A picture book is a small door to the enormous world of the visual arts, and they’re often the first art a young person sees.  Tomie dePaola

The crayons are back! Drew Daywalt brought young readers into the world of crayons when he brought them to life in his award winner, The Day the Crayons Quit. Children laughed out loud at the antics of the colors. Who can forget yellow crayon and orange crayon bickering over which is the true color of the sun and writing to their owner, Duncan, to complain? Daywalt once again teamed up with illustrator, Oliver Jeffers, in The Day the Crayons Came Home (Philomel). This time Duncan receives postcards in the mail from his crayons. Orange crayon and yellow crayon aren’t arguing anymore because they were left outside in the sun and they are melted together. They want to be rescued and brought home.

Another recent addition to our collection that features the use of a crayon is Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite (Nosy Crow/Candlewick) by Nicola O’Byrne, illustrated by Nick Bromley. A crocodile intrudes on the story of The Ugly Duckling and starts eating the letters in the book. His favorite letters are O and S, and as he munches them, it becomes difficult to continue the story. The reader can get physically involved in the book by rocking and shaking the crocodile. This is great fun to share with our youngest readers. Older children who enjoyed Chester by Melanie Watts might also like to check these out.

Dr. Seuss

Years after he wrote his books, Theodore Seuss Geisel continues to be a favorite author for young and old alike. Whether you are a child enjoying his books for the first time or an adult finding deeper meaning in them, his talent is obvious. Born in Springfield, MA and a graduate of Dartmouth College, Geisel was a political cartoonist before he became famous for his children’s books. While many of his books have a moral to them or feature a character who has integrity, empathy, or determination, Geisel said, “…kids can see a moral coming a mile off…” While his writing is fun, and even silly with made-up words, it is quite sophisticated as he wrote in a poetic meter of four rhythmic units.

In 2014, a new collection of Seuss’ “lost” stories was published, Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories (Random). Charles D. Cohen, an expert on Seuss, introduces a number of stories that had been published in various magazines during Geisel’s life. This new collection is a sequel of sorts to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (Random, 2011).

In 1997, the National Education Association suggested using Geisel’s birthday, March 2, as “Read Across America Day”.

Photo of Dr. Seuss from Wikipedia

No, I’m not writing about The Grammy Awards or the The Oscars. The most exciting event in the world of children’s literature is the annual announcement of the Caldecott Award and the Newbery Award. This past Monday wasn’t just Groundhog Day, it was also when the American Library Association announced the 2015 Caldecott and Newbery winners and honor books.

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.  (From the ALA webpage)

It was a banner year for picture books in 2014, and the Caldecott Committee named the winner and chose 6 honor books. 6 honor books!

The Caldecott 2015 winner is The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat (Little, Brown 2014). Many children go through a stage of having an imaginary friend, and Santat’s story celebrates the joy a young child may have with this special friend. Beekle helps Alice to be brave and venture into the world of real friends, which was previously “unimaginable”.

The honor books are:

Nana in the City, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo ( Clarion Books)
The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art, illustrated by Mary GrandPré, written by Barb Rosenstock (Alfred A. Knopf)
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett (Candlewick Press)
Viva Frida, illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales ( Roaring Brook Press)
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant ( Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)
This One Summer, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, written by Mariko Tamaki (First Second)

Clifford the Big Red Dog was first published in 1963 by Scholastic, and it has remained in publication ever since. Numerous other Clifford titles have joined this first treasure written by Norman Bridwell. The beloved author passed away in December 2014.

When Bridwell talked about his school years in a Scholastic interview, he said, “I always liked to draw, but I was never considered very good. In school there was always someone better than me; the art teacher always liked their work better than mine. Teachers didn’t like my writing either.”

After school, as he was struggling to be an illustrator, a publisher suggested that he write his own book to go with his drawings, and Clifford was born. Bridwell said that as a child, he had a fantasy of owning a really big dog. In his first book, he decided to exaggerate Clifford’s size to match how affectionate and eager-to-please he truly was. The author also admitted that Clifford’s color was quite by chance because he happened to have a jar of red paint on his desk when he first drew him.

Bridwell wanted to name the dog Tiny. His wife convinced him to use the name Clifford, the name of her own imaginary friend from her childhood. In the books, Clifford’s owner is Emily Elizabeth, the Bridwell’s daughter’s name.

PBS further immortalized Clifford with his own television series. Their Clifford website is entertaining for young children.

(Photo of Bridwell with Clifford from School Library Journal February 2013)

While today’s children may have never seen a steam shovel, or a tractor who pushes a plow, they still respond to the humanity and artwork in Virginia Lee Burton’s books. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Katy and the Big Snow may be books who feature a technology from the past, but today’s children still identify with their engaging stories.

Much of the charm of Virginia Lee Burton’s stories is her artwork that she combines with them. Her use of watercolor, ink, and graphite in many of her books demonstrates her talent. Yet, her publisher also allowed her to design all of her book that not only included the illustrations, but also the choice of typeface and use of space.

Burton’s roots are local as she was born in Newton, MA, although she moved to California when she was 8 years old. When she was 21, she returned to Boston and met her future husband in a drawing class at the Boston Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts. After raising two sons, Virginia founded a textile collective called the Folly Cove Designers on Cape Ann. The designers’ linoleum block print designs received national accolades. That legacy also still remains as a testimony to her talent.

We’ll continue to share Virginia Lee Burton’s talent and storytelling. Whether it’s the predicament in which a small cottage finds itself with The Little House or a train engine who takes off on its own in Choo Choo: The Story of a Little Engine Who Ran Away, or people having their voices heard in our democracy in Maybelle the Cable Car, the tales and art still delight adults as much as children.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of the popular picture book, Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans. The New York Historical Society is celebrating the occasion with an exhibit on the precocious character and her author.

Ludwig Bemelmans lived a full life, not only as an artist and author, but also as a novelist, essayist, and humorist. Born in Austria, he moved to the United States in 1914 where he worked in hotels. When the United States entered World War I, Ludwig enlisted in the Army and became a US citizen. When the war was over, Bemelmans returned to his work in hotels and restaurants.

This talented artist didn’t begin writing until he was 36 years old, when he wrote his first picture book. Readers of all ages are certainly thankful that he did. The character of Madeline is named after his wife and modeled after his daughter. Bemelmans created fifteen books for children, and this mischievous heroine is still the most popular.

Bemelmans contributed his writing and art to many periodicals, most notably, The New Yorker, where he drew many cover illustrations. While he designed Broadway and Hollywood sets, his existing public artwork are murals in the Carlyle Hotel in New York City. The bar has been named “Bemelmans” in his honor.

Readers young and old alike should visit or revisit Bemelmans books.

Madeline exhibit at the New York Historical Society.

*Author biographical information taken from the Madeline website.

A number of years ago, there was a charming picture book that was written by Inga Moore that was called Six-Dinner Sid (Aladdin, 1991). Sid was a very smart and portly cat who lived at number one Aristotle Street. He also lived at number two, three, four, five, and six Aristotle Street. The owners of these homes all thought that Sid was their very own cat, and he ate well at each house every day. Well…Sid was found out when each owner took him to the same vet. They decided that Sid should not eat six dinners a day. Don’t worry about Sid though because this intelligent cat soon remedied that situation.

Fast forward twenty-two years and Tony Johnston shares the same story in The Cat with Seven Names (illustrated by Christine Davenier, Charlesbridge 2013). Johnson developed his cat’s owners more fully. This feline’s adventures brought many people from diverse backgrounds together.

Both books are charming…do check them out!

On a Monday morning in late January, fans of children’s books wait expectantly to learn about the winners of the most prestigious awards in children’s literature. This past Monday, the American Library Association announced the 2014 winners.

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.  (From the ALA webpage)

There were many outstanding picture books that were published in 2013, and I can only imagine the animated discussions that the award committee had. The winner of this year’s Caldecott Medal is Locomotive, written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum, 2013) This non-fiction title might be called an historical picture book, as Floca depicts a family traveling cross country on the iron horse in 1869. Readers will return to this book again and again and discover new details in the watercolor, ink, acrylic, and gouache illustrations.

Three other illustrators were honored – Aaron Becker, Molly Idle, and David Wiesner. Coincidently, all three of the honor books are wordless books, but they are very different from each other.

Becker wrote and illustrated Journey (Candlewick, 2013), and he depicts a lonely girl who draws her way into a magical adventure. The watercolors and pen and ink drawings take the readers from her colorless real world to a colorful imaginative one. Idle’s watercolors with pencil outlines in Flora and the Flamingo (Chronicle, 2013) show a young girl and a flamingo who become friends and dance a pas de deux. I wrote about Mr. Wuffles! (Clarion, 2013) on November 15, 2013. Wiesner’s watercolor and India ink drawings tell the story of a housecat who discovers an out-of-this world toy.

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. (From the ALA webpage)

Kate DiCamillo received the 2014 Newbery Medal for Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (Candlewick, 2013). DiCamillo’s title, Because of Winn Dixie received a Newbery Honor Medal in 2001, and in 2004 she won Newbery’s top award for The Tale of Despereaux. To read more about Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, do check out my blog entry for January 10, 2014.

There were four Newbery Honor Books this year: Doll Bones by Holly Black (Simon & Schuster, 2013), The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes (HarperCollins, 2013), One Came Home by Amy Timberlake (Knopf, 2013), and Paperboy by Vince Vawter (Delacorte, 2013).

There is a very thin line that authors try not to cross when they write a picture book that has a moral to the story. The lesson needs to be obvious enough to their intended audience without being didactic and figuratively hitting the readers over the head to make their point. Pat Zietlow Miller and Trudy Ludwig have produced picture books that demonstrate that concept.

Trudy Ludwig tackles the feelings of a child who feels left out and without friends in The Invisible Boy, illustrated by Patrice Barton (Knopf, 2013). Her protagonist, Brian, is picked last, or never picked for a team. He isn’t invited to birthday parties, and he sits alone at lunch, but Brian is a wonderful artist. When a new boy, Justin, joins his class, Brian reaches out in friendship to him. Justin, who becomes popular with the other children in the class, doesn’t forget this small gesture. When Justin includes Brian in a project, the other children notice Brian for the first time. Patrice Barton’s illustrations depict Brian in black and white while all of the other children are in color. When Justin befriends him, Brian begins to appear in color.

Bully by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook Press, 2013) tackles bullying by using animals. A small bull is treated badly, and he then lashes out at the other animals by calling them names and making them feel bad. With each insult that he launches, he grows in size until the illustration has him extend right off the page. The children, with whom I have shared the book, initiated a discussion of why he enlarged and talked about feelings. There are few words in this picture book, and the children spontaneously read the words, as do the readers in the following video.

A special book that celebrates the holiday season is The Carpenter’s Gift by David Rubel, illustrated by Jim LaMarche (Random House, 2011). While this picture book is a work of fiction, it is based on facts about the tree at Rockefeller Center.

Construction workers who were digging the foundation for the project in New York City erected the first tree in 1931. They were grateful that they had jobs during the Depression, and they wanted to show their appreciation. After pooling their money to purchase the tree, their families decorated it with garlands and handmade ornaments.

The official public viewing of the annual tree began in 1933 when visitors made special trips to see the decorated tree that the property owners erected annually. To this day, the tree at Rockefeller Center is an important New York City holiday tradition. To choose a tree for the display, those in charge travel by helicopter over New Jersey, New York, and New England. When they spot a candidate, they mark the coordinates and make a trip to view the tree from the ground.

Since 2007, the Rockefeller Center tree has been milled, and the wood is donated to Habitat for Humanity. That wood is then used as part of a house that is built by that worthy organization. What a way to celebrate the true meaning of the holiday!

The following clip features the family who donated this year’s tree.