Want to know more about the tiny (microscopic) critters in our world, the ones we swim with in the ocean or the ones hanging out on our skin, in our homes, and elsewhere? All without having to use a microscope—at least for the moment. After reading this book, I think some kids will be adding … Continue reading Unseen Worlds – Perfect Picture Book Friday
After reading this title, the first thing I though of was Wallace Stevens' poem, 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. But blackbirds do not disappear in that poem. Here, the flies....meet their demise. One by one. And not just a single kind of fly. The reader watches 13 different kinds of flies—become someone else's … Continue reading 13 Ways to Eat a Fly – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Taking a little time off from posting until the fall. Thought I'd leave you all with a link to one of the most extraordinary places on earth, the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We camped on top of a truck throughout Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in 1997 for a couple of months. One of … Continue reading Okavango Delta – Respite
Anyone else feeling cooped up? Itching to get outside? Here's a little treat to get you primed for opening the door. If that cover doesn't grab you, perhaps the opening spread with its collective first person assertion will: Once we were part of Outside and Outside was part of us. There was nothing between us. … Continue reading Outside In – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
I found the perfect book in my poetry archives to cover Earth Day and poetry month. From the unusual type font to the illustrations painted in watercolor on primed paper bags with collage, Douglas Florian (a poet and artist), created a strikingly gorgeous book of poetry. Pick an insect on the list, and I can … Continue reading insectlopedia – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Two weeks into self-isolation, and I'm appreciating my daily outing to walk the dog. The sun, the wind, the bird calls, all serve to lift my spirits. So for my last selection for Women's History Month, I'm giving a nod to Mother Earth, our greatest female icon, by featuring Patricia MacLachlan's stunning new ode to … Continue reading My Friend Earth – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Today's perfect picture book confirms that, yes, a picture book can be vitally relevant to adults and children, relating basic truths about our lives and how we interact with our world. That the picture book as an art object can do this in so few words continues to thrill me. Fausto is a man accustomed … Continue reading The Fate of Fausto – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
I never thought I'd be smitten by a counting book. And I'm still not smitten by a counting book, because FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN is so much more than that. It's an ode to nature, a prayer, a salute, a love letter, a bedtime lullaby—all in the guise of a counting book. First the love letter … Continue reading Four Otters Toboggan – Perfect Picture Book Friday
I've read three middle grade novels by Cynthia Lord over the past few weeks. She has a very distinctive, gentle style. One that features the concerns of Tweens, no matter how small, and makes them seem extraordinarily important. Of the three I read, HALF A CHANCE will stay with me the longest. Synopsis of Half … Continue reading Half a Chance – Middle Grade Book Review
Need a fun read aloud? An awesome bedtime book? Look no further. It's nearly summer! Let's go berry-picking, shall we? Wagon on gravel goes bumpety-bump. Pebbles in the pond fall dunkety dunk. Toes in the grass go thumpety-thump. Bumpety, dunkety, thumpety-thump. This has got to be one of the most playful language stories I've read … Continue reading Thumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump #Perfect Picture Book Friday
Jilanne Hoffmann 