Dystopian Goodnight Moon

Hilarious review of Goodnight Moon!

"Set in a dystopian future in which genetically engineered animals have devoured humanity, GOODNIGHT MOON is told from the perspective of a unseen, dying victim of the ravenous hordes. As he reflects on the scene with his last breaths, MOON provides a terrifying eulogy for the human race."

New ST books

So I did 2 brand new picturebooks in my preschool STs this morning, both of which worked well.

The Foggy Foggy Forest (Sharratt, of Shark in the Park fame) uses vellum/wax paper (or something like that) to great effect. The recto shows a silhouette (in the "fog") and asks, "what can this be in the foggy, foggy forest?" The verso then reveals a funny image with an accompanying rhyme ("Goldilocks with a candy box"). This book turned out to be very interactive, and a lot of fun to do.

Wow! Said the Owl (Hopgood) is a quieter story about a young owl who takes a nap at night so she can stay awake all day. She is wowed by all the colors present in the world during sunlight hours, seeing leaves, sky, clouds, butterflies, and (of course) a rainbow, among other things. The illustrations are the best part of the book, suitably wowing in their depictions of the wide-eyed owl and his world. This story worked ok for 3-5 year olds, but I think it would be perfect for 2-3 year olds.

Proud Mama

I read Roald Dahl's "The Enormous Crocodile" to the Book Buzz kids and they stayed with me through the whole long story! It helped that Rosie held a copy of the book up while I read from another copy, otherwise I would have had all those kids in my lap looking at the pictures!

Newbery contender?

I'm almost done reading "When You Reach Me" and you're right, it's very good and if it wins will be deserved but I did read another good book that has gotten alot of buzz. "When the Whistle Blows" is told in 7 vignettes all on All Hallows' Eve and the main character, Jimmy Cannon's father's birthday. Set in West Virginia in the 1940's Jimmy loves the big steam engines that are the life of his small hometown but change is a comin' in the way of Diesel engines

and the relationship between Jimmy and his father. Each story is complete on it's own and also adds to the general story line that unfolds throughout the book to it's climatic end.

It sort of reminded me of my grandparents town where I spent two weeks out of every summer when I was a child and every Memorial Day for the last twelve years or so, celebrating my Grandmother's birthday. This town was also very dependent on the railroad and has been dying ever since the railroad pulled out.

You're rooting for Jimmy to graduate and get out of this town!

I think this would be a great book for older boys, Rory has it on hold next so I'll be anxious to see what other's think of it.

Course, we knew this already...

Even more reasons to promote our graphic novels--they're great early reading tools! Course, we knew this already.

Take that NY Times! And that! And this!

I found this reaction on Mimi Smartypants really good (and funny, of course). Sharing here at Heather's request :) She's a Chicago blogger with a voracious 6 year-old reader - maybe we need to invite them to peruse our collection since it sounds like they sometimes come up short locally.

http://mimismartypants.com/2009/10/26/three-minutes-for-your-teeth/

READERS AND YELLERS
I have a mixed fascination with this New Yorker article about current trends in children’s books. On the one hand, the author definitely has a grumpy undercurrent of “kids these days,” which always makes me knee-jerk cranky. On the other hand, he is sort-of kind-of on to something there.
Really, I am not a fan of the “behavior books” in general. If you’re having a problem with tantrums or whining, I suppose seeking out picture books about it is one tactic, but there is something a little backhanded about seeking to instruct your child about basic behavior expectations through literature instead of through, you know, parenting. I’d feel like Chairman Mao or the Thought Police if I relied on books to convey all my attitudes about correct behavior. Books should be more fun than that.
Not to mention that the wrong book at the wrong time could give them Ideas. When Nora was a toddler, some well-meaning but misguided person gave her a book about not biting, which I promptly put in the giveaway pile because Nora had never bitten anyone in her life. Why would I read that to her? Pssst…guess what? If you get really mad you can BITE MOMMY!
On the other hand, this part of the article really resonated with me:
It’s possible to find something sinister in the effort to hide half your emotional spectrum from your children. Sometimes it might be a good thing for a kid to hear, instead of polite evasions, an honest, full-throated “Cut it out!”
Indeed. The few times in my life I have resolved to be extra-special Cartman’s-mom sweet to my kid, I have ended up losing it worse than if I had just reacted normally. I don’t think I’m all that unusual in that regard, either. And which is scarier: sugary-syrup mom who suddenly goes BATSHIT RAGEFUL, or a mom who gets irritated sometimes? You know, like a human?

regifting

Don't forget (and this is mostly full-timers and librarians, though everyone is welcome to contribute titles!) that we're meeting THIS MONDAY, the 9th, to discuss our picks for the 2009 gift bib.

I love that we do this every year because (besides the latest DOAWK) many people might not have the first idea about what kind of books to buy their favorite children.

My latest find...What's Wrong With My Hair? Kids can actually put their faces in the cutouts and see what they look like with Lionel's latest 'do. We don't have it, though...we should!

Fly Away

Scroll down about half the entry to find one librarian's response to the initial Balloon Boy reports: Kids Who Fly

I'm trying to decide if it's incredibly tacky or marvelously creative. We just sat around and laughed in horror, she did something with it...