Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
One of my favorite books for celebrating the Christmas season is a small picture book that my son received for his first Christmas: My First Story of Christmas by Tim Dowley (Moody Publishers, 2004). The illustrations are simple but fun, reverent but childlike. There are a few editorial opinions sprinkled in the story of the
In honor of the snow Chicago is “enjoying,” I found some Winter-related Caldecott-winning books this month at my local library.
My son is getting better at sitting still for board books! This month, he took control of turning the pages of a few of them, wanting to turn them over and over again. It fun to watch him try to read: I tell him the book is upside down and turn it over for him.
While Mo Willems hasn’t been awarded the Caldecott Medal for his children’s picture books, he has been nominated a number of times. Do multiple Honors equal a Medal? I doubt he’d think so. Nevertheless, I think his simple illustrations are award-worthy and therefore worthy of my review. Here’s a rundown of some of Willems’ books,
Time for Bed by Mem Fox and illustrated by Jane Dyer, is a relaxing bedtime book. The go-to-bed phrases have a wonderful rhythm just right for rocking a child to sleep. It’s time for bed, little mouse, little mouse,Darkness is falling all over the house. The richly realistic paintings of animal mothers and babies evoke
George and Martha by James Marshall. George and Martha are best friends, and James Marshall’s storybooks show us what that means. They tell the truth to each other, even if it hurts; they respect each other’s privacy; they learn what it means to be friends. They are also hippos, and that makes the illustrations to
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. When Max is sent to his room without supper, he finds himself on a journey to where the wild things live. But, in the end, he longs to return to where there are people who love him and he returns to his room to find supper waiting.
This week, I got Walk On! by Marla Frazee from the library. Walk On! is a manual for babies to learn to walk. It is very amusing. I believe it is intended for adults, not babies. In fact, most Amazon reviewers suggest it as a gift for high school grads. (In fact, in terms of
The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman is a clever alphabet book. While it’s clearly a children’s book, it has an element of spookiness to it and somber, spidery illustrations that make it just right for adults too. The illustrations by Gris Grimly are not my normal preference. I tend to like more realistic illustration and
In medieval children’s primers, the alphabet was the main tool of learning and was often portrayed in a way that also taught religion (Seth Lerer, Children’s Literature, page 61). Poems and teachings would be in the order of the alphabet. This had biblical precedence, as the 22 stanzas of Psalm 118 “use the twenty-two letters
The colorful illustrations, the rhythmic words, and the familiar animals make Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle a favorite picture book. On each page, the reader asks an animal what he sees; the animal responds with another animal. In the end, the students in a classroom
The Monster at the End of the Book (starring Grover) by Jon Stone. My son has only begun watching Sesame Street (we didn’t have a television set while in Australia) and so far only watches for 10 minutes before walking away. But when I was reminded of this book, I had to revisit it. And
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