Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

 
In writing for children there is a rule- always be hopeful.  Today, when despair is so profound it overwhelms, I am finding it impossible.  There are no words.
 
Our hearts are broken for the children and families of Sandy Hook Elementary, CT and for children across this nation who suffer at the hands of violence in a country that does too little to protect them

Saturday, December 1, 2012

12 Days of Christmas Picture Books

  So in years past I have posted some of my favorite holiday movies and songs for the first 12 days in December, and this year it's Christmas picture books!

  Here is Dec 1: a book I grew up with and treasured as a child, mesmerized by Maurice Sendak's artwork...



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sad Day...

Today I am going through and deleting almost all of the pictures from my blog.  I never thought about copyright laws and am only just now realizing that I should.  I think it's ok to take pictures of the covers of picture books I read and post them, but I'm not even 100% sure about that.  Its such a shame to see these pics go, many of them are incredily lovely and the blog looks awfully empty without them :(
It won't be the same, but hopefully it will all be legal from here on out!

Other Favorites Today...







The big 500!

Made it to 500 picture books read and logged today, feels awesome to be halfway to my goal! #goal1000PBs
And the honor goes to the incredible...
 
Oliver Jeffers!


 
This book also happened to be featured in our wonderful, local independent bookseller, Mockingbird Books newsletter this week.  See Emily's take below:
 
Emily's Illustrator Spotlight
At a glance, Oliver Jeffers reminds you of the kid you sat next to in calculus. You know him - the one who doodled pictures of your professor riding a unicorn, wearing a top hat, or reciting Shakespeare from a bubble bath. He makes the drawings for himself, but as he slides it over for you to look at before you both get caught, you get to share in it too.

Jeffer’s' books are best described as doodle masterpieces that the reader is let in on. Each page features a union between painterly care and quick wit, all distinctly forming from Jeffer’s own thought bubbles. His growth since books such as Up and Down and Lost and Found, however, is remarkable. His most recent, This Moose Belongs To Me, comes with wonderful backdrops of mountain scenes (which I am admittedly partial to) and particularly moving spreads (i.e. pages 18-19) for their conveyance of mood through color.
 
 
Love Green Lake's Mockingbird Books and their motto:
"Books Give Children Wings"!
 
 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Doodle Day!

"Watercolor Pigeon"

 
Best cure for rainy day blues? Painting with Nellie!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Funniest Books this Week...



The absurdity here is brilliant, what fun! Ninjas, astronauts, sunburnt crocodiles- this book has it all. 'nuff said.


Heinies?! C'mon the word alone is hilarious!


Long before (ok, maybe not long before, but all the way back in 2008)
Jon Klassen's bear wanted his hat back, and devoured the bunny to get it, Emily Gravett's lovable duck and his very different egg finished off their naysayers by said egg hatching as a crocodile and eating them (or at least snapping at them pretty ferociously)! What a way to learn a lesson. Love this clever, subversive, surprising end!
 
I love, Love, LOVE funny books that take me by surprise.  Someday I hope to write one :)