I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed... -- Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything
It's not just me, is it? Faced with the task of buying one or more THINGS per family member or dear friend - determining what that THING shall be, finding it, pricing it, procuring, storing, sometimes hiding it, then processing it via gift wrap and tags - doesn't everyone get a little Doblery? After all, he gives her his heart - something he had to neither shop for nor wrap. She gave him a pen.
But, for better or for worse, we're giving gifts. And you know what will make you feel a little better about participating in this annual collective shuffling of goods bought sold and processed? If those goods are actually, you know, GOOD. Like books.
Read on, babies!
Continue reading "GIVE IT: All the goodies for this holiday season" »
, you quickly realize that some people will pick it up because it's about a marvelous ballerina, some will snatch it because they are fans of the author, Laurel Snyder, while still others will be drawn in by artist Julie Morstad's exquisite and sensitive illustrations. 
. I have wondered, however, how this serious-seeming but off-kilter art goes over with kids. Part of the wit of this work is in the interplay between the formal elements - the grown-up colors, the slightly surrealistic perspectives and the painterly textures - and the expressionistic content, and I don't know if children always can catch it.
. I think it's the only use of green in the entire book - there is noooo way that's a coincidence.
) won the Caldecott Medal one year everyone went, "WHOA!!" And when a nonfiction book (
) won the Newbery people all gasped. This is what has passed for bold in previous years.
is French, Noah and Na'amah are South Asian in 
, the Lucky Ducklings live in Montauk, the Tiny King is Japanese, and 
lives in "Africa, amazing Africa." 
was real. Mr. Hulot was the fictional alter ego of the real actor Jacques Tati.
by the Rosenthals, or 
by Ed Vere. Could be you found your book long ago and it was 
by Deborah Guarino, or 
by Bruce Degen.
and half those characters are named after classical gods and heroes (my children are so much more highbrow that I am right now, it's embarrassing).
. Snow's great. She knows EVERYthing about comics, and she sometimes wears tiny hats. AWESOME tiny hats.
by Rob Reid), plus I'm by myself in the house, my whole entire family being out of town, and I'm working the evening shift. So I feel a little unreal.
). Every one of those books is a charmer, as is Larf. Larf is, contrary to what I think are most people's expectations about Sasquatches, rather a neat person. He folds his laundry and washes his dishes after he uses them. He wears a neat red scarf. He lives alone but he's not lonely. Not super lonely anyway.
by Lish McBride, oh and 
by Paolo Bacigalupi, and 
by Mike Rubens - I've read those recently, I just don't have time to review them! Aagh! They're all great? Can I just say that for now? I promise there will be reviews later.)
, and we all cried our eyes out. Amazing graphic novel memoir. And I don't know about other people in my industry, but I figured, given the acclaim Stitches garnered, David Small would then by and large quit illustrating picture books.
taught me to look at all the stuff inside the pictures; 
, with its expanding and contracting picture area, taught me to look at the page as a whole; and his illustrations for the 
books showed me that animal characters need not be cartoonish or unrealistic to be endearing. 
. Wouldn't you like to be thought of as 'unruly' from time to time? Slightly unsafe? Unpredictable, like the high-heeled little spitfire on the cover of this new picture book?
! I loved that!"
for his clear, happy colors, lovely layering, and strong, funky line. And Joan Holub's 
books are getting a lot of play with my middle grade girl readers. She sent a stack of goddess bookmarks along with the ARC of this picture book, and they were snapped up in a jiffy.
will gravitate to this graphic-novel chapter book featuring an inventive kid and his talking dog.
. It was full of excerpts from longer books - a chapter from Mary Poppins, a chapter from The Wizard of Oz. Some poetry, some obscure stuff. A really scary Rapunzel. I ate that book up and then forgot it, although I think it is the reason that I have an unexplained but vehement dislike of excerpts. I felt terribly cheated, not getting the whole story.
and 
- I have bought those books, I have gifted those books, and I have recommended those books. They make good baby shower gifts, among other things. I mean, as well as being informative and inspiring. I thought there was probably not one more serene natural subject worthy of Ms. Long's well-researched scrutiny and 
and 
and Laurence Pringle's 
in your school or classroom library and you thought you were done, well, better make a little room on the shelf. And give your kids sketchbooks and some colored pencils - they're going to want to go outside and draw something.
crossing the finish line with a half-ton of wild but gifted racehorse under her butt. That face - you just know it - is going to get in soooo much trouble in about fifteen seconds, but for now, that is the face of scientific validation.
. What I think about that book was expressed quite soundly - and strongly - by 
, and I think I'd like to read more by 
. And then Janne Teller's 
. Dan Wells's 
and its sequelae.
