I certainly hope you are not fretting over holiday gifts for anyone when there are so many millions of books to choose from.  If you want to save a little money for this type of gift, then get out to Gardner's Book Service between Dec. 1 through 22 and get a 35% discount on personal purchases.  If you can attend their annual open house, it's this Sat. Dec. 1 from 9AM to 5PM--prizes & refreshments too!  Gardner's is at 16461 N. 25th Ave. Phoenix, 602-863-6000.  It's just east of the I-17 & south of Bell.  Or go to GBSbooks.com for complete map--a tiny bit tricky to find.

While there look for one of the many versions & parodies of Clement C. Moore's famous poem A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS with the first line Twas the Night Before Christmas.  I collect different versions of this poem in children's literature & have approximately 75 different ones!  (There are over 200). One of my favorites is by Richard Jesse Watson released in 2006 by HarperCollins--Santa's sleigh is a marvel of technology & a sub story of elves runs through the illustrations.  Don't miss the interview with Santa at the end!  I was so thrilled to purchase one of the elf paintings last year--the candy-cane carrying one on the first page--to add to my collection of picture book art from Christmas books. 

HOLLY'S CHRISTMAS EVE by Wendy Watson is another favorite of mine--the tree ornaments come to life in the quiet house and help each other survive things like the vaccuum.  Bold colorful illustrations in this oversized picture book are just beautiful & a very sweet story.  Look for the cat sleeping under the tree--another painting in my collection.

I like holiday stories that remind us of the simplicity of the season in days gone by.  Two of my favorites in that line are APPLE TREE CHRISTMAS by Trinka Hakes Noble and YEAR OF THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE by Gloria Houston & illustrated by the incomparable Barbara Cooney.  APPLE TREE was reissued maybe last year so you should be able to find it in the stores again this year--it tells the story of a family that lives on a farm with the animals in the barn attached to their home.  The family's beloved apple tree is lost during a blizzard causing much saddness to the 2 young girls who played, climbed & sat drawing in the tree.  But on Chrsitmas morning they see how their father has preserved parts of the tree for them.

Gloria Houston gave the rights of her book YEAR OF THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE to a small town in NC near where she grew up to help stabilize their economy when much of the furniture making industry was taken overseas.  A huge cottage industry has evolved from this charitable act in which handmade items depicting parts of the story are sold in their country store & from the web site.  Just Google the title of the book & the website will come up.  I have tried to purchase many items from them for gifts as some of the profits go to administer a program to help keep kids in school.  Unfortunately, recently our own Jeff Flake persuaded the Congress to drop a mere $125,000 funding from another bill to help fund this effort.  My letter to the editor went unpublished.  BUT, the story is very important, keeping one's word, making do with what one has & being part of a community, historical fiction from WWII--don't miss it!  OH, AND,  DanceMotion Performing Company ballet school has adapted the story to a holdiay performance being presented on Sat. 12-8 at 7:30PM and Sun. 12-9 at 2PM at the Orpheum.  Call the Orpheum for tickets (602-262-7272)--these are kids from performing the adapted story. $12.00 for adults & $10.00 for children.

Another fun story about the "less-is-more" hope for the holidays is CRISPIN THE PIG WHO HAD IT ALL by Ted DeWan.  This British import works well for instilling that anti-greed message we want our kids to get.

Happy Holidays to one & all--more later!
Cathy

Hi friends--the New York Times Book Review names the best illustrated books of 2007 in their Nov. 11 edition.  Every year since 1952 a panel of judges makes selections from among the thousands published every year.  This years judges included Caldecott Medalist David Wiesner who you heard about previously from me.  So here they are:
     EVERY FRIDAY written & illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (Holt)
     JABBERWOCKY illustrated by Christopher Myers (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion)
     THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
     FIRST THE EGG written & illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook)
     NOT A BOX written & illustrated by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)
     600 BLACK SPOTS written & illustrated by David A. Carter (Little Simon)
     THE FROG WHO WANTED TO SEE THE SEA written & illustrated by Guy Billout (Creative Ed)
     THE WALL:  growing up behind the Iron Curtain written & illustrated by Peter Sis (Frances Foster/FSG)
     OLD PENN STATION written & illustrated by William Low (Holt)
     THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET written & illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)

The only one of these I have actually seen & read if THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET which is fantastic--for the middle grade children, perhaps a high 2nd grade reader & up.  Though it's 533 pages, it's a cross between a graphic novel & a picture book.  Kids are thrilled to carry around a huge book & this will fill the bill--sparse text & much of the story is told through the black & white illustrations.

This year the National Book Awards also honored HUGO CABRET as a finalist in the Young People category which was the only one of the 5 for younger readers.  The winner & the other 4 finalists are all geared for young adult readers:
     WINNER--THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie
     OTHER FINALISTS--SKIN HUNGER:  A RESURRECTION OF MAGIC, BOOK 1 by Kathleen Duey
                                   TOUCHING SNOW by M. Sindy Felin
                                   THE STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr 

Last week I attended the AZ Library Association state conference in Mesa where the highlights were hearing authors Gordon Korman & Janelle Cannon speak.  I won't tell you about the food at the 40.00 lunch where the 2007 Grand Canyon Reader Awards were presented to these authors for SON OF THE MOB and PINDULI respectively!  But thanks to Ann Ewbank for introducing me as the founder of that program.

Gordon Korman's books are extremely popular with older readers & have some controversial subjects, therefore making adults a little uneasy but sure winners with kids.  His message, he said is, "lighten up".  He isn't trying to send messages in his books but to deal with issues with humor.  He urged us to teach humor in school among our literary skills.  Many of his books are set in schools--he has a connection to schools as his wife is a 3rd grade teacher.  He says that in order to be a teacher, one has to be able to laminate everything in sight.  His ideas come from being observant like Jerry Seinfeld's bit of "did you ever notice....."When he was 12 his teacher told him he had written something good enough for others to read so he sent it to Scholastic Book clubs' address as he was the book club monitor.  The manuscript got to the right place & he was published!  He laughed that his mother had to drive him to his first author visit.  He does about 50 school visits a year which is where he does "research".  Kids tell him his books are so real which lead him to think kids have a different "willing suspension of disbelief" than adults.

Janelle Cannon first saw a striped hyena in the San Diego Zoo & was able to observe it with a handler & that became her character Pinduli. Pinduli means catalyst or change in Swahili.  Her favorite book as a child was FERDINAND THE BULL which tells about a bull who does not want to fight but ends up in the bullring due to funny circumstances.  She loved that art & began using some of those expressions on the animals faces she drew.  She is inspired by anecdotes about animals from experts she knows.  She never finished high school but has never stopped learning.  She draws in colored pencils & is left handed.  As a free lance graphic artist, she wrote & drew STELLALUNA, her first book on the weekends & nights & sent it to an agent she met who only dealt with adult books.  But that agent took her on & her book was published within weeks of submission.  Janelle says she tries to draw animals as real as possible so children will recognize them when they see them again.  Her new book promised to be a new style & new format but about animals.

Happy Thanksgiving--there's still time to read my favorite T. book:  'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING by Dav Pilkey.  Notice the dedication page quote & the similarites to Van Gogh's skies & Grant Wood's American Gothic.
Cathy

Hi friends--the New York Times Book Review names the best illustrated books of 2007 in their Nov. 11 edition.  Every year since 1952 a panel of judges makes selections from among the thousands published every year.  This years judges included Caldecott Medalist David Wiesner who you heard about previously from me.  So here they are:
     EVERY FRIDAY written & illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (Holt)
     JABBERWOCKY illustrated by Christopher Myers (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion)
     THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
     FIRST THE EGG written & illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook)
     NOT A BOX written & illustrated by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)
     600 BLACK SPOTS written & illustrated by David A. Carter (Little Simon)
     THE FROG WHO WANTED TO SEE THE SEA written & illustrated by Guy Billout (Creative Ed)
     THE WALL:  growing up behind the Iron Curtain written & illustrated by Peter Sis (Frances Foster/FSG)
     OLD PENN STATION written & illustrated by William Low (Holt)
     THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET written & illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)

The only one of these I have actually seen & read if THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET which is fantastic--for the middle grade children, perhaps a high 2nd grade reader & up.  Though it's 533 pages, it's a cross between a graphic novel & a picture book.  Kids are thrilled to carry around a huge book & this will fill the bill--sparse text & much of the story is told through the black & white illustrations.

This year the National Book Awards also honored HUGO CABRET as a finalist in the Young People category which was the only one of the 5 for younger readers.  The winner & the other 4 finalists are all geared for young adult readers:
     WINNER--THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie
     OTHER FINALISTS--SKIN HUNGER:  A RESURRECTION OF MAGIC, BOOK 1 by Kathleen Duey
                                   TOUCHING SNOW by M. Sindy Felin
                                   THE STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr 

Last week I attended the AZ Library Association state conference in Mesa where the highlights were hearing authors Gordon Korman & Janelle Cannon speak.  I won't tell you about the food at the 40.00 lunch where the 2007 Grand Canyon Reader Awards were presented to these authors for SON OF THE MOB and PINDULI respectively!  But thanks to Ann Ewbank for introducing me as the founder of that program.

Gordon Korman's books are extremely popular with older readers & have some controversial subjects, therefore making adults a little uneasy but sure winners with kids.  His message, he said is, "lighten up".  He isn't trying to send messages in his books but to deal with issues with humor.  He urged us to teach humor in school among our literary skills.  Many of his books are set in schools--he has a connection to schools as his wife is a 3rd grade teacher.  He says that in order to be a teacher, one has to be able to laminate everything in sight.  His ideas come from being observant like Jerry Seinfeld's bit of "did you ever notice....."When he was 12 his teacher told him he had written something good enough for others to read so he sent it to Scholastic Book clubs' address as he was the book club monitor.  The manuscript got to the right place & he was published!  He laughed that his mother had to drive him to his first author visit.  He does about 50 school visits a year which is where he does "research".  Kids tell him his books are so real which lead him to think kids have a different "willing suspension of disbelief" than adults.

Janelle Cannon first saw a striped hyena in the San Diego Zoo & was able to observe it with a handler & that became her character Pinduli. Pinduli means catalyst or change in Swahili.  Her favorite book as a child was FERDINAND THE BULL which tells about a bull who does not want to fight but ends up in the bullring due to funny circumstances.  She loved that art & began using some of those expressions on the animals faces she drew.  She is inspired by anecdotes about animals from experts she knows.  She never finished high school but has never stopped learning.  She draws in colored pencils & is left handed.  As a free lance graphic artist, she wrote & drew STELLALUNA, her first book on the weekends & nights & sent it to an agent she met who only dealt with adult books.  But that agent took her on & her book was published within weeks of submission.  Janelle says she tries to draw animals as real as possible so children will recognize them when they see them again.  Her new book promised to be a new style & new format but about animals.

Happy Thanksgiving--there's still time to read my favorite T. book:  'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING by Dav Pilkey.  Notice the dedication page quote & the similarites to Van Gogh's skies & Grant Wood's American Gothic.
Cathy

dear friends--Where to start?  You must trust me on this:  I just attended one of the best small conferences I have ever gone to in my 31 years of going to educational conferences!!  (Just learn to live with my exclamation points, please).  I just can't imagine why I never went to a USBBY conference before!!  Well, yes I do know--IT WAS EXPENSIVE!!  And it has never been in the Southwest before. 

IBBY is the International Board on Books for Youth & you can go to google & get their web site to read all about how they have 60 nations joining together to promote children's literature.  USBBY is the United States chapter which held their conference in Tucson last weekend.  The conference was limited to 250 participants & the only vendor there was a local book store selling only the IBBY honor books that are biennial awards--1 from each country member for text & 1 for illustration (let me know if you want that list as I have a bookmark with them listed), books of the speakers & the local authors & illustrators who attended Friday night.

Thanks to my principal who let me hit the road Friday early to get to Tucson early enough to check into my hotel, register, & then have time to study the program offerings before the conference started.  Dinner with friend Jim Deem & his wife (he writes many nonfiction mummy books & is somewhat of an expert in that field now--glacier mummies is next), then to the opening session at 7PM.

Yuyi (pronounced JuJi) Morales from Mexico though now lives in San Francisco opened the conference with a spirited session about her willingness to stay in her seat & keep working until she produced works she was proud of.  She is the illustrator of HARVESTING HOPE by Kathleen Krull--picture book bio of Ceasar Chavez, which I use every year at the end of March for CC's birth date--many students don't know he was born in Yuma AZ.  Two years ago I heard Yuyi speak at a conference at the U of A & she was very meek & timid.  WELL, she has gained her confidence & since has published 2 books she wrote & illustrated:  JUST A MINUTE:  A TRICKSTER TALE & COUNTING BOOK  and LITTLE NIGHT which is just new.  Her presentation included entirely changing her outfit while on stage to show the transformation she has been through.  Google her for a great web site.


Sat. morning's session began with a very inspiring talk by Palistinian writer Ibtisam Barakat who now lives in the US in MO. Her book for older students is TASTING THE SKY about her experiences growning up in Ramallah, West Bank.  I went to this conference pledging not to buy any books but 1/2 through the talk when the mike failed, I found myself rushing outside to purchase it.  The person ahead of me got the last copy & I was OH, so diappointed until I found a colleague willing to drive down to the U of A bookstore with me & purchase it there.  You would think Ibtisam would write with hatred for what's happened to her & her homeland, but she doesn't--her message of kindness, helpfulness & social justice came through loud & clear.  She said she has found that she is comforted by learning that we are all suffering in some way so she tries to be kind knowing everyone is fighting a great battle.  Another book is THE TIP OF A PIECE OF WHITE CHALK which tells about coming to NYC & going to the UN building but not finding the Palistian flag.  So the next day she came back & drew it on the sidewalk with chalk.  She also said that kids need our full attention to grow up to be caring adults--full attention from everyone.

A very big treat for me was the unexpected presence of children's author/illustrator David Weisner who has won the Caldecott Medal for best illustrated children's book THREE times:  recently for FLOTSUM (see previous blog entry) and previously for TUESDAY, and also for THE THREE PIGS.  I still can't believe I stood in the breezeway of this fabulous resort just casually talking to him about his work, his art & telling him how the kids in my school FLIPPED over his books.  A very shy, quiet, unassuming super star of children's literature, he is the US nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen award for illustration.

I better stop!  I could go on & on about this conference.  More later!!
Cathy