

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS AND HONOREES OF THE 2012 GOLDEN KITE AWARDS & SID FLEISCHMAN AWARD

The 2012 awards are presented for excellence in books for young readers published in the 2011 calendar year.

 

Golden Kite Award Winners

 

Fiction:                          
       
BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAYBy Ruta Sepetys

Philomel (Penguin Group USA)

Between Shades of Gray tells the harrowing story of Lina, a young Lithuanian girl fighting for her life and the honor of her family during the Soviet cleansing of the Baltic region in 1941. The daughter of a Lithuanian refugee herself, Sepetys wrote this book in hopes of shedding light on the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during this tragic time. Readers will be inspired by Lina’s strength of spirit and devotion to her family and moved by Sepetys’ heartfelt gift for storytelling.

 

Nonfiction:                                          

AMELIA LOST: THE LIFE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF AMELIA EARHARTBy Candace Fleming

Schwartz & Wade (Random House)

Alternating chapters between Amelia’s childhood and her life as a flyer, Fleming captures the drama and detail (Amelia liked to eat tomato soup while flying) of Earhart’s life with suspense and enthusiasm. Maps, handwritten notes and photos further highlight the remarkable journey of one of America’s most celebrated women. 

 

Picture Book Text:                               

OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW

By Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

Chronicle Books

 

Exploring the enchanted lives of animals that survive winter underground, Kate Messner’s Over and Under the Snow is this year’s winner for Picture Book Text. Messner’s vivid imageries and delicate prose glide us along a whimsical journey of a father and son as they ski through the forest and discover the hidden, sometimes secret existence of the animals that inhabit the cold season.

Picture Book Illustration:             

BALLOONS OVER BROADWAYBy Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin

 

Melissa Sweet’s imaginative use of art and illustration in Balloons over Broadway makes it the winner of this year’s Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration. Using handmade toys and puppets, watercolor illustrations, and collages made from old books, found objects and fabrics, Caldecott Honoree Sweet’s charming images are fluently united to help tell the story of Tony Sarg, the original puppeteer of the Macy’s Day Parade.

Golden Kite Honor Recipients

 

Fiction:                                       


WORDS IN THE DUST

By Trent Reedy    

Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic)

 

 

Nonfiction:                                     



MYSTERIOUS BONES: THE STORY OF KENNEWICK MAN

By Katherine Kirkpatrick, illustrated by Emma Stevenson

Holiday House

 

Picture Book Text:
                              

THESE HANDS

By Margaret H. Mason, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

 

Picture Book Illustration:             


FOLLOW ME

By Tricia Tusa

Harcourt Children’s Books

 

 

2012 Sid Fleischman Award for Humor             



THE FOURTH STALL

By Chris Rylander

HarperCollins

 

 Imagination and quirk lend itself to this hilarious story of friendship and adventure as we follow two middle school boys who will stop at nothing to fix your problem and learn a few lessons along the way.


  

The Golden Kite Awards and Honors are given each year to the most outstanding children’s books published during the previous year, and written or illustrated by members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Four panels of three judges each (one panel for each category, consisting of author or illustrator members of SCBWI whose own works are that of the category being judged), award the titles they feel exhibit excellence in writing or illustration, and that genuinely appeal to the interests and concerns of children.

 

 A list of previous Golden Kite Award winners and honor books is available here.

The Sid Fleischman Award for Humor

Named for the late Newbery-winner Sid Fleischman the SCBWI is pleased to offer this eponymous award for authors whose work exemplifies excellence in the genre of humor, a category so often overlooked by other award committees in children’s literature.

The Golden Kite Awards and the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor are presented at the Golden Kite Luncheon, the centerpiece event of SCBWI’s 41st Annual Conference on Writing and Illustrating for Children, taking place in Los Angeles, California from August 3-6, 2012., will be presented to the winners on Sunday, August 5.

 

More information about the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators HERE

National PIG DAY!

Today is National Pig Day here in the U.S. No, I am not joking. In honor of this very important day I invite you to visit the TTLG Pigs in books feature. I raise my mug of tea to Gub-Gub (Dr. Dolittle), Olivia, Mercy Watson, Babe, Wilbur, Piglet, Little Pookie, Toot and Puddle, the Pigaroons, Poppleton, the three little pigs, and all the other book piggies who have made our lives happier and richer.

The new issue of TTLG is now online.

The  March and April 2012 issue of Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews. I have really enjoyed reviewing these books, though I am sad to have to say goodbye to Mercy Watson, Alex Rider, and the Ranger's Apprentice. I reviewed the final titles in these series in this issue. 

For this issue I have put together a special feature about Art and Artists. Though I am not much of an artist myself, I love dabbling with paints, colored pencils, ink pens, and other media. It is fascinating to read about the history of art, and to find out what inspired famous artists to create their paintings, drawings,and  sculptures. There are books in the collection that will suit readers of all ages, including adults.

Here in Oregon, spring is making itself felt already, and for many people March and April are the months when they start getting busy in the garden. Spending time in the garden gives children and young people a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature, watch things grow, and - of course - get dirty!

In March,  schools and libraries all over the United States observe  Women's History Month. This event celebrates the achievements of women over the years, and I have quite a large collection of books in the TTLG Women's History Month feature. In this feature readers will finds fiction and non-fiction titles that look at the lives and achievements of many great women from around the world.

April is the month when many Americans celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day. For Earth Day you can look at the Earth Day feature and the Saving the Environment feature. For Arbor Day  I have put together a delightful collection of books that are about trees. Some of the books in these features are informative nonfiction titles, while others are stories that will amuse, touch, and delight readers of all ages.

For this month's Editor's Choice title, I have selected Pie, a novel by Sarah Weeks, which combines a mystery with some meaningful life lessons. And pie.

Finally, take a look at the new Bookish Calendar. Here you will find reviews about Michelangelo, St. Patrick's Day, Harry Houdini, the sinking of  the Titanic, and much more. This calendar is a great tool to use at home and in the classroom to help children incorporate books more fully into their lives.

-:Bookish Events for March and April:-

March is Women's History Month (USA)

March 2nd is Read Across America Day (USA)

National March into Literacy Month (USA)

April is National Poetry Month (USA)

April 2nd is International Children's Book Day

National Library Week April 8th - 14th (USA)

Young People's Poetry Week April 14th - 20th (USA)

National Week of the Ocean April 1st - 7th (USA)

I hope you find a way to celebrate some, if not all,  of these bookish events. If I have missed an important bookish event, please drop me a line to tell me about it.

Fiction Wednesday - A review of Pie

I have a confession to make. I am not really that fond of pies. I don't dislike them, but if I have a choice between pie and cake, I will choose cake. I know that some of you will be appalled when they hear this, but I am being honest. 

When I found out about today's book, I was not that keen to read it. How could a book called Pie be interesting? I began to read it, and in about two pages I was hooked. Yes, the book is about pie, but it is also about the people who make pies. It is about doing something that you love, and then sharing that love with others. I loved this book and I don't think I will ever look at a pie the same way. In fact, I may even try some of the recipes that are included in the book. 

Pie

Sarah Weeks

Fiction

For ages 9 to 12

Scholastic, 2011, 978-0545270113

   The town of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania is very lucky because one of its residents, Polly Portman, is a Pie Queen. Ever since she was a little girl, Polly has loved to make pies, and everybody who has tasted them agrees that she makes the best pies. Her cream pies are silky, her fruit pies are full of fresh juicy fruit, and she even has created a pie recipe for people who are watching their waistlines.

   For Polly, making pies is gift that she loves to share with others. Though she could have made millions by selling her recipes, she has always refused to do this. Instead, she opened a pie shop in Ipswitch and she gives away the pies she makes. She sincerely believes that the reason why her pies are special is because they are made with love.

   Polly also gives her love to her niece Alice, who loves her aunt Polly with all her heart. Alice spends many hours in Aunt Polly’s pie shop, talking to her and helping her to make her pies. And then there is Lardo, Polly’s bad-tempered cat. Lardo adores Aunt Polly, and dislikes everyone else.

   One day, quite suddenly Aunt Polly dies. Alice is heart-broken, and everyone is town is pained by Aunt Polly’s unexpected demise. It is true that they will miss her as a person because she was kind and warm, but they will also miss her pies, and the revenue that her pie shop attracted to their town.

   Alice’s mother, who has always envied her sister Polly, is hopeful that Polly’s secret pie recipe will finally be hers. She will sell it to the highest bidder and will become rich. Except that Polly does not leave the recipe to her sister. Instead she leaves it to Lardo, and she leaves Lardo to Alice. Alice’s mother is furious. How could her sister leave the precious recipe to a cat? How could she be so “selfish.”

   Now that Polly is not around to keep winning the Blueberry pie contest, everyone in town goes pie mad. Unfortunately, no one, especially Alice’s mother, can make a pie that is contest worthy. Alice doesn’t really care about this though because she is missing her aunt terribly. Then someone breaks into the pie shop and ransacks it. Soon after someone catnaps Lardo. Clearly a very unscrupulous person is trying to find Aunt Polly’s secret pie crust recipe, and they will stop at nothing.

   Alice and her friend Charlie decide that they have to find out who is behind these strange occurrences, and when they finally find out the truth, they discover much more than they ever imagined they would.

   This marvelous book not only tells a delightful story, but it also shows readers that the road to happiness is not paved with fame and fortune. Instead it is paved with love and kindness and you are blessed if you are able to spend your days doing something that you love.

   This story is written with warmth, humor, and sensitivity, and the descriptions of Aunt Polly’s pies are almost more than a normal person can bear. Luckily, the author includes fourteen pie recipes that will surely delight readers who fancy tasting Aunt Polly’s creations for themselves. 

Picture book Monday - A review of Bambino and Mr. Twain

Most of us have authors whom we greatly admire. One of my favorites is Samuel Clemens, whose nom de plume was Mark Twain. I like his books, but I think I like his story and the articles he wrote even more. Samuel Clemens was greatly admired in his own lifetime, which is wonderful for people like me because it means that many of his stories, speeches, and articles have been saved.

One of these stories is told in today's picture book. As I read the narrative, I found out that Samuel had a very dark period in his life, and that it took the loss of a cat to help him come out into the sunshine once more.

Bambino and Mr. Twain

P.I. Maltbie

Illustrated by Daniel Miyares

Historical Fiction Picture Book

For ages 7 to 9

Charlesbridge, 2012, 978-1-58089-272-8

   Mr. Sam Clements (who is also Mark Twain) is grieving. His much-loved wife Livy has died, and poor Sam cannot seem to bring himself to engage in life the way he used to. His oldest daughter, Clara, is staying at a hospital, trying to recover from the stress and grief of losing her mother, and in her absence her cat Bambino is staying with Sam in his New York City house.

   These days, Sam does not go out and attend dinner parties. He does not want to meet any of his fans, and he never wears the white suits that Livy liked so much. Instead, he spends his days indoors, brooding on his loss and refusing to be comforted. The only person who seems to understand how he is feeling is Bambino. The cat plays with Sam and keeps him company as he lies in bed “reading, writing, and grumbling.”

   Then one day Bambino escapes from the house, and Sam is so upset that he posts an announcement in the newspaper offering a reward of five dollars to anyone who finds Bambino and brings him home. People from all walks of life bring cats to Sam, offering to loan or give their pet to the famous author in the hope that having their cat in his home will stop him “from being sad.” Sam is greatly moved by the obvious affection his visitors have for him. Who knew that the loss of a cat could cause such a sensation.

   Based on a true story about Sam Clemens and his cat Bambino, this delightful picture book well charm readers who have an interest in Mark Twain’s colorful life story. Readers will be interested to see that the great man learns something very valuable from his encounter with Bambino. It would seem that there are times when animals can have a profound effect on our lives.

   An author’s note at the back of the book provides readers with further information about Sam Clemens and Bambino.

Free Animated Short Film by William Joyce

For a short time the animated short film that is based on William Joyce's book The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore is available for you to watch for free. The film has been nominated for an Oscar. Enjoy!