Archive for April, 2007

top five

Last summer I completed my quest of reading all 69 Caldecott Medal winners. Since then, one of my favorite children’s book authors and illustrators, David Wiesner, won the 2007 Caldecott Medal for Flotsam.

The Caldecott Medal is primarily recognition for outstanding art and illustrations, though how these illustrations work with the text of the book is a factor in its excellence. In my own list of favorites, text plays heavily into how much I like the book – almost equal in importance. Thus my list is more of a list of my picks for all around brilliance and personal all time favorites out of the 70 Medal winners.

1. Where the Wild Things Are written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. (1964 Medal)
This is one of the most beloved children’s books of all time, and holds top spot in my heart as well. Every word, picture, and detail is imaginative and perfect.

2. Many Moons written by James Thurber and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. (1944 Medal)
James Thurber is just as brilliant and funny while telling a children’s story. Slobodkin’s pen and color illustrations are squiggly and charming. I have no idea why someone felt the need to release a later version with different illustrations. Why redo a Caldecott winner? This is the story of a Princess named Lenore who is sick and wants the moon to make her feel well again. The story is hilarious, and the moral is wise: perspective is everything.

3. May I Bring a Friend? written by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers and illustrated by Beni Montresor. (1965 Medal)
This is a cute story of a king and queen who are friends with a small boy and invite him to meals. The boy always asks if he can bring a friend. The answer is always yes, even though he keeps bringing zoo animals as his guests! The illustrations are grand and expressive – they do a great job showing how over the top and funny it is to have animals at the dinner table.

4. Fables written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. (1981 Medal)
I love Arnold Lobel (the imagination behind Frog and Toad), and this book is my favorite of his. Each spread is a different fable, one side for the story, and one side for the accompanying illustration. The fables are funny and creative, and they each have a fitting moral at the end. The illustrations are of the same beautiful style as the Frog and Toad books.

5. Song and Dance Man written by Karen Ackerman and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. (1989 Medal)
This is a beautifully sweet story of a grandfather revisiting his youthful days to people who appreciate it as if it were new: his grandchildren. Grandpa was a vaudeville song and dance man, and revives his music and jokes to entertain his loving audience of three. The illustrations are gorgeous and creative, with lots of bright colors.

I haven’t read all the Caldecott Honor books yet (there are 221) but here is my Top Five so far:

1. Sector 7 written and illustrated by David Wiesner (2000 Honor)
2. Zen Shorts written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth (2006 Honor)
3. What Do You Say, Dear? written by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1959 Honor)
4. Peppe the Lamplighter written by Elisa Barton and illustrated by Ted Lewin (1994 Honor)
5. Lion written and illustrated by William Pene de Bois (1957 Honor)

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Audio: It’s 70’s music Wednesday.

01 September

Ryan and I just got back from a walk, and I took some random photographs of things or scenes that caught my eye.

House Uptown

Elysian Park

Hoboken Library

House Uptown

Church Square Park

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Show us something you’ve had for a really long time.
Submitted by dee.

Where the Wild Things Are

If I were at home, I would have a lot more very old things to pick from. But after looking around my apartment, it seems clear that, besides my body, this copy of Where the Wild Things Are is the thing I’ve had for the longest amount of time. I’ve had it since I was quite small. When I got a little older and became interested in using all my books for a pretend library, I made a date due slip and glued it in the back of this book. I guess I was a little distracted while writing it, because I forgot the word “Wild” – thus it says “Where the Things Are” on the slip.

I still frequently wonder Where The Things Are.

This is still one of my favorite children’s books of all time, and eventually I’ll buy a nice hardcover copy with the caldecott medal on it. But I will never get rid of this old, trusty paperback copy.

“Date Due Slip”

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Site that shows photos of fast food from advertisements, compared to how the food actually looks when you get it.

Photos of extremely incredible Russian Cakes.

Another cool post about Kurt Vonnegut: John Irving shares Kurt Vonnegut stories.

Ryan found this cool world map that shows all the places in the world that have been book settings (and their frequency of use). It also shows the settings used over time, and you can clearly see the expansion into North America.

My mom shared this one with me: Literature Map lets you type in the name of an author, and then shows you visually other authors who are similar.

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Remainder

Tom Mccarthy

I’m almost done reading Remainder by Tom McCarthy. It’s a very strange book so far, but I like it.

The blurb on the back made me want to read it:

“A man is severely injured in a mysterious accident, receives an outrageous sum in legal compensation, and has no idea what to do with it.

Then, one night, an ordinary sight sets off a series of bizarre visions he can’t quite place.

How he goes about bringing his visions to life – and what happens afterword – makes for one of the most riveting, complex, and unusual novels in recent memory.

Remainder is about the secret world each of us harbors within, and what might happen if we were granted the power to make it real.”

The user reviews on amazon for this book are very mixed. Some people loved it, and some people didn’t get it. I’m anxious to get to the end to see where it’s going…very unusual so far.

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Book:  Show us a great non-fiction book.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

1 comment

I love how funny this book is while still being incredibly interesting and informative. It’s a solid report of the science behind the creation of the universe and our planet. Making it completely entertaining as well is something only Bill Bryson could pull off.

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No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories

Miranda July

This book (not yet released – that happens May 15) is now on my to read list because of the author’s amazingly creative and fun website.

http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/

I love this site.

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What was your worst cooking experience?

Once a babysitter and I tried to make homemade pizza without any of the correct ingredients. We used a pie crust recipe for the crust, and dyed it pink for good measure. We did not have pizza sauce, so we used tomato paste. (This is a cooking catastrophe known as Not A Good Substitute.) We didn’t have shredded cheese of any sort, so we used slices of american cheese, ripped up and splattered about the pizza.

Needless to say, we ended up making mac and cheese. (from a box.)

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