September 29, 2013

Whether it's a new author, an adult book, fiction or nonfiction, something outside my usual favored genres, or a children's book, when I run across a fantastic book and it totally delights, I treasure that feeling of serendipity. Sipping Spiders Through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters is exactly that kind of book. If you interact with kids at all, this is great fun for the Halloween season in particular. My daughter and her family are singing these around the dinner table (which if you know some of the words to these parodies seems a bit off-putting!) and having a ball. Because the songs are pretty much all familiar to the kids, it's easy to get them into the swing of things: "If You're Crazy and You Know It," "If Your Guts Hang Low," "99 Bottles of Blood on the Wall." From a review of the book: Sung to the tune of "Oh My Darling, Clementine," "My Delicious Frankenstein" has lyrics like, "Oh, my crispy. Oh, my crunchy./Oh, my frosted Frankenstein./You're so yummy…in my tummy…/My delicious Frankenstein." The song is illustrated with a downtrodden-looking monster, complete with whipped cream and a cherry atop his head. He's portrayed against a red-and-white-check tablecloth and opposite a woman licking her lips and brandishing a carving knife and fork. Bon appetit!

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Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski was a recent NOOK Daily Find for Families—and it was a real find! Yes, I’d heard of the book before but hadn’t read it, but it was learning more about Lois Lenski and her books that caught my attention. This is one of her Regional books—a genre I was unaware that she had published. Now I’m curious to see if I can possibly find others available either for my NOOK or at the library. Her illustrations add much to her stories.

Another publication celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Little Golden books also features one of my all-time favorite illustrators, Joan Walsh Anglund. A Child’s Year is a simple, short book—as many of hers are—that is ideal for teaching little ones just a bit about the months in a year.

I watch about as many children’s movies as I read children’s books, and for the same reason. One of my favorite movies is Stuart Little, with Stuart voiced by Michael J. Fox. (Geena Davis as the mom is one of my all-time favorite cinema mothers.) So I especially wanted to pick up E.B. White’s novel and read it for the first time. For a book I think I prefer his Trumpet of the Swan, but it was nice to see how much of the Stuart Little book was made into the movie, including Margalo from the sequel. Books let your imagination fly but, oh my, can Jim Henson Studios and special effects do a lot too!

Yeah, yeah, I know I’ve said this before but I’m saying it again: I love Eric Carle but Abby LOVES Eric Carle. How I wish I could get inside her toddler mind to discover the essence of the appeal! Of course his artwork is bright and eye-catching. The text of Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?  is simple and repetitive—a good thing in a children’s book. Abby could probably read this one by herself by now (that’s how many times we’ve read it so far).  It doesn’t bore me either. Kudos to Mr. Carle!

Serendipity! I’d forgotten about this gem from my childhood at the library but when I spotted The Story about Ping at our local library the other day, I was grinning from ear to ear. What an odd little book, about a foreign world—just as I remembered it. This was a perfect find to add to this list.

Found The Witches of Worm on my bookshelf; my son read this probably in 5^th or 6^th grade. It too is a Newbery Honor Book. Why? I just didn’t get this one. It seemed to be a beginning and an end with no substance any place. ... OK. It’s been about 24 hours since I finished the book and I’ve read some reviews of it—and I still don’t get it. I suppose the only child, single parent, alienated, friendless, overly imaginative main character is more a mid-70’s profile than the white picket fence, Mom/Dad/two kids family of my era. The only negative comments I’ve found so far are the expected anti-witchcraft ones. Still don’t think this would be on my “must read” list. Ever.

Pop Corn and Ma Goodness, as I just recently learned, was a Caldecott Honor Book and the illustrations are delightful. I wonder though if they’re studied that much by readers as they zip through the hilarious rhymes of this book.

I didn’t really want to re-read The Velveteen Rabbit but felt sort of obligated for this project. When I originally read this, as a young girl, it made me sad—and I think I was in a quandary about whether I wanted my toys to become real or not. (And as an only child, my toys were very often “real” to me!) I’m pretty sure I read it to my son and daughter though probably only once. The edition I read for this project is from 1997 and illustrated by Don Daily in a much more elegant, intricate style than the original by William Nicholson. It didn’t make me cry this time. Perhaps I’d steeled myself for it beforehand.

September 16, 2013

I don't remember if I have mentioned here or even in my original Second Childhood Project write-up about About.com's Children's Books expert. http://childrensbooks.about.com/?nl=1
Elizabeth Kennedy is a wonderful resource for children's literature and so much more. You can sign up for a monthly newsletter and she is also on Facebook. I also share the newsletters with my daughter-in-law to use, not only for my grandson, but for her 2nd-grade class. I do know that I've mentioned how much I enjoyed doing a teeny bit of research about authors throughout the year spent on my project, and that is something I value Ms. Kennedy for--her insight into author's, recognizing their awards, their birthdates, their significance.

With my still eager taste for children's literature* and three grandchildren--8, almost 6, and 3 1/2--there is a lot for me to keep on top of.

*Aidan turned into quite a reader this summer--with the discovery of the Wimpy Kid series and the Captain Underpants series. Yea! I'm remembering to check out library books that are new to Abby but are ones her brother and mother enjoyed in the past. Then they can share. Plus I pick out ones she hasn't seen in a couple of years. I ordered several volumes of a series written by a former Fort Collins, Colorado resident. The setting for his books are Fort Collins in the 60s/70s. I haven't started reading them yet but look forward to it. And a high school friend and Facebook friend had a link to another Fort Collins author, so I bought the first book in her series, Artsy Fartsy. That one, I believe, will be a Christmas present for Aidan. One of his best friends turned 8 last week. Because Bryce's birthday is mid-September he started to school a year after Aidan. Bryce is only in 2nd grade but easily reads on a 4th grade level. In looking for books to buy him for his birthday present, I discovered Dan Gutman's My Weird School Daze series. He's written A LOT of books, some nonfiction. I bought the first in the MWSD series for Aidan, again probably a Christmas present. (I buy many, many books for Christmas.) Rowan's birthday is coming up, October 19, and I saw an adorable book featuring a pug but since their family pug just recently died I passed on it for now. Instead I bought The Monstore, which looks like a fun read-together book.

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Eloise Wilkins, as I’ve said many times, is my favorite children’s book illustrator from my childhood and my feelings endure today. When my daughter was born, I fell in love with Joan Walsh Anglund, even decorating her nursery with linens, statuettes, dolls, and books featuring Anglund’s characters, primarily Emily and Adam. But reading—and looking for—books from my childhood that I loved and read again and again, I realize how much I love the illustrations of Lois Lenski. The Little Family and The Little Train stand the test of time while also being sweetly old-fashioned. Mrs. Little washes the family’s clothes with a washboard while Mr. Little wears a bowler hat to work; the coal-powered steam engine makes me nostalgic for railroad travel. I’m glad I’ve bought these books for my grandchildren.

When I bought Harry the Dirty Dog for my oldest grandson it was the 50^th anniversary edition (2006). I read it way back when, still think it’s funny, and I think the grandchildren like it too. I think the “twist” at the end is adorable.

If you ask people to name a favorite beginning reader full of rhyming words and repetition, most people, I believe, will say Hop on Pop or Green Eggs and Ham. Not me. I like P.D. Eastman’s Go, Dog, Go! Great on the rhymes, rhythm, repetition—with an ongoing joke with a visual punchline. Yeah, go, dog, go!

I’ve always believed that books should be shared. In fact, it disappoints me when I finish a book and can’t think of anyone appropriate to give it to. (Rarely is a book such trash I don’t want to share it with anyone but it does occasionally happen.) So I find it particularly delightful to “share” books off my oldest grandson Aidan’s bookshelves. Danny and the Dinosaur and Sammy the Seal, both by Syd Hoff, are gems that I’d purchased for Aidan. Written in the late 50s they seem to be too easy for me to have read when I was in grade school, yet I think I did. Perhaps I wasn’t as accomplished a reader as I think I was! I know I read them to my children also.

How many editions of The Tale of Peter Rabbit are there? Who knows. The WEEKLY READER version, which I found on Aidan’s shelf, is one of the best. I find that as I grow older I appreciate the beauty of Beatrix Potter’s illustrations and the timelessness of her stories. I read a bit about her and did not realize that she died just three years before I was born. Her books seem from very much another time and place.

Eric Carle (yes, again) and Bill Martin, Jr., are responsible for several modern day classics. Great for beginning readers, learning colors, learning observation, interactive. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is one of the best.

No one seems to disagree with me when I say I don’t have much of a sense of humor. For one thing, as an only child who spent a great deal of time alone I didn’t laugh out loud very much at anything I found funny. I mean, really, wouldn’t that have been a bit peculiar? The things I do find funny are usually what I’d call “off the wall” or “offbeat” humor. If I were a kid today, The Dumb Bunnies series would be a huge fave of mine. I just think they’re hysterical. Not only the text but the illustrations. I grant you I’d love The Dumb Bunnies for just the cover mocking Goodnight Moon.

Though only written in 1994, Guess How Much I Love You seems to be another modern classic, or at least a consistent bestseller. It’s a sweet book but I wouldn’t name it to my top five list of sweet books about how much a parent loves their child. But that’s just my opinion.

My, my, my. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White wasn’t what I expected at all. Another long-time shelf sitter, I wish I’d read this one to Paul and Betsy when they were little. I thought it would be similar to Charlotte’s Web but more serious-minded. Turns out it was a quirky delight, more reminiscent of Stuart Little (or at least the movie version, since I’ve never read that book either).

Loved them then, love them now! I’ve finished my set of Nancy Drew mysteries and thoroughly enjoyed them. Sure I can see the holes in the logic, the leaps of imagination, the preponderance of coincidence, but they’re just mystery novels for young readers after all. It’s not just the juxtaposition of reading a 1930’s book in the 21^st century but little niggling things that stand out as an adult reader. In these first six volumes I bought, Nancy was 3 when her mother died, but Wikipedia states that in earlier editions Nancy was 10. What editions earlier than the first six published? I don’t know if changes have been made over the last 80 years and it’s gotten all confused or what. The original series ended in 2004; updated versions with more modern attitudes and contrivances have taken over. One thing I found curious was one solitary mention of Ned in #4. Nancy had a few dates in the previous editions with other guys but I remembered Ned as being THE boyfriend throughout. And that mention was very, very offhand. I had to laugh too that a cellphone would’ve aided Nancy, her father, and her friends a great deal in all these plots!