CLBJ and TBE will return soon with new reviews, as well as some "year in review" type posts, including some of my favourite--and possibly LEAST favourite--books of 2012. See you soon!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Happy Holidays from The Bookish Elf
CLBJ and TBE will return soon with new reviews, as well as some "year in review" type posts, including some of my favourite--and possibly LEAST favourite--books of 2012. See you soon!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
All About Boats: A to Z, by David Aiken and Zora Aiken (illustrated by David Aiken)
All About Boats: A to Z
Authors: David Aiken and Zora Aiken
Illustrator: David Aiken
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Publication Date: October 9, 2012
I love the concept of this book--an alphabet book about boats and all things boat-related--even if the execution could be better. Some of the rhymes are a bit strained (it's never easy to find a good word for 'x') and the artwork's a bit old-fashioned, but overall it's cute. I'm sure it would be a hit with the boat-obsessed three- to seven-year-old in your life!
Hit the jump for Magda's Take and more...
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Lester's Dreadful Sweaters, by K.G. Campbell
Lester's Dreadful Sweaters
Author: K.G. Campbell
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2012
Lester is a particular boy. He likes everything to be orderly and neat. He likes things to be proper. So when his Cousin Clara comes to stay (whose cousin she is remains unclear) and proceeds to knit Lester sweater after horrible sweater, all with extra bits or missing arm holes, Lester is not happy. In fact, he's dreadful. He tries everything he can think of to "accidentally" lose or destroy each sweater, but Cousin Clara is a maddeningly fast knitter and there's always another monstrosity to replace the last.
It's rare to get a chance to witness the beginning of the career of a children's book author you know is destined to be beloved by generations. I am too young to have read the very first book by Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl or Margaret Wise Brown, before everyone knew their names, and seen their work from the beginning. But I'm fairly certain that in a few decades time, everyone will know Keith Gordon Campbell from the library of quirky and beloved children's classics he has yet to write. If Lester's Dreadful Sweaters is any indication, you'll be buying his books for your great-grandchildren. I'm actually astounded that this is his debut book. After reading it, I immediately felt such a strong kinship with it that I was certain I had been reading and loving it for years!
It's rare to get a chance to witness the beginning of the career of a children's book author you know is destined to be beloved by generations. I am too young to have read the very first book by Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl or Margaret Wise Brown, before everyone knew their names, and seen their work from the beginning. But I'm fairly certain that in a few decades time, everyone will know Keith Gordon Campbell from the library of quirky and beloved children's classics he has yet to write. If Lester's Dreadful Sweaters is any indication, you'll be buying his books for your great-grandchildren. I'm actually astounded that this is his debut book. After reading it, I immediately felt such a strong kinship with it that I was certain I had been reading and loving it for years!
Hit the jump for Magda's Take and more!
Dinosaur Countdown, by Nicholas Oldland
Dinosaur Countdown
Author: Nicholas Oldland
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: August 1, 2012
This preschool counting book satisfied the dinosaur lovers in my family! The pictures are delightful (and, according to my resident dinosaur expert, accurate enough to pass muster) and the countdown rhyme is very cute. My favourite thing, though, is that it includes zero. Not enough counting books include zero! It shows dinosaur bones with "zero dinosaurs" because they're extinct, silly. Love it!Hit the jump for Magda's Take and more...
Birthday Suit, by Olive Senior (illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes)
Birthday Suit
Author: Olive Senior
Illustrator: Eugenie Fernandes
Publisher: Annick Press
Publication Date: February 1, 2012
This book is, as you might guess, about a little boy who just doesn't see why he should have to wear clothes. After all, he lives on a beautiful sunny island with warm sun and sparkling water--he should be allowed to go naked! Alas, his family disagrees and tries to tell Johnny that it's time to put some clothes on. It's a sad day for many a nudist toddler. I remember my own wriggly baby was able to somehow get herself out of her one-piece pajamas the first week she was home from the hospital...and that was WHILE SWADDLED! We'd go in and find her swaddling blankets a little loose (but mostly intact) but she'd be completely naked inside the blankets and her pajamas or onesies would be pushed down inside the swaddle, down by her feet. I tell that to Magda now and she's not sure if she believes me, but she certainly appreciates the desire to be a naked toddler. I think a lot of parents and kids will be able to relate to this delightful tale of unencumbered toddlerhood!
Hit the jump for Magda's Take and more!
Big Brave Daddy, by Smiljana Coh
Big Brave Daddy
Author: Smiljana Coh
(text copyright Harriet Ziefert, Inc.)
Illustrator: Smiljana Coh
(illustration copyright Smiljana Coh)
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: March 13, 2012
There are a lot of great preschool picture books about kids and their dads...I'm just not sure this is one of them. The illustrations are, I think, meant to be folksy or something, but really they just look like they were done with MS Paint or Facebook Graffiti (and even then, they're not that great). The text apparently wasn't even written by the listed author, since the "text copyright" is held by the publisher, Harriet Ziefert (see below for more about that). I've looked at Smiljana Coh's online portfolio and some of her art is lovely and amazing, but I am definitely not a fan of the art in this book. I thought maybe my three-year-old, Magda, would find it cute and silly at least, but she seemed more confused than anything ("Are they mice? Why do they have big ears? Where are their tails?").
Hit the jump for Magda's Take and more...
Lucy Rescued, by Harriet Ziefert (illustrated by Barroux)
Lucy Rescued
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Barroux
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: March 27, 2012
Unfortunately, this is another book by Blue Apple Books that has the page numbers all messed up on the e-book edition (I've contacted the publisher multiple times and have heard no response) so it was impossible to read the book properly on my desktop the way you would a print edition (with pages 2-3 facing each other, pages 4-5 facing each other, etc.). As a result, the illustrations were all cut in half when we were trying to read this, so we had to guess what was happening some of the time. I found it a bit annoying, though my daughter Magda didn't seem to mind since she really loved the story. Something about the story of the little dog that couldn't sleep without a stuffed animal friend really resonated with her (she herself is miserable without Lambie). If you have to choose between a print edition and an e-book edition, though, I would steer clear of the e-book, since it's very likely mis-numbered the way my review copy was (again, I emailed the publisher a few times and didn't get an answer).
Hit the jump for Magda's take and more!
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