The Word Collector

The Word Collector by Sonja Wimmer
Illustrated by Sonja Wimmer
Translated by Jon Brokenbrow
Published by Cuento de Luz
2011

     Luna, whose name means "Moon" in Spanish, was a little girl that lived high up in the sky.  She was passionate about words and collected them. She collected "funny words that tickle your palate when you say them, words so beautiful that they make you cry, friendly words that embrace your soul."  But when she notices that less words are reaching her up in the sky, that people are forgetting all the beautiful words, Luna knows is time to act. "She put all of the words she had in a big suitcase, and set off with them on a journey."  Luna embarks on a journey that will help her spread the power of positive words all over the world.
     The Word Collector is a beautiful picture book, an ode to language and words.  Sonja Wimmer plays with fonts and text placement along the story, making us trace the path of the words along the page.  The changes in type and orientation of the text are complemented by whimsical illustrations that take us to a dreamlike world.  Each page asks to be savored, each detail taken into account. I loved the fact that even after the translation of the text from Spanish to English, there were places where words in Spanish could still be spotted (framed picture that reads "las palabras locas", or a paper airplane made from a Spanish newspaper). There is an addendum where the text is written in a more conventional manner to make it easier to read -good idea to go here first, if you're trying to share it as a read aloud.
     The Word Collector will capture any reader, young and old, who loves language and words. With  lyrical text, beautiful language and illustrations, this is a delightful addition to any home or classroom library.

The Library

The Library by Sarah Stewart
Illustrated by David Small
Published by Farrar Straus Giroux
1995

     The Library is the story of Elizabeth Brown, a girl born to read. When she was little, she didn't like to play with dolls or play outside. All she wanted to do was read. She read everywhere, all the time.  When she left for college, she brought with her a steamer trunk loaded with books, and in class she sat daydreaming about entering a readers' olympiad.

She manufactured library cards
And checked out books to friends,
Then shocked them with her midnight raids
To collect the books again.

Elizabeth preferred books to going out on dates, or dancing with her friends. She moved to a little town and lived a life devoted to her love of books.  Eventually, she accumulated so many books that "she had to face the awful fact, she could not have one more," so she ended up donating all her books to create The Elizabeth Brown Free Library.
     The Library is a beautiful book in every sense of the word.  The character portrayed by Stewart is funny and lovable, and the gorgeous illustrations by Small add to Elizabeth's loveliness. I love the way Small framed the images and added ink designs to accompany the rhyming verses.  I especially liked those pages where the illustrations cannot be contained by the frames anymore, and books end up spilling all over the page.
     There is an underlying quirkiness about Elizabeth and readers get a glimpse of it with hilarious lines (with illustrations to match) like:

She made a list of groceries
And tucked it in her book,
Then lost the list among the fruits
And left with nothing to cook.
She read about Greek goddesses
While vacuuming the floor.
Attending only to her book,
She'd walk into a door.

      I dare you not to fall in love with Elizabeth Brown. This is one of my favorite picture books. Enjoy!

The Plot Chickens

The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane and Herm Auch

2009

      Henrietta is a hen that loves books.  She checks books out at the library and takes them back to the chicken coop to read the stories aloud to her aunts. One day, Henrietta decides that as much fun as reading is, writing books must be "eggshilarating."  So she checks out a book at the library about writing.  Following the rules she reads in the book, Henrietta writes her own story.  When her finished story is rejected by publishers, she decides to self-publish. The reviews are horrendous, and she's even embarrased to go back to the library. But when she finally does, she discovers that her book has been voted "Best Book of the Year" by the story hour children.  

    The Plot Chickens is a very funny picture book.  The mix of oil paints and digital art make the illustrations pop.  There are dialogue bubbles throughout the story that add little jokes to the main text.  The way Henrietta builds her own story, step by step, following what she reads in the book about writing, makes The Plot Chickens a great book to use as a guide during the Writer's Workshop in the classroom.  It covers the topics of characters, developing the plot (problem and solution) and even using sensory details to make the story better.  Great addition to the classroom library as well as a fun read aloud for home.

Winston the Book Wolf

Winston the Book Wolf by Marni McGee
Illustrated by Ian Beck
2006

     A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a new version of The Little Red Riding Hood called Carmine: A Little More Red.  Today, we have another one: Winston the Book Wolf.  In fact, Winston the Book Wolf has a bit from Little Red and another bit from Three Little Pigs.  Winston is a wolf who loves to devour words, literally.  If he sees a sign with words in it, or a book, he just has to eat it.  That's why he's not allowed anywhere near the library.  One day, he ignores -in fact, he eats- the sign outside the library that says "No Wolves Allowed."  He goes in and the librarian calls for help.  Everybody starts chasing the wolf, trying to corner him.  But then, a little girl named Rosie (who wears a red hooded sweatshirt and carries a basket in her arm), comes to his rescue and shows him an escape route. They ran "through an alley, then under a bridge, and over a hill." When they finally stopped, Rosie asked Winston why he ate books.  Winston explained that words were delicious, "Why, words taste better than roasted skunk, even better than gopher stew!"  Rosie then told Winston that he couldn't eat books anymore, that there were other ways of tasting the wonderfull words inside. "Words taste even better when you eat them with your eyes!" She then teaches him to read.  Winston borrows clothes from Rosie's grandma and dressed up as a woman he heads back to the library with Rosie.  From that day on, he spent his time at the library reading stories to all that would come for story time hour.
     Winston the Book Wolf is thoroughly enjoyable. Readers will delight in finding subtle similarities between the classic tale and this story.  I loved the use of the same characters from the classic fairy tale but with a new story line.  This could be a model to follow in the writer's workshop in the classroom.  It is a great read aloud to do at home as well.

Jake Starts School

Jake Starts School by Michael Wright

     Jake woke up his first day of school with his dog Fred licking his eyes. He got ready and put on his favorite shirt. His mom packed his lunch bag and included two heart-shaped cookies for dessert. His parents drove him to school and everything was going according to plan, that is until Jake froze in front of his classroom door and refused to walk inside. "He grabbed his parents at the knees and would not let them go." His teacher, his parents, and even the school nurse, tried to pry Jake off but to no avail. The teacher decided that the only thing to do was for them (Jake, his mom and dad) to come to class. The three of them had to share one seat, and with his arms wraped around his parents's legs, Jake couldn't paint, or play with other kids, or ride the tricycle, or climg the jungle gym. It was almost the end of the school day and his teacher told the class that she was going to read aloud a book about a dog named Fred. From the back of the room, Jake raised his hand and said "I have a dog. His name is Fred." His teacher smiled and asked Jake to join her in the front of the classroom and hold the book for her while she read it. "That's when Jake let his parents go and felt some relief." The more she read, the more Jake loosened up and "inside, he felt good." And when the bell rang he gave his teacher his last cookie.
     Jake Starts School is a great book to read aloud to kids who are about to go to their first day of school. It's funny and tender. I love the teacher's character and the whole page bright illustrations are delightful. Great back to school book

Charlie Cook's Favorite Book

Charlie Cook's Favorite Book by Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Axel Scheffler
2005

     Today is my 150th consecutive day blogging about picture books.  So the decision to pick a book for such a special day wasn't an easy one.  I picked Charlie Cook's Favorite Book by Julia Donaldson because it's the kind of book you read and you say to yourself:  "This is genius, why didn't I think of it first?"  I've always like the idea of meta fiction, fiction within fiction and when you read this book, you see it done to perfection.
    By the way, I wanted to add that the number of you readers out there keeps growing and I would love to hear from you. So reply to this post and share a book you think I should include on my blog, OK? Now back to our scheduled programming...
     Charlie's curled up in a cozy chair, reading his favorite book, a book about pirates.  The pirates are looking for a treasure and when they find it it's a book. And this book is about a girl called Goldilocks who's found laying on little bear's bed reading her favorite book.  And her favorite book is about a knight who entertains a dragon by reading him his favorite book.  And the knight's favorite book is about a frog that hops all the way into a library and jumps on a book.  That book is about birds and one of them has made his nest out of pages of his favorite book.  And the bird's favorite book is about a girl that saw aliens and when she went to tell her mom, her mom ignored her because she was reading her favorite magazine.  Her magazine was about a thief that got caught and while he laid inside his cell, he read his favorite book.  Which was about and alligator that went into a bookshop and started to read an encyclopedia.  And the encyclopedia entry was about a giant cake that was so tasty that an astronaut took a slice of it to space.  The astronaut also brought his favorite book with him which was a horror tale about a ghost who put her head back on her shoulders to read her favorite book.  And her favorite book was "about a cozy armchair, and a boy called Charlie Cook."
     See what I mean? Charlie Cook's Favorite Book is a riot.  The illustrations are fantastic and at every page you'll find yourself transported to a "new" book.  This is a great read aloud for home and the classroom as well as a great sample to use for text innovation (where kids follow the format of a story and write their own tale following that framework).  Go to the library and check out every book they have by Donaldson. You won't regret it.

Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)

Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) by Barbara Bottner
Illustrated by Michael Emberley
2010

     Miss Brooks is a librarian who simply loves books. She dresses up for reading circle like the characters in the books so she can get kids as excited about reading as she is. But Missy, a first grader, wants nothing to do with it. She finds the whole thing completely "vexing." It's May and Miss Brooks tells Missy and her classmates that they most find a favorite story, wear a custom, and share it with the rest of the class. Missy has no idea what she's going to do because she finds something wrong with every book Miss Brooks and the other kids read. "They are too kissy," "too pink," and "too silly," she tells her mother. "You're as stubborn as a wart," said her mom. That was the bit of inspiration Missy needed: warts. She finds Shrek! by William Steig and falls in love with with. She dresses up like an ogre and realizes that even a contrarian like her can find something "funny and fantastic and appalling in the library."
     Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) is a wonderful book. Missy is a great character and Emberley's illustrations of the girl are fantastic. Missy's old soul-grunge look is hilarious and her facial expressions are priceless. I really love this book and I'm definitely adding it to my favorites shelf.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Please Bury Me in the Library

Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrated by Kyle M. Stone
2005

     Please Bury Me in the Library is a beautiful book of poems revolving around the love of books, libraries and reading. Some are funny, like What If Books Had Different Names?

Like Alice in...Underland?
Furious George,
Goodnight Noon

     Others are more romantic:

Please bury me in the library
In the clean, well-lighted stacks
Of Novels, History, Poetry,
Right next to the Paperbacks
[...]
Please bury me in the library
With a dozen long-stemmed proses.

     The collection also includes acrostic poems and Haikus. I'm surprised I haven't seen this book in my school  since it fits perfectly inside the elementary poetry classroom library.

     My favorite poem in the collection is Great, Good, Bad

A great book is a homing device
For navigating paradise.
A good book somehow makes you care
About the comfort of a chair.
A bad book owes to many trees
A forest of apologies.

     The illustrations, the language, the theme, everything is perfect! This beautiful poetry book does not owe any tree an apology.

It's a Book

It's a Book by Lane Smith
2010

     Monkey is reading a book.  Jackass is pestering him with questions about it. "How do you scroll down?" asks Jackass. "You don't. I turn the page. It's a book" answers Monkey.  But Jackass just doesn't get it.  What follows is a hilarious exchange between the patient Monkey and Jackass.  Jackass, who's carrying a laptop and is obviously tech savvy, wonders if the book can blog, or text, or tweet, or wi-fi, or if it needs a password. "No. It's a book."  Finally, Monkey just hands him the book and Jackass spends hours reading the book.  As Monkey heads to the library to get a new book -since Jackass won't give it back to him- Jackass holds up the book and says "Don't worry, I'll charge it up when I'm done!"  Monkey's reply is priceless...
     I had checked out It's a Book from the library, but I fell in love with it so I had to go out and buy it for my collection.  I don't get tired of reading it out loud and sharing it with every adult that will care to listen.   Just make sure you're comfortable using the word Jackass repeatedly.  Smith's illustrations are quirky, funny and endearing.  It's a Book is now on my bookshelf of favorites.   

The Prince's Bedtime

The Prince's Bedtime by Joanne Oppenheim
Illustrated by Miriam Latimer
2007

     The Prince can't fall asleep.  Well, it's not that he can't, he just won't go to sleep. The Queen and King are at their wits's ends trying to find a way to get their prince to go bed. "If anyone knows how to make the prince rest, please come at once to the royal address!"  And so begins the parade: a  bearded physician with sleep medicine, a troupe of dancers, a mustached magician, a peasant carrying a stuffed quilt, jesters, jugglers, cooks...all trying to help the prince to fall asleep, but to no avail.  Then, an old woman came to the palace and the King asked "And what can you do? Do you dance? Can you sing? What's in your bag? What did you bring?"  The woman reached inside her bag, pulled out a book and told the prince "I'll read while you look."  "But where are the pictures?" "You'll see them if you just close your eyes."  And he did, and "he fell asleep for the night."
     The Prince's Bedtime is a great read aloud, and a fun bedtime story.  The illustrations are beautiful and the rhymes flow and never seem forced.  I love a good rhyming story! There is something intrinsically cool about reading a bedtime story about reading a bedtime story...kind of meta, right?

Calvin Can't Fly

Calvin Can't Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie by Jennifer Berne
Illustrated by Keith Bendis
2010

     Calvin is a little black bird, a starling.  He has many brothers and sisters and over sixty thousand cousins...a very big family.  From the moment he was born, there was just something different about Calvin.  While his brothers, sisters and cousins were discovering worms, grass, dirt and water, Calvin discovered books.  While the rest of his family learned to chase beetles and bugs, Calvin was learning to read.  While they dreamed of insects, he dreamed of adventure stories. And while they were learning to fly, Calvin was in the library letting his mind soar and reading about science, history and legends.  His relatives make fun of him and call him "nerdy birdie", "geeky beaky" and "bookworm."
     The weather starts getting cold and the starlings begin migrating south. Since he missed all the flying lessons  while being in the library, Calvin can't fly. So his relatives tie him up to strings so they can carry him.  On their way south, they encounter a bad storm and Calvin uses all his learned in books about weather to direct them to take shelter.  He saves all their lives and they all celebrate together.  Calvin was so happy that amidst the celebration he starts flapping his wings and learns to fly.
     Calvin Can't Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie is a wonderful tale to share with all book lovers.  While Calvin can't fly, his books take him places his wings never could.  This books should be in every single classroom library in the lower grades.  The illustrations are funny, beautiful and have plenty of images of classic themes that all young readers will connect with (pirates, dinosaurs, planets...basically, every single thing my four year old loves).  Great find!

The Incredible Book Eating Boy

The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
2007

     Henry loves books. So much so that he eats them.  And he can't stop because the more he eats them the smarter he gets.  He hopes to become the smartest person on Earth.  Suddenly things take a turn for the worse, he's eating too many books and too quickly. Henry starts getting sick to his stomach, and everything he's learned starts getting all mixed up to the point where he can't even speak two words straight.  Sad that he must stop eating books, everything changes when he opens a book up and actually begins to read it. "And it was SO good." Henry seems cured of his strange book eating addiction, but the fact that the last pages of the book are chewed up, lets us believe he might still take a nibble here and there.
     The Incredible Book-Eating Boy is a fun and quirky book.  The illustrations are drawn over pages of old books and they provide a rich background to entertain the readers with extra details not seen at first glance.  It is also a great read aloud that captivates listeners with its clever story line.  This is just the first of many more Oliver Jeffers' books I will be reading.  Great find.

How Rocket Learned to Read

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
Illustrated by Tad Hills
2010
Ages 3-7

     Rocket just wants to take a nap, but the little bird is ready to start her lesson.  Rocket tries to ignore little bird but soon he finds himself enthralled in the story little bird is reading outloud. So Rocket becomes bird's student and while learning the alphabet and spelling, he enjoys listening to stories...until he learns to read them himself.
     How Rocket Learned to Read connects the power of read alouds to the magic of a teacher whose love of books becomes contagious.  If your Rocket decides he would rather listen to you read than play with bones or take naps, you are sending him down the road to become a lifelong reader.  The love for words starts way before we can read them.