End-o'-the-Week Kid-Lit Roundup
In this week's roundup, we celebrate Moomin-mania, talk about kids' book reviews, and check out some cool temp tattoos:
More Moomins! We've had a low-grade Moomin obsession around our house since last year, when a couple of friends (one a comics genius, the other a Finn) introduced us to this enormously popular--outside of the U.S., at least--comic series. (When Silas cut himself for the first time last week, he even got a Moomin band-aid.) So I was excited to find out via Achockablog that Puffin is going to develop a bunch of new Moomin books for young children! There are quite a few great Moomin kids' books already, but the world could always use more. (Just don't get scared off by the Puffin marketing talk, about "cementing their place as a timeless family brand." Yick.)
New, improved Reading Tub. Jen Robinson tips us off that the Web site for the Reading Tub--a volunteer effort to promote books and literacy--just got a whole new look. I'd never heard of the site before, but as Jen points out, it's a great resource for anyone finding books for kids, with "hundreds of profile pages for books, with details like recommendations for age to read together vs. read yourself, whether to borrow or buy, and read-alikes." They also break down recommendations into useful categories beyond just age, like books for remedial or just reluctant readers. Definitely worth a look.
Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury put on a show. Thanks to Fuse #8, we find out that Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury were helping to celebrate the 99th birthday of the Children's Book Committee at the Bank Street Center for Children's Literature. They even had the audience read aloud together from their highly wonderful pre-school picture book Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. (If you ever go hear Fox read, don't forget to turn off your cellphone. Her warning/threat re: errant ringing: "I will make you come down here. And I will kill you.")
What's the point of kids' book reviews? Just ask Liz B. at Tea Cozy. Galleycat had a thoughtful post titled Should We Mourn the Dying Book Review?, and then Liz followed up with a really interesting take on the subject but specifically with regards to kids' books. (E.g., "The 'listen to me I know better than you' model has disappeared. It's become the 'let's discuss it' model.")
A talk with illustrator Nicole Tadgell. Kelly Herold just did a short, sweet interview with Nicole Tadgell, who illustrated the lovely looking No Mush Today--which Kelly says is "best suited for children ages three to seven. I recommend it particularly for all first children and for children who really hate breakfast."
Cool Slidy Diner temp tattoos. Laurel Snyder (author of Inside the Slidy Diner and Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains) says, "Tell me these are not the coolest temporary tattoos in the history of the universe."
I will not. And kids who are lucky enough to go to an author event or school visit for Inside the Slidy Diner just might get to have one of these Slidy tattoos for themselves. This book for early grades also recently got a good review from Publishers Weekly (in part: "Edie, the narrator, claims she is held captive at the diner for stealing a lemon drop, and she gives a young patron the insider’s tour of the joint. Most of the best jokes are visual: the poison label stuck onto a countertop; pet food tins stashed amid the staples; a slice of pie garnished as if with eyeballs. The gross-out crowd will eat this up.")
--Paul
Terry on October 20, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Thank you for jumping in the Tub! We had a very nice spike in traffic this weekend, so thanks to your readers, as well! We hope you find the next good book in the Reading Tub.
PS - I hadn't heard about Omnivoracious, but you're now in my Reader!
Paul on October 20, 2008 at 02:05 PM
Glad to help, Terry! It's a great site.
agni on May 21, 2009 at 05:06 AM
The warm feeling I get when someone is thoughtful enough to say thank you for having been helped far outweighs the empty one I get when there's no feedback at all.
cv and interviews