Category: Perfect Picture Book Fridays

Perfect Picture Book Friday – All The Places To Love, And A Teensy Halloweensie Update

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You know me.  Planning is not my strong suit.  I’m definitely a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal.  But for today, I planned.  I had a book in mind.  I was all set.  I ordered my copy well in advance.  Unfortunately the release date was shifted.  Fortunately, it still shipped in time.  But… thanks to Sandy… delivery has been delayed, so today’s book, which was supposed to have been Marathon Mouse by Amy Dixon, just in time for the NYC marathon and in advance of her interview here on Monday, ain’t happenin’.  Sad face.  Apparently I am not destined to be a planner!

So instead, in the aftermath of Sandy when so many have lost so much, I’ve chosen a book I dearly love.  I know.  This makes two quiet books in a row.  But after the craziness of this hurricane week it seemed like a good choice.  I dare you to read it without feeling touched 🙂

All The Places To Love
Written By: Patricia MacLachlan
Illustrated By: Mike Wimmer
HarperColllins, 1994, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 3-8

Themes/Topics: appreciating what you have, love, family, new baby

Opening: “On the day I was born my grandmother wrapped me in a blanket made from the wool of her sheep.  She held me up to the window so that what I first heard was the wind.  What I first saw were all the places to love…”

Brief Synopsis: Everyone in Eli’s family has a favorite place – Mama loves the blueberry barren, grandmother loves the river, grandfather loves the barn.  “Where else,” he says, “can the soft sound of cows chewing make all the difference in the world?”  Eli knows that no matter where he goes in the world, all the places to love are right here, connected to his family, and always to be cherished.  Then one day, Eli and his grandfather wait together in the barn until grandmother holds someone new up to the window, wrapped in a blanket made from the wool of her sheep – Eli’s sister Sylvie – and he looks forward to sharing his joy, showing her all the places to love including his favorite, which is revealed in the end, but I won’t spoil it 🙂

Links To Resources:  here is a nice Teacher’s Guide, but I also think this book lends itself perfectly to discussion of the places YOU love and why.  Draw a picture of a place you love.  Make a list of places you love.  Talk about why you love them, what makes them special.

Why I Like This Book: I don’t just like this book – I absolutely love it.  The language is poetic and lyrical with a rhythm that makes it wonderful to read aloud.  The art is warm, loving, and so appealing.  The story is all about love, appreciation, and family.  It’s a quiet book, just right for bedtime or those moments when children need to settle down.  It brings all the warmth and comfort of love and family to the surface, giving children a model whereby they can revel in their own experience of the people and places they love.  I read this book many, many times to my kids and after all those readings, even now, it makes me teary every time (in a good way :))  Simply a gem.

Here’s the only other picture that was available on the internet for a glimpse of the beauty inside:

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

And now, before you all rush off to read everyone’s wonderful offerings for today, a teensy Halloweensie Contest update.  We had an INCREDIBLE turn-out – 37 entries at the time of this writing (and I did say I’d extend the deadline to the end of today to help people who lost their power and couldn’t post or link up.)  If you haven’t had a chance to read them, please go HERE and have fun following the links and checking the comment section for the 6 that were entered there.  All these writers worked so hard, and produced such wonderful, entertaining stories I’d hate for you to miss any of them.  And a couple got added late and I’m worried they didn’t get many visitors 😦 so please, if you’re looking for a little light reading over the weekend, check them out!

Now, if all you amazing PPBF bloggers would kindly leave your post-specific links below, we’ll all come visit you with a piece of paper and a pencil so we can make extensive library lists 🙂  OH!  And don’t miss Monday’s post – with Amy Dixon, author of Marathon Mouse, and the vote for the Halloweensie Contest Winner (assuming my assistant judge and I have any luck narrowing this unbelievable field!)

Have a great weekend, everyone, and GOOD LUCK to anyone who is running the NYC Marathon (and that includes my better half! :))!!!

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Silence

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Remember on Monday when I was feeling all flibbertigibbetty?

Well, I decided I’m not the only one who feels that way.  Life is crazy! 🙂  So for today’s Perfect Picture Book I chose some balm for the flibbertigibbeted soul 🙂

Silence
Written & Illustrated By: Lemniscates
Magination Press, March 2012, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 3-8

Themes/Topics: listening, taking time to notice yourself and your world

Opening: “In the silence I can hear the waves crashing and the wind playing with my kite.“

Brief Synopsis:  A child takes different moments of peace and quiet throughout the day, in different seasons, and in different locations, to see what the world has to say.

Links To Resources:  I think the best activity for this book is to do exactly what it says: listen!  What can you hear in the quiet of your room?  What can you hear if you listen quietly outside?  What do you notice when you take the time to absorb what’s going on around you?  Try just being quiet for a few minutes 🙂

Why I Like This Book:  Let’s face it – life is busy!  Even for kids.  This lovely, peaceful, quiet book reminds children and parents to pause for a few minutes, listen. and reflect.  The book is filled with lovely lines like, “In Spring, I can hear the bees loving flowers” and “When I listen I can hear  my feet when dancing my heart when running…”  This book may be as close as you can get to meditating with the under 6 set 🙂  I find it very peaceful 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Since we’re talking Perfect Picture Books today, let me just say that I’m pretty excited that the Perfect Picture Book book marks arrived this week!  They turned out beautifully!  I have the following packaged up and ready to send out to the wonderful people who are taking it upon themselves to help spread the word of our endeavors here:

Beth – 200
Vanessa – 100
Patricia N. – 100
Donna – 100
Darshana – 50
Kirsten – 50
Heather B. – 50
Laura M. – 50
Julie R-Z – 30
Kim Mac. – 30
Clar – 25
Penny – 25
Stacy – 25
Vivian – 25
Jennifer R. – 25
Joanna – 20
Pat – 15
Jarm – 15
Alison – 10

If you asked for book marks and don’t see your name here, please let me know!  Saba and Amy both said they would like some but I need to know how many.  Vanessa, Patricia N,. and Donna – I’m happy to send you more if you need them – please let me know – but I only had 1000 to start.  ONLY!  I can’t believe we used them ALL!

If anyone else would like book marks to pass around to local libraries, schools, teachers, parents, day care providers, preschools, etc., please let me know.  If you email your address and let me know how many, I’m going to order some more and I’ll send them along!

And now, a quick reminder before the weekend, when some people might be able to find a few spare minutes to work on it…  The Halloweensie Contest is next week! – Wednesday October 31 to be exact!! – tons of fun and a great prize (as well as incredible fame should you happen to win :))!!!  So whip up those 100 words!  For complete details, please see HERE.  And can I just say, I don’t know what’s up with the weather, but after saying I hoped we wouldn’t get 2 feet of snow that knocks out the power and the internet like last year, would you believe we have a HUGE storm predicted for Tuesday into Wednesday?  I am going to do my best to get the post written ahead (Stop that!  I hear you rolling around on the floor laughing!  I didn’t promise, I said I’d TRY!) so that everyone will be able to add their links and such even if I can’t get on to read.  By planning ahead, I’m hoping to scare the storm away altogether.  I am that powerful.  But in case the worst happens, we will still have our contest whenever the power comes back on!

PPBF bloggers, please add your post-specific links to the list below.  I can’t wait to see what shows up this week! 🙂

Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Sacajawea Of The Shoshone And a Few Extras!

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As promised, today I’m excited to share Sacajawea Of The Shosone for Perfect Picture Book Friday.  If you didn’t have a chance to read the interview with author Natasha Yim, please go HERE – I think you’ll enjoy it 🙂  And I want to thank Natasha from all of us for taking the time to visit repeatedly, respond to people’s comments, and answer with lots of additional very interesting information!  Thank you, Natasha!  After the Perfect Picture Book, I will announce the winner of the giveaway from Monday, so stay tuned 🙂

Sacajawea Of The Shoshone
Written By: Natasha Yim
Illustrated By: Albert Nguyen
Goosebottom Books, September 26, 2012, Non-Fiction

Suitable For: ages 9-12

Topics/Themes: American History, Sacajawea, Lewis and Clark Expedition, Native Americans, real princesses

Opening: “Clouds of dust swirled across the plains, kicked up by galloping horses.  Screams shattered the autumn air.  Arrows arced across the crisp blue sky, sprung from Shoshone bows….“

Brief Synopsis: From the book jacket: “One minute Sacajawea was picking berries and the next her Shoshone tribe was being attacked by another tribe. As she ran for her life, she was scooped up and taken far away from her village and family—and into history. When Lewis and Clark happened upon her living amongst a new tribe and chose her to accompany them, they greatly benefited from her skills as an interpreter and guide. From her mountain home to the banks of the Missouri River, over the majestic Rockies to the pounding waves of the Pacific, Sacajawea traveled farther than any American woman of her time.“

Links To Resources: Shoshone Facts For Kids, make a map of the route Sacajawea took when leading the Lewis and Clark expedition, How To Draw An Easy Teepee, Goosebottom Books Resources (there isn’t a resource listed yet for Sacajawea, but resources are listed for the other titles in this series so I expect a link will show up soon!) try a basket weaving or bead work activity.

Why I Like This Book:  As you know, this book is a bit of an aberration for me – it’s a non-fiction picture book for older readers, and my usual choices lean toward fun fiction for fours and fives 🙂  The fact that I have chosen it as today’s PPB is a testament to how much I liked it.  The text is clearly written and includes a lot of information I didn’t know about Sacajawea and the Lewis and Clark expedition.  I especially loved the side bar type sections which gave extra interesting information about certain things, like the spelling of Sacajawea’s name, what she ate, and how she got chosen for the Lewis and Clark expedition.  The art is beautiful – a combination of painting and photography that works very well.  And I like that this book is a title in the Thinking Girl’s Treasury Of Real Princesses and includes a bibliography of sources.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Now that you TOTALLY want to read Natasha’s book, I will announce the winner of the giveaway, which was randomly drawn at random by random.org 🙂  And the winner is:

VIVIAN!!!

Congratulations, Vivian!

Natasha and I thoroughly enjoyed everyone’s creativity and all the wonderful titles that were submitted, but she wanted readers to know that she especially loved:

What to Expect When You’re Exploring with…White Men (Elizabeth)

Helping your Teens Deal with Mean Squaw Bullying Without Resorting to the Use of the Tomahawk (Delores)
Reasons Why You Should Always Let a Woman Lead the Expedition (Robyn)

I would add to that list my two additional favorites (because you guys know I can never stop at 3 :)):

Buffalo Again? How To Get Your Kids To Eat It Every Night (Coleen)
Nodding And Other Techniques To Make Your Travel Companions Think They Are Really In Charge (Katie)

You guys were all great!

I’d also like to announce that so many of you wonderful Perfect Picture Book bloggers have offered to spread the word far and wide about PPBF that I have ordered and will soon be mailing out to you, 1000 book marks!  Isn’t that fabulous?  Thank you all for all the hard work you put into PPBF!  I think it’s a great resource, something that serves people well and will also help make parents, educators, and publishers see the great value in picture books and the continued need to keep them coming!  Anyone who didn’t ask for bookmarks yet but would like some, I have plenty so see me after class 🙂  (Let me know in the comments or email susann[at]susannahill[dot]com)

And, as if we weren’t on fun-overload already, on a non-PPBF theme, I have to thank my sweet, four-legged friend, Cupcake, who bestowed the One Sweet Blog

and Super-Sweet Blogging Awards

on me.  I think she saw all the chocolate treats and donuts and other goodies that find their way onto these pages 🙂  I am truly honored to have been chosen by Cupcake who is one of my favorite people 🙂 As you all know, I am truly terrible at awards, but I’ll give this one a go because it involves dessert 🙂

The rules are, you have to:
1. Give credit to the person who chose you (the lovely Cupcake as mentioned above :))
2. Answer the 5 Super Sweet questions below and,
3. Nominate a Baker’s Dozen (13 blogs)

1. Cookies or Cake? YES!
2. Chocolate or Vanilla? BOTH!  gosh, these questions are easy 🙂
3. What is your favorite sweet treat? Oh.  Not SO easy… Would it be cheating if I said cookiescakepie?  Yes?  Hmm… Well, I do love a really good oatmeal raisin cookie… 🙂
4. When do you crave sweets the most?  All day, every day 🙂
5. If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be?  Hmmm…. Superwoman doesn’t really count as sweet…  How about Piecake?

Now, about those nominees, this is the part I really can’t do because I love you all and hate to choose.  So consider yourselves all nominated.  (I know, taking the wimpy way out!)  But this time I do have one person who must be recognized because she is supplying us with sweet photographs of sweet food.  So Stacy Jensen, come on down!  I pass these along specially to you! 🙂  Oh, and someone else has had a very hard week in which her sweet tooth underwent root canal, so Robyn, you get special mention as well 🙂  Now that I think of it, Natasha was very sweet to visit so much and respond to everyone!  So Natasha, you get them too 🙂  So let see… how am I doing…
1. Stacy
2. Robyn
13. Natasha

I did it!  13!  A Baker’s Dozen!

Phew!  That turned into a long post with lots of goodies, but hopefully pretty much fun too what with all the award winning and passing around!  PPBF bloggers, please add your post-specific links to the list below so we can all come visit you!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Perfect Picture Book Friday – How The Moon Regained Her Shape

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I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking I should just start Fridays off by going to the library.  Then I could fire up my computer, read all these wonderful posts, and be right in the library to snatch up every picture book that strikes my fancy 🙂  Except the library in these parts doesn’t open until noon on Friday… and that’s way too late to get started 🙂

Today’s Perfect Picture Book serves two purposes: it’s a great story – one with that folktale flavor I love – but it also carries an anti-bullying message and as such is a wonderful choice for this month which is National Bullying Prevention Month.

How The Moon Regained Her Shape
Written By: Janet Ruth Heller
Illustrated By: Ben Hodson
Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2006

Suitable For: ages 4-8
Themes/Topics: Native American folktale, phases of the moon, kindness, bullying, friendship
Opening: “Once the moon was round and full, proud of her gentle light.  She did not fear the darkness around her.  She danced across the sky, laughing as she twirled her skirts.“
Brief Synopsis: The happy moon is deeply hurt by cruel words from the sun.  She takes them to heart and the resulting sadness causes her to shrink away.  Fortunately, her kind friend Comet is worried and sends her to Round Arms who helps her see her true worth, how loved she is, and that one should never listen to the mean words of a bully.  Her confidence restored, she once more graces the sky.

Links To Resources: The back of the book itself has a “Creative Minds” section which lists information and activities related to the phases of the moon and how to deal with bullies, a List Of Related Websites from Sylvan Dell, Teaching Activities from Sylvan Dell, Comprehension Quiz from Sylvan Dell, Math Quiz from Sylvan Dell.

Why I Like This Book: The book is written in the style of a Native American folktale.  It is both a story about how bullying can hurt someone and an explanation for the phases of the moon.  The two are woven beautifully together.  The art has a southwestern feel to it and suits the story perfectly.  This book has won a number of awards, including a 2006 Book Sense Pick, a 2007 Children’s Choice, a Benjamin Franklin Award for art in 2007, and a Gold Medal in the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards 2007, all with good reason!  It is a lovely, gentle story with a subtle, important message.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Before we all go off to read all the other wonderful entries today, I’d like to announce that the Perfect Picture Book Book Mark design is complete, and I’m ready to order them!!!  So exciting, isn’t it?  Here’s what they’ll look like:

Sorry you have to twist your neck this way and that to see!
I’m not tech-savvy enough to turn these around 🙂

If you would like some to hand out to local librarians, teachers, parents, day care providers, preschools, friends and relations – anyone you think would enjoy the resource and benefit from it, please let me know.  You can mention it in the comments and/or use the handy Email Me button in the right sidebar to let me know how many you’d like and the address to which I should mail them.  You can also email me at susanna[at]susannhill[dot]com if you have trouble with that button!  Help us spread the word! 🙂

Now, if all you lovely PPBF bloggers would kindly leave your post-specific link in the list below, we will all come visit you and see what fabulous offerings you have for us this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, and don’t forget to tune in Monday for an interview with Natasha Yim and a giveaway of her new book, Sacajawea Of The Shoshone!

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Brontorina

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Hurray!  It’s Friday!  And that means loads of Perfect Picture Books!

You know, I made the list for Perfect Picture Books, and I checked it twice 🙂 … actually thrice and then some, and the book I’ve chosen for today does not appear on it yet… but I still have a niggling-nagging feeling in the back of my mind that someone has already done it.  Jennifer?  Renee?  Penny?  Erik?  Maybe I’m imagining things.  But sometimes posts get written and I read them, but the link doesn’t make it onto the linky list, which can result in the book not making it onto the PPB list.  If that is what happened in this case, please forgive me and send me your link ASAP!  Other times, I add the books to the list and blogger spazzes out and drops them.  (I hate when that happens!)  (Or it might just be that sometimes I am very nearsighted and/or sleepy and/or not too bright, so maybe it’s there and I just missed it!)  But since I couldn’t find it on the list and I love it, I’m going to go ahead and post it!

Brontorina
Written By: James Howe
Illustrated By: Randy Cecil
Candlewick, 2010, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 4-8

Themes/Topics: following your dreams, acceptance, dance, perspective, friendship, kindness

Opening: “Brontorina had a dream.
“I want to dance!”
“But you are a dinosaur,” Madame Lucille pointed out.
“True,” Brontorina replied.  “But in my heart I am a ballerina.”“

Brief Synopsis: Brontorina longs to dance… but she is awfully large to be a ballerina.  Madame Lucille is kind, however, and gives Brontorina a chance to learn dance at her studio.  Alas, it appears that although Brontorina is graceful, she really is too big.  And she certainly doesn’t have the right shoes.  But just when disappointment seems inevitable, her friends figure out that sometimes it’s all in how you look at it.

Links To Resources: Story Hour Kit from Candlewick, Apatosaurus Coloring Page, A Guide To Ballet For Kids And Parents, as well as discussion topics: what is something you dream of doing? is it okay to dream things that might seem out of reach?

Why I Like This Book: I love that Brontorina has a dream and pursues it, even though to some it might not seem a realistic dream.  Isn’t this what we hope for all our kids?  That they will dream big and have the courage to pursue their passions?  And sometimes the value is in the dreaming and the pursuit, not necessarily in how successful you end up being (although success is nice too :))

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Now then!  I have to announce the winner of last week’s game!  Remember I asked you all to guess how many Perfect Picture Books you thought were on the list as of September 21?

But first I have to explain what made me think of the game to start with.  In the interest of spreading the word and having people make use of all  our hard work, Beth Stilborn thought it would be a great idea to have bookmarks for Perfect Picture Books that anyone who is interested could hand out to their local librarian, school teachers, friends, etc.  I concurred with Beth!  So the lovely and talented Alison Hertz took Loni Edward’s beautiful badge design and transformed it into a book mark!  But we wanted to put on the book mark how many books were already listed.  So I counted.  And once I knew, I thought it would be fun to see if you could guess.  So that’s how the game got started.

Here’s a sneak peek at the front of the bookmark:

Is that totally awesome, or what?!

I am dithering over the language on the back, but once I sort it out, I will order bookmarks and anyone who wants some to hand out to their above-mentioned local librarians, school teachers, friends etc. can email me and I’ll send you some!  The more we spread the word the better.  Everyone works hard to make Perfect Picture Books a great resource, so I want lots and lots of people to make use of it 🙂

Anyhoo, to make a long story a little bit longer, we had lots of guesses, ranging from Tracy’s guess of 100 all the way up to Joanna’s (very optimistic :)) guess of 3758! 🙂  The actual number of unique books at the time of counting (as per the instructions, books that have been posted 2 or 3 times were only counted as 1 book) was 740.  So the winner is Pat who guessed 750 – only off by 10! (with Jarm a very close second with 727 only off by 13!)  Pat, your prize, as mentioned, is a pack of Super Duper Awesomely Inspiring Susanna Hill Special Story Sparker Cards!  Email me your address and I’ll mail them to you 🙂  And with number-picking ability like that, you should probably trot right out and play the lottery 🙂

Now then, off you go to enjoy everyone’s Perfect Picture Book picks for the week (PPBF bloggers, please leave your post specific link on the list below so we can find you :)).

And I hope you all have a fabulous Columbus Day Weekend!!!

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Mossy

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Thank goodness for Perfect Picture Book Friday!  It gives me an excuse to sit in the library or bookstore and read picture books 🙂

Today’s choice is brand new from one of my favorite author/illustrators.  I hope you like it 🙂

Mossy
Written & Illustrated By: Jan Brett
Putnam Juvenile, September 2012

Suitable For Ages: 3-8

Themes/Topics: consideration, kindness, animals in their natural habitat, perspective

Opening: “On a misty, moisty morning, a young turtle stood at the edge of Lilypad Pond.  Her name was Mossy.”

Brief Synopsis: Mossy loves her pond.  She spends so much time in the damp coolness that first moss and then a garden grow on her carapace.  One day, she meets a handsome turtle named Scoot who thinks she’s very beautiful, but just as they are on the verge of becoming friends, Dr. Carolina and Tory spot Mossy.  “She is perfect for the museum!” declares Dr. Carolina.  And so Mossy is carried away from her beloved pond and her new friend.  Dr Carolina gives her everything she thinks a turtle needs, but fails to understand that Mossy already had everything she needed.  It is Tory who sees that Mossy is sad.  So they come up with a way to keep Mossy at the museum but also give her what her heart desires.

Links To Resources:  The back jacket flap of the book tells about the real incident that inspired this story for Jan Brett.  The book provides a wonderful opportunity for discussion about animals in the wild vs. animals in captivity.  Why might it be good to take an animal out of its natural habitat?  Why might it be bad?  Have you ever captured anything (perhaps a caterpillar, a frog or toad, or a garter snake?) and kept it for a while?  How long did you keep it?  What happened to it?  Did you put it back where you found it?  A New York Times Q&A with Jan Brett about Mossy.  Jan Brett Coloring Pages (Mossy isn’t here yet, but she may show up!)  Jan Brett Activity Pages (also no Mossy yet, but lots of other fun things to choose from!)

Why I Like This Book: Well, to start with, it’s a Jan Brett 🙂  That means a good story and gorgeous art!  Add to that the fact that it’s about a turtle who is a walking garden and what’s not to like? 🙂  But the part I like best is how Tory realizes that Mossy isn’t happy in captivity and makes sure that she is returned to her beloved pond.  It’s a beautiful tale about doing what’s right for someone else, and realizing when you’ve made a mistake (even with good intentions.)

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

I only have one other thing to tell you today, and that is that I have managed (hopefully) to at least completely update the alphabetical list of Perfect Picture Books.  Not the theme lists.  Not the blogger lists.  And the alphabetical list does not have all the ages and categories yet.  But all the titles and all the links are there so you can at least see every book that’s been done so far!  Baby steps 🙂  There are an amazing number!

Ooh!  Let’s have a game!  You have to be on the honor system though and not just go to the Perfect Picture Book page and count!  Promise?  The game is, guess how many books are on the list as of last Friday (Sept. 21)?  (Not counting double!) (And remembering that we started Perfect Picture Books last November, but took nearly a three month break in the summer!)

Put your number guess in the comments!  Whoever gets the closest wins a pack of my brand new, unrivaled, awe-inspiring Story Sparker Cards, fun for writers, teachers, and families on long car rides :)!  (Unless the winner happens to be a Summer Short & Sweet 8 Week Finisher – they already got the Story Sparker Cards, so if it’s one of them, they’ll have to settle for the candy bar (or two) of their choice :))

Alrighty, then!  PPBF bloggers be sure to put your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!  I can’t wait to see this week’s choices.  And before you leave here, put your guess as to how many picture books are on the list so far (up through last week – 9/21/12) in the comments!

Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Nugget And Darling

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Well, you will all be glad to know that, after 2 days in which Central Hudson did not make any money off the folks on Blueberry Hill, the power came back on yesterday!  Woo-hoo!  We were thankful not to have to do a Little House In The Big Woods version of bathing night… 🙂

The pitch pick poll is coming along swimmingly, but if you haven’t had a chance to vote yet, please hop over if you’d like to!  You’ve got until midnight 🙂

In case anyone is interested, the last thing I did before we lost power on Tuesday was update the Would You Read It list so that it now includes all the working titles.  I think it’s ever so much nicer 🙂  (And yes, I know!  PPBF is next – a much bigger job!)

Clearly, I am suffering from power-outage-induced brain fog or something, because I have nothing else to ramble on about today!  Shocking, I know.  The mind reels.  But there’s nothing for it but to get right on to those Perfect Picture Books 🙂

Nugget & Darling
Written By:  Barbara M. Joosse
Illustrated By:  Sue Truesdell
Clarion Books, 1997, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 5-8

Themes/Topics: emotions (jealousy), learning to adjust, sibling rivalry, consideration of others

Opening:  “When Nell was cold, Nugget kept her feet warm.  When she was sad, Nugget pretended he was a jack-in-the-box.  Sometimes they did magic tricks.  Nell wore a swirly purple cape and waved a sparkly wand.  Nugget wore rabbit ears.”

Brief Synopsis:  Nell and her dog Nugget are best buddies – they play together and share secrets, Nugget cheers Nell when she’s sad and Nell scratches him behind his ears, the place he loves best – until one day Nugget finds a little wet kitten.  Nell takes the kitten home, and suddenly Nugget doesn’t feel like top dog any more.

Links To Resources:  I couldn’t find any online resources for this story – not even one!  But though the “child” characters in this book are a dog and a cat, the theme of sibling rivalry is strong, and this story makes an excellent springboard for discussing feelings of jealousy or displacement that might occur in a family with a new sibling, or any other similar situation that gives rise to these feelings.  The book is particularly helpful because it’s about animals, giving kids a little needed distance from a difficult and uncomfortable topic.  Read the story and ask your kids to tell how they think each of the characters – Nell, Nugget, and Darling – feel.  Ask them who they think has the hardest time.  Talk about differences in perspective.  Encourage them to role play the different characters’ parts – how could Nell or Darling have made things easier for Nugget?  How could Nugget have made things easier for himself?  Do they think one character did things “right” and another did them “wrong”?

Why I Like This Book:  This is a lovely story about remembering what’s important.  Nell and Nugget love each other, but after the kitten comes, Nugget feels displaced, which leads to jealousy and dejection.  Nugget has to learn to accept Darling, and also that Nell has room in her heart for both of them.  Nell has to learn that paying too much attention to the new kitten makes her old friend feel sad, and that it’s important to make sure they both feel loved.  This is a wonderful story for children with a new sibling, or for kids whose best friend may be spending a little too much time with somebody new.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

So now, if all you delightful PPBF bloggers would kindly put your post-specific links into the list below, we’ll all come visit and stock up our reading list for the weekend!  I can’t wait to see what everyone has chosen this week!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and may the force (of fully functioning electricity and modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing and coffee makers) be with you 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Harry The Dirty Dog And International Dot Day And The Summer Contest Winner!!!

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Holy Dot Day, Batman!

If you managed to read the whole title of this post, you know we have a lot on the agenda for today!  And it all has to do with dots – either directly or in a more roundabout way 🙂

We’ll start with Perfect Picture Books, which I like to put on top so it’s easy to find when people click over from the master list.  I’ve chosen a book about a dog with spots… which are a lot like dots.

Next up will be my Dot for International Dot Day.

Finally, just when you think you can’t bear the suspense for another second, I will announce the winner of the Summer Send-Off Contest… before you go dotty!  (OK.  That was a reach :))

Ready? Set. GO!

Harry The Dirty Dog
Written By: Gene Zion
Illustrated By: Margaret Bloy Graham
Harper & Row, 1956, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 3-8

Themes/Topics: bath time, behavior (rebelliousness), facing consequences, problem solving, animals (dogs)
Opening: “Harry was a white dog with black spots who liked everything, except… getting a bath.  So one day when he heard the water running in the tub, he took the scrubbing brush… and buried it in the back yard.”

Brief Synopsis:  Harry doesn’t want a bath, so he hides the scrubbing brush and runs away.  All day long he plays happily, getting dirtier and dirtier, until finally, when he returns home, he’s so dirty his family doesn’t even recognize him.  What’s a dog to do?

Links To Resources: Harry The Dirty Dog Activities, Harry The Dirty Dog read by Betty White with pictures and tasteful animation (delightful!) as well as activities.

Why I Like This Book:  I not only like this book, I love it.  I loved it as a child.  I loved it with my children.  I love it as a writer because to me it’s a story that does everything right.  I think children (and adults :)) can relate to Harry’s story because we all have the urge to rebel from time to time but, like Harry, in the end what we want most is to be safe and loved… even if it means having a bath 🙂  The art is delightful, depicting Harry as lively and lovable, culminating in the sweet last page where Harry is curled up, happily asleep and dreaming, but leaving you to wonder whether he hid that scrubbing brush to make sure he was always clean so his family would always recognize him, or whether he hid it to avoid another bath any time soon 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Moving on, it’s time to celebrate International Dot Day!

Following the lead of Patricia Tilton on her wonderful blog Children’s Books Heal, I am joining in on International Dot Day, based on Peter H. Reynolds’ picture book The Dot.  The idea is to encourage people not to be intimidated and to create their own art in the form of a dot.  This year over half a million people will participate – primarily children in classrooms – but lots of other people as well.  Celebri-dots features dots created by well-known authors and illustrators.  (Dot Day is actually September 15, but I don’t post on Saturday so mine is going up today :))

I am not particularly artistic, but I had an idea for a dot.  The lovely and talented Beth Stilborn, whose computer skills leave mine in the dust, turned my idea into reality.  Thank you, Beth! 🙂

My dot is about love.

Love comes in many shapes and sizes.  For my daughter it comes in the shape of a polka-dot pony.  The pony is not fancy or highly bred.  She’s 14.1 hands* of fine, cinnamon chip fur, with a sturdy build, a velvet-soft nose, one brown eye and one blue, and though she might not appear to be anything special, she owns my daughter’s heart.  And it just so happens that two of those cinnamon dots that sprinkle her fur so liberally are heart shaped.  I am not making this up.  You can see one of them in the dot 🙂
* (for those who might not be horse people, a hand is  the unit of measure for horses and is equal to 4″. 14.1 hands means that the pony stands 57″ at the withers.)

And just for fun, another dot… 🙂

Here is the special pony those dots and that heart belong to 🙂

my daughter counted the pony’s spots one day and in case you’re wondering, she has 791! 🙂

and the poem my daughter wrote about her:

Chestnut, chestnut, chestnut spots
Appaloosa polka-dots.
How many little chestnut spots?
Lots and lots and lots and lots!
                    by Little Hill 5

So there you have it.  My polka-dot pony love dot 🙂
So I guess that’s it, right?  We’ll wrap up and head out to read everyone’s Perfect Picture Books….
What?
OH!  You want to know who won the contest?
Well.  Okay 🙂
I’ve got to tell you, somehow this turned out to be the closest contest we’ve ever had here and that’s saying something because everyone is so talented that the contests are always close.  In this case, however, the contestants were literally neck and neck.  First one would pull ahead, then another.  It was  a serious nail-biter!  In the end though, we did have a clear winner.  And that was…
DDRRUUMM RROOLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!
ERIK!!!!!!!!
Congratulations, Erik!  Well done!
And to all the other finalists, excellent job as well.  And to everyone who entered, you are all amazingly talented and creative people and it was a joy to read every single entry!  Thanks to everyone for participating.
Erik, you may email me at your convenience and choose your prize 🙂  And since we only had 15 entries, I’m only giving a prize for first place.  (If we’d had over 20 entries I would have included 2nd and 3rd place prizes, but now you’ll just have to wait for the Halloweensie Contest on October 31st for that! :))
Although I don’t usually add the placement of all the finalists, in this case it was such a close race that I thought you (and they) might like to know how well they did:
1st: Erik
2nd: Sidney
3rd: Vivian
4th: Romelle
5th: TIE: Jess and Lauri
So now, my lovelies, if all the PPBF bloggers would kindly leave their post specific links in the list below, we shall all come visit – the best part of Friday 🙂
Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – First Day Jitters

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September has arrived, school is back in session, the promise of autumn is in the air, and I am jumping up and down with excitement!

Why?  (No!  Not because I’ve had too much caffeine! :))

Because they’re back!  Perfect Picture Book Fridays are back!

How I have missed them! 🙂

I am looking forward to a whole new season of fantastic books and reviews, to seeing what books you all think are great and reading the ones I’m not familiar with, and to sharing all these wonderful books and resources with everyone who reads and uses picture books.

Before I post mine for today, I just want to say that I did A LOT of things this summer.  Really.  By anyone’s reckoning it was BUSY (and for once I’m not exaggerating!)  But the one thing that didn’t get done was the Perfect Picture Book update.  There are still books missing from the list, and I haven’t finished figuring out how to make the page more user-friendly.  Rest assured, however, that I am working on it, and that once I get all my peeps back to school and have a bit more time to focus on writing and work, I will get it all squared away.  In the meantime, please bear with me 🙂

Now then!  Onto the first fabulous book for fall! 🙂

First Day Jitters
Written By: Julie Danneberg
Illustrated By: Judy Love
Charlesbridge, March 2000, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 5-8

Themes/Topics: first day of school, emotions (feeling nervous), coping (with new situations)

Opening:  “Sarah, dear, time to get out of bed,” Mr. Hartwell said, poking his head through the bedroom doorway.  “You don’t want to miss the first day at your new school, do you?“

Brief Synopsis: It’s the first day at a new school and Sarah doesn’t want to get up.  “I”m not going!” she says.  Mr. Hartwell reminds her how much she liked her old school and assures her she’ll make new friends, but he has his work cut out for him getting Sarah up and in the car.  When Sarah finally arrives at school, readers are in for a fun surprise!

Links To Resources: Activity Guide, More Activities, Ideas For Use.  The book makes an excellent springboard for discussion, at home or in the classroom, about how children might be feeling about starting school.  Would pair nicely with The Kissing Hand and Llama Llama Misses Mama 🙂

Why I Like This Book: The first day of school can be tough whether you’re starting at a new school or even just going back to the old one.  This story addresses the concerns a child might feel about starting school with a delightful twist – Sarah turns out to be the teacher!  The message that everyone – even grown-ups – can get butterflies in their stomachs about new things is reassuring.  The art is warm and engaging and does a terrific job of keeping the secret of Sarah’s identity until end.  This is a fun book for the back-to-school time of year.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

And now, all my Perfect Picture Book friends, please add your post-specific links to the list below so we can all come visit you and see what books you’re celebrating today!  Then it will be off to the library to stock up on some great weekend reading!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  And welcome back to Perfect Picture Book Fridays! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – A Leaf Can Be

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Sniff sniff sniff tiny stifled sob.

I know.  It’s very sad that this is the last Perfect Picture Book Friday until September 7.  I’m going to miss it, too, but I think we will all find the break refreshing (and hopefully it will give me time to catch up and improve!)

And to make you feel a little better, I made this delicious summer strawberry shortcake just for you

(and yes you can have as many slices as you like!)  In addition, I’m sharing a lovely summery book (well, it can be any season, really, but it looks so green and summery that I’m sticking with summery :))

A Leaf Can Be
Written By: Laura Purdie Salas
Illustrated By: Violetta Dabija
Millbrook Press, February 2012, Fiction based on fact

Suitable For: ages 3-8

Themes/Topics: nature, seasons, poetry

Opening:  “A leaf is a leaf
It bursts out each spring
when sunny days linger
and orioles sing.
A leaf can be a…
soft cradle
water ladle
Sun taker
Food maker…”

Brief Synopsis: a simple rhyming story that shows all the many things a leaf can be.

Links To Resources: the back of the book has lots of facts about leaves, showing how they can be all the things mentioned in the book.  There is also a small glossary.  Take a walk and see how many different kinds of leaves you can find.  What could your leaves be used for?  Leaf Activities.  What else can you look at in different ways?

Why I Like This Book:  The quietness of this book encourages children to really think about all the different things leaves can be and in turn encourages children to stretch their imaginations about how other everyday objects might be used in different ways.  The poetry is gentle with pretty images.  The information in the back adds a lot to the learning potential of the book.  And the art in this book is absolutely luminous.  It just glows.  It is the perfect art for the text making for an altogether magical reading experience.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

For the next 2 Fridays before Summer Short & Sweets begins, we will be having a miniseries (and when I say mini I mean mini because 2 is about as mini as you can go and still call it a series :)) on self-publishing.  Self-pubishing is becoming a more viable and more attractive option, so I thought you might find it interesting to hear from a couple folks who have chosen it.  I find what they have to say very enlightening and I hope you will too!

Now, I know you’re probably going to fall off your chairs, and I’m probably forgetting something and I’ll have to amend this hastily, but I don’t have anything else to add today.  Just goes to show that sometimes even the long-winded can be… well… short-winded, I guess 🙂

PPB bloggers, please add your post-specific links below, and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  Happy Father’s Day to the dads in our group!  And tune in Monday for a special treat – a guest post from the one and only Joanna Marple all about the process of working with uTales!!!