On the first anniversaryof his death, a
marvel for the eyes.
My Brother's Book by Maurice Sendak. Harper, 2013, 32 pages.
Showing posts with label picture book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picture book. Show all posts
5.08.2013
My Brother's Book: Review Haiku
On the first anniversaryof his death, a
marvel for the eyes.
My Brother's Book by Maurice Sendak. Harper, 2013, 32 pages.
2.24.2012
Nursery Rhyme Comics: Review Haiku
Mother Goose goes graphic:
nifty concept, executed
expertly.
nifty concept, executed
expertly.
Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists edited by Chris Duffy. First Second, 2001, 128 pages.
3.09.2009
Wild Munchkins Cook
Over the weekend we discovered (well, not really, but I introduced to the wee bairns) Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall's tremendous Meet Wild Boars and Wild Boars Cook. The kids seem to like the sequel better than the original,* and the Munchkin really really really wanted to make a Massive Cookie.
So we did.
The inspiration.
The chef.
The recipe.
The unbaked cookie.
The cookie supervisor.
The finished product.
Delicious!
*I'm guessing it's because of the gross of donuts.
12.22.2008
2008 in Review (Haiku)
Here's to another
year of great reading. (Plus a
few stinkers. Oh well.)
Behold, the year-end roundup. I may have more to say this year, but I figured now was as good a time as any to compile my favorites of 2008. These are in no particular order per category.
Picture Book Obsession of 2008
The oeuvre of Jan Thomas:
What Will Fat Cat Sit On?
A Birthday for Cow!
The Doghouse
Incidentally, this leads me to my Brilliant Discovery of 2008: Jacketless hardcover at 9x9 trim = Made of Awesome. (See also Not a Box and The Pigeon.)
Favorite Chapter Books of 2008
Favorite Middle-Grade Books of 2008
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszcka
Favorite YA Novels of 2008
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Paper Towns by John Green
The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkowski
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Favorite Adult Books of 2008
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
Favorite Books from The LIST in 2008
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Alex Haley
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Book from The LIST I Expected to Hate but Didn't
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Least Favorite Books from The LIST in 2008
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I should end with something witty, but right now I have one child spilling hot cocoa on her dress and the other screaming for me with a load in his pants. And that pretty much sums up my life in 2008.
year of great reading. (Plus a
few stinkers. Oh well.)
Behold, the year-end roundup. I may have more to say this year, but I figured now was as good a time as any to compile my favorites of 2008. These are in no particular order per category.
Picture Book Obsession of 2008
The oeuvre of Jan Thomas:
What Will Fat Cat Sit On?
A Birthday for Cow!
The Doghouse
Incidentally, this leads me to my Brilliant Discovery of 2008: Jacketless hardcover at 9x9 trim = Made of Awesome. (See also Not a Box and The Pigeon.)
Favorite Chapter Books of 2008
Favorite Middle-Grade Books of 2008
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszcka
Favorite YA Novels of 2008
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Paper Towns by John Green
The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkowski
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Favorite Adult Books of 2008
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
Favorite Books from The LIST in 2008
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Alex Haley
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Book from The LIST I Expected to Hate but Didn't
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Least Favorite Books from The LIST in 2008
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I should end with something witty, but right now I have one child spilling hot cocoa on her dress and the other screaming for me with a load in his pants. And that pretty much sums up my life in 2008.
9.22.2008
Cybilly goodness
Ooh, cool! I'll be on the judging panel for the Cybils' nonfiction picture book category this year. After two years doing middle-grade/YA nonfiction, it'll be nice to look at shorter books for a change. And I get to be led by my favorite bubble expert, Fiona Bayrock!
(Of course, I harbor a secret wish that I'll have to recuse myself, since the finalists will surely all be Charlesbridge books . . . )
12.15.2007
2007 Year-End Random Roundup
I heart year-end lists, and God knows, this is the season for them. If I bought every magazine that enticed me with the promise of The Best and Worst [Insert Category Here] 2007, I would have . . . a lot of magazines. So I figured it couldn't hurt to do my own.
Since I am a huge slagass, however, there is neither rhyme nor reason to my list, nor a tidy symmetry of best and worst, nor even a semblance of order to the number of items. (I am also baffled by Blogger's concepts of "page design" and "image placement," so forgive me if this post looks all monkey on your screen.)
Enjoy.
The Emilyreads 2007 Year-End List of Things
Favorite new picture book
What Happens on Wednesdays by Emily Jenkins
Most bizarrely awesome/awesomely bizarre mystery
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
Best designed/design-y picture book
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Best jacket, possibly EVER
Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis
Best uncategorizable books
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Books that had the greatest impact on my psyche
Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
(see woodstove, obsession with and moon, sinister cast seen in all images thereof)
Favorite new middle grade/YA novels
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
From The LIST
Best re-read (adult)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Best re-read (children's/YA)
Charlotte's Web
Most disappointing classic
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Most enjoyed classic
Brave New World
Since I am a huge slagass, however, there is neither rhyme nor reason to my list, nor a tidy symmetry of best and worst, nor even a semblance of order to the number of items. (I am also baffled by Blogger's concepts of "page design" and "image placement," so forgive me if this post looks all monkey on your screen.)
Enjoy.
The Emilyreads 2007 Year-End List of Things
Favorite new picture book
What Happens on Wednesdays by Emily Jenkins
Most bizarrely awesome/awesomely bizarre mystery
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
Best designed/design-y picture book
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Best jacket, possibly EVER
Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis
Best uncategorizable books
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Books that had the greatest impact on my psyche
Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
(see woodstove, obsession with and moon, sinister cast seen in all images thereof)
Favorite new middle grade/YA novels
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
From The LIST
Best re-read (adult)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Best re-read (children's/YA)
Charlotte's Web
Most disappointing classic
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Most enjoyed classic
Brave New World
4.22.2007
4.16.2007
Rattletrap Car: Review Haiku
Hey, it could be worse:
This thing could be up on blocks
in your neighbor's yard.
Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root. Candlewick, 2001, 32 pages.
Note: As a rule, I'm not a fan of picture books heavy on the onomatopoeia (Mr. Brown, I'm looking at you). But this one has just the right mix of story, light rhyme, and sound effects. A current favorite of Munchkin and Niblet alike.
3.16.2007
Princess Justina Albertina: Horn-Tooting Haiku
Got a bratty kid?
Ready to pull your hair out?
Just try a gryphon.
Ready to pull your hair out?
Just try a gryphon.
Princess Justina Albertina: A Cautionary Tale by Ellen Dee Davidson, illustrated by Michael Chesworth. Charlesbridge, 2007, 32 pages.
Note: Since I seem to be incapable of finishing either of the books I'm currently reading (the educational but not exactly scintillating Great Tales From English History, Volume III and MBA in a Box*), I thought I'd shake things up by calling attention to a terrific recent book that I happened to work on. Enjoy.
* Step One: Cut a hole in a box.
4.24.2006
Mo Willems, I love you
Those of you who have small children should already know Mo. The two-time Caldecott-Honor winner now has nine (?I think) books to his credit, each a gem. The Munchkin loves her some Pigeon and Bunny. To wit:
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Hyperion, 2003) is Mo's Caldecott Honor debut. The title says it all: this is a brilliantly interactive picture book starring an irrepressible pigeon who reeaaaalllly wants to drive the bus. Won't you let him? Curiously, although Miss Munch knows, loves, and recites this book, she has never let loose with one of those big "NOOOOO!"s that the author and publisher seem to expect from their audience.
The first sequel, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! (Hyperion, 2004) is a lesser work, but has its moments of brilliance as well. La Munch frequently asserts, "Dat PIGEON hot dog!"
The second sequel, and Mo's latest, is Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (Hyperion, 2006). Following the format of the other two, the reader sees Pigeon (clutching his own Knuffle Bunny, see below) resisting bedtime with all the force and persuasion of a good little toddler. Replacing Pigeon's standard climactic tantrum with a room-filling yawn is a stroke of genius.
Last but not least in the Mo Hall of Fame is one of last year's Caldecott Honors, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Hyperion, 2004). It took the Munchkin a little while to warm up to this one, but once she did, she was hooked. Knuffle Bunny is a slice-of-life tale of one girl, one stuffed bunny, and one ill-fated trip to the laundromat. The language and action is pitch-perfect (find me a better example of "going boneless," I dare you), and the resolution, though predictable, is heart-warming.
A word of caution: These books are not for the shy parent. Mo's background is in animation (he's a former writer for Sesame Street, among others), and one must adopt a certain theatricality to get the most out of these books. But they're worth it.
Mo is also a certified Hot Man of Children's Literature.
Also by Mo:
The Pigeon Loves Things That Go! (Hyperion, 2005, board book)
The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! (Hyperion, 2005, board book)
Time to Pee! (Hyperion, 2003)
Time to Say Please! (Hyperion, 2005)
Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (Hyperion, 2006)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Hyperion, 2003) is Mo's Caldecott Honor debut. The title says it all: this is a brilliantly interactive picture book starring an irrepressible pigeon who reeaaaalllly wants to drive the bus. Won't you let him? Curiously, although Miss Munch knows, loves, and recites this book, she has never let loose with one of those big "NOOOOO!"s that the author and publisher seem to expect from their audience.
The first sequel, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! (Hyperion, 2004) is a lesser work, but has its moments of brilliance as well. La Munch frequently asserts, "Dat PIGEON hot dog!"
The second sequel, and Mo's latest, is Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (Hyperion, 2006). Following the format of the other two, the reader sees Pigeon (clutching his own Knuffle Bunny, see below) resisting bedtime with all the force and persuasion of a good little toddler. Replacing Pigeon's standard climactic tantrum with a room-filling yawn is a stroke of genius.
Last but not least in the Mo Hall of Fame is one of last year's Caldecott Honors, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Hyperion, 2004). It took the Munchkin a little while to warm up to this one, but once she did, she was hooked. Knuffle Bunny is a slice-of-life tale of one girl, one stuffed bunny, and one ill-fated trip to the laundromat. The language and action is pitch-perfect (find me a better example of "going boneless," I dare you), and the resolution, though predictable, is heart-warming.
A word of caution: These books are not for the shy parent. Mo's background is in animation (he's a former writer for Sesame Street, among others), and one must adopt a certain theatricality to get the most out of these books. But they're worth it.
Mo is also a certified Hot Man of Children's Literature.
Also by Mo:
The Pigeon Loves Things That Go! (Hyperion, 2005, board book)
The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! (Hyperion, 2005, board book)
Time to Pee! (Hyperion, 2003)
Time to Say Please! (Hyperion, 2005)
Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (Hyperion, 2006)
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