The Ring Bearer By Floyd Cooper Philomel Books (an imprint of Penguin Books USA) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0399167409 Ages 4-7 On shelves now. Decent, hard-working, necessary picture books are, in many ways, the hardest books I review. Decency, should anyone ask, is not exciting. Deplorable books are exciting. Madcap horrendous books are exciting. Dirty, indecent, awful, […]
Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters By Oliver Jeffers Philomel (an imprint of Penguin) $26.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-16791-1 Ages 6 and up On shelves now Beware ever becoming a brand, my sweet, for that way lies nothing but unhappiness and ruin. Or not. I think the only real and true problem with […]
Absolutely Almost By Lisa Graff Philomel (an imprint of Penguin) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-16405-7 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. In the stage musical of Matilda, lyricist Tim Minchin begins the show with the following lines about the state of children today: “Specialness is de rigueur. / Above average is average. Go fig-ueur! / Is it some […]
The Day the Crayons Quit By Drew Daywalt Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers Philomel (an imprint of Penguin) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-25537-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. It is possible to read too much into a picture book. A funny statement since what were talking about is literature for people who haven’t even seen a decade of […]
On to Viking! Viking This year I have carefully been keeping track of all the books that Kirkus stars. This is partially because Kirkus doesn’t star all that many things and partly because I like their taste. When I get a chance I go out, locate the starred books and read them through. One such […]
Hopper and Wilson By Maria van Lieshout Philomel Books (a division of Penguin) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-25184-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. Inspiration comes in a variety of different forms though family is probably best source. One author might write a picture book and make all the monsters in it the relatives they knew growing up. […]
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