25
Feb
Rosie’s Magic Horse
Rosie’s Magic Horse
by Russell Hoban & Quentin Blake
Find it at: Your library | Amazon | Indibound
Published: Candlewick (February 26, 2013)
Recommend Reading Age: 4 & up
In a nutshell: In my opinion, you can never have too many “dream big” books. Books that remind you that anything is possible and will provoke that little voice inside of you that says, “You can do it if you put your mind to it!” When I first heard author Russell Hoban (late author of the classics Bedtime for Frances, Bread and Jam for Frances) and illustrator Quentin Blake (famously known for his Roald Dahl illustrations) teamed up again for a new picture book, I nearly did a back-flip. Two children’s literature greats I’m a big fan of in one picture book about a flying horse? Right on!
Discarded after the sweetness of the ice-pop (read popsicle) is gone, an ice-pop stick is thrown to the gutter. Until one day, when along comes a special girl named Rosie who rescues the stick from the ground and admits it to her ice-pop stick collection. Feeling glum without their icy identities, the sticks decide to fantasize about a new role they can preform- being a horse. The following night, Rosie goes to bed after hearing her troubled parents discuss their bills, thinking of ways she can help her them. In their determined hope, the ice-pop sticks and Rosie’s wildest dreams come true. Midnight strikes and the sticks magically turn into a horse and take Rosie on a wild, treasure-seeking adventure.
Magic, a flying horse, a fantastical adventure, and an appearance of gritty pirates, all produced by an author and illustrator who have raised and continue to raise a great many of readers, Rosie’s Magic Horse is a solid win. It is a gem of a book that reminds us to believe in the impossible. And did I mention there is a flying horse?
Vine preview:
Extras: Sir Quentin Blake was knighted last week!
Source of book reviewed: Many thanks to the generous people at Candlewick for providing a copy of this book for review.
23
Feb
Hokey Pokey
Hokey Pokey
by Jerry Spinelli
Find it at: Your library | Amazon | Indiebound
Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers, imprint of Random House Children’s Books (January 8, 2013)
Recommended Reading Age: 10 & up
In a nutshell: I’m fairly certain Jerry Spinelli is a hypnotist. Or a magician. One or the other or both. After reading his latest novel, Hokey Pokey, I felt like I was drugged and had to slowly fade out of the book’s spell, a dream of a world unlike anything I’ve ever read.
“What is Hokey Pokey? A place A time A square snowball treat A circle dance”Hokey Pokey is a childhood fantasy-like world, a wild west showdown of a place where kids reign, similar to the time of cowboys but with bikes and trikes as their trusty steeds. Almost the entire story takes place during the course of one day when main character Jack wakes to find his bike, his pride and joy, gone. “The girl” has taken it and left him in his bike-less shame. Jack and his Amigos, Dusty and LaJo, set off to retrieve it. But something else is different about Jack, and his friend LaJo is the first to see it. The tattoo on his belly, the one all kids of Hokey Pokey have as a right of passage, is fading. And fast. Like the story of The Kid, a mythological story all kids of Hokey Pokey know too well, Jack is destined to go away. As the reader follows Jack and his cronies throughout the day, the story seesaws, teetering between childhood and what possibly lies beyond Hokey Pokey. An unknown, mysterious place that is unclear to all in the land.
For the first five or six chapters I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Then like a camera lens to its focal point, Hokey Pokey slowly came into focus: the neighborhood, the playground politics, the friendships, and the rivalries. An element from the story that I enjoyed, and left me reminiscing about my own childhood, was that every day was in the present day. As a kid, there wasn’t much thought of tomorrow unless it was Christmas Eve. As an adult, life if full of tomorrows. The days are fleeting, but I remember a time when a hour seemed like a year and tomorrow was an eternity away. I miss that. I miss the time, or rather the timelessness, of childhood. Hokey Pokey captures this perfectly.
Something I remember Jerry Spinelli saying during the ALA Midwinter Newbery Panel Event in Seattle a month ago was that, and forgive my paraphrasing from memory, He doesn’t write for kids. He doesn’t write for adults. He doesn’t write with any age in mind. He just writes and it just so happens that his books are published for children. I was reminded of that a lot while reading Hokey Pokey, because it truly is ageless. It is a story that will resonate with any person that has gone through the growing pains from childhood to adolescence. That said, I have read this book as an adult and I am very interested to see how kids take it in. But in my reading experience it was like reading a dream, or even a faint memory. Part of me feels that I still haven’t fully digested this book, and that I need sit on it more and perhaps reread it.
Maybe Mr. Spinelli isn’t a magician or a hypnotist, but is simply a fine writer. And at one point, like the rest of us, he was also a kid. To be able to conjure a childhood atmosphere, one that is all too familiar to everyone, is an extraordinary feat.
You have to read it to believe it. Sheer magic.
Don’t take my word for it: “Hokey Pokey is creative, poignant, and bittersweet. Yes, the first couple pages are a little confusing. It takes an adjustment to move oneself into the world of Hokey Pokey, but once there, you are swept away, and will find yourself moving quickly along, to the final sentence. A sentence, which of course, brings the reader back to the beginning.” – review by Nova Library Mom
Extras: Map of Hokey Pokey. And yes it will make absolutely no sense to you until you read the book, but I thought I’d share it as a device of intrigue.
Map image source via NPR’s interview with Jerry Spinelli in “Kids Rule in the Land of Hokey Pokey”.
More information regarding Jerry Spinelli and his books can be found on his website. His bio made me tear up. I’m a huge cry baby about all things “love” and he has a clear love for his family, his wife, and his work.
Source of book reviewed: From the wonderful people over at Random House Children’s Books.
22
Feb
Seeing Things
Snowy dawn.
Warm spot.
Bookworm business.
Local reading.
Accessorizing.
Book bracketology.
The confused Christmas Cactus.
Paper stars for little pockets.
Not going anywhere.
Of late… Starting from the top. Kansas has seen quite a bit of snow this month. It’s been so cold recently that L and our cats take comfort in sitting on the heater grates for extended periods of time. It’s the new reading nook.
Since I don’t have a calling card, I made my own using stamps before I went to Seattle. The little worm stamp above came from a local Lawrence shop, Wonderfair. They sell zines, art, stationary, quirky knicky-knacks, and such.
I recently read Navigating Early by Kansas author Claire Vanderpool. And loved it. Almost finished with Hokey Pokey by Jerry Spinelli and also loving it. So far this year’s children’s books have Blown. Me. Away.
L has really been into dressing up recently. Her fashion report has revealed mouse ears and fairy wings are a must this season.
At the library I’ve been working on quite a bit of programs– Magic Tree House Adventures is back, hosted a stuffed animal sleepover, and now I’m in the middle of prepping for Tournament of Kids’ Books (last year’s tourney). The title contenders have been selected and will be revealed next week. All I’m going to say is this years competition is brutal.
My Christmas cactus is either very confused or very tardy. It’s suppose to bloom in November.
I had a few leftover stars from a previous storytime. Kids were stuffing them in their pockets which reminded me of Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee’s picture book, Stars.
The Blizzard of Oz had us hunkered down yesterday. KU canceled classes and the library was closed, so Will, L, and I were all home at the same time. We didn’t get dressed. We didn’t go anywhere. It was bliss.
So, what’s everyone up to this weekend? Read anything good lately?
Happy Friday!
21
Feb
Thowback Thursday: Thingy Things
Thingy Things
by Chris Raschka
Find them at: Your Library | Amazon | IndieBound
Published: Hyperion Books for Children (2000)
Came across these little gems a few weeks back while at work. Over a decade ago, Caldecott Award winning illustrator, Chris Raschka created this delightful series of books for beginning readers, the Thingy Things. They’re bizarre and hysterical and genius. Think Bob Books meets Mo Willems’ Cat the Cat, each Thingy Things book is themed around an animal character and uses amusing word repetition and simple sounds for the reader to exercise. You’ll also find enough silliness to conjure more than a few giggles. There’s Wormy Worm, who wiggles and woggles and you can’t tell which end is his front and which is his back. Whaley Whale, who for some reason is in a living room and not in an ocean, plays a goofy game of hide and seek. And then there’s Moosey Moose who is mad, mad, mad and wants nothing but his pants which later end up on his head. You can probably go ahead and skip Snaily Snail, who loves his shell, the hands-down the weakest link of the Thingy Things books. But the rest of the series’ characters on spot-on comical.
One of the things I find most attractive about Chris Raschka’s work time and again is that he truly has an illustration style all to his own. His pictures are so whimsical and lighthearted they could practically float off the page, even in the smallest of books. I snapped a few pictures of a few titles from the Thingy Things lot, so you, too, could enjoy their folly and fun. (Sluggy Slug is my favorite of the bunch.)
It’s a shame Thingy Things are no longer in print because L and I have been having the best of time reading them. She’s also taken to frequently reading them on her own as the narrative and rhythm is elementary enough for a toddler to memorize. Perhaps one day in the not too distant future Chris Raschka will create more easy reader books. One can only hope. The Thingy Things books are a hoot!
I found them at: My local library and surrounding area libraries via interlibrary loan.
20
Feb
Stuffed Animal Storytime & Sleepover
This week, I decided to mix things up a bit with storytime. I’ve seen so many wonderful stuffed animal sleepover programs done at other libraries that I thought it was high time to host one at my library. Why not? So, this week’s storytime theme was “Stuffed Animal Storytime & Sleepover”. At last week’s storytime (and on the library’s website, Facebook, and Twitter accounts) I alerted the parents/caregivers about the twist on our regular storytime to make sure their child brought a stuffed animal with them. It drew quite the crowd, and almost every single child brought a stuffed friend.
The children sat with their stuffed animals and listened to stories about sleepovers and bedtime, they made a Sleepy Star Mobile craft together, and then when it was time to go, made a tag with their name and their stuffed animal’s name and left them in my care for a library sleepover. (Disclaimer: I made sure there was no pressure for the children to leave there animals. Most did and some didn’t and all was just as well.) While the stuffed animals were “on their sleepover” my fellow children’s room co-worker Jenny and I snapped pictures of their adventures and antics. And you’re not going to believe the video the animals created during the middle of the night! Be sure to check it out when you scroll down below. For those children who did choose to let their stuffed animal sleepover, they will receive a photo souvenir of their critter when they pick up their stuffed animal. The stuffed animals had the best of time and I’m not gonna lie… We had a whole lot of fun as well.
Stuffed Animal Storytime Line-Up:
Maisy Goes on a Sleepover by Lucy Cousins
Maisy has never been on a sleepover before, so when Tallulah invites her to her first one Maisy is nervous and excited to attend. It doesn’t get better than Maisy Mouse when you want a strong preschool-age story.
Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas
Last November, this was our go-to bedtime story at home. This theme was the perfect time to break it in for library storytime. Cowboy is ready to sing his cows to sleep, but his lullaby keeps getting interrupted. Out of all the books read, this was the clear favorite of the bunch.
Stuffed Animals Get Ready for Bed by Alison Inches
A perfect tie-in to the theme; a little girl tames her wild stuffed animals in a sing-song rhyme that helps them get ready for bed.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems
Hold up a Pigeon book and you’ve got every single child’s attention. He’s a storytime crowd-pleaser. Kids love pigeon. Adults love pigeon. We ended this bedtime storytime with the best of the best.
Sleepy Star Mobile:
For the post-storytime craft, the kids made Sleepy Star Mobiles. I found this craft on Cinjoella and the only thing I did differently is tweak the name. It’s extremely simple and looks great once complete. Here’s how the kids put theirs together…
Materials used: AccuCut, cardstock, scissors, gift ribbon, and tape.
Using our library’s Accucut, I cranked out a bunch of spiral cuts and stars out of colored cardstock.
I also printed out a few smaller star shapes and cut them out using scissors.
I cut a foot of ribbon, tied a knot in one end, and threaded it through the middle of the spiral. I did this beforehand for all the spirals. I also cut out dozens and dozens of 3-inch strips of ribbon.
After storytime, the kids made sure their spiral was upside-down (knot of the center ribbon facing up) and taped the stars to the spiral using ribbon and tape.
They continued to tape as many stars to their spiral as they saw fit.
Flip over and there you have it. A dreamy mobile.
The Sleepover:
The library storytime kids are all kinds of awesome, so naturally their stuffed animals would be just as awesome. Before leaving them with me after storytime the kids made name tags for their animals (one side with the animal’s name and their name on the other side). The kids kissed and hugged their friend’s goodbye, told them to behave, and were on their way. Since then, these stuffed animals had all the fun on their library sleepover. Jenny and I snapped pictures documenting their activities.
The animals got into the board games and played an intense round of Monopoly.
Fishing at the old library watering hole.
Everybody conga!
Miss Linda read the animals Goodnight Moon before it was time to go to bed.
But the animals were just too excited to sleep. Check out all the mischief they got into last night on the library’s Facebook page. In fact, it got so wild they made their own video inspired by the KU Basketball team’s Harlem Shake. This you’ve got to see…
Can you believe those animals? Out of control. I blame the fact that they consumed too much junk food last night.
Here’s a little behind the scenes Vine I made…
We’re working on a slideshow today/tomorrow and I will post it here when it’s up. The sleepover was a huge success and so much fun to put together. Looking forward to future stuffed animal storytimes in the library, but for now I’m ready for a nap. Those stuffed animals were up til’ dawn!
For more stuffed animal sleepover fun be sure to check out:
Library Programs Stuffed Animal Sleepover via GreenBeanTeenQueen
The Return of the Stuffed Animal Sleepover Story Time via The Show Me Librarian
Stuffed Animal Sleepover Family Night via Sunflower Storytime
Great Stuffed Animal Sleepover Party! via Garden Variety Librarian
