Booky Kids

Best Gifts of 2011!

2011-12-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

My Favorite Gifts of 2011!

Topsy-Turvy Stacking Blocks

by MoMA

Ages 1-5

These stacking blocks are different in that they balance at an angle, creating a fantastical topsy-turvy tower that toddlers will love to create (and destroy). What sets this set of stacking and balancing blocks apart are their bright colors, and their smaller shape, making them easier to stack and store.

Guess How Much I Love You Pop-Up Book

by Sam McBratney

illustrated by Anita Jeram

paper engineering by Corina Fletcher

Ages 3-99

A classic story is now available in a pop-up edition!

Lego Brickmaster Ninjagq

by Lego & DK publishers

Ages 6-99

The Lego Brickmaster series gives you a set of Legos combined with full-color book that shows you all their different combinations. Combine this with ninjas, and you get a toy that is sure to please!

shains

Recycled Bracelets

by shains

Ages 6-99

Shains are bracelets made of rubbery plastic that you can modify with your own
letters, symbols, & words! So much fun! They are a great gift for
boys and girls!

Watercolor Postcards Portable Studio

by Chronicle Books

Ages 13-99

A wonderful set for beginning artists and those on the go. The materials provided include high quality paints and paper, thus this is not a set for the younger child.

Best Board Books of 2011!

2011-12-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

My Favorite Board Books of 2011!

It's Time to Sleep My Love

by Eric Metaxas

illustrated by Nancy Tillman

Ages 0-3

Richly illustrated dreamscapes combined with lyrical text make this an entrancing story for little eyes to behold!

The House in the Night

by Susan Marie Swanson

illustrated by Beth Krommes

Ages 0-3

Finally the Caldecott winner of 2008 is printed in a board book format! The black and white illustrations with spots of gold are high in contrast and grab even the youngest reader's attention. These fantastic illustrations combined with a magical poem that seems tailor-made for bibliophiles make this book a winner for children and adults alike!

Orange Pear Apple Bear

by Emily Gravett

Ages 0-6

A concept book for a wide age range! Youngest readers will enjoy the whimsical illustrations while older pre-schoolers will enjoy bears that turn orange, apple, and pear! Oh the difference a comma can make!

A is for Apple

by Tiger Tales

Ages 2-5

So simple and yet so brilliant , A is for Apple takes the basic alphabet book, combines it with lift-the-flaps, and tracing tracks to create a book that really makes those letters stick! Tracing the letters with little fingers is really going help certain youngsters understand letter shapes. And hiding under the flaps are additional words that start with the letter, re-enforcing the sound of the letter and the concept of words. A is for Apple is a great tool for teaching the alphabet!

The Wizard of Oz

A Scanimation Book

by Rufus Butler Sedler

Ages 1-6

Watch scenes from the Wizard of Oz come to life! The youngest readers will enjoy the scanimation though this book will really appeal to toddlers and pre-schoolers familiar with the movie. Toddlers will enjoy the basic story retelling on the bottom of the page while pre-schoolers and adults will undoubtedly enjoy all the classic quotes scattered throughout.

Best Picture Books of 2011!

2011-12-05T10:46:00.000-08:00

My Favorite Picture Books of 2011!

Bone Dog

by Eric Rohmann

Ages 4-8

Eric Rohmann's illustrations are fantastic, but it is the heartwarming story of the love between a boy and his dog, a love which lasts beyond grave, that makes this my favorite picture book of 2011! This can be used as a Halloween tale, or a tale for those dealing with the loss of a pet, but in truth it is just a great story. I should make it clear that I'm not a dog person, since having my own child I am actually scared of most dogs. Still I have nothing but respect for the bond that children and their pets share.

The Man in the Moon

by William Joyce

Ages 4-8

Fantastical illustrations accompany this lovely steam-punk tale of how the moon, the man in the moon, and the Guardians of Childhood (Santa, Mother Goose, etc) came to be.

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake

by Michael B. Kaplan

illustrated by Stephane Jorish

Ages 2-6

Betty Bunny is a handful, a handful who loves chocolate cake, and has to learn how to be patient so that she can eat her chocolate cake. Betty Bunny's family, particularly her siblings play a big role in her story, and the illustrations make the Bunny family look like fashion models, in a good way. Betty Bunny is one of Oscar's favorites, thus this is not the first time I've mentioned the book. To read my first review about Betty Bunny click here.

Home for Christmas

by Jan Brett

Ages 2-8

This is perhaps the best Jan Brett book to come out since The Mitten in 1989. The story is of a wayward troll looking to find a home with all the animals except his own. In all honesty, Christmas comes up at the end, but it didn't have to be a Christmas book - alas I'm not Jan Brett's editor, I don't get a say. However, if you are going to have a Christmas story this is certainly one of the best out there. It is about family, it is about love, its got all the things the holiday should be about.

An Annoying ABC

by Barbara Bottner

illustrated by Michael Emberley

Ages 2-6

An alphabetical romp through mischievous pre-schoolers! I'm always on the lookout for books with fun ways to bring the alphabet into an actual story and this book certainly fits the bill!

Best Books for Youth from 2011!

2011-12-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

My Favorite Books for Youth from 2011!

(Youth = ages 8-12)

Every Thing On It

by Shel Silverstein

This new compilation of Silverstein poems is just as funny and touching as Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic! Although I have this categorized as Youth, this book is wonderful for all between the ages of 4 & 99!

The Trouble with Chickens

by Doreen Cronin

You can read all about my love for this title on my earlier blog post by clicking here, but to recap - The Trouble with Chickens is a crime noir for kids! J.J. Tully is a retired search-and-rescue dog looking forward to a life of relaxation in the yard, so of course he gets roped into finding a chicken's missing chick. There's villains, adventure, daring escapes, and lots and lots of laughs. This is the BEST crime book for grades 3-7 EVER WRITTEN!

The Night Fairy

by Laura Amy Schlitz

I first wrote about this book in May of 2010, when it came out in hardcover. Well now in 2011 the paperback is available! This tale of an injured fairy is the best of the many fairy stories I've read. It isn't sweet, it isn't sappy, but it is touching, endearing, and very very memorable. Author Laura Amy Schlitz is a Newbery winner, and they don't give that award to just anybody.

Pippi Longstocking

by Astrid Lindgren

illustrated by Lauren Child

Question: What's better than Astric Lindgren's world-famous story of an unusual girl of unusual strength named Pippi Longstocking?

Answer: Her tale of an unusual girl of unusual strength illustrated by the accomplished artist & author Lauren Child. Pippi Longstocking is even more fun when bright and colorful illustrations greet you on every other page.

Pathfinder

by Orson Scott Card

The famous author of Ender's Game has written a smashing fantasy/adventure novel for youth 10-14! A medieval world with space-age secrets is the backdrop for a young runaway king just learning to handle his magical powers. Originally published in Hardcover in 2010 this fantastic fantasy is now available in paperback.

Best Young Adult Books of 2011!

2011-12-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

My favorite Young Adult Books of 2011!

Glow

by Amy Kathleen Ryan

A suspenseful action/adventure novel set in the claustrophobic confines of two dueling spaceships in outer space. Black and white meld into ever confusing shades of gray as two groups of teens try to survive the consequences of their elders' past decisions and current desires. This book provides a lot of food for thought on the nature of power, gender, and religion, but it doesn't give you any answers. Be warned this is only the START of a trilogy, so you will be left hanging.

Shine

by Lauren Myracle

A young teen decides to face the dark underbelly of her small Southern town head on as she tries to solve the mystery of who beat her openly gay friend to the point of near death. I particularly loved how her need to help a friend ended up helping her overcome her own rape of two years prior. This book has a lot to say about sexuality, friendship, family, and drugs, but despite the heavy subject matter it is an engaging and adventurous read with unexpected turns and twists!

Where Things Come Back

by John Corey Whaley

This is a first novel from an author I'm sure we'll be hearing more from. Don't be fooled by the cover, this book has mature content and is definitely for teens! Sometimes publishers make artistic mistakes, fortunately the same cannot be said of the author. The book tells the story of a teen's struggles to make sense out of a summer of romantic pitfalls and a missing brother, while the town he lives in becomes a sort of avian Disneyland due to the supposed sighting of an extinct woodpecker. Trying to remain sane in a crazy world is a feeling most readers will identify with.

Haunted Reads for Kids

2011-10-15T02:58:00.000-07:00

There are some GREAT Halloween books out for kids this year!

Night of the Pumpkinheads

by Micheal J. Rosen

Ages 4-8

Fantastic photos of carved pumpkin and squash leap off the page in this simple tale of vegetables trying (unsuccessfully) to give kids a scare on Halloween.

Bone Dog

by Eric Rohmann

Ages 4-8

One of my favorite books to come out this year, Bone Dog uses the Halloween holiday to illustrate how the love between a boy and his dog can last beyond the grave. The story can be read year-round and will be especially good for those grieving the loss of a beloved pet. After his dog dies a young boy doesn't feel much like trick-or-treating, but he dresses up and goes out anyway. He encounters scary skeletons and his dog (now Bone Dog) rescues him by calling to all the living dogs; living dogs, of course, love bones and the skeletons flee.

The 13 Nights of Halloween

by Guy Vasilovich

Ages 3-8

The 12 days of Christmas gets a spooky re-do in this Tim Burton–esque picture book. As Halloween gets closer the creatures get creepier.

One Spooky Night

by Kate Stone

Ages 3-8

Gorgeous! This book's awesomeness is proven by the fact that the publishers are ALREADY out of stock and are frantically printing more to get it back into stores before Halloween. The story about a little monster's walk through the woods is cute, but it is the intricately cut pages that are overlaid with shadowy vellum that make this book graphic masterpiece.

The I'm Not Scared Book

by Todd Parr

Ages 2-6

This isn't really a Halloween Book, but it certainly can be used as one. Todd Parr simply illustrates a number of fears and gives kids a way to re-frame the situation.

"Sometimes I'm scared of dogs.
I'm not scared when they give me kisses.
Sometimes I'm scared I will make a mistake.
I'm not scared when I know I tried my best."

You could call this a self-help book for pre-schoolers; everybody needs some help sometimes.

Halloween 123s

by Patricia Reeder Eubank

Ages 1-4

This cute board book is a favorite of customers. One little witch plans her Halloween party, with the help of two brooms, three ghosts, all the way up to ten guests.

Hello Dudley

by Sam Lloyd

Ages 1-4

This book doesn't even pretend to be for Halloween, but I stuck it here because it DOES have a monster, and it is super cute. Puppet Monster Dudley has bad manners and is exhausting to take care of, but he sure is fun! Hello Dudley is actually part of a series of puppet board books; I haven't read them all but if they are all as good as Dudley I'm sure they will be a huge success.

Little Spider

by Chronicle Books

Ages 0-3

I confess this book didn't come out this year, but this year was the first time I saw it, and I just had to include it in our spooky reads. These small board books with little finger puppets peeking out through die-cut holes are simply beloved by babies, toddlers, and their parents. Little Spider is a great way to bring some Halloween fun to a six-month-old.

What can the Man in the Moon teach you?

2011-09-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

The Man in the Moon

by William Joyce

Many once upon a times ago I used to manage not one, not two, but THREE parent educations programs for those with children 0-5. I had a staff of around ten that was supposed to serve the entire Inyo County, including far flung Death Valley, a four hour drive south. I was 28-years-old and had NO management experience - that is what you get for $12 an hour, no experience. When all is said and done I can say that I gave the job my all and tried my best; I may have even done a better job than others in the same situation would have. But I was inexperienced in management doing a job that normally would be done by two (in some cases even three) people, and I wasn't yet a parent. When I found myself crying every weekend I quit, I lasted a little less than two years. But while I was there I went to a great many trainings, and they all said the same thing READ TO YOUR CHILD.

At the time I fully embraced group think and never even thought to question the great educational dogma. But now that I have Oscar, and I read to him, and read to him, and read to him, sometimes I think back to all those trainings and wonder if there wasn't something I may have missed. Of course my reading to Oscar will help him become a future reader, but what other than job security for me will that accomplish. I know in truth, that it is all about school success, but after school, how important is reading, really, in the adult world?

A woman came into the bookstore the other month to buy something for her son, she couldn't remember what she wanted to buy so she called her husband on the phone, "I'm in the bookstore" she said over the phone. I could hear his reply, "Why, you don't read?". "Yes", she laughed, "I'm picking up something for Robbie....". I looked at this woman, was her life really so much less than mine because she didn't read. She looked happy, she had a family, she had money, at least she looked like she had more money than me. So she didn't read, she probably never read for pleasure, but was she less happy because of that?

Is it better for adults to read a James Patterson mystery novel or watch a movie? Is reading Twilight superior to seeing the film? Is it better to read a story to my son or have him watch Dora the Explorer? Dora teaches my son another language, she teaches him to remember instructions and complete them. Is she really so inferior to Goodnight Moon? I have never stopped reading, and reading, and reading to Oscar, but for the last six months my mind has sorta wondered - WHY?

And then two days ago, I read Oscar William Joyce's new picture book The Man in the Moon and suddenly everything clicked. The Man in the Moon is too old for Oscar, it has a rather complicated plot and takes place in outer space, a concept beyond many a two-year-olds' capabilities. But the bookstore got an advance copy of the book, and I took it home. Oscar saw the picture on the cover and I shrugged and started reading it to him. It took us half an hour to read the book through the first time, and most of the story went in one Oscar ear and out the other. But the kid LOVED it.

Oscar wouldn't let me just read the story and turn pages, instead he would stare at the pictures. At least 15 minutes was spent on one spread, a visually simple spread all in blues. The Man in the Moon (MiM) was a baby, his parents had just been killed in a battle, and he was alone on the moon looking up at a new constellation of stars and seeing his parents in the constellation. That's pretty heavy for a 2-year-old, and in all fairness the book is not written for two-year-olds. Oscar had me read the page over and over and over again. He was pouting, but he never cried, and I realized this was his first brush with the concept of death. He may have been introduced to the idea before, but now he was starting to understand it. And we talked about it, about how the baby felt, about where the parents were...I was scared I was going to scar my child with this book, but at the same time I was grateful to be having his conversation now, and NOT when something horrible actually happened. Because something horrible will happen, Oscar has four grandparents, is he going to have four grandparents when he's 20? Death is an important part of life, and I prefer to slowly introduce my son to the idea of it before it touches him.

While reading this book with my son, while introducing him to these big concepts to him it hit me - the book is letting us do this. The book is helping me raise my child. A T.V. show could never do this, not so effectively, not so delicately. My son is smarter and wiser than he was two days ago and I have a book to thank for that. Rarely when watching T.V. do people stop to THINK about what they are seeing, but it is hard to be blind to that in a book, because while reading the words you already are in your mind, it's harder to ignore your own questions.

Most of the book was over Oscar's head the first time we read it, but now he understand almost everything. He understand outer space, he understands stars, spaceships, oaths... Much of what I thought was beyond his capabilities is not. It's been a big learning experience for Mommy.

Oscar's Favorites at 2.75!

2011-07-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Fortunately for me, Oscar loves books. He loves rhymes, and he loves a good story. Below are the titles most frequently requested at bedtime.

Mother Goose Poems

It doesn't actually matter which book of Mother Goose poems it is, as long as there are some pictures Oscar will like it. We have, and Oscar adores, the fancy Sylvia Long edition, but it doesn't include as many poems as some of the other budget friendly compilations. Grandma has the edition pictured above, and when we go to her house Oscar seems to like it just fine.

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake

When Betty Bunny eats chocolate cake for the first time, she declares, "I am going to marry chocolate cake." She loves it so much that she takes a piece to school with her in her pocket and refuses to eat anything else.

I'm a sucker for well-meaning but misbehaving children, and Betty Bunny is one of our favorites. I also love her wise-cracking big brother Bill. The only thing I don't like about this story is that Betty Bunny's mom makes me look like a frumpy dumpy mess! If only I could dress as fashionably as the Bunny family.

That Cat Can't Stay

This entertaining book about a family with a penchant for cat adoptions is filled with fun illustrations and repetitive rhymes that Oscar loves. I only hope he never starts to take the book too seriously as we are renters and therefore we are NOT planning on getting any cats or dogs in the future.

Chicken Big

Chicken Big is a hilarious twist on the classic Chicken little. With all it's word bubbles and jokes it should be too old for Oscar, but he likes it anyway - hopefully he'll like it for a long long time.

Tugga-Tugga Tugboat

The other night in the bathtub Oscar asked me to sing him the tugboat song. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked him to sing it for me, and he started reciting the words to our book Tugga-Tugga Tugboat. We started reading Tugga-Tugga Tugboat to Oscar before he was a year old, and he loved it. I thought that he would have outgrown the book by now, but he hasn't, in fact this last month Tugga-Tugga Tugboat has seen a resurgence in popularity in our house and has become his most asked for book at nighttime.

Good Book!

2011-05-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

Dark Water

By Laura McNeal

The following is a shortened version of the dust jacket liner: Fifteen-year-old Pearl doesn't pay much attention to the migrant workers on her uncle's avocado grove...until Amiel. After coming across Amiel's makeshift hut near Agua Prieta Creek Pearl falls into a precarious friendship-and a forbidden romance. Then the wildfires strike. Pearl knows that Amiel is right in the path of the fire, so slipping away from safety and her family, Pearl moves toward the dark creek, where the smoke has become air, to warn him.

The dust jacket makes this National Book Award Finalist seem like a modern Romeo & Juliet with a climatic fiery ending. And I suppose it is, but yet it really isn't. Pearl's relationship with Amiel is only half the story. The other half is her relationship with her family: her cousin, her aunt and uncle on whose charity she and her mother live, and her father, who left them. There is also the ever present but never discussed relationship between these (white) people and the dark-skinned, Spanish-speaking people who surround them. The fact that this difficult relationship is not openly discussed gives the book a depth that would have been lost had the author, Laura McNeal, decided she had an axe to grind. There is no preaching, there is simply a description of what is.

One of the things I love about this story is that Pearl makes no excuses for her behavior, or her feelings. Introspection is not one of her stronger personality traits (nor is it for her age group in general), and her lack of questioning oddly makes her likable. Unlike most of the human race, Pearl is a girl who knows what she wants; Pearl wants Amiel, even if she doesn't really know why.

Laura McNeal has written a number of other books with her husband Tom. Their books include Zipped, Crooked, Crushed, and my personal favorite The Decoding of Lana Morris. All of these books feature teenagers in love. Another common theme I've noticed has been parental infidelity. I haven't read every book they've written, but from the ones I've read it seems as though they cover serious issues (foster care, disabilities, homosexuality) through the lens of teen love.

Dark Water is different from their previous books, it was not written by Laura & Tom McNeal, it was written by Laura herself. And unlike their previous books, Dark Water is not so much a look at serious issues through the lens of teen love, but rather a look at teen love through the lens of serious issues. Amiel, Pearl's love, doesn't talk, he mimes. It was his miming that first drew her to him. He tells people he can't talk because of an accident, but later Pearl discovers the accident was his abusive grandfather choking him when he still lived in Mexico. So Amiel can't talk. That's a pretty serious issue: he was abused and now he has a permanent disability. Yet, Amiel's difficulty with speech makes the communication between Amiel and Pearl all the more interesting and endearing. And their communication, is the point of the story.

Oscar's Favorites at 2.5

2011-04-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of weeks Oscar has asked for one thing at bedtime: JACK. Sometimes he says "Read Jack?" and other times he'll make it more complicated by saying "Little Critter Jack now?" but the desire is always the same. He wants us to read him the Little Critter version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Little Critter, is, of course, the furry beast created by Mercer Mayer in the late 70s who, 30 years later, is still with us. (A couple of new books are published every year.) I love Little Critter because he is not perfect, (in fact sometimes he is downright naughty), but he tries, and the mouse or insect friends who follow him around from page to page are irresistible.

The Little Critter Jack and the Beanstalk is a lift-the-flap book; it is hardcover and the pages are surprisingly sturdy for a book that retails for only $7.95. The words underneath the flaps are essential to the story, which is nice for 2.5-year-olds who want to feel like they are helping mommy read the book. I enjoy reading the book because it is FUNNY. The crow atop the cow asks if "this kid was born yesterday" when Jack trades the cow for a bag of beans. The little mouse is an adorable, doubting best friend to Jack. Every page has something to make you laugh or smile. At the end of the book Jack is a hero not because he brought riches to his poor mother, but because the hole that the giant made when he fell became an excellent wading pool that all the neighborhood kids can use.

Little Critter Jack and the Beanstalk is actually one of a series of lift-the-flap Little Critter fairytale re-tellings. There is also Little Critter Red Riding Hood and Little Critter Hansel & Gretel. Oscar doesn't have them all, right now; they are hidden away as treats for future dates. But I'm sure, given his reaction to Jack and the Beanstalk, that the other Little Critter lift-the-flap fairytales will be well loved.

A Refreshing Breeze of Good Work in the Early Chapter Books

2011-03-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

RANT

I have read too many early chapter books in which nothing happens. The writing can be beautiful, poetic, exquisite; the books can have fantastic, complicated, 3-dimensional 7-year-old heroes and heroines; and the books can be utter bores. It seems as though a number of good authors have decided that because children like very simple picture books when they are young, they will like very simple chapter books when they start reading on their own. It is a logical conclusion, but it doesn't work. Early chapter books should have simple sentences, so beginning readers can read them, but the story doesn't have to be dull. Picture books are perhaps the ONLY works of fiction that don't need plot, but for all other forms, for adults, and for kids, plot is pretty essential.

A REFRESHING BREEZE

Fortunately there are some authors out there writing page-turning, hilarious, heart-felt early chapter books, and most recently the best one has come from an author famous for her picture books.

Doreen Cronin

Doreen Cronin is best known for her picture book Click Clack Moo which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 2001, but my personal favorites of her many picture books are the books in her Diary series: Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, and the truly hilarious Diary of a Fly. She has now taken her excellent sense of humor and put it in chapter form with the exceptional The Trouble with Chickens.

The Trouble with Chickens is a crime noir where J.J. Tully, a hard-boiled, retired search-and-rescue dog agrees to help track down a missing chicken. There is adventure, a villain, an impossible escape, and more laughs than I ever would have expected. The last time I read a crime noir this good it was Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union, and that won the Nebula Award for Best Novel, the Locus Award for Best SF Novel, the Hugo Award for Best Novel, and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History for Best Novel. It was shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel and the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel.^[1] As of December 2008, a film adaptation is in pre-production, to be written and directed by the Coen brothers. My point is, I can pick 'em, and I pick The Trouble with Chickens as the best crime novel for grades 3-7 EVER WRITTEN.

Robert Paul Weston

In 2009 Robert Paul Weston made an incredible early chapter book debut with Zorgamazoo. Zorgamazoo is a fantasy adventure novel for grades 3-7 that rhymes. THE ENTIRE BOOK IS WRITTEN IN RHYME! It is funny and fun, and when you are done your will not think in simple sentences but rather in iambic pentameter.

Publisher Marketing:

Are You a Believer in Fanciful Things? In Pirates and Dragons and Creatures and Kings?
Then sit yourself down in a comfortable seat, with maybe some cocoa and something to eat, and I'll spin you the tale of Katrina Katrell, a girl full of courage (and daring, as well!), who down in the subway, under the ground, saw something fantastical roaming around . . .
What was it she saw? I'd rather not say. (Who's ever heard of a Zorgle, anyway?)
But if you are curious, clever and brave, if intrepid adventure is something you crave, then open this book and I'll leave it to you to uncover the secret of ZORGAMAZOO!

Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin is a lion in the science fiction world, and she also happens to have written one of my favorite series for kids, Catwings. Catwings is a series of little chapter books about cats with wings. The stories are not funny - in fact they can be heart-breaking - but they are all exciting, with happy endings and fantastic, classic illustrations that you remember forever. The books are for grades 1-5, though in truth the sentences are more complicated than most 1st graders could read on their own. Each little book retails for $4.99, but personally I'd recommend buying the set (while it is still in print).

Watch out Vampyres, the Wolves are on the prowl!

2011-01-28T22:51:00.000-08:00

When vampires, or excuse me vampyres overtook pirates (with the exception of the Vampirates series) I thought it would just be a phase. In 2008 I thought the vampires were heading into extinction with zombies coming in to take up the mantle. I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, the zombies came, and are still around, as are the faeries (gotta be cool, spelling it f-a-i-r-y would be a sure sign you hadn't been a book store for five years or more - but that said I've never been cool so from this moment on I'm going back to the fairy spelling). Vampyres are still around, and, these days, so are the wolves. Apparently the actor who played Isabella's werewolf boyfriend in the Twilight movie was hotter than her vampire true love. At least that is what I was told, I didn't see the film, and I haven't read the books. I know, shame on me. But don't worry, I've made up for my lack of Twilight reading by setting my eyes on numerous other vampire and mythical creature books. And lately I've fallen in love with the wolf.

To be clear, Dust City's fabulous wolven creatures are NOT werewolves. Dust City goes the fairyland route with humans, goblins, ravens, donkeys, wolves, and fairies occupying the same dirty sprawling metropolis. Except in Dust City the fairies have been killed, and what's left of their fairy dust is a rare drug, bought and sold on the black market, and highly addictive. Dust City practically opens up with a description of a saliva filled wolf kiss; this is not a book for the faint of heart, but it is a great book! My 12-year-old neighbor LOVED it, as did her mother. It has not yet become a top seller at the bookstore, but give it time, with word of mouth I am certain this title will spread all over our small town like the latest cold. It's a Blade Runner fairy tale, and is perhaps the most creative book that came out in 2010.

Red Moon Rising does have werewolves, and vampyres, and humans. All races have formed an uneasy alliance where they live and work next to each other, but not happily. Vampyres and humans are the elites, and the wolves are the poor & downtrodden. Essentially the story unfolds in a time of a civil rights battle and Dante (Danny), our 1/2 vampyre and 1/2 wolf hero would have a much easier time of it if his wolf side would disappear. Of course, that doesn't happen. In Red Moon Rising, author Peter Moore has created a world of with vampyres, werewolves, night-time high schools, lesbian best friends, first kisses, and equal rights rallies that is utterly familiar. In a somewhat disturbing way I think this book about werewolves gives one a better sense of the civil rights movement than most history tomes. Perhaps that is because most people don't read history tomes.

Second looks bring greater pleasures

2011-01-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Legend of the Golden Snail came out in October of 2010. We brought it into the book store right away because well, it was by Graeme Base. Graeme Base is the Australian author of many books, including Animalia a fabulous books with intricate, complex illustrations that kids (and adults) can stare at for hours. But when I first read The Legend of the Golden Snail I was dissapointed, the illustrations, though vivid, were not intricate. With Legend of the Golden Sanil Graeme Base had created a completely different kind or book, a story book, and I was expecting an art book. So I shelved it and didn't give it a second thought.
Then Oscar recieved The Legend of the Golden Snail as a Christmas present from his Grandparents, and after reading the book to him on a near nightly basis I have to say that my first impression was blind. I can't read Animalia with Oscar, it doesn't have any cars in it and at two-years-old he isn't yet ready to play the visual games that the pictures inspire. He is, however, ready to hear a story about a boy re-living his favorite tale in a quest find the golden snail. And what a quest it is!

Wilbur, the protaganist sets sail for the ends of the earth to find the golden snail, and on the way he waters a butterfly bush, frees a monster from it's net, and saves numerous lantern fish. He then encounters some difficulties and is saved by butterflies, a monster, and numerious lantern fish. He finds the golden snail, and takes it home, to it's ocean in the sky. The ocean in the sky is amazing, full of fun fish hidden in the clouds, like pencil dolphins. Oscar doesn't recognize all the cloud fish yet, but give him time, he will.

Yesterday I took Oscar and his friend Amaya to the park, on the play structure there was a wheel. So Oscar Amaya and I set sail for the ends of the earth, and on the way we watered a butterfly bush, cut a tangled monster free, and saved the latern fish, and then of course they all saved us. It was quite fun, and it was great imaginative play, even for Amaya who had never read the book. Although I didn't realize it at first, I now recognize that The Legend of the Golden Snail is fantastic story book.

Great Gifts for the "NICE" present

2010-12-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

All books are nice, or at least most books are nice, but some books are REALLY NICE. I'm thinking of beautifully illustrated books that you adore, but are usually too expensive for you to justify buying yourself. These books, these REALLY NICE books, are usually the ones that I lust after and dream about. These are also the books that make fabulous presents.

Sylvia Long's Mother Goose

For Ages 0 - 6

Spectacular illustrations make this Mother Goose set stand out from all the others. This is a wonderful book for families with young children.

Flight of the Reindeer

by Robert Sullivan

illustrated by Glenn Wolff

Ages 5 - 99

A fantastical romp through the "history of Santa! A joy to read for non-believers & believers of all ages!

Harry Potter : A Pop-Up Book

by Lucy Kee

illustrated by Andrew Williamson

Ages 8 - 99

A terrific gift for Potter fans, art lovers, & film buffs! Amazing pop-ups with info on Potter lore and cinematic visions on every page.

Shapeshifters

by Adrian Mitchell

illustrated by Alan Lee

Ages 10 - 99

Based on Ovid's Metamorphoses this glorious book of stories, ballads, & poems is sure to delight well-worn myth lovers and newer fans of the age-old tales as well.

Paperback Favorites from a Boy who's Almost 2!

2010-11-13T16:40:00.000-08:00

It goes by so fast! It takes so long until they sit up on their own, so long until they start crawling. Then they're walking before you know it, they start running all to soon, and then one night you open the story book and they tell you the EXACT sentence that goes with that page's picture:

"Good morning, Earl," said Jill.

It was the when "said Jill" came out of Oscar's mouth that my jaw truly dropped. My Oscar is almost two. Gone (thankfully) are the days of the oh-so-boring one word per page board books. We are now into stories, stories that he remembers. This is not to say that we have left board books behind, they are certainly a part of our daily lives, and it is true that Oscar still refuses to sit through Stellaluna; but the entry into the land of story-time is certainly a marker that shall be marked, or at least it will be marked in my memory. My little baby is now a little boy.

And here are my little almost-two-year-old's favorite stories.

My Friend Rabbit

by Eric Rohmann

My Friend Rabbit won the Caldecott in 2003, and it was well deserved. The highly defined pictures of colorful animals trying to get a plane out of a tree tell a story that is a pleasure to flip through, with or without words. I bought this book long before I was pregnant, I bought the book before I was married, before I was even engaged, and in truth I've been trying to read it to Oscar since he was about six months old. But at six-months-old, he just wasn't into it. Now however, it is his FAVORITE.

"Mommy rabbit? Rabbit friend? Mommy rabbit?"

And then when the story is over:

"Again?"

And If I refuse:

"Daddy rabbit? Rabbit Daddy? Rabbit friend?"

The fun thing about this is that Tom (the aforementioned "Daddy") and I actually read the book differently. I read the words. I know it is a wonderful to read the pictures, to change the story every time, to extend and involve the listener...but I have accepted my weaknesses, one of which is that I really just want to read the words. Tom however, will read the pictures with Oscar. In some books it seems to me they'll stay on the same page for ten minutes! I can't do that. In truth My Friend Rabbit is a picture book that doesn't really need words, but me, being me, I do appreciate that they're there. And Oscar seems to like it, no matter what.

Earl the Squirrel

By Don Freeman

Earl the Squirrel is similar to My Friend Rabbit in that the pictures tell the story, but it is different not only in the style of illustration but in that Earl has A LOT more words. Unlike My Friend Rabbit, Earl is a story that doesn't even NEED pictures. I can see myself repeating the story to Oscar on car rides and in other situations where a distraction will be needed. This is not to say the illustrations aren't appreciated, I for one love them. I especially love the fact that the only item of color, in the whole book, is the red scarf, around which the whole story revolves. The author, Don Freeman, is famous for Corduroy, which is a book we don't actually have. My husband doesn't believe it, but we DON'T own every book ever written. However, I am thankful we own Earl the Squirrel.

Sunshine on My Shoulders

By Jon Denver

Illustrated By Christopher Canyon

I am not a fan of Sunshine on My Shoulders, but Oscar loves it. I didn't buy this book, but we have it and one day I pulled it off the shelf to read to Oscar; I have not been able to hide it since. It is not that the book is bad, it is the lyrics to Jon Denver's song with very nice water color illustrations of a little girl on a lake with her dad. I don't like it because I have a personal distaste for what I see as overly sentimental blah.... but my tastes do not define the rest of the world, and they certainly don't define my son. Oscar LOVES Sunshine on My Shoulders. I do sing him the words, and I sing to a tune that is similar (though not exactly the same) to the recorded John Denver versions I have since seen on You Tube. I am including this book, because this is about Oscar's favorite books, not mine. I brought the book into the store because I knew I was going to write this blog post. It is shelved with the other paperback picture books on one side of our children's section. We currently have about thirty paperback picture books in the store. Oscar came into the store yesterday, and of course he spotted the book and immediately demanded I read it to him. He really likes Sunshine on My Shoulders.

Eight Animals on the Town

By Susan Middleton Elya

Illustrated by Lee Chapman

Unlike the other books in the blog post, Eight Animals on the Town has been one of Oscar's favorite books for a while. He started enjoying the book at about 12-months-old. Perhaps it is the bright colors, or the funny, humanistic shapes of the animals, but my suspicion is that the books bilingual nature is what really captures Oscar's attention. The book is primarily in English, with Spanish words thrown in.

"Frog hops along hungry for Flies. Moscas says Rana, economy size."

Eight Animals on the Town. We do have other books, in Spanish, but in truth I don't know the language, and when I try to read them Oscar's eye's glaze over. I guess it is not enough for a book to be in another language, or to introduce another language, I guess it actually has to be a good book. Eight Animals on the Town definitely fits that the bill.

Dinosaurs!

2010-10-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, Oscar likes cars, a lot. But, he also has other interests, which are tents, and dinosaurs. There aren't a lot of kid books about tents, but thankfully dinosaurs are a popular topic, and there are some really cool new Dino books available!

The Ultimate Dino-Pedia

written by "Dino" Don Lessem illustrated by Franco Tempesta

This new dinosaur encyclopedia from National Geographic touts itself as the most complete dinosaur reference ever. Pictorally, that may well be true; the book is filled with pictures of every dinosaur currently known. The pictures visually pop out of the book with dinosaurs in lizardly colors tromping, rollicking, and of course eating in deserts, swamplands, and forests. I am happy to report that it does not appear to be the most complete book text-wise. An eight-year-old can read the Ultimate Dino-Pedia on their own. True this 271-page-book may intimidate an eight year old, but those who have no fear can easily conquer the Dino-Pedia!

Each page has the name of the dinosaur in large print at the top (with a pronunciation guide below) and a two-word synopsis followed by a single paragraph of description. For example:

SCANSORIOPTERYX

SCAN-sore-ee-OP-tore-icks

TREETOP HUNTER

Scansoriopteryx has some odd features for a little meat eater - and they all suggest it climbed trees. It has long front limbs...

Each page has a box with the dinosaurs name, the meaning of the name, the period they lived, where they were found, fossils that have been discovered, length, and a pictorial size comparison of the dinosaur to 4foot 6inch kid. There is a fun fact in a circle, often accompanied by a picture. On the Scansoriopteryx page there is a picture of a woodpecker, and then a blurb about how the dinosaur may have fed on insects living in the tree bark. Additionally there is a descriptive blurb on the awesome dinosaur picture, the Scansoriopteryx blurb talks about how it climbed trees with it's claw-tipped third finger, and how it couldn't actually fly, despite it's feathers.

In truth, this Dino-Pedia does contain a LOT of information about dinosaurs. But it is set up is such visually arresting way that it holds the attention of my 22-month-old, which is pretty impressive.

Dinosaurs?!

by Lila Prap

If you would like some humor with your dinosaur facts, this is the book for you! Lila Praps' Dinosaurs?! is filled with stylized dinosaur illustrations surrounded by chickens commenting on the creature's abilities and making jokes at it's expense. Chickens are descended from dinosaurs, you see, so they feature prominently in the book. This is a great book for Dino fans with a sense of humor, I myself enjoy it more than Dino-Pedia, but Oscar doesn't quite get all the jokes.

On the Ankylosaurus page (that's the dinosaur with a spiky armor on it's back and a big club tail) a chicken asks "Why does this one have a club on his tail? Did he whack flies with it?" A rooster responds "He had it instead of a weight to work out with." And then little chicks add "Or to hit himself on the head if he couldn't remember something!" That makes me smile, but Oscar, would think it meant the dinosaur used his tail to whack flies. So, I probably need to wait until he is at least 3 years old to share Dinosaurs?! with Oscar.

Rumble, Roar, Dinosaur!

More prehistoric poems with lift-the-flap surprises!

Written by Tony Mitton, Illustrated by Lynne Chapman

Ankylosaurus

When I'm busy feeding I look easy to attack,

but look at all this tough stuff I'm wearing on my back.

You may think I'm a meal that a carnivore might like,

but imagine trying to chew through a knob or a spike.

If you mean to eat me, believe me it's a wast...

Even if you caught me, you wouldn't like the taste!

This poem is printed on a page with picture of a spiky toothed Dino just about to chomp on the Ankylosaurus' tail. The spiky toothed Dino's head is a flap, you pull it down and there's a picture of a confused spiky toothed Dino saying YUCK!

This is humor Oscar can understand! Not a lot of Dino facts, but lots of fun poems and flaps! Very cute.

Spooky Reads for Hallow's Eve 2010

2010-10-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy the costumes. I wish I didn't enjoy the candy. But candy or no candy, the costumes, and carnival air of the evening are something I look forward to every year. One of the other things I enjoy about Halloween, is that everyone, regardless of your age, can enjoy the holiday. So for this blog post I've included books for each age range. Enjoy!

Ages 14 & UP

Fat Vampire by Adam Rex

If you were a fifteen year old boy you might have dreams of a hot sexy vampire chick turning you, and romantically living happily ever after with super vampire powers. But that of course, would be a fantasy. What might really happen is that you get attacked one night by half crazed schoolmate who could care less who he attacked, and you end up fat and fifteen forever. This of course is what happened to Doug. Fat and fifteen, Doug now has to feed on blood, but has no idea of how to get it. He isn't a murderer, animals are kinda hard to catch, and robbing blood banks isn't as easy as one might think.

In Adam Rex's hands Doug, the fat vampire, seems like a lot of the kids you went to high school with. He wants to be cool, he wants the new foreign exchange student to like him, he wants to be a popular kid. But he isn't, and as Adam Rex wisely points out towards the end of the book, sometimes he isn't even nice.

Adam Rex is the author of one of my all time favorite books, The True Meaning of Smekday. Smekday is a super funny read for kids 10 to 14. Fat Vampire is for an older crowd, but the humor is still there, it is just darker. There is a gloomy hilarity that pervades this high school fantasy. The gloom, oddly, makes the story seem all the more realistic. Don't expect a happy ending, but expect a rewarding one.

Ages 10 to 14
Weenie Series: In the Land of the Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies
by David Lubar
David Lubar writes funny, off beat short stories, that frequently have unexpected or surprise fantastical endings. For example, there is the Thanksgiving when the vegetarian relatives come to visit. The house is attacked by monster turkeys who go after the vegetarians because they taste better. Or there is the kid who secretly meets up with his Internet friend, who turns out not to be a 12-year-old, but an adult man. That is fine with the kid who then lets loose his fangs and attacks. In Mr. Lubar's hands these little tales take up more than two sentences each, they usually they run three to five pages.

David Lubar's short stories are quirky mixtures of science fiction and typical middle class American life. His protagonists are children, typically from 7 to 17 years of age. His tales read like urban legends, and maybe that is where they came from; they stick in your head and make you smile & shiver at the oddest times. His tales can be creepy, and scary. They are perfect Halloween reading!

Ages 6 to 10
Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night
by Joyce Sidman
illustrated by Rick Allen
COOL BOOK! Fantastic illustrations. Using linoleum cuts illustrator Rick Allen has created amazing visions of the natural world at night time. Each complex and lyrical illustration accompanies an equally lyrical poem describing a life form within the illustration. Some of the poems rhyme, some do not, but they each create a feeling of darkness and life. The poems and illustrations are the heart of the book, but along the right hand border of each set there is a paragraph with a literal retelling of all the poem describes. In a typical book I would say that the paragraphs are scientific expansions of the poem, but they don't read like science, they read like a story of their own.

For example there is the first poem, Welcome to the Night, the first stanza begins:

"To all of you who crawl and creep,
who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep....."

On the same page there is a colored linoleum cut of a Raccoon washing it's hands with the sun setting behind it. The adjoining page has a larger illustration with a dappled curling, gnarled oak. A raccoon is climbing down the tree and pale flocks of birds are flying past in the background. Faintly you can see a deer peeping it's head over the grasses and looking directly at you. There is a log in the foreground, almost covered with grasses and, mushrooms and flowers. A mouse peeks out of the grass in front of the log, a snail climbs down a leaf on the left, and a newt hides behind a blade of grass to the right. Meanwhile, in the grasses, there is a spider weaving a web. To the right of this illustration is a paragraph, which begins:

"As night falls, the nocturnal world wakes. Mice begin to stir, moths flutter into the starlight, and deer step out from hidden places to roam and forage...."

This is the most beautiful picture book I have seen this year.

Ages 3 to 6
Frank was a Monster who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves
Keith Graves is one of my favorite author & illustrators of books. His Three Nasty Gnarlies (now sadly out of print) is one of my all time favorites. He has a new book, Chicken Big, which is quite funny, but as it is not for Halloween, we'll talk about it another time. What I will tell you about right now is Frank, who was a monster who wanted to dance! A monster dancing, how cute! And Frank is very cute, at least at first. But in the course of his dancing his brain flops out of his head, and as he keeps dancing his body keeps disintegrating. Frank is okay with his disintegration, he is just happy he can dance. Frank was a Monster who Wanted to Dance is actually kinda gross, but it is a fun sort of gross, perfect for Halloween!

Ages 1 to 3
Halloween Lift-the-Flap Shadow Book by Priddy Books
Those of you who are avid readers of this blog (mom I'm looking at you!) may remember that I am, in general, a big fan of Priddy Books. Bright pictures, high quality binding, and low price tags - what's not to like? At $8.99 Halloween Lift-the-Flap is not really low priced, but despite the lack of creativity in the title, the book is worth it. The cover is sparkly and shiny with a evil red spider looking up at you from it's spider web. The inside pages are mostly two - toned, black and white, sometimes black and purple, always black and something. But when you lift the flaps you get COLOR! A photo of a skull and crossbones with a chartreuse green background, a photo of tarantula against bright orange, the contrasts POP!

Here is a more detailed description of one of the books inside pages:
There is a black shadow of a tree against a white background (some sparkly stars thrown along the base for fun). In the middle of the tree trunk is a circle with two big eyes. Above and below the circle are the words:
"Who HOOTS in the DARK wood?"
The circle is a flap, you lift it, and there is the photo of an owl head with bright orange eyes looking right at you! In orange print, on the backside of the flap is the word "Owl".

The flaps are paper, which can easily be torn. If your child is a page ripper, you may want to hold off on this one, but if your little one can handle tearable flaps, this book would be an excellent addition to your Halloween shelf.

Ages 0 to 2

Little Bat Finger Puppet Book by Chronicle Books

Puppets are fun! This small board book has a circle cut into each page through which you stick your finger into a little bat puppet. It's little black head, with pointing ears and a round grey nose, moves with a surprisingly mouse-like realism as you wiggle your finger while turning the pages. Each page had approximately three words on it, the book as a whole consists of five sentences describing the little bat flying through the night. The illustrations are high contrast and simple, perfect for newborns and youngsters!

An Ode to Tony DiTerlizzi

2010-10-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Tony DiTerlizzi is a famous author. In truth I prefer reviewing unknown author's works because I feel that my job as a bookseller is to guide folks to great books that they DON'T already know about. But SHUCKS, sometimes those famous authors are famous for a reason, and I just can't ignore them.

Tony DiTerlizzi's newest book is called The Search for Wondla, and it's great. It is a thicker tomb (and thus more intimidating to the young reader) than his other works, but it is still appropriate for young readers, I would say it is for ages 10 and up, but if you have a voraciously reading 8-year-old that gobbles up all print in sight, Wondla would be a fine gobble.

What is it about The Search for Wondla that makes it so great? Well the fantastic illustrations don't hurt. But in truth I can't put my finger on why Mr. DiTerlizzi is such a good writer. This is the man who IMPROVED the Kenneth Grahame's classic The Reluctant Dragon with 2008's Kenny and the Dragon (which STILL isn't available in paperback). His sentences are short and evocative, he keeps you turning the pages, and his actual stories are interesting, unusual, and fun.

The Search for Wondla is actually a science-fiction mystery. A young girl raised by a robot yearns to leave her pod, and when she does, it is NOT what she expected. She goes on a journey filled with weird creatures and adventures. Her journey is futuristicly similar to another famous tale that I won't tell you because I don't want to ruin the surprise (and I'm embarrassed to say it really was a surprise for me)!

We've started a Family Book Gathering at the store, and today is our first meeting. We'll start with a picture book reading, then move onto a craft during which parents and older kids can hopefully get a chance to discuss authors and books. For our first meeting we'll be discussing Tony Diterlizzi; I can't think of a better author to start with. And of course all his books will be discounted (until the next blog post) and displayed on the "blog shelf" in the kid's section, so if you find yourself wandering through Bishop stop on by and and take a look what the great man has created.

Plain Kate - Plainly the Best!

2010-09-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

2010 has been a good year for children's literature. I have read a lot of entertaining and well-written stories that I am happy to proud to share with customers and friends. But of course, some of the stories stand out more than others. Some of the stories stay with you, haunting your dreams and seeping into your psyche so that it seems implausible that there was ever a time where you didn't know the tale. Gypsies and witches and ghosts traveling through a water-filled forested land speckled here and there with small and large towns, with farms and cities; this landscape seems to be something that I have always known, except I haven't. I first read an advance edition of Plain Kate this summer, and before that I had never read a book on gypsies though I am sure many exist. Patiently I've been waiting for Plain Kate to be available to the general public, and it seems to have taken forever, but finally it is here! Now perhaps my inner world of forests and mists won't be only mine anymore.

First, let me explain the story in rough unpoetical prose that is not at all worthy of Erin Bow's tale. Kate is the daughter of a wood carver, her mother died in childbirth. She loves her father more than anything, so of course he dies. Though she is an accomplished carver herself his shop goes to another man in the guild, so Kate goes to live in a stall in the market place carving wooden trinkets, sleeping in a drawer, and feeding her stray cat when she can. A strange man comes to town, a witch, and he "convinces" Kate to trade her shadow with him for her heart's desire. Her heart wants her father back, but what she gets is companionship with the most incredible wonderful creature, her cat, who starts to talk, and well, who is much more than a cat.

She joins a group of gypsies and befriends a girl utterly unlike herself, but this girl too lost her mother. Kate tries to help her new friend, but it goes utterly wrong. She is "cast out" of the gypsies and ends up a captive to the very man who took her shadow. A man filled with vengeance, who is reeking havoc on the country side as he uses Kate's shadow to bring his sister back to a sort of life, a life as a ghosts who kills all those she touches. And though weak, and without a shadow, and seemingly without any hope, Kate tries to stop him.

The story of Plain Kate is a tale worth telling, but it is Erin Bow's words that make the story leap off the page. She can say a lot in a sentence, her paragraphs will give you pages of information and emotion that hit your chest with a dull thump so that your heart goes "ow". Put simply I have never read a better written children's book. If I were on the Newbery committee, Plain Kate would be my choice. There are a number of other fabulous poetic books for children and while I am talking about beautiful writing I should give a shout out to Susan Patron whose every sentence seems somewhat like a poem in miniature. But Erin Bow's ability to pack large amounts of information in such sparse poetic prose is amazing. She should be read by every writer, and everyone interested in writing, as well as those who like a good children's book.

Summer Hand Sales

2010-07-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hand selling is a bookseller term for when we direct customers to a particular title that we like. In truth it is done automatically, when you work in a bookstore, you like books, and if a customer asks for recommendations you do your best to help them. Lately I found that I have been hand selling two titles that I haven't blogged about! They are both great new summer reads, one romance and one science fiction thriller.

First the romance:

The Half-Life of Planets by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin

This teen summer romance is written in the he said / she said format with the alternate authors writing alternate chapters from different characters point of view. I admit that this is one of my favorite formats for character driven books; it is easy to read and it keeps stories interesting where books written in straight linear formats often get bogged down somewhere in the middle. There is no bogging in The Half-Life of Planets.

Liana is an aspiring scientist from a well-off unhappy family. Hank is an aspiring musician from a not-so-well-off unhappy family. Oh, and Hank has Asperger's, a form of Autism that is not so severe that he cannot interact, but does interfere with his ability to relate to other teenagers, and it makes his musical aspirations seem more like obsessions. Actually it was his Asperger's that first drew Liana to Hank. She met him in a women's bathroom and thought he must be mature because he didn't seem embarrassed. Hank wasn't embarrassed, he wouldn't think that one would need to be embarrassed if they were found in a women's bathroom...

Liana knows Hank is different, but she doesn't know why, and for much of the book she doesn't know WHAT is wrong with him. It is an interesting plot device. The Half-Life of Planets is a classic teen romance, with a twist, and it is lots of fun!

Now for the Action:

Dark Life by Kat Falls

Much of the continents have fallen into the sea, forcing humanity to cram into cities that grow higher and higher. Space becomes valuable and unattainable, inspiring some to colonize the sea. These colonists live in fantastic undersea jelly houses and farm the ocean floor. But no one knows yet how living undersea will affect humans, or how to stop a gang of raiders from attacking the colonist's homesteads.

Ty, the first child raised undersea, is desperate to hide the powers he is developing. Gemma, a topsider, is searching for her only family, a long-lost brother who was last known to be an ocean miner. Together they try to outwit the raiders and save their families.

The adventure keeps you turning the pages, but in truth it is Kat Falls' utterly believable and super techno cool creation of an undersea wild-west-world that makes Dark Life fantastic!

Woo Hoo New Books!

2010-07-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

Every month (well, almost every month) I get to bring in new books to the childrens' section. Opening a box of new childrens' books is like candy for me, and this month's candy is particularly delicious. So I'm sharing some of the tastiest treats with you here.

Nomansland

by Lesley Hague

While not a suspenseful page turner, Nomansland is a succinct vivid tale that will stay with you forever. Nomansland tells the story of Keller, a young woman training to be a tracker in a future society where men are not allowed, meaning male babies are not permitted. Women rule the land (an island) with a cold iron fist; societal jobs are prescribed at an early age, deviation is not allowed, and names ending in "i" or "y" are illegal. No Mandi, Tracy, or Brandi will be found in Nomansland, because those names are symbols of the past, when women were weak, and when the world was nearly destroyed. The trackers are the warriors of this society, the strongest, the hardest, the best. But when a group of trainee trackers, including Keller, discover an old house, hidden under bushes and vines, and filled with alluring glossy magazines showing pictures of women with bright red lips and strange shoes, their faith in the culture of Nomansland is destroyed, and their lives are endangered. The final climax to Nomansland is heart-pounding, and the images it creates are so vivid, you won't be able to get them out of your head.

Still Sucks To Be Me

by Kimberly Pauley

In an unusual twist I like a SEQUEL BETTER than an original. In Sucks to be Me Mina has to decide if she wants to be a vampire and keep her family, but then loose her best friend. She chose the vampire route, and in Still Sucks to be Me the real adventures begin! Her family is relocated (expected) to a small southern town with EVIL vampires (ooohhh). Mina's vampire boyfriend is out of town, and one of the cute evil vamps takes a liking to her, and well, shenanigans abound...A great summer read!

The Ultimate Organizer for Moms : Pregnancy Through Year Five

By Tabori Fried

If I had this book when I was pregnant with Oscar, I might have kept better track of things. This is a combination of a typical baby book, with spots to place pictures, but it also works as a calendar where you can write in doctor's appointments and play dates, and it has folders on the front and back covers to store relevant papers. Basically it is the best baby book I have yet seen.

What Really Happened to Humpty?

by Joe Dumpty as told to Jeanie Franz Ransom

illustrated by Stephen Axelsen

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

Humpty Dumpty was pushed.

At least I think so. Who am I? I'm Joe Dumpty, Humpty's younger brother."

A hard boiled detective picture book filled with Mother Goose's offspring. Who can resist?

Ten Black Dots

by Donald Crews

The most creative counting book I've seen in a long time. The black dots increase in number while the pictures behind them change. " One dot can make a sun, or a moon when the day is done."

Weather : a Lift-the-Flap Book

by Pippa Shaw

illustrated by Andrew Grey

based on the works of A.A. Milne and the artwork of E.H. Shepard

I'm a fan of Pooh Bear, and this new board book does the Pooh justice. The artwork is fabulous, the words are simple & sweet, and the focus on weather is fun!

Air Show!

2010-07-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Planes, trains, and automobiles.... Little boys love them. Even Oscar's close friend Amaya (currently 20-months-old) has a weakness for things that fly through the air or roll along the ground. So it is understandable that they would like books about our big adult toys.

When I first received a review copy of Treat Williams' and Robert Neubecker's children's picture book Air Show! I thought it was okay, but I didn't think it was anything to blog about, Oscar disagreed.

Air show was not made for 18-month-olds, it is a large hard cover book with paper pages and a decent amount of text. As a bookseller I would think it was for ages 2-6, except that my 18-month-old CANNOT get enough of Airshow! Soon I will have the book memorized. Air Show! is about planes, and Oscar likes planes. In the book Ellie and her family are flying to an airshow, where they get to look at planes (lots of planes) and Ellie gets to fly in a stunt plane. The fact that a little girl is the main character in a plane book is cute, her older brother is there too, but as the story says, "he was just a know-it-all." The book has a bunch of pilot talk in it, and I am absolutely sure that when I read:

"Directional gyro?"
"Check."
"Transponder?"
"Set."

Oscar has NO IDEA what I am talking about, because I have NO IDEA what I am talking about. But, it doesn't matter. That text is on a page with a picture of an airplane's control panel thingy, the two pilots, and Ellie and her brother. I sound official reading it, and I guess that is enough for Oscar because he LOVES the picture.

Oscar loves EVERY picture in this book, including the spectacular center fold-out of the air show with 22 different airplanes illustrated and labeled with their name and the year they were made. Even I enjoy looking at the fold-out, and I'm not a plane person. When I got the review copy, it wasn't bound, so I put holes in it and tied it together with yarn to read it to Oscar. That binding might have been okay if I read it once or twice a week, but it didn't withstand 5 readings a day. So we bought the hard cover. Air Show! is the FIRST hard cover picture book I have bought for Oscar, it probably won't be the last, but Air Show does earn a special place in our family for being the first.

As I mentioned before, I'm not a plane person; I'm also not a car person, but I will profess a weakness for trains. So, Treat Williams and Robert Neubecker, can you work together on a book about trains for me? Thanks. - Genevieve

Oooh Ahhh Da? Go go? Can you read me some more Richard Scarry please?

2010-06-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

As the former manager of multiple parent education programs for a local non-profit, I went to numerous trainings that discussed the need for crisp, clear, simple pictures in children's books with lots of contrast. And I can say that when Oscar was an infant bold simple lines did get his attention. The problem is kids don't stay infants for long. At 18 months Oscar has not yet discarded the board books of his infant past, but they are NOT his first choice. His first choice are books with busy pictures, with lots of different things to point to, and preferably filled with cars, trains, and planes, tractors all of which Oscar calls "go go". Essentially Oscar's first choice is Richard Scarry.

Richard Scarry, the author I grew up with and knew so well, is and I suppose will always be, popular. Pictures of rabbits, pigs, and worms driving and inevitably crashing cars resonates with kids. Fortunately Richard Scarry has A LOT of books, so though my beautiful child always wants to read his stories, at least I have a number of stories to choose from. We have Busiest Fire Fighter's Ever, Please and Thank You Book, A Day at the Airport and The Best Mistake Ever! and other Stories all of which were $3.99. We also have Richard Scarry's What do People Do All Day big book, which retails for $14.00 The big book is Oscar's favorite, and my least favorite; it is big, and FILLED with lots of pictures and lots of stories, and Oscar wants me to read it to him for hours. I love reading to my child, but my throat does get sore after a while. So I prefer Richard Scarry's shorter books, but Oscar disagrees.

Though Richard Scarry remains popular and relevant, there have been some revisions to his stories, many of which were first published in the 60s and 70s. Here is a link to an awesome comparison of the 1963 and the 1991 edition of the Best Word Book Ever. Even the modern editions printed in the 90's don't include cell phones; in the Busiest Fire Fighters Ever! Mr Frumble alerts the fire fighters to a fire by pulling the handle of the alarm box in the street. Today he would dial 911 on his cell phone, and if he didn't have a cell phone he would flag down other pedestrians or drivers on the street to use their cell phone. (I'm one of those rare people without a cell, but don't worry I have a plan, in emergencies I'll use other people's phones). Regardless, the alarm box on the street goes over Oscar's head; he likes the fire engines, and the pigs wearing colander helmets. Actually Oscar is too young to get the the joke of the fire fighter pigs wearing colander helmets, but I get it, and it does make the book more enjoyable for me. This is important, because I have to read the book over and over and over and over and over AGAIN!

Incidentally, in 1968 Richard Scarry received an advance of up to $100,000.000 for What Do People Do All Day, he was outselling Dr. Seuss, and yet he never won any awards for his work. Here is a link to an excellent short biography of the man.

Spring Reads

2010-05-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

I've been off the computer for much of the last two months, so I apologize for the lack of new posts to this site. But, my time away from the computer has allowed me to spend much more time READING. And I've discovered some new gems to share with you.

Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow

A great many wonderful books for reluctant readers have been published in the last couple years, but the majority seem to be geared towards the male reader. I'm not sure why this is? Although I would love to believe that females are superior at everything, I have a hard time believing that there are no females who read reluctantly.

Well now reluctant female readers have a spectacular book to curl up with! In fact, this is a book for avid readers as well. Amy Ignatow's popularity papers takes the form a journal put together by two best friends - there are lots of pictures (that tell the story rather than illustrate it) and the entries from the different friends are in different ink colors and fonts (one is cursive)! There is definitely text in the book, but you don't go much more than three paragraphs without some seriously colorful illustrations.

While the idea of the Popularity Papers is cute and humorous (two best friends trying to discover the secret to popularity), what really makes this book stand out is Amy Ignatow's ability to create fully fleshed out, beautifully human characters with just a couple sentences and an illustration. The book is funny, but there is an underlying depth and truth to characters and interactions that is rare in books of this genre. Actually I can't remember the last time I read a book in which EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER has rounded edges. Even Graceling, the book I will rave about later in this post has some one-dimensional characters in it. What Amy Ignatow has managed to do, in a book for 8 to 12-year-olds, is truly unique. She is a talent to watch.

Falcon Quinn and the Black Mirror by Jennifer Finney Boylan

Falcon Quinn is a good, fun read, with action, adventure, and plot twists that actually take a reader by surprise. Falcon Quinn is a young boy who, with many others, attends a monster academy. But no one, not even the teachers, know just what kind of monster Falcon is. Although Falcon's monster mystery hardly matters as the monster teachers seem to be trying to squash all the monsterness out of their monster students. Readers will learn just how many different kinds of monsters there are; did you know there are monster slugs? Go figure!

You aren't going to discover the meaning of life while reading Falcon, but you are going to enjoy the book, and if you are like me you will be quite anxious to read the sequel. This is a good start to a fun series for 10 - 14-year-olds.

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

Imagine you just won the Newbery for your book of poems about the middle ages. You are guaranteed to be used in classrooms for decades to come, teachers are going to remember your name. So, what do you write next? A small chapter book about an injured fairy would not have been my first guess, but it works!

The Night Fairy is a handsome little tale that will be well loved by girls and boys from 6 to about 11 for years to come. An excellent follow-up to medieval poetry!

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

I sweated over the staff pick I wrote for this book (it hangs in front of the book in the store). I wrote two different picks, one was just too pretentious and one called the book sweet, which was guaranteed to drive any 11 to 13-year-old boy away. I ended up throwing the first two picks away and posting:

Hilarious!

Sweet!

Original!

Unique!

I love it!

Basically I wimped out. And I did use the word "sweet", but I figure the exclamation mark makes it a little more palatable.

I used the word "sweet" to describe The Strange Case of Origami Yoda because it is sweet. Many books about middle-schoolers, including the justifiably famous, best-seller Diary of a Wimpy Kid, focus on the cruel nastiness that kids live with and often perpetrate on a daily basis. Middle School can be rough, but the not all kids are mean, and they don't have to be. In Origami Yoda the dorkiest, least understandable kid turns out to be the coolest one - and that is sweet. Not all the kids are mean to him, even though they do think he is a dork, and that is also sweet. And outside of all this sweetness, it is also a funny, easy read, that I actually like better than the justifiably famous, best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

The Agency : A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

The Agency is a mystery set in Victorian England. It isn't a bad mystery, but the mystery is not what makes The Agency special. Part of what makes The Agency special is that it is about a spy agency made up of only WOMEN; could a spy agency of only women existed in Victorian England? Probably not, but that is okay, we can suspend disbelief for this book. The other part of what makes The Agency special is the dual identity of it's main character, she is an orphan who is 1/2 Chinese but is trying to pass as all white. The book has mystery and romance, which I would expect, but the conflicting cultures of a bi-racial female Victorian spy - I admit to never having seen this theme in a young adult mystery book before, and I am intrigued. Another bonus to the Agency is that it appeals to a broad age range, kids from 10 to 17 will enjoy the book.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I would not have thought a fantasy about gifted assassin would the best book I've read in the last year. In fact if everyone else hadn't raved about this book I might not have even picked it up. But I did pick it up, and I couldn't put it down. And now I seem oddly disappointed in all other young adult fantasies I read. Nothing is as good as Graceling. Graceling is violent, it has numerous adult themes, and it is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend it to anyone over the age of 14, and it is good reading for mature 12-year-olds as well.

A 15-Month-Old's Favorite Reads!

2010-03-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Oscar's Favorites

Oscar is now 15 months old. Time flies, I remember his birth as though it was yesterday. I remember his first favorite book, Squishy Turtle and Friends, a touchy feely fabric book I had memorized. We had two copies so we could keep one at home and send the other to daycare with him. We haven't read it in quite some time now. Oscar can turn pages on his own now and he has moved beyond fabric books and into the board book world. In fact we've even started reading paper paged books together. Time does fly.

So as Oscar grows older his favorite books change. It is somewhat bittersweet, I'm sad that my knowledge of every line in the Squishy Turtle is now useless, but I'm also relieved; I was really getting sick of that book. So Oscar doesn't have one single favorite book at this moment, but he has a number that he wants me to read over and over and over and over and over again. I usually humor him, but reading a book five times in a row is my limit.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
By Kids Play
If you press the top right corner of the book you can hear a tune and see little pinpoints of light blink (like stars) on the cover. The song and stars are what makes this inexpensive (not board but not quite paper, more like card stock) book a hit with Oscar. The only annoying thing is that I'll be three pages in and he'll flip the cover back so he can see the twinkly lights. I have enjoyed learning the additional verses to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; the book has five verses, accompanied by lovely illustrations of nighttime critters following the star and meeting friends along the way.

Bright Baby Touch and Feel
By Roger Priddy
Oscar loves the bright and colorful photos in the bright baby touch and feel books. And he wants me to read the books to him over and over again: Truck, Apple, Dress, Shoes.... I have to admit that I will be most happy when he grows out these books. They are good books, he loves them, but they sure are boring to read aloud.

Peek-a-Who?

By Nina Laden

Peek-a-Who? has been one of Oscars favorite books since he was about six months old. And he still likes it. He likes the die cut pages that peek at the picture coming, and I think he likes to repetitive "ooo" sounds. He still doesn't understand the book, he doesn't know what a zoo is, or even what the choo choo of a train are. Because so much of the book is still over his head, it may be a favorite for years to come. We'll see.

Mole and the Baby Bird

By Marjorie Newman

Illustrated by Patrick Benson

This is a FANTASTIC story about Mole, who finds an abandoned baby bird, nurses it to health, and then has a hard time letting go as the bird grows up and learns to fly. One of the lines tugs at my heart every time I read it:

"He opened the cage door, and he let his bird fly away because he loved it. Then he cried."

Oscar is only 15-months-old, he has one word, "hi"; but he'll let me read him the whole book. He is interested in the pictures, some of which are breathtakingly beautiful and sweet. I'm thrilled that this is one of his favorite books.

Moo Baa LaLaLa!

By Sandra Boynton

The majority of my friends with children are BIG Boynton fans. Oscar (and I), oddly did not jump on to the Boynton bandwagon as early as some of his friends, but with Moo Baa Lalala he is joining in! If I had the patience for it he would have me read it ten times in a row. The book calls for making a lot of animal sounds, something both Oscar and I enjoy.

Hush Little Baby

By Sylvia Long
Though this book has been in the bookstore forever, I never picked it up. I have never been a fan of the Hush Little Baby song. Fortunately a co-worker keyed me into the fact that Sylvia Long was also not a fan of the song, and in this lovely little board book she has re-written it! No longer is mama buying everything under the sun for her little baby, instead mama is showing her baby the wonders of the night, shooting stars, the harvest moon. I sing the book to Oscar every night, it is part of our routine.

The Giant Jam Sandwich

By John Vernon Lord

Verses by Janet Burroway

In truth Oscar rarely sits through this full-story board book, but he does like it, and I don't mind that we often skip a page or four. I love the rhyming verse, and I love that I remember the book from my own youth; it was first published in 1972. I think Oscar loves how excited I am when he brings it over to me to read. He also enjoys pointing out the picture in the book that is on the cover.

Mamas and Babies Book and Memory Match Game

By Green Start

The board book has sweet rhymes, and Oscar will mostly sit through it, but what he really likes are the memory match cards. He can't match a single card. They are color coded, so that the mama panda has a green border and the baby panda has a green border, but even with that color assistance he cannot yet match the mama and baby panda together. But still he loves the cards. He loves taking the cards out of the box, he loves putting them into the box, he loves handing me cards, and taking them from me. Eventually we may actually use the cards to play a game of memory, but I doubt it will happen any time soon.

WHEELIES!

2010-02-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Gift for any boy under 5 (and quite a few girls too)...

WHEELIES!

Wheelies are basic board books, with 1 - 5 word descriptions of pictures of tractors, motorcycles, or sports cars....with wheels. So if your sweet little one is not quite into books yet, they will see it as a toy car. If your sweet little one does like books, then they get a book and a toy in one.

Around 6 months of age Oscar developed a fascination with wheels; he would try to eat the ones on the stroller, which was a little gross. So he really liked the Wheelie book I got him on diggers. He didn't know what a digger was, but he would sit through me turning a page or two, and then he would play with the wheels. Now at 14 months he wants me to read to book, and still plays with it as a toy - wheeling it across the room.

As with most toys, there is a possibility that a Wheelie's wheels could come off, and if that happened parts could be a choking hazard. So don't let a child younger than three play with a Wheelie, without supervision. That said, I have not yet seen a Wheelie disintegrate, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Until my next post, all Wheelies at the bookstore are 20% off. Have a great weekend!

Books for Your little Sweethearts!

2010-01-29T14:22:00.000-08:00

VALENTINES DAY IS ALMOST HERE!

Of course a hug is the best gift one can receive on Valentines Day. Home made cards are also nice, especially if they are received Valentines Day, and not two days later (pay attention dear husband). But I have to say that chocolate is not a nice gift, it is fattening, it melts in the sun, and it can be hard to share. Books however, are not fattening, can take quite a bit of heat and light, and are best shared. So if you must give a gift for Valentines Day, I highly recommend giving a book. Below are some of my favorites.

Loving Board Books
Too Many Kisses by Ethan Long
Oscar can only say three words, and they aren't "I love you". He can say "hi", "bye", and "hot" - though Delia who watches him Tuesdays and Thursdays swears he can say "vaca" (Spanish for cow). So maybe he can say four words. I'm not really sure how many words he can understand, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't know the word "kisses" or "gurgle" or "shlurp"; this lack of word knowledge doesn't stop him from breaking into a fit of giggles when we push the "PRESS ME! KISS ME!" button on this board book and hear an awesome slurpy moochy kiss. Too Many Kisses is the only book that will make my 13-month-old laugh out loud.

Hugs and Kisses by Priddy Books
Love bugs, dancing bees, and bear hugs - what more could you ask for in a touch and feel valentines book that retails for $4.95. It is a smacking good deal.

Love with a Bit of Plot.
Henry in Love by Peter McCarty

Whimsy and some shading make the illustrations in Peter McCarty's Book about Henry, a cat in love with his rabbit classmate Chloe, sentimentally striking. The moral of the story is that you can't give up much more than a blueberry muffin, and it is painfully true.

Slugs in Love by Susan Pearson
Slugs in Love may not have the beauty of Henry in Love, and in truth it's plot is not quite as achingly honest. But it does have humor, and rhymes, and I like it. Actually I like Slugs more than Henry, but the majority of my co-workers prefer Henry, so he got top billing. I suppose they think a classroom full of animals that would normally eat each other is more realistic than two slugs writing romantic poems to one another, in slime, throughout a garden patch. You be the judge.

The Valentine Classic
I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

The perfect gift for a friend of any age!

"If I pretend I am drowning
You pretend you are saving me"

Black ink illustrations accompany all the wonderful, playful reasons I Like You.

Did I call it or WHAT!

2010-01-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

The Caldecott has been awarded, and I have to say - I'm happy.

Link to Caldecott award winner.

Link to my previous post where (I'm bragging) I called it.

Congratulations Mr. Pinkney!

Easy Readers Can Be Fun!

2010-01-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

A lot of teachers come into the store lamenting about the difficulties of teaching to students who can be grades below their age in reading abilities. These teachers often pick up what I now think of as "reluctant reader classics", Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot series. These books are illustrated like comic books, but with some paragraphs thrown in; though they are written for kids aged 7-10 (Wimpy Kid goes a bit older) 12-year-olds can be seen reading them in class without being embarrassed.

Teachers purchase these books so often that I sometimes think of Captain Underpants as a book for reluctant fifth-grade readers. But the truth is, Captain Underpants is a book for 7-year-olds starting to read, as well as 11-year-olds who feel intimidated by a page chock-full of text. Pictures illustrate the text, making the words easier to understand. But of course pictures can do more than illustrate text.

At the latest Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show I spent a long time talking to a very passionate Diamond Publishing Rep about comic books and their power to inspire reading. As the Diamond Rep correctly pointed out, because comic books tell stories with pictures, even children who don't know how to read can enjoy them; because they already enjoy the comic book children are not reluctant to pick them up; because the comic's speech bubbles clearly show where words are coming from children are not confused about who is saying what; and because the words are few, but part of the story, children are motivated to read them. Schools and libraries that formerly shunned comics are now starting to embrace them.

Mr. Diamond Rep then showed me some books from a new publisher called TOON BOOKS. They were comics, but with the sense of humor of a six or seven-year-old, and they were the size of a level reader, but they were much more entertaining. Level readers, typically start with level 1 with three or four words in a row and go up to level 4 with full paragraphs and sometimes full pages of text. Level readers are good learning tools, but they are SOOOOO BORING! This is an example of a Spiderman level 2 reader :

I have to stop him.

It's time for me to go to work.

I cannot enjoy my Party if a bad guy is planning a crime.

Sandman is stealing other people's money.

This is an example from Otto's Orange Day from TOON BOOKS :

Orange is pretty. It's bold and it's strong!

Now check out this ditty; it's my orange song.

I like orange flowers...

...and I wear orange socks...

...and I build a tall tower...

...out of bright orange blocks!

So just give me orange. It's bright and it's pretty.

Just give orange - And I'm one happy kitty!

I certainly enjoy reading Otto's Orange Day more than Spiderman. In fact, I am a fan of Otto's Orange Day. It has chapters (three of them), and it has a plot. Level readers are notoriously short on plot, but with pictures illustrating new developments in addition to words, you can actually say quite a bit. I will happily teach Oscar to read with comics, especially with TOON BOOKS, and then we can work up towards Captain Underpants, but we will probably try potty-training first.

To see if other people (well kids) like these books as much as me I had them quality tested. I can safely say that they are 4-year-old and 8-year-old approved. In fact the kids LOVED the books.

Spellbinder now has a number of TOON BOOKS in the store. Some are very affordable at $4.99 in paperback, but some of the best stories ( like the Benny and Penny books) are only available in hardcover and run $12.95. They all have excellent quality binding and the artwork is spectacular. And for a while, they are 20% OFF.

I LOVE POOH-BEAR!

2009-11-28T15:48:00.001-08:00

Of course I knew of Winnie-the-Pooh growing up. He was a bear, he liked honey, he had friends. Eeyore was a downer. Piglet was little and squeaky. Rabbit was Rabbit. And Christopher Robin was a little boy and I was never sure how a little boy was friends with forest animals or how the forest animals seemed to be stuffed animals but live in the forest...but I never really thought of it much. I saw Pooh on cartoons, and I maybe had some board books or something like that, but I don't believe I ever actually read (or was read) any of A.A. Milne's unabridged classic tales until last month. And after reading the actual tales, I now understand why they are famous. A.A. Milne is good, and Winnie-the-Pooh is FABULOUS!

If you like children's literature and you don't have A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh go out and buy it NOW. You can get a cheap paperback for as little as $5.99 new, or you can get a fancy hardcover with color illustrations for about $20. There is something to be said for the hardcover, because once you read the stories you won't want to give them up.

A.A. Milne's writing is not just for children, but for adults, particularly adults who are around children. From Chapter 1:

"When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are going to say, "But I thought he was a boy?"
"So did I," said Christopher Robin.
"Then you can't call him Winnie?"
"I don't."
"But you said-"
"He's Winne-ther-Pooh. Don't you know what 'ther' means?"
"Ah, yes, now I do," I said quickly; and I hope you do too, because it is all the explanation you are going to get.

It is Milne's style of writing, more than the facts of the stories themselves, that make Winnie-the-Pooh so pleasurable, and memorable. True the idea of a bear visiting his friend (Rabbit) and then eating so much he is not able to fit through the door is funny, but it is not as funny as Rabbit's response:

"It all comes," said Rabbit sternly, "of eating too much. I thought so at the time," said Rabbit, "only I didn't like to say anything," said Rabbit, "that one of us was eating too much," said Rabbit, "and I knew it wasn't me," he said.

The truth is we don't sell much of Winnie-the-Pooh in the store. We'll sell level readers and board books that feature his likeness, and pared-down versions of his stories. But it is not the same. The level readers we sell aren't bad, but sentences are missing, and well, I miss them. When you abridge Milne's writing, you abridge his humor; the story is still there, but the twinkle is gone.

Milne has written more than just Winnie-the-Pooh, he wrote The House at Pooh Corner. But I haven't read it yet. I never read any A.A. Milne until the publisher Penguin decided to publish a THIRD book in the Winnie-the-Pooh series written not by A.A. Milne (who died in 1956) but by David Benedictus. This book by Mr. Benedictus is called Return to the Hundred Acre Wood. I confess I haven't read it, but I will. I will also read Milne's When We Were Very Young and Now We are Six. But because I haven't read Mr. Benedictus' edition to the Pooh family I can't comment on it's worthiness, but I am curious.

Darn that Vacuum!

2009-11-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-15T11:58:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

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.

A Book for the Roaring Set

2009-08-04T17:12:00.001-07:00

Cute, new, and soon to be classic; everyone loves the Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen. The Library Lion came out in 2006 as was on the bestseller list (New York Times & IndieBound) for some time. The illustrations are timeless, so much so that when it first came out I overlooked it. I always take note of flashy and bold illustrations in picture books, but then I don't always read the stories. The tale of the Library Lion is so classic only classic illustrations will do; the pictures and the story fit each other perfectly.

This is the story in a nutshell: A lion is allowed in the library because he follows the rules, he even helps the librarians with dusting and what not. One day a librarian is injured and the lion has to break the rules to get the librarian help. He is sad because now that he has broken a rule he has to leave the library, but because he broke the rule for a good reason he is allowed to stay. Yeah!

This is a book that I feel I grew up with, except I didn't; I was 30 when it was first published. However, I have a feeling a lot of future adults are going to remember it as a book they grew up with; the book is now available in paperback, a significantly cheaper option that should spread the story far and wide.

This week's Book of the Week is Library Lion! As always it is 20% off in the store.

Nation - The Book of the Week

2009-07-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Last year I wrote a review for Terry Pratchett's young adult novel Nation. I loved it. I still love it, I love it so much that I can't figure out what to say about it for a staff review in the store. Now you can love it too, for 20% off. This week's Book of the Week is Nation!

Boxcar Vampires?

2009-07-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

It makes sense for publishers to cash in on the vampire craze. Vampire books sell, so why not make as many as possible? I may roll my eyes at the sheer number vampire books listed in the catalogues, but I understand that fans of Twilight need additional books to satisfy their needs. But but but but but but - BUT I never thought the craze would make it's way into the Boxcar Children!

This September the Boxcar Children is coming out with it's 120th book - The Vampire Mystery! Now, for $4.99, 8 year-olds can enjoy vampire lore as well! When I saw it in the catalogue I laughed for ten minutes, I was crying, my eyes watered, in truth it made my day.

This means nothing if you don't know the Boxcar Children. It is an early chapter book series created by 1st grade teacher Gertrude Chandler Warner in 1924. I read the first book as a youngin, and though I was never prone to cleaning, I too wanted to make my own broom out of a stick and twigs; I wonder if the author knew her protagonists would be encountering vampires in the future?

A Train Book with Tracks!

2009-07-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

There are lots of novelty books, wood books, books with puppets attached, books in the shape of animals... I kinda like novelty books, it spices up life when unpacking a book box - rectangle rectangle rectangle STAR rectangle rectangle rectangle. But being a funny shape doesn't always make for a good story, so it is extra special when a book combines both novelty AND tale. This week's Book of the Week does just that!

Usborne's Farmyard Tales Wind-Up Train Book, comes with a model train and 3 tracks. The over sized board book has three stories with a track to go with each one. The stories are based on Farmyard Tales by Heather Amery and include a horse rescuing a school group by pulling a broken-down train, a trip to the seaside, and a train dog rescue. They are cute, simple stories good for ages 0-6. After each story there is a track illustrating the places mentioned in the tale and designed for the wind-up train that comes with the book. You wind-up the train and off you go passing Mr. Straw the scarecrow, just as Poppy and Sam did in the story.

The little wind-up train is small, with parts that could fall off; it is a choking hazard. Because of this the book is not recommended for children under 36 months, but much younger children would enjoy the book, just don't let them play with the wind-up train unsupervised. As always the Book of the Week is 20% off list price at Spellbinder Books (the physical store) in Bishop!

Have You Seen My Eric Carle Board Book?

2009-07-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves Eric Carle! The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear Brown Bear are constantly on the bestseller list, or at least their board book editions are. The publisher has taken note of this Eric Carle board book popularity, and is releasing his less popular titles in board book editions. Maybe those less popular titles will now become popular? The Greedy Python is a fantastic story, though the illustrations are sometimes a little bit green. I am a big fan of the Have You Seen My Cat board book, it has awesome heavy duty pull-tabs. The different board books are all cool, I have a hard time picking a favorite; this week all Eric Carle Board Books are the Book of the Week!

Book of the Week - Sucks to be Me

2009-06-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Vampires are hot. I suppose we have Twilight to thank for this, but other vampire books have caught on as well; Vampire Academy, Vampire Kisses, the Morganville Vampires. Curiously sales of Dracula have not picked up, but I guess that is just too traditional, there are no jean-wearing teen vamps in Dracula.

I have not read all the vampire books. And truthfully, I don't want to. Vampire sex is something I can do without, thank you very much! And, well, I'm not a teenager, so I don't really understand how pale skin and sucking blood is cool. Clearly, I was never cool in school. I'm okay with sex in teen books. I find it interesting that there is so much sex in teen books, but it is part of their lives, and I don't believe authors should act as though it doesn't exist. That said, a lot of the teen books are essentially romance teen trash (with sex), and I'm not such a fan of trash. Of course my trash is other people's general fiction - it is all a matter of taste.

There is one vampire book I do like - Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley. This book takes off with the assumption that Vampires are cool, but then throws that on it's head by having very normal (thus uncool) parents be vampires. The main character must decide if she wants to be a vampire like her parents. The pros are that she could live forever and look hot (vampires ARE more attractive than mere mortal humans). The cons are that she would have to move and would never be able to see her best friend again. It isn't an easy choice, but with Kimberly Pauley telling the story, watching the main character decide is entirely entertaining.

And so, our book of the week this week is Sucks to be Me, where uncool vampires can be surprisingly cool.

Food For Thought

2009-06-06T14:03:00.001-07:00

When is a YA book, not for Young Adults?

The bookseller's definition of young adult, is a bit of a misnomer. The category typically refers to books written for kids who are 12 - 17 years old, though wikipedia defines the age range as 13 - 19. A 12-year-old is definitely NOT an adult, but is a 17-year-old? Most 17-year-olds still live with their parents, they can't vote, they cannot legally drink alcohol, but they can drive. When I think of young adults I think of 20-year-olds, I don't usually think of high school students. But in bookselling, a young adult is a high school student.

So what should a high school student read? Well, if you look at the books assigned to them in school, they should be reading adult literature and non-fiction. The Grapes of Wrath, The Iliad, The Catcher in the Rye (which IS probably a YA book, but categorized as adult literature), Into the Wild, etc. Recognizing that the books "young adults" read for school are for adults, it shouldn't be surprising that the books written for their age range are filled with adult topics; sex, love, drugs, redemption. But where is the line, when is the topic so adult that the books are no longer for young adults, but simply about them?

I'm thinking of this because of the book Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. It is a YA book with a cover that seems to be geared towards middle grade readers. I haven't read the book, but I've read reviews. I know that in the book a girl is repeatedly raped by her father, forced to have abortions in the third trimester, and gang-raped by villagers. This is a YA novel?

Tender Morsels has won a number of awards:

WINNER 2008 - Booklist Children's Editors' Choice

WINNER 2008 - School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

WINNER 2008 - Horn Book Fanfare

WINNER 2008 - Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books

WINNER 2008 - Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book

WINNER 2008 - Amazon Best of the Year (I almost deleted this one)

I haven't read this book yet, but I will; I don't understand how it is for kids, but I can't say it isn't until I have read it.

Here is a link to an excellent review in the Sci Fi Weekly.

Book of the Week - LOVE THAT PUPPY!

2009-06-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Every week now, I get to choose a "book of the week". This means I get to pick a book, put it on a special shelf, and tell people that it is 20% off. Of course I only choose kids books; I like kids books.

This week the book is Love that Puppy! by Jeff Jarka. As the cover will tell you, it is the story of a boy who wanted to be a dog. Love that Puppy! is a full size picture book, but a rather short story, only 26 pages; perhaps that is why it is only $12.95 where most picture books cost $17.99 these days. The story is told in a comic book-like format so that the words are secondary to the pictures, which are VERY CUTE. The sequence where Peter (the boy who wanted to be a dog) plays catch/fetch with his father is priceless.

I should note that I am a cat person; dog books don't usually catch my fancy. But Love that Dog! is different, it is really really funny.

Fairy School Dropout

2009-05-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

The picture is too small to really read the blurbs on the cover, so let me just type them out for you (clockwise):

Pointing to Hair - hair isn't neat and shiny
Pointing to Backpack - backpack isn't full of perfect homework
Pointing to Wand - wand hasn't been charged
Pointing to Skateboard - fairies are not supposed to skateboard
Pointing to Pants - should be wearing itchy tutu, not cool jeans
Pointing to Wing - wings are showing - what if a human saw them?

This is of course the awesome cover to Fairy School Dropout. Also Fairy School Dropout is a fantastic title, every time I see it I hear the tune to Beauty School Dropout in my head, with an image from the movie Greece. I really liked the movie Greece, I think I saw it over 30 times in high school and college. It's been a while though, maybe I should netflix it. Tom (my husband) would be very annoyed if I did, the movie Greece was not made for men, and then neither is the book Fairy School Dropout. With it's pink cover and purple print inside (yes purple) this is a book for girls, youngish girls 7 to 10-year-olds will love it. And it isn't all packaging, it is a cute story too. Who can dislike a rogue fairy?

Potty Training Monsters?

2009-05-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Like every good bookstore we have a potty training shelf, but tired of seeing the same books day after day, year after year, I've been yearning to liven up this where to poop section. So I was very excited when I saw the arrival of a new book: How to Potty Train Your Monster, by Kelly DiPucchio. This picture book does not explain the basics of Potty Training, it makes fun of them.

The book has 10 basic steps you must follow to properly potty train your monster. For example step number five is Praise Your Monster. This page has a picture of three one-eyed monsters with helpful phrases like, "Attaboy Gloomy!" "Hooray for you Horrid!" and "Way to go Gruesome!". There is also the helpful tip "Throw a Potty Party to celebrate your monster's success."

Clearly parents will enjoy reading this books to their potty training human monsters, and there are a good number of little human monsters who will enjoy hearing it. I am thinking of a close friend's head strong and humor loving three-year-old who strongly resisted attempts to potty train. That little girl will like this book!

I do not think How to Potty Train Your Monster is a good stand-alone potty trainer, but it is a fun addition to some of the classics like Everyone Poops and Once Upon a Potty.

Below is a list of the potty books we have in our store:

Everyone Poops

Once Upon a Potty (girl)

Once Upon a Potty (boy)

Diapers Are Not Forever

Big Boys Use the Potty!

Big Girls Use the Potty!

Potty!

The Potty Caddy (Book & Stuff)

On the Topic of Covers

2009-05-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

This cover ALSO sells the book, but for different reasons.

13 Reasons Why - the Cover Sells the Book

2009-05-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I was doing an order for children's books from Penguin. Th1rteen R3asons Why was listed as a new book from their cool teen publishing division, with an intriguing little description. I can't share the initial description I saw, as that catalogue was thrown into recycling long ago, but it inspired me to ask the rep if she would send me an advance readers copy so I could review it and see if would be good for the store.

She sent me an advance copy, I read it, and I didn't know what to think. The book is about a likable girl, who moved to a new school, had some unfortunate experiences, and decided to kill herself. But before she takes her life she makes an audio recording of why she has decided to kill herself and sends it to one of the people she thinks caused her suicide, with instructions to listen and send it on to the next person she thinks caused her suicide. I wasn't sure I liked the story, but I was pretty sure it would sell (sadly teen suicide is almost a guaranteed sale) so I got a copy for the store. We have since sold 33 copies of Th1rteen R3asons Why in hardcover- not bad for a small town bookstore that serves of community of less than 10,000.

There is no staff pick for the book, I'm still not sure I like it, and it hasn't gotten any special treatment except that if I can, I'll face it out on the shelf, but the book sells. It sells because of the cover, there is something about a beautiful teen, wearing a pink knit hat, a pink sweater, a frilly scarf, a frilly skirt, and high heels with sheer socks sitting on a swing that make people pick up the book. Did I mention that there are bows on her high heels? Well there are bows on her high heels. Never mind that the main character of the book continually refers to her jeans, jeans don't sell a book, high heels with bows, those sell (apparently).

You see, I'm annoyed with myself, because I too find the cover appealing. It is just that when I look at the cover closely and I see how ridiculous it is (who wears high heels and sheer socks to a playground, or even to high school?) I wonder why, why is it appealing? I guess the truth is that pretty girls sell, and the girl on this cover is pretty, and not dressed like a prostitute (as a great many other pretty girls on book covers are).

In truth the cover doesn't sell the book on it's own, the cover only gets people to pick up the book. It is the intriguing concept of a teenager leaving audio tapes to all the people she thinks caused her suicide that sell the book. Jay Asher, the author, should be congratulated for coming up with a great plot line. Never mind that I wanted the throw the book against the wall when I was done; it is still a good plot line.

Ultimately I didn't like the book because I could not forgive the main character for killing herself for such STUPID reasons. But I am an adult. I gave the book to a teenage co-worker and her friend, and they both loved it. The teenagers loved the book, and thought the adults the book described were total jerks; I didn't really see what any adult did that was wrong. If nothing else the book is an excellent discussion starter, if a teen and their parent read it together, it would be GREAT. I'm not sure how many adults are going to read this with their teenagers, but still I comfort myself that if they do, it would be good for their relationship.

I can moralize that the book never really shows the heartbreak her suicide caused her family, but that isn't the point. The point of the story is that if you are a teenager, your interactions with your friends mean a lot, and you should be careful of how you treat others. It's not a bad point, I'm still not sure I like the book, but Jay Asher does have a point. The combination of a good cover and a good point sure do sell a lot of books.

Adios Oscar!!!

2009-04-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

Last week, while working in the bookstore I found myself missing Oscar (my 4-month-old son) so I decided to look up books with his name in the title. There was lots on Oscar Wilde of course, but as I already have his fairytales, I let those go by. One book that I didn't pass up was Adios Oscar by Peter Elwell.

Oscar is a caterpillar who lives in a flower pot. One day a butterfly named Bob stops in on his way to Mexico. Bob has beautiful wings, and he tells Oscar that one day Oscar will have wings as well, and can fly to Mexico too. Oscar tells his caterpillar friends, who scoff at the idea, but Oscar prepares for his future life in Mexico by hanging out at the library and learning Spanish. Finally he builds a cocoon and goes to sleep - but when he wakes up, he's a moth.

Oscar's friends are having a great time flying around a light bulb for no reason, but Oscar gets bummed out ordering socks in Spanish. He gets a note from his library friend Edna that tells him to think like a butterfly, and Oscar does just that. He ignores the call of the moon and flies to MEXICO!

Some have said that my Oscar physically resembles the Oscar caterpillar illustrations in the book - I'm not sure how I feel about that - but I do love the idea of teaching my Oscar to think like a butterfly, and fly where he chooses. It is kinda like a Hans Christian Anderson tale in reverse - you can ignore the rules of nature and still be happy. Of course the Disney version of Hans Christian Anderson tales all end up happy, but well, they sure weren't written that way. With Adios Oscar, no meaning has been subverted for commercial gain - it is simply a cute fable that allows kids to follow their dreams. There is no lie that Oscar will become a butterfly, he won't, but he can think like one, and he can fly to Mexico just as they do. As a former traveller myself, this seems a grand idea.

We Love Roger Priddy

2009-04-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Roger Priddy is a man, who happens to be an artist and book creator, who has his own publishing house - kinda; actually Priddy Books is a part of St. Martins which is connected to Macmillan Books which...well it is all a bit hard to keep track of.

Roger Priddy used to work for Usborne, a publisher that makes high quality inexpensive children's books. After working for Usborne he worked for DK, which also makes high quality books for children and adults, and has done a lot to improve the layout and graphic design of guide books. Now Roger Priddy works for himself at Priddy Books, and I must say he is doing a good job.

Roger Priddy's soft cloth book The Squishy Turtle and Friends, is Oscar's favorite. At first he liked to bop the front cover and make it crinkle, then he liked grabbing the octopus legs (it's really great, instead of two arms it has eight), and now he likes grabbing the entire book and thrusting it in his mouth. And sometimes, sometimes it even looks like Oscar is trying to turn the page.

Oscar likes board books too, but at this age (4 months) he has a hard time holding onto them for any length of time, and his fingers aren't yet agile enough to turn a board book page. Cloth books, on the other hand, are quite easy for his hands to grab; but he has some cloth books he doesn't like. Cloth books with a smooth overall feel, Oscar doesn't like those. Oscar is a fan of texture, and The Squishy Turtle has a lot of texture.

Oscar loves The Squishy Turtle so much he gave his girlfriend Amaya it's companion The Fuzzy Bee and Friends. The Fuzzy Bee is actually almost cooler than The Squishy Turtle, except for a line about a worm wanting to come out and play on a sunny day - I don't enjoy having mental images of dried-up dead worms when I'm playing with my son.

We were having an issue with forgetting to bring to Squishy Turtle back and forth from home to child care, so we decided we needed another soft Priddy book, and so we got Big Rex and Friends. Reciting hard to pronounce dinosaur names to a baby does strike me as a bit weird, but Oscar sure doesn't mind. In fact he seems to be enjoying the textures of Big Rex even more than The Squishy Turtle. New love is always the most passionate.

If you are interested Priddy also has a number of inexpensive board books that I just ordered for a local book fair. Most board books these days run $6.99 to $12.99 but for just $4.95 each you can get the touch & feel Priddy board books on Colors, Numbers, Shapes, Words, and even one for Halloween called Spooky. You can even get Spanish bilingual editions. I'm turning into a big Priddy fan.

Books A 2-Month-Old Will Look At!

2009-02-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

My beautiful son Oscar was born December 11, 2008 and from the start, I tried reading him books. It didn't always work. But from about three weeks of age, he would look at the pages of Goodnight Moon as I read it to him (if he was in a good mood). Sometimes I was even able to read it three times or more in a row.

Now Oscar is over two-months-old, and he is rapidly paying more attention to the things around him, including the books I read him. Lady Bug Lady Bug, from My Chunky Friend set is his favorite, perhaps because I sing it to him, and perhaps because the words are nice and black on a white background (he looks at the words, not the pictures). Lady Bug Lady Bug is out of print, but if it were a different rhyming board book with black print on a white background, that I sang to him, I'm sure he would like that as well. He also likes The Rainbow Fish; he doesn't so much care for the story, but the pictures of the fish with shiny scales are fascinating to him.
We have an alphabet books he really likes, maybe because each page is turned quickly, or it could be the crisp graphics. Our alphabet book is ABC by Matthew Porter. It is fun for me to read because I can practice saying "U is for Uakari".

Baby Books

2009-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

I apologize for my lack of posts, I've been distracted. Oscar Stefan Woods was born on December 11, 2008 - after 30 hours of labor and a C-section, and a VERY long wait. For some bizarre reason I thought I would have time to blog on maternity leave. I imagined a quiet baby napping and me on the computer. Well, so far that hasn't happened. But tonight Oscar has successfully taken a bottle of formula and his daddy is feeding him, so I have a spare moment.

Let me use this precious free time tell you about my favorite baby present. It is A BOOK. But it isn't one you can buy. It is a cloth book made from scraps by one of Oscar's grandmother's friends. We "read" it by describing the pictures. Oscar has even paid attention to it, not bad for a seven-week-old. Sometimes the best books can't be bought.

Falloween!

2008-10-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun new titles for

Halloween and beyond!

The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz
Just like the Ugly Duckling the Ugly Pumpkin just doesn't fit in, even the trees throw their apples at him. Actually the trees throwing their apples at him is one of my favorite illustrations. Finally, however the Ugly Pumpkin learns that he is a SQUASH! He makes other squash friends and enjoys a Thanksgiving feast. The rhyming text makes this book fun to read out loud.

Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex
Well the adult parody on Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Bush by Gan Golan and Erich Origen had been on the Indie Bestseller list for over a month, so why not try a different sort of parody for kids with Goodnight Goon? The truth is the original Goodnight Moon is such a classic for all ages, these parodies work really well. Kids 4 to 9 will who like gross and gnarly Halloween images will love Goodnight Goon.

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
Okay, so sometimes I feel a bit like a one pony show, and I know I've written about it before, but this book is truly spectacular. INCREDIBLE illustrations, great text. The book can be read to kiddies year round, but the bats and darkness of nighttime do make it perfect for the upcoming haunted season. It is on the bestseller list, so it is 20% off at our store. I'm a bit annoyed with locals for not buying it as often as I think they should.

Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex
Great for the kids 7 to 12! Adam Rex's poetry is hilarius and snarky, and if you don't think kids like snarky you may not have noticed how well books like A Series of Unfortunate Events do in bookstores and on film. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich was a bestseller last year, and on the cover flap of Frankenstein Takes the Cake Adam Rex has a poem about his incentives for making this second Frankenstein book. Snarky, very snarky. Click here to see a you-tube video of Adam Rex reading the poem.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves
written by Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
I haven't been in the book selling business that long, just about three years, so I am giving myself a pat on the back for picking this title for our store BEFORE it went on the Bestseller list. It is a fall book, but it ends in winter, so it can be read in both season. The plot is super sickly sweet, but it touches even cynical me. Fletcher tries to help the tree keep its leaves, and feels badly when it can't be done. But then the snow comes, and when Fletcher sees the beautiful snow on the tree's branches, he realizes everything is okay.

Thank You Fairies!

2008-09-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all the Fairies that came to Spellbinder's Fairy Day! The cards you made for Mollie made her day! http://allaboutmollie.blogspot.com/2008/09/fairy-day-in-box.html

Paperback Love

2008-09-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

So Many Cool Picture Books

in Paperback!

T is for Terrible by Peter McCarty
Tyrannosaurus doesn't want to be terrible, he would be a vegetarian if he could. Would it be better if he was pink? A quirky and hilarious book with FANTASTIC illustrations.

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Diggory Shields, illustrated by Scott Nash
Dinosaurs party until the Cenozoic age in this fun, rhyming story with bright and goofy illustrations.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves

by Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
A Beautiful tale of a young fox's love for a tree. Fletcher tries to help the tree keep all his leaves, but wakes up to a winter surprise. The sweet story is well complemented with Beeke's soft watercolor illustrations.
Meet Wild Boars by Meg Rosoff & Sophie Blackall
A story that defies description, but I'll try. Wild boars are mean and nasty, and though you can try to be nice to them, they'll be nasty still. Rhythmic words and fun illustrations with truly ugly boars keep you turning pages.
Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards
I know I've written about this one before, but it is really really good. Edwards illustrates common idioms in their bizarreness - playing musical instruments by ear, dogs eating dogs, etc. Each illustration is so incredible you'll want to put the entire book in a frame.

Frankenstein Takes the Cake

2008-09-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Feel like a chuckle? Click here to see why Adam Rex made a sequel to last year's Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich with this years Frankenstein Takes the Cake. Being an Adam Rex fan I of course own both books. At first I was bummed that Frankenstein Takes the Cake didn't have as many oil illustrations as Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (more was done with photos & cartoons), but I have to say, the poems are better than ever! I especially like the Official Blog of the Headless Horseman, whose pumpkin head starts rotting.

Great books, but I'm still waiting for a full-length novel to follow-up The True Meaning of Smekday!

Moving onto the Irish!

2008-09-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

(An Irish Castle, A Russian Castle, and A French Castle)

Well, I've loaned out my book of Russian Fairytales, so lately I've been reading my fetus Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland, by Jeremiah Curtin. I like the Irish tales, lots of humans turning into animals in the daylight, only to return to their man form (and their wives) at night. Also, I wonder if the Irish ever had daughters that didn't come in threes.

Speaking of three sisters, this morning I read an Irish tale that was suspiciously like a Russian tale I read some weeks ago, both of which are suspiciously like Cinderella. In the Russian tale there are three sisters, the youngest of whom is not allowed to go to church with the older two. One church-day morning she is crying into a well, when a magical fish takes pity on her, and grants her the finest clothes to go to church in. Well, all the church men are smitten of course, and as she leaves after church one grabs her shoe, and the hunt is on for the woman it fits...

In the Irish tale there are three sisters, the youngest of whom is not allowed to go to church with the older sisters. A henwife with a cloak of darkness gives her a dress, a horse, and shoes and off to church she goes, leaving as all else arise from mass. The next church day she is given a different outfit and a different horse, and escapes before the other church-goers leave the building. The third church day she is given yet another set of clothes and another horse, but the prince (who previously had wanted to marry her oldest sister) waits outside the church and grabs her shoe as she is riding away. So of course we then have the hunt for the woman who fits the shoe, but this time when she is found the prince must battle all the other princes of the world for her. They then marry, and she has a child. She invites her oldest sister to the castle to help her recover from labor, and her sister pushes her into the ocean where she is swallowed by an enchanted whale. Each day the whale vomits her onto the beach, but she cannot escape without the princes help, so she gets a young boy minding cows (the cowboy) to tell the Prince of her plight, and the Prince comes and shoots the whale with a silver bullet in a special place under the whale's fin, thus freeing the Irish Cinderella. As punishment the evil sister is put out at sea in a barrel with provisions for seven days. The Irish Cinderella gives birth to a daughter who is promised to the cowboy as a wife. Ta Da!

The Irish Cinderella tale was pulled from Gaelic in the late 1800s, the Russian Cinderella was recorded in the mid 1800s. It was Perrault's French version of Cinderella (from the late 1600s) that inspired the currently popular Disney version of the tale. All I can say is that people traveled a lot before the advent of airplanes.

Here is a fun website, discussing the Cinderella myths, and the tragedy of the feminist ideal they support: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/stories/cinder2.html . This website made me realize that maybe Drew Barrymore was trying to do something real when she re-wrote and made a Cinderella movie where Cinderella saves herself. I do have to give kudos to the Irish version, the Irish Cinderella makes the decision that the cowboy should have her daughter, and the Prince husband can do nothing to change it.

Anyway, I think my fetus and are going to be enjoying the Irish Fairytales for a while. The translation is superb, the stories flow beautifully with a delightful almost random whimsy. AND so far there hasn't been any spousal abuse! (Their has been child abuse as one Woodcutter traded all his three daughters for their weight in gold, but their animal/human husbands treated them well). Also, no one other than evil magical beings has yet to die. I guess Ireland was more politically correct than Russia.

And in line with modern fairytales let me mention one of my favorite young adult authors, Robin McKinley, who has not only created fantastic new tales with books like The Hero and the Crown and (my personal favorite) The Blue Sword, but has also done some decent fairytale retellings with books like Beauty. She is really great, I mean even her description of herself (stolen from her blog) is great:

"I am a writer. Mostly I write fantasy: wizards, dragons, enchanted swords, retold fairy tales and, er, vampires. Mostly my stories feature Women Who Do Things, as opposed to women who sit around waiting to be rescued by guys, or who aren’t in the story at all because the story is conspicuously about not sitting around. Most of my stories are so-called High Fantasy, laid in various la-la-la never-never lands, although I’ve written a few that are happening somewhere similar to this world with additional bugs/features, and I like being able to say I also write Low Fantasy. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha."

As I've been writing this post I've enjoyed listening to Irish fiddle & guitar music on http://www.pandora.com/ , if you haven't visited their site it is a MUST. Fantastic music from all over the world, and it's FREE!

Awesome New Picture Books

2008-08-27T17:56:00.001-07:00

I've always been a sucker for the large format picture books. In hardcover, they are just about the most expensive items of children's literature around, but still, the artwork is often breathtaking. But artwork alone is not enough to make me a fan, it is when the artwork and words both add to the other, that a truly great picture books exists. We are lucky that TWO new great picture books have hit the shelves recently.

First there is Bats at the Library by Brian Lies. This is the follow-up to last summer's surprise hit Bat's at the Beach, but in this instance the sequel surpasses the original. In Bats at the Library book-loving bats roam the book-filled halls of the Public Library on Bat Night, until it's time for everyone, young and old, to settle down into the enchantment of story time. The illustrations are thrilling with an air of night time excitement, and book lovers will delight in the pictorial references to classic stories for youth. The words are rhythmic and as a reader I was torn between wanting to study the illustrations or turn the page to read next sentence. This book will be a classic.

Next we have the paperback release of Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards. Monkey Business is Edward's illustrations of common idioms. My favorite is the fish opening the can of worms. Monkey Business was originally published in hardcover in 2004, and it only took 4 years to come out in paperback! (I'm being sarcastic) I guess we are lucky it came out in paperback at all, many children's picture books never make it into paper editions. I'm not sure most children under six will understand the concept of idioms, but they will enjoy the pictures, which jump off the page in their detailed bizarreness. This is a great book for parents and slightly older kids, who will grasp and adore it, as well as learn some new idioms.

THE NATION

2008-08-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Every couple of years I read a book that seems as though it is a part of me, as though I have always known the story, even when I didn't know what the next page would bring. The Giver, by Lois Lowry is one of those books. I read it for the first time four years ago, and was shocked I hadn't read it in school. I was again shocked when I realized it had not existed when I was in school, it was published in 1993, and was not available in paperback until high school was a distant memory. Of course high school was a distant memory my first year of college.

This weekend I read another one of those eternal books, The Nation by Terry Pratchett. Although Terry Pratchett is a very well known writer, especially in the field of science fiction and fantasy, I admit I had never read him before. But I'm sure I will read something else of his soon. Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year. To watch a video of him discussing his diagnosis and symptoms click here.

The Nation starts with a captain's boat landing at a plague infested port, picking up the surviving remnants of the royal family, and then learning that he must go and search for the new King (who does not yet know he is king) on distant islands so that he can bring him back to set foot on royal ground less the crown revert to the French. A little convoluted yes, but the chaotic and confusing start does get your attention.

Then we depart to an indigenous boy who is on an island alone as part of his Nation's traditional manhood quest. The boy is preparing to depart the island and is excited about the celebration awaiting him when he returns home; except on the way home he barely survives the greatest of great waves. The wave beat him home, and on his return everyone and everything has perished; he is now the sole member of his Nation.

But he is not alone.

He hears the Grandfathers' in his head, demanding rituals and respect for their gods.

And he yells at them, unable to forgive or believe in Gods that could destroy all who worship them.

And there is another, not of his Nation, on the island. A Trouser Girl on a large boat wrapped herself in a mattress when the seas became rough, and when the boat crashed on the boy's island, she is its only survivor. Together they build a fire on the beach, and soon other wave survivors come, and eventually a motley new Nation is created.

Of course there is much much more - the discovery of the Nation's great past, the fight with cannibal raiders, the finding of the Trouser Girl by her father, and the discovery that her father is King. It is a grand, big story, but it never gets to bigger than its characters, which is a very impressive feat.

Sometimes I forget to give star ratings, but this book, which doesn't come out until September 30 2008, gets five stars. *****

A New Life for the Reluctant Dragon

2008-08-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

Tony DiTerlizzi, of Spiderwick Chronicles fame, has put out a fantastic new book for young readers called Kenny & the Dragon. I was first drawn to the book by the cover, which is adorable, and then when I saw the author, I figured I had to read it.

Kenny, a little rabbit, becomes friends with a dragon who has moved into the cave up the hill. He is put in a bind though, when the town's folk discover the dragon and entice Kenny's good friend George (the owner of a book store, oh it makes my heart beat), to come out of retirement and slay the "evil dragon". Oh what is to be done?

This is the plot of Kenneth Grahame's famous Reluctant Dragon, a short story that was made extra popular by a Disney short some time ago. I confess that I read Kenny & the Dragon without ever having heard of Grahame's tale, or the Disney short. Initially I thought Tony DiTerlizzi had just come up with a really cute idea, a dragon that doesn't want to fight, how sweet! This morning, however I had to joy of listening to Kenneth Grahame's version in it's entirety online here. I got about an hour of knitting in and felt I was doing something productive, instead of listening to children's stories that I am much to old for. This blog is a great excuse to read and listen to things I am much to old for. I have not, however, seen the Disney short, and at this moment, it is not on my netflix queue (you have to love netflix for re-teaching Americans this long forgotten word for a line of waiting).

Tony DiTerlizzi's version closely follows the Grahame original, but I like DiTerlizzi's story better. Kenny (or "the boy" according to Grahame) is more fleshed out and significantly less whiny. And George, the bookstore owner (or Saint according to Grahame), is simply wonderful. The Dragons seem identical.

Kenny & the Dragon is essentially an early chapter book, with short chapters and lots of illustrations. Perfect for young readers or those unexposed children who find big books intimidating; I recommend it to any child between the ages of 5 and 10 (recognizing that the younger ages would need assistance with the reading).

On a side note, Tony DiTerlizzi has written two of my most adored pictures books, The Spider and the Fly, a great tale that teaches one to never trust a sweet-talking spider, and G Is for One Gzonk!, a lovely alphabet tale that introduces Gzonks.

Shout out to Ben!

2008-08-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Ben!

Local 8-year-old artist Ben Adkins has won an international art contest! Tony DiTerlizzi, author of the beloved Spiderwick Chronicles, had a dragon drawing contest, and Ben is one of six winners. His artwork is posted on Tony Di Terlizzi's Blog and is also proudly displayed in the Spellbinder children's section, along with his fabulous description of the fantastic Western Dook Dragon. Ben won a signed copy of DiTerlizzi's new book Kenny & The Dragon. I'll post a review of the book Wed.

We're proud to have you in our community Ben, the book store wouldn't be the same without you!

Entranced with a most politically incorrect Russian fairy tale

2008-07-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

So I did actually read my fetus some fairy tales last night, much to my husband Tom's enjoyment. Perhaps the one that we enjoyed the most was the Russian Tale Wondrous Wonder Marvelous Marvel, it can be found in Alesandr A. Afanasiev's collection of Russian Fairy Tales ($18 in paperback).

The tale in a nutshell is this, a merchant asks his wife what she would like him to bring back from overseas, and she asks for a wondrous wonder, marvelous marvel (this is repeated many times through out the story and is quite fun to say over and over again). The merchant finds his wondrous wonder, marvelous marvel in the form a goose that will lay itself down on a tray on command, be cooked and eaten, and then come back to life again. He brings the goose home to his wife and she thinks it is very cool. The next day when he is off selling goods at the market the wife's lover comes over and she tries to cook the goose for him, but when she grabs the goose she is stuck. The lover then tries to pull her from the goose and becomes stuck himself. The goose then walks to market with the stuck wife and lover attached. The husband removes the goose and demands to know who the man attached to the wife is. He then beats the lover, takes his wife home and whips her. With every lash he says here's your wondrous wonder, your marvelous marvel.

Politically correct this story is not, but then...did the wife and lover not deserve to be beaten? Here is what a professor at Swathmore college has to say about the story (taken from his on-line notes for a Russian Fairy Tale class):

“The Wondrous Wonder, the Marvelous Marvel,” pp. 13-15: magic uncovers a very prosaic sin – the main character beats the wife's lover, then his wife. (Many tales treat magical items misused that the misusers stick to, or can’t turn off [they don’t know the second half of the spell, or the “off” spell], etc. -- they are frequent punishments in fairy tales for taking something that isn’t yours, or in this case offering the goose feast to the wrong man: meat as figure for sex, or nourishment as an expression of love? – a Very Eastern European thing.)"

I wonder when fetus is out, if I can edit the tale for him/her because I really like it, even though the beating is more than a bit politically incorrect. Perhaps he can say here is your wondrous wonder, marvelous marvel as he is kicking her out of the house? Maybe the lover could be arrested? When and why did all fairy tales told to children require happy endings? Why do we shield our kids from pain? And does it work?

I noted in an earlier post that teens love books about recovering addicts, and people with truly messed up lives in general. I have not had a chance to get to the root of why this is so, but could it be a desire to read about pain, as pain is certainly experienced in everyone's life? In so many of the Disney stories, the main characters have a parent die, is this so they can experience pain, and then recover? Bambi, the Lion King, Snow White, Aladdin, Ariel, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Cinderella... all have one or both parents die. I guess our current fairy tales are only happy at the end.

Ode to the Fairy Tale

2008-07-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Books Pictured: A Treasury of Children's Literature by Armand Eisen, A First Book of Fairy Tales by Mary Hoffman, and The Russian Fairy Book by Nathan Haskell Dole

Last weekend I had the joy of discovering myself in Portland, and no trip to Portland is complete without a visit to Powell's Book Store! It was my first time in Powell's, and it was beauty to my virgin eyes. I was impressed with their combination of new and used books, but I confess my interest was all in the used books as I can get any new book I want at Spellbinders. Still, there is nothing like browsing and holding books in your hands, comparing titles, prices, topics. Powell's, with it's multi-story full block of a bookstore, offers a browsing experience that no other store can compete with. The brick & mortar bookstores will not die, they just may become fewer and far between.

I found myself in the mythology section, which included a number of books on fairy tales from different countries. This was music to my eyes; I have a passion for collecting old children's anthologies. I like to see how the stories we tell change over time, and I love to see the different kinds of tales told in different areas of the world. For example, Eastern Europe & Scandinavia have numerous tales of flying ships - stories I never heard in my childhood. I purchased a Dover edition of Perrault's Fairy Tales and so far am thrilled with the French differences to the largely English & German tales I grew up with. In France Sleeping Beauty doesn't awaken and live happily ever after, her clothes are out of date and her mother-in-law is an ogre who wants to eat her children.

Although the majority of my anthologies were purchased used, the truth is I have no need to buy only used books. Most of the old tales are still in print, I just enjoy the used book store hunts. But certain books, such as The Complete Grimm Fairy Tales, make more sense to purchase new, as their new price is often equal to those you find used. I love expired copy-rights.

It is true that young children will not enjoy turning the pages of these largely picture-less anthologies as much as full-color picture books, but these stories are perfect for bedtime as eyes are closing. They are also a great excuse for parents to practice their story-telling techniques. I'm practicing on my fetus tonight.

YA / Adult Crossovers

2008-07-23T15:37:00.001-07:00

There is a great essay, by Margo Rabb, published in the New York Times, about the stigma against Young Adult book authors and kinds of books that are now published in that genre. To read the article, click here. To find out more about Margo Rabb click here. Ms. Rabb wrote a book she thought was for adults, but the publishers chose to publish it as a Y.A. (young adult) novel. While Ms. Rabb brings up many good and interesting points about Y.A. novels, I have to disagree with her on one thing. She believes that while teenagers will read adult books, adults do not read books for teens. As a direct seller of books, I have to say this is completely FALSE.

For example there is The Book Thief!

Gail, one of the bookstore's owners, recommended this book to me when I first started working with Spellbinder's in 2006. I shelled out the bucks for the hardcover, and FELL IN LOVE. I wrote a staff pick for the book, Gail wrote a staff pick, and the book has been on the Indie bestseller list almost continually since it was published, in hardcover and now in paperback. Here's the thing, I HAVE NEVER SOLD A COPY TO A CHILD OR TEENAGER! I'm not saying it hasn't happened in our store, but I haven't been at the cash register when it did. I have sold numerous copies to adults, I've hand sold it. Now, book clubs are reading it. While there are teenage book clubs in some cities and towns, there aren't in Bishop. Here, this book if for the adults. Adults buy it, even though it is shelved in Y.A., and it is on the children's bestseller table.
I don't believe The Book Thief was originally written for children. It is very complex, and the narration style (death narrates) is not only dark, but confusing at first. But the main character is a little girl, so it was published for children. I wonder if one of my favorite books, Lullabies for Little Criminals, would have done better if it was categorized as Y.A. instead of Adult Fiction. Like The Book Thief the main character is a little girl, and like The Book Thief it is not a happy book. But its writing style is actually less complex, though its emotions are completely raw. It has very adult themes of drugs and sex, but these themes are all over the Y.A. world! If you want a good wholesome book for your child, don't go into the Y.A. section! Ellen Hopkin's Crank & Burned have been some of our local Y.A. bestsellers. Lullabies for Little Criminals would fit right in! The thing is, although it is on our adult staff pick wall, with a tag in front of it discussing what a great book it is, we have only sold about five copies of Lullabies for Little Criminals in the last year and half. Most staff picks sell at least 10 copies a year. I think Lullabies for Little Criminals would have done better if it had been marketed to the teens.
In her essay Ms. Rabb has some great quotes by Sherman Alexie, author of a number of popular adult books, and the hugely popular The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Mr. Alexie says "I thought I’d been condescended to as an Indian — that was nothing compared to the condescension for writing Y.A." But he also admits “This book sold like crazy in a way my books never have before, and I’ve had a great career.” It is true, though his books are popular at Spellbinders, we don't usually sell more than three copies of any one of his adult titles in a year, but we have sold over 50 copies of his Y.A. novel - I've sold it to adults and kids.

Classic Classics!

2008-07-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

The U.K. and U.S. divisions of Puffin Books have cooperated to publish new editions of unabridged puffin classics specifically for children! While a fancy new cover might not seem like a big deal, in the world of selling books, IT IS!

Which version of Treasure Island do you think a 13-year-old would prefer to read?

The Old Version

or The New Version

I'm 32, but I still would much rather read the boxy red book with a skull and crossbones on the cover. It doesn't hurt that Eoin Colfer, of Artemis Fowl fame, has written the introduction. Each classic has an introduction written by a famous children's author of today; I have a habit of skipping introductions, but these might actually be interesting. I also prefer the price of the new book, an astonishing $4.99 compared to the older edition's $7.00. It is rare to see book prices go down these days.

In addition the majority of these classics are recommended as summer reading by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a government agency that promotes research, education, and public programs in the humanities. They sound too good to be true, I bet their funding just got cut. Anyway the NEH has a summer reading list, and the following classics are on it:

The Wizard of Oz

by Frank L. Baum

introduction by Cornelia Funke (author of Inkheart)

The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

introduction by Sophi Dahl (granddaughter of Roald Dahl)

Black Beauty

by Anna Sewell

introduction by Meg Rosoff (author of How I Live Now)

Wind in the Willows

by Kenneth Grahame

introduction by Brian Jacques (author of Redwall)

Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott

introduction by Luise Rennison (author of Confessions of Georgia Nicolson)

The Call of the Wild

by Jack London

introduction by Melvin Burgess (author of Junk)

Treasure Island

by Robert Louis Stevenson

introduction by Eoin Colfer (author of Artemis Fowl)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by Mark Twain

introduction by Richard Peck (author of A Year Down Yonder)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

introduction by Darren Shan (author of Cirque Du Freak)

IT"S HERE!

2008-07-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

Pop-extraordinaire, Robert Sabuda, and his partner Matthew Reinhart, have come out with a new book in their Encyclopedia series: Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures, a spectacular pop-up about fairies and magical creatures around the world.

What is truly great about this book is not the pop-ups, which are lovely, but the information. The book is jammed packed with fairy folklore and tales; you have Ant Hill Fairies in Africa, as well as the common European Sprite. Someone did a great job compiling fairy history from multiple cultures!

If you are interested in pop-ups and art in working life, check out the blog for Sabuda & Reinhart Studios at: http://popupstudionyc.blogspot.com/

Top Selling Vampire Books

2008-07-02T15:54:00.001-07:00

The Vampire Books They Love

Vampires are hot, and they will only get hotter this year as American Youth prepare for Twilight the movie to come out this December. For those living under a rock Twilight is the first book in the best-selling Vampire series by Stephenie Meyers. I still remember when I first started working at the bookstore two years ago, and some poor girl asked if we had the book Twilight that her friend was talking about. This was before the book hit the bestseller lists, and the girl didn't know the name of the author. All I was able to tell her is that there are over 700 books with the title Twilight. Of course now I would know EXACTLY what she was talking about. And I could also now tell her that the second book is New Moon, which has only recently been released in paperback. The third book is Eclipse, and the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, is due out in August. We are taking pre-orders at the store.

The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead is not as famous as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, but the local youth love it. We added this book to our inventory last fall, we thought the cover would sell the book, and we were right. Of course it doesn't hurt that Mead is shelved right next to Meyer in our Young Adult section. Kids liked Vampire Academy so much they pre-ordered it's sequel, Frostbite, and have put their names on the list for the third book in the series, Shadow Kiss which comes out this November. The nice thing about this series is that the books are all published direct to paperback, so you are never stuck shelling out money for expensive hard-cover editions because your daughter, niece, or granddaughter simply has to read the next book in the series NOW.

Before vampires stole the scene, everyone was talking about pirates. So if you want the perfect book for youth, you stick them together with Vampirates! This series by Justin Somper has gained a loyal following at Spellbinders. The first book is Demons of the Ocean, followed by Tide of Terror, and the latest installment Blood Captain. Vampirates appeals to both boys and girls, which is nice.

And finally we have Sucks to Be Me by Kimberley Pauley. Sucks to Be Me isn't out yet, it hits the shelves in late August, but it is a great book, and it is the only vampire book that I have actually read. Sucks to Be Me is a classic teen novel, about friends, high school, family, and boys, but with the added twist that Mina, the protagonist, lives in a family of Vampires and has to decide if she want to join their immortal clan forever. It's a fun book.

Ode to Cicely Mary Barker

2008-06-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Cicely Mary Barker

1895-1973

Cicely Mary Barker suffered from epilepsy, so that she was unable to go to school and was educated at home. When she was 15 her father submitted her drawings to a stationery printer, who bought four of them for greeting cards. Her father died when she was 17, and Cicely Mary Barker's art sales became the main source of income for herself, her sister, and her mother. Her first book, Flower Fairies of the Spring was published in 1923, and it was a hit.

I love her illustrations because the fairies look like real children.This is appropriate as Cicely Mary Barker used live models for all her illustrations, usually children from her sister's kindergarten class. She would paint the child with a flower in his or her hand, enlarging the flower to the size of the child in the paintings. These flower fairies were often given characteristics similar to their live models.

In today's world of Barbie, and overly sexualized Disney Pixies, I love to see beautiful fairies that haven't reached puberty. Her poems are lovely, though not really geared to kids. In fact when Flower Fairies of the Spring first came out I think it was marketed to adults. She wrote a total of seven books, complete with flower fairy illustrations and accompanying verses. These books are all still in print, and I think they just put a new "cooler" cover on them this year.

But more than what she wrote, I love the books that Cicely Mary Barker's work inspired. Penguin, the publisher that owns the rights to her work, has stories about the fairies that are based on the characteristics she gave each one in her original verses. They have pop-ups and newly discovered flower fairy journals. These are the books for kids, and they are wonderful.

Fairy & Princess Books

2008-06-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

I just found out my friend's 4-year-old daughter, Mollie, has cancer.

http://www.allaboutmollie.blogspot.com/

With a situation so frightening, I tend to feel helpless, and worse, unable to help. But Mollie likes fairies and princesses, so the least I could do was send some books. This list includes the four books I sent Mollie, and some additional favorite fairy titles.

Princess Fairy Tales by Margaret Clark
In opening "The Classic Treasury of Princess Fairy Tales" one will find refuge in a quiet, sun-dappled forest where magic still can and does happen. Featuring eight of the best loved princess heroines of all time, from Cinderella to Sleeping Beauty, little girls will revel in the fantasy world the beautifully rich artwork creates and long for the stories to never end. (Click on the picture to link to Spellbinder's Website to see details.)

Flower Fairies Alphabet Colouring Book by Mary Cicely Barker
Mary Cicely Barker is the queen of the flower fairies. She has beautiful books of poetry and her illustrations are incredible. This colouring (British spelling) book introduces young children to the alphabet with the help of Barker's delightful Flower Fairies. From A to Z, there is a Flower Fairy to color in for each letter of the alphabet. Constructed of heavy paper suitable for crayons, marker, or paints. Line drawings. (Click on the picture to link to Spellbinder's Website to see details.)

Everything Princess!: My First Tiara & Gemstone Activity Book with Sticker and Other Jewelry by Alex Toys
The title really says it all, but the official description is: "This lavish kit is perfect for every little girl who dreams of being a princess Inside you'll find a pretty pink tiara, die-cut and visible through the front cover, 120 gemstone stickers, 5 large jewels, an adjustable ring, cuff bracelet, and best of all--a special pop-up vanity mirror So not only can girls decorate, then wear, their very own princess creations, but they can also check out their new princess looks in their very own mylar mirror Inside the full-color book are fun princess-themed activities on 40 card stock pages, including 8 punch-out pages to make a magic wand, a princess fan, a picture frame, and so much more." (Click on the picture to link to Spellbinder's Website to see details.)

Fairies: Clipboard Activity Pack with Sticker & Poster & Stencils & Note Pad & Activity Guide by DK Publishing
I have biases for and against certain publishers, and DK is one of my favorites. I love their graphics and the quality (paper and binding) of their books. While this fairy activity pack isn't quite as extensive as the princess one listed above, it's still quite nice, and it is less than half the price. (Click on the pictures to link to Spellbinder's Website to see details.)

Fairyopolis & How To Find Flower Fairies by Mary Cicely Barker
I know I said it before, but Mary Cicely Barker is the queen of flower fairies. Fairyopolis is supposed to be her long lost journal. It is very cool, though a little hard to read. How To find Flower Fairies is an incredible pop-up book, it's my favorite of the two. Robert Sabuda is coming out with a separate fairy pop-up book this summer, and I'm sure that will be wonderful as well. (Click on the picture to link to Spellbinder's Website to see details.)

Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine
This chapter book introduces young readers to the fairy community that Tinkerbell lives in when she is away from Peter Pan. There may be a TV series attached as well, I'm out of the TV loop. This is a Disney book and I have to admit that Disney is one of those publishers I am biased against. However, this book is not only beautiful, it is written by Gail Carson Levine, who received a Newbery Honor Award for Ella Enchanted. Disney or no Disney, Gail Carson Levine can write! This book is great. (Click on the picture to link to Spellbinder's Website to see details.)

Review: New YA Action/Adventure Novels

2008-06-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

ACTION/ADVENTURE FOR YOUTH (AND ADULTS)

What makes a good action/adventure novel for teens? While there may be differences of opinion, my personal take is that a good teen adventure novel is just like a good adult adventure novel, but with less swearing, graphic violence, and sex (a child or teen protagonist also helps). In fact a number of famous adult mystery/adventure writers have realized this, and are jumping into the youth market, but this review is not about them, this review is about the titles above.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Last week I read Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, and I couldn't put it down! The theme of teenagers fighting against the Department of Homeland Security didn't really appeal to me at first, but I was home sick and the book had made it onto the Indie Bestseller List, http://www.bookweb.org/indiebound/bestsellers/national.html, so I thought, "why not?". I am so glad I picked it up!

First of all Little Brother is heavy on the computer science behind everything the main character, Marcus does. But instead of scaring me off as most computer language does, Doctorow makes it fascinating! He should earn a Pulitzer for that alone.

The basic plot synopsis is that while Marcus and friends are cutting school to play a computer game, terrorists attack the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Marcus and friends are picked up by the Department of Homeland Security as possible suspects and detained offshore for an unreasonable amount of time in wretched conditions. A condition of release is that they not tell a soul what happened to them, but one of the friends doesn't return. What Marcus does about his missing friend and the fear state the Department of Homeland Security creates in San Francisco is the book. And it is a great book! Really really fun.

I can't remember any swearing, and any violence is pretty minor, other than the death and destruction of the terrorist attack of course. There is one sex scene, between a 17-year-old couple, a condom is used. As far as teen sex go it was great, pretty realistic; afterwards they threw on clothes and felt shy around each other. There is one party scene that includes under-age drinking, but no one was wasted, no one drove, and it was used to move the plot forward, again, realistic. I would feel comfortable giving the book to my 11-year-old niece, she hears worse stuff from her friends. That said, my niece is an advanced reader, kids would need to be reading at an 8th grade level to fully get into the book.

***** - I loved it.

The Missing Book 1: Found

by Margaret Peterson Haddix
SPOILER ALERT!!!! In order to explain why I think this book is so cool, I have to tell you the end, so if you don't want to know what happens STOP READING NOW!

In Found, Jonah receives weird mail that he first assumes is some prank kids are pulling because he is adopted. But then his neighbor Chip also gets the same mail, and Chip didn't even know he was adopted. Confused Jonah gets his dad to call the adoption agency, who says there is a new name attached to his file, and FBI agent's name. While the FBI is no help what-so-ever, his family's conversation with the agency does bring up a lot of mysterious questions that Jonah, his sister Katherine, and Chip are determined to solve. The book is their solving of the mystery.

Now here is what makes this book great, it isn't the mystery, it isn't the kids working to solve it, what makes this book great is the book what is coming next. Found is clearly the START of a really fun series. You see it turns out the kids are all famous babies (think Anastasia Romanov) stolen from the past centuries to be sold to future families for high adoption fees. Except their plane accidentally landed in the wrong time, the late 20th century, and the kids were adopted by normal American families. Now to fix the ripples in time their kidnapping caused, but still be allowed to return to their 21st century families, they have to go back to the centuries they first came from to make things right. Book two starts in the 15th century, I can't wait. This a great book for kids 10-14.

**** - I liked the book, but I think I am going to LOVE the series.

Gone by Michael Grant

I read the advance reader's edition of Gone, which had a plain blue cover. If it had the cover it is now being sold with I would never have picked it up. Come on this is a kids book, a young kids book at that, ages 10 - 14. I do not want to see 14-year-old nipples on a book cover! Mr. Grant do your best to get a different cover for the paperback edition, PLEASE.

Gone is a science-fiction thriller where suddenly all adults and children over 14 years of age disappear from a community, and the children left in that community start developing strange powers. The factions the youth split into, the good leaders, the bad, this is the story. There is a lot of violence, but no sex, and I can't remember any swearing. Like Found, Gone is the start of a series. But unlike Found I am not clamoring to read the next installation. That said Gone is a good read, entertaining, mysterious, and thrilling. I would have given it four stars if it weren't for that wretched cover. Now it only gets three.

***- Good, but not great.

Review: The Joys of Love by Madeleine L'Engle

2008-06-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

http://spellbinder.booksense.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&isbn=9780374338701

The Joys of Love, originally written in 1942 and published for the first time in May of 2008, is one of the earliest stories of Madeleine L'Engle, famous for her Newbery winning title and series A Wrinkle in Time. L'Engle died in 2007, so the introduction is written not by her, but by one of her granddaughters, Lena Roy. Roy describes the main character in Joys of Love, Elizabeth, as an image of L'Engle as a young woman. It is a sweet, romantic story, describing a young woman's summer as an apprentice actress on a beach boardwalk. It is a story of friendships and first loves, and her characters' interactions truthfully describe relationships among older teenagers and young 20-year-olds. Therefore young teenagers are sure to love it.

It is refreshing to read a book where "darn" is a swear word and 20-year-olds fret about illicit kissing. Most books for teens today are filled with drugs and sex, not that this is necessarily a bad thing, books today reflect the world children live in; still it is nice to leave it behind. This book will appeal to kids in the same way Anne of Green Gables is still a favorite, yes life is different now, but our interactions with friends remain the same. The Joys of Love is written for a older audience than Anne of Green Gables, where as Gables appeals to kids 10 - 14, The Joys of Love is for those 12 - 45.

**** - I liked it