Shel Silverstein isn’t the only author of what have become classic kids books to have a new book coming out. Maurice Sendak, the beloved writer and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, has just published a book about 9-year-old Bumble-ardy, an orphaned pig who as never had a birthday party.

Terri Gross interviewed Sendak for NPR’s show Fresh Air and the 83-year-old talks about what he was going through in his personal life while creating Bumble-ardy. His longtime partner, Eugene Glynn, was dying of lung cancer. Continue reading »

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A snapshot of the scroll sent to the Times.

Here’s a feel-good story for your Friday: The New York Times recently received, “in a tube sent by postal mail… a 15-foot-long scroll to the editor” sent by students at Birch Lane Elementary School in Davis, CA.  The scroll is covered in hand prints and student signatures, along with a note that reads, “We believe picture books are essential to the development of life-long readers and learners.”  The scroll was sent in response to the Times‘ coverage of waning sales of picture books.

Back in October, when the original piece was published in the Times, Sierra wrote, “I pick up a copy of Goodnight Moon, and it’s like I’m holding my baby again.”  I totally agree.  My daughter and I still read lots of picture books, even though she’s 5 1/2 and she can read chapter books silently.  My daughter loves hearing me read to her, and to be honest – I love looking at the illustrations in picture books maybe even more than she does.  I find it super-relaxing, like a loving lava lamp at the end of a long day.

Here are a few of our favorite picture books: Continue reading »

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Books for children are rarely subtle. Points are made clearly, obviously, and over and over again. You may also experience a certain amount of repetition when it comes to the reading of these books, as children are sometimes known to request the same book more than once (or more than a hundred times).

In the process, you are likely to develop a deep understanding of the message the author was trying to convey. Sometimes so deep that you feel the point of the story has etched marks on the inside of your skull. If you’re an impatient and easily bored parent like me, you might find yourself wishing the books were just a little bit… shorter.

In which case you will appreciate the work of Dan Wilbur, who has compiled a collection of the world’s greatest books, distilled down to their very essences. As in: a newly revised title, meant to encapsulate the entire message of the book.

See, for example, his take on Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, at left.

See more kids’ favorites after the jump.  Continue reading »

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A Great Holiday Pick!

When it comes to holiday gifts, or any gift for that matter, I’m extremely, painfully, ridiculously predictable.  I give books.  I have one friend who gets a cookbook from me every year on her birthday.  Every so often my brother tells me he read a book I gave him five years ago.  But the beauty of kids books is you can guarantee at least a couple of readings even if the little one doesn’t fall in love with the story.

Still, just like I get in a book rut with giving books, I can get in a rut with the books I give. With books for children, I definitely have my go-tos, so I was delighted by the 10 excellent new titles over on Babble’s children’s book guide for the holidays. With everything from picture books to YA choices, it has something for everyone. Continue reading »

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Ferdinand goes his own way

Ursula Nordstrom wanted to accomplish one thing in her job as children’s book editor: publish good books for bad children. And she did. Lots of them.

But she’s not the editor behind the Wimpy Kid books or Captain Underpants. Nordstrom aimed for subversive kids lit decades ago. From 1940 to 1973, she brought to print much of what we consider the canon for children, works like Where the Wild Things Are, Charlotte’s Web and Harriet the Spy. See? Not just funny or gross-0ut stuff. But books with characters that encourage kids to think for themselves. Continue reading »

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Picture books make lasting memories

Picture books are for babies. Or so you’d think looking at children’s reading programs. Parents and teachers are pushing kids into chapter books at younger ages, while picture books languish on bookstore shelves.

Educational experts and bookstore owners are wringing their hands about this in the pages of the New York Times. The kids need their picture books, it stimulates a certain type of brain activity, etc.

Picture books also make the best memories. I can open up the beloved picture books from my childhood, many of which I still have, and bedtime comes flooding back. The same is true now with my daughters: I pick up a copy of Goodnight, Moon, and it’s like I’m holding my baby again.

Here are five picture books I wouldn’t want my kids to be without. What are your top 5 must-reads? Leave them in the comments.

1. Continue reading »

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Sierra Black, 2009

Childhood, as it survives in my memory, was one long golden afternoon spent lost in the stacks of my local library. I’m blessed with kids of my own now, one of whom just discovered the magic of libraries for herself.

Between the library and our own large book collection, the kids don’t lack for reading material. Here’s my short list of books I’d want handy if I were trapped on a desert island with a preschooler. Continue reading »

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