Big Mama Makes the World

By sarajean on 12/15/09 2:41am
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Whether you’re a non-Christian, tired of the same old creation stories every Christmas, a pagan interested in creative storytelling, or a feminist who knows that honey, you can’t make a new life without a mama, you’re going to love this book.

Big Mama Makes the World might just be my all-time favorite children’s picture book, ever ever ever. Written in saucy, down-home language by the hilarious Phyllis Root, it is the story of the birth of mankind, courtesy of Big Momma.

Big Momma is a round, loving roly-poly woman (goddess? it’s never really alluded to). And instead of “In the beginning, God made…” we instead get the sassy alternative of Big Momma rolling up her sleeves and getting to work, “wasn’t easy, either, with that little baby sitting on her hip.”

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The Little Pea

By sarajean on 12/14/09 12:59am
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Though we buy our daughter used books throughout the year—dozens during the library dime sale!—we usually try to get one or two new books that we know she loves for Christmas and/or her birthday. (One year, we bought her a few for her Valentine’s advent, and she really loved those.) We haven’t bought this year’s books yet, but one of the top contenders is definitely Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Little Pea.

For one thing, our daughter loves the book—and when you know your child loves something to begin with, it makes it all the easier to buy. We had the chance to read it on LookyBook.com. Unfortunately, LookyBook is now no longer in service, so we can’t just visit the website every day to read it. It’s been a while since we’ve read Little Pea, so I’m sure it would be a delightful surprise.

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The Dangerous Alphabet

By sarajean on 12/5/09 8:55pm
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Dark children’s literature fans will delight in Neil Gaiman’s foray into the land of letters, The Dangerous Alphabet. Readers will never look at “A told B, B told C” (though charming) the same way again.

Gaiman’s tale is woven through thirteen couplets that tell of a young Victorian girl, her brother, and their pet gazelle (who would ever think to have a pet gazelle other than Gaiman?) and their terrifying venture into an underworld filled with danger, mischief and fantasy in search of treasure.

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The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish

By sarajean on 12/5/09 8:12pm
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It doesn’t matter if you love or hate Neil Gaiman (I’m a huge fan myself); if you don’t like dark children’s stories (think Brothers Grimm, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket), you probably won’t like his picture books. But if you do… you are in for such a treat with The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish.

The book is about a boy and his very boring—at least, very boring to him—father. The boy’s friend appears one day with two goldfish who seem much more interesting than the bearer of his genetic makeup. The boy attempts to swap his friend for the goldfish, dangling various items around the house for the barter to no avail.

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Harold and the Purple Crayon

By sarajean on 11/29/09 8:02pm
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Though American cartoonist Crockett Johnson was best known for his Barnaby comic strips, his most well-known and well-loved work just might be his beloved children’s picture book, Harold and the Purple Crayon.

You might remember the story of Harold and his crayon—the tale of a little four-year-old boy who imagines his own world with the help of just his purple crayon. It’s a very simple tale; Harold creates all of the things in his world that he doesn’t have access to at the moment. This includes a moon to walk beneath, a path to walk on, and more. He even draws himself a bed to sleep in.

The drawings are quirky and cute, reminiscent of a slightly messier, younger Charlie Brown with a bit more optimism in his head.

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Just What is a Picture Book, Anyway?

By sarajean on 11/28/09 8:19pm
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When you imagine a picture book, you might think of the beautiful classic wordless children’s book and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner The Snowman. Remember that wonderful book by Raymond Briggs? The heartwarming tale of a boy and his come- to- life snowman, their adventures, and the snowman’s sad melting is a memorable story that, if you were shown as a child, you aren’t likely to forget.

But picture books can actually be filled with words. A picture book is simply a book that combines both images and narrative to convey a story. They’re usually done for the children’s market—though not always—and are often created using a variety of mediums, including acrylic paints, oil pastels, watercolors, or other art supplies. I recently discovered that the artist Eric Carle actually paints on tissue paper to create his amazing animals and illustrations.

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Karen Katz: Creatress of Adorable Books for Babies

By sarajean on 11/28/09 8:00pm
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My daughter’s occupational therapist introduced us to the world of Karen Katz, and we have enjoyed every moment of reading this author’s incredible, memorable works. All of her books share her trademark roly-poly, joyous children exploring the wonders of the world. They encompass many different cultures, activities, and holidays, but one thing they all have in common is their fantastic bright pictures of babies.

Katz cites traditional folk art for her inspiration in much of her art and writing. After a long career in various arts, it was adopting a daughter from Guatemala that inspired Katz to start writing children’s books. Her first book, Over the Moon, was written for her daughter and many more soon followed. Katz says that her teen daughter remains her biggest inspiration, even twenty-two books later.

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First the Egg

By sarajean on 11/13/09 9:38pm
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When she was two, my daughter’s favorite book was First the Egg. The author, Emmy-award winning artist Laura Vaccaro Seeger, will be familiar to many picture book aficionados; she has written a few well-loved favorites, including Lemons Are Not Red, Walter Was Worried, The Hidden Alphabet and Black? White! Day? Night! She’s also the creator of the loveable Dog and Bear. In First the Egg, Seeger continues with her trademark simple language and vibrant pictures to create an unforgettable story.

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