Publications about books for children and young adults
Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon; illus. by the author Primary Blue Sky/Scholastic 32 pp. 10/12 978-0-545-14312-7 $17.99 g Shannon takes the one-that-got-away story and spins it out into a big-fish tall tale as recounted by a father to his son. Jangles, the legendary trout of Big Lake, had “broken so many fishing [...]
Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten! by Hyewon Yum; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Foster/Farrar 40 pp. 7/12 978-0-374-35004-8 $16.99 g “Mom, wake up!” In the art, a young boy looms large, while his mom appears small and kind of blue (as in “sad,” though she’s also pale blue from head to toe). [...]
A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead; illus. by the author Primary Porter/Roaring Brook 32 pp. 6/12 978-1-59643-711-1 $16.99 g Stead (author of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, rev. 5/10) returns with another terrific tale of devoted friendship. Starting on the copyright page, we see a little bird thrown from the back of [...]
We’ve just posted Leonard S. Marcus’s article “Give ‘Em Helvetica: Picture Book Type” from the upcoming September/October issue. Since “type is one of the major ingredients in the creation of a visual environment,” Marcus explores how different typefaces can enhance — or detract from — our reading experience. What’s your favorite font? (And perhaps an [...]
Jimmy the Greatest! by Jairo Buitrago; illus. by Rafael Yockteng; trans. from the Spanish by Elisa Amado Primary Groundwood 48 pp. 5/12 978-1-55498-178-6 $18.95 e-book ed. 978-1-55498-206-6 $18.95 What happens when a boy from a nondescript small town grows up to be a talented boxer? Most would dream of bigger and better places, but not [...]
Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey by Mini Grey; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Knopf 32 pp. 5/12 978-0-375-86952-5 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-375-96952-2 $19.99 The adventuresome duo from Traction Man Is Here! (rev. 3/05) and Traction Man Meets Turbodog (rev. 9/08) hits the beach for a manly day of scuba diving, picnic security duty, [...]
A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Candlewick 40 pp. 3/12 978-0-7636-5893-9 $16.99 “The bus brought change to Stella’s street…Stella changed, too.” It’s quiet, pale Stella who takes her thumb out of her mouth and steps onto the bus that has been abandoned outside her house, claiming it for [...]
Animal Masquerade by Marianne Dubuc; trans. from the French by Yvette Ghione; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Kids Can 120 pp. 3/12 978-1-55453-782-2 $16.95 For kids who never tire of driving one joke into the ground, this is the perfect book—and for their adults, there are enough surprises to make that one joke tolerable [...]
Lady Hahn and Her Seven Friends by Yumi Heo; illus. by the author Primary Ottaviano/Holt 32 pp. 4/12 978-0-8050-4127-9 $16.99 g “Long, long ago when tigers still smoked pipes, there lived Lady Hahn.” Heo’s story, which originates from an unknown Korean author’s nineteenth-century classical essay, reads like a folktale: a straightforward telling, a simple refrain, [...]
This coming Saturday, I’ll be introducing my old friend Betsy Hearne at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, where she will be delivering the Barbara Elleman Research Library Lecture. 25 bucks for lunch with Betsy and me at noon; the BERL lecture (hey Barbara–how’s it feel to be an acronym?) is at 2:00 [...]
