The Learned Owl Book Shop

This Friday, November 26th from 3 to 4 p.m., I will read and sign copies of my books at the charming independent bookstore The Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N Main St. Hudson, Ohio).
If you are in the Cleveland or Akron area, and getting annoyed by your relatives, please come by!

A Picture Book Is Worth One Thousand Words

An interesting conversation on picture books on North Carolina Public Radio, in which, among other things, they talk about the book Franklin's Big Dreams, illustrated by my friend Boris Kulikov.

Jennifer Laughran's Picture Book List

Jennifer Laughran started her career in children's books with her first bookstore job, at age 12, and in later years went on to be a buyer and events coordinator for indie bookstores across the country. She is now an agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, focusing on books for children and young adults. Her clients include Daniel Pinkwater, Calef Brown, Matt Faulkner and Kate Messner among others. 

You can follow Jennifer's thoughts on her blog and on Twitter (@literaticat).

Here's what she writes:

This list is only people who are NOT clients and whom I don't know personally, and in no particular order:

LILLY'S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE by Kevin Henkes:  I love all of Kevin Henkes' Mouse books a lot, but this one was the first one I read, and it never fails to make me feel a bit choked up. I love the teacher Mr. Slinger. And I LOVE LILLY and her red boots and movie star sunglasses!

SEVEN SILLY EATERS by Mary Ann Hoberman & Marla Frazee: This is a modern classic about a huge family in which every kid is ridiculously picky about what they will eat, and the frazzled mom who has to keep up with it all. The rhyme is catchy and just perfect - and Marla's illustrations are so, so gorgeous, always.

LITTLE FUR FAMILY by Margaret Wise Brown & Garth Williams: I thought Goodnight Moon was ok, but I LOVED Little Fur Family. "There was a little fur family. Warm as toast, smaller than most, in little fur coats, and they lived in a warm wooden tree." Could anything be cozier and more adorable? OH YES!  Because the little fur child finds "a little tiny tiny fur animal, the littlest fur animal in the world. It had warm silky fur and even a little fur nose."  AHHH SO CUTE!  You can get this in a fake-fur covered "deluxe" edition, which mimics the rabbit-fur bound first edition. Mine was just a falling-apart paperback.

PIERRE by Maurice Sendak: I love pretty much all Maurice Sendak books of course, but I always had a special fondness for Pierre. He is a wretched little misanthrope who doesn't care about anything, much to his parents dismay, and then he gets eaten by a lion. Ha!

MAX MAKES A MILLION / OOH LA LA MAX IN LOVE / MAX IN HOLLYWOOD, BABY / SWAMI ON RYE by Maira Kalman. Max is a poet. Max is a dreamer. Max is a dog. This is 4 books, but it really constitutes a saga: in the first book, New York dog Max sells some poems and gets rich. Then he goes to Paris to find the love of his life and be a real bohemian. Then he gets a film deal and goes out to LA, but with all the money and fame, he gets a big head, so in the final installment, he goes to India to find enlightenment with a guru, and becomes a father. Genius, and truly just as much for grownups as kids.

FABLES by Arthur Lobel.  I loved this book when I was a kid because the fables are quite weird and subversive. And there are a bunch of them, which each constitute their own complete story, so it is like having 20 oddball picture books in one. And there is a bear on the cover wearing a pan for a hat and brown paper bags for shoes.

EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON by Mercer Mayer: My father gave me this storybook when I was probably six or seven, and I found it completely mesmerizing. It is a long, complicated, sad and scary fairy tale, beautifully illustrated. Though the length of the text and painterly quality of the illustrations make this slightly old-fashioned for publishing tastes today, wow, do I wish this style of book would come back into fashion.

TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO by Arlene Mosel & Blair Lent: Apparently this book is considered not "politically correct" nowadays. I still think it is awesome. I remember it as being a favorite for librarian read-aloud time when I was a little one, and our entire classroom delighting in chanting (say it with me): TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO-NO SAH REMBO-CHARI BARI RUCHI-PIP PERI PEMBO (gasp) HAS FALLEN DOWN THE WELL!

MISS NELSON IS MISSING by Harry Allard & James Marshall:  The students in room 207 are terrible and their lovely young teacher can't get them to pay attention. When she vanishes and awful witch Viola Swamp comes in as a substitute, they wish Miss Nelson would come back... But Miss Nelson has a secret of her own (and a creepy black dress in her closet!). This book is so funny, I must have read it a thousand times as a kid.

OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA by Peggy Rathmann: Officer Buckle knows more about safety than anyone else in Napville, and he loves to give presentations about his safety tips to local schools. But nobody else loves his presentations... until his dog Gloria gets into the act, upstaging him in hilarious ways. A sweet story about friendship and sharing the spotlight, as well as totally off-the-wall funny, with hidden gems in every image. And (after learning it the hard way) I will never forget Safety Tip #77: NEVER stand on a swivel chair!

Another nice blogger's review of Broom, Zoom!

The former librarian Susan M.'s blog From Tots to Teens recently posted a wonderful review of Broom, Zoom! in which she points out, among other things, that while this book is about a witch and a monster and the moon, it is definitely not a Halloween book.  They do not reference the holiday at all, making it a wonderful book for sharing and reading at any time during the year.


Thank you!


P.S.: only one note: while it is true that the color was done digitally, the line was my usual good old pen & ink on paper!

Aaron Zenz's Picture Book List

Aaron Zenz has illustrated 12 books to date, two of which he also wrote: The Hiccupotamus and the forthcoming Chuckling Ducklings.  He runs a family book review blog with his kids called Bookie Woogie: his family has around 3000 children's titles in their personal collection. 

Take a look at his website.

These are ten of Aaron's favorite picture books:

10.  LEONARDO THE TERRIBLE MONSTER by Mo Willems
A main character with great personality.  The use of space in the compositions is bold and brilliant.  Flawless story beats and perfectly placed page turns.

9.  THE SPOOKY OLD TREE by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Regardless of how a person feels about the direction the "Bears" books eventually took (whether good or bad), I dare you to revisit this title and evaluate it on its own merits.  It does indeed rock.

8.  THE THREE PIGS by David Wiesner
I love metafiction, and this book is perhaps - perhaps - the only example to surpass Grover's classic "Monster at the End of this Book."  Leave it to David Wiesner...

7.  WHO NEEDS DONUTS? by Mark Alan Stamaty
The art is a shock to the system.  Stunning.  Overwhelming.  Crazy.  You could spend a lifetime combing the pictures.  And the story is equally absurd and delightful with great themes and text-echoes.

6.  SHARK AND LOBSTER'S AMAZING UNDERSEA ADVENTURE by Viviane Schwarz
So.  Much.  Fun.  This is how you tell a story.

5.  THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO AND POLO by Dieter Wiesmuller
My favorite illustrations in any book.  Crisp cools, rich warms.  Lush and lavish.

4.  THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan
No other book like it.  It's epic.  It doesn't just "tell" an immigrant's story, it magically (or I suppose, skillfully) brings us INTO the very experience.

3.   THE CINDER-EYED CATS by Eric Rohmann
The images are so powerful, it would have been a great wordless book.  It's the picture book that captured my heart, compelling me to create my own worlds.  For that I will always be thankful.

2.  SHADOW by Suzy Lee
This book JUST came out, but already it rocketed high up my list of favorite books of all time, and will stay there for all foreseeable future.  Wow, wow, wow.  Full of drama, beauty, emotion, enchantment, play...  How did she achieve all this in 32 pages???   It is so perfect, I've wanted to cry while reading it. 

1.  BLACK AND WHITE by David Macaulay
After the Bible, it's my favorite book of any kind.  Four stories?  One story?  Who knows.  The number of interconnecting details from story to story seems limitless.  I've discovered some new hidden surprise literally every time I've revisited the book.  The sheer number of playful components that tie this book together, then pull it apart, only to tie it back together, always keeps it at the top of my list.

Annie Beth Ericsson's Picture Book List

Annie Beth Ericsson is a design assistant at G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin Young Readers Group), a recent graduate of Pratt Institute, and the illustrator of board books What's In My Garden? and What's In My Toybox?.  She chronicles her experiences in becoming a children's book illustrator and designer on her blog, Walking In Public.  Annie lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she spends a lot of time painting watercolors of sea turtles (and other creatures). You can view her illustration work on her website.

These are Annie Beth's top 10 favorite picture books:
 

RECHENKA'S EGGS by Patricia Polacco - This is my favorite picture book of all time.  While Polacco's more familiar Chicken Sunday never fails to make me sniffle, I prefer this equally heartwarming story of the old babushka finding an unlikely companion in a wounded goose and her miraculously-painted Ukranian eggs.

THE YEAR OF THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE by Barbara Cooney - The one I have to read every Christmas Eve. I always insisted on finding a Balsam fir, just like Ruthie and her Mama brought to the village from high on the rocky crags.  I still cry every time Mama makes Ruthie an angel costume from her wedding dress "the color of cream, all trimmed with ribbons and lace", and again, when Ruthie's father comes home from the war just in time to see her in it.

ELOISE by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight - Of all classic children's books, to me, this is the best-best-best. Her language is uniquely hilarious, and Knight's illustrations literally scamper across the page with gusto. She's the ultimate exciting, mischevious bad-girl. Oooooo I absolutely love her!

MIRETTE ON THE HIGH WIRE by Emily Arnold McCully - I wrote my college admissions essay on how much this book inspired me to dream big.  Mirette's intrepid balancing act, her fear of falling, and her ultimate conquering of the tightrope and stepping into the sky? It's all a metaphor, baby.

THE PAPER BAG PRINCE by Colin Thompson - Nestled in an endless world of trash is the bittersweet story of recycling and rebirth for both discarded people and things. The illustrations are easily the most complex I've ever seen, and I always discover something new and beautiful in the piles of junk.

THE STORY OF MAY by Mordecai Gerstein - Forget Hop On Pop... this was the first book I read on my own. Something about the soothing, cyclical journey of little May traveling through her family of months was the perfect bedtime story.  I used to go through the year over and over again... 'til I actually started reading!

CHRYSANTHEMUM by Kevin Henkes - Of the many, many Henkes books that I adore, it was tough to choose between mice like Lilly and Owen. But something just kept saying in my head, "Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum!" What can I say... she's one of a kind.

ISH - by Peter H. Reynolds - Artists are often their own worst critics, and sometimes they need a little encouragement from others.  When I feel like my work isn't measuring up, all I have to do is take a look at Reynolds' whimsical illustrations and remember that it's okay to be "ish"!

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KID IN THE WORLD by Jennifer A. Ericsson, illustrated by Susan Meddaugh - I'd be crazy if I didn't mention the picture book about me, written by my mother (a children's book author). As the story goes, I loved to dress up in weird outfits, and busted them out at some inopportune moments, like fancy dinner parties. I may have outgrown the tutu, but this book captured my individuality in print for the rest of my childhood!

MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS by Robert McCloskey - Since Boston is the closest city to my hometown, I not only grew up with this story, but I experienced it annually by making the trek during the city's Duckling Day Parade. McCloskey's sensitive sepia drawings are nothing short of perfect, and I'll be cheering on the little homeward-bound ducks for generations.

Library of the Early Mind

The other night I went to the New York Public Library for the screening of the interesting documentary Library of the Early Mind. a collection of interviews with children's book writers, illustrators, editors and historians.
Here's a brief note on the pleasant evening.