David Slade has been hired to direct the third film in the Twilight series: Eclipse. It is slated to be released on June 30, 2010.
He has previously directed 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy.
Chris Weitz is currently shooting New Moon, the second in the series which is due out in November.
A Garden of Opposites by Nancy Davis
This bright, graphically-interesting and fun book offers pairs of opposites in a garden setting. The opposites are very basic such as open/closed, long/short, and asleep/awake. Davis’ illustrations are big and bold, filled with bright colors that will shout out to a group easily. Equally likeable is the font and text size which will work well for reading aloud but also for new readers just figuring things out.
Recommended as a cheery spring opposite book, this one is perfect for toddlers ages 1-3.
Sir Ryan’s Quest by Jason Deeble
Inspired by his toy knights and castle, Ryan creates armor out of a pot and heads out on his quest which leads him up the mountain, through a jungle, into the castle and down to a deep, dark cave. On his way, he finds different creatures who give him items to help him. All of this takes place in Ryan’s imagination as he moves through his house. Young readers will immediately understand that he is playing pretend and will eagerly wait to see what he pretends about next.
I love books where children are using their imagination and this one is straight-forward in its approach but allows children to see what is happening in a young boy’s mind. It made me want to pull on a cloak and find a sword to swing, and I am sure young listeners will feel the same. Deeble’s text is filled with wonderful medieval phrases and yet remains child-friendly. His illustrations are much the same way with their simple style that offers hints as to the imaginary world that lives within them.
This book will work well as a read aloud, but I would have plans for playing pretend afterwards and be ready with a shield to deflect sword swings. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy and Polly Dunbar
Little Mabel blew a bubble, and it caused a lot of trouble…
Such a lot of bubble trouble in a bibble-bobble way.
What an opening! And if your tongue tripped on those two lines, you will find yourself tripping along throughout the book. When Mabel blows the bubble, her little brother is caught inside it and drifts off into the air. As he drifts along more and more people follow behind and try to get him down. Only naughty Abel is able to find a solution (which involves a slingshot and a long fall).
Mahy has created a tongue-twister of a picture book that is a great delight to read aloud (with a little practice). The rhymes and rhythm create a galloping effect and a fast pace. Dunbar’s illustrations are great fun too with strange bright-colored birds and whimsical houses that contrast nicely with the watercolor and cut paper characters.
Get your tongue loosened up and enjoy! Children as young as two will enjoy the rhythm and wildness here.
Redwoods by Jason Chin
A boy waiting for the subway finds a book on redwood trees on the bench next to him. As he becomes immersed in the information, the world around him changes until he finds himself in the middle of a redwood forest. Through the boy’s eyes readers will get to repel to the top of the redwood crowns, stand on enormous stumps, and view the redwoods compared to a city skyline. This book is the epitome of an informational book made accessible and fun. Though the text is primarily factual, the illustrations take it to a different level of wonder and interest.
Chin’s text culls the most fascinating facts about the great redwood trees while combining them with illustrations that are fantastical and fun. The book reads aloud well thanks to the charm of the illustrations and Chin’s talent at writing facts with readability and interest in mind.
This book will have your spirit soaring to the tops of these gargantuan trees and my is the view fine. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
No! by David McPhail
A young boy sets out to deliver a letter and on his way is faced with all sorts of war actions including bombing, troops, and tanks. When he is bullied by a larger boy, he speaks out and stops it. This nearly wordless picture book only has a single word, repeated three times in different tones. The illustrations in McPhail’s classic style paired with the single word make this a very powerful book about the power of one voice, one word, one person.
I am a fan of wordless books because so often as here illustrations can say volumes more than a page of text. McPhail has created a book that talks of war more powerfully than many long treatises on the topic. Even better, this war is accessible to children who can understand the horror being shown but then will be amazed and relieved at the power of a dissident. I especially appreciate the final pages in the book which show the tools of war being used in peaceful ways. Lovely.
Recommended as a book to start a discussion. This is not a story time book but one that should be used when talking about war and peace in depth or for a family to read together and discuss.
Gerald McDermott came to my library today! I know that this may be the sort of thing that big time New York City librarians have happen every day, but it is quite unusual here in central Wisconsin. He came as part of the Fox Cities Book Festival which I am president of this year.
He spoke before a small but very responsive group about his art, his books, and his relationship with Joseph Campbell. He also spoke beautifully about myth.
Here are a sampling of quotes from him:
“A myth is a story that is not true on the outside but true on the inside.”
When drawing you should “capture the energy” and not aim for perfection.
Joseph Campbell said “Myth is what we call other people’s religion.”
We got to hear him tell his Coyote and Pig Boy books.
He showed us slides of an amazing exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Tacoma based on his books.
And we got to hear about his next big project which will be illustrating Joseph Campbell’s favorite myths.
He was a great speaker, gentle rather than forceful, an artist taking us along with him on a journey in myth.
One of the small gems I jotted down was that he starts his books by telling the story aloud 15-20 times before he writes them down. Because they come from an oral tradition, he starts there.
I also loved his art project he did with children where they put mounds of paint in the center of a page and then fold it in half, smooshing the paint. It is then opened back up and the kids find a creature in the symmetrical blob and outline it in black. They then get to write a story about the creature they have found.
His paintings are on display at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum. I can’t wait to see them!
A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell
Cora is starting high school, the high school where her dead older brother, Nate, was known as a screw-up and a waster. He died several months ago in a car accident, driving without the headlights on. Now her life is marked by his loss. Her mother is hovering, critical and verging on hysterical while her father drinks away his feelings alone and isolated in his den. Cora escapes from their chaotic life through her art, drawing places on the map and dreaming of actually being there. In high school she is in an advanced art class where she meets Damian, Nate’s best friend and the boy who walked away from the fatal crash. Damian is the focus of Cora’s parents’ anger, but as Cora gets to know him, she learns more about her brother and finds connections with him that she hadn’t known existed.
Sandell’s writing is quite simply amazing. From the first page, I was thoroughly hooked as she drew me into Cora’s life with poetic grace and unobtrusive style. She writes with a confidence and ease that carries the reader along, sure that there is something worthwhile to discover here. The dialogue is pitch perfect, including the hurtful, hateful fights with her parents that are so raw that the reader almost bleeds. The use of art as a connecting and bridging force is also well done. Not overly played upon, but important and soulful. Cora is a girl worth spending time with, her character deep and fascinating.
Highly recommended, this book is beautiful, tense, haunting and glorious all in the same breath. Simply amazing. Appropriate for ages 13-15.
Rapunzel by Rachel Isadora.
Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora.
I have to applaud Rachel Isadora’s efforts to recreate well-known European folk tales and set them in Africa filled with African characters. I have recently read her Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel which are clever, simply written and lovely. Isadora doesn’t try to change the core of the story, leaving that just the same. But the setting is changed and every element of the illustrations reflect their new setting in all of its colorful glory.
Isadora has done much more than insert people of color into these stories. She has managed to distill the stories to their essence, offering very simple version of the stories that read aloud very well. Her illustrations are collages of paper that are brilliantly colored and will project wonderfully to a crowd. With people of color or not, these stories are some of the most child-friendly versions I have seen. Isadora also has created two of the most fearsome witches I have seen in a long time. Truly terrifying with their green eyes or skin and wild hair, these women are fearsome in a wonderful, shivery way.
Highly recommended for reading to classrooms of children who have missed the basic folklore, these books are beautiful, great to read aloud and have a unique cultural story to tell. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Waking Brain Cells 