passionately sharing, discussing and admiring children's picture books
There’s really nothing quite like a good book when you are under the weather. We’re battling the sniffles over here and a pile of books makes the perfect cuddle companions as we sniff our way through the day. It’s natural inspiration for combo number two in my Let’s Read Three series: three picture books to read aloud and lighten up those crummy sick days.
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It happens of course, that occasionally after I post a book list, I will come across a new favorite that should have made the list. Such is the case for today’s book, so instead it gets a review all its own! A sweet back-to-school story that confronts the “what ifs” about a new situation and also politely turns the situation on its head. Here is Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M. George, illustrated by Merel Eyckerman, 2011.
Continue reading “Book Review: Back to School Tortoise By Lucy M. George & Merel Eyckerman”“With my own art, I try to invite readers to seek meaning in expressions, body language, or through visual clues. I endeavor not to tell the story directly but make enough suggestions so my reader moves beyond being a watcher and, instead, becomes a participant. I have read the recent articles regarding progressing kids out of picture books quickly. That is an idea I believe to be very harmful, robbing children of some fine opportunities to hone essential skills. Being able to decipher visual clues is extremely beneficial. We should remind ourselves that words, powerful as they are, are still only ONE form of communication.”
A French poem translated and illustrated in a way that ponders creativity, art, waiting, and wonder. It is a book that requests and deserves many reads and I feel the reader always leaves with a new discovery. Allow me to show you How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird by Jacques Prévert, illustrated and translated by Mordicai Gerstein, 2007.
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Believe it or not, August is here and that can mean only one thing: back-to-school themes are everywhere! I wouldn’t normally call myself a follower, but I openly admit to loving the back-to-school time of year. Those store sections suddenly packed with notebooks, pencils, backpacks, and the smell of Scotch Tape absolutely make me giddy. I’ve always felt this way. Getting my new school books each year was like a sort of Christmas in September. (Why on earth do schools start so early now?) Since I’m no longer in the mass of students and my child won’t be for a while either, I will celebrate the oncoming of the school year (and the hint of fall right behind!) by making lists of my favorite school-themed picture books, and inevitably buying a few school supplies for myself while I’m at it. You never know when you’ll need an awesome patterned folder or another pack of Sharpies!
Here is my 2013 list of fifteen picture books that center around school in some form and make me slightly nostalgic for those childhood schooldays.
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Friday has arrived again and to greet it, I offer a peek at this gorgeous little book about numbers, but more a celebration of the graphically ordered chaos of nature. Here is 123s by Charley Harper, design by Gloria Fowler, 2008.
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