Old Ramon

It's great to see the older Newbery Honor books brought back into print from time to time. This boy and dog story is a good example of a worthy "it's time to grow up" story. Jack Schaefer (who also wrote Shane) writes with a spare style that is a good match for this adventure in the Southwest desert. Who would be a good choice to do new illustrations for Old Ramon?

The Woman With the Eggs

Our generation has been said to be the first to grow up on slogans rather than proverbs. To our loss. One way to combat that omission is to read picture books, especially those serving up folklore. In 1836, when he was thirty years old, Hans Christian Andersen published a simple poetic version of the proverb--Don't count your chickens before they hatch. In 1974 Jan Wahl and Ray Cruz teamed up to put that poem into what is probably the most colorful picture book I have seen. This out-of-print, hard-to-find book is, of course, available to borrow from the Mason County Christian School library.

Uncle Elephant

Arnold Lobel's 1981 "I Can Read Book" is the perfect introduction to chapter books; definitely a Don't Miss Book for Kindergarten. When a little elephant's mother and father are lost at sea, he learns many important things from his kindly uncle, things he would not have learned apart from his (temporary) orphan experience.

Clever Beyond Words

So, with more than 200 different A-B-C books on the shelf, why get excited about a slim, 25 year old title that showed up yesterday?
Because What's Inside? The Alphabet Book by Satoshi Kitamura is great fun for both parents and kids. Full of engaging animals, music, color and surprises, this one passes the test--you'll want to read and re-read it.
Available to borrow, of course, from the Mason County Christian School library.

As Tove Jansson used to say...

"My mother made illustrations and dust covers for books all day long and well into the night. Every book she contributed to she got free when it was published, our bookcases grew all over the walls and I read without restriction, anything and anywhere, with pocket flashlights under the bedcovers and on the dumpsters down in the yard if I was told to get some fresh air. If any book was really unsuitable for a child my mother only had to say, "that one you should read, it is very instructive, to ensure that I didn't...The happiest childhood is, I think, the one which offers both security and excitement...In my books...if there are any greys they are not the colour of gloom but rather those half tones necessary for the unspoken, the hidden. In a book for children I think there should always be something left unexplained and without any illustration. There should be a path at which the writer respectfully stops to let the child continue alone."
Tove Jansson, winner of the 1966 Hans Christian Andersen Medal,in Third Book of Junior Authors, 1972

The Silver Whistle

Anita Silvey probably wearies over being second-guessed as to which writers to include in her terrific book The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators. But really, how can you ignore Jay Williams? Co-author of the popular Danny Dunn series and author of many picture books, Williams teamed with illustrator Friso Henstra on The Silver Whistle. A clever twist on the poor, plain girl gets the rich prince story, this book is just too good to miss, and much better overall than most of the predictable, frequently inane recently published books.
A title in the Parents' Magazine Press series that competed with the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club, The Silver Whistle is available to borrow from the Mason County Christian School library.

weekly Weekly Reader review #2: The Violin Man

Based on the true story of Luigi Tarisio, who traveled through the towns and villages of Italy in the 1880s searching for lost Stradivarius violins.
So what can be said for Maureen Brett Hooper's pleasant, but largely unremarkable story? Three remarks, actually: 1. We learn a little about violins in general and Stradivarius in particular. 2. It could help kids realize how different their lives are compared to children their own ages in other times and places. 3. It models patience in both action and conversation.
Not a classic, but not bad, not bad at all. 1991. Available for check out from the Mason County Christian School Library/Weekly Reader Collection