Blog Post
Newbery Awards Announced!
by manz
It’s a big day in the world of children’s literature and libraries! This morning awards were given for excellence in books, video and audio books for children and young adults at the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. This year there were three honors given in addition to the winner.
Winner:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic.
Honors:
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Twelve-year-old Annabelle must learn to stand up for what's right in the face of a manipulative and violent new bully who targets people Annabelle cares about, including a homeless World War I veteran.
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
A peasant girl and her holy greyhound, an oblate on a mission from his monastery, and a young Jewish boy travel across medieval France to escape persecution and save holy texts from being burned.
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away.
Blog Post
Caldecott Awards Announced!
by manz
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This year there were four honors given in addition to the winner. There were some really beautiful illustrations this year!
Winner:
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, written and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocked to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art work had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message and art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.
Honors:
They All Saw a Cat, written and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
In simple, rhythmic prose and stylized pictures, a cat walks through the world, and all the other creatures see and acknowledge the cat.
Leave Me Alone!, written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol,
Grandmother wants so badly to be left alone to finish the knitting for her grandchildren that she leaves her tiny home and her big family to journey to the moon and beyond to find peace and quiet to finish her knitting.
Freedom in Congo Square, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Carole Boston Weatherford
As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. Here they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This story chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday, and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square.
Du Iz Tak?, written and illustrated by Carson Ellis
Readers are invited to imagine the dramatic possibilities to be found in the natural world, even the humblest back garden! With exquisitely-detailed illustration that will appeal to children and art-lovers alike, and a wonderfully playful invented language, we soon find ourselves speaking "Bug" ... Du iz tak? What is that?
Blog Post
New Picture Books!
by manz
The new book section at AADL is full of amazing finds! Fiction, non-fiction, youth, teen, and adult! Here are few favorite picture books I found recently.
Kevin Henkes does it again with Egg. It’s a darling story about eggs ready to hatch, and one that just won’t. When it finally does it's a wonderful surprise. With simple words and pretty colors the story demonstrates waiting and friendship. Kids will enjoy the repetition and simple images.
A Greyhound, A Groundhog by Chris Appelhans is a simple and silly book with repeated text featuring rhymes and tongue twisters, as a greyhound and a groundhog go around and around from page to page. I really love the watercolor illustrations in this one.
In Lucky Lazlo by Steve Light a young boy finds a rose and plans to take it to his friend’s play to give to her after her performance. But on the way a cat crosses his path and chaos ensues. The book also includes a lovely author’s note which lists the many superstitions in theater and stage that are found throughout the book. And yes, the illustrations are wonderful.
Blog Post
New Snowy Picture Books to Warm You!
by manz
A chilly winter day is a great time to play in the snow, wish for snow, or cuddle up with a cozy book featuring snowy days and a sweet story.
Samson in the Snow is by Caldecott winner Phillip Stead. In this beautifully illustrated, tender story we meet Samson, a large and friendly wooly mammoth. One sunny day he happens upon a bird gathering yellow flowers for his friend before flying off. Samson continues to wander, and sun turns to snow and Samson can no longer find the bird. As he heads out to search he finds the kind of friends he didn’t even know he was looking for. A very sweet and gentle book.
Before Morning by Newbery Winner Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Caldecott Winner Beth Krommes is simply delightful! The most gorgeous sketched illustrations set the backdrop for a day when a young child wishes snow would come so his pilot mother can stay home. Delightful, tender, with few words, this pretty and poetic book is a treat for a snowy day.
Waiting For Snow is a darling look at a group of animals waiting ever-so-patiently for snow to fall. Waiting is not easy, but it will snow in snow’s time, as badger soon finds out.
How to Build a Snow Bear is also a lesson on waiting. It snowed and it’s time to go play in it! But a sleepyhead who would be a big help in building a snow bear is still hibernating. Wait we must for the sleepy bear to wake up and help out.
Best In Snow features photographs of winter scenes paired with simple words that describe the images and the weather around the onlooker. Air warms, snow softens, it drip drip drops. A lovely book with fantastic photos of snow and animals.
Blog Post
A Series of Unfortunate Events
by PizzaPuppy
A brand new television show based on the popular Series of Unfortunate Events books is coming to Netflix on January 13th, making now the perfect time to catch up on Lemony Snicket's whimsical gothic novels.
Over the course of 13 books we follow Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire: 3 siblings who are orphaned after a fire destroys their house and kills their parents. The children are placed under the protection of their distant relative, the mysterious Count Olaf, but soon realize that Olaf is scheming to steal their inheritance and do away with the Baudelaire children altogether. Along the way, the Baudelaire children discover that their parents were part of a secret organization, and much of the later books revolves around the Baudelaire children uncovering dark family secrets. Lemony Snicket narrates with a quick wit and dark humor, often going off on tangents or explaining the meaning of words as he goes along. Snicket also begins each novel with a polite warning that if a happy book is what the reader is after, they won't find it here.
If you haven't seen the trailer for the new 8-episode series, take a look here.
Looking for more Series of Unfortunate Events-related stuff? Give the Tragic Treasury a try. This collection of songs featured in the audiobooks remains true to Snicket's books, and Snicket himself plays accordion on multiple tracks. Or maybe re-watch the 2004 movie adaptation featuring Jim Carrey as the tricky Count Olaf.
Blog Post
Audio Description Track on DVD!
by Beth Manuel
AADL continues to grow its collection of films that have a Descriptive Video Service or DVS feature. More films are being produced for children & adults that are Described Video Recordings for L Card users to borrow. Some are even available by mail to our WLBPD patrons as Free Matter for the Blind. If your vision isn't what it used to be, you may want to try watching a film with described narration. That way you don't have to ask other folks what's happening on the screen and can concentrate on the film.
Blog Post
Radiant Child
by manz
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is a beautifully illustrated picture book that is a wonderful introduction for young children to a one-of-a-kind modern artist. There is definite Caldecott Medal buzz around the bold and colorful illustrations by author Javaka Steptoe.
The book focuses on Basquiat’s childhood in Brooklyn, his early passion for drawing and his declaration that he will some day be famous. The message that art doesn’t have to be neat or clean shines through as we follow the artist on his journey to become a cultural phenomenon with a true vision (before his untimely death, which doesn't grace the pages of this book).
Blog Post
Storytime: W is for Wind!
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Westgate and Traverwood, AADL storyteller Elizabeth shared stories about wind! Whoooosh! An old man complained about his noisy house and the wind outside in Too Much Noise, until the town’s wise woman solved his problem in a unique way. Ben floated away to the moon with his red balloon in Come Back, Ben and the mouse and his boat were blown every which way by the wind in The Mouse and the Wind, a story from Arnold Lobel’s classic Mouse Tales. We also tracked down the owner of a lovely hat that the wind had whisked away in Whose Hat Is That?
For more windy favorites for preschoolers, try Windblown by Edouard Manceau and The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins.
Blog Post
Know what I mean, Vern?
by manz
If you’re looking for ridiculous 80s movies, look no further. An added bonus is a fun Christmas movie to watch, and they are kid-friendly.
Meet Ernest P. Worrell, portrayed by the late Jim Varney. With his kind heart, good cheer, and naiveté, Ernest is always getting himself into pretty big pickles while trying to save the day. There are several films that highlight his slap-stick shenanigans, including Ernest Goes to Camp (1987), Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), Ernest Goes to Jail (1990), and Ernest Scared Stupid (1991). "Camp" and "Christmas" are the two winners that sure need to spend some time in your VCR… I mean DVD player.
Blog Post
Quirky new picture book: Pug Man's 3 Wishes
by eapearce
The delightful new picture book Pug Man’s 3 Wishes, by Sebastian Meschenmoser, is described as a “misanthropic gem of a story” by Publishers Weekly and “the antidote to every cute fairy book.” The quirky story features Pug Man, a bipedal pug dog who is having a very bad day. He slept late, there’s nothing to eat for breakfast, and a morning rain has made his newspaper soggy. He’s feeling very sorry for himself when a brightly colored fairy appears out of nowhere and grants him three wishes. Children (and adults, for that matter) might think that they know what he’ll wish for, but everyone—including the fairy!—is in for a surprise. Readers will be touched by Pug Man’s modest wishes, and tickled by his obstreperous third wish in particular.
German author Meschenmoser adds to the book by depicting Pug Man’s bleak life in all black and white until the fairy appears, bringing bursts of color and fantastical beings with her. The unusual story is not for everyone, but certainly will appeal to those tired of fairies coming along to save the day… and to anyone who’s felt a little cranky when they wake up in the morning.