As mentioned in Emily’s Library, Part 1, one reason for including these is that they’re multi-lingual, but another is that they’re compelling works of narrative art. They highlight art’s centrality to the picture book itself. To restate what I noted in yesterday’s post, art is so central to the picture book that, as part of
Welcome to a new feature on Nine Kinds of Pie: “Emily’s Library.†It’s named for my eight-month-old niece, and it will feature only the very best children’s books.
With thanks to the Children’s and Adolescent Literature Community (ChALC) for organizing the event and the Manhattan Public Library for hosting it, we held aMock Caldecott at this afternoon. Of course, we weren’t able to get all of the books we wanted to look at – so, there are certainly Caldecott candidates we didn’t get to review. Here are the top
Bumble-Ardy gets adopted by his Aunt Adeline after his “immediate family gorged and gained weight. / And got ate.” When he throws himself a birthday party without her permission, Aunt Adeline threatens his guests: “Scat, get lost, vamoose, just scram! / Or else I’ll slice you into ham!” On the next two-page spread, Bumble tells
On her blog today, Anita Silvey asks her “readers to weigh in with their list of five books that they can’t live without or the ones they read again and again.” So, first, let me encourage you to weigh in over on her blog. As soon as this post is up, I’ll do the same.
The capacity to surprise is a sign of a true artist. Though famous for his visual and verbal wit, Lane Smith has written a gentle, moving book about growing old. Grandpa Green has humor, but it relegates its sole joke to a footnote. (After reporting that in fourth grade, Grandpa Green “got chicken pox,” Smith
With thanks to the Children’s and Adolescent Literature Community (ChALC) for organizing the event, we held a Mock Caldecott at the Manhattan Public Library this afternoon. And, yes, of course, we weren’t able to get all of the books we wanted to look at – so, there are quite likely candidates we didn’t get to
Comedy is hard. Lane Smith makes it look easy. I’m not going to reveal the punch line to his latest, It’s a Book, because I don’t have to: There are plenty of amusing moments along the way. When the jackass asks, “Where’s your mouse?” Smith provides a wordless page in which a mouse emerges from