Dog Food and Baby Food by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers are charming board book versions of their whimsical, magical vegetable characters.  From ducklings made of potatoes to banana giraffes to brocolli  poodles, readers will be welcomed into a bright colored world of puns.  Parents can get very tired of overly sweet board books that lack a real sense of humor.  Point them to these books, though I don’t think it will be necessary.  One look at the covers of these books will have them in the hands of both parents and children in seconds.  Make sure you stock the earlier books by these talented authors as well, there will be requests! 

Sorry about the break in postings, but we have once again been hit by the curse of the preschool flu.  The entire family has had it and I have basically eaten up years of accumulated sick leave. 

I have news about two new children’s-book-based films in production.  The first is Nancy Drew where the star is already hoping publicly that it becomes a series of films.  I can really see girls eating up Nancy Drew on the big screen.  The second is Bridge to Terabithia, a film that will call for all of us to bring tissues along in our pockets.  Both films are scheduled for release in 2007.

Sorry about the break in postings, but we have once again been hit by the curse of the preschool flu.  The entire family has had it and I have basically eaten up years of accumulated sick leave. 

I have news about two new children’s-book-based films in production.  The first is Nancy Drew where the star is already hoping publicly that it becomes a series of films.  I can really see girls eating up Nancy Drew on the big screen.  The second is Bridge to Terabithia, a film that will call for all of us to bring tissues along in our pockets.  Both films are scheduled for release in 2007.

Once Upon a Time, the End (Asleep in 60 Seconds) by Geoffrey Kloske, illustrated by Barry Blitt.

This is a wonderful picture book that will be enjoyed by smaller children on a certain level, but will be appreciated by older elementary students most of all.  A father is trying to read his child to sleep and begins skipping parts of the stories, leading to very funny results.  Stories like Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, The Princess and the Pea and the Three Little Pigs are all rushed through, each ending with a reason for the child to just fall asleep. 

This one is perfect reading for a lock-in for older elementary kids or a parent reading aloud to a class.   It was great fun to read aloud to my 8-year-old son, who immediately asked for it to be read again.  His 4-year-old brother didn’t get a lot of the humor, but still enjoyed the stories. 

Share this with fans of other versions of twisted fairy tales.  The humor here will have kids who know their stories laughing out loud and happily sharing the book with friends. 

BWIBooks has an interview with Gail Gibbons, author of amazing nonfiction picture books for children on a wide, wide variety of subjects.  The interview talks about how she comes up with new ideas to write about, how the illustrations come about, and the process of creating her books. 

Teaching Tolerance has a great interview with James Howe, author of the Bunnicula series and Totally Joe.   It talks about him coming out as a gay man as well as diversity in general. 

Here in the Bonny Glen has the first ever Children’s Literature Carnival up and running.  It is a great way to find new children’s literature blogs.  Enjoy!

GraceAnne DeCandido is a children’s book reviewer amongst many other things.  Her site offers information on how to write a good review, how to become a book reviewer, and a list of her favorite books from the last two years. 

ALA also has a list of Notable Children’s Videos for 2006.  You will see lots of videos from Weston Woods, the high quality creator of films based on children’s picture books.  Though Weston Woods videos can be prohibitively expensive for many libraries, you will want to take a look at the DVD series from Scholastic that compiles several Weston Woods films on a single DVD for a very reasonable price.