Little Light, Little Seal

Socksquatch

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:00:00 +0000

The kids and I enjoy stories involving monsters, ghosts, witches, etc., and we're already getting excited for Halloween. Recently we read a hilarious book written and illustrated by Frank W. Dormer called Socksquatch.

There isn't much to this story, as Socksquatch, and his fellow-monster friends, are people of few words. But the few words used are well-chosen, and along with Dormer's simple, child-like illustrations, they create a rich running gag that my kids giggled through from beginning to end.

Poor Socksquatch has cold feet, but only one sock. He goes on a bit of a rampage, much like a toddler in search of comfort. Visiting his monster friends one by one, he asks, "Got sock? Foot cold." But Wayne (a werewolf) has no sock, just fur. Frank sloooowly responds that he has a sock and is happy to share, but because this monster has such big feet, the sock doesn't fit our furry friend. He trips on the over-large garment. This results in a screaming fit as Socksquatch expresses his dismay, again in a rather child-like fashion, arms in air, tears flying ("AAAAAAAAAAA!"). Martin (a mummy), hears the commotion and comes to see how he can help, dragging along the damsel he was terrorizing at the moment. He of course has no sock to offer, but Damsel, who is one heck of a good sport, comes to the rescue of the monster in distress. In the end we see Socksquatch happy at last--for now. Kids will delight in the twist that foreshadows another tantrum somewhere on the horizon. Dormer's other books, as listed on his web site, look as giggle-inducing as this one, so I'll be on the look out for them on our next trip to the library.

A Cavalcade of Cats: The Cat Who Walked Across France

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Next up on our list of cat-related books is The Cat Who Walked Across France, written by Kate Banks and illustrated by Georg Hallensleben.

Filled with charming, colorful paintings, this book tells the story of an un-named, dainty grey and white cat who lived a peaceful, companionable life with an old woman in a cottage by the sea. Sadly, his woman dies and all of her possessions are shipped away. The cat is forgotten and very lonely. He becomes a stray and roams from place to place. We see France through the cat's perspective, and experience how loneliness feels slightly different from one environment to another, farm to city, park to bridge. We also see how he survives, always moving, always in search of the happiness he once knew in the cottage by the sea. Eventually, he makes his way back to that stone cottage, and walks inside the open door to curl up and rest. When he awakens he finds that the cottage is now inhabited by a kind family with two small children, who are delighted to find the stray and give him food and affection. Unbeknown to them, the cat has found home again, in more ways than one.

This is a poetic, vividly descriptive tale that explores loss, healing, and what makes a house a home. Children will learn that experiencing loss, and learning to love again, is very much a journey--one that is sometimes lonely and difficult. But if one perseveres and keeps hope alive, happiness can be found again.

A Cavalcade of Cats: Mr. Pusskins

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:04:00 +0000

My kids love cats, so it's not unusual for us to read books about them, as you could tell from my previous post on Halloween Cats. Over the next few days I thought I would share some of the more memorable cat-related books we've read recently.

In our latest batch from the library, we have a book written and illustrated by Sam Lloyd called Mr. Pusskins: A Love Story. This book is worth your time if only for the amusing illustrations of the constantly cross Mr. Pusskins, a shaggy, chubby, rather spoiled ginger cat with a trouble-making streak. Emily, his little girl, absolutely loves him, as evidenced by her ample attention. She is always playing with him, brushing his fur, reading him stories in bed at night and telling him what a handsome boy he is. None of this sits well with Mr. Pusskins, who finds Emily, and his life with her, boring and annoying. He wants more from life, and decides to go after it one night by running away. At first he has a glorious time indulging in all sorts of naughty activities, but in time, a life without a nice warm house to go to at night and someone to give him genuine affection wears thin. He realizes that he should have appreciated Emily and the life he had. A surprise and a choice to be more humble and grateful lead Mr. Pusskins to redemption, and there is a satisfying happy ending. This is a funny story that gently teaches children to return kindness and be thankful for what they have. I've since learned that there are sequels, and I definitely intend to share them with my kiddos.

A New Chapter & the Harper Collins Gift Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Hello All. It's been a horribly long time since I've written. Life is crazier than I can describe, and not really in a good way. I'm facing a divorce and dealing with separation from my husband. We've only been married for a couple years, but have been together as a couple for over nine years, and in addition to my own heartbreak (I'm not the one who wants to end things), I'm trying to ensure that my children have stability and feel safe and loved throughout this ordeal.

Part of moving on and trying to stay positive for me is going to involve becoming more active in my writing again. And since this blog is devoted to things I share with my kids, it's all the more appropriate that I turn to it as I enter a new chapter of my life with the Light and Seal in tow.

Today is Black Friday, and frankly I hate shopping on normal days, let alone days when the whole world seems to be willing to kill each other to obtain a good deal. I do, however, enjoy looking at online catalogs and gift guides and am starting to consider what I can do for my kids' Christmas within a limited budget.

I get the HarperCollins newsletter, and today was pleased to spend some time browsing through their Holiday Gift Guide for children's books. You can browse inside the books, which is always fun. I can't believe I'm so far behind in reading the books in the Septimus Heap series. Goodness. Have a look, and start thinking about the new adventures your children can have in the pages of books as they enter a new year.

A Magical Book of Poems

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:00:00 +0000

If your kids are like mine, they love anything to do with magic, witches and wizards. I love sharing the magic of poetry with them, so what better way to do that and feed their desire for the mystical than with Magic Poems, compiled by John Foster and illustrated by the award winning Korky Paul. This collection of 18 poems deals with all things magical and humorous, from the legend of Quickspell the Wizard (by Jack Ousby), to the story of A Very Modern Witch (by Charles Thomson) with a souped-up broom, you'll enjoy the funny along with the fantastic. Other poems in the collection include:

Where Goblins Dwell, a celebration of imagintion by the legendary Jack Prelutsky
Harry Hobgoblin's Superstore, by David Harmer that describes a shop I'd love to check out
Willy the Wizard's Shopping Trip, by Paul Cookson, which imagines what the chain stores of the wizarding world might be
Dinner on Elm Street, by Michaela Morgan, a jab at school lunches that shows the lunch lady in the same vein as the Three Witches from Macbeth
The Ballad of the Waterbed by Max Fatchen tells the tale of a piratical boy and his nightly adventures
The Marvellous Trousers by Richard Edwards is the story of a magical pair of pants the adventures they gave the one who found them. These are some real traveling pants.
The Magician, by Gareth Owen recounts an unfortunate mishap involving a little girl's party, a father palying magician and a disappearing box
Maxo, the Magician, by Richard Edwards is a funny story of the revenge of a magician's hat
Miranda, the Queen of the Air by Doug MacLeod is the tragic story of Miranda and a levitating panda
Wanted--A Witch's Cat by Shelagh McGee is an ad that a witch might place in the paper for a proper familiar
Genie by Trevor Millum is a tale of mistaken identity
Sir Guy and the Enchanted Princess by David Harmer is one of my personal favorites, tells the tale of a knight in not so shining armor and a princess who rides off alone into the night
Mang, Katon, and the Crocodile King by Jennifer Tweedie is a heroic tale of the defeat of a the Crocodile King. It's cute by very hard to read aloud in my experience.
Dreaming the Unicorn by Tony Mitton is a lovely celebration of dreams
The Moon's Magic by Andrew Collet is a tale of the magical nature of the moon and the fate that befalls the greedy
The Lonely Enchanter by Marian Swinger is a sad story about the distance that power places between those with it and those without

If your kids enjoy this collection, be sure to check out the other anthologies by John Foster in this Oxford University Press Series, including Dinosaur Poems, Monster Poems and Dragon Poems.

Lessons from Mother Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:48:00 +0000

I recently shared a lovely picture book with my kids written by Elaine McLeod and illustrated by Colleen Wood called Lessons from Mother Earth. McLeod was born Mayo, Yukon and is a member of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation. This book tells the story of Tess, a five-year-old girl visiting her grandmother's cabin in the mountains. Grandmother decides to show Tess her "garden," which turns out to consist of the edible plants growing wild in the woods and meadows surrounding her home. They go for a walk with bucket and basket in hand, and Grandmother shows Tess where to find the plants and teaches her the proper way to gather from and respect the land. She explains that the plants are ready for harvesting at different times in the year, and that there is a balance to strike between harvesting too much or too little--too much and the plants won't produce for you again, too little and the plants will eventually wither and die. Grandmother also teaches Tess that she must care for the land which provides for her, never littering and being careful not to trample plants. "If you are careful and thankful, my granddaughter, our garden will care for you. There is plenty for everyone to share if we don't destroy the soil." Grandmother whispers her thanks to Mother Earth as she harvests and explains that her mother taught her about the plants, so we see the passing of the tradition to Tess. In the end, Tess has learned to be thankful for the Earth and all it provides, as well as the wisdom of her grandmother. This is a beautifully illustrated book, full of soft curves, warm and bright colors, and details (such as the many animals which follow and observe Tess and Grandmother as they harvest). Wood has a gift for portraying smiling faces--she gets the light and shadow just right. The story teaches a gentle lesson of respect and appreciation for Earth and the resources that we share with other creatures. It also provides a nice model of native spirituality, with reverance for Mother Earth and the Great Spirit.

Happy Earth Day: Two Lessons on Litter

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:03:00 +0000

It's after midnight, so I can officially say happy Earth Day!!!! In the spirit of stewardship, I thought I'd share a couple of picture books with you that can be helpful when talking to young children about something we all deal with every day--trash. Whether we're taking it out, sorting out recycling, trying to figure out how to produce less of it, or lamenting all the trash we see on the side of road, trash is a part of our lives for better or worse. These two books teach children how proper disposal and management of waste is important for everyone's quality of life.

The Day the Trash Came Out to Play by David M. Beadle tells the story of Sutton Nash, the "cleanest town in the land" and how this idyllic town was sullied one day when a young boy named Robin thoughtlessly tossed a candy wrapper on the ground instead of in the trash bin. Laurie A. Faust's clever illustrations animate the "Super Sourpuss" candy wrapper by showing the caped superhero on the wrapper flying about on the wind, dismayed and disheveled as his wrapper blows all over town annoying wildlife and inadvertently encouraging other bits of trash to leave their proper receptacles and "come out to play." The story is told in rhyming verse, making it more fun to read aloud, and also a good selection to simultaneously celebrate National Poetry Month. The story teaches that it is important to consider how our trash affects others. At first Robin thinks it's funny to see to the wrapper blowing about and believes he need not worry about it once it is out of sight. "What Robin forgot to think about, is that it has to go somewhere." There's also a lesson about setting a proper example by doing the right thing. When other bits of trash see the wrapper flying around, they decide to come out and run all over town (the illustrations for this are cute as each bit of trash is animated, and it all looks mischievous). "Because they saw someone else go first, they thought it was okay." Of course we're really talking about people here. People will be more likely to litter or be apathetic about their own waste when they see others behaving that way or evidence that others have done so before them (i.e. litter on the ground). This lesson is underscored by the town sign, which is shown at the beginning and end of the story. At the end, an addition to the sign has been made: "Trash begets Trash." The citizens of Sutton Nash are dismayed by the rampant litter problem, and Robin realizes his mistake. He leads the town in a cleanup, and after the incident, the town builds a recycling center.

The Great Trash Bash, written and illustrated by Loreen Leedy, is a similar story about a town called Beaston--appropriately named because it is populated by anthropomorphic animals. As in the previous book, the story begins by describing the beauty of Beaston as we see a sign welcoming us to the town, but it is noted that "something is wrong." This is clear from the illustration, which shows an old abandoned car by the trees, litter along the side of the road, and a series of signs, spaced Burma Shave-style, that tell motorists to "Buy More More and More." The book is much like a comic book because in addition to the main narration, the story is told via speech balloons on the illustrations. Mayor Hippo feels that something is amiss but can't put his finger on it. He is shown interacting with citizens that toss litter on the ground, discuss throwing out their old possessions after buying new items and lament over a polluted body of water where no swimming is allowed. Finally, after slipping on a banana peel and landing in a pile of litter, the mayor realizes that there is too much waste and wasteful behavior in the town. He leads the reader on visits to the dump, the incinerator and the landfill, and he and other characters note the benefits and drawbacks of all of these alternatives for waste management. After discussing their trash problem, the citizens decide to make lifestyle changes that will reduce waste, such as buying in bulk, avoiding excess packaging, and reusing items. They learn to fix their possessions to make them last longer, to recycle and compost, and not to litter. In the end, we see the "Welcome to Beaston" sign again and have the beauties of the town reiterated, but this time we can see that everything is cleaner and all the citizens are out enjoying the landscape and celebrating. On the last page of the book, Leedy offers 13 simple tips for reducing waste. Due to the speech bubble format and the more complex ideas dealt with in this book, it's a bit harder to read aloud than The Day the Trash Came Out to Play, but it can lead to some interesting conversations with kids as you discuss the lessons the mayor learns about waste and what happens to items when you recycle them or compost them.

For more suggestions on books to read with kids as you celebrate Earth Day, see JacketFlap.com's search results on Earth Day, Amazon.com's list of suggested Earth Day books for children and teens, and the Green Reading for EE Week list on the National Environmental Education Week website.

Read Me a Story, Mr. President

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:23:00 +0000

I just had to take a minute to share this article from the April 14, 2009 edition of the Huffington Post (article from the Associated Press, written by Natasha T. Metzler). The story is about the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, held on Monday, April 13. During the gathering, President Obama read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak to the children (an excellent choice). The article includes a video of the President reading, making sure all the kids can see the pictures and pointing out details in the drawings (which was a thoughtful touch for those who weren't sitting in the front row). He does a good job of getting the kids to try certain actions from the story (like staring without blinking and roaring like a wild thing), which is always an effective way to keep a child's attention. According to the article, the First Lady and her mother also read to the children, though the slide show depicts Sasha and Malia also getting involved (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff).

I always find it endearing to see world leaders taking the time to read to kids, even though the cynical response is to recognize that this is a lovely PR moment. I can't help but think that even if there are ulterior motives, if someone like the "Leader of the Free World" can take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to read a book to some kids he doesn't even know, then there's no reason at all why any of us can't take a few minutes out of our day to read a book to our own children. You're the leader of your own home, and the Commander in Chief of your child's first experiences of the world, his or her outlook and attitudes toward reading and learning, and the fostering of his or her imagination. So let the red phone ring a minute---they'll call back. Ok, so you can't always drop everything to take a book from your child's insistent hands, but if you can't read that book now, promise to read it later and keep your promise. And never think that your child is too old to want to be read to; everyone likes to be read to (even you do, admit it!). If they're older they might roll their eyes and refuse your offer of storytime, but make the offer anyway. They'll always remember that you did.

A Pair to Share for National Poetry Month

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 07:02:00 +0000

It's National Poetry Month, and in my continuing effort to bring you resources for sharing poetry with the young folks in your lives, I thought I would highlight a couple of poetry collections that I've been reading with the Light and Seal.

Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry is a delightful selection of poems perfect for sharing with preschoolers. Collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, with illustrations by Polly Dunbar, this set of 61 poems focus on different aspects of a day in a child's life told from the child's perspective. The poems are organized into four sections: "Me, Myself, and I"; "Who Lives in My House"; "I Go Outside"; and "Time for Bed." Adorable round-faced and rosy-cheeked children populate Dunbar's drawings, bringing life to poetry from such pens as Margaret Wise Brown, Langston Hughes, A. A. Milne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack Prelutsky, Gertrude Stein and Spike Milligan to name a few. Both my children (who are 4 and 2 at the time of this writing) loved this book, and have wanted it read to them multiple times. It's great fun to read aloud because the poems capture the spirit of children. Some of our favorites include "The Swing" by Robert Louis Stevenson (my daughter relates to the description of flying high), "Cat Kisses" by Bobbi Katz (both Light and Seal squeal with glee when these are bestowed upon them), "Brother" by Mary Ann Hoberman and "Rickety Train Ride" by Tony Mitton (I love those last two because they're such tongue-twisters!).

The Oxford Book of Story Poems, edited by Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark is more appropriate for older children (though my little ones still enjoy it), and includes both classic poems and more modern selections, all of which tell a story, of course. Classics from Lewis Carroll ("Jabberwocky," "The Walrus and the Carpenter" and "Humpty Dumpty's Recitation"), Edgar Allan Poe ("Annabel Lee"--one of my favorites!), Walter de la Mare ("The Listeners") are alongside Ray Bradbury's "Switching on the Night" and J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Man in the Moon Stayed up Too Late." Nonsense, tragedy, suspense, mystery, cautionary tales, shipwrecks, witches, dragons and ghosts--the gang's all here. This is a truly rich anthology, and if you're an educator hoping to cover several bases with one book, this is an excellent one to check out. Colorful and imaginative illustrations from various artists pepper the text. Helpful indices of themes, artists, authors, titles and first lines are included in the back of the book.

Walk into my Parlor for National Poetry Month

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:00:00 +0000

I recently read Tony DiTerlizzi's picture book rendition of The Spider and the Fly with my kids and thought it was wonderful. If you're looking for a picture book to include in your celebration of National Poetry Month, be sure to check this one out.

The text of the book is Mary Howitt's famous poem, The Spider and the Fly, first published in 1829. You probably are familiar with this poem to some extent, though many folks misquote the first line as "Come into my parlor, said the Spider to the Fly." (It's actually "'Will you walk into my parlor?' said the Spider to the Fly." See the Wikipedia article on the poem, which includes a link to the text of the poem, as well as the text of a Lewis Carroll parody called The Lobster Quadrille that was included in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.) The poem is a cautionary tale about a cunning Spider that cajoles and flatters a Fly who has, in fact, heard of the Spider and knows better (at first) than to listen to his promises of a lovely visit and restful stay. Eventually, however, the Fly succumbs to the Spider's flattery (just as the Spider knew she would) and of course, never again returns from the Spider's lair.

DiTerlizzi's detailed black and white illustrations are wonderfully dark and old-fashioned feeling, with clever touches, such as furniture and curtains in the Spider's home made from dead bugs and butterfly wings, ghostly bugs trying to warn off the Fly (one pointing out a copy of The Joy of Cooking Bugs), and the fact that the Spider's home is inside a doll house. DiTerlizzi's visual interpretation of the poem was impressive enough to make the book a Caldecott Honor Book in 2003 (the Wikipedia article on Mary Howitt, linked to above, incorrectly states that the book won this honor in 2007).

DiTerlizzi includes a letter from the Spider at the end of the book, cautioning readers about the fact that "spiders are not the only hunters and bugs are not the only victims." Just as the poem itself says, "And now, dear little children, who may this story read,/To idle, silly flattering words I pray you ne'er give heed:/Unto an evil counselor, close heart and ear and eye,/And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly." So besides being a treat to listen to (and look at in this version), the poem teaches a valuable lesson to kids about not allowing themselves to be lured by strangers or by crafty people in general. With older kids, it is worth pointing out that it is likely not by chance that Howitt made her Fly female and the Spider male--there are more complex lessons for girls and women that might be learned from Howitt's words.

Though great for any time of year, the dark nature of the tale and illustrations might make this a nice selection to share with kids at Halloween.

April is National Poetry Month

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:08:00 +0000

April is a busy month. There's Earth Day, of course, Easter (I don't celebrate it, but the kids and I feel compelled to color eggs), Arbor Day, and most importantly, my husband's birthday (35, if you're wondering; I'll get there myself in another six months). It's also National Garden Month and National Poetry Month. I'll probably touch on all of these topics at some point this month, but the focus of this post is National Poetry Month.

Poetry, in my opinion, is a magical thing. A lot of people, particularly young people, seem to think that poetry is stuffy or boring or somehow highbrow, but poetry is for everyone, and is possibly the most fun anyone can have with language. Most of us just don't realize how much poetry affects our lives--what is a song, after all, but a poem set to music? If you love music, then you love poetry. (If you don't love music, I'd love to hear more about your home planet sometime.) A well written poem creates its own music when you read it out loud. Poetry can be a great way to express yourself, and reading poetry with kids can spark creativity. Writing poetry is a challenge; expressing feelings or observations in a few words, with or without a specific rhythm, teaches brevity and clarity. Choosing just the right word helps build vocabulary.

If you're a teacher, librarian, or parent, I hope you'll take some time to celebrate National Poetry Month with the kids in your life. The Academy of American Poets have some great resources on their National Poetry Month web site, including curricula and lesson plans; tip sheets for teachers and librarians; Poem-A-Day; and the Free Verse Photo Competition (really fun--if I were a teacher, this would be an assignment for my class). You should also check out Poetry 180, a Library of Congress web site that provides "a poem-a-day for American high schools" and the Children's Poetry page of the Poetry Foundation.

I'll be writing some posts on resources to share with kids. Do any of you have favorite books of children's poetry that you remember from childhood? If so, leave a comment about it on this post. It needn't be a formal book of poems--perhaps you remember a favorite picture book that had text written in verse?

Gifts for a Blueberry Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:28:00 +0000

It's been quite a year for Neil Gaiman. I'm a fan, and really loved Coraline the first time I read it. I didn't read it to my kids first time around because I thought it would be a bit too scary, but my girl has grown up a bit since then. She was intrigued by the movie trailers and I decided I would read the book to her before allowing her to see the movie--I'm always afraid the movie won't be as good as the book (and alas, I'm often right). So we recently finished that, and she really enjoyed it. I know because whenever she enjoys a book or show, she runs around the house pretending to be a main character; she occasionally pretends to be Coraline now (I wonder if this makes her little brother the black cat?).

The Graveyard Book, his intriguing sounding novel about a young boy raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his parents are killed, is definitely on my always growing "to read" list and recently won the prestigous Newbery Medal.

Given that Gaiman gravitates toward the creepy, fantastic and otherwise odd, it is perhaps surprising to some that he wrote Blueberry Girl, a lovely picture book that presents what an expectant parent might wish for a baby girl. But Gaiman is a father himself, and the poem which provided the impetus for this book was written for his friend Tori Amos when she was expecting her daughter. I read a nice article about this book on Babble.com today, and this article in turn introduced me to a wonderful animated trailer for the book produced by HaperCollins for YouTube. Charles Vess's magical illustrations come to life as the text is read by Gaiman himself. If you can watch this without wanting to get a copy to share with your kids or to give to an expectant mother you know, then I'm not sure what's wrong with you, but I hope I don't catch it.

Incidentally, HarperCollins is conducting a Blueberry Girl sweepstakes, which you can enter for the chance to win a free copy of the book. There will be 25 winners--let's hope you and I are among them!

St. Patrick's Picture Books

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:59:00 +0000

St. Patrick's Day is a special day for me and the kids, not only because of our Celtic heritage, but also because my mother was born on St. Patrick's Day. I've been sharing some relevant picture books with the kids over the last few days and thought I would take a moment to share them with you.

The Leprechaun's Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards is a delightful tale of two harpists--kindly and generous Old Pat and greedy and boastful Young Tom. The two are both talented, but have different values. Young Tom wishes to become rich, and charges his neighbors a pretty penny for his harp playing services. Old Pat plays the harp out of love as much as anything, and is willing to play for free for folks he knows can't afford to pay. Tom thinks Pat foolish, but is willing to benefit from his generosity. When the king announces a contest to choose the finest harpist in Ireland, both Pat and Tom are eager to participate--Pat for the potential honor, and Tom for the potential prestige. Tom decides to travel with the older man in the hopes that Pat will share his food, thus saving Tom a bit of money. Along the way, Tom begins to worry that the talented older man will defeat him in the contest, and wickedly breaks one of Pat's harp strings while Pat is not looking. Shortly after this treachery, the two men hear a voice calling for help. Afraid of scheming leprechauns, Tom refuses to investigate, but kindly Pat cannot ignore the plea. The call is indeed from a leprechaun, and the aid that Pat provides is repaid in an unexpected way. This charming tale about the value of good deeds is richly illustrated by Henry Cole, complete with a game of hide-and-seek included in the detailed pictures--within the illustrations, 16 four-leafed clovers are hidden.

St. Patrick's Day Alphabet by Beverly Barras Vidrine was not as much fun in my opinion. I love alphabet books, and hoped that this one might help teach my kids about some Irish culture. It did to some extent, but in some instances seemed to focus too much on religion. To be fair, we are talking about St. Patrick's Day, and Patrick is a Christian saint, so this focus is certainly understandable. My kids did learn some interesting new words, such as bodhran (pronounced BOW-rawn), which is a traditional, flat, one-sided drum and céilí (pronounced KAY-lee), a traditional social dance. I felt some of the selections for letters were a bit lame as well. For example "E is for 'Everybody is Irish, a favorite saying on St. Patrick's Day." would have been more interesting as "E is for Erin, a word for Ireland. People often say 'Erin go Bragh' on St. Patrick's Day, which means 'Ireland forever.'" Still, I have to commend Barras Vidrine for what I think is a clever and educational idea for an alphabet book, and the colorful and detailed drawings of Patrick Soper are appealing.

Finally, Fergus and the Night-Demon by Jim Murphy isn't really a St. Patrick's Day book, but it is an amusing "Irish Ghost Story" with a moral about the value of hard work. Plus, it's great fun to read aloud with an Irish accent, if you can do a decent one. Fergus O'Mara is a lazy young man, always finding an excuse to get out of work and chores. One evening while going off to Skibbereen to party, he encounters a frightening, giant spirit that declares "It is your time, Fergus O'Mara!" Not willing to put the effort even into fearing for himself, Fergus at first tries to write off the towering vision as the result of indigestion. But the red-eyed vision persists and grows larger as the story progresses, eventually demanding the Fergus dig his own grave. Always allergic to labor, Fergus manages to talk his way out of the situation, but has a change of heart at the end of the story, vowing to be a hard working person for fear that the night-demon might return. Fergus's attitude and roguish charm, as well as the menace of the night-demon are skillfully conveyed in John Manders's illustrations. The author also provides some educational notes regarding Irish legendary creatures that helped to inspire the tale. An interesting twist is that while there is a moral regarding the value of hard work, we also come to recognize that everyone, even slackers like Fergus, has his or her own special talents. Fergus has a gift for wheedling out of difficult situations, and it actually saves his life. He doesn't often use this gift for good purposes, but we can recognize it as a skill he possesses. So, there's an extra lesson about learning to see the positive qualities of people and their habits, even if there isn't much positive about the people and their deeds.

Leabhair go bragh! (I hope this means "Books forever!" My apologies to anyone who speaks Irish Gaelic if I've messed up.)

A Pair of Janes: Fairy Tales With Yolen & Dyer

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:58:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of Jane Yolen, and was pleased recently to share two of her lovely picture books with the Light and Seal. These two books are made all the more magical by the pairing of Yolen's wonderful stories with the exceptional paintings of Jane Dyer. If you're in the mood for fairy tales, these two books are sure to please.

Child of Faerie, Child of Earth is a beautiful rhyming poem of Yolen's which tells of a human girl meeting a fairy boy--thus this is a real fairy tale, complete with fairies (my favorite kind). The two become friends and the boy asks her to stay with him in the fairy realm, but she knows she cannot give up the human world. Similarly, upon visiting her world and being invited to stay and work upon the farm where she lives, the boy knows he would miss his own kind. Instead, the two decide to remain in their own worlds while visiting and maintaining a friendship that lasts all their lives. This sounds perhaps a bit cliché, but the rhythm of Yolen's poem is hypnotic, and combined with the richly detailed works of Dyer, the book is absolutely enchanting. Dyer's work looks as if it comes from a vintage children's book of fairy tales, and is full of whimsy, color, and emotion. Check out some of her work here; unfortunately I couldn't find an official web site for her. Here is an example of Yolen's lovely verse: "He looked around the human world,/A world of gold and brown./A world where farmyard turns to village,/Village into town;/A world of colors pure and bright,/Of open sight,/Of warm sunlight,/Unlike the shadowed world of night,/Of moon and thistledown." To create that sort of lovely verse within such a rhyme scheme is difficult, and it is particularly impressive considering how long this poem is.

The Girl in the Golden Bower is a story rather than a poem, and though it is an original tale, there are elements that remind me of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, as well as typical fairy tale characters and motifs--a woodsman, an evil sorceress, a person with an unknown or mysterious past, a magic spell, friendly animals, etc. The story begins with a woodsman who serves a royal family. The king dies an untimely death and the castle falls into ruin, with rumors that a beast lives within its overgrown walls. One day the woodsman finds a frail young woman lost in the woods; the two marry and have a child they call Aurea. In time, another woman comes to the house in the guise of a cook looking for room and board in exchange for her services; the couple take her in because the wife is frail, but the cook is in fact a sorceress on a quest for a treasure hidden the woods. She believes a charm that can lead the way to the treasure is in the area of the woodsman's house. As you might expect, the sorceress proceeds to do away with the wife, but before her passing, Aurea's mother givers her a special hair comb that she says will protect her. When the child places the comb in her hair and it changes color to become indistinguishable from her hair, the reader knows that this is the charm the sorceress seeks. The story unfolds as the sorceress continues her destructive quest for the charm and ultimately uses her powers to try to kill the child and gain the comb. But the power of the comb, the truth behind the girl's special relationship with the woodland creatures, and the identity of the beast combine to provide a suitably happy ending for Aurea (and an unhappy one for the sorceress). Again, Dyer's paintings are richly hued, full of detail, and set the perfect fairy tale atmosphere.

Both of these enchanting stories are a delight to read aloud, and apparently to hear aloud, considering how many times I've been asked to read them since checking them out from the library. Check them out with your little ones for some good old fashioned magic.

Imagine a Night Full of Optical Illusions

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Imagine a Night is one of those visually rich books that are best read with your child sitting in your lap so you can pour over the details of every picture together. Inspired by the magic realist paintings of Rob Gonsalves, author Sarah L. Thomson has paired her evocative verse with several examples of Gonsalves's gorgeous artwork. His paintings remind me of M.C. Escher's work in that each piece includes an optical illusion that forces the viewer to consider a mundane part of the world from a new perspective. For example, the cover art shows Gonsalves's painting, "Ladies of the Lake," in which the reflections of the moon, trees and clouds in a body of water are compared to women in long white gowns lead out of the water by lantern light. Within the book, this piece is paired with the following verse: "imagine a night.../...when moonlight spills/across the water/to make a path/for the lightest of feet." In other images, Thomson leads the reader in discovering, among other images, quilts that look like fields and forests as seen from an airplane, a field of sunflowers that look like blonde-haired women in green cloaks and gloves listening to a farmer play his fiddle, drifts of snow that look like crisp white bedsheets and moonlit clouds seen through archways that resemble solemn monks in their robes. This is a wonderful book to share at bedtime and can be used to spark little imaginations at any time of day. My kids love looking at these pictures, and I help point out the meanings of the illusions as we read this book together, though sometimes no help is required. "Look! The flowers look like people!" the Light exclaimed during one reading.

This book has introduced me to a new artist and made me a fan. Though Gonsalves is often called a Surrealist, he prefers the term "Magic Realism" because his images are "deliberately planned and result from conscious thought" and his images provide a magical quality to realistic scenes (see Wikipedia article on Gonsalves). You can check out more of Gonsalves's paintings on the Saper Galleries web site. Thomson provides a a helpful key to the paintings included in this book at the end so you know the actual names of the paintings. This book could be a wonderful addition to an art class or art lesson for homeschoolers. Children could be challenged to create their own illusions from scenes in their lives with water colors or crayons.

I was delighted to learn from Sarah L. Thomson's web site and the aforementioned Saper Galleries site that this book has two companion books, called Imagine a Day (Byron Preiss Book) and Imagine a Place. I'll definitely be looking for those to share with my kids.

The Roads to Hell and Lead-Free Toys are Paved with Good Intentions

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:26:00 +0000

As a mom and someone who cares about the environment, I'm all for lead-free toys. I've previously posted about using the lead check tool from HealthyToys.org, and added their widget to this blog. I've followed this issue as part of my day job and lamented with other parents across the country every time there are more toy recalls because of lead levels. But my heart is just sick because of the unintentional consequences of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) as it is currently written. Though the law was certainly intended to protect children from lead poisoning and to require problem manufacturers to test materials before selling them, it is having an impact on small businesses, particularly those that produce handmade toys, as well as booksellers, libraries and charities.

The CPSIA does not simply cover toys, but rather "children's products"--this is a broad term, and includes things like books, child care items (like cloth diapers, for example) and clothing. Basically, children's products are "any consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger" (Wikipedia article on CPSIA). The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Guidance on the CPSIA for Small Businesses, Resellers, Crafters and Charities states the following: "The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is a sweeping new law that impacts a broad spectrum of our economy. From manufacturers of toys to the kids that play with them, everyone is affected in some way -- even those who make and donate products to hospitals and charities. There are new rules to be understood and adopted for everyone from the largest global manufacturer to the crafter working in the family workshop to the mom-and-pop shop on the corner. Indeed, all children’s products including toys, books, child care articles and clothing are covered in different ways by this law, and there are different rules for different products."

The basic idea is that any manufacturer of children's products must test their materials to make sure they meet safe lead levels. Sounds simple and like good common sense, right? As is often the case, what sounds good on paper is revealed to be more complex and troublesome in practice. Consider the crafter who makes handmade toys and sells them online and at craft fairs. While we as consumers, and the crafter herself, would all agree that we would like to make sure the materials used to produce the crafter's items are at safe levels for lead content, how is the crafter working from her home supposed to afford the testing and documentation required, which would be the same required of a large factory making similar toys? What if the crafter is reasonably sure her materials are lead free, but must still prove that they are with expensive testing? Ultimately, the crafter might decide that such testing is simply not within her capability and thus that she should cease making handmade toys altogether. One might say this would be a small price to pay to ensure the safety of children's products, but do we really want to see a shift away from locally produced, handmade items to more factory produced, assembly line items, especially given the current economy and the fact that many small businesses are struggling to stay afloat period? Putting small businesses and work-at-home-moms out of business is not what anyone involved in the creation and passing of the CPSIA intended, but it may well be the consequence in many instances.

I was dismayed earlier while catching up on some of the blogs I follow, that even booksellers and libraries may end up being adversely affected by this law. Consider this post from Scribbler over on Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves. This woman sells vintage children's books on Etsy.com. The result of the law will be that her Etsy store becomes limited to selling books printed between 1985 and 1989, since Etsy only allows the sale of books 20 years or older (by their definition of "vintage"). In the exemptions to the CPSIA available on guidance web site linked to above, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) states that "until the Commission issues final rules in these areas, certain materials can be used in making products or be sold as children's products without risk of sanction or penalties by the Commission provided the manufacturer, distributor or seller does not have actual knowledge that the products have more than the acceptable lead limit. The Commission generally will not prosecute someone for making, selling or distributing items in these categories (see Table B) even if it turns out that such an item actually contains more than 600 ppm lead." "Table B" includes "Children's books printed after 1985 that are conventionally printed and intended to be read, as opposed to used for play." Ok, cool, though I don't quite understand the distinction between books intended to be "read" or "used for play" (book frisbee, anyone?). What about books printed before 1985, including lots of classics that may be sitting in used book stores, regular book stores, thrift stores, libraries, and sold by vintage book dealers, such as the aforementioned Scribbler? Apparently such books can be sold as collectibles, as long as they're not really intended for use by children. So does that mean, as Scribbler wonders aloud on her blog, that books printed before 1985 sitting in the children's departments of libraries may need to be tested in order to continue to be used by children? Facing such expense, might many small municipal libraries choose to detroy such books rather than go through the process necessary to keep them? Scribbler writes: "So it seems smaller, independent booksellers who know the value of these books are boxing their pre-85 product and holding on to them in storage until this madness blows over. Other larger thrift store chains like Goodwill are pulling the books and just dumping them in the garbage. I am sick about the whole thing...I won't even go into how this will effect libraries, but just imagine your neighborhood library... over half of its children's section disappearing overnight... all of its out-of-print titles, vanishing into the dumpster out back." The potential impact on availability of books for kids, not to mention the environmental impact of detroying inventories---sigh. My head really hurts.

I could write on and on about potential problems with the implementation of this law and how it might adversely affect book sellers, crafters and small businesses, but you don't want to read the longest post known to man (it may be too late for that), and frankly, I'm still trying to learn about this law--I'm no expert when it comes to exactly what this law will require and what the CPSC is doing to deal with potential problems. Off the cuff, I hope that some sort of financial assistance is made available to small businesses for testing, although given the current state of the world, I have no idea where such money might come from--the government has bigger fish to bail out right now. I'm worried about how the law will affect books most particularly; I love books, and old books especially. Newly printed copies of books just don't have the same magical quality sometimes, and some books went out of print before 1985 that are still worth reading!

Am I glad the government is trying to enforce stricter safety standards for children's products? Absolutely. Am I confused as heck about all the different requirements, exemptions and hoops to jump through? Oh yeah. Am I worried that many small businesses and crafters will need to go out of business or change their focus because of this law? Yes. Do I have a solution for how to provide safe toys without causing all these problems? Right now, no. Do I want to stay apprised of how this drama unfolds and how these issues are dealt with? Yes, and I want you to be able to as well. So, here are some links to related resources that you may want to check out:

CPSC guidance on this law, as discussed above. Note that you can sign up to get email updates related to this law. I did.
CPSIA-Central. An online forum to discuss the law, its impacts, and ways to bring about change.
Wikipedia article on this law.
The Handmade Toy Alliance web pages on this law, potential concerns, and possible solutions.
American Library Association (ALA) CPSIA reference page
ALA page with links to their letter to Congress and their view that CPSIA does not apply to libraries (geez, I hope they're right!)
Etsy forum on CPSIA
Toy Industry Association CPSIA Resource Page

Word Up, It's Word Girl!

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:57:00 +0000

Hello there. I've been one poor correspondent and I've been too, too hard to find, but it doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind (yes, I'm a fan of America. That's a line from Sister Golden Hair.) I've been taking a much needed break after the hectic holidays, but I'm back and ready to bring you more information on great resources, books and products for kids.

I thought I'd take a minute to gush about one of my children's favorite educational shows on PBS--Word Girl. This clever cartoon features a young girl, Becky Botsford, who is really a superhero from the planet Lexicon known as Word Girl. She and her faithful monkey friend, Captain Huggy Face (whose alter ego is Bob), stop a variety of bumbling villians and assist the citizens of our planet with their vast vocabularies. This is a really funny show that parents will enjoy as well as children. The villains are bizarre and amusing, including the evil and cheese-loving Doctor Two-Brains (once a friend of Word Girl's who became a villain when an experiment gone awry fused him with a particularly nasty lab mouse), Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy (a twisted yet not very intimidating sandwich lover who still lives in his mother's basement), and the Butcher (a meat-lover who butchers the English language as much as anything and who wields meat like a weapon, exclaiming things like "Pastrami Attack!" and "Roasts of Fury!" when fighting our heroes). There are a host of other eccentric adversaries (not all of them have food fetishes), and all of the conflicts Word Girl faces help to teach young viewers the meaning of new words, such as "masquerade," "hoax," "identical," etc. which veiwers are told to listen for at the beginning of each adventure. When Word Girl flies off to stop vilians, she shouts "Word Up!" When she's not fighting crime, Becky tries to be a normal fifth-grader, and her adventures often arise during activities or situations that kids can relate to (such as trying to make it to Splashy Splashington's water park on a hot day, or waiting in line for the release of the latest Princess Triana novel, which is analogous to the Harry Potter series).

There are two adventures in each episode of the show, broken up by subfeatures, such as the game show spot called "May I Have a Word?," a man-on-the-street sort of spot called "What's Your Favorite Word?," and a spot in which Captain Huggy Face illustrates the meaning of a word (such as "pensive") with facial expressions and body language.

I could spend hours describing all the funny little quirks of this show, but you really should see it for yourself. To learn more about the show, view clips, activities and lessons plans, and to learn when the show might be on in your area, check out the extensive Word Girl pages on the PBS Kids Go! site. There are also related word games on the Scholastic web site, which notes that the series has won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in Animation, as well as a Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming. Word Up!

More Resources for Choosing Safe and Eco-Friendly Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:56:00 +0000

Since choosing toys for little ones dreaming of visits from St. Nick is on the minds of so many of us during December, I thought I would continue the theme of providing some resources to help select safe and environmentally friendly options.

The Green Guide's Toy Guide provides information on toy materials (including plastics, wood, electronics and battery operated toys, cotton, hemp and wool); shopping and usage tips; product comparisons (in a handy chart that includes purchasing information and reader reviews); and the "backstory" that explains some of the health and safety concerns associated with toys and exposure to substances sometimes found in them.

Treehugger's 2008 Holiday Gift Guide includes a section for the "WeeHugger" includes information on some great back-to-basics toys, activities and toys to help teach your child about the environment and recycling, and organic t-shirts and lunch bags.

GoodGuide's Holiday Guide to Safe Toys "includes only toys that are free from chemicals of concern such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, bromine, and phthalates. Hopefully, they're also fun for your kids! They've found options for all your gift needs, from safe dolls to safe puzzles, from safe arts and crafts to safe action figures."

Check HealthyToys.org Before You Finish Your Holiday Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:30:00 +0000

It's the holiday season, and if you're reading this blog, odds are you have a little one on your holiday shopping list. Before buying that bright, shiny new toy you're sure they'll love, you may want to check out HealthyToys.org. HealthyToys.org includes test results for more than 1,500 toys and children's products. The site developers describe it as "a first step in providing parents, grandparents, and others who care about children with the information they need to make better choices when purchasing toys and other children's products." Toy rankings and information on chemicals of concern are available, as well as information on what you can do to help prevent the inclusion of toxic chemicals in toys. You can search the toys in the HealthyToys database by product, product code, or manufacturer. You can also use the "Test my Toy" feature to suggest toys and products to be tested and added to the database. Note that a link at the top of the home page allows you to view the site in Spanish. HealthyToys.org is a project of the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

You may notice that I've added a little widget available from HealthyToys.org to the bottom side bar on this blog; it allows you to type in a toy or brand name to check products for lead content. Play around with it and use it to do quick checks on toys you already own, or are considering for your kids.

Take Me Down to Alphabet City

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:54:00 +0000

Hello, my name is Joy, and I have a tiny obsession with alphabet books. Being a parent of two toddlers, I read my fair share of such books on a regular basis. While one might think that this would be boring, I must admit I find the myriad of ways which authors and illustrators invent to teach children the same basic information fascinating. From a writer's perspective, it seems like a great challenge: how do you present the alphabet in a new and interesting way--one that will simultaneously capture the imagination of a child, keep his interest for at least a few minutes, maybe teach that child more than just the letters in the alphabet AND make your book unique enough to stand out from the slew of picture books submitted to editors? I'm deeply impressed whenever I witness someone pull this off well. Recently I added another name to my mental Alphabet Book Hall of Fame--Stephen T. Johnson.

On a trip to the local library, I picked up Johnson's Alphabet City because its cover intrigued me, I saw that it was a Caldecott Honor Book, and hey, it's an alphabet book. Glancing quickly through the book, while the Light nagged at me to move on so she could go to the play area for a few minutes, I thought that this was a book of photos from various urban settings including shapes that resembled letters of the alphabet. I added it to my bag and let my daughter drag me down the aisle a bit further.

When I got home and read, or rather looked at it with the Light and Seal, I was instead very impressed to realize that what I had thought were photos in passing were actually beautifully detailed paintings, done in "pastels, watercolors, gouache and charcoal on hot pressed watercolor paper," according to the front matter. Sounds sorta like a description from a menu in a fancy restaurant, doesn't it? This is fitting because Johnson's work is definitely a feast for the eyes, and a gourmet one at that. There are no words--just images. Each image presents something you might see in a city, such as an architectural element, a crack in the sidewalk, the sky between buildings, lamp posts, etc. Each of these urban details takes the shape of a capital letter in the alphabet. For example, the side of a barricade, as shown on the cover (above) looks like a capital A. Fire escapes look like Zs, traffic lights look like Es from the side, and the arches on a bridge form an M.

The colors and the quality of light in these paintings are really lovely, and while most are recognizable as paintings (once you're looking at them carefully), a few still look like photos to me even though I know better. The best example is probably the image of street lamps used for the letter Y; although I'm not thrilled with the shape of the lamps for the purpose of this book (it doesn't translate into an instant recognition of the letter for me) I defy you to look at that image and not need to tell yourself that it isn't a photograph of a real place.

Admittedly, some of the letters are subtle--the C created when a shadow falls on part of a cathedral window and the Q in the wheel on a train are good examples of such stretches. But others jump off the page at you. Perhaps the subtler images are good for encouraging kids to look closely at what they observe. And in the end, I'm still more impressed by a painting of something that only vaguely looks like a Q than I am with one more book that declares "X marks the spot," "X is for eXciting," or something equally unimaginative and groan-worthy.

Despite any difficulty they may have in recognizing some of the letters, my kids LOVE this book. The Seal just turned two, but he carries this book around like a stuffed animal, and often insists that I hold it and go through the pages with him. He will shout out some of the letters he really likes the pictures for, and reading this book has encouraged him to play more with some alphabet flash cards that my husband originally made for the Light. As for the Light, I've caught her on more than one occasion recently looking for the shapes of letters in things around the house or that she sees outside the car window as we drive through town. That sort of inspiration is quite an accomplishment.

So, if you're in the market for a good book to teach kids about the alphabet or art, or if you just want an interesting coffee table book, check this one out. You'll find yourself looking for letters everywhere.

More Halloween Picture Books

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:38:00 +0000

It's the night before Halloween, and the Light and Seal will shortly be having fun carving jack-o-lanterns with Mom and Dad. To get in the mood, I thought I'd take a minute to tell you about a few more great seasonal picture books to share.

One of our absolute favorite Halloween picture books is Eve Bunting's The Bones of Fred McFee. Illustrated with Kurt Cyrus's wonderfully detailed scratchboard and watercolor drawings, Bunting's rhyming verse tells the eerie tale of a plastic skeleton that may be something more than simply a Halloween decoration. A brother and sister get a plastic skeleton at a local fair and hang it high in their sycamore tree in preparation for Halloween. They give him the name "Fred McFee," which seems like wonderful fun, but there's something odd about this grinning ghoul. The dog and rooster are wary of it, and one night, the sketleton disappears. The only trace of his existence is what seems to the children to be a small grave beneath the tree. Bunting's rhymes weave a delightfully spooky atmosphere that will provide just the right amount of gentle fright to chill your little pumpkins. My kids love this book and reading it has become a Halloween tradition.

While I've got Eve Bunting on the brain, let me mention another of her books which strictly speaking is not a Halloween story, but would be a great choice to share on a cold October night. Night of the Gargoyles is illustrated by the wonderful David Wiesner, famous for his own books, Tuesday, Flotsam, and June 29, 1999 among others. His amazing black and white drawings appropriately bring to life Bunting's tale of gargoyles coming to life to fly through the skies and make mischief when night falls. Who hasn't had thoughts about statues coming to life? My kids particularly love the image of the gargoyles making faces at a watchman who has witnessed their nighttime antics but is not believed by those he tries to tell.

Wiesner's perfectly eerie black-and-white atmosphere reminds me a bit of the artwork created by author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg for his book, The Widow's Broom. Again, this is not necessarily a Halloween story, but it does involve witches and would be a great choice for seasonal storytime. This is the tale of a witch's broom that ran out of magic, causing a witch to fall from the sky. A widow named Minna Shaw finds her and takes her home to care for her. The witch manages to heal herself amazingly quickly and leaves before dawn, abandoning what she believes to be a useless broom. Pragmatically, Minna begins to use the broom around the house, and soon discovers that although the broom may not be good for flying on anymore, it is anything but ordinary. In fact, the broom is sentient and seems to enjoy helping Minna with her chores, as well as playing the piano to relax. Minna overcomes her initial shock and learns to appreciate this strange companion. Her neighbors, however, are not so openminded, and react as people often do when confronted with something they fear and do not understand. I love the scheme that Minna and the broom come up with to protect the broom from their neighbors' fear. This tale will launch some interesting discussions about tolerance, and why intolerance might just be more frightening than an enchanted broom.

Judy Sierra's The House That Drac Built is a cute Halloween version of the nursery rhyme The House That Jack Built. While this house is occupied by some seriously creepy creatures, including a werewolf, "fearsome manticore," "mummy from days of yore," and a "zombie famous in lore," it isn't really a scary story. In fact, the story ends when a group of plucky trick-or-treaters show up and put things right in the house, calming all of the monsters and sharing some candy with them too. Will Hillenbrand's oil paintings are suitably ghoulish and cute simultaneously. I know that seems like an odd description, but genuinely his monsters manage to be both creepy and endearing by the time the tale is done.

Finally, Phillip Yates's Ten Little Mummies: An Egyptian Counting Book is a great counting book that might be included in your Halloween storytime, even though it also is not specifically about Halloween. What would Halloween be without a few mummies? Illustrated by G. Brian Karas, this interesting twist on the "10 Little Indians" rhyme helps kids learn to count down from ten while watching the antics of a group of cute, simplistically drawn mummies that are separated from the group one by one. But there is a happy ending when one lonely little mummy returns to her tomb to find her comrades back together and waiting for her. Be sure to read the endpapers carefully, as the pyramid stones pictured there contain Egyptian trivia to spark the interest of your little readers.

Whimsical Witches

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:16:00 +0000

Halloween is only a few days away, and there are more great Halloween-themed books than I could hope to write about before then. I wanted to highlight a few cute, non-scary witch stories that I've come across over the last couple of years which I hope you'll have time to share with your children or students as you get in the mood for Friday.

This year, my kids enjoyed reading A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Harry Bliss. In this story we learn that witches fear humans (apparently for the purposes of this story, witches aren't simply humans with magical powers). This is because of the ways in which humans are different from them (aren't perceived differences the basis of most fears and stereotypes?). The most frightening difference about humans is that they aren't green-skinned, as witches are in this book. But one brave little witch thinks that humans might not be that bad and decides to visit them during Halloween. Unfortunately, she gets confused when she thinks she hears them say something about "tricking a tree" as they go from house to house. In an attempt to show them she knows how to "trick a tree" by flying around it quickly on her broom, she gets dizzy and crashes, resulting in her meeting a human girl dressed as a witch. This little brave human is impressed by the witch's flying ability and tells her she always wanted to fly. The two girls are able to see past their differences, and the book ends with the witch taking her new human friend for a ride on her broom. The use of speech balloons and the cute illustrations full of funny little details add to the appeal of this book (I especially like the witch's orange cat who reminds me a bit of one of our cats). The message is that you can't judge others based upon their appearance and that you shouldn't simply accept prejudice that others teach you. (Hoodwinked, mentioned in my previous post, is another cute witch tale with a message about looking beyond appearances.)

While we're on the subjects of looking beyond appearances and witch/non-witch relations, Mark Kimball Moulton's Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pies must be mentioned as another example of a non-scary Halloween picture book in which a person's value is recognized despite outward differences. Moulton's rhyming text tells the story of Miss Fiona, a witch reported to be over 400 years old, who lives in a scary old house near a graveyard. Despite this and the fact that locals clearly believe in her magical abilities, she is a treasured member of the community due to her Halloween tradition of baking pumpkin pies to share with trick-or-treating children. At midnight on Halloween, children gather at Fiona's house for a party. She serves pie and cider, tells ghost stories and even sends home extra pie with the kids for their parents. Clearly she is kind and trusted by her neighbors despite her obvious differences from them. "I must admit, Fiona's kooky, with her warts and pale green skin;/but who cares how kooky someone looks/when there's goodness deep within!" Karen Hillard Crouch's folksy illustrations have an antique effect that adds to the warmth of the story. (Read a more complete review of this book here.)

Recently, the Light (my daughter; see "What's in a name?" in the sidebar) was given a copy of The Little Red Hen, and I was reminded of sharing The Little Green Witch with her last year around Halloween. Barbara Barbieri McGrath reframes the classic tale for Halloween, substituting a little green witch for the red hen. In this version, the lazy comrades who won't share the work but want to share the results are a ghost, bat and gremlin, and rather than growing wheat and making bread, the witch grows a pumpkin and makes a pie. Martha G. Alexander's soft illustrations make these potentially spooky characters downright adorable. (Read a more complete review of this book here.)

Finally, while the above books are all picture books, I wanted to include what has become one of my absolute favorite first chapter books for Halloween--Vivian Vande Velde's Witch's Wishes. When I checked this book out of the local library last year to read to my daughter, I had never read any of Vande Velde's work. I was so delighted by it that I have since read several of her books meant for older kids and adults and become a real fan of her writing. This is a really funny story which lends itself well to being read aloud. The story is about a clumsy, forgetful and somewhat impulsive witch on her way to a Halloween party for which she is on the refreshments committee. She's running late and needs to stop by a grocery store to pick up some ingredients for mulled cider, so she ignores a rule about witches waiting for a certain amount of time after dark to fly (in order to avoid being observed). She narrowly avoids a collision with a traffic report helicopter and crashes behind the market, where she is observed falling from the sky by a little girl trick-or-treating with her brother. Instead of being scared, the little girl shows genuine concern for the witch's welfare. To show her thanks, the witch casts a spell that will allow the girl's fake magic wand (she's dressed as a fairy princess) to do real magic in the form of granting wishes for remainder of the evening, despite the protests of her sentient broom (a great character with a smart mouth--or handle, I suppose). This well-meaning but not well thought out gesture results in chaos, because every time the little girl says "I wish this or that," the thought comes true. As we all know, anyone, especially a child, may wish a lot of things impulsively, sometimes in anger, that that person doesn't really want to come true. Imagine what might happen if every wish, no matter how small or large, came true. Eventually the witch realizes her mistake and tries to set things right, only to run into further complications. I think kids will relate to the characters and situations in this book and find the story hilarious and suspenseful. (See a more detailed review of this book here.)

As always, if you have other suggestions for great non-scary witch books to share with kids or remember some good examples from your childhood, I'd love to hear about them in the comments section.

Halloween Cats

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:19:00 +0000

Halloween is probably my family's favorite holiday. I love having an excuse to share Halloween picture books with the kids (although sometimes we read them at other times of the year, just because). For the rest of the month, I'm going to feature some of the books we've read as we prepare for trick-or-treating. Today I'm focusing on four picture books that involve cats. We have two cats of our own, and my kids adore cats whether they're real, stuffed, animated or drawn. So these books pressed a couple of different buttons with my little ones.

Pumpkin Cat by Ann Turner, illustrated by Amy June Bates, really is a Halloween story only because events take place during that time of year. This sweet, non-scary picture book follows a stray cat that takes refuge in a library's outdoor book return box. Two kindly librarians find the cat and decide to give her a home in the library, naming her "Pumpkin Cat" because Halloween is approaching. Pumpkin Cat enjoys the library, especially the chance to interact with the children present during the day, but finds the evenings a bit lonely as she explores the empty building. Eventually someone leaves another stray kitten in a basket on the library steps (the librarians have publicly sealed their reputations as suckers for such strays, after all), and Pumpkin Cat has a young companion to show around the library and look out for. The story ends as Pumpkin Cat curls up beside the new arrival at night and realizes that the library finally feels like a real home. Having a companion to share her affection and knowledge with was the piece that had been missing. This is a sweet story of friendship brought to life by Bates's warm watercolors, complete with round cuddly cats. (I've written a more complete review of this on Epinions, if you're interested.)

Excuse Me... Are You a Witch? by Emily Horn tells the story of another stray cat who finds companionship at the local library. Herbert is a little black cat who lives alone on the streets. On cold days, he spends time inside the warm library, reading books. When he discovers a book about witches, he learns that witches love black cats. He reasons that if he can find a witch, maybe he wouldn't have to be cold and lonely anymore. However, he mistakes non-witches for witches repeatedly based on some of the other characteristics listed in the book about witches, such as wearing striped socks, stirring cauldrons, and carrying brooms. Disheartened, he returns to the library, and happens to run into a group of young witches visiting the library with their teacher. The girls all love Herbert, so the teacher offers for Herbert to become their witch-school cat, and Herbert flies away with his new friends. Pawel Pawlak's cartoon-like drawings add charm to this cute story about finding your place in the world. This isn't a very exciting story, but my own very young children found it interesting and thought Herbert's search was amusing.

The ABC's of Halloween is written and illustrated by Patricia Reeder Eubank. I enjoy reading alphabet books with my beginning readers, and when I picked this up at the bookstore last October, it seemed like something they would enjoy. Both of my kids do enjoy this book a lot, particularly because of Eubank's richly detailed, colorful drawings. Be forewarned, however, that in some places the rhyming text gets a little goofy and may grate on your nerves as you read the book multiple times with your little ones. For example, the rhyme for "U" is "U is for umpteen, unseen unicorns undulating far across centuries of time." Honestly. I promise you that most of the book is better than that, but there are a few of those moments where the writing can only be described as quirky. What's the cat connection, you're wondering? The story begins by showing two cats reading an ABC book. "When Halloween comes near/Two black cats read and peer/At the ABCs of treats and fun/That make Halloween loved/by everyone." The cats are featured in all the illustrations, and fall asleep at the end of the book. Besides a few odd choices for wording, there is a recipe inserted in the middle of the text which interrupts the flow when you're reading aloud (under "X" for "X is for noodle x's floating in soup tasting just right."). Even so, my kids love this book because the pictures are so much fun to explore. Be on the look out for a little mouse dressed like a witch that appears in many of the illustrations and the endpapers. (Again, I have a more complete review of this book posted on Epinions.)

Finally, my kids and I recently discovered Hoodwinked, written and illustrated by Arthur Howard (not to be confused with the animated twist on the story of Little Red Riding Hood released a few years ago). This is a really cute story of a little witch named Mitzi who wants a pet, but is determined to have a really creepy pet--anything else just wouldn't be very witch-like, would it? She visits Cackle & Co., the local pet store for witches, and at first takes home a toad, but he is boring. He only eats flies all the time and doesn't participate in her favorite pastimes. So she returns the toad and gets a pair of bats (my daughter loved their names--Toothache and Earwax). The bats only hang out with themselves (literally), however, and don't give her any attention. A third trip to the pet store has the blue-toothed witch proprietor offering her a warthog, but this doesn't appeal to Mitzi. Back at home, a kitten appears at the door one evening. It's revoltingly cute, but feeling sorry for it, Mitzi allows it to come in out of the cold for just one night. The cat goes along with Mitzi when she hunts for ghosts, watches the creature feature with her, and listens to her secrets (she's afraid of the dark). Cute or not, the kitten seems like a great companion, just like a good pet should be. Mitzi keeps the cat and names it Hoodwink. This is a funny story and the illustrations have cute little details to watch for (like the name on Mitzi's cereal box). Mitzi is a recognizable child, with set ideas about exactly what she wants that turn out to be a bit misguided. Also, the lesson of learning not to judge a book by its cover is presented in a non-preachy way (though ironically, I picked up this book at the library completely based on the charm of its cover). This story has become a real favorite at my house.

If you know of other Halloween picture books focusing on cats, I'd love to hear about them in the "comments" section.

Well, let's see...

noreply@blogger.com (Joy S.) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who didn't quite fit in. I was the youngest of five children, all of whom were quite a bit older than me, and there weren't any other little kids in the neighborhood for me to play with. I had friends at school and was well-liked, but was still a bit of an outcast because I was the "smart kid." I was older than my years and surrounded by people (family mostly) who were older than me. This all lead to my feeling isolated much of the time.

Before you pull out your baby violins, let me say that this bit of background isn't provided to pull your heartstrings, but to help me illustrate just how important books and imagination were to me as a kid. I learned to read by the time I was three, thanks to my mom and siblings who were always willing to read to me. I learned to tell stories at a young age because one of my dear uncles made a habit of sitting me on his knee and asking me to tell him a story, never doubting that I would be able to do so. Since he was confident in my creativity, I was too, and I never hesitated to make up a new story for him every time. One of my sisters says I began each story by looking up thoughtfully and saying, "Well, let's see..." I was a voracious reader, and I developed a love for writing as well. In books and stories I found adventure, companionship, knowledge, advice, wisdom, acceptance, wonder and experiences I might never have had otherwise.

Until high school, I always thought I would be a writer when I grew up. Logic eventually whispered doubts into my ear, however, and I decided to study the natural sciences in college, believing that writing could never provide a substantial living, and that I would never be able to make the positive impact on society that I wished to through writing alone. (I have since changed my mind, but that's beside the current point.) I never stopped reading and writing, though, in both my work and for fun. And I certainly never forgot how important books were in shaping the person I became, or in supporting the child that I was. I always told myself that if I became a mother, I would do everything I could to teach my own children about the power of the written word. I have two toddlers now, a daughter and a son, and I do strive to open the door for them into the magical realm built of book bricks held together with the mortar of imagination. We read, we sing, we make up stories, we draw and participate in the discovery of childhood. Reading with them has allowed me to rediscover my appreciation for children's books. A good writer can produce a work to move adults. It takes a real magician to enchant a child, and the adults that care for that child, and to leave a mark on that child's mental landscape which will be remembered even after the child has children of her own.

My purposes for writing this blog are to share information with fellow parents and any adult who cares for a child, that might help those adults encourage a love of reading, learning and imagining in our children. I am also exercising those old writing muscles as I attempt to make writing a more prominent part of the way I earn my living.

The blog is named for the children who dominate my attention and rule my heart. My daughter's name means "light," and my son's name means "little seal." So, my research into quality material for children will involve my Little Light and my Little Seal, and it is for their sake and for that of the children in your life that I share what I find.