Happy Spring!

 Happy Spring!

 

You can find many titles about spring on the TTLG spring books page

Picture Book Monday - A review of Yoko Learns to Read

Some time ago, I started working as a learning-to-read volunteer. I find this work to be incredibly rewarding, and I have met some wonderful children. When they make a breakthrough, or figure out how to sound out a difficult word, their pride in their accomplishment is a priceless gift.

Today's picture book is about a little girl cat called Yoko who is learning how to read. The book is one in a  series of picture books about Yoko written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells. Rosemary is a fantastic writer who has given us Max and Ruby, Timothy, McDuff, and many other wonderful book characters.

Yoko learns to read

Rosemary Wells

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Hyperion, 2012, 978-142313823-5

   Every evening, Yoko and her mother read one of the three Japanese children’s books that they own, and now Yoko knows the stories in the books by heart. As a reward for knowing the stories, Yoko’s teacher, Mrs. Jenkins, lets Yoko put three leaves on the class book tree. Yoko cannot help noticing that Valerie has four leaves on the tree, and Angelo has six leaves. Yoko wants to be able to put more leaves on the tree because she does not want to be “left behind.” The problem is that Yoko only has the three Japanese books at home, and she needs to read new books if she wants to get more leaves.

   Yoko and her Mama decide to go the library so that they can borrow books for Yoko. When they get home, they are able to figure out the story in the book by looking at the pictures, but they still cannot read the words. Yoko is still learning how, and Yoko’s mama only knows how to read Japanese words. Somehow, Yoko needs to learn how to read the words in her library books so that she can earn more leaves.

   When you are young, learning how to read can be challenging, especially if your parents don’t know how to read, or if they only know how to read words that are written in a foreign language. In this charming picture book, Rosemary wells brings back Yoko, her little Japanese kitten character, to show children that anyone can learn how to read if they have a little help.

Poetry Friday - A Review of Ivy in Bloom: The Poetry of Spring

In just a few days, spring will officially have arrived. Of course, you may still be experiencing cold weather on the day, but at least you can start thinking about spring, and anticipating the warmer weather, the opening flowers, and the little leaves budding out on the trees.

Today's poetry book uses a very unique format to describe the experiences of one little girl who very much wants spring to arrive.

Ivy in Bloom: The Poetry of Spring

Vanita Oelschlager

Illustrated by Kristin Blackwood

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 to 10

Vanita Books, 2009, 978-0-9800162-7-7

It is a cold day in March, and Ivy Van Allsberg is wishing that spring would make an appearance. She is tired of “piercing” winter winds, “heavy and gray” clouds, and frost covered fountains. In vain she looks here and there for signs of spring.

   Then, at last, spring begins to send up shoots that are green and full of life. April brings showers and snowmelt, and flowers are encouraged to bloom. Little birds sing, Ivy’s heart “dances” like golden yellow daffodils, and “all’s right with the world!”

   In this unique picture book, Vanita Oelschlager combines her own poetry with sections of poetry written by Longfellow, Charles Dickens, e.e. cummings, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and others. The resulting poetical picture is as fresh and exciting as spring itself.

   In the back of the book, the text is presented in full, showing readers how the opening section, written by Vanita, shifts into the section of the narrative that uses words written by “Great Poets and Writers of the Past.” Here readers can see excerpts of the poems that Vanita used.

2012 Children's Choice Book Awards - VOTE!

 

It is time to vote for the Children's Choice Book Awards! You can do this online on the Children's Book Week Voting Page. There are six categories: Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year; Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year; Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year; Teen Book of the Year; Author of the Year; Illustrator of the Year. You can find out more about the finalists here.

"The Children's Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by children and teens of all ages.

Launched in 2008 by the Children's Book Council and Every Child A Reader (The CBC Foundation), The Children’s Choice Book Awards program was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading.

Voting will open March 14, 2012. The winners will be announced live at the Children's Choice Book Awards gala in New York City.

Finalist Selection ProcessThe finalists for Book of the Year in the Kindergarten to Second Grade, Third Grade to Fourth Grade, and Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade categories are the books that received the highest number of votes in the IRA-CBC Children's Choices program.

Children's Choices, a joint project of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the CBC, began in 1974. Teams of IRA-affiliated educators in five geographic regions receive copies of each submitted title to provide to students to read and rate in classrooms across their region. The votes from the five regions (from approximately 12,500 children) are compiled and the five titles with the highest number of votes in each category (K-2, 3-4, 5-6) become the finalists for the Children's Choice Book Awards.

The Teen Choice Book Award was added in 2009. The Teen Choice finalists are determined with the help ofTeenreads.com (part of The Book Report Network). The website compiles a list of all the books they have reviewed over the year and encourages readers to write in their own picks if they aren't listed. Teens vote for their favorite book and the top five vote-getters become the finalists for the Teen Choice Book of the Year. This year, over 4,000 teens determined the finalists.

The Author and Illustrator of the Year finalists are selected by the CBC from a review of bestseller lists with an emphasis on Bookscan. Only authors and illustrators associated with books published in the previous calendar year are considered. "

Fiction Wednesday - The Case of the Deadly Desperados

I will be honest with you. I really don't care for Westerns. Not in story form, and not in film form. For this reason, I was reluctant to review today's fiction title. Then I read the blurb on the back of the book, and I was intrigued. I am so glad that I was open-minded enough to start reading the book, because once I had started, I could not put it down.

The Case of the Deadly Desperados

Caroline Lawrence

Fiction

For ages 8 to 11

Penguin, 2012, 978-0-399-25633-2

It is September 26, 1862, and P.K. Pinkerton comes home to find out that his foster father is dead, and his foster mother is dying. Lying on the floor and knowing that she will soon be in heaven, Ma Evangeline tells P.K. that the three men who attacked then are looking for the little medicine bag that P.K’s Indian mother gave him. P.K. manages to retrieve the bag and hide himself before the three killers return, and he hears them talking about him.

   While he waits for the stagecoach to arrive, (P.K. knows that he needs to get far away as soon as possible) he reads a piece of paper that he finds in his medicine bag. Though he is not sure what it is exactly, he does appreciate that the paper is very valuable, and that anyone who owns it will be very rich indeed.

   Some hours later P.K arrives in Virginia City. One of the bigger mining towns in Nevada Territory, Virginia City is a hotbed of vice. Here there are opium dens, houses of ill repute, and saloons. There are gamblers, “Soiled Doves,” criminals, and men who think nothing of shooting first and asking questions later.

   P.K. isn’t in Virginia City long before he is robbed by a “Soiled Dove” of everything valuable that he owns (including the piece of paper.) He soon comes to understand that in Virginia City the rule is everyone for himself (or herself.) He cannot trust anyone to look out for his interests.

  A newspaperman called Sam Clements who has recently arrived in the area takes pity on P.K. Sam does his best to help the boy, but the three desperados who are seeking him out are never far behind, and P.K. begins to despair that he will ever be able to escape their clutches.

   In this very unusual and highly entertaining western, Caroline Lawrence combines fact and fiction to give readers a singular story and a colorful picture of what it was like to be in a mining town in the late 1800’s. Readers will soon get caught up in P.K’s extraordinary tale, and they will appreciate the strategies he adopts to survive, some of which are very odd indeed. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Dog loves Drawing

Every so often I encounter a book that I think has something to say to anyone (of any age) who reads it. Today's title is just such a book. It delighted and inspired me, and I plan on always keeping it on hand for those days when I need to be reminded that there is nothing wrong with being a novice artist, a novice violinist, or a novice anything else. It is better to be a novice than to never begin at all. 

Dog loves Drawing

Louise Yates

Picture Book

For ages 5 and up

Random House UK, 2012, 978-0-224-08371-3

   Not long ago, Dog, who loves books, opened up a bookshop. He has a happy life sharing books with others and reading books by himself. Then one day he gets a parcel, and inside the parcel Dog finds a book that is completely blank. What on earth is one supposed to do with a book that has no words or pictures in it?

   Then Dog reads a note that his Aunt Dora wrote on the inside cover of the book. In the note she says that she hopes that “the line you draw” will “open a door to some wonderful adventures.” Now some of us would find this note confusing, but Dog understands what Aunt Dora means. The book is for drawing in!

   Dog quickly sets about getting pens, brushes, pencils, and the other things he is going to need. Then he draws a door…and walks through it and onto the blank page in his sketch book.

   The first thing Dog does is to draw a stickman to be his friend, and together Dog and the stickman doodle away until the page is filled up. They turn the page, and decide to draw some more companions, and soon a duck, owl, and a crab are on the page as well, happily paintings and doodling with Dog’s art supplies.

   One the next page, the friends decide that it is time for them to “go on an outing.” Luckyily for them, they can draw anything they need so that they can go on an adventure.

   For some lucky people, drawing comes as naturally as walking or eating. The rest of us have to explore a little before we feel comfortable with a pencil or paintbrush in our hands. This splendid book will show anyone who is unsure about how to start drawing that the only thing to do is to start drawing and to see where it takes you. Dog’s easy confidence, even though he is not an artist, is infectious, and readers are likely to find, when they have finished the story, that they too would like to have an adventure on a blank page.

   Though this book is about Dog’s drawing adventure, the message in the tale could apply to any of the many adventures that people embark on in life. None of us really know how to do things at first. We all have to explore and practice before we properly know what we are doing.

   Readers who enjoyed this book will want to read the first Dog book, Dog Loves Books. 

Poetry Friday - A Review of Under the spell of the moon

I review a lot of books. A lot. Much as I would like to put all my favorites titles on my shelves, this just isn't possible because my house isn't big enough. So, I have to be selective. I have to be very very choosy. 

Today's poetry book is one of the titles that I have on my books-to-dip-into shelf. Looking at the pages is rather like having a feast. I can explore the extraordinary art, AND and I can read the poetry. If I need a lift there is something here to cheer me up, and when I need to be soothed, there are several poems in the collection that are very comforting and calming. This really is the kind of book that you can grow old with. 

Under the Spell of the moon: Art for children from the world's greatest Illustrators

Foreword by Katherine Paterson, Introduction by Patricia Aldana
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 7 and up
Groundwood Books, 2004, 978-0888995599
When Jella Lepman founded the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) she hoped that books could be used to help children all over the world to recover from wars and other catastrophic events. She hoped too that books would unite children from different countries and thus help people of different nationalities, races, and creeds to get along better. Though Jella Lepman is not longer with us to continue her work, her dream lives on. In celebration of the art used in children's literature and to raise money for IBBY, illustrators from all over the world have contributed their artwork for this book. which they have paired with poems that they love.

   On the pages of this beautiful and special book readers will find the work of, among others, Peter Sis, Quentin Blake, Anno, Marie-Louise Gay, Eva Eriksson, Philippe Dumas, and Anthony Browne. The poems and songs which accompany the art are funny or moving, or contemplative. Some of the pieces rhyme, and some are written in blank verse. A wide variety of subjects is explored in the poetry, and many of the poems are traditional, though some were written by the artist. Where the illustrator is from a non-English speaking country, the poems and songs are written both in their native language and in English. In some cases the script is, in itself, beautiful to look at.

   This book would make a wonderful gift for a child, but it would also delight anyone who has a love of the written word and children's book illustration.

A letter from Shirin Yim Bridges about her press, Goosebottom Books.

March is Women's History Month, and in honor of this celebration of women I asked Shirin Yim Bridges to tell me about the two new series that Goosebottom Books has released.

Dear TTLG:

About four years ago, my niece Tiegan went through a Disney Princess craze. At that time I had written two books: Ruby’s Wish about a girl who grows up in China at a time when girls were not taught how to read or write, but who wants to go to university like her brothers; and, The Umbrella Queen about a girl from a village in Thailand where everyone has been painting umbrellas in exactly the same way for hundreds of years. Of course, our heroine wants to paint hers differently. So, from the books I’d written you may be able to guess my reaction to an obsession with fairytale princesses. I said, “Tiegan, did you know that there are many real princesses who did not sit around waiting for a prince, but went out and changed not only their own lives but history?”

She didn’t know, but she was very interested. So, we went looking in bookstores and libraries for these stories. I knew the princesses were out there, because I’m a history nerd, but I was surprised to find that these tales were not being told for children. I decided that I would have to tell them.

At first, I was just going to write the books. Then I realized how important it was to me how the stories were told. I’d been a creative director in advertising for...longer than I’m going to confess…and I wanted to have creative control of these books. I wanted the main stories to be as lyrical as any storybook, but I wanted this narrative supported by lots of little details that bring the story to life. So, in our books you’ll always find a map showing you where our woman from history lived. There’s always a section on what she wore. There’s also a fun section on what she ate. And, in addition to the main illustrations of the story, every page is covered with artifacts and historical images that add to the text. Even the backgrounds and colors of each book have something to do with the period of history we’re talking about.

It was also important to me that these books were launched as series. So far we’ve launched two series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses, and The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames. Each series appeared with six titles when they were launched. (We’re adding to both series in 2012—as well as publishing a vastly different book, The Augmented Reality Book of Horrible Hauntings—and launching a new Thinking Girl’s series in 2013.)

To me, six real princesses appearing all at once tells a very different story from one real princess...and then maybe another...and another, over time. It says that you’re looking at a pattern, not an isolated incidence. And whether good or bad (because yes, some of the dastardly dames were bad), the pattern is that women have been an important part of history throughout time. Women have, against greater odds than we can imagine, asserted themselves and made their mark in different countries, different cultures, and different periods of history. And this fact is simply not reflected on our bookshelves.

Goosebottom Books aims to change that, and aims to make the discovery of these women fun.

Happy Women’s History Month.

Here’s to a future full of thinking girls and even more women making history!

And, thank you for your interest in Goosebottom Books.

Shirin Yim Bridges

The Thinking Girls Treasury of Dastardly Dames has been selected as a "Top Ten Nonfiction Series for Youth" and will be featured in the April 1st Series Nonfiction Issue of Booklist!

The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses won a medal at the 2011 IPPY Awards for Multicultural Non-fiction/Juvenile. Two books in the series, Hatshepsut of Egypt and Isabella of Castile, have been named on the Amelia Bloomer Project 2012 List of Recommended Feminist Books for Youth.

Fiction Wednesday - A review of Utterly Me, Clarice Bean

Many of the fiction titles that I read when I was between the ages of 8 and 12 were wonderful, but very few of them were what I would call amusing. In the last ten years or so, a number of mid-grade novels written using a diary/journal format have been published. I am a huge fan of these titles because the format allows the authors to really get  inside their characters, and to write in their voices, complete with spelling mistakes. Often the resulting narrative is both interesting and funny. Today's fiction title is a great example of this kind of book. 

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean

Lauren Child

Fiction

For ages 8 to 10

Candlewick Press, 2002, 076362788-7

   Clarice Bean has a problem. Actually, she has several problems. At home, she has to share her bedroom with her five-year-old brother, which is very trying indeed. At school, she has to deal with her teacher, Mrs. Wilberton, who thinks that Clarice is “utterly lacking in the concentration department.” Clarice does her best, but she cannot help it when her thoughts wonder away when Mrs. Wilberton is speaking.

   One day, Clarice’s thoughts are drifting away, as per usual, when she is brought firmly into the present by an announcement about the forthcoming parent’s night competition. This year the students are going to have to do a presentation that is based on a book that they have read “and learned something from.” How dreary. Try as they might, Clarice and her best friend (and project partner) Betty Moody cannot come up with any ideas.

   One day soon after this announcement is made, on a day when Betty is absent from school, Clarice is forced to come up with a project idea all by herself. Not knowing what else to say, Clarice tells her teacher that she and Betty are going to do an exhibit on Ruby Redfort, a book character who is a secret agent. Clarice and Betty love the Ruby Redfort books, but Mrs. Wilberton thinks that they are “drivel.” Clarice has been paired up with Karl Wrenbury (the class hooligan) because Betty is still absent, and she cannot imagine that they are going to be able to produce much of anything, let alone a competition winning exhibit.

   At first, Karl is reluctant to have anything to do with Ruby Redfort and her splendid adventures, but then he sees the errors of his ways and he comes up with some splendid ideas. Maybe Clarice and Karl will be able to create an exhibit that is not altogether terrible. If nothing else goes wrong. Which is sure to happen because it always does.

   Written in Clarice Bean’s own singular voice, this wonderfully funny title perfectly captures Clarice Bean’s quirky and highly imaginative personality. We follow her everyday adventures closely as she tries to survive problems she encounters at home and at school. Will Clarice be back soon? Hopefully she will. 

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.