Day: April 27, 2012

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts that you might find interesting:

5 (Mostly) Vintage Children’s Books by Iconic Graphic Designers http://prsm.tc/8wXX2V #kidlit

67 Books Every Geek Should Read to Their Kids: A Printable List (GeekDad Weekly Rewind)http://prsm.tc/qa8yhR #kidlit

The Artistry Of ‘Children’s Picturebooks’ Revealed : NPR http://j.mp/JAVPT8 #kidlit

Cannon: Should adults read books written for kids? | The Salt Lake Tribune http://j.mp/JaWn4w

Celebrating the magic of Diana Wynne Jones | Children’s books | http://j.mp/ooI9mF http://j.mp/JaSsVC #kidlit

Charlie Kaufman To Adapt ‘Chaos Walking’ by Patrick Ness!http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/charlie-kaufman-to-adapt-chaos-walking-lionsgates-next-franchise-play/ #yalit

Children’s author GP Taylor on why he’s decided to self-publish http://prsm.tc/fzlykn #kidlit #ebooks

The Children’s Book Council – 2012 Ezra Jack Keats Award Winners http://prsm.tc/gIjnXQ #kidlit

Children’s Corner: Poetry books that will register on the kid cool-o-meter » Evansville Courier & Press http://j.mp/IjExcR #kidlit #poetry

Cressida Cowell interviewed by young writers – Telegraph http://j.mp/ILTjHF

‘The Dirty Cowboy’ author: Book ban ‘ridiculous’ – Lebanon Daily News http://j.mp/IjF1Qj #kidlit

Don’t Miss Free Rick Riordan Webcast May 1 http://j.mp/ImbQMf #kidlit

Eye Candy for YA Book Lovers on Authors Pinterest Boards: http://j.mp/JqwYiX #yalit

Grim Colberty Tales with Julie Andrews – The Colbert Report – 2012-24-04 – Video Clip | Comedy Central http://j.mp/IbKw6p

How to Save the World: Kids are the Earth’s best hope-and librarians can play a special role http://j.mp/ImaSzK

Judy Blume loves a good challenge http://j.mp/JaWpcH #kidlit

Letters of Note: It is only adults who ever feel threatened http://j.mp/HXDNvE #kidlit

The Most Highlighted Book Passage of All Time on the Kindle Is Like So Deep Man (and from Hunger Games!) http://j.mp/Io6QXy #yalit

PSA: 61% of low-income families have no age appropriate books at home. http://j.mp/JkInR6#kidlit #reading #literacy

A Rival For Pigeon In Willems’ New ‘Duckling’ : NPR http://j.mp/Im4bO2 #kidlit

Teach the Books, Touch the Heart – NYT http://j.mp/IjEJZq #reading

Top 5 Reasons to Let Kids Choose Their Own Books « Nerdy Book Club http://j.mp/IjEygU

A trio of striking verse narratives for teen readers – JSOnline http://j.mp/JaUG7n #yalit

What Does ‘Young Adult’ Mean? – Entertainment – The Atlantic Wire http://j.mp/HYHMXW #yalit

Review: Kate & Pippin by Martin Springett

| Tasha

kate and pippin

Kate & Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story by Martin Springett, illustrated by Isobel Springett

When Pippin, a fawn, is abandoned by her mother, photographer Isobel Springett found her crying for help.  She took Pippin home and placed her by Kate their old Great Dane.  The two immediately bonded:  Pippin thought she had found a new mother and Kate started to mother her even though she had never raised any puppies of her own.  Pippin learned to drink from a bottle and when she got bigger started to adventure outside.  One evening, Pippin disappeared into the forest and didn’t return for bedtime.  Kate was very concerned, but the next morning Pippin came back just in time for breakfast.  Pippin returned to the woods every night after that, returning to the farm almost every morning to eat and play.  As she grew into an adult deer, she still continued to return to visit Kate and play.  She even still comes into the house once in awhile for a visit. 

This is one of the most lovely picture books about a relationship with a wild animal that I have seen.  I especially appreciate that Pippin was allowed to continue to be a wild deer, returning to the forest and being allowed to create a relationship on her own terms.  It’s definitely refreshing to see.  Here the human and dog were able to rescue, aid but also step back and not absorb this little creature.  The relationship that emerges is breathtakingly touching, seeped in fragility yet incredibly strong.

A large part of the success here are the photographs of this tiny deer bonding with the enormous dog.  By the end of the book, the animals are the same size.  It is clear that both of them adore one another on a deep level, and one that is delightfully separate from the humans. 

This nonfiction picture book reads like fiction, making it a great pick for a touch of nonfiction in a story time.  It’s a story that children will relate to easily and naturally.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Company.

Review: Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats by Barbara Joosse

| Tasha

old robert

Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Jan Jutte

Old Robert sailed his ship at sea during the day and docked it at night because it was so dark.  At night, he prepared his dinner of toast in buttered milk and ran through his list of things that were all in their proper place, including clean socks, a clock, one dish and one spoon, and the moon.  He was all alone until one night when a dancing cat asked to come aboard.  Old Robert hesitated because there wasn’t much room aboard, but in the end he agreed.  So he made dinner of toast in buttered milk for both of them and when he went to bed, he noticed the moon was bigger.  Now his list included the cat in its hammock as he went to sleep.  On subsequent days, another two talking cats joined him on board, for dinner, and on his list.  And the moon got bigger still.  Finally, a cat that didn’t talk at all arrived and Old Robert let it on board too.  There was no room for a hammock, for Old Robert let it sleep on his chest.  Finally, the moon was full and Old Robert sailed off into the moonlit night with all of the cats. 

I expected quite a different book when I saw the cover.  I thought it was going to be silly, zany, and rather wild.  Instead, this book has a beautiful quietness to it, a thoughtfulness, and makes for a perfect bedtime read.  Joosse incorporates repetition so well here that it becomes a lullaby.  His listing of his belongings doesn’t change much, except for the size of the moon and the number of cats.  It speaks to the simplicity of his life, but also to how lonely he is.  This is shown rather than told, giving the book a lovely little ache that heads right for the heart.

Jutte’s illustrations too have a mix of silly and quiet.  They have a vintage feel, of old comic books that will make readers feel right at home.  They have great color with explosions of pinks, blues and yellows that pop and glow. 

A great read aloud, this would make a great bedtime pick but it is also a good one to turn into reader’s theater for children.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel Books