It’s been a long, cold winter. Finally, longer days and brighter sunshine are heralding some warmer weather! The vernal equinox that officially launches the spring season isn’t till next week, but we’re ready to get an early start with these picture books about springtime.
In March of 1885, the newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer launched his second fund-raising campaign to help erect the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The French government was prepared to donate the statue, but a pedestal needed to be built and the U.S. Congress had rejected a proposal to publicly fund it. You can discover the fascinating story behind the Statue of Liberty in Lady Liberty: A Biography. First-person prose poems give insight into the many people who were involved, from the French designers and engineers to the American contractors and advocates like Pulitzer who raised awareness of the project. Through the eyes of those who were there, readers learn how the massive statue was constructed and what its symbol of freedom meant to immigrants, then and now. A helpful timeline and bibliography will encourage readers to learn more. This book is a great picture book choice for older readers. View this book in the Tandem Library Books online bookstore.
The fourth season of Project Runway just wrapped up this week. To stave off any withdrawal symptoms, here are a couple fantastic fashion design books.
Fashion Design: The Art of Style by Jen Jones is a highly photographic, behind-the-scenes peek at fashion design and designers, past and present. And, taking a more in depth look at one designer, Vera Wang by Anne M. Todd delves into her design roots as well as what motivates and inspires her to create today.
Interested in becoming a designer yourself? Check out these two tomes. Trendsetter: Have You Got What It Takes to Be a Fashion Designer? by Lisa Thompson looks at just what the title asks. And get started yourself by transforming clothes you already have with the ideas in Sew Subversive: Down and Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista by Melissa Rannals.
Fashion can be fiction too. From the publisher of Gossip Girl comes Poseur by Rachel Maude. Four Hollywood Hills sophomore girls couldn’t be more different, so when a school class forces them together to create a fashion label, the sparks fly.
With Leap Year Day last week, we encouraged everyone to get out there and do something. This week, we’re featuring books about do not-ing. We dug around and found some wonderfully amusing and informative titles, all starting with Don’t or Do Not.
How could any list of Don’t books be complete without Mo Willems’s hilarious, perfect-for-reading-aloud Pigeon books: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!?
On the informative side, Don't Squash That Bug!: The Curious Kid's Guide to Insects by Natalie Rompella introduces insects through colorful photos, spreads, and sidebars, while Do Not Open: An Encyclopedia of the World's Most Intriguing Mysteries from DK is full of enigmas from the Mona Lisa's hidden past to the history of Area 51, from lost worlds to secret codes.
Don't forget to check out thist list of more great Don't books!
The tag along the bottom of the front cover—A Novel Nefariously Written & Ignominiously Illustrated by the Author—piqued my curiosity. I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. The discussion therein of what to name a baby found on the Willoughby’s front porch sealed the deal. The baby is named Ruth because, as the oldest Willoughby child notes, they “are the ruthless Willoughbys.”
Hand this hilarious book about four children trying desperately to become orphans—while at the same time their parents try desperately to become childless—to fans of Lemony Snicket.
Author Lois Lowry pokes fun at various conventions found in orphan-heavy children’s books, even providing a bibliography at book’s end with amusing annotations for a handful of such books. Her Glossary is also not to be missed for those seeking to suck every last morsel of humor from this book. The nanny she has conjured up is a delight; instead of the horrid, mean type the Willoughby parents were seeking, this nanny is kind and an excellent cook to boot. Naturally, Lowry uses the nanny to take aim at yet another famous character: Mary Poppins. When asked if she is like the sugar- and song-dispensing caregiver, Nanny sniffs back, “Not one bit like that fly-by-night woman. It almost gives me diabetes just to think of her: all those disgusting spoonfuls of sugar! None of that for me.”
Happy Leap Day to all and especially happy birthday to everyone who was born on this special day! Since Leap Day occurs only once every four years, take this opportunity to step out of your comfort level and try something new.
Interested in joining the dance buzz and learning a few moves of your own? Hip-Hop Dancing by Joan Freese will take you through hip-hop history, explain what type of clothing you should wear, and show how to do a few basic moves. Once you get the hang of it maybe you (or your middle to high school-aged student) can form your own crew and win a few battles!
Dancing not your thing? Try your hand in the kitchen with Spatulatta Cookbook by the
Gerasole sisters, Olivia and Isabella (hosts from www.spatulatta.com). Written for grades 3 and up, this creative cookbook is full of bright photographs, easy recipes, and sections that explain basic cooking skills and measurement. Delicious and fun recipes like “Mashed Potato Ghosts” and “Yumbo Gumbo” really make this cookbook stand out from the rest – there’s even a section for snacks and another for vegetarians!
If dancing and cooking are too stressful for you, then a relaxing activity like yoga may be what you are looking for. Strike a Pose: The Planet Girl Guide to Yoga by Karen Birkemoe casually explains how yoga can be incorporated in your everyday life. Organized for grades 5 and up, it covers a variety of poses, breathing, and meditation. Simple illustrations will help readers execute and understand beginning yoga positions.
Take your leap today, unless you can wait until Leap Day 2012!
What has 366 days and happens every four years? That’s right- it’s a leap year which means 2008 has an extra day instead of the usual 365! Curious little minds are bound to wonder why? Help your students learn the answers by teaching about the history and concept of calendars. Click here!
Growing up in a pet-less house, except for the occasional goldfish, I always wondered what it would be like to have a pet, especially an exotic one. As a child, my top three picks consisted of the following: an orangutan, a dolphin, and a tiger. A little boy named Jack also has a pet wish list of his own in the book What Pet to Get? by Emma Dodd.
Excited that his mom agreed that he may have a pet, Jack explores his endless pet possibilities. Jack suggests that potentially an elephant, polar bear, or even a T-Rex may work. His mom simply replies that an elephant “might squash the car,” the polar bear may not like the central heating, and the T-Rex wouldn’t be an option because it “has been extinct for sixty-five million years.” What pet did both mom and Jack agree on? Well, let’s just say that Jack’s “little” pet named Fang has a fold out page all to his self. This fun and humorous story with bright, larger-than-life illustrations is a book that young children will enjoy.
On February 27th, Polar Bear Day celebrates the world's largest carnivore. It may be a big, meat eater, but somehow it often looks a bit cuddlier in children’s books than it might in real life. Just look at how cute the little polar bear is in Lonesome Polar Bear by Jane Cabrera. All the little cub wants is a friend to play with, but it’s hard to find a friend when all the other animals think of you as a big, scary predator as described in Sandra Markle’s Polar Bears in her Animal Predators series from Carolrhoda, which features a photo of a mother and cub feasting on a bloody carcass on the very first page. Two very different depictions of the same animal. One will appeal to storytime audiences and the other will be perfect for your reluctant readers looking for something a bit graphic.
Polar Star by Sally Grindley is an accurate yet gentle look at the polar bear as a hunter that blends fact and fiction as it follows a mama bear searching for food with her cubs. Polar Bears are Hungry by Carol Carrick has a similar story, but a slightly different focus. In spare text, the point is put forth that our warming temperatures are making it difficult for polar bears (and other animals) to find food. This is a good choice for talking about the environment, global warming, and endangered species possibly paired with Polar Bears in Danger by Helen Orme and Face to Face with Polar Bears by Norbert Rosing for the latest facts on the polar bear population.
Make friends with real polar bears in Pair of Polar Bears by Joanne Ryder and Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World by Carig Hatkoff. Both are filled with vivid photographs of baby bears that will capture your heart.
Happy Polar Bear Day!
As you may remember from last year Tandem Library Books was eager to promote the Cybils’ freshman year to our customers, including the fact that one of our own, a longtime book blogger Mindy, was involved as a panelist and an administrator.
Mindy and the entire Cybils Team did it again and we are thrilled to highlight this year’s Cybil winners, which were announced February 14, 2008.
The 2007 Cybils Winners are:
Boy Toy
Young Adult Novels Winner
The Professor's Daughter
Graphic Novels Winner--Young Adult
Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel
Graphic Novels Winner--Elementary/Middle Grade
Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood
Nonfiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books Winner
A Crooked Kind of Perfect
Middle Grade Novels Winner
The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County
Fiction Picture Books
Lightship
Nonfiction Picture Books Winner
The True Meaning of Smekday
Fantasy & Science Fiction Winner--Elementary/Middle Grade
Book of a Thousand Days
Fantasy & Science Fiction Winner--Young Adult
This Is Just to Say
Poetry Winner
Don't miss your chance to be involved with this one-of-a-kind award by nominating your favorite titles of 2008 this Fall at www.cybils.com!
