http://blog.barefootbooks.com The way we work, the way we play, the people we meet, the stories that speak to us Mon, 28 May 2012 13:00:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en barefootbooksbloghttp://feedburner.google.com This week was a milestone for our Oxford Studio, as we heard the exciting news that the Storytellers&#8217; Cafe has won Junior Magazine&#8217;s Design Award for the best family restaurant in England. Hurrah! This photograph shows you the men behind the menu: Vladimir and Jose Niza are brothers and between them they create the dishes [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/UXBhXCVQTYg" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/UXBhXCVQTYg/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/the-storytellers-cafe/ Today&#8217;s podcast is a retelling of a Japanese folk tale from our anthology collection Grandmothers&#8217; Stories. In &#8220;The Old Woman Who was Not Afraid,&#8221; an old woman&#8217;s dinner is stolen by a mischievous creature called an oni. When the woman goes chasing after the oni and confronts his leader, she is forced to make dumplings [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/1lmp_TTqMXI" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/1lmp_TTqMXI/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/dumplings-and-hungry-monsters/ Storytime will always have a special place in our family, no matter what age our children are. They are the kids who will not put their heads on the pillow until they have at least twenty solid, uninterrupted minutes of mom and dad reading to them. We&#8217;re talking books; the good, old-fashioned kind that make [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/BGVDXi8iCv8" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/BGVDXi8iCv8/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/storytime-with-older-kids/ A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of traveling to the bayous of Houma, Louisiana to give a talk at the Jambalaya Writers’ Conference to a group of aspiring children’s book authors and illustrators. Being a Southern girl to the bone and a former resident of that sweaty, wonderful part of the country, [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/aupVb9I61WU" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/aupVb9I61WU/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/things-worth-remembering/ Recently I learnt that Maurice Sendak had died at the age of 83. The news led me straight to the mantelpiece in my sitting room. Many picture books have a special place in my home, but the only ones that sit in this particular place of honour are all by Sendak. I scooped up the [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/a2hMpsSg5pA" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/a2hMpsSg5pA/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/mozart-and-mickey-mouse/ Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered the contest, we loved hearing from you! Congratulations to Julia M. Chiarella-Genoni, our winner. This contest is now closed, please stay tuned for more! In “Fair, Brown and Trembling,” one of the stories in our Tales from Old Ireland anthology collection, Fair and Brown keep [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/DO_qfzudWMY" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/DO_qfzudWMY/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/irish-cinderella-story/ Today, we are pleased to have guest blogger Eve (Agush) Costarelli*, an accomplished flamenco dance performer and instructor, teach us a little more about this beautiful, expressive art form and how it nurtures creativity. Read on to learn more! When I was first invited to teach flamenco at a kick-off event for Lola’s Fandango, I [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/Zyhb0WXPMT4" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/Zyhb0WXPMT4/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/i-am-a-flamenco-dancer/ Our Cambridge office recently had a reshuffle. Seating arrangements were changed, couches were moved and desktop decorations found new homes! While we’re all settling in with our new neighbors and adjusting to our new locations, we thought we’d share a few photos from the move with you—all the chaos and all the fun—and our top [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/XHAtS9KVNdw" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/XHAtS9KVNdw/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/barefoot-books-on-the-move/ This post is the first in a series of reflections about books that have changed my life. Being unable to reduce my choice to just one book, I have chosen instead to look at my life in seven-year stages and to share the book I most remember from that time.  The first of these has [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/EYF3A83hkAo" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/EYF3A83hkAo/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/the-little-island/ Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered the contest, we loved hearing from you! Congratulations to Maria Malek, our winner. This contest is now closed, please stay tuned for more! Today&#8217;s podcast is from Tales of Wisdom &#38; Wonder and tells the tale of a monkey who gets himself into trouble through [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~4/N7CbFDyFcng" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/barefootbooksblog/~3/N7CbFDyFcng/ http://blog.barefootbooks.com/2012/05/too-much-misery/