Senor Parrot's Perch

Nancy Pearl was interviewing Father/Son writing team Arthur and Alex Dorros on her Book Lust podcast where they talked about their new book Numero Uno. Numero Uno is the tale of two men, Hercules and Socrates, who find themselves in an argument over what is most important: the brawn of Hercules or the brains of Socrates.

The villagers, tired of the continuous argument, devise a clever contest to settle the question of who is n�mero uno once and for all, and the results surprise everyone.

The discussion about this story really caught my interest, Especially since it first took form as a 6th grade writing assignment for Alex. His father, Athur, an established children’s author and illustrator, recognized the excellence of the story and they pursued the published version together.

As I was listening, I thought “Who is this Arthur Dorros?”, not recognizing the name. I found his website and saw that he was the author of When The Pigs Took Over”, a very entertaining tale of two brothers, one of whom always thought more was better. I highly recommend it. Now I’m going looking for Numero Uno, as well.

Jan Brett’s new book, The Three Snow Bears (Penguin Young Readers Group, ISBN-13: 9780399247927) is bound to please her fans, new and old. This story is a new twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and set in the frozen north. The young Inuit girl, Aloo-ki , is searching for her lost sled dogs when she comes across the empty igloo of the three snow bears. This is a perfect wintry-tale for snuggling and reading with a young child.

Every fan of Brett’s will recognize her book immediately. If you’re not a fan yet, you will be soon after opening it up. The illustrations are classic Brett. Each page illustrates the main story and the side pictures animate the back. This signature formula of Brett’s is a wonderful invention for adding detail that excites a child’s imagination and stimulates their own story-telling abilities, so important when they learn to read.

Here are some more pictures from the book.

What’s your favorite by Jan Brett? Mine is her illustrated version of Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat.

The cover of Toy Boat immediately got my attention when I saw an ad for it in today’s issue of Shelf Awareness. It didn’t hurt that I’m nuts about boats, of course. Loren Long has beautifully illustrated other kids books, and appears to have done it again. The story is by Randall DeSeve, and as described by the Penguin, the publisher, sounds like it would easily keep the attention of a young child. I’ll be looking for Toy Boat when I’m out shopping.

Here’s the description from Penguin:

A little boy has a toy boat. He made it out of a can, a cork, a yellow pencil, and some white cloth. The boy and his boat are inseparable, until one day when the wind pushes the toy boat out into the wide lake. Alone now, the little boat must face fierce waves, a grumpy ferry, a sassy schooner, and a growling speed boat. How the little boat misses the boy! But if he is going to survive, he must figure a way to do it on his own.

More about the book at the publisher’s web page:
Toy Boat – Randall DeSeve – Penguin Group USA

Author:Randall DeSeve
Illustrator: Loren Long
ISBN: 9780399243745
Published: Sept. 20, 2007 by Penguin

Elise is a young girl with a passion for painting and getting it just right. One day she is painting outside, when she stops to run inside for lunch. When she returns she’s astonished to find a fairy stuck by her wings into her painting. There is nothing to do but wait for a new pair of wings to grow, so Elise brings her painting inside to keep the fairy until her new wings grow in.

Then Mom, proud of her daughter’s painting, as every mother would be, enters the painting into a contest and Elise is desparate to save her new friend.

When I read this aloud with my 4 year old, she became as stuck to Stacey Duford’s story as the fairy’s wings to Elise’s painting. She laughed and exclaimed gleefully at the wonderfully expressive and comic illustrations by Wendy Popko. This book was an immense pleasure to read with her and became a favorite. My 10 year old, a voracious reader after her mother’s and father’s hearts, found it just as entertaining.

This book is another treasure from a small stack of books I have from the regional publisher, Mackinac Island Press, in Michigan. I’ll be talking about the others as well over the next few weeks before school starts back up. Its a great pick for tickling a kid’s funny bone.

You can find out more about The Fairy Painting and many other excellent books for kids at the The Mackinac Island Press website.

Don’t burn that book! Don’t toss it out! Turn it in to book art!

Ok, so�that book�does stink. Its awful. Only an idiot would read it cover to cover. But, with a little inspiration, you can express yourself and turn that book into a work of art!

Over at the Mom2MomConnection, I found this link to books as art, but probably not what you expected.�There is, of course, the idea that mangling a books pages until they resemble something else is an act of desecration, but really, I’ve read a few that would be improved. Check it out! Here’s an example.

Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales, spins this powerful fable of two pigs, neighbors and�opposites. Its a good little book, emphasizing God’s grace and love, and the powerful transformative power of His grace and love. The book is excellently illustrated by Justin Gerard, and published by Tommy Nelson. Go get it, read it to your kids, and pay attention for yourselves, as well. (more…)

Every night we read with both our children. The oldest is nine and the youngest is 3. Both will have birthdays in a few months. With six years between them, we almost always read something appropriate for each of them.

Both get the bible then their stories. The youngest gets the bible through�one of the many�children’s bible story books she has. The pictures keep her interest and are appropriate to her level of understanding. (more…)

Elizabeth Kennedy, over on childrensbooks.about.com , has a great website devoted to children’s books. She covers book news and offers a free newsletter, provides shopping guides, reviews some of the best new kid’s books, lists some of the better children’s lit blogs, and provides lots of resources for learning about and selecting some great books for your kids. Its definitely worth the bookmark and regular visits.

This just in from the ALA, via the American Booksellers Association: the announcement of this years winners of the Newberry and Caldecott awards are:

Newbery Medal
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)

Newbery Honor Books
Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House)
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Delacorte)
Rules by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)

Caldecott Medal
Flotsam by David Wiesner (Clarion)

Caldecott Honor Books
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans (Walker)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun)

The full and brief announcement is here:

(more…)

This is an excellent book for anyone who likes to read to their children and it carries a lovely message of friendship and sharing centered around Christmas. Melrose and Croc are both new to the city. Its the day before Christmas and Croc has come to see Santa. He eagerly awaited the next day when he will see Santa at the big department store. Only he finds that he is too late and Santa has gone. Melrose was decorating his new apartment, and wishing he had a friend. Christmas needs to be shared with a friend and he finds his loneliness grows.

I loved this reading this book to my kids. They enjoyed these animals and felt for their plights. Emma Chichester Clark’s illustrations were warm and amusing and the incongruity of the cold and snowy winter scenes in the city next to the sandy palm-lined beaches added an odd and interesting touch.�

Melrose and Croc: A Christmas to Remember by Emma Chichester Clark, 2005, Walker Publishing Company, NY, NY