This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts that you might find interesting.  You can also check out the links I shared about libraries and ebooks on my Sites & Soundbytes blog.

The Book J.R.R. Tolkein Read to His Children: Snergs http://buff.ly/N6pJnh

Books That Build Community – The Book Whisperer – Education Week Teacher http://buff.ly/N5Pq7E #kidlit

A Brief History of Children’s Picturebooks and the Art of Visual Storytelling | Brain Pickings http://buff.ly/ApYchI #kidlit

Candlewick Affirms Faith in Picture Books for 20th Anniversary http://buff.ly/OtEGtO #kidlit

Cybils: 2012 Cybils Call for Judges http://buff.ly/RlEmor #kidlit #yalit

The Enchanted Inkpot: Danger! Middle Grade covers, Fall 2012 http://buff.ly/PbcltM

Gen Y: the most book-loving generation alive? http://buff.ly/N6igVs

Girls With ADHD Have Higher Rates Of Self-Injury: Study http://buff.ly/N3wxSE

A great post from @halseanderson on money, making a living writing, and the real business of making stuff for people: http://madwomanintheforest.com/wfmad-day-19/

The Hunger Games Trilogy Has Now Outsold All the Harry Potter Books http://buff.ly/PaYRy8 #yalit

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Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys? Online Quiz – Mental Floss http://buff.ly/PbFAwP

Olympic Soccer Star Alex Morgan to Pen Middle-Grade Series http://buff.ly/Pbcxte #kidlit

Reading Readiness: Are We Pushing Too Hard? | GeekMom | http://Wired.com http://buff.ly/N6pEjv #reading #literacy

Top 10 Picture Books for the Secondary Classroom « Nerdy Book Club http://buff.ly/Owm9gz

Top ten books parents think children should read – Telegraph http://buff.ly/Pxg4CH

Uncle Ray’s Dystopia http://buff.ly/OAA457

Why it’s okay to write the book you’re writing, not the book you wrote. Terrific blog post from Kristin Cashore: http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2012/08/advic

Nina Bawden Dies

| Tasha

carries war 

Nina Bawden has died at age 87.  She was the author of book for both adults and children.  The one I know best is Carrie’s War which is tells the story of children evacuated to Wales during World War II.  As I’m thinking about it now, I think I saw it on Masterpiece Theater rather than having read it.  I loved the program.

And I love the description in the Chicago Tribune article of Bawden:

Lennie Goodings, Bawden’s publisher at Virago, called the author "gently fierce" and a "wickedly funny woman.

Sounds like someone I would have loved to meet.

Review: Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket by Tatyana Feeney

| Tasha

small bunnys blue blanket

Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket by Tatyana Feeney

Small Bunny did everything with his blue blanket.  He took it everywhere with him.  His blanket helped him read hard words, swing higher on the swings, and paint the best pictures.  But one day, Small Bunny’s mother thinks that Blue Blanket should be washed.  Small Bunny tried to hide, but his mother found him.  So after Small Bunny’s bath, it was Blue Blanket’s turn.  Small Bunny stood and watched the washer for the entire 107 minutes that it took to wash.  Then Blue Blanket had to dry on the line.  Small Bunny’s mother was sure that the blanket was good as new, but Small Bunny did not want a new blanket, he wanted his good old friend back.

There is such charm in this very simple book thanks to the illustrations.  Done in a limited palette of blues and small touches of pink, the minimalist lines give a sense of space and movement.  Somehow this simple rabbit illustration manages to convey deep emotions, including joy, impatience and deep worry.  The sweep of the blanket through the pages adds motion.

The playful illustrations offer a lightness to the book that elevates it nicely.  The writing is simple and basic.  I enjoyed the touch where Small Bunny’s mother told him it would take only a minute for his blanket to be washed and it took 107.  Lovely.  I also enjoyed the fact that this book was not about getting a child to let go of a beloved blanket, but instead just getting it washed.  The ending is satisfying too.

Playful and fun to read, this book will be enjoyed by the preschool audience.  The simple words and illustrations will work well with a toddler story time.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from Alfred A. Knopf.

Review: Bird & Squirrel on the Run by James Burks

| Tasha

bird and squirrel on the run

Bird & Squirrel on the Run by James Burks

Bird and Squirrel don’t exactly get along.  Bird just wants to have a good time and never worries about a thing.  Squirrel is obsessive about gathering nuts for the winter and worries constantly.  But when Squirrel’s hoard of nuts is destroyed, the two of them realize they need one another to head south for the winter.  Unfortunately, the cat has a different idea and that is having both Squirrel and Bird for lunch!  This zany graphic novel is filled with twists and turns that will have even the most reluctant readers eagerly turning the pages.

Burks takes two polar-opposite characters and in a brief story manages to bring them together as friends in a very believable way.  Throughout the book, there is silly humor, plenty of puns, and a wonderful sense of camaraderie.  The pacing is particularly well done, with small places to catch your breath before the pursuit continues.  There are always surprises waiting for the characters and the reader too.  It makes the reading all the more fun to get caught up in the unexpected.

In my advanced reader copy, the art was only completed for the first few pages in full color.  From those pages, the colors are deep and bright.  The feeling is nicely autumnal and the bright colors add to the zing of the book.  The art has a classic cartoon feel that will have readers feeling right at home.

Perfect for young reluctant readers looking for graphic novels, this book will find an eager audience.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Review: Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills

| Tasha

rocket writes a story

Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills

This sequel to How Rocket Learned to Read has the same irresistible charm of the first.  While the first book inspired new readers on their way to proficiency, this book will inspire young writers to try their hand at the craft.  Rocket loved books like they were his friends.  He loved words too and used his nose to find new words to add to his collection.  Eventually, Rocket had so many words, he just had to do something with them.  So he decided to write his own story.  But when he was faced with the blank page, he couldn’t think of a thing to write.  The little yellow bird who was his teacher advised him to write about something that inspired him, that excited him.  Now Rocket just needs to find that perfect inspiration for a story.  It just might be much closer than he’d ever have expected.

Hills has taken the wonderful cheer of his original Rocket book and his Duck & Goose stories and transformed it into a book that will lead young authors through the thicket of writing their first story.  This is a shining example of a book that will inspire rather than lecture young artists as they strive to create.  Rocket has a wonderful combination of confidence and openness that makes him a great protagonist.  Children will be happy to learn to write a book alongside Rocket.

The art in the book is done in Hills’ signature style.  It is simple, bright colored, and joyful.  Hills plays with perspective, turns the idea of a classroom inside out, and rejoices in reading and writing. 

A must-have book for all public libraries, this will also find a welcome home in school libraries and classrooms.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.

Review: My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend

| Tasha

my life in black and white

My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend

Lexi has always been known as the beautiful girl.  Her sister Ruthie is the smart one.  Her best friend Taylor is the fun one.  But that all changes when Lexi and Taylor go to a high school party.  When Lexi sees her best friend together with her boyfriend, she thinks her world has ended.  But then she is in a car accident and her face goes through the windshield.  Now Lexi has to figure out how to go on after losing the one thing that defined her beyond everything else, her beauty.  Plus she has to face it all without her best friend or her boyfriend by her side.  It’s like she lost everything in one single night, and maybe she did.

Friend excels at honesty in her teen novels.  Lexi starts out as a fairly vain young woman but after her series of disasters, readers are firmly on her side.  It is wonderful to see a book that takes the time to explore the process of grief, anger and finally acceptance so fully.  Lexi is a young woman who is strong, vital and much more than her face.  As the book proceeds, readers see beyond the beauty just as Lexi herself is discovering that there is more to her as well.

The writing here is clear and clean.  Friend explores not just Lexi’s relationship with her friends, but also how her sister is affected and how her parents cope.  There are no easy situations here, her father wants to fix everything and her relationship with her mother completely shatters.  There are sexual situations in this book, making it firmly a teen novel more appropriate for high school audiences.

There is plenty of pain in this novel, plenty of growth, but it is also smart and funny, just like Lexi herself.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

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

3 Ways to Talk to Kids about Books They Read

Catching Fire’s Cashmere will be played by…http://buff.ly/MY3AYk #yalit

Children’s Literature: How Much Nonfiction? And How Accurate Should It Be? http://buff.ly/MSG9zF #kidlit

Chris Riddell: What I’m thinking about … a new era for illustration | Books |http://guardian.co.uk http://buff.ly/OU5EfN

Cybils: 2012 Cybils Call for Judges http://buff.ly/RlEmor #kidlit #yalit

‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ Newspaper: Easter Egg Revealed In Wes Anderson’s Animated Film (PHOTO) http://buff.ly/MQYblX

Genre Legend Diane Duane Talks Scooby Doo, Star Trek, and Beating Harry Potter to the Punch | GeekDad | Wir…http://buff.ly/MSGfHw #kidlit

Girls With ADHD Have Higher Rates Of Self-Injury: Study http://buff.ly/N3wxSE

‘Green Eggs And Ham’: Celebrating The 52nd Anniversary With Dr. Seuss Weddings (PHOTOS) http://buff.ly/MQZaT1

Hand Kids Some Great Nonfiction! « ShelfTalker http://buff.ly/Pk1ZIr #kidlit

Happy & Sad about the NPR Top 100 YA List – Laurie Halse Anderson shares her concerns about diversity – http://buff.ly/PjF1Br #yalit

How do you pick the right books for a young but fluent reader? | Children’s books |http://guardian.co.uk http://buff.ly/OWeKIQ #kidlit

Mo Willems’ Secrets For Raising a Readerhttp://buff.ly/PkdWxW #kidlit

 

A prestige-free zone – why women write YA fiction http://buff.ly/Ppha35 #yalit

Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Spring 2013 Sneak Previews http://buff.ly/MGgVUZ #kidlit

Seven Impossible Things: Favorite Picture Books for Fall | Kirkus Book Blog Network | Kirkus Book Reviews http://buff.ly/MX7AZ6 #kidlit

 

Why Do You Believe In Picture Books? « Nerdy Book Club http://buff.ly/MUgAhD #kidlit

Review: Martin on the Moon by Martine Audet

| Tasha

martin on the moon

Martin on the Moon by Martine Audet, illustrated by Luc Melanson

Martin has just started school, but as he sits in class, his mind continues to wander.  His teacher reminds him of his cat due to her hair color.  Then he daydreams about the trip he and his mother took to the river and thinks about the water there.  He tries to pay attention, since it is the first day of school, but then his teacher reminds him of a seagull with the way she is moving her arms.  Martin remembers a time when he was out drawing and got to see a bolt of lightning in the sky.  When he shared that it looked like someone coloring outside the lines, his mother wanted to use the image in a poem. Martin then starts thinking about poems and kisses, until his teacher asks him who he’s blowing kisses to. 

Nominated for the Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse in its original French, this book works well translated into English.  The poetic language, the imagery and the creativity of young Martin all work together to create a beautiful unity.  This is a striking example of a picture book whose strength comes from its writing rather than its illustrations.  The writing is powerful, visual and uses imagery that children will easily relate to.  Tying in poetry itself to the story makes it all the more concrete.

Melanson’s illustrations have a soft texture and use a successful mix of vibrant and softer colors.  The illustrations don’t offer much detail, instead being more about color and texture than finer touches. 

Poetic and lovely, this picture book would work well in a unit on imagery or poetry.  I’d also get it into the hands of any young daydreamer.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: It Jes’ Happened by Don Tate

| Tasha

it jes happened

It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw by Don Tate, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

This picture book is a beautiful tribute to a legendary folk artist.  Bill Traylor grew up a slave in Alabama.  Born in 1854, he worked in the fields as a child.  When the slaves were freed at the end of the Civil War, his family stayed on working as sharecroppers on the same land they worked as slaves.  As things happened to him throughout his life, from hunger to parties, Bill Traylor remembered it all.  When he finally left the farm and headed to the big city of Montgomery, it was those memories that he drew and painted.  At age 85, he started drawing and kept on.  He got attention for it too, eventually getting a gallery show in 1940.  Bill Traylor showed his life and his heart through his simple yet powerful art.

Tate does not shy away from truly embracing Traylor in this picture book.  The book has more words than many picture books, but they are necessary to truly recreate both the memories of Bill Traylor and the amazing transformation to artist that happened so late in his life.  The writing is solid and smooth, building a full life before your eyes.

Christie’s art hearkens back to that of Traylor’s in its rough simplicity.  It speaks to the deep colors and the power of plain paint and strong lines.  There is also a wonderful dynamic quality to the art that offers motion and storytelling.

A lovely look at the life of a folk artist, this book is a great example of a picture book biography.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from library copy.