Check Out Timless Titles...Happy Blog-iversary to Me!

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 Here are some links to earlier posts. I've been doing this for a long time. The idea for this post came to mind when i read a a piece in the NEW YORK TIMES, a  turnaround on their doom-and gloom- prediction that picture books had a limited future, were maybe even pointless. That prediction spurred me to launch this blog thirteen years ago this month. Since that launch, picture books have not only survived, they have bloomed, innovated, sustained sales, and continued to build fans among those sitting on laps up through those moving into adulthood. Picture books are wide-ranging and usually indicate target ages or contents. Picture books are a distinct format/form that allows for communication unlike any other approach. Click above  on my blog note if you are interested in reading my brief thesis on the matter. Click PICTURE BOOKS if you'd like to see some of the best picture books of 2024.

It's gratifying to know that my deeply held belief in the value and wide uses picture books has been confirmed. I also appreciate having developed many consistent readers. My posts have included recent releases over that time, some of which were award winners and many of which have found firm footing in their  publishers' catalogues. (Sustaining sales over a decade or more is a huge accomplishment in today's book business.)

I will link (below) to several past favorites in this post. Feel free to  explore any of my other prior posts by using the ARCHIVES tab on the right column, or typing a key work or author into the search bar. I welcome your comments and reactions, on this post or prior ones. ENJOY!

Some terrific biographies, from about decade ago: HERE.

A few classic "dealing with a bully" books: HERE.

I've been lucky to include some great author or illustrator interviews. Here's a favorite.

Many picture books that draw my closest attention combine informative text with beautifully lyrical language. Here's one you should really give a close look.

As I scrolled back through posts from these many years I was struck not just by the continuing success of picture books (in the publishing world that means steady/growing sales), but also the ever-escalating quality of newer releases. The bar for excellence gets higher and higher, and the creators and publishers continue to strive, achieve, and surpass. This week the American Library Association held their annual announcement of award winning books/media for young people (birth through twenty). You can find more information, including a video of the announcements to share with your students, and the full list of winners HERE to put on your hold list or wish lists.

(I'll be sharing some of the picture book winners and honors in a post soon, but don't wait!)

Celebrating CYBILS: Poetry Titles You Won't Want to Miss

In case you missed it, my previous post was a celebratory thank you to readers marking the SIX YEAR BLOGIVERSARY of this site. One unexpected bonus from sustaining and developing this blog is that it led me to serve for the last three years on the CYBILS AWARDS round one panels: picture book fiction in 2015, picture book nonfiction in 2016, and poetry in 2017. My preference for working as a ROUND ONE panelist won't surprise readers here or others who know me: I dread the pressure of naming a single "Best" or "Favorite" or "Winner" of anything, but especially in the realm of books. Even narrowing the field can be stressful, and has been in each of these categories. 

This year I was faced with an even tricker issue: POETRY nominees spanned everything from preschool rhyming books to YA/teen novels in verse. 

Whew! 

The process made for some incredibly entertaining and inspiring reading, but decisions were nearly overwhelming. To see what I mean, check out the full list of poetry nominees, click here. Our finalists, now under consideration as the 2017 poetry winner, can be seen here, and I recommend ALL as wonderful reads. 

To make things a bit easier, though, I'll post here some brief notes about some of the picture books among the nominees that I particularly enjoyed, even if they didn't make the cut to be named as a finalist. I'm also sharing them here as an advance "I told you so" when upcoming awards are presented and some of these are among them. Trust me, they are REALLY good reads!

National Geographic

Up first, take a look at the gorgeously photographed and written ANIMAL ARK: Celebrating Our Wide World in Poetry and Pictures, by Kwame Alexander and Joel Sartore.
Breathtaking, truly stunning photography is no surprise when it is produced by National Geographic. The angles, perspectives, lighting, fold-outs, and EYES of these gorgeous creatures will make it a favorite across ages and interests. Kwame Alexander's use of free form Haiku works well to provide minimal but superbly selected words, as sharply hypnotic as the images.

Candlewick Press

Compare that with another amazing animal book, filled with images that will entrance and enchant readers of any age: SONG OF THE WILD:  A First Book of Animals, by Nicola Davies and Petr Horacek.
Without a doubt this is a gorgeous book of illustrations, sized to be a colorful tabletop book and to appeal to young eyes. Its bulk (and cursive text, complex organization) mean it will work best with support from adults. Even so, the various individual entries/descriptions will be favored or less favored throughout the book. At least that was my reaction. The organizing approach should make it well-suited to the youngest (Size/Color and Shape/Homes/Babies/Action) but it offers too little for older readers (no index, resources, or other back matter) and too much for the youngest to grasp the categorical approach due to lack of relative scale among the entries. 
Despite those concerns, this will hit a sweet spot for kids who are zoo fans, who can manage some independent reading, and who engage with the lush art and the lyrical lines that appear on various pages.

Both books are keepers, in the sense that young folks will want to explore them again and again, potentially wearing out the bindings, but treasuring them as books to share with their own children and grandchildren. Both, though, focus on full-scale animals with minimal attention to tiny creepy-crawlies. For that, turn to CRICKET IN THE THICKET: Poems About Bugs, written by Carol Murray and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. 
When it comes to content-specific picture books, this one has it all. The poetry is a delightful mix of rhymed and unrhymed verse utilizing varied forms. Melissa Sweet works her illustration magic on each double spread, shifting perspective, embedding numerous scientific elements within gorgeous and appealing images. The "Cricket Notes" in back matter elaborate (accessibly) on the brief info-box sidebars for each insect poem. Even cockroach and mosquito are equal parts intrigue and yuk-factor, with visual details that lend both accuracy and personality to these typically repulsive critters.This offers something for everyone- sparking curiosity, utilizing specific vocabulary, and charming readers on repeated readings and explorations.

Stay tuned for more suggestions in future posts, and I'll include several of those non-picture-book verse novels. For now, though, take a deep dive into any/all of these three books. Be prepared for an eye-popping, ear-pleasing, exhilarating feast of poetry.

Happy Blog-iversary To Me!

I'll keep this short and sweet. 

It was exactly SIX YEARS ago that I launched this picture book blog, feeling very much like I'd be writing-into-the-void, so to speak. Even so, I wanted, needed, to go on record, in a public space, about the importance of picture books in the lives of readers. I wanted to share some of the latest and greatest titles, as well as some older classics and hidden gems. 

In the process I've written many reviews, engaged in some remarkable author and illustrator interviews, and risked sharing some personal reflections with folks out in the vast web-o-sphere. 

That last process, personal reflection in a public space, is the most challenging for me. I'm a very private person. Surprisingly, those have been some of the most often viewed posts. 

Even more surprisingly, over the years this blog has published 275 posts and had nearly 150,000 discreet page views. If asked  how many views I expected when I began six years ago, I would have said, maybe, 150? Period.That's not modesty, simply the truth. There are plenty of blogs that get thousands of views per day, but I was never swimming in that cyber-pool. 
And yet some of you have found this blog, some subscribe to receive the posts as a blog-feed, and some have even shared my posts with friends. Many of you have commented on posts over the years.

Thank you all. 

Here's a virtual slice of cake to each of you!

My next post will be in a day or two, launching the start of another new blogging year. For now, though, I invite you to read my original post, here. You'll notice that I encouraged readers to engage in conversations through the comments, and that door is always open. If you are new to the blog, you may want to scroll through the archives or favorites and read some of the posts along the way. Your comments are welcome there, too. 

Finally, I urge everyone to ask yourselves what it is you want to share with the wider world. Then take a deep breath and give it a go. I was terrified to begin this blog, and knew very little about how to do it. I made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I have no regrets.  I'm convinced you'll feel stronger and braver and happier if you follow your inner voice, too. 

And years from now you'll look at the calendar and marvel, marking the date when your adventure began. Good luck, and happy new year!

Overcoming Fears... and a Giveaway!

And the winner is.... Cathy Stephanic Ogren! Hooray for you and your young readers. 
Love it if you'd stop back and let us know how they like it.
When I was just five years old my best friend lived half a block away. We both had older siblings and made it our mission to do anything and everything they did. That included having sleepovers. The first time we tried, though, with Cricket at my house, she woke screaming in the middle of the night. Through her sobs we figured out that she had wakened, seen a white robe hanging on the back of the door, and thought it was a ghost. Even with the lights on and  the robe examined, she was convinced there was a ghost in the room. After a phone call Dad carried her home to safety. Of course we had countless sleepovers after that without incident.

 This experience reminds me that the power of imagination, which we encourage and celebrate, can also work against us. A few years later, when we moved to a home with a stairway landing, my own imagination gave me some trouble. As a "morning" person I never resisted going to bed early, but it took my own superpowers to allow me to do so without asking for help. I was convinced that once the stairs disappeared from sight beyond the landing, night creatures were hiding in the walls and could reach out to grab me as I passed in the dark. 
Ta-Da! I solved this my deciding that they were small creatures, so I could stay safely centered on the stairs, just out of reach from either side! I can't say I wasn't afraid anymore, but I no longer felt helpless. There were things I could do (and believe) that allowed me to reach my goal.

Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2011

SUPERHERO JOE, by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, drawn by Ron Barrett, offers readers a similar example of how imagination can be both an enemy and a friend.

I see this book as serving a very specific purpose: empowering those kids who, by their nature, experience anxiety/fear out of proportion to reality. While there are plenty of kids who are scary-brave in their approach to life, there are many others who limit themselves through their own imagination. In a culture that requires responsible adults to be watchful and convey concerns to kids, it's no wonder some see danger at every turn.
Weitzman and Barrett have tapped into this mentality with tongue-in-cheek humor, providing a model of a boy who harnesses his inner super powers to conquer his everyday fears.   

To celebrate my first blogiversary, I'm giving away a copy of SUPERHERO JOE. You can enter by commenting on this post, on titles/authors you'd like to read about in the year ahead, or even sharing a time when your own imagination worked against you.

1. Enter by leaving a comment below or on the contact page.
2. Winner's mailing address must be in the US.
3. Provide an email or twitter contact, or watch for winner's name to be announced here and on twitter. (@PBWorkshop)
4. Deadline- Friday, January 11, 11:00 PM CST.  Winner will be announced on Saturday.