Darn that Vacuum!

We've had some vacuuming fun tonight at spellbinder, which involved me pulling dirty ribbons & twigs out of a vacuum bag and into the trash because well, we couldn't find another vacuum bag and the one we had was full. I am now coated in a nice soft layer of black dust, but it makes me thankful that we have the vacuum for after all, all that dust was originally on the floor, and Oscar (my 11-month-old son) crawls around on the floor (yes even the bookstore floor). True the floor is still dirty and Oscar's hands after crawling about are not a sight a mother loves to see, but how much worse they would be if not for the vacuum!

Oscar is, of course, scared of the vacuum, as are many youngsters, so in response Linda Bryan Sabin has written a charming rhymer call The Sound Snatcher. The title character (a vacuum) sucks up all the sounds around him:

"He was made to eat dirt but some sound bites can't hurt so along with the dust and the fluffle he sucks in the sound he finds lying around. Each sweet taste for him like a truffle."

On each page he goes through the rooms, sucking in more noises:

"Is the telephone ringing? The parakeet singing? Has he swallowed the door buzzer's buzz? He ate without caring the radio's blaring and the only sound left is what was."

I love that last line - the only sound left is what was.

The book is published by peeking kitty press, and on every page there is a... well I'll let you guess. It is pretty cute. One of my favorite pages has few words, at the top is written,

"No sounds can out loud him..."

There are pictures of the kitty driving a fire engine with the sirens blaring, a lawn mower, an airplane, an ice cream truck, and a little boy in ear muffs. At the bottom of the page it reads,

"no ear muff can shroud him, as The Snatcher continues his prowling..."

I can see Oscar, learning his sounds and words pointing to fire engine and making the siren, and trying to make the sound of an airplane. We're not there yet, at 11 months all I get is a smile when I make the siren sound as he picks up his toy police car. But in the future this book holds great possibility for us. There is even a "LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BOOK" section in the back, with questions for readers to pepper the listeners with, such as remembering the sounds eaten in the book. There is also a "The Words I Heard" vocabulary section. I like the vocabulary section:

devour - verb (dEh-vaur) to eat or swallow, to eat greedily (as if you won't get anymore and you want all the food for yourself).

They are pretty cool definitions.

The book retails for $14.95, has library quality binding (meaning it will take a beating), and is printed in the U.S.A. This is nice. Two months ago I made myself a deal where I wouldn't buy anything new if it came from China, but when it comes to books this deal is impossible to keep. So being printed in the U.S.A. is pretty nifty. The Sound Snatcher is also printed on recycled paper with soy ink - very green; actually the cover is green (a yellowy green), it works.

The Trees Say it is Fall

Trees are an obvious reminder of the changing seasons, a perfect visual example of the movement of time and weather. So reading a book to your little one about trees is a lovely way to share Autumn's entrance, almost as nice as going outside and playing under trees.

BOARD BOOKS

One Tree
A perfect book for the "green" family, it is printed on 98% post-consumer recycled materials with soy-based inks. AND IT IS CUTE TOO! Simple text describes the animals that live in and around the tree and how the tree changes with the changing seasons. The back two pages offer ecological tips to parents and children.



Leaves
Eyelike makes spectacular books with crisp clear photos that jump of the page. This board book shows different children playing with leaves; jumping in leaves, collecting leaves, turning leaves into masks.... It is perfect for toddlers that love looking pictures of other toddlers and babies.






EARLY READERS


The Autumn Leaf
Basic text with short sentences tells the story of two children that help the last leaf on the Oak overcome it's fears to fall to the ground. A very cute level 1 (or really a pre-reader, meaning it is easier than level 1)early reader and I give it bonus points for actually telling a STORY while describing the change in seasons. I actually wish it was in board book format, because I'd like to read it to my son Oscar, but at this stage in his life he would eat it, and the paper format wouldn't last a week.




The Secret Life of Trees
A science-focused level 2 reader, this means that it has real sentences, but the words are simple. I like that they talk about broad-leaf and deciduous trees. This is a good cheap read for any child that really wants to know ABOUT trees.






PICTURE BOOKS (STORIES)


Fletcher and the Falling Leaves
This is one of my all-time favorite books. Fletcher wants to help the tree keep it's leaves, but in the end he learns about he seasons. The final page has "flocking" which is book language for glitter, and actually it is very cute.








The Busy Tree
This is a new hardcover with beautiful illustrations and very simple text. I actually think the text is a bit young, suitable for ages 2-4 but too young for a five year old, but if you like beautiful artwork this is a book for you.






PICTURE BOOKS (SCIENCE)

Sky Tree
This is a fascinating and beautiful book that uses art to teach science and vice-versa. The artwork is gorgeous, and the idea is unique and original. Each page shows the tree in different weather in different seasons with sparse text. In the back there is a paragraph for each picture with instructions on what to look for artistically and scientifically.





Oak Tree
If you want to know all the scientific details about trees, photosynthesis and more (in a picture book format) this is the book for you. There is basic knowledge written in regular sized print at the top of the page, and more scientific follow-up knowledge in smaller print at the bottom of the page. I have to admit the two print sizes are somewhat distracting, especially when the bottom scientific half takes up more than half the page, but it is still a worthwhile book, one the scientifically minded child (and adult) will enjoy.


Because I am full of indecision, all the above mentioned tree books will be our "Book of the Week" this week, even though I should say book of the month, or book of whatever time period works for me at any random moment. I apologize for my inconsistency. But at least now store shoppers have eight books that are 20% off!

Lucky Breaks

We have a special place in our heart for Lucky, not only does she physically match our landscape with her desert colored hair and freckles, but she is one of us, living with us here in Inyo County. Of course we don't have Lucky's Hard Pan or Sierra City, but substitute Tecopa or Darwin for Hard Pan and Lone Pine or Bishop for Sierra City, and you are in Inyo County. There aren't very many famous fictional characters in Inyo County, in fact there aren't any other than Lucky. If you haven't heard of Lucky don't worry, she only won the Newbery (the most prestigious award for children's literature in the U.S.A.) a couple years ago, so you have time to get acquainted.

We initially met Lucky in her debut, The Higher Power of Lucky. There she grappled with her mothers untimely departure and her fear of loosing her guardian with thoughtful angst and heartfelt emotions that jumped off the page and made their way into your being. Now she is back in Lucky Breaks. She has come (somewhat) to terms with her place in her family, but is struggling to find a place in her society. She is struggling with her friends.

Initially I thought that Lucky Breaks didn't have quite the drama that I experienced in The Higher Power of Lucky, until I realized that Lucky Breaks does have dramatic events, they are just overshadowed by the everyday drama of life, and friendship. In Lucky Breaks Lucky's drama is a drama you are familiar with, one you felt many times growing up; it is the drama a finding a new friend, of fighting with an old friend, and of realizing you love your friends. In truth nothing is more dramatic than friendship.

Susan Patron, Lucky's creator, writes with clear, open-eyed poetry. You can open any page of Lucky Breaks and pull out a gem, like on page 16:

"Then she saw that one of the geologists was a girl about her own age, who looked a little shy around the edges."

And on page 96:

"Mr. Wellborne cleared his throat and looked at his watch, which was to Brigitte's watch what the Hummer was to Brigitte's Jeep."

And on page 171:

"Miles, his hair and skin glinting golden in the light of the thick bed of embers underneath the bathtub, seemed to be emitting light and heat himself, like a little sun."

Lucky Breaks is the poetry of friendship. And thus is not only our book of the week this week, but has also inspired a month long children's contest. For the month of September any child between 0 and 18 is invited to bring in an illustration of luck for a chance to win a prize. Illustrations can be with words, photography, or artwork. Below is an entry example from our 17-year-old staff member Sam:

To Dance At Sunset

Is To Dance At Ease

In a Field of Clovers & Bees

The Most Beautiful Book I've Ever Seen

We received our copy of Jerry Pinkney's The Lion & The Mouse yesterday, and I have to say, it is the most beautiful book I've ever seen. The book has no words with the exception of roar and a squeak here and there. It tells its version of Aesop's fable of the Lion and the Mouse in pictures.

You open the cover and there is a safari scene with giraffes, zebras, lions, yellow grasses and washed out skies. Then, on the title page you see a mouse walking in the footprint of a lion. As the pages go on you see the mouse escape an owl and end up on a lion's back. The lion looks at the mouse and lets the her go; she returns to her nest and babies. Then you see men setting up a net, you see the lion walking into the net, and you see the lion caught in the net. The lion's roar echos across the Savannah and the mouse hears it, she runs to find the lion, chews through the net, and sets him free. The mouse brings home some net to feed her babies.

Except for the night scene when the mouse first runs from the owl the whole book is done in warm soft colors; yellows, oranges, browns, reds & pale green. I feel the heat of Africa emanating from the pages. More than a story, more than a book, it is an experience of art, a masterpiece that happens to retail for $16.99.

Jerry Pinkney has illustrated FIVE Caldecott Honor books, but no actual winners. If I were a judge this book would be a winner, it is as previously mentioned, a masterpiece. The Lion & The Mouse is Spellbinder's Book of the Week this next week, so at 20% off you can get a masterpiece for $13.59 before tax.

Dr. Seuss is great, but P.D. Eastman takes the cake!

A Dr. Seuss book came out in a board edition for the first time today. It is Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, and it is very cute. It is not, however, as cute as my all time favorite Seuss book, which isn't actually by Seuss. My favorite is Are You My Mother? an I Can Read It All By Myself Beginner Book by P.D. Eastman. Maybe it is the repetition or the idea of a bird thinking a large construction vehicle was it's mother, but the book has stayed in my mind throughout childhood, into adulthood, and now in motherhood! The board book is one of my FAVORITE books to read to Oscar. He doesn't understand the story, but he thinks the pages are very tasty!



So for this week's Book of the Week I wanted not just one Are You My Mother?, but three!; there is the hardcover, the board book, and the ultra-cool fabric edition. The fabric edition really takes the cake. It has a removable baby bird, that you can take out of his egg and DROP to the bottom of the book as he falls out of his nest. Don't worry, you won't loose your bird, it is attached to the book's spine with a ribbon. On the next page you can walk your bird along as he asks a kitten, chicken, and dog if they are his mother. On the next page he meets a cow and a SNORT. The SNORT lifts him up, up, and UP (with a pouch), and on the final page the SNORT drops the baby bird back into it's nest where it snuggles under the Velcro wing of it's mother......awwwww.



If you don't know what a SNORT is you clearly weren't read to enough as a child. Are You My Mother was originally published in 1960 and has been a staple in schools, library's, and homes for over 30 years. So if YOU don't know what a SNORT is, you need to search out one of the many copies of Are You My Mother to find out! You can of course find it at Spellbinder Books, and as it is the Book of the Week it is 20% off this week.