This makes me want to scream, but I work in a library so I’m holding it in and only screaming here. See if you have the same reaction:
For me it’s the idea of devices reading bedtime stories to children. That’s what we have loving adults in our lives for. Bedtime is a moment of connection, a way to show love and caring and compassion. Sharing books that display our appreciation for nature, diversity, and life.
Soapbox dismounted.
Henri’s Scissors by Jeanette Winter
When Henri-Emile Matisse was a young boy, he longed to make art the way his mother did. So he drew as much as he could and then painted after receiving paints as a gift. But when he was on old man, he had to remain in bed or a wheelchair and didn’t have the energy or ability to paint. As he recovered, Matisse started to draw and then picked up a pair of scissors and started cutting paper. Matisse started a second phase of his art career with assistants who painted pages for him to cut from, dreams of the shapes to cut out, and surrounded by the bright colors of his art. He created a garden that he could visit right from his bed.
Winter starts with Matisse as a boy finding art and quickly moves the book to his paper cutting phase in the latter part of his life. For a picture book biography, the text is very simple yet conveys his great attachment and gift for creating art. It also speaks to the creative process and trying new things that fit with life’s limitations.
Winter fills her book with bright colors both in Matisse’s art itself but also as the backgrounds to her images. When Matisse is without art, the book becomes dark yet star-filled. As he returns to creating pieces, the book lightens and blossoms visually.
A very successful picture book biography, this book will be welcome in elementary and preschool art classes. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:
CHILDREN’S LIT
Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales Come To Life In Eerie Photography Project http://buff.ly/JFuPq0 #kidlit
CCBlogC: Authors and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad, No Good Review http://buff.ly/KBf6Jk #kidlit
Dan Gutman on a career that he’s glad he fell into http://buff.ly/1a0gLhl #kidlit
Like a Winter Vortex, BOB 2014 Is Gathering Force — http://ow.ly/soCee SLJ’s Battle of the Books is Back! #sljbob @SLJsBoB
Matt Renwick’s Top Ten Takeaways from The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease | Nerdy Book Club http://buff.ly/1lwZfJy #kidlit
Monica Edinger’s List of Books About Africa – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1dOoKma #kidlit
What Makes a Good Horse Book? – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/KEuKUc #kidlit
EBOOKS
Barnes & Noble announces abysmal holiday Nook sales | Internet & Media – CNET News http://buff.ly/KJBGPP #ebooks
Will an “All-You-Can-Read” service work? – Business Circle http://buff.ly/1ikWOXP #ebooks
LIBRARIES
Corinne Hill: LJ’s 2014 Librarian of the Year http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/01/awards/corinne-hill-ljs-2014-librarian-of-the-year/ …
Librarians Take On New Roles in the Digital Age (INFOGRAPHIC) | Frankie Rendón http://buff.ly/1cFXrcl #libraries
Minnesota librarians push to curb NSA snooping | Star Tribune http://buff.ly/JU0mnC – Proud to be a librarian! #libraries #nsa #privacy
Tacoma Public Library’s StoryLab opens up digital world | Tacoma | The News Tribune http://buff.ly/1a0iqU7 #libraries
The Top 10 Library Stories of 2013 http://buff.ly/1lwMbnt #libraries
SOCIAL MEDIA
Drinking from the Twitter firehose: I love the stream, but I need more filters and bridges — Tech News and Analysis http://buff.ly/KJVaUH
YA LIT
10 YA Releases We Can’t Wait to Read in 2014 http://buff.ly/1dVgvon #yalit
2014 YA Fiction Preview: 60 Titles for Your January – June Radar | BOOK RIOT – http://buff.ly/1ad6Bxl #yalit
BBC – Newsbeat – Five books being turned into films in 2014 http://buff.ly/1lwOOFO #yalit
The Compulsive Reader: Laurie Halse Anderson Talks About The Impossible Knife of Memory http://buff.ly/1aI8heP #yalit
Disney is giving the Star Wars comics license to Marvel in 2015 http://buff.ly/1cNS23U
‘I don’t want smut on the page’: Divergent author Veronica Roth on sex and teen fiction – The Independent http://buff.ly/1lwP5IM #yalit
Page to Screen: A Year’s Worth of New Adaptations | School Library Journal http://buff.ly/1lwZYKG #yalit
Waking Brain Cells 