Poetry Friday: Interstellar Cinderella

I have a GREAT recommend for Poetry Friday. Interstellar Cinderella! Right now, while we are enjoying the new release of the movie Cinderella, how about balancing the focus with this picture book? Deborah Underwood's text is jaunty and refreshing, setting a high bar for girls and showing to both genders that strength, intelligence, and focus is beautiful. Meg Hunt's illustrations are the perfect combination of modern and retro. Think Mary Blair meets Maureen Andermann. So, here's the opening:

"Once upon a planetoid,
amid her tools and sprockets,
a girl named Cinderella dreamed
of fixing fancy rockets.

She fixed the robot dishwashers
and zoombrooms in her care,
but late each night she snuck away
to study ship repair."

Happy Poetry Friday to all those scientific Cinderellas and those who see her beauty!

Interstellar Cinderella
by Deborah Underwood
illustrated by Meg Hunt
Chronicle Books, 2015

Brush Your Hair, Medusa! & Make A Wish, Midas! Joan Holub

 

 

Readertotz co-founder, Joan Holub (me!), is celebrating the release of two board books in the Mini Myths series today. Mini Myths bring Greek mythology to preschoolers by using real-world toddler experiences to retell each myth (includes a super-short totz-size summary of the original myth at the end) Leslie Patricelli's illustrations are so cute!

Play Nice, Hercules! is a kindle monthly deal on Amazon for $1.99 through March 31.

Brush Your Hair, Medusa!

Make A Wish, Midas! 

Author: Joan Holub

Illustrator: Leslie Patricelli

Abrams Appleseed, March 2015

Poetry Friday: Bronzeville, Boys and Girls

Celebrate Poetry Friday with the paperback Bronzeville, Boys and Girls, by the Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks. With thick painterly illustrations by Faith Ringgold, you'll slip right into the cozy neighborhood. How wonderful this collection is still in print!

Paulette

What good is sun
If I can't run?

"Your'e eight, and ready
To be a lady."

That is what my Mama says.
She is right again, I guess.

But there! I saw a squirrel fly
Where it is secret, green, and high.

And there! Those ants are bustling brown,
And I require to chase them down!

What good is sun
If I can't run?

Bronzeville, Boys and Girls
by Gwendolyn Brooks
illustrated by Faith Ringgold
Amistad

Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton

I loved it as a picture book, and I think it translates into the board format well. Chris Haughton's Oh No, George! is a gem that explodes across the small space. Your readers will worry and cheer for George on his journey in self control. Even if cake, cats, and dirt are so appealing.

The tiniest readertotz will be drawn to the full spreads every-other page. Kirkus called it: "A natural for reading aloud." You'll be saying it together: "Oh no, George!"

Disclosure: my new son-in-law is named George. #toomuchfun

Oh No, George!
by Chris Haughton
Candlewick Press, 2015

Lucky Tucker: Leslie McGuirk

On St. Patrick's Day, Tucker the dog starts off on the wrong paw. He is taken for a walk in the rain...BEFORE breakfast. And his favorite squeak toy gets stuck under the couch. He takes swift action by rolling in a bed of four-leaf clovers. Little does he know that it belongs to a certain leprechaun. The day turns out to be Tucker's luckiest ever!

This sturdy board book held my attention and I really enjoyed the character of Tucker, as always!

Lucky Tucker 
Author-illustrator:Leslie McGuirk
Candlewick, 2015

Poetry Friday: The Death of the Hat

How about The Death of the Hat, A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects, selected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka, for Poetry Friday? What a brilliant anthology from the Early Middle Ages, to the Victorian Period, to Contemporary. A fascinating idea, yes?

Paul says, "I believe that poetry is meant to be shared-that's what anthologies are all about-so I hope you share a couple of these poems with someone close to you." So, here you go:

(Note: it's fascinating to see this collection illustrated with the vibrant paintings of Chris. Fresh and loose, the imagery helps bring the words a step closer through time.)

From the Renaissance:

Kim Ku, translated by Kevin O'Rourke

I spy the three-colored peach blossom
floating down the mountain stream.
A free spirit, I jump in, fully clothed.
Flowers scooped
in my arms, I splash up and down in the water.

The Death of the Hat, A brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects
selected by Paul B. Janeczko
illustrated by Chris Raschka
Candlewick Press, 2015

This Little Piggy: Natalie Marshall

Scholastic has a new piggy board book. Squeee! Or, rather, Weee!

The story is the traditional This Little Piggy Went to Market nursery rhyme that ends in:

This Little Piggy went 
WEEE! WEEE! WEEE! 
... all the way home!

The front of the tabs (on right of each page) shows the five little piggies, and the back of each tab shows which toe to wiggle. A fun idea! It's very sturdy. And ...

This Little Piggy is cute, cute, cute!

This Little Piggy, a fingers and toes nursery rhyme book
Illustrator: Natalie Marshall
Scholastic, 2015

Be Patient, Pandora! is the Kindle Daily Deal!

Be Patient, Pandora!

is the Kindle Kids Daily Deal. 

$1.99 today only

till the stroke of midnight. 

The Mini Myths board book series

brings mythology to preschoolers.

by readertotz co-founder Joan Holub

illustrated by Leslie Patricelli.

readertotz Newsflash: The Very Big Wiggle

On March 5, 2015, Penguin Young Readers will launch THE VERY BIG WIGGLE Tour, a month-long national car and costume tour to celebrate Eric Carle’s classic picture book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Beginning at The Reading Bug in San Carlos, CA, the caterpillar costume will travel across the country in a custom Volkswagen Bug on a route shaped like Carle’s iconic character. The car will make over twenty stops at libraries, independent bookstores, and Barnes & Noble locations, before arriving in Western Massachusetts the weekend of March 20^th, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day. Celebrate Caterpillar's 40^th birthday!  

Use #VHCday, and check out tour stops at http://penguinontour.tumblr.com. To join the photo contest, submit images to The World of Eric Carle Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/theworldofEricCarle), or tag the page in your posts. 

Since its publication in 1969, 38 million copies of the book have sold worldwide and it has been published in over 60 languages. Today, every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is sold.

Happy Birthday, Caterpillar! 

Poetry Friday: Everything, by Emma Dodd

Emma Dodd is one of my favorite authors writing for our youngest readers. Here's a verse from Everything. Sensitive, endearing illustrations are accented with gold foil beautifully. Happy Poetry Friday!

"I love you when you're in a muddle.
Your tears tell me you
need a cuddle."

Everything
by Emma Dodd
Templar Books, 2015

Poetry Friday: Construction

Keeping up our trend of trucks and such, here's Construction by Sally Sutton for Poetry Friday.



"Dig the ground. Dig the ground.
Bore down in the mud.
Shove the piles in one by one.

Slip! SLAP!
THUD!"

Brian Lovelock's speckled yet clean illustrations pop the poetry. Look for Construction today! "Ring! ZING! POW!"

Construction
by Sally Sutton
illustrated by Brian Lovelock
Candlewick Press, 2014

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street: Mark Lee

I love to see a picture book successfully reformated as a board book. Sometimes I wonder if the original concept has finally found its very best form.

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street from 2013 is now available as a board book. With sparse text; large imagery and grand scope; an introduction to vehicles and counting; and a child protagonist solving the problem, this a great addition for little hands.

"an officer blows his whistle.
another waves her hands.
Truck 12 carries squealing pigs;
13 is piled with sand."

Illustrator Kurt Cyrus keeps the problem solving, bicycling boy in each spread in his clean portrayals of the traffic jam. Mark Lee's text rhymes straight to the solution. Joan and I welcome 20 Big Trucks to the library for readertotz. You'll want a copy in your own home...and then maybe a scoop of ice cream.

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street
by Mark Lee
illustrated by Kurt Cyrus
Candlewick Press, 2015

Giveaway from Little Bee Books!

As hinted, here's the rafflecopter from Little Bee! Have fun playing everyone! All the rules and regs can be found here for your readertotz. Best to you!

Introducing little bee books, a new US division of Bonnier Publishing! We are a small and passionate team dedicated to making beautiful and innovative books for children ages 0-12. Our debut list is now available, in bookstores and online. You can view all of our upcoming books here: http://www.simonandschuster.com/search/books/Imprint-little-bee-books/_/N-1z113mz/Ne-ph4.

In honor of the release of our very first books, we are running 3 exclusive giveaways from January 14^th to February 4^th, 2015: readertotz was kind enough to host our giveaway for a full set of the My First books! My First is a new series of board books (4 in total) that introduces children to basic concepts through simple yet bold graphic artwork.

http://littlebeebooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/littlebeebooks

https://twitter.com/littlebeebooks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome, little bee books!

In this fresh new year, Joan and I are happy to welcome little bee books to the world. With a firm grasp of writing the very best for the very youngest, their line has launched. Take a look:



Adorable, yes? Jedda Robaard's text has just the right amount of weight with perfect pacing. Your readertotz will love the tension as Little Fox looks for his tail, and Little Mouse seeks her squeak. Robaard's illustrations appear to be light pencil and watercolor with much white space for a font with its own personality.

We applaud little bee for joining the effort to promote literacy in the youngest reader with quality board, novelty, picture, and activity books. Watch for more reviews from Joan and an upcoming give-away. Further info soon!

Happy new year from readertotz and little bee books!



the little MOUSE who LOST her SQUEAK
the little FOX who LOST his TAIL
by Jedda Robaard
little bee books, 2014

Skippyjon Jones Snow What

A new book in the Skippyjon #1 New York Times bestselling series! 

I haven't done a picture book on readertotz in a while since we largely focus on board books. But here's a new book -- Skippyjon Jones Snow What -- in a series I'd love to see translated into board books one day.

In this one . . . fairy tales are not Skippyjon Jones's cup of tea, but his sister adores Snow White. During a reading of the tale, Skippyjon's mind starts to wander and he winds up as a character in the story! It's more challenging than expected when he is faced with seven little chihuahua dogs and the prospect of kissing the princess in the tale . . . a girl! But it is to save her from an evil queen after all . . . what to do?

I remember reading the first book about this character, Skippyjon Jones, aloud to friends in a brick and mortar bookstore shortly after it first came out. I was so enamored of this cat (who thinks he's a chihuahua) and the playful language in the book that I wanted to share him with anyone who would listen. He's one of those characters that's sure to be enjoyed for many many years to come by future generations of young readers.

Here's hoping for board books!

Judy Schachner bio

Skippyjon Jones Snow What
Author-illustrator: Judy Schachner
Publisher: Dutton Children's Books, 2014

Being patient while waiting in the line to meet santa.

by readertotz co-founder Joan Holub

illustrated by Leslie Patricelli

Abrams Appleseed

Happy Holidays from Chronicle!

Happy Holidays from beloved Chronicle! The Little Library will be given away in National Library Week, 2015. Don't you love that?

Poetry Friday: On the Wing

Happy Poetry Friday! Take a look at On the Wing by David Elliott and illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. #beautyallaround



The Caribbean Flamingo

Singular...
an ember
waiting
to ignite.

In multitude...
a conflagration!
The sky is set
alight!

On the Wing
by David Elliott
illustrated by Becca Stadtlander
Candlewick Press, 2014

Roar! Roar! by Sebastien Braun

Can You Say It, Too? Roar! Roar! by Sebastien Braun is another fun entry into the lift-the-flap collection for babies.



On each spread, a wild creature asks a question about someone nearby. Who's in the reeds? Who's beside the log? Behind the flap awaits a cheerful creature ready to sound off. Your totz will enjoy imitating the hippo, gator, and lion. A double flap at the end offers a fun surprise.

Gotta love Nosy Crow. Thanks, Sebastien! You are bringing joy to the smallest readers!

Can You Say It, Too? Roar! Roar!
by Sebastien Braun
Nosy Crow, 2014

Peekaboo Barn: Night and Day Studios

Farm books are perennial totz favorites. This one is a simple, sturdy book, with animal sounds on the left pages and the same barn on the right page. On each spread, the doors of the barn can be opened (the double doors are each a flap) to reveal the animal(s) making the sounds. It's simple, but effective and cute. It was originally a very successful app. And, as you can see on the cover, the app is free with the board book, via a scratch-off code. I think this is one totz will enjoy!

Ages 0-3

Peekaboo Barn
Night and Day Studios
Candlewick Entertainment