The Yarn
August 29, 2008 by Travis Jonker
(Waving a rickety old cane in the air) I’m tired of all these big, fancy children’s books. They’re hard to carry, the pages take too long to turn, and they can’t fit on my bookshelf. In the olden days, we had tiny books and no one complained. Tiny! All books should be small. How small […]
August 29, 2008 by Travis Jonker
Mail Harry to the Moon! By Robie H. Harris Illustrated by Michael Emberley Little, Brown Young Readers ISBN: 9780316153768 $16.99 Grades PreK-2 In Stores *Recommended* I’m a younger brother, so forgive me if I can’t identify with everything contained in the latest Robie Harris/Michael Emberley team-up “Mail Harry to the Moon”. This ode to a […]
August 27, 2008 by Travis Jonker
If a humorous bit of children’s lit miscellanea is published, but children’s lit blogs aren’t yet around, does it exist? I came across the following (satiric) graphic from “The Onion” in the good ole days of aught aught (that’s 2000 for those who don’t unreasonably stick to an obsolete way of telling the year). The […]
August 25, 2008 by Travis Jonker
Most interesting take on what it’s like to write children’s books I’ve heard in a while: writing a kids book is similar to writing haiku. Find out how as “Clarice Bean” author Lauren Child talks about her career on NPR. Click the play button below to hear more. [6 min. 29 sec.]
August 22, 2008 by Travis Jonker
If you work in a library, you know there are various ways to deal with the inevitability of overdue books. Some (although not many I know of) give a free pass, while others charge fines to the offenders. Often, checkout privileges are restricted (as is the case in the school libraries where I work). One […]
August 22, 2008 by Travis Jonker
Unless the New York Times has a way of visiting the future, I’m not sure how they can claim an article is published on August 24th when it’s only the 22nd. I’m sure there’s an explanation for this. Until I figure that one out, let’s take a look at children’s bestsellers … from the future! […]
ADVERTISEMENT
August 20, 2008 by Travis Jonker
The Pencil By Allan Ahlberg Illustrated by Bruce Ingman Candlewick Press ISBN: 9780763638948 $16.99 Grades PreK-2 In Stores *Best New Books* Many of the picture books I read are firmly “of the times” – characters, dialog, and illustrations all combine to declare modernity. I envision kids reading these books for a few years and then, […]
August 19, 2008 by Travis Jonker
For some reason, I’m drawn to blogs (like Ars Technica) that go into minute detail in describing the latest gadget (like the Kindle). But they don’t just show pictures – they document every step of the package opening process. They call it unboxing. Well, I receive cool stuff that comes in a box too – […]
August 17, 2008 by Travis Jonker
If there is one truism in this world, it is this: pop up books are cool. If you fancy yourself an aspiring Sabuda-ist, all you need to get started is some construction paper, scissors, glue, and a steady, steady hand. The worlds foremost paper engineer, Robert Sabuda, has some basic patterns up on his site […]
August 15, 2008 by Travis Jonker
Democrat, republican, independent – no matter the party, this is a bit over the top. Earlier in the week I was surprised to find a picture book that explains to children why their moms have tattoos. Somehow that seems tame in comparison to the following books that, with the help of slightly brainwash-y tactics, explain […]
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A Fuse #8 Production
by Betsy Bird
Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.