tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15476179340126366702024-03-13T22:25:26.077-07:00Quirky Tales - Old and NewUnusual and out of the ordinary children's book recommendationsBarbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-75783086091031618142014-03-02T10:37:00.001-08:002014-03-02T10:37:50.881-08:00The Giant Seed by Arthur Geisert<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9100lBuYx4FnWUUBwSP2kSYvIxeQqBY1M-msqlC3S6GRuek4SWsvuxEkq_U0fLHPTQV4RvvVnj_OEFOHeH6dPDg75ZigGBmD67-NA97LWIntZrRgYRh2qnTT_7S7-yhkFumcvQeb3Wyx/s1600/Giant+seed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9100lBuYx4FnWUUBwSP2kSYvIxeQqBY1M-msqlC3S6GRuek4SWsvuxEkq_U0fLHPTQV4RvvVnj_OEFOHeH6dPDg75ZigGBmD67-NA97LWIntZrRgYRh2qnTT_7S7-yhkFumcvQeb3Wyx/s1600/Giant+seed.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have been writing promotional material for a film about SEEDS. </span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Check out: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Seed: The Untold Story:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://vimeo.com/65685535. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Great people, great cause!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I was brainstorming seeds, I thought of children's books. I am always coming back to children's books. What better way to plant seeds of change??? So, I made a list. The Carrot Seed By Ruth Kraus, Miss Rumphius by Barbara Clooney, and The Giant Seed, by Arthur Geisert. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yes! Arthur Geisert! I think of Arthur as the quintessential American illustrator right now - sort of like Pete Seeger and Norman Rockwell for kids. High praise? He deserves it. Arthur Geisert creates intricate renderings of towns and farms that invite readers/viewers to explore and make their own. With funny details, multiple animals and a sense of humor, he celebrates middle America - usually without words. I recommend all his books!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Giant Seed is a strange one - replete with forebodings of ecological disaster and change, but also a pagan to ingenuity and community. We will survive!</span></span><br />
<br />Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-31708644058311641602012-08-30T23:00:00.003-07:002012-08-30T23:15:02.540-07:00Remy Charlip -This is not the End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have not posted anything in more than a year. I don't quite have enough of a need to share to the Universe and play the blog game. But.... I just found out that Remy Charlip has died and I need to broadcast to anyone who might find this what an amazing guy he was. Reading his obituary in the NY Times, I am even more impressed - dancer, artist, writer, theater... and in every picture he is smiling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don't remember when I got Charlip's book THIRTEEN, but I know it was a gift. It was published in 1975, so I was already in college, thinking of writing for children. This book was a surprise. It kept me enthralled for hours and still does. A lamp becomes an envelope - an envelope becomes a house - as sand forms a pyramid in front of a pyramid. Visual puzzle, quirky backwards collection of multiple connected stories, Charlip's sequential images must be seen to be understood. They are visual puns, sequential jokes, abstract musings. I just love the doodley intellectual whimsy of it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Catalogers must have had fits with Charlip's books as they don't fit in anywhere
particularly. Here is the Library of Congress' description of ARM in
ARM: " An illustrated collection of tongue twisters, riddles and endless
tales all of which feature a play on words and images. A collection of
connections, endless tales, reiterations and other echolalia." How
many summaries use the word echolalia! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">THIRTEEN won a number of awards, particularly for the playful watercolor and line illustrations. But it is the books as a whole that I want to rave about. What I particularly admire about Charlip's work is how he understood children's need to explore and imagine their own stories, that children do not always need a clear narrative with an arc and ending. The I Spy books, David Wiesner's illustrated stories of pictures within pictures are all direct descendants of Remy Charlip. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">On the last page of ARM in ARM, telescoping hands hold a telescoping book that says, over and over, smaller and smaller, THIS IS NOT THE END. How fitting! Thank you Remy.</span></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-66742489827380429272011-06-11T00:43:00.000-07:002011-06-11T00:56:24.835-07:00THE BEAR & THE FLY - A Story By Paula Winter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZFdyTR9EwlxNu_R1fM443io2t4lTjn0HMkdjsr5zL8UzQ8JQOPDqyVoaJjL6_cYdQ6dmB8rdWrwQ-4YMQ0Trg6WQv3m43dD3Yo3HaEAbwKhRxkGzOKfiGaqPvb25jbkeyG4OSkP2mD90/s1600/bear%2526fly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZFdyTR9EwlxNu_R1fM443io2t4lTjn0HMkdjsr5zL8UzQ8JQOPDqyVoaJjL6_cYdQ6dmB8rdWrwQ-4YMQ0Trg6WQv3m43dD3Yo3HaEAbwKhRxkGzOKfiGaqPvb25jbkeyG4OSkP2mD90/s320/bear%2526fly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I left my school library job, there were a number of books that I was tempted to slip into my bag. Most of them were old, and I am afraid that the next librarian will not appreciate them as much and will weed them to make room for the newer books that are always coming down the production line. But the kids loved them when I read them!!! Newer is not always better. My ethics prevailed and I did not lift these books, instead, I put them on my To Buy list, even though some are difficult to find. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The first on my list was THE BEAR &The FLY by Paula Winter. Published in 1976, this is one of those little books that easily get lost on library shelves. It is also a wordless book with the story told through the illustrations. These simple pen and ink drawings, filled in with only a few colors, wonderfully render the accelerating mayhem of the story. The facial expressions are hysterical. Each page reads as a frame of action and it is not surprising that THE BEAR & THE FLY was turned into an animated short. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> This is one of the first stories I would "read" to kindergarteners and it was a dangerous undertaking. Dangerous because it incites violence. Yes, violence. But fun. Fun as in Laurel and Hardy or The Three Stooges. Here in classic disaster humor, Bear causes an enormous amount of damage as he tries to swat a fly. So simple, so funny.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> But be prepared for some acting out. How can they resist? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">THE BEAR & THE FLY - A Story By Paula Winter</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Crown Publishers, NY, NY 1976</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ISBN: 0-517-52605-0 </span></span></div>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-11691749236630057702010-08-08T00:04:00.000-07:002010-08-10T00:30:19.241-07:00June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoVqYhqMG3pnJI-QxgPfoIKU1CIFt97iRlC_t_kSzq0TE6e1srh6K6DG4G_yvDtJ4sGu_AfOjR80RJ_5YmsBwSu7Pwwq0fjKZgP7BWgoyqWjHMioFyo0Gx0u8w8Xmg_BCzFOOfKg4gOcN/s1600/June+29.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoVqYhqMG3pnJI-QxgPfoIKU1CIFt97iRlC_t_kSzq0TE6e1srh6K6DG4G_yvDtJ4sGu_AfOjR80RJ_5YmsBwSu7Pwwq0fjKZgP7BWgoyqWjHMioFyo0Gx0u8w8Xmg_BCzFOOfKg4gOcN/s400/June+29.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502931633944410882" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >OK, I've recognized a pattern. I am posting books of award winning authors, but the books I like are not the ones that won the awards. So, am I just ornery or is there a logic behind my preferences? Hmmm... could be ornery.<br /><br />But, it may be that these talented authors have created many really good books and the ones that have won awards may not necessarily be their best. They might just be the ones that were the right books at the right time or the ones that appeal to the most people. Or maybe I'm just ornery. Having never been on a children's Literature award committe, I can only speculate, but I do know that every year is different. Sort of like wine.<br /><br />David Wiesner has won three, yes three Caldecotts, and specializes in amazing wordless picture books. Yet, my favorite of his works is not an award winner. Instead I adore <span style="font-weight: bold;">June 29,1999</span>. Yes, I love <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tuesday</span> and always read it early in the year for Kindergarteners. I talk about "reading" pictures and telling your own story. We even add dialog together!<br /><br />But still, <span style="font-weight: bold;">June 29th</span> has my heart. Instead of flying frogs, it has beautiful flying vegetables. (Arugula in Ashtabula). It also has words and a plot with an arc that is more complex then visiting town and finding your way home or seeing pictures within pictures. It has characters with names and relationships and conflict, even geographical puns! This is a story that children of various ages can relate to in many different ways.<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >A science experiment gone awry and its intersection with an alien tourist cruise ship, <span>the plot of</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> June 29th</span> is wonderfully inventive! </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Holly Evens sends vegetables up in the air for a science experiment and, then, is surprised when giant vegetables descend all over the country. </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > It's a mystery; it's an invasion; it's science, and headlines from the tabloids. </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><br /><br />As much I admire Wiesner's illustrations, I'm afraid his Caldecott award winning works lack this complexity of plot and character. The Caldecott is an award for illustration and, in my opinion, Wiesner does deserve all of them, but I wish he would write a story again as good as <span style="font-weight: bold;">June 29th, 1999</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" >June 29th, 1999<br />Sandpiper<br />ISBN-10: 0395727677<br />ISBN-13<b>:</b> 978-0395727676</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Teacher Notes</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >: I love having a map when reading this and finding places like Ashtabula. Read this when the class plants seeds in the spring and then see what sort of stories your kids write!</span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-78667566132271842092010-07-21T10:59:00.000-07:002010-07-22T00:58:26.231-07:00Jeannie Baker - author/illustrator<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPmgixaTb8BlJSTpN5Iycwb0m623qciEQvg9yUG5__w95vaGADKq27lDJEva2w-K2ocfwFcSwJ0nhmMH3pX8WDASVdS8WIci4uAAg_XZcau2stTGPkow50IuFxddWgEwjCAC1pKyYpjl7/s1600/wheretheforest.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPmgixaTb8BlJSTpN5Iycwb0m623qciEQvg9yUG5__w95vaGADKq27lDJEva2w-K2ocfwFcSwJ0nhmMH3pX8WDASVdS8WIci4uAAg_XZcau2stTGPkow50IuFxddWgEwjCAC1pKyYpjl7/s400/wheretheforest.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496634434439729970" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">I love the art of collage and author/illustrator, Jeannie Baker, is one of the best. Her work is gorgeous and full of rich details. Made from natural materials, like sand, bark, twigs and moss, her collages capture and evoke nature beautifully.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">Baker is Australian and, obviously, cares about the environment. Some of her books are almost preachy, but the images are so riveting that you don't really notice. Its the details, that catch your imagination and the changing point of view. Imagine trying to see a forest and then a leaf. Baker can do that!</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Her books are not subtle. Instead they are carefully, lovingly constructed pleas for us to look and care about the world around us. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" ><br /><br />Where the Forest Meets the Sea</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is about a tropical rainforest, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Home</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is about city life, but both have to do with time and change and how humans impact their environments. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >The Story of Rosy Dock</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is the only picture book I know of that has to do with invasive plant species!</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">I don't really have one favorite of her books, rather I want to give a shout out for any of them. Baker was creating books for children about the natural world long before it was fashionable. </span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Please check them out.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teacher Notes</span>: It is a mess, but I've found students love making collages from natural materials like Baker's. I've seen BIG collages in the Scottish Storyline method. that were just gorgeous. Baker's books were the seed.</span><br /></span></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-23095531626059055992010-07-10T00:18:00.000-07:002010-07-18T23:27:19.063-07:00Eva - Peter Dickinson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsA-1EL3_0xO1TTW7P7b1ZoHKtrPYOQP-yM4-mhM8aCWbsQi_6vaVK8vIdxLkQf2RekSwbb6WAl6BrRh1MqguR37fWRYPQS1ZEyckaPoRgbYuZZ4l6j__IFLal2d3AwXZtllrWhqkFgXP0/s1600/Eva.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsA-1EL3_0xO1TTW7P7b1ZoHKtrPYOQP-yM4-mhM8aCWbsQi_6vaVK8vIdxLkQf2RekSwbb6WAl6BrRh1MqguR37fWRYPQS1ZEyckaPoRgbYuZZ4l6j__IFLal2d3AwXZtllrWhqkFgXP0/s400/Eva.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492174467518193618" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Dystopian novels are pretty big right now. Hunger Games, ...., the list goes on. I don't really want to dwell on the reasons why. But I do understand the attraction, the gut wrenching understanding that the terrible future imagined just might be possible. Reading a really good story about a bad future makes me look around at the here and now and see what is still good and worth keeping.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">Many of these stories are really dark, but, for some reason, I don't seem to remember them well. Maybe I've become jaded or I'm reading too fast. But one has stuck in my mind for years. I think I first read </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >EVA</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> more than 30 years ago and it still haunts me. I read it again a while ago and it does feel dated, but the concept is so strong I didn't mind.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">What if the world were in really bad shape and a girl had her brain implanted in a chimpanzee? What if she was torn between two species? What if she could teach the chimps? What if they could start over? These are really BIG questions with lots of repercussions.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >EVA</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> won the Phoenix award in 2008 which means there are lots of others who feel it is a great book that did not get enough attention. It was used for years by schools and it is being dropped now, but I hope it is not forgotten. This is the sort of book that makes us think.<br /><br />Teacher Notes: This does have some references to sex, so be prepared.<br /></span></span><br />Eva by Peter Dickinson<br />Laurel Leaf; First Thus edition (October 1, 1990)<br />ISBN-10: 0440207665<br />ISBN-13: 978-0440207665Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-48952102143254454672010-07-09T17:45:00.000-07:002010-07-09T22:28:14.635-07:00Summertime from Porgy and Bess by George and Ira Gershwin, and Dubose and Dorothy Heyward ; Illustrated by Mike Wimmer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczH2DQC_qR4PpzZBYdc8xj-kEWaRsj_Rp-JM2q7f6Nd8O9W6CvPayQTYr261F9xf1dGNQ9ZGhWLjmaSvPb5-fl7tsvHZmM3I69t6vCjOR56HtYUgMV9iNLD6ezkxm3I3l3Hh65RyldgVI/s1600/summertime.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 141px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczH2DQC_qR4PpzZBYdc8xj-kEWaRsj_Rp-JM2q7f6Nd8O9W6CvPayQTYr261F9xf1dGNQ9ZGhWLjmaSvPb5-fl7tsvHZmM3I69t6vCjOR56HtYUgMV9iNLD6ezkxm3I3l3Hh65RyldgVI/s400/summertime.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492072732032151778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">It is over 100 degrees today and I thought of this book. <br />I love the song </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Summertime from Porgy and Bess</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> and this illustrated version does a wonderful job of capturing the lazy heat of summer and the love of family. Brothers and sisters run in fields, sit on porches and are watched by loving parents.<br /><br />I spent a few years of my childhood in Alabama and just seeing these pictures reminds me of the south. I remember ice tea, hiding in the shade, and relatives asking me to give them some "sugar" (kisses). </span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Mike Wimmer's paintings are just lovely. I keep buying copies and giving them away - especially at baby showers. <br /><br />This is a wonderfully evocative rendition of African-American country life. I've heard a few gripes by people of color that there are too many books about slavery, immigration or struggles in general. This book is a celebration of the good things - even when life is hard.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">If you like books based on songs, there are a few more that I'd recommend - the strongest based on African-American spirituals and also wonderfully illustrated. Check out: <span style="font-weight: bold;">This Little Light of Mine</span>, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">He's Got the Whole World in His Hands</span>, illustrated by Kadir Nelson. I love reading <span style="font-weight: bold;">It's a Wonderful World</span> illustrated by Ashley Bryan. A new version of <span style="font-weight: bold;">This Land is Your Land</span> has great illustrations by Kathy Jakobsen, though I wish they were larger. Lots of lists around but these are my favorites right now.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Summertime from Porgy and Bess </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">by George and Ira Gershwin, and Dubose and Dorothy Heyward ;<br />Illustrated by Mike Wimmer</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Aladdin (June 1, 2002)</span><b style="font-family: georgia;"><br />ISBN-10:</b><span style="font-family:georgia;"> 0689850476</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><b><br />ISBN-13:</b> 978-0689850479<br /><br /></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-15119027069197724562010-05-20T00:40:00.000-07:002010-05-20T01:13:56.815-07:00Manneken Pis -A Simple Story of a Boy Who Peed on a War. By Vladimir Radunsky<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgOFsGbEVCuL63HauaBhWiUF3aSP9GUMhImE8rh5dQ_a93ATZ9QNeIiz1vP0LvgwMM0nTPxL2_3yj_hkKkRy0_Yi-nCBklzzhqie-9uXXs557Lv-JIgc0ZZjH1xvAA0aDlJuSDOcSRgeT/s1600/pis.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgOFsGbEVCuL63HauaBhWiUF3aSP9GUMhImE8rh5dQ_a93ATZ9QNeIiz1vP0LvgwMM0nTPxL2_3yj_hkKkRy0_Yi-nCBklzzhqie-9uXXs557Lv-JIgc0ZZjH1xvAA0aDlJuSDOcSRgeT/s400/pis.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473260770232046626" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here is another anti-war book, seems my mind is wandering that way. This one is definitely in the quirky category. <br /><br />When I first saw </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: georgia;font-size:130%;" >Manneken Pis</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">, I really could not believe the manuscript made it past Marketing. Even though the story is based on a famous statue in Belgium, it is still all about war and... a boy peeing. The cover is a boy peeing. The punchline is a boy peeing. Now, imagine the sales chart. Also imagine reading this to a class of 2nd graders. My favorite response, amid squeals and laughter, was a shocked, very serious "That's in-proprate." It might be a better story to read one-on-one.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">But it is worth reading and discussing. This book is an allegory of peacemaking. Radunsky's childlike, bold paintings illustrate the conflict and consequences of war from the point of view of a small boy. Then the boy needs to pee and this simple act brings both sides together in laughter. </span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">End of war.</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">I wish it were so simple!</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><ul style="font-family: georgia;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Manneken Pis - A Simple Story of a Boy Who Peed on a War by VladimirRadunsky</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0689831935</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0689831935</span></li></ul>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-91472310011997669192010-05-13T22:47:00.000-07:002010-06-04T22:55:34.005-07:00The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss<a style="font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8SwAzQ9FOyaAGg70iH744yToHpG8YMK39hc0R5tdyq4Gttfn4BpLg5XCKNQ5dBm6qSTDmVviBmi5c6jPbKklsAdpelw9r_thGYGU5n-_vzzB62IiznlbrLUJ_nDUMMgdi0N2TGyrseVP/s1600/butter.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 153px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8SwAzQ9FOyaAGg70iH744yToHpG8YMK39hc0R5tdyq4Gttfn4BpLg5XCKNQ5dBm6qSTDmVviBmi5c6jPbKklsAdpelw9r_thGYGU5n-_vzzB62IiznlbrLUJ_nDUMMgdi0N2TGyrseVP/s400/butter.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470998892139741858" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >I missed Dr. Suess's birthday.<br /><br />Since I am not working in an elementary school this year, it passed without the hoopla, hats and celebratory readings. But I was reminded today, as a librarian and I were weeding in an old school library. The Seuss books were well loved, ripped and scribbled in, held together with tape. It really is amazing how hard it is to let them go to book heaven. It is also amazing how many of his books are still popular. Most authors have one or two books which are the ones that become their legacy, I think Seuss has four times that.<br /><br />But there are some of his books that are not well known. My friend had never seen <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Butter Battle Book</span> and then had to listen while I excitedly talked it up.<br />Book talk -book rant?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Butter Battle Book</span> is the book I always read to 3rd grade and up for Dr. Seuss's birthday. I would start out by explaining that sometimes books have messages that writers are trying to impart. Dr. Seuss wrote this book to express his political opinions about war. He wrote this during the Cold War when the USA and the Soviet Union were having an arms race, building bigger and more dangerous weapons. (I like to tell students about growing up near Washington D.C. and how we had bomb drills and how scared we were. How we all knew someone who had built a bomb shelter in their backyard or basement. That usually gets their attention.)<br /> <br />Then I read the book. In true Seuss style, his story of war between the Yooks and the Zooks is told with humor and wonderful illustrations. The Rube Goldberg type weapons with names like "Jigger-Rock Snatchem" increase in size and complexity, as the battle over butter side up or down becomes a full fledged war. I have to admit that sometimes I skip some words, if I'm pressed for time, but the basic premise and the pictures are so strong, it doesn't matter. Seuss did not bother being subtle and this book was actually banned at one point during the Cold War, presumably because he presented both sides as equally culpable in the acceleration of conflict.<br /><br />What I love about this book is that children get it. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Butter Battle Book</span> is one of the best books I know of to inspire discussion about conflict on all levels.<br />Thanks Theo.<br /><br /></span><a style="font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8SwAzQ9FOyaAGg70iH744yToHpG8YMK39hc0R5tdyq4Gttfn4BpLg5XCKNQ5dBm6qSTDmVviBmi5c6jPbKklsAdpelw9r_thGYGU5n-_vzzB62IiznlbrLUJ_nDUMMgdi0N2TGyrseVP/s1600/butter.jpeg"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > </span><br /></a>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-81420367212418361702010-05-09T01:28:00.000-07:002010-05-11T00:02:35.864-07:00Alice's Adventures in Wonderland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiLuLNOM1SUQ0KcBg71DGIcIlU6UemSHAjVNgYZTxSM4kupSt9VjDs4Eb8ErD93GkgrOItbtLrT-wAfMjdYwbj7s236-IeZP50lKg-cS89bumDZJhgXMcfCNThE0AdxOulYOpxRiLx-QG/s1600/AliceBook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiLuLNOM1SUQ0KcBg71DGIcIlU6UemSHAjVNgYZTxSM4kupSt9VjDs4Eb8ErD93GkgrOItbtLrT-wAfMjdYwbj7s236-IeZP50lKg-cS89bumDZJhgXMcfCNThE0AdxOulYOpxRiLx-QG/s400/AliceBook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469184899404281154" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">I am hoping that Tim Burton's movie version of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Alice in Wonderland</span> will inspire children to read the book and discover how much better it is than the movie. If so, I won't be so angry and disappointed at his turning the story into a simplistic war-mongering tale.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">This is one of my all time favorite books and I found it very sad, as a librarian, that so few children know the original book. Instead, most know the Disney version, which is really very lovely and remarkably true to the original, but still an abridged version. The original is so much more complex. (I should say originals, as <span style="font-weight: bold;">Through the Looking Glass </span>is really a separate tale.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alice</span> is a prime example of literary nonsense that is full of allusions, puns, and not so subtle themes. Lewis Carroll (Dodson) was a brilliant storyteller and pulled together bits and pieces of the real Alice's world to create a magical story. (As a teen, I loved an annotated version that explained political and philosophical references in the text. Yes, I was a literary nerd.) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">But I think <span style="font-weight: bold;">Alice</span> has really lasted this long and become so popular because the characters are so wonderfully imagined. Read it again and notice the details, the individual voice of each character. (Disney noticed.) There is a reality to Wonderland's madness, a consistency of lunacy, that pulls the reader in, along with Alice, down the rabbit hole. There the language and detail are as potent as any bottle labeled "drink me".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</span> was a hit in Victorian England and has never been out of print. There have been numerous versions with different illustrations, but the original ones by Tenniel are those that I fell in love with and I've found it hard to accept others. That's what happens with a first love.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teacher Notes</span>: This is actually a great read-a-loud for 3/4th grade. Compare and contrast to the movie. I would love to teach this at the middle school level and make connections to Victorian England and Philosophy. </span><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXepDo5iV5b7DuVPDyHTkFSuCsJWi2EoaptI16YNkZP4MIFznvxEHLjO2yLeQcB7CXjqNPS1nmSyAQEnh8Dji9PCybbGN96NmaEr0ocs7dmrZjM5ubrWJeJC3OvkDqBUuUlc7C01AEn6B/s1600/AliceBook.jpg"><br /></a>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-64541843832829521222010-04-21T00:30:00.000-07:002010-05-09T01:22:28.677-07:00Jane Yolen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WRZgTD12e0A0FfFlnuk_zfeOTnZSJH4eK6hKYpxuwf9zMKGHaJR4Cn4jC3jN6yLZxuTXAMFPRQV_KoBYzIiBChwIseMg7VV2MMHg62LiC7sJUb3x7ZUCNNcSBWaRToNJENnnQ1021jdI/s1600/yolen-dove.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WRZgTD12e0A0FfFlnuk_zfeOTnZSJH4eK6hKYpxuwf9zMKGHaJR4Cn4jC3jN6yLZxuTXAMFPRQV_KoBYzIiBChwIseMg7VV2MMHg62LiC7sJUb3x7ZUCNNcSBWaRToNJENnnQ1021jdI/s400/yolen-dove.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462490077361928802" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjLiKl6KINdkXFsAR8X8ivbT5sk629FF59RE7R4Tok_-mrKa0bmKsAb2cd_9b0xGe0znx0o41enPH7ClN8KX8DbIdo_XVAvL54QVvH5lsSnKzicRymRqRN1cHpzKHZyuKgvhouH77_Nwn/s1600/dreamweaver.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjLiKl6KINdkXFsAR8X8ivbT5sk629FF59RE7R4Tok_-mrKa0bmKsAb2cd_9b0xGe0znx0o41enPH7ClN8KX8DbIdo_XVAvL54QVvH5lsSnKzicRymRqRN1cHpzKHZyuKgvhouH77_Nwn/s400/dreamweaver.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463221508291563842" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqUm12FovbVPEO2ns4RFcNjgHDlE1w_q7m9utrHvpc2IqTCrTsmX_EgXUHyTW2zj2stKVLXb_AEQHgtwfRtIEl7I_K8SvJQ7b7hOxHcRbx47R5YS9iaomR1z0M8wFnVYeroK12P5A-VaP/s1600/cards+of+grief.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 101px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqUm12FovbVPEO2ns4RFcNjgHDlE1w_q7m9utrHvpc2IqTCrTsmX_EgXUHyTW2zj2stKVLXb_AEQHgtwfRtIEl7I_K8SvJQ7b7hOxHcRbx47R5YS9iaomR1z0M8wFnVYeroK12P5A-VaP/s400/cards+of+grief.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463221748936220306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Jane </span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" >Yolen</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is often referred to as the "Hans Christian Anderson" of America, but, unfortunately, many of her works are out of print. This is a sad reflection on the state of children's book publishing. Maybe the Kindle will rediscover her work.</span><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" >Yolen</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is terribly prolific and has a tenacious ability to adapt to the market, (graphic novel!). She seems to have no fear of experimentation and I am always ready to be surprised and impressed at her latest creations. I know it is rather presumptuous, but I'd like to share my favorites of her work.</span><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" >Yolen</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > clearly understands allegory and poetry, combining them in stories rich with language and meaning. (Owl Moon, which I do love, is still a favorite of teachers as an example of metaphor.) In the 1970's, she published a number of folktale-like story collections, which , in my opinion, are some of her best work. My favorites are </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >The Hundredth Dove</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Dream Weaver</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >. The voice and emotion in these stories are so impressive - and the knowledge of character. In </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Dream Weaver</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >, a blind woman tells fortunes, as she weaves. </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >In these </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >stories within the story,</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" >Yolen</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" >subtly</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > exposes truths about her characters. </span>She<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> rarely gives straight answers and respects the reader's ability to infer and make connections. I appreciate that.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">My other favorites are on opposite ends of the spectrum. </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Cards of Grief</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is a Science-Fiction story for adults - but very accessible for YA or younger. I love this story for putting a new twist on the anthropological visit to a new planet theme. What other stories focus on grief rituals? This has philosophy and ethics and art and love. It is also a bit strange. I really enjoy watching a writer take risks. And with such rich details!</span><br />.<br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Then there is </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Commander Toad. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Any child who loves Star Wars needs to read this series of books. The puns are so awful and so </span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" >numerous,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> the reader will have to move beyond obsession and laugh.I'm waiting for these to be reissued as graphic novel -early readers with updated graphics. I think there is a whole new generation of Star Wars lovers ready for Commander Toad.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">This is one multi-talented writer!</span></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-23722081878302080922010-04-13T00:14:00.000-07:002010-04-21T00:18:09.224-07:00God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyu8mb_keoTWGpDqAjYSjhjlsC6kpgd2Kh-PGdi7v2uvPoJf3xzx7bSZTpYGbh66iToxyYH6BLWp8oQirtKgHqVZYX1dvRFY1O_PYPPj6JXXc4qba2LAo1YsJsc5Q_Mtj9GHjfySF6I4V/s1600/God.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyu8mb_keoTWGpDqAjYSjhjlsC6kpgd2Kh-PGdi7v2uvPoJf3xzx7bSZTpYGbh66iToxyYH6BLWp8oQirtKgHqVZYX1dvRFY1O_PYPPj6JXXc4qba2LAo1YsJsc5Q_Mtj9GHjfySF6I4V/s400/God.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459519304767863778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">I buy a lot of books at <a href="http://www.multcolib.org/titlewave/">Title Wave</a>, the <a href="http://www.multcolib.org/">Multnomah County Library </a>discard store, and have found at least four copies of this book, in brand new condition, which is indicative of how little it is read. But, when I see a copy of </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >God Went to Beauty School</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">, I grab it and then give it away. This is probably the closest I will ever come to spreading the Word.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"> I am so proud of Cynthia Rylant and her editors. Yes, she can write perfect early readers and be successful, but here she wrote wonderful, humorous poetry about God, even though she must have known that it was a killer combination. Poetry is sort of fringy to begin with, but religion... religion is the new sex. Even I was nervous about reading it aloud in public school and I've been called a "Provocateur." With sex you get titters and maybe an angry parent, but God... disagreements about God cause wars.<br /><br />I would really have a hard time imagining these poems being taken badly, but I was raised a Unitarian and do not understand religious fundamentalism. Basically, these poems illustrate the question, what if God was one of us? </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">What if he got a desk job, just to see what it would be like? </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">What if God was here, playing poker with Gabriel? (God needs a break now and then.) What if God was here to experience love and pain and reverence? What if God had a dog named Ernie?<br /><br />I love these poems. They ask the reader to look at the world through the eyes of God and smile and laugh and cry. Some folks might find these poems sacrilegious, but </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">that is so not what Rylant is up to.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> I find them a celebration of the sacred in the mundane. God likes popcorn! Enjoy....<br /></span></span><b><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">God Went to Beauty School </span></b><span style="font-size:85%;">by Cynthia Rylant<br />HarperTempest (Jun 2003)<b><br />ISBN-10:</b> 0060094338<b><br />ISBN-13:</b> 978-0060094331</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-50792064029531707172010-04-12T13:30:00.000-07:002010-04-13T00:13:48.030-07:00How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9780440229353&height=300&maxwidth=170"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 170px; height: 250px;" alt="" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9780440229353&height=300&maxwidth=170" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Yes, the author is Gary Paulsen, but just look at the cover. This is not Hatchet. <span style="font-weight: bold;"> How Angel Peterson Got His Name</span> is funny, quirky and, claims to be, non-fiction. </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >These stories of Paulsen's early days as a young boy and some of the dangerous -near death adventures he had with his friends are really timeless. Just ask my long-boarding, rock-climbing son. </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Rather than serious wilderness survival, this is the adolescent fool side of Paulsen. (I would hope some of the stories are exaggerated or Paulsen and his friend are very lucky to be alive.)<br /><br />Paulsen knows his audience. He keeps the writing simple and stretches the tension. He includes just the right amount of humor and naughtiness - such as peeing on an electric fence. These stories have speed and camaraderie, wasps and killer dogs, and stupid, stupid boys. I think the first time I read them, I laughed so hard I almost cried.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span> </div><div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ></span> </div><div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >In my experience, children tend to avoid short stories, they are just not that rewarding after going to all the trouble of getting into the book. But I keep pushing these, reading them aloud, and watching for the spark of recognition. Paulsen has a few other non-fiction books which are also good, but this is my favorite.<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >This is the book I read to try to hook 4th grade boys. And not just to hook them, but also to inspire them as writers. So many children confuse writing with fiction and forget that they tell stories all the time. This book reminds them that everyday is a story. </span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Maybe I shouldn't have read it to my son.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen</span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (January 14, 2003)<br />ISBN-10: 0385729499<br />ISBN-13: 978-0385729499 </span></div>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-84886458397180558502010-04-11T21:41:00.000-07:002010-04-30T00:26:39.631-07:00Cherries and Cherry Pits by Vera B. Williams<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixv385ka_bGPGKmt11gXXtWaOuL_7WzZwSBJ1kbT45UaCGkVt8SAkKzPD6Al9qM6rPgSN7BvnHpUF1XNO96jATyFkIq5e4oXilukx9a4WExYK_bfd6fnhGescR9uCRvvHnSLtyClnhaY_S/s1600/cherries.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixv385ka_bGPGKmt11gXXtWaOuL_7WzZwSBJ1kbT45UaCGkVt8SAkKzPD6Al9qM6rPgSN7BvnHpUF1XNO96jATyFkIq5e4oXilukx9a4WExYK_bfd6fnhGescR9uCRvvHnSLtyClnhaY_S/s400/cherries.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459106580847670994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">OK, Here is another book for demonstrating point of view, though that is really not why I love it. I love it because it is about storytelling and imagination. It is, in fact, written in two points of view which could be confusing except the style of illustration changes to clue the reader. The voice also changes. It may sound confusing, but take a look and see. It works!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">The story starts with one narrator who lends some markers to her friend and then the friend, Bedimmi, starts drawing and telling the stories as she draws, though sometimes the narrator interrupts. The stories are all about cherries.... </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Cherries and Cherry Pits.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Cherries and Cherry Pits</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> was written by Vera B. Williams who is one of my all time favorite author/illustrators. William's illustrations are always fun and colorful and slightly different. She is brilliant at creating pictures that look as if they were done by children, but are sophisticated at the same time. She was ahead of her time in portraying children of color and also families that are struggling financially, yet it always feels so natural that the reader barely notices. She has won two Caldecott honor awards for </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >A Chair for My Mother</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >"More, More, More," Said the Baby</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, and, though, great books, I find them much less complex and interesting than </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Cherries and Cherry Pits</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">. It's a toss up, for me between this one and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> (first post!). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Teacher Notes:</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Besides the obvious Point of View modeling, this book is a great example of using pictures to stimulate narrative. After reading this book, I've given students pictures (from National Geographic) and asked them to tell me the story of what is happening. I often used pictures as writing prompts, but usually got more interesting stories after reading this book.<br /></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"> Cherries and Cherry Pits by Vera B. Williams<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Greenwillow Books (April 29, 1991)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0688104789</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0688104788</span></li></ul>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-62288909499532418102010-04-06T22:12:00.001-07:002010-04-06T23:49:14.493-07:00A Day in the Life of Murphy by Alice Provensen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC3yTXOQmA8mr1TA4xlO3u1KC6EzkHHXRor7NpW8WUh0Ws8d15TIT-9fcRY_EzFZaJgpjVD0CnV9CUXqzhGXgNUj_MHsrxUw4Yn819D5JGoPq5PvHIgFRN4jAoBVEJi0HLfOHiUkYc-aU/s1600/murphy.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC3yTXOQmA8mr1TA4xlO3u1KC6EzkHHXRor7NpW8WUh0Ws8d15TIT-9fcRY_EzFZaJgpjVD0CnV9CUXqzhGXgNUj_MHsrxUw4Yn819D5JGoPq5PvHIgFRN4jAoBVEJi0HLfOHiUkYc-aU/s400/murphy.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457260088142369250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Here is another great read- a-loud, but only for folks who are either dog lovers, theater majors or just general exhibitionists. All three together would work best. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Day in the Life of Murphy</span> is hysterically simple. It is just about a day in the life of a dog named Murphy - or as he thinks: "Murphy - Stop -That". But, unlike most children's books, this book is in first person, or first dog. Be prepared to snuffle and pant as you read. I was even tempted to get down on all fours and some children did later. The voice of Murphy is so .... dog-like and exuberant and ..."Wait! What was that? Bark! Bark! Bark!"<br /><br />Every year teachers would come running into my library with requests for books that demonstrate certain writing traits. Metaphors! Setting! Point of view! This is one I would give them for First Person. I only wish I had a hidden camera to watch them reading it. Woof.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Alice Provensen is one of the grand dames of Children's books - both as a writer and illustrator. (I wonder if anyone has done a study of the lifespan of children's book writers - I'm guessing we are up there with beekeepers.) One of my daughter's favorite books was </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, written and illustrated by Alice and her husband Martin Provensen in 1974. Alice Provensen did a great job again, 30 years later! (I would not be surprised if Murphy was a not so direct descendant of the dogs in that earlier book.) Her illustrations for Murphy are clean and sweet and evocative. But it is the voice that makes this story. Murphy's voice - more nose than brain.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teacher Note:</span> First person.<br /></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;">A Day in the Life of Murphy by Alice Provensen<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (May 1, 2003)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0689848846</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0689848841</span></li></ul>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-34319387262232518192010-03-17T22:50:00.000-07:002010-04-21T01:25:12.723-07:00Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen, illustrated by Mark Beuhner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJJvOwAaHVcwcqi1mqq3GUqIWhYT0x7OoLcWIz2YZrFFnuoV7RzO-8a49HPahINHq2PalbdlUleR2HKhPk44fjFeicra31_ydAhF5iGUDiseAnM1dTH7gNRRXgXPQ9FMgmbhPYCxJilkN/s1600-h/balloons.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJJvOwAaHVcwcqi1mqq3GUqIWhYT0x7OoLcWIz2YZrFFnuoV7RzO-8a49HPahINHq2PalbdlUleR2HKhPk44fjFeicra31_ydAhF5iGUDiseAnM1dTH7gNRRXgXPQ9FMgmbhPYCxJilkN/s400/balloons.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449847442918451762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">You know how you remember little bits of a story, but not enough to find it again? That is what happened to me with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm</span>. All I remembered was balloons growing out of the ground and how much just the idea made me smile. I tried looking up books about balloons, but could not find the book that niggled at my memory. (You would think I would have remembered it was a FARM!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Then, one day while walking my dog with illustrator and fellow writer, </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://www.carolyndigbyconahan.com/">Carolyn Conahan</a><span style="font-family:georgia;">, I mentioned my search for the balloon book. "Oh, Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm!" said Carolyn. "We have that." And sure enough, that was it, a Balloon Farm! I can't believe I did not remember the cow on the cover.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Rereading it, I felt that same feeling: what a wonderful idea! The plot is a bit thin, but the pictures more than make up for it with fields full of bright, candy colored, balloons. This book is just a bit different. Farmers in overalls dancing under the moon. Monster balloons growing out of the ground. I particulary like that the first person main character is a black girl, even though there is no mention of race or gender in the text. Read this and smile and wish it were true. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">A Balloon Farm!</span></span><br /><ul style="font-family:georgia;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen, illustrated by Mark Beuhner<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Publisher:</b> HarperCollins; 1st edition (April 29, 1994)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0688078877</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0688078874</span></li></ul> <h3 style="font-family: georgia;" id="ctl01_ContentPlaceHolder1_ctrlByline" class="byLine"> </h3>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-39355483210339900012010-03-09T23:59:00.000-08:002010-04-30T00:24:25.186-07:00Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrY9GN60Knh38TniVBdT4XDyTu6iKVqSshHL4SYO7QY5zxiMv8B8AFHfcJQLT_DqkgaX5Lf7KUE18HsX7scHnwvQRcflVnUuaF5FFjpBcp2DK5LQcck8i-UPGKfpi6jQEzBD3qleusVul-/s1600-h/morewalla.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrY9GN60Knh38TniVBdT4XDyTu6iKVqSshHL4SYO7QY5zxiMv8B8AFHfcJQLT_DqkgaX5Lf7KUE18HsX7scHnwvQRcflVnUuaF5FFjpBcp2DK5LQcck8i-UPGKfpi6jQEzBD3qleusVul-/s400/morewalla.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446913178125806658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />There are some books that work best as read-a-louds. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Double Trouble in Walla Walla</span> is one of them. It almost doesn't work when read silently. Instead the rhythm and exuberant excess of the "wibble-wobble word warp" that happens in Walla Walla needs to be heard. Just remember to breathe (and practice!).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Andrew Clements went on to write a whole slew of school stories with Frindle at the top of the list, but, for younger students, I love this one. There is barely a plot, but so what! As readers, we get to follow Lulu and her teacher into the word warp. Full of tongue twisters and double slang, this book is just fun. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, but it's really the word warp that pulls you in.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Fie-fie, my my, rag-bag, tie-dye! Beep-beep, ho-ho, paw-paw, dodo!" This is how we rap in the Northwest!<br /></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements,</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Illustrated by Salvatore Mudocca<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Millbrook Press (September 1, 1997)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0761302751</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0761302759</span></li></ul>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-29521500456578502072010-02-28T00:23:00.000-08:002010-04-21T01:23:08.577-07:00Fox by Margaret Wild, Illustrated by Ron Brooks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2xAdgyjsNkxEGintnvGyxiXt-la4Y70rufd30BkBJsUH-ofsrdoA37IT2oF2-u5mUIndngruFN1AwDPGLOwDjulCb4dSlGAHClXdyCOVSK3NEpR88ELbKLDOtbZaTuba7yABiQE1VsJ2/s1600-h/fox.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2xAdgyjsNkxEGintnvGyxiXt-la4Y70rufd30BkBJsUH-ofsrdoA37IT2oF2-u5mUIndngruFN1AwDPGLOwDjulCb4dSlGAHClXdyCOVSK3NEpR88ELbKLDOtbZaTuba7yABiQE1VsJ2/s400/fox.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444303674124071138" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" > <span style="font-family:georgia;">Fox </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">by Margaret Wild is one of those picture books that is not for young children. This story is dark and scary and one of the most emotionally intense stories I have ever read.<br /><br />Dog and Magpie are both damaged; Dog is blind in one eye and Magpie has a burnt wing. But they forge a friendship which transcends grief and create a "new creature" that tugs on your heartstrings. Then fox comes and tests their bond. It doesn't go well.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />Wild shows us despair and grief, jealousy and hatred, loyalty and betrayal. All in 32 pages. I've read this to rowdy 4th graders and had total quiet. One kid just kept saying "Wow."</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />The illustrations by Ron Brooks are gorgeous and powerful with scratched black lines, bird-like, as if Magpie could draw. Painted with a palate of reds, browns and black, the illustrations match the burning metaphors of Wild's poetic text. "He flickers through the trees like a tongue of fire."</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />Wild is one of the best known children's book writers in Australia. If </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Fox</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is any indication, we should know her work better. I've heard this story referred to as "epic" and like a Greek tragedy. There is even an opera written in Australia that is based on </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Fox</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> . This is one allegorical story that will haunt you in a good way.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teacher Notes</span>: There are some very detailed lesson plans for FOX on the internet.</span> Check out:<a href="http://www.gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au/downloads/Fox_Teachers_notes.pdf">http://www.gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au/downloads/Fox_Teachers_notes.pdf</a><br /><ul style="font-family:georgia;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Fox by Margaret Wild, Illustrated by Ron Brooks<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Kane/Miller Book Publishers (September 2006)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 1933605154</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-1933605159</span></li></ul></div>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-73380195191489262972010-02-24T12:30:00.001-08:002010-03-17T23:33:10.854-07:00Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith, Illustrated by Marla Frazee<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhpsr-a5m2J7brFPXG-OsyOJJnlvuu1BTh-z7NHt-dIYKvhU6qWtJHg4ucSS1cRaNjmcBzk4ds7YcGMn_wq42wYFlB4xtuXDe-NZraSq1VS5nX26hvFI0fz7DTtguAX_AjDpQy6YHOFdI/s1600-h/Biddlebox.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhpsr-a5m2J7brFPXG-OsyOJJnlvuu1BTh-z7NHt-dIYKvhU6qWtJHg4ucSS1cRaNjmcBzk4ds7YcGMn_wq42wYFlB4xtuXDe-NZraSq1VS5nX26hvFI0fz7DTtguAX_AjDpQy6YHOFdI/s400/Biddlebox.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441912935958886066" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKDiSMx468D2z3ewVOyhLSIzkR5e7nZsrTHdAdtzoKpMawTB5lVzzsz8lyRC2vQ7blkrpFdZgKQsyKaw4Y3nB4p59xFJbcHw49pa9Tt4jsNp01_nO61XbH3gPYWOWcGFsdmLjforbCO7k/s1600-h/biddlebox2.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKDiSMx468D2z3ewVOyhLSIzkR5e7nZsrTHdAdtzoKpMawTB5lVzzsz8lyRC2vQ7blkrpFdZgKQsyKaw4Y3nB4p59xFJbcHw49pa9Tt4jsNp01_nO61XbH3gPYWOWcGFsdmLjforbCO7k/s400/biddlebox2.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441912081141905202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Mrs. Biddlebox</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is struggling... struggling to stay positive and struggling to get noticed. First published by HarperCollins with a wild and abstract- primarily black and white- cover showing Mrs. Biddlebox wrestling with a bad day, the book quickly went out of print, even though it won some awards. Reissued by Harcourt a few years later with a new, blue, more traditional cover and a subtitle, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Mrs. Biddlebox</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is still not well known. Which is too bad.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The story is relatively simple - a woman wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and makes a great effort to become positive. The rhyme is great with some wonderfully quirky images that reflect a different take on being positive. "She rolled the sky like carpeting." <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mrs. Biddlebox</span> is determined to wack that bad day and the energy is great. Linda Smith wrote the text while battling cancer and died before it was published. Though it is not a depressing book, it does have an emotional intensity that is unusual in picture books.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">But the illustrations make this story! I'm not always a fan of Marla Frazee. I often find her work overly done and self-conscious, but I love these illustrations. They are loose and humourous and detailed and abstract all at the same time. I don't know if she was inspired by Smith's metaphors or just wanted to loosen up, but I'd love to see her do more in this style. For those who feel that the concepts and illustrations are too abstract for children, please give it a try. I've read this to many classes of all ages and immediately gotten multiple stories of how to "beat the blues".</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Don't underestimate children!</span></span><br /><ul style="font-family:georgia;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Mrs. Biddlebox , Her bad day and what she did about it.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Harcourt Children's Books (October 1, 2007)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0152063498</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0152063498</span></li></ul>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-47517471996372603612010-02-17T23:05:00.000-08:002010-02-22T00:11:24.817-08:00Stick Horse by Ken Raney<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEwDJUi8n2rlsifQwpadvWOuz-BfvdZex9eVyEIvzO8wYhgR4SGHvN8ttpBocDHqwavABLXXuoKfoNmBZaCi1G5UNwhyN3ImKXfM8ee04YdGZh6vjGiZm3-BpNpxiHGc_4roacjl99Tqw/s1600-h/stick+horse.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEwDJUi8n2rlsifQwpadvWOuz-BfvdZex9eVyEIvzO8wYhgR4SGHvN8ttpBocDHqwavABLXXuoKfoNmBZaCi1G5UNwhyN3ImKXfM8ee04YdGZh6vjGiZm3-BpNpxiHGc_4roacjl99Tqw/s400/stick+horse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439478755783669810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Stick Horse by Ken Raney is a wordless ride through space and time. I'm not sure why it didn't catch on, perhaps it is because it was published by a small press. But it is worth checking out. Especially for young boys.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">There is a bit of a disconnect between the carefully rendered color pencil illustrations and the time travel theme, but I like it. At first glance it seems like a simple sweet story with a tow-headed boy and then, wow, he is zipping past the Statue of Liberty. What fun!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The pictures are very easy to follow; it is almost a wordless easy reader. There is not much of a plot, but the concepts of time travel, replete with dinosaurs and a possible boy from the future make this a fun read. I can't imagine many five year-olds that wouldn't love this.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Unfortunately, it is very hard to find. Sometimes you have to wonder about an industry that dumps its babies and moves on so quickly. Don't get me started!<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />Stick Horse by Ken Raney<br />1991<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="ctl00_content_lbl_ISBN" class="really_small_print">Medlicott Press<br />ISBN10: 0962526142</span><span id="ctl00_content_lbl_ISBN13" class="really_small_print"><br />ISBN13: 9780962526145</span></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-11524750371172989002010-02-16T23:16:00.000-08:002010-02-16T23:59:10.560-08:00A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y4FBx9vt9UAuW13Dfu6uyXZu2hVzb_lhkQoBSsDXTcQC8CumdPt1vWlkSvvDzzSkoXnQ7dmIHpqpubOlWldPlLaMZ3_tAAmc5SYbpNLmNdIWyMiy1JbXu8Go_wkjmNmicB79EmE30L8B/s1600-h/new+coat.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 127px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y4FBx9vt9UAuW13Dfu6uyXZu2hVzb_lhkQoBSsDXTcQC8CumdPt1vWlkSvvDzzSkoXnQ7dmIHpqpubOlWldPlLaMZ3_tAAmc5SYbpNLmNdIWyMiy1JbXu8Go_wkjmNmicB79EmE30L8B/s400/new+coat.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439108041746065474" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Ok, </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >A New Coat for Anna</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> may not be that weird, but I do love it and just discovered that there is a new Chinese version, which I find a bit strange.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I recently spent some time in China and found myself looking for children's books in Shanghai and HongKong. I found lots of Disney and some Scholastic titles and a few original books, but not much else. (Miss Frizzle had been changed into a man! That was surprising.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Even as a Librarian at a school with a good population of Chinese immigrants, I had a hard time finding books in Chinese. But here is </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >A New Coat for Anna</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> and I also found </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Owl at Home</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> -in Mandarin! I think someone saw a market. How many people in the world read Chinese? Wow.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Brilliant! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I can imagine that </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >A New Coat for Anna</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is a story that would appeal to the Chinese. It is a lesson in community, frugality and resourcefulness - all virtues honored in China. The story shows how a girl's coat is made from gathering the wool, to dying, weaving and tailoring and how her mother trades to pay for it. A basic economics lesson, it takes place in Europe after WWII. It is sweet and educational and Anita Lobel's illustrations are lovely.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Just not a book I would think of to translate into Chinese. I need to keep my mind open... </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> (I swear the cover illustration that I saw had darker hair!)</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-43314987274171568472010-02-16T20:58:00.000-08:002010-04-06T23:28:07.291-07:00Owl at Home by Arthur Lobel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrcz77ZSAaxWN_SbXBT26MoUpz1Xoz7S5MV70wk_scvcbS_wPXCN-ha1ptsg0dic5D2Hna8O1EjG6kGjpxpYKTpFCMWw1Eqko-Yms1NNxIe25qiBOIUBYRJ9IprdsYfsv0xoq0a-83nUL/s1600-h/owl+at+home.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrcz77ZSAaxWN_SbXBT26MoUpz1Xoz7S5MV70wk_scvcbS_wPXCN-ha1ptsg0dic5D2Hna8O1EjG6kGjpxpYKTpFCMWw1Eqko-Yms1NNxIe25qiBOIUBYRJ9IprdsYfsv0xoq0a-83nUL/s400/owl+at+home.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439072612153288370" border="0" /></a> <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">I just discovered that I seem to have "lost" my</span> last copy of </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Owl at Home</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > and will have to get another. I do tend to lend them out as this is one of my all time favorite books. There is a new edition, which is great as old ones are not that easy to find. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Frog and Toad</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > are wonderful, but there is something about Owl that just captured my heart. I know that this book is on a number of teacher lists, but I still don't feel it is fully appreciated. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><br />There is only one book about Owl rather than the collection of Frog and Toad and I think I know why. Because </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Owl at Home</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > is special.</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > Lobel has done something here that is VERY different and difficult. He wrote an entire book with just one character.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Maybe it is because I'm a bit of a loner, but I totally appreciate these stories. There are no friends, no real relationships, just Owl and his imagination. Owl talks to the wind, Owl sees his feet as bumps, Owl makes tea, Owl, runs up and down the stairs, Owl watches the moon. I'm afraid that, if there had been more Owl stories, they may have seemed repetitious, but, in one book, they are brilliant.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >My favorite story is Tear-water Tea where Owl thinks sad thoughts so he can cry into a teapot and then, drinking his tea, remarks that "it tastes a bit salty, but Tear-water Tea is always very good." Such self-therapy! The pathos, the drama, the concept. As a writer, I am in awe. And it is an Easy Reader. So hard, so good.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teacher notes:</span> I have used Tear-water Tea as a writing prompt with 2nd and 3rd graders. What funny/sad things would they think of to cry about for Tear-water Tea? The only response I remember years later is: "TV where the only show is Barney!"<br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Owl at Home by Arthur Lobel<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Publisher:</b> HarperCollins 1975<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0064440346</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0064440349</span></li></ul>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-17593969858149465302010-02-15T19:27:00.000-08:002010-02-16T21:55:27.796-08:00Voices of the Heart by Ed Young<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58SIqFiC07zJhhzjybSyZD4EJshpodEeV0KKG6F5NdPcdzV8edq04mguFytKYxy7MKS2PSqRZVueVGbbla8z8zzE-7UZWkkhATQJC-6P7GVdfNW4CKI1dcGB6xqnK-RSyUu27wyeskTRM/s1600-h/voicesofheart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58SIqFiC07zJhhzjybSyZD4EJshpodEeV0KKG6F5NdPcdzV8edq04mguFytKYxy7MKS2PSqRZVueVGbbla8z8zzE-7UZWkkhATQJC-6P7GVdfNW4CKI1dcGB6xqnK-RSyUu27wyeskTRM/s400/voicesofheart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438678020228588946" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">Belated Valentine's post.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The suggested age range for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Voices of the Heart</span> is 4-8, but this is really one of those books that works more for adults than children. I was not surprised to learn that it is considered a great wedding gift.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">Beautiful collages illustrate 26 Chinese characters that have to do with emotions and moral character traits -such as contentment, loyalty and mercy. Each visual character is broken down to its basic elements and then poetically explained in English. All the collages contain a heart and, in Young's expressive style, evoke the emotion described. Sound a bit esoteric? It is, but it is also thought provoking and moving.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">The concept of pictographic language building a definition of emotional qualities is hard for those of us with phonetic alphabets to grasp. I would really be surprised if a 4 year old would understand this at all, but I've presented one or two of the collages to older elementary students and they were intrigued. This is an interesting and heartfelt way to introduce Chinese characters and discuss emotional character traits at the same time. Next year, give a copy of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Voices of the Heart</span> to your loved one for Valentine's Day.</span><br /><span class="boldtext"><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >Voices of the Heart</span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br />By Ed Young<br />Scholastic Press, 1997<br />ISBN-10: 0590501992 </span></span>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-87650631546565835812010-02-13T21:35:00.000-08:002010-02-19T17:24:22.816-08:00My Librarian is a Camel by Margriet Ruurs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskGcdXNpncgj3hbGcn_FSkEBe6NGYdbzpMWRDfJdXsqlHZYNRyjk-DUFMSvcYpQBPySM8bbSQvNJwK46XINFttB-MRF0tBJnQgxXxa_f3ndL-dMHc99iyE9pUIwhDkupPlHVJi7hMV1QM/s1600-h/librarian.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437978899221716626" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 143px; cursor: pointer; height: 126px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskGcdXNpncgj3hbGcn_FSkEBe6NGYdbzpMWRDfJdXsqlHZYNRyjk-DUFMSvcYpQBPySM8bbSQvNJwK46XINFttB-MRF0tBJnQgxXxa_f3ndL-dMHc99iyE9pUIwhDkupPlHVJi7hMV1QM/s400/librarian.jpeg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >My Librarian is a Camel! </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Isn't this a wonderful title? I would be interested in this book even if I wasn't a Librarian. Actually the full title is </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World </span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">and it pretty much describes the subject of this book which is not fiction.<br /></span><br />Yes, I've left the land of fiction for camel librarians. Sounds like fiction, you say, but nay, there are pictures in this informational text of not only camel librarians, but boats and buses and wheelbarrows and horses. The book is a travelogue of children's libraries from far corners of the world where Libraries are not defined by walls, but by the function of lending books.<br /><br />I love sharing this book with children who are book lovers and regular library users. Just seeing pictures of other children around the world enjoying books is important, but seeing the various ways those books are delivered is an education. It is an education in geography and culture, economics and social studies. Hopefully, children who see this book will feel more connected to other children around the world and will not take the libraries we have for granted.<br /><br />Also check out:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School Around the World </span></span><span style=";font-family:Comic Sans MS;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-size:0;"><br /></span></span><ul><li>My Librarian is a Camel<br /></li><li>Boyds Mills Press (August 15, 2005)</li><li><b>ISBN-10:</b> 1590780930</li><li><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-1590780930</li></ul>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547617934012636670.post-82090953407512502312010-02-12T23:45:00.000-08:002010-02-25T23:22:16.985-08:00The Pig War by Betty Baker, Pictures by Robert Lopshire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XAuulKm7rCfoQpUlmtxj21_y7vtK50VbA2eMlV_6i79UrSZr2T0j-a1tFX9p_1azSAx_NdzXxRVDcQ1EHWVSGwYCnybppX_-DDjuRr5gZEkRrYizR_vkAKkymY8t1n7SIBgXBqicLfgu/s1600-h/Pig+war.jpg"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437632386441962146" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 190px; cursor: pointer; height: 241px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XAuulKm7rCfoQpUlmtxj21_y7vtK50VbA2eMlV_6i79UrSZr2T0j-a1tFX9p_1azSAx_NdzXxRVDcQ1EHWVSGwYCnybppX_-DDjuRr5gZEkRrYizR_vkAKkymY8t1n7SIBgXBqicLfgu/s400/Pig+war.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Maybe its because I live in the Pacific NW or maybe it is just because I'm a history buff, but I love this book. I have a good collection of vintage children's books, but only really feel that a few of them are worth reissuing. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Pig War</span> would be one (though I have to admit, I might update the illustrations.) Based on the true story of an 1860's boundary dispute between Britain and the USA</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State, this is one of those true stories that is stranger than fiction.</span></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /><br />The Pig War</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> is a wonderful story about diplomacy and the challenges of peacekeeping, which, unfortunately is always timely.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> Seems in 1860 the ownership of San Juan Island was contested and the island settled by both British and Americans. When a British pig got into an American garden and was killed, an international incident replete with infantry and warships was triggered. The standoff lasted twelve years, but the only casualty was the pig. </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Not only is this a wonderful "real" story, but </span></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >The Pig War</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> is an Easy Reader, an I CAN READ HISTORY BOOK, which means the story is stripped to its bare essentials and seems even more ludicrous. When an act of war is "The farmer shot my pig." the reader is forced to think, is that all? I usually don't like books that are too didactic, but having this mini-war presented in the format of an easy reader works for me! </span></span><span style=";font-family:webdings;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">I am pretty sure this is out of print, but just had to include it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teacher Notes:</span> This REALLY happpened! Manifest Destiny, Boundary disputes, Diplomacy, Civil War Times. It makes a great play!<br /></span><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" >The Pig War by Betty Baker, Pictures by Robert Lopshire </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><table class="describe-isbn-table"><tbody><tr style="font-family:georgia;"><th><span style="font-size:85%;">ISBN</span></th><td><span style="font-size:85%;">0060203331 / 9780060203337 / 0-06-020333-1</span></td></tr><tr><th style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></th><td><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Harpercollins</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">1969</span></span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Barbara Liles -BELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288713078863049320noreply@blogger.com0