Poetry Friday: Bell Horses

I'm checking in from a fabulous writing retreat this Friday. Being as I'm "away," I thought this appropriate. Happy Poetry, parents and totz!

Bell horses, bell horses,

What time of day?

One o'clock, two o'clock,

Time to away.

Flaptastic Animals: Charlie Gardner

Don't be fooled by the simple cover with raised, textured animals. DK delivers a board book chock full of imagery for your totz.


The foal, tiger, clownfish, polar bear, and kitten are featured. The reader is asked where each lives, and then a flap lifts to ask what other creatures live in the location as well. It's a great representation of the animal kingdom. Aside from the strange disparity between the cover and interior, this is a beautiful board book from DK.

Flaptastic Animals
text by Charlie Gardner
design by Victoria Harvey
DK, 2010

Poetry Friday: Beautiful Soup by Lewis Carroll

I made soup last night so this jumped to mind for Poetry Friday. Thanks, Lewis Carroll!

Art by Andy Warhol

Beautiful Soup

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP! 


Lewis Carroll

Bid for a cause, connect with a literary agent

From SCBWI Western Washington: Bid for a cause, connect with a literary agent

Hold the phone! This just in from illustrator Dana Sullivan:

An online auction is afoot, which closes this Friday, June 22.

Literary agent Anna Olswanger, of Liza Dawson Associates, has donated a manuscript consultation via telephone to benefit the international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation.

To bid on this one-of-a-lifetime opportunity, click here.
http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/Browse.action?categoryId=166170556&auctionId=166170529

The auction closes this Friday, so act fast!

Little Penguin: Chronicle Books

What a wonderful series from Chronicle Books! These chunky board books each have a hole in the center for the attached finger puppet to poke through. The books are sturdy and small enough to fit in a tot'z hands. There are many other titles in the series: Little Bee, Little Bunny (an Easter favorite), and Little Ladybug. The list goes on and on, each one cuter than the last. The text is super-simple and this book has a plot:

All the penguins are going to sneak away and hide.
But who will seek?
Close your eyes and count to four...
Now find your friends!

With totz' help, Little Penguin will find them all!

Little Penguin
Chronicle Books, 2008

Poetry Friday: How Doth the Little Crocodile

Art by me, Lorie Ann Grover, 2012

How's this for Poetry Friday? Thanks, Lewis Carroll!

How doth the little crocodile 

Improve his shining tail, 

And pour the waters of the Nile 

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin 

How neatly spreads his claws, 

And welcomes little fishes in, 

With gently smiling jaws! 

Alice in Wonderland: Jennifer Adams

Another in the BabyLit book series is Alice in Wonderland. If you recall, "BabyLit is a fashionable way to introduce your child to the world of classic literature." This entry does that!

Jennifer Adams' colors primer joined by Alison Oliver's art is exquisite. The right hand side of the spread features an animal or object from the traditional story, while the left side carries the text and a pattern. Even these are beautiful, some being repetitions from the main image. The words "brown hat" are superimposed on a repeated tonal mustache which matches the Mad Hatter's mustache on the right.

Your totz will be primed for their future reading by the White Rabbit, black shoes, and pink flamingos. I'm such a fan of this series. You'll love it!

Alice in Wonderland, a BabyLit book
by Jennifer Adams
art by Alison Oliver
Gibbs Smith, 2012

Poetry Friday: Around the Block with Sesame Street, Elmo and Adam Sandler

Happy Poetry Friday! Sing it, Adam and Elmo!

Noodles Loves to Eat: Marion Billet

Noodle is a panda who loves to eat!

Each item he loves to eat is a touch-and-feel. The bread is soft and the peas are bumpy. In another title in this series, Noodle Loves the Beach, a peach is sticky and the sand is sandpapery. The final page in each title is mirrored, so that totz can see themselves and feel involved in the story.

This is a true board book, with colorful, sturdy pages that will hold up to lots of handling. Additional titles in this series include: Noodle Loves Bedtime, Noodle Loves the Farm, Noodle Loves to Cuddle, Noodle Loves to Drive.

Noodles Loves to Eat
Artist: Marion Billet
Nosy Crow, 2011

Poetry Friday: New York, Baby!

Starting to dream up summer trips with your totz? Check out New York, Baby! and San Francisco, Baby! City highlights are retro-illustrated by Ward Jenkins and accompanied by rhyming text, which makes these works spot on for Poetry Friday. Here's a tease from New York, Baby!

"The SUN is up in N-Y-C.
Come and see the SIGHTS with me.

First, let's have BREAKFAST, please.
I'd like a BAGEL with cream cheese."

Me, too! Happy Poetry Friday.

New York, Baby!
San Francisco, Baby!
illustrated by Ward Jenkins
Chronicle Books, 2012