Happy Winter Solstice - And a review of Almost a Full Moon

Dear Friends:

A very happy Winter Solstice to you all. As I sit at my desk looking out of the window I can see feathery wisps of a pink dawn trying to peak through thick layer of cloud that fills the sky. As the sun rises higher, splashes of gold take the place of the little delicate wisps. The splashes grow and glow brighter and brighter until it looks as if the sky has been gilded. What a way to start this auspicious day. 

   This evening some dear friends will be coming over to celebrate the Solstice with us. A fire will be blazing in the fireplace, candles will be flickering on the tables and shelves, the dachshunds and cats will be waiting at the door, and the smells of delicious food will fill the house. 

   Today I bring you a review of a book where you will find another house that is filled with candlelight, warmth, and good smells. 

Almost a full Moon

Hawksley Workman

Illustrated by Jensine Eckwall

Picture book

For ages 5 and up

Tundra Books, 2016, 978-1-77049-871-6

The moon is almost full, and outside a little house in the snowy woods a boy collects wood. Back at the house his grandmother stirs a huge round-bellied pot that is full of hot, savory soup. Her grandson adds some herbs to the steaming pot that contains “Pumpkin and parsnip, carrot and turkey bones. Bay leaf and pepper, potato and garlic cloves.” The gifts of the harvest create a meal that will be perfect to eat on this cold winter night.

   Soon friends arrive at the little house, drawn there by an invitation to have some soup in the candlelit room. They come bearing gifts, smiles, and rosy cheeks. In addition to the expected guests, there are a few unexpected ones. A girl with flaming hair traveling on the back of a giant wolf arrives with her animal friends. There is always room for more and they join the party, for the boy and his grandmother have made enough soup to “feed everyone we know” and  “everyone we don’t.” 

    Based on the lyrics from Hawksley Workman’s song Almost a Full Moon, this picture book gives readers a glimpse of a cold, moonlit winter’s night. The white of the snow, leafless trees, and blue shadows are juxtaposed by the golden welcoming warmth of the little house, where friends, both old and new, gather to sip soup, share news, and dance. 

   In this book unassuming and evocative illustrations provide a perfect backdrop for the text, giving readers of all ages a thoughtful and memorable story experience. 

Friends are the best gifts - And a review of Bear Gives Thanks

On Saturday afternoon a few much loved friends came over for high tea. Everybody brought delicious things to eat, and we sat in front of the fire with full plates and glasses of bubbly, celebrating being together again after a long hiatus. As always there was much laughter, and I cannot tell you how incredibly happy it made me to see those smiling faces. I was reminded, yet again, that my friends are so dear to me and their presence in my life is a gift. 

   Today I bring you a story about another group of friends who gather, who bring treats to share, and who give thanks for the ties of friendship that connect them. 

Bear Says Thanks 

Karma Wilson

Illustrated by Jane Chapman 

Picture Book

For ages 3 to 6

Simon and Schuster, 2012, 978-1416958567

It is a cold and windy day, and Bear is bored and missing his friends. Then Bear comes up with an idea; he will put together a feast that he can share with his friends. This is a splendid plan, but there is a rather big problem; Bear’s food cupboard is empty. How can Bear host a feast if he has no food?

   Thankfully for Bear, his friends are generous creatures and they come to Bear’s lair in ones, twos, and threes bringing all kinds of delicious things to eat. Bear thanks Mouse for his pie, Hare for his muffins, and Badger for the fish that he has brought. He also thanks Gopher, Mole, Owl, Raven, and Wren for their contributions. Poor Bear is grateful for the things his friends have brought to his home, and he feels terrible because he has nothing to share with them.

   The story in this wonderful picture book explores the idea that friendship is one of the greatest gifts we can give to others. Children will see that true friends, and the times we share with them, are precious.

   This is one of the titles in a collection of books featuring Bear and his friends.

   

A time to reflect, and a review of Thankful by Elaine Vickers and Samantha Cotterill

 

This morning we got our first real snow of the season, and just by chance this book found its way onto my desk. How appropriate it is that a title about thankfulness should appear at a this particular moment, for these are the days when many of us take the time to rest, and to consider the old year that is fading and the new year that is coming. I bring the people I love into my home and together we celebrate, and give thanks, for the things that truly matter, just as the little girl in this book does. 

Thankful 

Elaine Vickers

Illustrated by Samantha Cotterill

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Simon and Schuster, 2021, 978-1-5344-7734-6

Every year a little girl and her family start making “thankful chains” on the day when the first snow starts to fall. On strips of colored paper they write down what they are thankful for, and then they create a paper chain using the pieces of paper. 

   The little girl starts with the things that she is thankful for that are found in her home. She has parents who love her, and who show their love with every story that they read to her; with every gentle stroke as they brush her hair; and with the poem, full of good wishes, that they share with her every night at bedtime. One of those wishes has come true and now the little girl can be thankful for the little dog who “jumps when I am happy and comforts when I am scared.”

   The little girl goes on to give thanks for big things like “a heart that beats” and “every breath,” and the colors that makes her world so beautiful and exciting. Then we hear about the wonderful things that are warm and give comfort, for things that are cold, for things that are soft, and for things that are hard. 

   Onto the little strips of paper all these words of thanks go, with one sentence of thanks leading to a memory that brings forth another. 

   Many of us forget that we have a great deal to be thankful for. We are in so much of a hurry to move on to what comes next, that we don’t take the time to stop and look at, and to remember, all the gifts that we already have. It is only when we take this time to reflect that we realize that we have so many beautiful, special, and enriching things in our lives. 

   On the pages of this picture book, readers will find a lyrical text that summons up memories as it is read; as the little girl remembers her thankful things, we remember ours. These lines are paired with photos that combine dioramas and drawings in a unique and emotive way. 

   This is book that will encourage children and their grownups to pause and find gratitude, and readers might even decide to bring chains of thankfulness into their homes. 

Contest for the 2022 Key Colors Illustrator Awards

 

The 2022 Key Colors Illustrators Awards Award for the Best Picture book concept, has launched! Are you an illustrator or do you know an illustrator based in the United States or Canada? Enter in the competition for a chance to win 8,000 dollars and be published by Clavis Publishing.

News about Through The Looking Glass and a review of Hush Hush, Forest.

A block print from Hush Hush, Forest

 Dear Friends,

A big change is coming to Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews. For twenty years I've been posting first twelve, and then six, issues of the journal every year. Then I got Covid in March of 2021 and was laid very low indeed. As I lay on my sofa, under a pile of dachshunds,  I often though about TTLG and how I might like to change it so that I can have more flexibility in my work life. Publishing the journal was a lot of work and I was feeling a little weary of the process. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to do things differently. From now on I will no longer be publishing issues of the journal. Instead, the website is now the library of all the reviews I have written, all nine thousand nine hundred and nineteen of them, and it is also where all the book topic features, author and illustrator bios, resource lists, and more will be housed.
   This blog is where new reviews, features, articles, interviews, giveaways, biographies, and contest information will be found. All the reviews, biographies, and features that are posted here will be put in the library of the TTLG website as well. 
    I am really looking forward to this new chapter in my life. It will be exciting to spend more time reading and writing and less time filling in backstage data forms! 
   We had a rather warm and dry October and November, and though the leaves on the trees changed color, autumn seemed to be decidedly uninterested in performing as it should. In the last few days
we have had blessed rain, and the mountains are dusted with snow. I love seeing one season shift into another, and I can now feel that winter is just around the corner. 

   Today's book describes this change beautifully. This is a picture book for young children but, as is the case with so many of the picture books that I review, adults will also enjoy exploring the luscious artwork and the lyrical text. 

   Nick Wroblewski created the stunning artwork in this book. He is an artist and printmaker specializing in handmade woodcut blockprints; his art is in private collections and galleries throughout the country. He has also illustrated Mary Casanova's book Wake Up, Island and lives in Duluth, Minnesota, with his wife and two children.  

   Mary Casanova is the author of more than thirty books for young readers, ranging from picture books such as One-Dog Canoe and Wake Up, Island to the novels Moose Tracks and Frozen . Her books have earned the American Library Association Notable Award, Aesop Accolades from the American Folklore Society, Parents’ Choice Gold Award, and Booklist Editors’ Choice, as well as two Minnesota Book Awards. She and her husband live in northern Minnesota near the Canadian border. 

 

Hush Hush, Forest
Mary Casanova
Illustrated by Nick Wroblewski
Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
University of Minnesota Press, 2018, 978-0-8166-9425-9
As two children snuggle under blankets to read a book, golden leaves drift down from the trees that stand outside, fluttering past their windows. The days shorten and soon we see the wild animals of the woods preparing for the cold that is coming.
   The loons sing their last song and then take to the sky. The beavers gnaw through tree trunks until aspens fall down; they will be used to build a lodge. Raccoons get busy eating as much as they grow fat and their “pelt grows thick.”
   Like “wisps of fire” the northern lights flicker across the sky. Dancing ribbons in blue, green, yellow, and pink dazzle those who see them.
   With evocative and lyrical word pictures, and beautiful woodcuts, the creators of this book bring readers a spectacular picture of the changing seasons as they are unfold in the north woods in North America. We hear voices and the swish and hum of wings. We can almost smell the snow falling. This book is a treat for all the senses.

You can view my review of Wake Up, Island on the TTLG website. 

In honor of National Library Week, a review of I Believe in Unicorns.

 Michael Murpugo is one of my favorite writers. His books are written for children, but adults will find that his stories have something for them as well. The stories make you pause, and think. They explore issues that are far-reaching and universal. 
   When I review a book that really touches me, I keep it and put it on my 'favorites' book shelf. Most of Michael Murpurgo's books are there. His book War Horse was turned into a film and a play.

I believe in Unicorns
Michael Morpurgo
Illustrator:  Gary Blythe 
Fiction
For ages 7 to 10
Candlewick Press, 2005, 978-0763630508
Tomas is eight years old and more than anything he loves to roam the countryside having adventures and helping his father tend the beehives. He hates having to go to school and he despises books and stories. Books and stories belong in the school room and they certainly aren't any fun. So when his mother makes him go to the story hour at the library, Tomas is very annoyed and not in the least bit interested in listening to the librarian tell her stories.
   Tomas only has to listen to a little bit of the library lady's first story and he is completely entranced by her words. She sits on a lovely wooden unicorn reading to the children and telling them stories that she has made up. She tells them about her father who long ago, during a war, did his best to prevent evil people from burning books. Tomas finally begins to see that books are more than just pages of words and that they have a great deal to offer everyone, even him.
   When war arrives in Tomas' own peaceful valley Tomas and all the people in his village are suddenly faced with a terrible calamity - their library is set on fire by a falling bomb. Something has to be done to save the books and their beloved wooden unicorn. Soon everyone, even the children, are working hard to save the most valuable thing in the village.
   Many of us take books for granted, forgetting the many hours of pleasure that they have given us. In this book Michael Morpurgo reminds us that books and libraries are a treasure which should be fought for and defended. No one should be allowed to take away our books, for without our stories, poems, histories, biographies and scientific accounts our lives would be very empty indeed.

The April Bookish Calendar and National Library Week

Happy Monday everyone. I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. I'm a little late, but here is the Bookish Calendar for April. Click on the links and they will take you feature pages where you will find books that are relevant to they event or birthdays.

by Chris Dunn. www.chris-dunn.co.uk

In addition to the events, holidays, and birthdays on this calendar, April also has many additional national and international days, some of which I will be blogging about. 

National Library week (US): This event started yesterday on April 4th and will end on the 10th. You can find a collection of reviews about books that are about Books and Libraries on the website. For books that are specifically about libraries you can take a look at these titles, which I found on the site by using the search function to look for books about this subject. 

National Library Week allows us to promote our local libraries and their workers. From Harry Potter and Matilda, to Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, I'm sure at some point that you’ve dashed to the library to borrow your favorite book, or perhaps you have borrowed an ebbok or audio from your library by going online. Haven’t we all spent endless hours in our university or college library revising for our exams, borrowing textbooks, free journals and using their online resources? Do you remember that feeling of getting a brand-new library card – of whipping it out when you borrowed a mountain of DVDs? Of course, times have changed since the millennium, but aren’t the staff always so professional and kind? 

Libraries are pivotal to society. Celebrating them, means celebrating silent reading, our communities, and getting into an institution of higher learning. This National Library Week, let’s look back on our days spent in libraries, and wholeheartedly thank our local public libraries.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and observed in libraries across the country each April. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.

The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.

Albert Einstein

           This wonderful piece of art was created by Brian Paterson. Brian Paterson was born in Ayrshire in 1949. At the age of 12 his family moved to Somerset. He met a local girl, Cynthia, and they married in 1973. The couple initially moved to London where Brian worked as a designer by day and on developing his own style of illustrating by night. They then moved to Henley-on-Thames where they conceived Foxwood Tales, Cynthia writing and Brian illustrating. I love the Foxwood Tales and I just bought a used copy of The Foxwood Treasury on Ebay.

Memories of spring and a review of: Beautiful Eggs: A journey through decorative traditions from around the world

Where I grew up, on the island of Cyprus, Easter is a very big celebration. 

Special Baked treats are made, families get together to celebrate, and they decorate eggs. Two families lived in our building, mine, and one other. We were very close to the Protopapas family and I often spent time with Yiayia, the grandmother. She did not speak any English, and in the beginning I spoke no Greek, but we always found a way to communicate. Yiayia taught me how to make flaounes, a sweet and savory bread, and she also showed me how to decorate eggs using the water from boiled onion peels. Often we would use the leaves of plants to create an image on the eggs. We would polish our decorations by rubbing wax all over them, and then Yiayia would place the eggs in a basket lined with bright green leaves,

Beautiful Eggs: A journey through decorative traditions from around the world
Illustrated by Alice Lindstrom
Nonfiction Board Book
For ages 4 to 6
Scribble, 2021, 978-1-95035-4436
When we think of egg decorating, we usually think of Easter festivities. Many people in countries around the world decorate boiled or blown eggs for this spring celebration. However, in some cultures they decorate eggs for other celebrations. In Mexico pretty eggs also appear on Cinco de Mayo and other festive days.
   People have been decorating eggs for centuries, and they have developed all kinds of ways of making eggs beautiful. A great deal of time and effort can be spent on decorating eggs, and some of these creations are so prized that they are put in museums or art galleries.
   In the Ukraine they have been creating extremely colorful eggs that are covered with fine and delicate designs for a long time. Red and green dyes are commonly used, and the designs are drawn on using beeswax.
   In the Czech Republic Easter eggs are decorated using many dye colors, and straw. When the eggs are complete, there are “Shiny kaleidoscope patterns” all over them.
   In Japan they use washi paper to decorate their eggs. The colorful printed papers, that are also use to make origami, are used to cover the eggs.
   With gorgeous collage illustrations and informative pieces of text, the illustrator of this board book introduces children to seven different eggs decorating traditions. At the back of the book young readers will find a fold out page that children can use as a stencil to make their own drawing of a decorated egg.

Easter is only a few days away. You can find more reviews of books about Easter on the TTLG Easter Books Page.

A story about The Story of Babar

Many years ago I lived in a little village on Mount Lebanon. One of the first books I was given was a copy of The Story of Babar written in the original French. Many Lebanese are bilingual (French and Arabic) and I was learning both of these languages at my school. When the civil war broke out my Babar book went with us as we fled to the island of Cyprus. Later my copy went to uni with me in England; and then I brought it to the States with me when I moved here. Before my daughter was born I got an English copy of the book which I read to my baby before she was came into the world..

In the June issue of the journal I created a new feature: The Classics and Favorites Collection. It felt essential that The Story of Babar should be included in this collection as soon as possible.

http://lookingglassreview.com/books/the-story-of-babar/

The new issue of Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews is online

Happy September dear book loving people! The new issue of the journal is online and it contains some wonderful bookish treats for you all.

The special feature is Writers and Writing and I got to review several books about writers and the writing process. Start with a Word by Peter H. Reynolds (of Dot and Ish fame) is the perfect book to give to someone who loves to write but who needs a little help getting into the writing groove (yes there is such a thing).

For the Series Spotlight I chose The Paper Magician trilogy. These books take readers to a wonderful place where magicians are (mostly) well respected members of society, and where magic is (mostly) used for the betterment of all. The main character is utterly delightful and the touch of romance in the story is charming. Mind you, these stories are not all sweetness and light. There are some very low points that I have to confess left me feeling rather shaken. Magic must be taken seriously and it needs to be treated with respect, and of course there are always those who will use it to hurt others. Many thanks to Charlie N. Holmberg (the spotlight author in this issue) for creating these books.

Just last month the wonderful poet and anthologist, Lee Bennett Hopkins, left the stage and he will be greatly missed. He was such a dear, funny, and generous man, and it was a privilege to call him a friend. In his honor I chose to review one of his newest poetry anthologies in this issue, and I also featured a book that won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, a poetry prize that he brought into being and that carries his name.

For this issue I also chose to include some reviews of a few older, classic books. Ballet Shoes, George's Marvelous Medicine, Nurse Matilda, and The Railway Children, have all been around for a while and getting to read them again, as an adult, was a real treat.

I hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to hearing from you.