September: Community Service

Can your totz help make lunch for an older sibling headed back to school? How about a Bento Box. :~) Thanks again, Joan, for showing us Bento and thanks, bohaute, for the photo. Adorable!

Pirate Potty by Samantha Berger

As promised, here's Pirate Potty!



The perfect companion for Princess Potty, pick this novelty book up for your pirate, mateys. Instead of forest creatures and sparkles, there's a black potty flying three Jolly Rogers, cannon balls, and a big x to mark the spot!



Of course, every pirate has a special sea shanty, keeps his toilet paper in his treasure chest, and announces, "Anchors away!" Right?

Author Samantha Berger just nails this presentation. Your pirate totz are going to love potty training with this book as an aid. Again, Amy Cartwright's imagery is clean and adorable whether it's a page full of little symbols or a full spread. I particularly love the mother's eye patch in the shape of a heart. And the pirate's proportions are as cute as can be.

Enjoy Pirate Potty, with your crew. Punch out the included hat and decorate it with the gold doubloon stickers for a job well done!

Pirate Potty
by Samantha Berger
illustrated by Amy Cartwright
Scholastic, 2010

Photo Friday: Are you happy?

Lorie Ann Grover, 2010

Here's one of my recent compositions. Thought it was perfect for totz as well. Happy Photo Friday!

Happy Birthday to Lorie Ann Grover!

Sending Happy Birthday wishes

to readertotz' own fabulous

Lorie Ann Grover!

Lunch with personality: Have you heard about Japanese Bento Boxes?

Instead of a board book this time on readertotz, we've got food for thought. I found Bento boxes for the first time recently and loved these cool food critters. I hope you will too!



'O-bento' is what the Japanese call these lovingly created and packed lunches. These adorable tributes are made by parents and sent off with their children to school, to a game, etc. Some of these goodies are works of art! I would almost hate to eat them, wouldn't you? They're not only a hit in Japan, they're a big hit here in the USA these days. I have to admit I find the idea of making these elaborate-yet-simple lunches a bit overwhelming. My mom barely had enough time to put anything in our school lunch boxes when I was a girl. Still, I love the idea of creating nutritious snacks and meals that are so incredibly cute!

Just had to share. Here are some book and site links:

Books:
Cute Yummy Time
Funky Lunch
Yum Yum Bento Box (photo below)


Sites:
Lunch in a box
Bento Box

Photo Friday: Seniors Heart Novelty Books!

I shared Princess Potty at my mom's b-day, and it was a huge success! We giggled over text and image.

Do you heart board/novelty books? Send me a pic, and I'll post it for our community! http://readertotzdotclearwiredotnet

September Pick for the Older Sibling: Zelda and Ivy, Keeping Secrets

If you don't know Zelda and Ivy, run out right now and read everyone of these fox sister adventures. Laura McGee Kvasnosky brilliantly captures the antics and intrigues of the older and younger sibling.

First published as picture books, Zelda and Ivy's short chapters are now featured in the reader format. Brava! Perfect! Think James Marshall. Exactly.

In Zelda and Ivy, Keeping Secrets, the duo, along with their neighbor Eugene, woozy-weasel promise to keep secrets, while younger sister Ivy gets the upper hand on April Fool's day, and all three perform a most elegant opera. It's the subtle truths that Laura weaves into her stories which ring of the best in life and bring smiles to readers. Whether how it's so hard not to tell a secret, or be a diva and steal the opera, you and your younger reader will nod and giggle over the revelations.

Painted in gouache resist, the compositions, colors, layouts, and characters will keep you turning pages for more. I definitely need the fox sisters' style. I want Zelda's leggings! Be sure to stop and appreciate the endpapers. Beautiful turquoise butterflies flutter you into and out of the story.

Enjoy Zelda and Ivy, Keeping Secrets from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winning author. Read it and smile. And then share it with the older sibling of your totz!

Zelda and Ivy, Keeping Secrets
by Laura McGee Kvasnosky
Candlewick Press, 2009

Princess Potty by Samantha Berger

Okay, so all our totz need this skill, and it can't be soon enough! Princess Potty by Samantha Berger, illustrated by Amy Cartwright, is new, adorable, and fun.

"Psst! Do you want to hear a secret? Even princesses use the potty!" says a little mouse. He goes on to share the peculiarities of a princess, like how she rides the royal pony to the royal throne. Of course, the toilet has sparkles, glitter, and diamonds. It smells like rose petals, for a time.

Little blue birds bring the princess soft tissue, and forest animals help her wash her hands with warm water and strawberry soap. She gets a sticker for her crown, just like your princess can with the included tiara and sticker sheet.

Amy's illustrations are pink and fun and clean, clean, clean! She makes me want to punch out the tiara for myself.

Have a little giggle and read Princess Potty with your totz. Up soon at readertotz...Pirate Potty!

Princess Potty
by Samantha Berger
illustrated by Amy Cartwright
Scholastic, 2010

Photo Friday: Just a Little Alice

Lorie Ann Grover, 2010

Anyone ready to introduce Alice to your totz? Isn't it just a joy to think of all the characters in literature awaiting your wee one?

Happy Photo Friday!

Totz Newsflash: ReaderKidZ

So excited to share another site with you with information for the older sibling of your totz: ReaderKidZ! For 3 years, the readergirlz divas have been asking someone to come forward and spearhead a site with the middle grade reader in mind. These ladies have done just that. In fact they are focusing on picture books to grade 5.

Here's their Mission Statement:
Providing teachers, librarians, and parents with the resources and inspiration to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5.

So check them out and spread the news. There are several great features to explore like the Author in Residence and Tool Box. The layout is inviting and accessible. You are going to love it!

Here's to the authors/educators for running the work: Debbie Gonzales, Dianne White, Nancy Bo Flood, and Stephanie Green. Thanks, ladies, for contributing to literacy!

Note: ReaderKidZ operates independently from readergirlz and readertotz.

Outreach for Andrea Ross

I know everyone remembers the beloved podcasts over at Just One More Book! Mark and Andrea gave us wonderful years filled with their picture book passion. Here's my interview with Mark about readergirlz. We had a lovely time chatting.

The blog was suspended shortly before Andrea was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, 2009. Now in October, 2010, she'll be running to raise money. Here's what Mark says:

"Andrea is currently the number three fundraiser for the Ottawa Run for the Cure, taking place on October 3. Of course, when she first decided to run in support of breast cancer research, she never considered that our amazing communities (online and off) would band together to help her raise $4120 in six weeks."

If you'd like to help, you can join her effort to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation by clicking here.

Run, Andrea! We are cheering!

Love to you, Lorie Ann and Joan

August: Community Service

After swimming, encourage your totz to use the water in their blowup pool to water your flowers!

Diane Muldrow: Somewhere So Sleepy

Do you know that somewhere, in a leafy tree, a little koala has just finished her supper?
(lift flap) Cuddle Up, Little Koala.

And thus begins this sweet lift-the-flap board book. I like books that slip in a little nonfiction information along with the fiction, and this book does that effortlessly. Each spread begins in the same way: Do you know that somewhere...

And then totz are lead to a cozy nest, a squishy swamp, a warm little house, etc. What will they find there? Lift the large flaps to find out. The book is sturdy board and the flaps are big, almost full page size. I enjoyed the surprise of the pull-down window shade on the last spread.

Artist Jui Ishida's site is really simple, but hints at wonderful art! I'd love to see more.

Very cute book!

Somewhere So Sleepy
Author: Diane Muldrow
Artist: Jui Ishida
Golden Books (Random House), 2010

Poetry Friday: The Children's Hour, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Isn't this so dear? Love it. Happy Poetry Friday!

The Birthday Box: Leslie Patricelli

When our family rounds the middle of August, we are in for a flurry of birthdays. Leslie Patricelli's classic, The Birthday Box, is a classic pick for celebrating totz.

Baby begins with a song to himself and then introduces you to his present. The joy only begins when under the wrapping paper he discovers a big brown box. We learn all the things he can do with his box before he opens the gift fully and finds a stuffed dog, Oscar. Now with the box open, the two of them can have adventures at sea or on the slopes. Of course, the box is the perfect place for a nap.

I saw this work, pre-publication in our critique group and loved it just as much then. There's a simple charm to Baby and his simplicity. The colorful painted spreads with thick black line and hand lettering will win your heart. If you weren't an avid Baby fan before, you will be after reading The Birthday Box with your readertotz!

The Birthday Box
by Leslie Patricelli
Candlewick Press, 2007

Poetry Friday: Cry Baby

Cry, Baby

Cry, baby, cry,
Put your finger in your eye,
And tell your mother it wasn’t I...!

Okay, this is a strange one, right? I wonder where it came from? May your Poetry Friday be tearless with your totz!

Older Sibling Pick: LMNO peas by Keith Baker

Just when you think all the wonderful ABC books that could possibly have been done, have been done, along comes Keith Baker with LMNO peas.

We are peas--alphabet peas!
We work and play in the ABCs.

Each colorful page or spread in this charming picture book presents a large letter. Lots of industrious little peas are busy under, over, around, and atop them. If you enjoy the wonderful, zany energy of Richard Scarry like I do, you'll find a similar energy here. For the letters E and F:

We're eaters, electricians, and explorers searching land.
We're farmers, flaggers, and best friends in a band.

After all the peas have had their say, they ask us: Who Are You?

Keith's humor extends to the flap copy, in which he proclaims that he hails from the NW city of Peattle!

This book leaves me wanted more, more, more peas...please!

LMNOpeas
Author-illustrator: Keith Baker
Publisher: Beach Lane Books (Simon and Schuster), 2010

BOB Winners Announced

We have our winners! Anne and AEKZ2 will receive the boxed sets of new BOB books and a lunch box! Congratulations, ladies! Watch your inbox for my note. :~)

Thank you, Scholastic!

Robert Crowther: The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Numbers Book

Totz can pull tabs and lift flaps for a variety of counting experiences in this intriguing book by Robert Crowther. I like the unexpectedness of this book. Pulling the tab on the number 3 brought forth 3 caterpillars curling around the curves of the number 3. And 7 field mice come running down the long slope of number 7. 10 butterflies are just adorable. And when we get to 100, there are 5--count 'em--5 tabs to pull and a myriad of tiny creatures to count. Are there 100? I confess, I didn't count. But I think your totz will.

Companion to The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Alphabet Book.

The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Numbers Book

Author-illustrator: Robert Crowther

Candlewick Press, 1999

Poetry Friday: Butterfly, Butterfly

Butterfly, Butterfly

Butterfly, butterfly,
Whence do you come?
"I know not, I ask not,
Nor ever had a home."
Butterfly, butterfly,
Where do you go?
"Where the sun shines,
And where the buds grow."

Happy Poetry Friday, parents and totz! (Just realized I posted this one earlier in the year. But it's such a great rhyme. Enjoy it again with me. :~)

And here's a video to go with. AMAZING!

BOB Books Giveaway!

Who doesn't love BOB? Certainly all the 3 million totz who have announced that they've read the WHOLE book. So first, thanks to author Lynn Maslen Kertell and illustrator Sue Hendra for helping the youngest readers learn those site words.

I taught my own girls to read, and we used phonetics AND site words. It was a perfect mix, and BOB led the way. Our hearts were captured by these little, funny stories.

Now, a giant thanks to Scholastic! We have a give-away for you! Two random commenters will receive BOB lunch boxes and a collection of the newest BOB releases: Sight Words, Kindergarten, and Sight Words, First Grade. Each set contains 10 books!

The included bonus flash cards will reinforce the new words as your totz progress through the series.

Leave your comments, and tell us how much you love BOB!

BOB Books
by Lynn Maslen Kertell
illustrated by Sue Hendra
Scholastic
(The give-away is limited to U.S. addresses.)

Multicultural Representation in Board Books

Eliza Dresang, Beverly Cleary Professor for Children and Youth Services, Information School, University of Washington, recently shared Sandra Hughes-Hassell's website with me as well as Sandra and Ernie J. Cox's recent study conclusions: "Inside Board Books: Representations of People of Color" from The Library Quarterly, Volume 80 Number 3 (July 2010).

Visit here for Sandra's great list of board books featuring African American babies and families. And then read these quotes from "Inside Board Books: Representations of People of Color." The 2000 U.S. Census shows 33% of children under age five are multicultural. We need to address this need, authors, illustrators, and publishers!

First look at the included summary of the board book from Moira McKenzie and Gay Su Pinnell's “Changing Conceptions of Early Literacy” in Children’s Literature in the Classroom: Weaving Charlotte’s Web:

"Interactions with board books help infants learn to recognize familiar objects and to develop basic concepts related to people, animals, possessions, familiar events, and daily routines. Through naming and pointing, board books help build a toddler’s vocabulary and aid in understanding language. Rhymes, rhythms, physical actions like hand clapping, and the exploration of textures build a toddler’s sensory awareness. Young children who are regularly read to exhibit early literate behavior."

The report continues by explaining the need for board books with multicultural representation:

"Research suggests that exposure to books and other resources about people who look like them,and stories that reflect their world, may contribute to an infant and toddler of color’s developing appreciation of self."

A challenge is made to illustrators to depict races beyond just changing skin color. Races themselves should be shown. I particularly liked the charge to expand Hispanic representation beyond Dora the Explorer:

"To address better the needs of Hispanic children, the publishing houses could commission Hispanic authors and illustrators, such as Pat Mora and David Diaz, to create “true” board books that provide multiple mirrors on the Hispanic experience. If nothing else, they could mine their backlists for appropriate picture book titles by Hispanic authors and illustrators to convert into board books."

Brava! Joan and I wholeheartedly agree.

The reader is then reminded that while we represent everyone, we must be careful not to perpetuate stereotypes.

The study concludes: "We believe that white privilege is apparent in the production and publication of board books....beginning in infancy children of color not only get the message from books that their lives and their stories are not important but also that to be white is better."

But if we produce the books, would they sell, you might ask? After noting amazing book purchase figures by Asian Americans and African Americans, the study concludes:

"If board books that featured people of color were published and appropriately marketed, it is likely that the publishing industry would find the endeavor to be financially rewarding. Appropriate marketing is key."

Readertotz applauds Sandra Hughes-Hassell and Ernie Cox for their study. We stand alongside them and challenge authors, illustrators, and publishers to represent all groups for our very youngest readers.

My New Baby: Rachel Fuller

A few weeks back I posted about Waiting for Baby. Of course the day will come when your totz will appreciate My New Baby. :~)



Here's the logical follow up and joyful help as your new baby arrives in your home. The text captures the wonder and happiness of a tot welcoming a sibling.

"My baby smells nice. Soft and warm.

Presents for the new baby! Is this for me?

Why does the baby always have milk?"

True to a child, voice is given to the observations and questions which naturally arise with a new baby in the family. The closing is particularly comforting:

"Sleep well! You're part of my family now.
Baby's fast asleep. Time for my story!"

In keeping with Waiting for Baby, illustrator Rachel Fuller uses fun texture swatches to accompany her watercolor and varied black outlines. The addition brings a vibrancy to the spreads.

Enjoy this board book with your tot now and possibly your new baby in the future. "This is what it was like when you were born..."

My New Baby
illustrated by Rachel Fuller
Child's Play, 2009

Poetry Friday: A Farmer Went Riding

A Farmer Went Riding

A farmer went riding
Upon his gray mare;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!
With his daughter behind him,
So rosy and fair;
Lumpety, lumpety, lump!

A raven cried "Croak!"
And they all tumbled down;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!
The mare broke her knees,
And the farmer his crown;
Lumpety, lumpety, lump!

The mischievous raven
Flew laughing away;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!
And vowed he would serve them
The same the next day;
Lumpety, lumpety, lump!

Don't you think this is fun to recite with your tot on your knee? Happy Poetry Friday!

Michael Dahl: Duck Goes Potty

Duck Goes Potty is a sturdy 22-page board book. No novelty element this time. It's a cute story, with cute illustrations. The text is spare. Page one:

Duck wears DIAPERS.

The accompanying page one illustration of duck eyeing the diaper he wears is amusing and cute. When duck "misses" the new potty a couple of times, the evidence on the floor will have totz quacking up. I like that Mom is present, giving instructions, but we only see part of her and never see her face. It's nice that duck has mishaps along the way in his training, and even when he succeeds, he sometimes still forgets till the last minute and has to run for the potty. The ending is a gentle pat on the back for being a big duck now. Overall, an amusing, reassuring, cute book!

Michael Dahl is the popular author of many other books for children, including chapter books such as the Library of Doom and Princess Candy series.

Duck Goes Potty
Author: Michael Dahl
Illustrator: Oriol Vidal
Picture Window Books / Capstone

Poetry Friday: Jenny Wren

Jenny Wren

As little Jenny Wren
Was sitting by her shed,
She waggled with her tail,
And nodded with her head.
She waggled with her tail,
And nodded with her head,
As little Jenny Wren
Was sitting by the shed.

Photo from the BBC. Happy Poetry Friday!

July: Community Service

Help your tot pick those early summer flowers, dandelions will do, and share them with a neighbor.

Photo from GLiving, who will give you a great recipe for dandelion tea as well.

Kika, My First Word Book: Fukiko Yamamoto

How can you not love Kika? Just adorable! I want to squeeze this little bunny and never let go.

The start of this soft board book lists the upcoming, themed sections. Your totz will be exposed to Kika's family, house, feelings and more. The accompanying sight words are great reinforcement.

Author/illustrator Fukiko has given two images per spread throughout the book. With flat areas of color encased in thin black line, each page is slightly related to its opposite:

tree
leaf

car
bus

talk
listen

Kika's expressions, world, and friends will warm your heart. You'll be eager to talk your way through this delightful book with your totz. I want more Kika, Chronicle! Please. :~)

Kika, My First Word Book
by Fukiko Yamamoto
Chronicle Books, 2006

Photo Friday: Lorie Ann reads

I was known for licking the right hand index finger and turning the page with my left hand. :~)

Send me your photo, old or new, of a baby reading for Photo Friday! readertotzatclearwiredotnet

July: For the Older Sibling, Mary's Penny

I was instantly drawn to this quirky cover of Mary's Penny. Illustrator Richard Holland combines colored pencil and photo collage to create this traditional tale. There's a sense of history and novelty mixed together perfectly!

Author Tanya Landman says, "I've always found this traditional tale deeply satisfying." I had never heard it before, but I was definitely charmed by her retelling. As a father looks to leave his farm to one of his children, he gives each son a penny and charges them "to fill the whole house." Both sons fail, and it is the daughter, Mary, who speaks up, requests a penny, and wins the home. "It takes brains, not brawn, to run a farm."

Enjoy this work with the older sibling of your totz. Let the cleverness of Mary fuel conversations while you enjoy the sparse, fresh, funky art.

Mary's Penny
by Tanya Landman
illustrated by Richard Holland
Candlewick Press, 2010

Sara Gillingham: In My Nest

What makes little bird's nest so cozy? Soft feathers? Sure, but that's not all. Smooth leaves? Sure, but that's not all. In the end, there's a gentle, reassuring message: Bird's nest is so cozy because it's where his family lives.

There are lots of hole-in-the-book formats in stores these days. This one has an unusual twist, and it's one of the best. The cover has a large hole (the outer edge of the nest), and each successive page has a slightly smaller hole. This allows for a nest with a layered look, and displays the various things that go into nest-building. In the center is a soft, well-crafted blue bird finger puppet.

This is a wonderful concept, simply and beautifully illustrated, and it has heart. Nicely done!

Also take a look at the others in Sara's series: In My Pond, In My Tree, In My Den, In My Meadow, and In My Flower.

In My Nest
Author: Sara Gillingham
Illustrator: Lorena Siminovich
Chronicle Books, 2009

Poetry Friday: Bat, Bat

Bat, bat, come under my hat,
And I'll give you a slice of bacon;
And when I bake,
I'll give you a cake,
If I am not mistaken.

Maybe I was inspired by the release of the movie Eclipse. :~) Thanks to Dorling Kindersley for the clip art! Happy Poetry Friday!

Waiting for Baby: Rachel Fuller

The New Baby series from Child's Play is spot on accurate. Waiting for Baby reads like the inquisitive stream of questions from a tot awaiting a sibling.

"How big is the baby? What does it eat?
What's the doctor doing? Does it hurt?"

All the of questions invite you to discuss the topics further. I especially appreciate the inclusion of the ultrasound, for realism, and the father and child making dinner, for thoughtfulness.

Rachel Fuller's watercolors and graphite or grease pencil outlines are friendly and exuberant. Patterned areas break up the solid blocks of color nicely.

Introduce the concept of an upcoming new baby to your totz with Waiting for Baby.

Waiting for Baby
illustrated by Rachel Fuller
Child's Play, 2009

Photo Friday: Baby reading

Just ran across this on Photobucket. Too cute!



Feel free to send me your photos of your totz for Photo Friday! readertotzatclearwiredotnet

Totz Celebration: Who Was Jim Henson?

From time to time Lorie Ann and I celebrate our new books on readertotz. Today, I’m pleased to announce the release of my newest paperback chapter book biography in the “Who Was” series published by Grosset & Dunlap. Aka, the “big head” books. Just take a look at the cover to see how they got this nickname.

The new book is Who Was Jim Henson?

Answer: He was the man behind the Muppets. He was Kermit the frog. He was the heart and soul of Sesame Street. He was a private person. A silly, but serious one. A guy who loved his work, and who inspired others to be excited about puppetry. A man who wanted to make a difference.

Jim Henson died twenty years ago at age 53.

This is my third in the WW series, and I’m currently working on a fourth. I like this series because the books are written in a brisk, kid-friendly way, and they include factual sidebars with information about things kids really want to know. I read every biography on the shelf in my elementary school library (starting with the girl ones), and remain forever a biography fan. Biographies rock!

Some other cool books about Jim Henson:
Jim Henson: The Works - The Art, the Magic, the Imagination
Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles: A Muppet Sketchbook

Who Was Jim Henson?

Ages 7-12

Grosset & Dunlap, paperback

Author: Joan Holub

Rock & Roll Shapes: Salina Yoon

I love the sound this book makes. When you tilt the pages, a foil circle zips through a series of 5 windows, showcasing various shapes, such as a triangle, square, etc. It's hard to decide whether this is more 'toy' or more 'book'. But whichever you decide, it's clever and totz will love it. Very sturdy with a handle little hands can clutch, so they can carry this everywhere.
A-dor-a-ble!

There's a companion book called Rock & Roll Colors, which I haven't yet seen up close.

author-illustrator: Salina Yoon
publisher: Scholastic (Cartwheel) 2010

Photo Friday: Retro Summer

Doesn't this have the best nostalgia in the lighting and pool design? Love it!

Here's to a dip in the pool before reading another book with your totz! Happy Photo Friday. Send me your pics at readertotzatclearwiredotnet Show us your totz enjoying their summer!

July: Around the Block with Sesame Street

Happy July!

I want to start posting our sidebar content in blogs each month, so that we can still access it in the future. Otherwise it just drops as I update the site. Now, it hits me? Now I realize everyone might not have caught the community service idea and Around the Block with Sesame Street?

Well, there's always room for new thoughts, right? Here it goes for a new day. Feist is just adorable counting to 4. Your totz will be singing along with you, no doubt!

Into the Wild by Lerryn Korda

How about another adventure with Little Nye and his friends? One just in time for a summer vacation? When it's warm out and you have the urge to go into the wild, what might you need? Well, you need to be brave because of the mountain climbing and grizzlies. And you need to be okay in the dark when you go camping. Plus, you have to sit still a long time to fish. Little Nye and her friends are convinced they have what it takes and set out...to the other side of the yard.

I love the challenge that Gracie sets before her friends and how they all rise to meet it. The fact that they adventure in their own yard sets a realistic, fun example for totz.

Lerryn Korda, both author and illustrator of Into the Wild, creates such a unique blend of gouache and digital collage. The expansive white spaces hold flat color spaces, a uniform black line, and textured areas. Each spread is a surprise as the different elements combine in different ratios so successfully. The variety is a delight.

If you are headed out camping or your totz enjoy a backyard adventure, pick up Into the Wild.

Into the Wild
by Lerryn Korda
Candlewick Press, 2010

Photo Friday: Reading Hug Hug!

Here's a sweet tot, at a local signing, reading my Hug Hug! Adorable!

Happy Photo Friday! Send me your totz pics at readertotzatclearwiredotnet

An Open Letter to Children's Publishing

*Feel free to repost*
Published in Publishers Weekly.

Dear Children's Book Publishing Industry,

As I read PW's article, "An Impassioned Plea for Picture Books" by Judith Rosen, reporting on Ken Geist's plea for picture books at the NECBA meeting, I had a few thoughts.

As the article notes, most picture book print runs which were previously 20,000, now hover at 6,000. What I see as a reviewer of board books is an overwhelming number of picture books being published. So much mediocrity is being churned quickly through the presses, with the hope of one bestseller being found. Smaller runs support this effort to throw a multitude of stories into the pot while watching to see if one bubbles to the surface.

My challenge to you is to print fewer books. Dedicate and determine to publish only the very best, and then show us that you believe in that picture book with a larger print run and your full marketing dollars directly supporting it. Publishers, quiet the voices so that we might find and hear the book you believe in, the book that will touch parent and child, and foster readers for life.

As a corollary, I have to say that, yes, the picture book may create the lifelong reader, but even more likely, the board book will. A high quality, literary novelty or board book is often the child's first encounter with literature. In your pursuit this year to raise the profile of the picture book, don't forget the first books. Here is the reason Joan Holub and I continue to support readertotz. Board books are the roots of picture books. Let them be nourished as well.

Thank you for all you do for our children and literacy, publishers. Now show us your best.

Sincerely,

Lorie Ann Grover, author and illustrator

More, More, More: Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)

The jacket flap claims, "A librarian and a contrarian face off in this tale of a very reluctant reader." That is the perfect description of Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't). I was thoroughly charmed by this new picture book written by Barbara Bottner and illustrated by Michael Emberley.

Center stage is the librarian, Miss Brooks, who loves to read and dress up for reading circle. She reads her favorites, books for holidays, and asks the children to share books for Book Week. Opposite is the reluctant reader, Missy, who finds every objection possible in every book: "Too flowery....Too clickety....Too yippity." Until one book is found that connects, a book about warts.

Barbara's text is just a little edgy, and the realism makes this work come to life. When Missy is asked to write her own Halloween poem, she recites, "Eek! A Freak!" It's that consistent demeanor that makes the reader love her and finally rejoice over her book discovery. Sympathy easily swings in favor of Miss Brooks and Missy's mother, as well.

Michael scans his pencil drawings onto watercolor paper and then paints the imagery. You'll love the atypical librarian with her dreadlocks, boots, and hoop earrings. Missy in her knit hat, glasses, and overalls is perfectly rendered to carry her nonconforming attitude.

Barbara formerly wrote, produced, and designed for Sesame Street, while Michael is the son of Ed Emberley, and brother to Rebecca. All have contributed multiple books for our totz!

Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)
by Barbara Bottner
illustrated by Michael Emberley
Knopf, 2010

Karate Pig: Alan Katz

Oh have you met Karate Pig?
He's not too small.
He's not too big.

Yes, I have now met Karate Pig, and I love him. And this book.

Turns out that Karate Pig likes to share. Which sometimes means he must CHOP things in halves. Or, in the case of a pizza, in eighths. In fact, he's driven to split an entire page right down the middle, at which point the narrator posits:

Any more of his kung fu, and I'm afraid this book is ruined.

A valid concern, since Karate Pig is slamming, kicking, and chopping his merry way through each page. The page corners and pages separate in very intriguing ways with each chop or kick. I've never seen another book like this one when it comes to unusual pull-out pages and a gatefold flap. Like the pig, the book is not too big or too small, and is very sturdy, which is nice, since it can take a pounding from karate totz who are sure to enjoy its rowdy, POW-erful, good humor. I like the fact that Karate Pig introduces basic fractions in a painless way as well. Well done!

Karate Pig
Author: Alan Katz
Illustrator: Daniel Moreton
Publisher: Little Simon, 2009

Photo Friday: Em and El

How about an occasional switch from Poetry Friday to Photo Friday? Don't pictures of totz just brighten your day?

If you want to share an image of your favorite tot send me the image at readertotzatclearwiredotnet I'm happy to post the love you share.

Ready, set, go!

Oh, and these are my totz, Em and El. Happy Photo Friday!

June Pick for the Older Sibling: The Garbage Barge

Do you remember this news story?

In 1987, a barge loaded with many tons of garbage left Long Island, New York. The garbage could not be buried locally, so the plan was to dump it in a landfill somewhere else. But it was turned away from ports over and over. It became infamous as the most unwelcome trash ever! This book is an amusing fictionalized account of that intriguing tale.

The barge visits North Carolina, New Orleans, Mexico, Belize...and winds up returning to New York. Meanwhile, it is the talk of TV and is splashed all over the news.

The Garbage Barge serves as an encouragement to recycle and take better care of our shared environment. The ending pretty much says it all:
MORAL: Don't Make So Much Garbage

The illustrations are fascinating. Like nothing I've seen before. Check out the video on the Amazon page that showcases their creation. A cover Red Nose Studio created for Angie's List magazine is a favorite of mine. On the blog, click on the September 2009 link.

The Garbage Barge
Jonah Winter, author
Red Nose Studio illustrations
Schwartz & Wade, 2010 (A Random House imprint)

Totz News: Win Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug

Hey parents and totz!

This just in from J.D. Lester about Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug. What a sweetheart. Get over there and play!

"Did you know I'm doing a nationwide giveaway as part of a parent nickname contest? One winner per state. Participating parents just need to post their kids' nicknames on my author page and that's it. They're entered. Voila.

And in honor of the reading parents in the contest, I'm going to give several hundred copies of Doodlebug to our university hospital here in Lexington, so docs can take the books to clinics serving pediatric neurology patients in Appalachia."

Isn't that the best? You know we heart community service at readertotz and readergirlz. Way to go, J.D.!

Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug, by J.D. Lester

I'm so happy to see Mommy Calls Me Monkeypants now has a companion board book from Robin Corey Books. J.D. Lester and Hiroe Nakata have teamed together again to bring your totz more rhyming couplets in Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug.

Illustrating both child and parent and animal behaviors, J.D. brings a lot of fun to her spreads.

Daddy calls me Shoo-Be-Doo...
we sing an ocean song. (whales)
Daddy calls me Mini-Me...
we're swinging right along! (monkeys)

Your totz and you will be surprised with each page turn as the nicknames are inventive: Goo-and-Go, Hockey Puck, and Hide 'n' Seek. You'll be adopting them before you know it.

Again, Hiroe's illustrations are light and airy, capturing the atmosphere surrounding a freedom of expression. Joy and lightheartedness are conveyed in the loose white edges around the watercolored imagery.

Enjoy Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug this upcoming Father's Day and then year round! Take a peek at J.D.'s Photototz entry here!

Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug
by J.D. Lester
illustrations by Hiroe Nakata
Robin Corey Books, Random, 2010

Poetry Friday: Pure Imagination, Gene Wilder

I ran across this for our totz playlist in the sidebar, but I really enjoyed the video this morning, too. It's brilliant! Happy Poetry Friday!

When Daddy Comes Home: Lorie Ann Grover

Woo hoo! This one's by our own Lorie Ann Grover! It fits the month perfectly, since Father's Day is on the way.

A warm story about that thrilling moment when Daddy comes home at the end of a day. Ah, I remember it well, and it was cause for excitement. Your totz will also absorb fun facts effortlessly in deceptively simple sentences.

When Daddy Dog runs home,
(lift the doghouse-door flap to read:)
his puppy barks.

When Daddy Whale splashes home,
(lift the water-splash flap to read:)
his calf hums.

I didn't know whales hummed. Very cool fact. The active verbs used for the dads' actions (elephants stomp, monkeys swing, birds soar) as they arrive home add to the excitement that builds toward the arrival of "your Daddy".

Adorable illustrations will catch your totz' attention and the sturdy pages will stand up to repeated readings. A wonderful choice for totz, particularly around Father's Day by Grover, whose Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish was a Parents Magazine 20 Best Children's Books, 2009.

When Daddy Comes Home
Author-illustrator: Lorie Ann Grover
Little Simon, 2005

Poetry Friday: Little King Boggen

illustration by Blanche Fisher Wright


Little King Boggen

Little King Boggen he built a fine hall,
Pie-crust and pastry-crust, that was the wall;
The windows were made of black puddings and white,
And slated with pancakes---you ne'er saw the like.

Happy Poetry Friday, all!