JuniorBookWorm.com

Alphabet Books

Satoshi Kitamura is one of the few Japanese writer/illustrators to become a mainstay in the Western children's book market. He takes on emotional topics as with his book Angry Arthur. He has quite a sense of humor. He has collaborated with English writers such as Hiawyn Oram and Colin McNaughton. And in each of his 9 most popular titles, he reveals something bizarre, something unusual for a picture book to be revealing. And that is all the fun for devotees and the annoyance for those who cast him out.
    His ABC book, From Acorn to Zoo, is a book of pictures and labels. Like Richard Scarry, he stuffs his illustrations with dozens of words beginning with the given letter. Unlike Scarry (however much we adore his work), the treats for the eye are overwhelming. His drawings are at their finest. His humorous animals are full of expression. His subject matter is surprising. If you are a collector of ABC's or have an eager pre-schooler, this is one to add to the library.
Here are a few more we like:

Rapunzel

Rapunzel has been recreated!
Paul O Zelinsky is a marvelous illustrator. His command of the brush and pen is unsurpassed. His wit and unusual imagination are revealed in his overly dramatized characters. His story is true to the original. For a combination of all those attributes, he has won a Caldecott Gold Medal.

The subject of the book is compelling for children. There is a happy ending as far as they are concerned. But for a mother, reading this book can be almost hard to bear. Rapunzel is stolen from her birth mother. The story never returns to her shattered life. The witch loses Rapunzel to the prince. Although she deserves to lose the imprisoned Rapunzel, and has her revenge on the prince to boot, she never sees her adopted daughter again. Not only is the story unresolved, Rapunzel cannot be happily ever after. Can she?

Hurricane Katrina Relief

Help Victims of Katrina

Gunnar Madsen, one of the PBQ's favourite performer of children's music
is joining with hundreds of other musicians and the wonderful CDBaby
organization in donating all profits from sales of our CDs this month to
help the victims of hurricane Katrina.  Any CDs that you order through
CDBaby will have 100% of the profits (70% of each sale) going
to the Red Cross in support of their efforts.  So, if you were thinking
of treating yourself or someone you love to some music, now's a great
time to do so.  You'll help deliver some much-needed aid to our friends
who are suffering.  Just click on the link above and introduce yourself
to some terrific music from the USA and beyond.

BLINGO is a new search engine that is worth checking out

The Summer's End

I returned from Connecticut this summer covered in poison ivy and a regained love of the Scoville Memorial Library in Salisbury, Connecticut. From 200 books brought from England in 1771, it is alive with literature. The best part of the library is the children's section. The selection is great, catogorized with care , with the readers in mind. The librarians have read an astounding number of the books. The children's books largely come wrapped in their hardcovers. The contrast with our local Central London branch is heartbreaking. Some of my children are returning to school tomorrow and will have to make lists of their summer reading. I will be sharing these and some of mine as well. We saw Charlie and Chocolate Factory today and Billy Elliot yesterday. So stay tuned for new reviews, summer reading turned to autumn. 

She is a beauty and they are finally fixing the leaky roof!