Childrens Books

Just a quick reminder, before I get to the Waiting part--you can win a personalized copy of Jinx, by Sage Blackwood, by leaving a comment on my interview with her by midnight tonight. If you like middle grade fantasy and haven't read this one, do so posthaste. Now on to a new book I'm waiting for! Ellen Booraem has demonstrated with her first two books (The Unnamables, and Small Persons With Wings--my review) that she can write thoughtful and fun middle grade fantasy--and I'm very curious to see how her writing continues to evolve--those first two books are very different in feel! So I'm looking forward to her forthcoming book, Texting the Underworld, lots. It comes out August 15, 2013, from Dial. Here's the blurb:Perpetual scaredy-cat Conor O'Neill has the fright of his life when a banshee girl named Ashling shows up in his bedroom. Ashling is--as all banshees are--a harbinger of death, but she's new at this banshee business, and first she insists on going to middle school. As Conor attempts to hide her identity from his teachers, he realizes he's going to have to pay a visit to the underworld if he wants to keep his family safe."Got your cell?" "Yeah . . . . Don't see what good it'll do me." "I'll text you if anything happens that you should know." "Text me? Javier, we'll be in the afterlife." "You never know. Maybe they get a signal."Ellen Booraem has disclosed that there's a riff on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice here, which I might have guessed, what with the Underworld and all, but which certainly piques my interest more, fan of reimaginings that I am.(I find it amusing that corvids seem to be continuing their popularity on mg and YA speculative fiction covers...which reminds me of a crow joke--What do call two crows hanging out together? An attempted murder (as in "a murder of crows").Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

If you traverse the interwebs on a regular basis then you may have spotted the catchy “Show Me the Awesome” posts that have been springing up hither and thither.  Thither and yon.  The initiative was started by Kelly Jensen, Sophie Brookover, and Liz Burns. Designer John LeMasney was, in turn, responsible for the kicky graphic you see here. And if you’re interested in viewing what goes on you can follow the posts on Twitter, Tumblr, Vine and Instagram with the hashtag #30awesome or you can head on over to Stacked to see a full roster of what has already taken place. So what precisely is going on here?  Typically an on-the-ball blogger comes up with original content and presents ideas in a unique and fascinating way.  The lazy blogger cuts and pastes.  Which do you think I’m about to do?  From Kelly Jensen’s post: While we have a lineup of official people taking part in the series, anyone is welcome to blog on the topic of self promotion. You can talk about a program you did and loved. You can talk about how you perform strong reader’s advisory with teens. You can talk about the grander idea of self promotion itself. There’s nothing off limits, as long as you’re talking about libraries and self promotion or librarianship and self promotion in some capacity. Librarians talking librarianship.  And so far we’ve seen everything from serving teen moms to promoting your own programming to using Kickstarter as a force for good and more.  When I was asked to join I knew I had to talk about my librarianship in some way, but how? As you may know I’m a Youth Materials Specialist, which means I buy books for the New York Public Library system.  So when I ride the subway and see a kid reading a library book I can say, “I bought you that, kid” (not literally . . . that would be creepy).  But before I was in Collections I was a children’s librarian.  A job that has prepared me for life in so many different ways. Consider my current life change.  I am now an author of a picture book (something I may have mentioned once/twice/3 billion times before).  And when one is a picture book author, one finds that the skills you learn as a children’s librarian have never been more important.  Using a recent appearance I made at the Hip Tot Music Fest as a guide, here is a direct correlation between one job and another. 1. You must be able to command the attention of large groups of children. The Hip Tot Music Fest is precisely what you would think it is.  A Brooklyn-based monthly event where parents of toddlers and preschoolers dance and leap and scream and glide to the beat of live music from shockingly talented performers. Melanie Hope Greenberg is their resident author/illustrator and a strategic partner in the production.  As such she was kind enough to invite me to read my book before one such show. In doing so I found myself using every bit of librarian-based talent I’ve ever acquired.  And the first and foremost amongst these is what I learned when conducting baby or toddler or preschool storytimes.  You need to be interesting. Thanks to Dawid Parus for the image. Thanks to those years spent doing “Five Little Monkeys” and “Open, Shut Them” ad nauseam I can retain the eyeballs of most kids from 3 on up.  Before that age they’re a bit wiggly.  Not impossible, but you better have something better than just a reading if you want their attention. 2. You must be willing to make a fool of yourself. Remember those days in library school where you had to conduct a mock toddler storytime for your peers, and you thought it was the most embarrassing thing you ever had to do?  Baby, you had no IDEA what you were in for!  Whether it’s an 18-month year old taking a bite out of your neck or a general flailing of the limbs in an effort to engage a baby, you are going to look silly. And if you can do it wearing blue fur, all the better. 3.

Caroline, Anna, Delancey, and Lyali are the daughters in a Mother-Daughter Book Club in San Francisco. They read a LOT and are recommending some of their favorites. Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker is a great series about a girl who is always paying attention to things, maybe not the things she should be paying attention to, and is very curious. I like this series because it is very funny. For example, she calls her brother vegetable names because she thinks it is unfair that she was named after a fruit and her brother was NOT.  - Caroline , age 9   I suggest A Series of Unfortunate Events because it is extremely well written. It is mysterious and the author (Lemony Snicket) writes in such a way that it’s like he’s talking to you–and humorously. - Lyali, age 9 The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate The tale of the One and Only Ivan is about Ivan the gorilla and his life at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall. Ivan goes through hard times, and finally makes it possible for him and his friend Ruby to go to the place he and Ruby have wanted to go to for so long. I like this book because sadness and happiness are woven throughout the pages. - Delancey, age 9 Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper is a book about a girl that has cerebral palsy and the challenges she faces. I loved this book because it is very inspiring and makes you step into her shoes. I hope you read it! - Anna, 12 years old Special thanks to Sharry Wright, the book club’s fearless leader.

YAWNS ARE SNEAKY. THERE YOU ARE, MINDING YOUR OWN BUSINESS, BUILDING THE TALLEST BLOCK TOWER IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE... WHEN SUDDENLY... YOUR MOUTH OPENS WIDE, YOUR TONGUE CURLS BACK, AND ... mmmm-MMM.Yawns are known to be infectious, even when you're not even sleepy. But the yawn is not the problem. As every kid comes to know, at a certain time at night parents are on red alert for any signs that a kid might be ready for bedtime. That's when it is important to stifle even the thought of a yawn--at all costs. A simple yawn means getting the bum's rush through bath and tooth-brushing, pajamas and bedtime stories, goodnight hugs, and--egad! The next thing you know, it's LIGHTS OUT. There you are, eyes wide open, lying there in a dark room and wondering "How did I get here?"Bedtime avoidance strategies are complex, but any savvy nighty-night veteran soon learns the ropes. Avert your gaze if your baby brother or dog begins to yawn! They are contagious! Keep your distance from fuzzy stuffed animals, especially any with which you have been known to sleep! No sheepy sleepy-time songs either. And watch out for any song that Mom used to use to sing you to sleep when you were little! Look deeply engaged, keep a low profile, and...Good luck!Helene Boudreau's newest, I Dare You Not to Yawn (Candlewick, 2013), wisely makes a wary bedtime avoidance champ the narrator of this little mock cautionary tales, and veteran picture book artist Serge Block contributes his truly comic talents to those funny illustrations which take this story over the top. Cagey parents will do well to make this one part of their bedtime routine and yawn all they want while they read it!

What Will Hatch? by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Susie Ghahremani This simple little book builds tension through the use of a guessing game and the wonder of waiting for an egg to hatch.  On one page, the habitat and a little description of the eggs are given, with the question of “What will hatch?”  Take a guess, turn the page and find out the answer.  There are lots of surprises along the way.  The clever use of die cuts in the pages that peek through in egg-shaped holes adds to the fun. Eight different animals are shown here with basic information.  Nicely, there is more information at the end on each of the animals as well as information on chicken egg development.  Ward’s text is particularly simple, just a few phrases with a skip of repetition.  It is the illustrations here that really make the book.  Done in gouache on wood, the images have a lovely texture to them that combines beautifully with the swirling nature of the art.  The texture also reinforces the natural subject matter in a subtle way. A great pick for toddlers, this book  will keep them guessing as the pages turn.  Expect to have to share it again and again.  Appropriate for ages 2-4. Reviewed from library copy. Filed under: Book Reviews, Picture Books Tagged: animals, eggs, nature

Book: 1, 2, 3 ... By the Sea: A Counting BookAuthor: Dianne MoritzIllustrator: Hazel MitchellPages: 36Age Range: 3-6  1, 2, 3 ... By the Sea is a nice little counting book written by Dianne Moritz and illustrated by Hazel Mitchell. The story is a bit more advanced than that of many counting books, making this more a book for preschoolers and kindergartners than for babies and toddlers.  A boy, his mother, and his dog bike to the beach for the day. As the day progresses, they count things. Like this: "Big waves tumble onto shore...crashing,splashing.We chase FOUR." The "FOUR" is shown spelled out, but partially overlaid with a big number 4.  I also liked: "Surfers surf and do surf tricks...lunging, plunging.We watch SIX." I like when books for young children use strong, descriptive verbs. Mitchell's illustrations bring the oceanside setting to life. They remind me a bit of Marla Frazee's illustrations in All the World (and that is a huge compliment), with a similar color palette and level of detail (though without the poetry of Liz Garton Scanlon's text). Mitchell doesn't convey quite the same diversity in characters that Frazee does, but some of that is due to differences in subject matter. The beach in 1, 2, 3 ... By the Sea evokes small-town, coastal Maine to me, with shingled homes nearby, and a crusty fisherman teasing the boy with a lobster. (Although you'd have to be on a pretty serious peninsula to get a  perfect sunset over the water in Maine.)   If you have a child who loves beaches (and what child doesn't), and is learning to count, 1, 2, 3 ... By the Sea would be an excellent choice. If you can find it, anyway. It's available from the publisher, but otherwise not all that widely distributed. Which is too bad, because this slim paperback would slip quite easily into one's beach bag this summer.   Publisher: Kane/Miller Book PublishersPublication Date: January 2013Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher FTC Required Disclosure: This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you). © 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Everyone knows that feeling—that overpowering feeling of just…boredom. All the games have been played. All the books have been read. There’s nothing to watch. Every possible activity has been explored. The boredom of it all just weighs on you so much you can barely move. That’s just how Sal and Frankie feel in Tony Fucile’s Let’s Do Nothing! They’ve baked enough cookies to feed a country, painted more pictures in a day than van Gogh did in a lifetime, and played every board game they could find. So now what are they going to do? That’s when inspiration hits Sal: they’re going to do…NOTHING! Just ten seconds of doing nothing. That should be a piece of cake. How do Frankie and Sal go about doing nothing? They just have to pretend to be different immovable things, like statues and redwoods and buildings. What could be easier than that? Turns out that Frankie can’t quite seem to keep a hold on his imagination. Sure, pretending to be a statue should be simple enough. But what happens to statues? PIGEONS! And suddenly Frankie is busy shooing away those imaginary pesky birds—and definitely NOT doing nothing. Fucile has worked as an animator and an art director on iconic movies like The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. That experience clearly shows through in the characters’ fantastic expressions and the excellent pacing of the story. I just got such a kick out of the little details, like Sal’s imperious eyebrows and Frankie’s too-small T-shirt and too-big glasses. So is this book about nothing? Sure, in a way. But all I have to say is that this book is definitely something. Let’s Do Nothing! by Tony Fucile is available in SeeSaw May. Author Bio:Catherine Alexander is a managing editor of online copy at Scholastic Book Clubs. She previously worked at Sesame Workshop. Yes, she has in fact met Big Bird.

The shortlist for the Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award has been announced.  The award is jointly funded by Frances Lincoln and Seven Stories – National Centre for Children’s Books.  The award recognizes the best of diversity in children’s books, specifically books for 8-12 year olds that contribute to social and cultural tolerance. Here are the books on the shortlist: One of a Kind by Jude (Najoud) Ensaff Samosa Girl by Swapna Haddow You’re Not Proper by Tariq Mehmood Filed under: Awards

    Bernard Waber, author of classic picture books like Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, The House on East 88th Street, and Ira Sleeps Over, has died at age 91.  His 33 books have sold over 1.75 million copies.  Filed under: Authors

BERNARD WABER 1927-2013 Sad news. Bernard Waber, creator of Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Ira Sleeps Over, and many others has passed away. Click here to read more at School Library Journal. ATTENTION: HIGH SHARE-ABILITY LEVELS The Horn Book has a summer reading list up at their site full of excellent new recommended titles – perfect for sharing with parents and teachers. Click here to see it. NEWBERY WATCH Is it time to stop in on Newbery contender blog For Those About to Mock? Yes! It gets my award wheels turning, it does. Click here to head on over. WORLDBOOK = DORKBOWL As someone who has Worldbook encyclopedias on the shelf, this was sort of mind blowing: Click here (or the image above) to enlarge. (via Jomegat’s Weblog) STUDY: MORE BOOKS USED FOR ART PROJECTS THAN FOR READING This is not an actual study, but what with all the book modification art out there these days, it almost seems like it. This collection from artist Curt Lund is particularly cool. I’m going with the chemistry book as my favorite – it’s like walking into a tiny laboratory. Click here to see Lund’s work. (Thanks to Book Patrol for the link) CALLING ALL GOOD IDEAS Have an idea you want to share? ALSC is accepting program proposals for the 2014 ALA Annual Conference and the 2014 ALSC National Institute. Click here to get submitting. THE SUMMER OF #BOOKADAY Over at The Nerdy Book Club, Donalyn Miller is talking Book-a-Day Challenge. Click here to read.