Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

"Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

--Roald Dahl 





 

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The Little Crooked Bookshelf

The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury 
by Jack Prelutsky illustrated by Meilo So

What it's all about . . .
This is a wonderful collection of 211 poems from 137 poets, including Roald Dahl, Lucille Clifton, Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, Jane Yolen, and Leslie Norris.

Why it’s on the Crooked Bookshelf . . .
Gathered and arranged by Jack Prelutsky, this books contains over two hundred incredibly imaginative, playful, and soul-searching poems. Many are poems you wouldn’t likely find without this anthology.

Our favorite lines . . .
I Don’t Believe in Bigfoot by Eileen Spinelli

I don’t believe in Bigfoot.
Or skeletons that dance.
I don’t believe in werewolves
Or zombies in a trance.
I don’t believe in Martians
Or ghosts in sheets of white.
I don’t believe in witches,
Who ride their brooms at night,

[We're not going to tell you the rest of this poem. You have to find it and read it yourself!]

Our favorite illustration . . .

Why kids will love it . . .
There are so many fun and imaginative poems to choose from, that it’s highly likely you will find a new favorite poem in this book.

Why grown-ups will love it . . . 
Whether it’s long, short, or medium, these poems are fun to read out loud and they’re also very clever. There’s such a good selection that you’ll never get tired of reading from this anthology.

P.S. Although we don't usually "sign" our reviews--this month we each chose our favorite poetry collections in honor of National Poetry Month. The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury was Cottager Kristen Tracy's pick (although we all love it). Did you know that in addition to having a huge talent for writing fabulous, witty middle grade and YA fiction, Kristen is a published poet? Here's is an excerpt and link to a poem she wrote. This one is about visiting the zoo.

Rain at the Zoo

By Kristen Tracy

 

A giraffe presented its head to me, tilting it   

sideways, reaching out its long gray tongue.   

I gave it my wheat cracker while small drops   

of rain pounded us both.  Lightning cracked open   

the sky.  Zebras zipped across the field.   

It was springtime in Michigan.  I watched   

the giraffe shuffle itself backwards, toward   

the herd, its bone- and rust-colored fur beading   

with water.

Read the full poem here:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182055

Poem copyright © Kristen Tracy, whose most recent teen novel is Hung Up, (Simon Pulse, March 2014) Poem excerpt reprinted by permission of Kristen Tracy.

Loved to Pieces . . . with Peter H. Reynolds!

We are pleased to welcome Peter H. Reynolds, award-winning author-illustrator of The Dot, Ish, The North Star, and his latest picture book, The Smallest Gift of Christmas!

Peter's books delight and inspire readers of all ages -- so we were thrilled when he graciously agreed to share with us a couple of the books he loved to pieces as a child. 





"One of the picture books I remember most from when I was very young was Tall Book of Make Believe, illustrated by Garth Williams -- it was so unusual, from its  long narrow shape to the spooky, dreamy feeling I got from it. I must have reread it 500 times.  

From The Tall Book of Make-Believe, by Jane Werner and illustrated by Garth Williams

Later on, I loved all the works of Roald Dahl, especially Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  I think Roald Dahl was the first adult I encountered who seemed to still be a kid. Plus I loved that in the book, Willie Wonka was looking for a kid to carry on his mission of not only running a candy factory, but also carrying the torch of imagination and creativity!"

Don't miss Peter's latest picture book The Smallest Gift of Christmas! Spare, free-spirited illustrations and heartwarming text make this be-careful what-you-wish-for story the perfect holiday gift.

The Smallest Gift of Christmas
Candlewick Press, 2013
ISBN 978-0763661038

Roland can’t wait for Christmas Day, and when the morning finally arrives he races downstairs to see what is waiting for him. What he sees stops him in his tracks. Could that tiny present really be what he had waited all year for?

Roland wishes for something bigger . . . and BIGGER. But he’s still convinced there must be a bigger gift somewhere in the universe. Will he know it when he sees it?

From The Smallest Gift of Christmas. Illustration copyright 2013 by Peter H. Reynolds.

Illustration copyright 2013 by Peter H. Reynolds.

Praise for The Smallest Gift of Christmas: 

"Reynolds’ spare illustrations, which are by turns funny and heartwarming, make this small book an ideal big gift for the holidays!"  

--Booklist

Peter H. Reynolds was born in Canada with his twin brother, Paul, while their parents made a quick pit stop. That was only a temporary stop on this eccentric British family's world travels. Scotland, England, New Zealand, Argentina, Canada and finally the USA.

Peter and his twin grew up in a very British house in a New England town called Chelmsford. They were the only house in the neighborhood serving tea at 4. No basketball hoop in the driveway, instead a cricket bat and wicket. Dad Reynolds fixed the family car in suit and tie always puffing on his pipe. PBS kept them nourished on Monty Python and Masterpiece Theatre. All to say that Peter's early years were a bit odd, a tad quirky, a splosh wonderful, and were blessed with a good dollop of whimsy.

Illustration copyright 2003 by Peter H. Reynolds.

It makes sense then that Peter, pencil in six year old hand, began dashing out simple, whimsical, quirky art. He soon plied his art into newspaper he and his brother began in 2nd grade. Both he and Paul had an inexplicable desire to publish.

Peter's journey has been dedicated to helping kids, especially the "off the path" kids.  As Pete himself says, "I was one of them myself. Not every student is lucky enough to have a teacher, or adult, see his or her potential. When I visit students in schools they ask me what my hobbies are. I say thinking, dreaming. If my art and stories can help inspire others to do the same, I'll feel my life had meaning."

Today, Peter is the president and creative director of FableVision, an educational media development and publishing company, and co-founder of The Blue Bunny Books & Toys, in Dedham, MA, where he lives with his family. For more about Peter, visit his website at www.peterhreynolds.com.

The Crooked Truth

Jamie's Crooked Truth: Lies, Whizzpoppers, and Bedtime Reading

So you know those reading logs that your kids take home from school? The ones for recording how many minutes they’ve read? Confession: On occasion, I’ve fudged those minutes. Or (cough) lied.

This is BAD.

So VERY bad.

Because a.) I’m a children’s book author, and b.) there’s nothing more energizing to a child’s imagination than reading books, and c.) hello, I lied to a teacher!

Here’s the truth. My boys are nine and seven. When they were younger, we read before bed every night. Their favorite bedtime picks evolved from Goodnight Moon to Taking Care of My Ears (at age three, my oldest was obsessed with books about the human body) to SkippyJon Jones. Then came longer stories, like Frog and Toad, Judy Moody, and Charlotte’s Web. The boys stacked up their favorites, and snuggling under the covers, we often read several books a night.

So what happened?

For one, our schedules became busier. Now we had soccer and Scouts and swimming lessons, homework and more homework, playing with friends, eating dinner, taking baths, and crashing to bed. Somewhere along the way, our bedtime reading become sporadic.

Of course, the boys read independently. But on those especially hectic days, the books never left their backpacks.

Then one evening, we began to read The BFG by Roald Dahl. The Big Friendly Giant quickly charmed the boys with his twitch-tickling manner of speaking and funny way of seeing the world. They hung on his every word.

And the chapter about Sophie and the BFG whizzpopping? Well, you simply haven’t lived until you’ve read the “Frobscottle and Whizzpoppers” chapter to kids! Were finer words ever written? It’s the single best chapter in children’s literature!

That one golden phizzwizard of a book resurrected our consistent, nightly bedtime reading. Because the boys looked forward to it, we made the time. I stopped fudging the minutes in the reading log. Now the boys read more and longer than ever before.

It’s true. Just like the BFG’s bottles of dreams, books contain magic. And who wouldn’t want a little of that before bed every night?

 
FIVE BEDTIME READING TIPS:

1. Kid’s choice. Let your child choose the book (or at least approve it). Reading should be a treat, not a chore. 

2. You read to me, I read to you. Alternate reading pages or chapters with your child. If your children mispronounce a word, don’t correct them immediately. After reading the entire sentence, kids will often figure out the word on their own.

3. The more, the merrier. Bedtime reading is a bonding experience for the whole family. Short mysteries like The Hardy Boys or Encyclopedia Brown are fun to solve together. 

4. The three strikes, you’re out rule. My boys are, erm, energetic. So we came up with a rule. If I have to stop reading three times because the monkeys are jumping on the bed or talking through the story, I put the book away for the night. This has only happened once. Usually at strike two, they settle down.

5. Make bedtime reading an Event. Reading is theater. Change your voice for different characters, whisper at the quiet parts, ask questions, and close the book at cliff-hangers. You’ll leave your children begging for more.

~ Jamie

Happy Roald Dahl Day!

September 13th marks Roald Dahl's 97th birthday. We love Roald Dahl's books here in the Cottage. The Fantastic Mr. Fox, James and the Giant Peach, and of course, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are just a few of the favorites in our library.

To celebrate his birthday, our friend Nina of MamaBelly's Lunches with Love brought over a whizz-bang Charlie and the Chocolate Factory lunch.

Our Easylunchboxes lunchbox is packed to the rim with:

• red grape candies
• a Violet Beauregarde gluten-free blueberry and coconut muffin with fruit leather arms
• of course a golden ticket sandwich filled with peanut butter and chocolate
• two pieces of candy
• grape tomato and cheese Oompa Loompas

Happy Birthday, Roald Dahl!