all things Oliver Jeffers

Living in London may have its challenges but it also has many perks, and famed artist/author Oliver Jeffers signing books at a local bookstore was a high point in my week.

The master plan was to get a copy of Stuck signed for E along with two copies of Jeffers' new book, This Moose Belongs to Me, for a friend and a cousin. A very rambunctious E was accompanied by his friend Olivia. I settled down on the floor to read 'Stuck' to them while we waited, and we were soon joined by a slightly older and much cooler Jeffers admirer who plopped down beside them to patiently listen to the story with the little ones.  This little dude was so excited to meet Jeffers that I almost felt like an imposter. He had a stack of his favorite titles and proceeded to talk about why he liked them and which bits were best. He really liked Stuck but preferred his copy with an orangutan on the back to our new paperback. I neglected to get his name but his recommendations included: The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Hueys - The New Jumper, and Up and Down. I'd take this kid's word for it. He definitely knew his stuff.

E was oddly still and quiet when Jeffers signed his copy of Stuck.  I tried to explain that this was the person who wrote it but that fell on deaf ears. Jeffers was quick to remind me that he illustrated it too and then proceeded to draw lovely creatures next to the names in each book. I think E understood that this was something special ... not least because I wasn't scolding the guy for drawing all over the book!

If you're new to Jeffers' work then Stuck and How to Catch a Star are great titles to get started with.  This Moose Belongs to Me is probably for a slightly older audience but worth getting your hands on a copy just to swoon at the illustrations. I also hear that there's a great app based on his book titled The Heart and the Bottle. And if that's not enough, Jeffers is  currently releasing and promoting a new fine art book about his work, Neither Here Nor There.  Read about all this and more at Oliver Jeffers.

Happy reading and a big thank you to Oliver Jeffers and Watersones!

Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino

I wish Dan Yaccarino would write a book for every day of the week. I came across this title on our summer trip to the US and the 'Friday book' is still a nightly request on E's reading list.

This is a book about a Dad and his son and their weekly ritual of breakfast at the diner. The story is focused and the illustrations are fun, interesting and cool.  1960's design and characters meet minimalist line drawings and urban references. It works brilliantly in this context and manages to give the story an enviable vintage look and feel.

E and his Pop read this book a lot together. He points to the boy on the cover and says it's him.  We have yet to identify the Beatnik on page twenty but I'll come back you. 

A boy and his Dad take a walk from their apartment to the diner.  It's gloriously simple and also significant as their walk is the same every Friday.  They make their way past the shop keepers and street vendors as the city is waking up to the day. They both know where they're going and there's never a need for deviation.  Just a boy and his Dad and a little extra time together on a Friday morning. They make their way to the diner, order their usual from their favorite waitress and sit down to chat and chew until it's time for them to get on with their day.

Was this book written in the 1960's or the 21st century? Sometimes it's hard to tell ... and this is a good thing.  There's a telling contrast as the boy notices all the other people rushing while he and his Dad take their time. After all, it's Friday and this is their day together.

Yaccarino includes a lovely author's note about his own diner breakfast tradition with his son. The sincerity of his experience rings true in this loving little story.

Every Friday is a 2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. You can learn lots more from the publisher's website:  Macmillan (US). Dan Yaccarino has a great website as well where you can learn about his other books, characters and countless creative projects:Yaccarino Studio.

London ABC by Ben Hawkes

London's magical landmarks and layered cityscapes are in safe hands with illustrator Ben Hawkes.  London ABC uses familiar scenes to teach the alphabet and even includes a slightly mischievous penguin as a tour guide.  There is no narrative text and instead the penguin provides the link as he pops up on each page. Sometimes he's central to the scene like when he's wearing an I Love London t-shirt while eating an ice cream cone.  And in other pictures he's part of the background like when he's riding the London Eye and is a tiny figure inside one of the many capsules.  One of my favorite scenes is the Jubilee party he crashes.  He's sitting very still next to a granny and waving his Union Jack as if he owned the place. Each picture is loaded with detail and E and I've been talking about the buses, boats, fire engine, horses, trains, underground signage and of course the zoo where the penguin finally returns after his adventures in the Big Smoke.

The illustrations are impressive in their own right but look closely and you'll see just how clever they really are in terms of the ABC's.  One letter is featured across each spread along with a text phrase such as 'O is for Oxford Circus'.  However, in the background you'll also spot other objects beginning with the same letter. The Oxford Circus page includes an Octopus, Onion and an Ostrich. There's a handy list of illustrations in the back just in case you miss something along the way.  I especially like the 'Pear' store on the 'P' page and anyone familiar with an Apple (Mac) store will quickly recognize the reference.

For my two year old this compact title (it's approx 13 x 10 cm) is more about looking at pictures and name recognition than learning the alphabet.  However, I feel there's room to grow and even more of a story to be told as he gets older and the letters take on more meaning.  It's also a great way to commemorate the big summer of London 2012 and I hope it will become a keepsake. And it's not just for Londoners -- I think it will appeal to any kid charmed by lovely pictures and a slightly naughty penguin. You can have a closer look via the Random House website: RandomHouse.

Dear Zoo & It's Mine by Rod Campbell

E and I had were fortunate to attend a special birthday party recently to celebrate 30 years of Rod Campbell's classic children's book, Dear Zoo. E's favorite things from the afternoon were the special edition Dear Zoo m&m's and the generous goody bag from Macmillan Publishers (thanks again!).  I was thrilled to meet the man of the hour and hear him speak a bit about his experiences as an author/illustrator. 

Rod Campbell Q & A

My burning question for him was about the importance of repetition in his books. His sound response was that it was vital for building confidence. He sees repetition as an important learning tool and I took that to mean not just individual words but repeated concepts and phrases.  In Dear Zoo the narrator asks the zoo to send them a pet - a series of unsuitable pets arrive and each is in turn sent back to the zoo until finally a puppy arrives and is deemed 'perfect.' There is a pattern to the action repeated throughout the book and many children learn to recite the words within a few reads. If there is a young child in your life then Dear Zoo is a must - the app is great for slightly older kids too.  
 

Dear Zoo is a faultless title though E is equally fond of another board book by Rod Campbell, It's Mine. It's Mine introduces the reader to a series of jungle animals and comes with a roaring surprise at the end. In each picture there's a clue to the animal hiding on the next page: a green bit of tail is actually a large crocodile lounging in the river, a big furry paw poking out from behind the tree reveals a bear on the next page. It's great for encouraging children to notice the detail, it begs you to ask them questions and it allows them to build up suspense before the fantastic pop-up surprise at the end. This one is still going strong in our house and our copy is a much loved rag tag version of the original ... and it now has a special signature on the inside page from a very special author.  

Happy Birthday Dear Zoo and many thanks to Rod Campbell!

Trains, Trains, Trains and more Trains

Trains are big business in our house. E pretty much woke up one morning and decided that trains were the center of his universe and there was no going back. I've embraced it for the most part and the result is a bumper selection of train books on his shelf. Here is a round up of four of our favorites (scroll down to see each title):

Trains by Byron Barton

This little board book is the ultimate starter train book and perhaps the very source of E's devotion to the rails.  The drawings are modern, simple and clear and the text is very short and precise.  'On the track' is the opening line and that's all it takes for E to be instantly hooked.  He's been looking at it since he was about 12 months old and still finds it interesting over a year later. Barton highlights a variety of trains doing all the wonderful things that trains do - going in and out of tunnels, stopping at stations, driving at night and ultimately speeding away.

The Little Red Caboose
The is one of my very favorite vintage children's books (first published in 1953). It tells the story of the little red caboose at the back of train who saves the day by keeping the giant steam train from sliding backwards down the mountain. Up until this point the caboose has spent its days unnoticed while the children lavish their attention on all the larger (read more important) cars at the front of the train.  Much like the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the caboose finds itself an instant hero and proves to everyone that it's deserving of their attention despite its size and despite coming last. We spend a lot of time talking about the 'boose' at our house and I still hold out hope that in time we can discuss the moral of the story. 

The Little Engine That Could
This is another classic train book that is a must for your little reader - train lover or not. It again tells the triumphant story of the underdog saving the day. A train full of toys and candy is stranded on the track and trying desperately to reach the anxious children on the other side of the mountain.  Various engines pass by but they're either too important, too busy or too feeble to help.  Finally a little blue engine appears and agrees to give it a try.  She's the most unlikely candidate to pull this big train but by believing in herself and repeating that legendary mantra, 'I think I can, I think I can', she manages the unthinkable and pulls the train safely over the mountain.

Riding the Rails from A to Z
This is a beautiful title from Chronicle Books and I was pleasantly surprised that E choose it. It's an ABC book that uses a combination of bright illustrations and archive photographs to teach the alphabet through train lingo and vocabulary.  A is for all aboard, E is for Engineer, U is for underground and so on. I've found it to be a great book for keeping the train obsession fed and E's interest piqued, while also challenging him to engage with different types of pictures and to learn new words and phrases. It's not a story book but it still manages get him talking and I've learned a few new facts as well.

Please leave me a comment if you have favorite train books to recommend!

The Girl Who Loved Wellies by Zehra Hicks

It's been a flip flop and wellies sort of summer for E and me between the American heatwave and the sodden playgrounds of London.  With that in mind there was only ever going to be one book to talk about this week, The Girl Who Loved Wellies by Zehra Hicks (aka the wellie book).

True to the title, this story is about a girl named Molly who loves her wellies.  She loves them so much that she won't take them off for love nor money, and that includes wearing them to bed and to ballet class.  She gets away with it until she has an itch, an itch between her toes that just won't go away.  But there's just one problem - Molly's worn her wellies for so long that they're stuck to her feet! After a herculean effort by friends, family and dog the wellies finally come off and Molly is reunited with her toes.  It's after this 'a ha' moment that she decides she'll only wear flip flops ... even in the snow.

There's so much for kids to engage with in this book.  I've found it to be ideal for the 2-4 year old range.  It will appeal to kids who love wellies, kids who love jumping in puddles, kids who might enjoy being that little bit mischievous and kids with their own ideas.  That pretty much covers every kid I've ever met.

The illustrations give us a second chance to enjoy Hicks' line drawings and fun colours (she's also the author of The Boy Who Hated Toothbrushes). It takes a whole village to get Molly's wellies off her feet and there's a joyful two page spread where everyone pulls together in one long conga line to remove said wellies. E loves this moment and recites the line 'everybody pulled' over and over again.

He also loves the two page spread where Molly greets her toes.  He insists on taking off his socks at this moment and placing his feet over the brightly colored illustration of Molly's bare feet. It's a nightly ritual that we've all come to look forward to.

Earlier in the year I wrote a post about her debut book, The Boy Who Hated Toothbrushes.  If you liked Billy then I have a hunch you'll be fond of Molly too.  Zehra Hicks has a wonderful website http://www.zehrahicks.com/home. The Girl Who Loved Wellies is out now.

Wild Rumpus, Minneapolis MN, USA

I've spent part of the summer catching up with friends and family in America. Anyone travelling with me knows that a road trip is incomplete without an exploration of the local indie children's book store. This dream of a bookstore, Wild Rumpus, is tucked away in a residential neighbourhood in Minneapolis, MN and was worth the entire trip.

The entrance is a passage to an enchanting world with a small purple door for smaller people built within the larger one for grown ups. Inside not one but four lazy cats drape themselves across shelves, counters and comfy chairs. There's an iguana named Spike, several ferrets and a free range chicken who peeks out at you from behind the stacks. And all of this excitement is before you even have a chance to marvel at the stock of children's book titles.

I've never seen so many Maurice Sendak and Leo Lionni titles in one place except maybe online. Oh the joy to peruse them in the flesh! The vintage picture book collection was incredibly impressive and the range of current titles and new authors was equally exciting. Some of the authors I hope to feature in upcoming posts include David Mackintosh, Alison McGhee and Eva Muggenthaler.

A trip to Wild Rumpus is like getting a big hug from a book. The set up of the whole shop encourages you to browse, pet the animals and bounce a little to the music. I particularly like the books set aside for visitors. Instead of the throw away basket of forgotten titles they have entire shelves of books designated just for reading in store. The new books for sale are grouped by author in some sections and by an endless list of subjects in others.  How inviting so see a shelf full of 'cars', 'trains', 'cats', 'dragons' and so on.

If you find yourself anywhere near the Twin Cities then make sure to save some time for a visit to Wild Rumpus. And for the rest of you at least check it out online www.wildrumpusbooks.com.

Be back soon! Mrs B.