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Also reviewed by A Fuse #8 Production, Becky’s Book Reviews, educating alice.
Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.
Comics created using Bitstrips.
Call it lyrical, call it rhythmic – few things can split a picture book crowd like poetic text.
Where do you stand?
Some see it as a perfect way to expose young readers to the beauty and flexibility of language, while others see it as (in some cases) ignoring children’s sensibilities in an attempt to appeal to critics and parents (who, after all, are the ones purchasing the book). While I tend to side with the former, I have to admit that occasionally, poetic text can be a barrier to entry for beginning readers. That may be the case with Only a Witch Can Fly, and it’s too bad – the artwork is fantastic. A simple story with just enough of a poetic complexity to keep the debate going.
In this Halloween-themed story, the action begins after the trick-or-treating is over. After changing out of her witch costume and heading to bed, a dark haired girl is struck by an urge – to see if she can fly as real witches do. Grabbing her broomstick and heading outside with little brother and black cat following, the girl tries her luck. After a stumble, and some encouragement from her brother, the witch-in-training gets it right, flying into the night sky and leaving her father gaping at the window.
McGhee utilizes a 12th century French poetic form known as sestina to tell the story. The results may be too abstract for some youngsters to tackle by themselves. While repetition is present (a good thing for kids), there are elegant flourishes that may be lost on some.
Taeeun Yoo’s beautiful linoleum block print illustrations make the story accessible. I challenge you to find these images as anything less than amazing. In a way, block print is the opposite of drawing. Where artists usually draw lines first and fill them in, block prints color things in and leave the lines invisible. Yoo works with green, orange, brown, and black, to create spread after spread of memorable images.
While Only a Witch Can Fly has a poetic essence that may split audiences, the story still comes through thanks to beautiful artwork.
Review copy provided by publisher.
Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.
Normally, I reserve this post for the latest video of a chimp reading a children’s book or some similar bit of nonsense. Today, however, our Sunday Link Du Jour is actually helpful.
As a school librarian, I’m frequently deciding where to shelve new books we add to the collection. Most of the time these judgments are pretty clear, but gray areas certainly exist. Sometimes a book crosses my desk that I could use a second opinion on. OCLC Classify is perfect for this. I found out about this one at Neverendingsearch, who describes the service as such:
Search by ISBN, ISSN, UPC, OCLC number, or author/title. The service offers access to more than 36 million WorldCat records containing Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Library of Congress Classification (LCC), or National Library of Medicine (NLM) Classification numbers. It shares the most frequent and most recent class numbers, and it links to DeweyBrowser for further cataloging information.
Keep this site handy. Click here to head over to Neverendingsearch and take a look.
Oh, and uh, here’s a video of a chimp reading a book:
If you knew that Dr. Seuss invented the work “crunk”, then this will seem like a natural combination. I wonder if these guys know about “The Dewey Rap“.
(Thanks to kidlitnation for the link)
Saturday I made a run to the bookstore to pick some things up for the schools where I work. Here’s the result:
We’ve got some new 39 Clues, The Magician’s Elephant, new Beyond Spiderwick, and others.
It never fails – the school year starts, student requests start rolling in, and you realize you don’t have the latest in-demand title, or the recent update to a beloved series. If you’re like me, you hate it when this happens (the “not having the book kids want” part, not the “student request” part).
It took me a bit to figure out that I should do something that would enable me to pick these titles up during the course of the year. I couldn’t just spend my entire budget on one massive book order, or I would be left penniless and embarrassed in the face of desperate appeals for the new Ranger’s Apprentice.
If you have the ability, I recommend dedicating a portion of your ‘flow to be spent at a local bookstore, so that you can buy requested books as they pop up. I do not, however, recommend using the term “flow” in reference to your library budget. It’s unprofessional, folks.
No matter how diligent I am with book orders, titles always fall through the cracks. This helps fill in the gaps.
Appears we’ve got a Where the Wild Things Are spoof on our hands:
Where the Mild Things Are: a very meek parody by Maurice Send-Up.
I first read about this on the outstandingly-named THWOK! (The Sound of a Hardcover Book Swung Into Someones Head). The other day, I saw it in person (inexplicably shelved in the children’s section) at the bookstore. What’s it about? Really I can’t say it better than THWOK! (who wonders if it is too early to call this the worst “children’s” book of the year), so click here to read more.
The rise of the journal format has been swift and, by my estimation, successful. Taking a story and telling it in the form of a hand-written account makes sense for two reasons:
1. It takes said story into the first person, adding an immediacy that draws readers in.
2. Journals provide an opportunity to add richness to the text through illustrations, photographs, and other bits of non-text miscellanea.
The reasons above also explain why the journal format is a perfect fit for nonfiction. Following the wagon-wheel ruts of 2008′s How to Get Rich in the California Gold Rush, How to Get Rich on the Oregon Trail takes an historical event and gives it the journal treatment. If your nonfiction section is in need of an Oregon Trail update (and, really, is there one that isn’t?), this is a title you will want to seek out.
While the facts are accurate, the characters are fictional. In April of 1852 the young William Reed sets out with his family for the land and opportunity of the West. William, an aspiring writer, arranges to send his accounts of the trip back home to be published in the newspaper. Plans are set, finances are in order, supplies are acquired. The journey begins and the hardships the Reed family has heard about become reality. Scarce food and water, disease, and treacherous terrain combine to make the going tough. It isn’t long before their financial situation is looking grim. When their oxen are stolen, William and his older brother create the “Reed Brothers Ferry” and quickly learn that there is money to be made on the trail if you’ve got the will to seek it out. Four months after beginning, William and his family arrive in Portland, eager to settle in and begin life anew.
As laid out in the table of contents, each two-page spread is dedicated to a stop on the journey. These chunks prove quite manageable and will work well for young readers.
The way I see it, you can go two ways with this format – you can keep things ultra authentic, or you can make it modern. Oregon Trail goes the latter route. Presented as a current-day publication of an original journal, the overall look does not smack of 1852. While original photographs and maps are in the mix, the illustrations and layout provide an updated feel.
Engaging in format and boasting enough detail to give a sense of the journey that so many families made, How to Get Rich on the Oregon Trail should satisfy young history buffs and student fact finders alike.
Check out the Nonfiction Monday roundup at the outstanding Bookends blog.
Also reviewed by Kidliterate, Great Kids Reads.
Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.
I recently learned about the planned Universal Studios Harry Potter theme park from Educating Alice (who has a nice roundup of related links). I think we can all agree that this is a good idea. Pop culture site BuzzFeed recently posted a video tour of the planned project. Let us have a look:
Dang – looks pretty thorough to me.
On a (loosely at best) related note, did you know that there’s a Harry Potter store in Shanghai?
Now usually in these posts, I put up a couple books that look alike, we all laugh (oh, wait, that was just me?), and move on.
Today is different. I’m not sure if two covers have ever been as similar, yet so different.
You may be familiar with the first cover:
Animal Families.
I like this book. Kids like this book. I’m not sure what to think about it’s evil twin.
Although many (many) celebrities might beg to differ, writing children’s books is hard work. Limited vocabulary and limited space add to the difficulty of creating a story that (and this is the biggest challenge of all) will resonate with youngsters who are just learning how to read. There are scores of contrived, dull picture books that stand as a testament to the challenges of the medium. But occasionally, a picture book comes along that is so wonderfully pure that it makes you understand why some believe authoring a kids book is cake. Peter McCarty’s (Hondo & Fabian) Jeremy Draws a Monster is this sort of book. A simple, beautiful book that will join the well-populated ranks of Books about Imagination with gusto.
Too shy to go outside and make friends, Jeremy decides to create some company in the safety of his bedroom. Using a blue pen, he sketches a giant, horned monster. It isn’t long before the rude beast begins to get demanding. Food, music, board games – Jeremy has trouble keeping up with the requests. When the monster comes home late and commandeers Jeremy’s bed, the boy decides that it is time for his guest to hit the road. He hands the monster a ticket and a suitcase and shows him to the bus stop. After the bus speeds off Jeremy is by himself in a place he never has had the courage to go – outside. When a group of neighbors ask him to play, Jeremy decides to take them up on the offer.
Although it includes a monster, noise and bluster don’t dominate the book. The plot has a wonderful pacing that slowly builds, with a conclusion that young readers might expect, yet not see coming. While it won’t slay readers with action or huge laffs (as we librarians are so often drawn to during story time), this one should work well in a read-aloud setting. I can see kids putting themselves in Jeremy’s tiny, tiny shoes (well, socks actually) pretty easily.
Against the pure white backdrops that help to express Jeremy’s self-imposed isolation, McCarty’s pen & ink and watercolor illustrations vibrantly assert themselves.
I’m guessing this will be one of those books that critics, parents and kids will all like – it’s a big-tenter to be sure. Here’s hoping plenty of people crowd in.
Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.
