Tiny Treasury

A couple of years ago, someone gave us No David by David Shannon. Katie loved it. She wasn’t the only one who enjoyed it as it earned a nod as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1999.

It’s really interesting to see the feedback on the book. On some of the European sites, it garners near perfect reviews. In the US, the feedback is more mixed: people either loved it or hated it. Those that hated it tend to focus on the perception that the book is “too negative.” As you can probably surmise from the title, the book largely revolves around David not behaving as he should. My humble opinion? Those parents are reading waaay too much into it. Katie loves it because she, too, has a wild streak. She breaks things. She doesn’t always sit still when she should. She gets herself into trouble a lot because, well, that’s what four year olds do. And I think she can relate to David. She giggles at his behavior and tells me solemnly what he should be doing. And in the end, she knows, like David, that misbehaving doesn’t mean that you’re not loved. So when David’s mom tells him, “Yes, David, I love you” - no matter how badly he’s acting - Katie understands that, similarly, while I may not always love her behavior, I love her. I don’t see the negativity in that at all.

I know that there are a lot of parents who have difficulty telling their children “no” because it’s somehow perceived as bad parenting. I happen to think that those parents are wrong. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with setting boundaries and creating ground rules (and if you knew how wildly liberal my own parents think I am in this respect, you’d be amazed) for children. And that’s the reason why this book is a hit with me, too. As a parent, it gives me a great springboard for discussion with my girls about David’s behavior - such as why he shouldn’t play with the bat and the ball inside the house - that they can relate to and talk about.

So say “yes” to No, David. I think you’ll be glad that you did.

David Shannon, Caldecott

I confessed to my book spree on yesterday. There was absolutely no getting round that we were going to have to get the newest Jane O’Connor Fancy Nancy book. My daughters are solidly Fancy Nancy fans.

The idea behind the Fancy Nancy books is that Nancy is the only posh person in her family (posh is a fancy word for fancy). She looks for the fancy things in life - whether clothes, food or, as in this latest book, a dog. Nancy’s parents have decided that she can have a dog. She wants a papillon. Her family isn’t so sure.

In the end, Nancy gets her fancy dog. And it’s the perfect dog for her. As to whether it’s the papillon - hey, I have to leave you something, right?

The story is great. I’ve been forced to read it no fewer than ten times in 24 hours and I don’t hate it yet. If you’re a parent, you absolutely know what I mean. Bad children’s books grate on your nerves immediately.

Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy is beautifully illustrated. Just like its namesake, the book is fancy. Lots of pinks and purples to keep it appealing to the toddler set without being overly girly. Nancy’s family is not fancy so there’s not too much fancy going on…

The story flows with no insipid rhymes or goofy dialogue. Nancy’s conversations are a bit posh, but the other folks in the story talk as though you’d expect them to. O’Connor’s asides to explain the fancy language are the highlight of the book.

Fancy Nancy is a hardback which means I had to shell out $17 for a toddler book. That’s expensive (expensive is a fancy word for costs a lot). But my girls love it. It’s worth it.

Today marks the release of Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man Pop Up book, which is the first in a series of four. The series features original excerpts with new metallic pop-ups and slide-out character fact files.

Marvel invites you to get acquainted (again) with Spider-Man as he meets up with his seven deadliest foes, including Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, and Sandman.

Spider-Man, Marvel

Candlewick Press has announced the paperback release of Martin Handford’s Where’s Waldo? book on today, April 10. This special edition has “lots of eye-boggling extras” including Woof, Wenda, Wizard Whitebeard and Odlaw.

Martin Handford, Where’s Waldo?, Candlewick Press

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is illustrator Adam Rex.

I’ll own up to being a fan - both of my girls just love his illustrations in Amy Timberlake’s The Dirty Cowboy (my mom does, too!) - and the book won a ton of awards.

1. Where are you now?
Home. In the spare bedroom in my apartment in West Philadelphia that serves as my studio, typing into an old G3 iMac that’s been making this fried baloney smell whenever I ask it stream video. I really need a new computer.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
The Monster at the End of This Book
The Bike Lesson
Where the Wild Things Area
That’s just off the top of my head, trying not to think about it too much.

3. What are you reading now?
A collection of short stories selected by David Sedaris titled Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules.

4. Do you have kids?
No–why, what have you heard?

5. What projects are you working on now?
I’m finishing up the art for my novel, The True Meaning of Smekday, which will be released by Hyperion this September. I then have a new picture book to illustrate, and I’m writing monster poems.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
When I have work that’s portable (basically, anything apart from painting), I like to take it to a local cafe, sit, drink coffee, eat pastries, get into heated political conversations with all the other authors and artists, and so forth.

7. Coffee or tea?
See #6

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
I think I’m the only person left who doesn’t have one of these things. My wife even has one, but I don’t. But the last five CDs I played were by They Might Be Giants, Mew, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, and The Hold Steady.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
Hmm. Most people seem to be surprised that my wife is an astrophysicist. I’m not sure why–an artist and a scientist don’t seem any less compatible to me than, say, a doctor and accountant. Or a lawyer and a computer programmer. We each appreciate the other’s work, but she doesn’t draw and I don’t launch sub-orbital telescopes, so there’s no competition. I know couples who are BOTH artists, and I can’t imagine how that works.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
The University of Arizona, where I got a BFA in Illustration. I was lucky to have kids’ author/illustrator avid Christiana there as one of my instructors.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
It’s hard to imagine not doing what I do. I suppose I always wish I had time to try my hand at animated shorts and films.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
My cat, I suppose. Though she’s sleeping next to an old war photo of my Grandpa–that’s pretty good, too.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I’d been sending work out to a few interested editors for a long time, but one editor at FSG gave me my first picture book when I visited him on a trip up and down the east coast. I was still living in Tucson at the time, and had never met any editors face-to-face. It’s part of why I’m still a big believer that successes come more often when you shake hands and make eye contact.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Maurice Sendak? Will Ferrell? I don’t know. Meeting famous people you admire almost never ends up being the experience you want it to be.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
I feel uncomfortable putting all my eggs in one basket, but “Ford Prefect” popped into my head before I really had a chance to think, so I’ll go with that.

–

Thanks, Adam and we hope to hear back once Smekday is published!

(Psst, if you want to show your support, you can vote for this story here.)

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks at my house. My father-in-law was admitted into hospital about a week and a half ago and required two emergency surgeries; he was subsequently admitted to ICU. He is, thankfully, officially now “out of the woods” - whatever that means.

My husband handled it very well. This is my father in law’s second serious health scare within the last five or so years (the last was a quintuple bypass) and this one was resolved much more quickly. It did not help my husband, however, that right now my kids are really into Josephine Nobisso’s book, Grandpa Loved.

The book is really lovely. The illustrations by Maureen Hyde are soft water colors which lends a nice tone to the book overall. The theme of the book is grief and how a child might reconcile their own grief. You don’t so much pick up on the theme early on in the book. The story focuses on the relationship between the narrator (a grandson) and his grandfather. Throughout the story, the child tells of the wonderful things that he learned from his grandfather. At the end of the story, however, the child reveals that his grandfather is deceased.

This is such a difficult concept, this idea of death, to convey to children. I know, I’ve tried to do it before. I like the idea of introducing the concept of death gently, as in this book. There’s no point in dancing around it, especially when it involves people that we know and love. But there’s no need to be in your face or overly explanatory either. It’s a delicate balance. I think that Ms. Nobisso “gets it” - and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Parents magazine has previously selected it as one of the “Best Children’s Books of the Year.”

I hope you’ll check it out.

grief, death, grandparents, Josephine Nobisso, Parents magazine

Okay, Madeline was never really in Peoria, so far as we know. But following the success of the first Madeline book, there were a number of sequels by author Ludwig Bemelmans, including Madeline in London.

The character of Madeline may have inherited some of her own rebellious/mischievous spirit from author Bemelmans himself. He was no angel, for sure, and moved to the United States at his parent’s urging after he was involved in a shooting in his uncle’s hotel in Austria. While in the US, his career as a waiter did not take off as his parents hoped (good for us) and he subsequently joined the Army. Eventually, he returned to civilian life and opened a restaurant. He never forgot his first love, though: as the son of an artist, Bemelmans loved to draw and paint and continued to work on his artist’s skills.

At the age of 36, Bemelmans published his first children’s book, Hansi.Five years later, Bemelsman introduced Madeline,a children’s book named after his wife, Madeleine Freund. It was rejected by a number of publishing houses who did not feel it was kid-friendly enough. Finally, Simon and Schuster gave Bemelsman the green light and Madeline was published.

Bemelmans went on to publish a number of Madeline stories, as well as a host of children’s stories. In total there were seven Madeline stories published by Bemelmans. Five of the stories were published as books during Bemelmans’ lifetime: Madeline, Madeline’s Rescue, Madeline and the Bad Hat, Madeline and the Gypsies, and Madeline in London. Madeline’s Christmas was published as a book in the mid-80s; it was originally published as a magazine story in McCall’s. Finally, Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales, was published less than a decade ago after being discovered years after Bemelmans’ death.

Bemelmans received the Caldecott Award in 1954 for Madeline’s Rescue,just as he did for the original Madeline.

The original Madeline was perhaps such a hit because of her personality. While most little girls in children’s books of that era were all sweetness and light, Madeline had spunk. The smallest of the girls at her boarding school (not an orphanage!), she was fearless - walking on stone bridges and smiling at tigers in the zoo. Adults found her precocious and charming; children found her irresistible and maybe a little inspirational.

The spark that made Madeline so special in her stories was missing in Madeline in London, the least interesting of the five books. London is such a great destination and Bemelmans, as a world traveler, surely could have crafted a first class story. The book is, as always, beautifully illustrated - one of the more colorful of the series. But the story falls flat.

The storyline revolves around Madeline’s friend, Pepito (the son of the Spanish ambassador), who has moved to London. He misses his friends and his birthday is fast approaching. His mother, sensing his sadness, invites Madeline, Miss Clavell and the entire boarding school to London for a visit. The girls secure a horse for Pepito for his birthday, and hijinks ensue. Only, the hijinks are not only not believable, they are not particularly entertaining either.

I guess I find the story most disappointing because the other Madeline storylines were so well-crafted. In this story, however, the plot feels ill-conceived and there’s no real interplay between the characters. I happen to enjoy the relationship between Madeline and Miss Clavell; Madeline constantly challenges Miss Clavell but they remain, in an adult-child manner, friends. There are not nearly enough stories where adults are central figures and not the “bad guy” - however, you always have the feeling that no matter what kind of trouble Madeline gets into, Miss Clavell will forgive her.

That’s what makes the series - and the characters - so endearing. If you haven’t already read this children’s classic, give Madeline a chance. I highly recommend the original as well as Madeline’s Rescue. If you’re on a limited budget, you may want to skip over Madeline in London. It’s the one bad hat in the bunch.

“And that’s all there is — there isn’t any more.”

Madeline, Madeline in London, Bemelmans

During the week, our book collection at the house grew. Out of the bunch, both girls were immediately drawn to Josephine Nobisso’s Hot Cha-Cha, perhaps as a result of the colorful, fun, bright illustrations of Joan Holub (Amy’s exact quote upon seeing the books on Holub’s web site home page was “I wish I could have one of those!”).

The main character in the book is a young girl named Maria. Maria’s big coup is finding a key (the finding of the key is Katie’s favorite part) in a cookie jar. While the key, on the surface, unlocks the city playground which had previously been locked, it really opens up a world to Maria and her friends, who spend the afternoon exploring and playing - until the grown-ups crash their party!

It’s a simple story written in a fresh voice. What could have been routine (and frankly, boring) is made interesting and merry with the use of rhythmic language which challenges adult and child readers to keep the energy up (!) and delights children with its silliness:

See a What
See an ah
See an oo-la-la!

What did she find in the cookie jar?
Fireflies?
Or crackers?
Or the moolah-la?

Further keeping the energy level up are Holub’s vibrant illustrations (both of my girls give Holub high marks for the use of color - and the dog on the swing!). Each page offers a spirited glimpse into the mood of Maria and her friends. You cannot help but smile from page to page - the illustrations really do complete the book rather than simply reflect the storyline, as in so many children’s book.

If you’re in the mood for a book that’s a little bit different, check out Hot Cha Cha! It’s a rollicking good time (cha-cha!).

Philadelphia’s own Please Touch Museum has announced the winners of its 22nd Annual Please Touch Museum Book Award. The award is given annually to two books in categories based on the age of the museum’s visitors, children under the age of 7.

“Since 1985, the Please Touch Museum Book Awards have been unique in highlighting some of the best examples of storytelling for young children,” says Please Touch Museum’s President and CEO Nancy Kolb. “We’re very proud to be announcing two more outstanding books which we hope will help children discover the joys of reading and learning.”

This year’s winners are:

Age 3 and under – In the Fiddle Is a Song: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Hidden Potential written and illustrated by Durga Bernhard
Age 4 to 7 – I Love Our Earth by Bill Martin, Michael Sampson and photographer Dan Lipow

And yes, if you recognize the name Bill Martin, Jr., he is the author of a number of books including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Winners Durga Bernhard and Michael Sampson will be honored at the annual Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) conference Friday, March 16, 2007, at 11 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The authors will appear at a book signing event at Please Touch Museum on Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 12 p.m. The museum will also be displaying original illustrations and photographs from both books during April and May as part of the annual “Celebrate Stories” months presented by The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation.

“I have this little sister, Lola…”

In 2001, author Lauren Childs penned the first Charlie and Lola book. Since then, she’s gone on to author a number of books as well as a Charlie and Lola series for the BBC and DVD.

My kids are hooked and I am glad. The Charlie and Lola series is witty and well-written. The illustrations are terrific. Best of all, as in any good book, is the central story. Charlie and Lola are siblings. Charlie is 7 and Lola is 4. And gasp, they get along. In that way, it’s a wonderful example for children about not always agreeing but always working it out and remaining friends.

Here’s the list of Charlie and Lola books out currently:

I haven’t read them all (I think I’m missing three). My plan is to review each of them separately but I wanted to give you a preview of things to come. Pick one up yourself at the store and give it a go!

PS - Once you start reading, I dare you to try without a British accent! It’s nearly impossible. As for me? I now sound like Madonna.

Charlie and Lola, Lauren Childs, BBC

Continuing the Dr. Seuss theme this month, it’s worth mentioning that the 2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner is ZELDA AND IVY: THE RUNAWAYS by Laura McGee Kvasnosky. It is the story of Zelda and Ivy, sisters and foxes who take off on an adventure in an effort to avoid a lunch of their father’s cucumber sandwiches.

Honorary mentions for 2007 went to:

Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick)

Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Jane Dyer (Harcourt)

Not a Box by Antonette Portis (HarperCollins)

The winner for 2006 was Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Suçie Stevenson (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers). Honorary mentions were awarded to Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (Cartwheel Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.); A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom (Boyds Mills Press); Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa written by Erica Silverman and illustrated by Betsy Lewin (Harcourt, Inc.); and Amanda Pig and the Really Hot Day written by Jean Van Leeuwen and illustrated by Ann Schweninger (Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group).

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award was established in 2004. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, for the most distinguished contribution to beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year. Criteria for the award includes great creativity and imagination in an effort to engage children in reading.

Don’t forget to enter our Dr. Seuss contest! Details here.

Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, Association for Library Service to Children

At our house, neither my husband nor I knows exactly who is going to read to the children until the last minute each evening. This is because, board meetings and night classes aside, we allow the girls to choose their night time book. And the decision as to who reads is pretty easy after that: I read the English books and my husbands reads the German books. My husband is fluent in German and has access to a number of great children’s books, it’s a great way to expose the children to another language without pressure.

That said, one book that translates easily in both languages is Swiss author’s Marcus Pfister’s Rainbow Fish (oder Regenbogenfisch auf deutsch). It is, quite simply, a stunning picture book, as illustrated here in prints available on art.com:

In the books, the scales on the rainbow fish (his pride and joy) are shimmery thanks to foil inserts over watercolor prints. The illustrations are especially beautiful in dim light, perfect for right before bedtime.

You’d think that this classic, which remained on the NY Times bestseller list for ages, is pretty innocuous: it’s a book with beautiful pictures and a fairly straightforward storyline (more about that in a bit). It’s my youngest daughter’s favorite right now in English and German (we have both) - she especially enjoys the talking octopus. So imagine my surprise when I surfed over to amazon.com and found this, the most controversial customer reviews that I’ve ever seen on amazon.com for a children’s book! Yes, it’s worth following the link to see such gems as:

Give this book to your children if you would like them to grow up as communist homosexuals.

and

The message made me recoil, it honestly did. It says: if you do not do what I want you to do, I will run whinning to everyone I can and convince them that I have been injured and you will be a social pariah– different is to be fear and emotional bullying is okay.

I will not flog this horse anymore, as Mr. M. Newman, one of the reviewers, said it best any way.

This book is cruel and mean in message and should be kept away from any child that we hope to make into a good, productive citizen of this country.

and

Analysis:

1. I do understand that this is *supposed* to be about sharing, but I think that pulling parts of yourself off and giving them away is not a good idea
2. It seems rather socialist to me–everyone simply must have a shiny scale whether or not they have the capacity to grow their own shiny scales or not.
3. Why should anyone have to pay people to be their friend???

Whoa. It’s a kid’s book. But, boy did it hit a nerve with some people. I never read into what others did, especially the part about pulling bits of yourself off - c’mon, sharing the scales is a metaphor! And, psst, fish don’t really talk either, but that didn’t stop Nemo…

At any rate, I thought the book had a nice moral about sharing. In the beginning of the story, the rainbow fish has no friends and believes that his beauty might enough to make him happy. He eventually finds that it isn’t and he seeks counsel from the wise old octopus who advises him to share with others. In the end, the rainbow fish shares his scales with the other fish and he makes friends.

Despite the negative reviews to the contrary, I don’t think that giving away what makes you special makes you less special. It’s a good lesson to learn that sharing your music, art or talent with others, rather than keeping it to yourself, makes the world a better place. And I certainly didn’t think that the book was some sort of entreaty to give away all of your worldly possessions in order to make friends. Instead, I thought it was a cautionary tale about the dangers of relying upon things to make you happy.

What makes this a good story, no matter what side you come down on in terms of the moral, is that it’s a good book to discuss with your children. That’s one of the best things about children’s books, they provide an opportunity to talk to your children, which often gets lost in today’s busy schedules. You can chat with your children about their favorite characters, what they thought about the story, what the story meant to them. And if you think that there is something wrong with the message, that’s the time to talk to your children about that, too.

All of the controversy about the message notwithstanding, as I mentioned earlier, the book is beautifully illustrated beautifully. In fact, the book and its characters still enjoy a lot of popularity in the mainstream. There is even an HBO animated series based on the Rainbow Fish.

Of course, you’re the best judge of what makes sense for your children. So, rather than rely on a number of mixed reviews, I encourage you to pick up a copy and judge for yourself what the hub-bub is all about. And stop on by afterwards, I’d love to hear what you think!

Rainbow fish, Marcus Pfister, illustrations

One of the things that you learn pretty early on as a parent is that each book that comes into your house has the potential to be the one - you know, the one that you read over and over again. And while I have a list of things that I like to consider when searching for a book, I will confess that “not annoying the parents�? has jumped to the top of the list.

That’s why “Philadelphia Chickens�? is such a favorite in our house.

I know what you’re thinking… I bought it because of the Philadelphia connection (I live and work in Philly). Well, half true. I bought it initially because it had Philadelphia in the title. And partly because it was Sandra Boynton (and who doesn’t love Sandra Boynton)? But sometimes those gut instincts turn out to be spot on. This one sure was.

The book is a compilation of songs and drawings. The book can be stand-alone but is much more fun when you listen to the accompanying CD. The songs on the CD are performed by such artists as Laura Linney, Eric Stoltz, Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Scott Bakula, Natasha Richardson, Patti LuPone, the Bacon Brothers (though daughter Amy refers to them jointly as “Kevin Bacon”) and a whole bunch of Boyntons. I even have some of the songs on my iPod, perfect for drives in the car when other kids’ music won’t do.

Not in the mood to listen to the CD? The lyrics in the book do double duty as poems with the kind of illustrations that you’ve grown to know and love with Sandra Boynton. For the musically inclined, the sheet music is printed at the back.

My daughter, Katie, gives it five pages out of five (her highest rating) claiming that the best thing about the book is “the Philadelphia song�? (you can hear a snippet here - requires free RealPlayer) With lyrics like, “Poultry in motion is a beautiful thing�?, how can you disagree?

Sandra Boynton, Philadelphia Chickens, Bacon Brothers

This is the first book in the series first published in 1955.
In this book, Harold decides to go for a walk in the moonlight. Armed with his purple crayon, he creates the moon and the world in which he takes his walk.
When he thinks there should be a forest, he draws one apple tree. Since he doesn’t want to get lost, one tree is enough for his forest. To guard his tree, he draws a fierce dragon. This dragon scares him so much that his hand shakes. Well this causes wavy lines that turn into an ocean. Luckily he draws a boat, to sail on.
When he gets hungry, he draws a picnic. His picnic consists of several pies. When he can’t finish them all, he draws a moose and porcupine to help him.
As he continues his walk, he draws a hot air balloon, a policeman, and even an entire city. But in the end, all he wants to do is draw his bed in his own house and go to sleep

I like to give this book as a gift along with a pack of crayons and drawing paper.

Chrysanthemum was born on the best day of her parent’s lives. She was perfect and her parents graced her with a perfect name. Chrysanthemum loves her name until…she starts school. On her first day of school the other children laugh when her name is called. The tease her until she “wilts.” That night at home her parents assure her that she has the perfect name and she starts to bloom again. The next day at school the children tease her again, they threaten to “pick” her and “sniff” her. Her parents try one again to assure her that she has the perfect name…but she is not so easily convinced. The girls in her class start singing a different song when they meet the new music teacher and find out her name.

This is a wonderful book to read to children at the beginning of the school year. Kevin Henkes is amazingly gifted at really “getting it” when it comes to childhood emotions. Highly Recommended!

henkes, chrysanthemum, children’s books