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)