Kids Literati

If You're Afraid of the Dark Add One More Star to the Night is a collection of some old and new Cooper Edens illustrations with fresh words and whimsical idioms. I grew up loving If You're Afraid of the Dark Remember the Night Rainbow and this book has some of the same pictures, though with new words to light up your nights.

Bizarre musings such as "If your elephant forgets perhaps your aardvark knows the answer" are balanced with almost practical insights such as "If the sun refuses to shine, replace it with a hot cup of tea". That's sensible advice for where I am in the gray rainy Pacific Northwest.

If you are a Cooper Eden fan, or like to stretch your imagination, then you will enjoy this insightful little book with gorgeous illustrations.  

Oh the weather outside is frightful and books are so delightful! Now that winter weather is upon us, and the nighttime falls way before little kids bedtimes here in the Northwest, we've been having our regular weekly trips to the library. Now, actually with both the adults in this house, we probably make 2-3 library trips a week. Oh how I adore the library!

My munchkin devours books, comics, and ever chapter books now! So, we usually have multiple piles of books lying around the abode. Books are such a blessing, especially when you have a little boy who bounces around all day long, except when he has his nose in a really cool comic book that he just thinks is so funny.

It is the most amazing thing to watch my baby grow up into a little boy who sits by himself reading a storybook and giggling to himself at the funny words and jokes that he is reading himself. Wow.

The other pastime that the winter brings more of to our house is games. In the summertime and when it's sunny outside, the best thing to do is send the kidlet outdoors to climb trees and feed the neighborhood chickens. Now that we have hours of nighttime before bedtime, it's time for board games, card games, and creative play indoors. I'm contemplating expanding this blog from children's books to kids games, art, and culture too. We'll see, the winter also brings lots of new ideas for projects and plans...

I hope you are all staying warm! Enjoy a good story and a cup of hot chocolate or tea and think of me! 

The picture is "Winter Reading" by Will Hillenbrand.

Panda bears are an enchanting species, so majestic and rare, yet cuddly and sweet. Tracks of a Panda is a beautiful children's book about a mama panda and her newborn baby panda, and their struggle to survive.

This gorgeous book illustrates the care and nurturing of the baby panda as mama struggles to find bamboo for food and a home that is safe from predators, both animal and human. The illustrations by Yu Rong use a Chinese painting technique which wonderfully complements the story by Nick Dowson.

Alongside the story of the pandas are informative facts about panda bears and their life, habits, skills, and challenges. A lovely story, a reflection of the universal bond between mother and baby, and the fragile struggle for survival.  

The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley by Colin Thompson & Amy Lissiat is a very funny children's book which won the award of Picture Book of the Year by The Children's Book Council of Australia.

Riley is a very happy rat who was born happy and lives happily. Happy with a stick and falling in love with the first rat girl he sees. Riley is so very happy with his short rat life, unlike humans who always want-want-want and are rarely happy with what they have. At least not as happy as Riley. A funny story with great illustrations, combining drawing and painting with collage.

What makes you incredibly happy? Is it a "little stick with a pointy end" to scratch your back with, or a few tasty slugs like Riley loves? Or perhaps, you are like me and enjoy dancing to really great music with my friends, or quietly enjoying reading a good book on the couch with a blanket and a cup of hot tea, or enjoying a laugh with my kidlet. 

I love vintage children's book art. That's why I love Nurse Marbles collection of Storybook Art on Flickr - check it out here. While you're at it, take a look at her collection of Ghastly Food or the cover of the Pantyhose Craft Book. Now, who's interested in a bite of Salad Loaf?

Bagel's Lucky Hat is a comical story about Bagel the dog and his search for his missing lucky hat. This wildly illustrated book captivates the reader, both young and old, from first glance. My seven-year old son grabbed this book when he saw the cover and devoured the book quickly from cover to cover. After his first reading, he looked up at me and said, "Mama, who ever wrote this book has A LOT of imagination!", and I concurred.

Bagel the dog and his friend Becky the cat are getting ready for bedtime when Bagel is upset to discover his lucky  hat is missing. As the friends puzzle about where the hat could be, Bagel thinks back over the wild antics of the day. Becky is in disbelief as Bagel recounts stories of sailing down a river with a school of laughing fishes, flying through the skies with a flock of friendly birds, chasing his lucky hat through the underground laboratory of a mad scientist, and getting trapped in a giant space-traveling robot, and making friends with aliens from deep space. Becky doesn't believe Bagel's outlandish stories, and it's a big surprise where Bagel's lucky hat turns up.  

The author of the story, Hector Mumbley, is an award-winning graphic novelist who has also worked on commercial projects such as Futurama.  Dave Cooper, the illustrator of Bagel's Lucky Hat, is an underground comic book artist. Together they create a wild and fantastical world in which Bagel the dog has some extremely imaginative adventures.

Does anyone remember the classic children's book Princesses' Tresses by Luciana Roselli? It was published in 1962 and is very hard to find now. I haven't seen it in years, but we had an old copy when I was a little girl. I think my oldest sister confiscated it and is safely guarding it away somewhere. She will never part hands with it, so I looked into getting a copy for myself. Apparently you can buy the vintage book online for a few hundred dollars.

It is a hilarious story about a little girl named Elisabeth, who yearns for gorgeous princess hair like Rapunzel. While disapointed over her lack of extralong locks she wears a big red hat everywhere - even in the bath. There are delightful illustrations that I remember adoring as a child while imagining all the wacky princess hairdo's along with Elizabeth as she ponders what would it be like to have yards and yards of hair like Rapunzel? How would she wash it, wear it, brush it, style it, sleep with it, and find anything in it. 

Enter the world of Shrinking Sam, where lack of attention from parents, family, and teachers makes Sam shrink so small that he falls down the drain. Luckily, he makes a friend in the pipes. A friendly girl who also fell into the plumbing because of her family ignoring her. Together they share their stories, listen to each other, and grow bigger until they find their way back to their homes and family's hugs. Where Sam discovers his family's love makes him grow bigger and bigger!

Thus Miriam Latimer's colorful illustrations and amusing story has an important message for kids, parents, and teachers. Love and attention are the most important elements for thriving children. A beautiful book and an excellent follow-up to The Prince's Bedtime.

An important reminder to pay attention to your friends and family - you don't want anyone you love to fall into the toilet. They could easily take a wrong turn in the plumbing and come out in the wash - like Shrinking Sam.  

Could You? Would You? a book to tickle your imagination inspires readers young and old to stretch their minds and ponder the unlimited possibilities. This creative paperback posts questions to nurture imaginative discussions about the many choices and potentials in life.

Could You? Would You? includes questions about self: What is the best thing about you?

...and silly questions: Could you imagine waking up one morning as a baby again?

...and questions to inspire: Could you learn every language in the world?

Filled with whimsical drawings to complement the questions, this book will inspire kids to think, draw, laugh, and most importantly imagine.

I believe our imagination allows us to transcend the mundane through the power of creativity. I am delighted to find more books that encourage childrens natural creativity and imagination. Preserving and nurturing the power of imagination in children will lead to future solutions for the health and vitality of our planet and human community. Plus, imagination makes life more fun, and we all need to have fun! 

Big Momma Makes the World is a superb bedtime book by Phyliis Root and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. A sweet and modern creation story that will appeal to children of all ages, as well as Big Momma herself.

Big Momma made the world all right. She did it all with that baby on her hip too. Big Momma looked at all the wonderful life and nature she created and said, "That's good. That's real good." Little ones reading along with the story will love to join in with Big Momma's refrain of "That's good."

Helen Oxenbury describes her illustrations of Big Momma as "part Buddha, part housewife." When Big Momma makes the world, she doesn't mess around.