Sturdy for Common Things

Reading Together: April 2014

Heyo! Welcome to this month’s Reading Together shenanigans. Reading Together is a regular series of posts about books I’m sharing with my 3-year-old, Lorelei, and her baby sister, Mira. Below is a video highlighting our favorite recent reads and there is also an extended booklist below. We’d love to hear about what books you’re reading together with your kids, whether they are your own little hooligans, grandkids, a classroom, or storytime group! Please share in the comments!

What We’re Reading Together…

List of books highlighted in this video in order of appearance:

The Mermaid and the Shoe by K.G. Campbell

Thingy Things series: Cowy Cow, Crabby Crab, Lamby Lamb, & Whaley Whale by Chris Raschka

Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi, illustrated by Grendan Wenzel

Moo! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

Turtle Splash!: Countdown at the Pond by Cathryn Falwell

You Are My Sunshine song by Jimmie Davis, illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church

BABYBUG Magazine (I forgot to mention that there is a caregiver guide in the back of these little magazines that include extension activities! Great resource for kids 6 months-3 years old!)

More books we’re reading together:

Lorelei

Dibble and Dabble by Dave and Julie Saunders

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Jane Champman

I Wish I Could Fly by Ron Maris

Mouse House Tales by Susan Pearson, illustrated by Amanda Shepherd

The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb

The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard

Baby Mira

Mira is usually around when I’m reading with her sister, but here are a few we read when older sister is at school that are great for her age.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes… illustrated by Annie Kubler

Humpty Dumpty illustrated by Annie Kubler

Bouncy Baby by Begin Smart Books

 

AWESOMENESS: Big thank you to Kids Can Press for The Mermaid and the Shoe. And thanks to Abrams Appleseed for the Thingy Thing books!

All other books reviewed or listed came from our local library!

Interview with Illustrator Elizabeth Baddeley

Friends, I am soooo thrilled to introduce you to Elizabeth Baddeley, illustrator of A Woman in the House (and Senate): How Women Came to the United States Congress, Broke Down Barriers, and Changed the Country. You have no idea. Not only is she an extremely talented artist that I’ve been wishing and hoping would work a children’s book one day, but I’ve also had the privilege of knowing her since I was a dopey high school kid. She is someone you’re going to want to keep your eye on. Blink and she’s everywhere.

Tell us about yourself!

I work as freelance illustrator living in Kansas City, Missouri. I actually just moved back here to my hometown after living in New York City for a little over three years. I moved to NYC when I was accepted into SVA’s Illustration as Visual Essay masters program. Prior to that I worked in Kansas City as a designer for Hallmark Cards. When I’m not drawing or working on some creative project (which is almost always) I love to cook, spend time with my husband, Zack, and instagram WAY too many photos of my two cats. This summer I am going to be teaching my first class, which I am simultaneously excited about and terrified which is usually a good combination of emotions.

Your first children’s book, A WOMAN IN THE HOUSE (AND SENATE), written by Ilene Cooper, is a nonfiction book for kids ages 8-14 about strong, revolutionary women and their positive impact on the US government. What was your favorite part about illustrating this book?

I was surprised to find that my favorite part of illustrating this book was how much I learned. I had forgotten that one of the reasons I became interested in illustration in the first place was that you learn something new with each job you take on. Not only did I learn about the women written in the book, but with each illustration came quite a bit of research. Whether I was looking up what the inside of the capitol looked like in 1920 or what women wore during World War II, each new drawing was a different history lesson. I also loved doing the lettering for the beginning of each section. The editor (Howard Reeves) had the idea of doing lettering in the style of each era. Normally I have a few fall back styles I like to use for hand lettering, but this really made me move outside of my comfort zone.

 

Which woman or women featured in this book are you most inspired by?

Any woman (or man quite frankly) that can take their career all the way to congress is an inspiration. However, I really loved learning more about Nancy Kassebaum Baker. She was a senator from Kansas from the late 70’s to late 90’s. Being a child of the 80’s and a Kansan at that, I remember learning about Nancy Kassebaum from an early age. I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I was as a little girl to have a female role model like that right in my own state!  She was only the second woman elected to senate that didn’t simply take over her husband’s seat! Another fact I didn’t know about her was that she was a moderate to liberal Republican that was highly involved in health care and ending apartheid in South Africa. Pretty important stuff there.

You won the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal for a stunning book you self published, Swimmer Girls. Can you tell us about the motivation and creative process behind that project?

Well, first of all, I think it’s important to tell your readers that you ARE one of the Swimmer Girls. And not just in spirit. One of the originals!

In our first year of the MFA illustration program at SVA we are given the assignment to make a book. That’s it. No other parameters. For some students, it’s very easy. They’re into childrens’ books so they do that. Or they like comics, so they make a comic. For me it was not so simple. I was still trying to figure out what kind of an illustrator I wanted to be.

On the first day of class we went around the room and told everyone what our book was about. I was still pretty unsure so I just said “Swimming. I’m going to go swim, and then I’m going to make art about it.” So that’s what I did. I would swim laps at the Chelsea rec center in NYC and then go back to my studio and work in my sketchbook. The wonderful thing about swimming is that while you’re doing it, you can’t do anything else. You can’t listen to music (well, I guess they make headphones for that now, but I’ve never found them to work very well), you can’t watch TV and you can’t talk. You’re pretty much alone with your thoughts. And trust me, a lot of thoughts come up. So I would write down whatever it is I’d be thinking about while I was swimming and then create imagery to go with it. Some days I wouldn’t even write. I’d just make water textures and brush strokes.

I began to accumulate a ton of work. The pieces didn’t necessarily fit together in any sort of a story, but I began to notice that about 80% of my thoughts had to do with memories I had from being on the swim team in high school. I began to think about how swimming and being part of that team shaped me into the person I am today. So that’s the really wonderful part of the story. The really sad part is that when I was only a week or two away from finishing the work, my dear high school swim coach, Greg House, passed away. I had all these great images, but I still didn’t have any text and wasn’t sure if I would even add any. The passing of Coach changed all that. All of a sudden, the words just flowed. It became a dedication to him, that time in my life, and all the other women I shared the experience with.

You’ve been getting a lot of love on Tumblr lately with your sketches of libraries. What role and influence have libraries had in your life?

Well, that’s just been crazy. It all started when one of my images popped up on the “tumblr radar” which is a little link in the sidebar that shows relevant, popular content and changes daily. After that, everything I’ve made with a book or library in it has just blown up. People really have a connection with books, what they look like, how they’re displayed, not to even mention the stories they tell!

But to answer your question, libraries have always been a part of my life. There was never a time as I child that I don’t remember going to the library. My mom (who is actually now a librarian herself) was instrumental in my relationship with libraries as a child. I remember going on a weekly basis, filling up my book bag and going home with a batch of new stories. And that smell. Is there anything that smells better than an old library book (ok, maybe a fresh box of crayons)? I think I’ve always kept that childlike fascination with libraries. In high school and college, I much preferred to study at home, so libraries have always had a sort of a kid in a candy store sort of appeal to me. I prefer to browse the shelves being open to whatever will appeal to me at that particular moment. I allow myself to be surprised. And I never make a trip to my local library without visiting the kids section.

Finish this sentence. In my dream library, there would be…

Comfy chairs, big windows and a couple of cats!

Where do you do the majority of your work? What do you listen to?

When I’m not with my sketchbook drawing on location (which is actually where most my ideas begin), I am in my home studio, the second bedroom of our apartment in midtown Kansas City. What I listen to entirely depends on what task I’m doing. When I really have my thinking cap on, sketching ideas or writing I don’t usually listen to much. Either classical music, or like today, the wind blowing and cars driving by outside my window. When I’m doing something that requires less concentration I love audiobooks. For some reason I get distracted with music, but with an audiobook (or podcast), I can focus for hours! My favorite ones lately have been The Goldfinch and the Steve Jobs biography. When it comes to podcasts I’m a long time This American Life listener, love The Moth and have been recently turned onto Snap Judgement. It’s great.

One of my favorite questions to ask children’s book authors and illustrators is what books did they read over and over and over again as a child? What were your must-reads?

Oh man, this is a long list and I know I’m going to forget something super important. My parents read to my brother and me every single night. It was a huge part of my childhood. The first book I could ever “read” to myself was Madeline. I really just had it memorized. I made my parents read it to me so often. As a young child I loved anything Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Two Bad Mice being my preference), Steven Kellogg, Shel Silverstein, Jumanji, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and of course, Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. I was always drawn to books with really detailed illustrations. Maybe because we read the same ones over and over and it gave me something new to discover each time. When I read Little House book series, Pippi Longstocking, anything Roald Dahl wrote, and I think my favorite at the time and will possibly forever be, Harriet the Spy.

What books are sitting on your nightstand this very moment? What are you currently reading or hoping to read soon?

I’m reading Goodbye to All That which is a collection of short stories about people who’ve left New York City and the mixed feelings associated with that and also The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. Not sure what is next. Have any recommendations? I might just read Harriet The Spy again.

What’s next and new with you? Are there more children’s books in your future?

I sure hope so! I’ve actually only recently discovered that YES! I want to make children’s books! I’m working on a project with Storybird, as well as doing some illustrations for grown ups. This summer I will be teaching a class at the Kansas City Art Institute. And most importantly, I’m working on building a portfolio and some book dummies for the SCBWI summer conference in August. Even after working on my first book, I’m not entirely sure what I’m getting into. I hear the conference is a great experience and I hope to learn a lot more there.

Where can we keep up on all things Elizabeth Baddeley?

I update my blog on my website with the really big news: www.ebaddeley.com

And I have a lot of little day to day updates, sketches and photos on my tumblr: http://elizabethbaddeley.tumblr.com/

And I tweet: https://twitter.com/BizBeth

 

Thingy Things Get a Makeover

Thingy Things

by Chris Raschka

Find them at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore

Published: Abrams Appleseed (April 8, 2014)

Recommended Reading Age: 2-6

You may recall a post I wrote last year about the Thingy Things series, by Chris Raschka. Ever since stumbling upon these books, I’ve been hoping and wishing a publisher would find the value in them, dust them off, and republish them. Well, that day is finally here! Abrams Appleseed bought the rights to the Thingy Things series, gave them a facelift, and are also unveiling a few of the books that were never published (more on that here). Four of the books in the series, Lamby Lamb, Crabby Crab, Whaley, Whale, and Cowy Cow will be available April 8, and four more later this fall. Yippee!

Cowy Cow is my favorite of the bunch. Or Crabby Crab. Okay, it’s a tie between Cowy Cow and Crabby Crab.

Wish we didn’t have to wait a whole spring and summer for the next batch to be released!

Trailer: 

Source of books reviewed: The good people over at Abrams Appleseed! Thank you!

 

Review: A Woman in the House (And Senate)

A Woman in the House (and Senate): How Women Came to the United States Congress, Broke Down Barriers, and Changed the Country

By Ilene Cooper, Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley

Find it at: Your Local Library | Your Local Bookstore

Published: Harry N. Abrams (March 11, 2014)

Recommended Reading Age: 8-14

I will never forget my 7th grade civics class and how confusing it was for me. A predominant portion was devoted to the United States government and it just didn’t click, I think partly because I didn’t find it interesting. It would have been an entirely different story if I had read A Woman in the House (and Senate). Written in a colloquial style that was both inviting and entertaining for upper elementary and middle school readers, this book recounts the famous women throughout American history, who, despite social norms or obstacles, served in the House of Representatives or the Senate. The opening introduction of the book gives a breakdown of how the US government is organized and why it took so long (128 years!) for women to hold office. Following this introductor rundown, the book is broken into time periods highlighting the women who did serve, their hardships and accomplishments, and why it’s important that women continue to serve, balancing this male dominated profession. Colored with illustrations, black & white and color photographs, and hand lettering throughout that brilliantly enhances the text, my 7th-grade-self wishes there was an engaging book like this when I was in middle school. Thankfully, this once reluctant student now has a fascinating resource to put it in the hands of both kids and educators.

Also included is an appendix, endnotes, bibliography, and further information and reading. A Woman in the House (and Senate) is an inspiring account of the woman who have made history and continue to do so, have shaken things up in political office, and willfully and passionately advocate for others.

Be sure to check back here soon for an interview with the illustrator, Elizabeth Baddeley!

Extras: A timeline and resources for Women’s Milestones in US Government.

March is Woman’s History Month!

Visit author Ilene Cooper’s website.

Visit illustrator Elizabeth Baddeley’s website.

Source of book reviewed: Provided by the illustrator who you will learn more about very soon!

Review: The Great Art Treasure Hunt

The Great Art Treasure Hunt: I Spy Red, Yellow, and Blue

by Doris Kutschbach

Find it at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore

Published: Prestel (September 13, 2013)

Recommended Reading Age: 5 & up

In a Nutshell: If you’ve been a somewhat regular SFCT reader, you’re probably well aware of my love of all things art. Especially, art education. When the new artsy books arrive at the library I get a little grabby (MINE!), and once I’ve devoured them I love to their sing praises. The Great Art Treasure Hunt: I Spy Red, Yellow, and Blue is a keeper. The I Spy concept is a wonderful way to gain interest and provide an introduction to famous visual art pieces from various art movements around the world. A key for each picture is located in the back of the book, along with information about the work of art and its creator. Take a looksie:

You never know what you might find in the details! Also, be sure to check out The Great Art Treasure Hunt: I Spy with My Little Eye for even more artsy fartsy fun!

Extras: A list of interactive art websites for kids

Source of Book Reviewed: My local library!

Review: At The Same Moment, Around The World

At The Same Moment, Around The World

by Clotide Perrin

Find it at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore

Published: Chronicle (March 11,2014)

Recommended Reading Age: 5-8

In a nutshell: Days, hours, minutes, seconds…. Time is a complex notion for both kids and adults to ponder. At The Same Moment, Around The World helps lighten the load by taking its reader on a trip to visit regions, and the people who inhabit those regions, in 24 time zones, each connected by one moment in time. Visit Keita counting fish in Dakar, Senegal, Lilu eating lunch in the Himalayan Mountains, and Chen practicing for the Lunar New Year Parade in Shanghai, China. Like these characters, we are separated by miles and miles and may be experiencing different times of the day, but our day-to-day moments of sharing a meal or watching the sunset reminds us that we are more alike than different, regardless of where we live or what time it is. After a trip around the world, learn about timekeeping, the invention of time zones, and how we keep time today at the end of the book. There is also a nifty fold-out map of the places visited with their corresponding characters. But once you close the book, you might find yourself immediately reopening it  to admire the warm, vibrant illustrations that abound on each page. Take a gander:

 

 

 

A wonderful picture book for a classroom read-aloud, or a child interested in geography, of the element that dictates our days and connects us all on the planet which we live; time.

Extras: Visit Clotide Perrine’s website.

A list of online activities for learning about time zones

Source of book reviewed: Copy provided by the wonderful folks over at Chronicle.

Reading Together: March 2014

 

Welcome to Reading Together 2.0! I decided to change things up a bit for this regular feature here on good ol’ Sturdy for Common Things regarding the books I’m reading with my kids (Lorelei is 3-years-old, and Mira is 3-months-old). I’m doing away with the long list of books with mini-blurbs, because who has time for that when you have an infant? A few fun and favorite reads of late will be featured on the Reading Together channel (i.e. my Vimeo account), and a short list of other books we’re enjoying together will be included. We are an amateur production, so get ready for a few laughs. ALSO, I’ve decided to make the Books We’re Reading Together Pinterest pinboard public! Instead of this pinboard being about what I’m reading with my kids, I want to open it up to anyone interested in sharing what they’re reading together with their kiddos so it will serve as one giant community booklist. If you’d like to contribute, send me a message with the email address you use to log onto Pinterest and I’ll add you.

Hope you enjoy the new format. Here we go!

What we’re reading together:

Two of the books mentioned were winners of the CLEL Bell Book Awards, a brand spanking new book award devoted to exceptional picture books that support important early literacy traits. Here’s a list of books highlighted in the video:

Alphablock by Christopher Franceschelli, illustrated by Peskimo

Here Comes Destructosaurus! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

Buddy and the Bunnies in Don’t Play with Your Food! by Bob Shea

Nighty-Night, Cooper by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

The Things I Can Do by Jeff Mack

What’s the Magic Word? by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Marsha Winborn

Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite by Nick Bromley, illustrated by by Nicola O’Byrne

The Bear’s Song by Benjamin Chaud

More books we’re reading together:

(Lorelei)

Wild Berries by Julie Flett

The Noisy Counting Book by Susan Schade and Jon Buller

Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Annie Patterson

Nino Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel, illustrated by David Catrow

Princess Tales: Once Upon a Time in Rhyme with Seek-and-Find Pictures adapted by Grace Maccarone, illustrated by Gail De Marcken

How Big Were Dinosaurs? by Lita Judge

The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg

Bean Dog and Nugget: The Ball by Charise Mericle Harper

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

I Spy A to Z A book of Picture Riddles by Jean Marzollo, photographs by Walter Wick

Pantone Color Puzzles: 6 Color-Matching Puzzles by Patone and Tad Carpenter

 

(Mira)

Mira is usually around when I’m reading with Lorelei, but here are a few we read sans older sister.

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton

The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

Hello Baby: Words by Roger Priddy

I Like It When… by Mary Murphy

 

AWESOMENESS: Thank you Abrams Appleseed for Alphablock and Pantone Color Puzzles! And a thank you Chronicle Books for Here Comes Destructosaurus!

All other books reviewed or listed came from our local library!

 

Interview with Bluebird Author Lindsey Yankey

I’m so excited to introduce to you this up and coming children’s book author and illustrator, Lindsey Yankey, who recently published her first children’s picture book, Bluebird (reviewed here). Bluebird follows the story of a little bluebird and her search for her friend the wind, and is available for purchase TODAY.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I have a growing collection of children’s books on my shelf. New ones, old ones, ones from the library sales, happy ones, sad ones, ones in languages I can’t read. Sometimes my cat and I get into it over who gets to sit in my studio chair. I often fantasize about what it would be like to discover a new color the world has never seen. I find myself going down rabbit holes researching things like; how many cones do other animals have that allow them to see the color differently, how does the body absorb vitamin-d from sunlight, and all the varieties of baobab trees.

 

BLUEBIRD is your first children’s picture book printed in the US. What inspired you to become a children’s book author?

I’m working with the folks at Simply Read Books in Vancouver. Bluebird is my first book in English; the others are in Italian. It’s a long story involving two trips to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, mustering up courage, making a new friend, and discovering my distaste for sparkling water.

I began to piece together that I wanted to make picture books when I started taking studio classes in college. I had changed my mind a lot from education, to art education, to illustration. I rediscovered books I liked when I was little and found new books to admire. I guess a lot of my inspiration has come from reading children’s books as an adult. I think children’s books have the potential to be enjoyed by all kinds of people, young and old. To me the best books possess layers of meanings and interpretations, and have nuances that go unnoticed until the 10^th time you open the book. I’d like to lead a happy fulfilling life, and making books combines a lot of my interests; kids, making art, telling stories, education, imagination, research, and tiny details.

 

 Where did the idea for BLUEBIRD come from?

Most of my stories start with a just blip of an idea, just a thought. One night I wrote down a thought of  “a bird looking for the wind.” At the time I was living in a little house with two of my best friends. I had one of the rooms upstairs and I had slept with my window open out onto the roof of the porch. Early the next morning I woke up, lying on my back and moved my eyes around the room. The wind was blowing the curtain and sitting on my bookshelf by the window was a little house wren. It hopped around on the shelf, flew in a circle, and straight back out the window. After that I started to develop the idea of a bird looking for the wind. Why would it look for the wind, where had the wind gone, and how do you express the absence of something you can’t see?

 

What was the creative process like? Did the illustrations come before the story or the story before the illustrations?

The story developed over the last 6 years or so. Bluebird has gone through loads of drafts, and the imagery has grown with me as I’ve developed my way of making illustrations. For the final illustrations in the book I made multiple thumbnail sketches establishing the composition, the goals of the illustration, the movement from one page to the next, etc. I like to use a lot of different materials, so making the final illustration depends on what mediums I’m using.

 

When do you work on your art? Where and what time of day? What music do you listen to? Or do you prefer silence?

I work from home in a tiny room I share with my studio mate, Meo, the cat. Sometimes she interrupts me for a good scratch and pet. It’s a cozy little room. I try to work during the daylight hours; in the past few years I’ve noticed I my color choices and quality control slip as the day turns to night. Some of my favorite artists to listen to are Devendra Banhart, The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. The last year or so I’ve found myself spending a lot of time with audiobooks and talk radio shows like This American Life and Radiolab.

You come from a family of artists – Your father is a ceramicist, your brother is a photographer, your sister is a painter, and you yourself an illustrator! What was it like growing up in a home that openly embraced the arts?

Awesome. We lived in the country without cable, internet, and neighbors. I guess that can sound like torture for some and paradise to others. For me, I think it was a great place to grow up learning to entertain yourself and make your own fun. Both my parents encouraged us to play creatively, build, draw, make, and paint. I spent many diligent hours drawing the characters from our giant red velvet book of Disney stories. As a teenager my parents were nice enough to let my sister and I paint on our bedroom walls and ceiling. I guess I’ve always had art in my life, but I did take some serious time away from it to play sports, then dabbling back into art in college. It’s pretty special to have a family who supports art and who also know so well the reality of trying to make art a profession.

What picture book did you read over and over and over again as a child?

Hmmm, honestly I can’t think of my favorite picture book from when I was little. I know I spent a lot of time with the collection of Disney stories; I know I liked The Mitten, Good Dog Carl, Balloon Farm and Where the Wild Things Are. I remember a book called Heckedy Peg mortified me and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized the mom in the story in fact did not cut off her legs to save her children from a witch. When I was a bit older I was in love with Roald Dahl’s books and Quentin Blake’s illustrations. I still re-read those books.

What’s next and new? Do we see more children’s books in your future?

Yes, I’m working on another picture book, and if all goes well it will be finished later this year. It’s a story I’ve worked on back and forth with for years, and I’m really pleased to see it come to life. In short, it’s about the sun and the moon.

Review: Bluebird

Bluebird

by Lindsey Yankey

Find it at: Your library | Your local bookstore

Published: Simply Read Books (January 26, 2014)

Recommended Reading Age: 3 & up

In a nutshell: Boy, do I have a special treat for you my dear reader friend…

Local Lawrence artist Lindsey Yankey has published her first picture book! And it is stunning!

One spring morning, little bluebird woke up to find her dear friend the wind was missing. She had never flown without the wind’s assistance, and so she set off for the day searching high and low for her lost friend. And so the reader joins bluebird on her adventure looking for the wind in the park and throughout the city. Setting off to visit the wind’s regular haunts of tickling the grass with the willow branches, flipping the pages or newspapers, dancing with balloons, or racing boats on the water, bluebird can’t seem to find the wind anywhere. Nonetheless, she remains determined and finds strength in herself along the way.

Whimsical illustrations using various materials of collage, pencil, ink, linoleum block, and paint that play with dimension abound. Each spread could be a stand-alone, but the beauty is in how each one enhances the others in a dreamy compilation brought together by bluebird’s story. A deep richness is emphasized in each illustration and a diversity they collectively create. I’ve been an admirer of Lindsey Yankey’s work since seeing it on display in Downtown Lawrence a few years back, and am so excited to share this book with you. I wanted to feature a couple of pictures of Bluebird with you, but got a little carried away when deciding which ones. I just couldn’t narrow it down.

Take a lingering gander….

Bluebird is a delightful story with luminous art which will send imaginations soaring.

Be sure to check back here in a couple days! I’ll be posting an inspiring interview with the talented Lindsey Yankey!

Extras: Visit Lindsey Yankey on her website.

And her blog.

Flip through a digital preview of the book here.

Source of book reviewed: Review copy from the publisher.

Review: Flora & Ulysses

Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

by Kate DiCamillo

Find it at: Your library | Your local bookstore

Published: Candlewick, September 24, 2013

Recommended reading age: 8 & up

In a nutshell: It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a half-shaved squirrel who possesses super powers and can fly!

Whaaaaat?

Sometimes after finishing a book I think, “Wow. That was a great book, but who am I going to give this book to? Who is the reader?” That was certainly NOT the case after reading Flora & Ulysses. Far from it! Dozens of library kids popped into my head as I was introduced to Flora Bell Buckman, a self declared cynic who saves a squirrel from a wild vacuum cleaner accident. The squirrel she names Ulysses, and after the accident suddlenly has supernatural powers.

As Flora would exclaim, “Holy Bagumba”!

This book is GOOD!

An avid comic reader, Flora is a sensitive girl struggling with loneliness and her parents’ separation. She regularly refers to her favorite comic “The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto”, which she to idolizes, and the bonus comics inserted in each issue of Incandeso, “Terrible Things Can Happen to You” and “Criminal Element” as her voice of logic. Even if she is a self-assured cynic that refuses to let her emotions get the best of her (and she has a lot of those bottled up), deep down Flora believes in hope. It is Ulysses that shows her she can allow herself to do so.

Flora’s adventure of keeping her superhero squirrel from her romance novel writing mother, who wishes to hit the squirrel over the head and bury him, motivates the duo to attempt to defy her mother’s evil plan, sparking their adventure. Along the way they meet quirky characters, and more of Ulysses’ supernatural powers are revealed (flying! writing poetry!). The trade off between text and comic panels by K.G.Campbell is blended perfectly in this endearing story of a girl, her squirrel, and how love and hope are what it takes to fight battles of the heart.

Another grand slam, feel good read by Kate DiCamillo, who was recently named the National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature for 2014-15. Well done, Library of Congress! Flora and Ulysses is another book to add to the expanding shelf of books by Kate DiCamillo that kids will treasure.

Trailer:

Don’t take my word for it: “Holy bagumba, Kate DiCamillo, superheroine, you have done it again—created a book that is a joy for adults and children alike. It is perfect as a family read-aloud or for an adult/child reading group.” – review from Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac

Extras: The official Flora & Ulysses website.

Teacher guide for Flora & Ulysses.

Teacher resources and discussion guides for other Kate DiCamillo books.

The story behind Flora & Ulysses.

Visit Kate DiCamillo’s website.

Visit K.G. Campbell’s website.

Source of book reviewed: Review copy provided by the publisher.

image source: inside flora & ulysess, kate dicamillo