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This past spring, I participated as a mentor in our local writers guild’s Sheldon Oberman Emerging Writers Mentor Program.  The program was named after Sheldon Oberman, a Winnipeg writer who is well known for his childrens’ books.  Oberman died in 2004 but his legacy lives on in the mentorship program and his wonderful childrens’ books, a few of which I’ll feature in this post.  Although my encounter with Sheldon Oberman was primarily through the legacy of the  mentorship program, my children were familiar with his books, having encountered them at their school.

The White Stone in the Castle Wall illustrated by Les Tait (Tundra Books, 1995) is the story of a poor little boy named John Tommy Fiddich, who with his white stone, considers himself “sometimes lucky, sometimes unlucky.”  Set at turn-of-the-century Toronto, the book is also about the building of one of the city’s most famous landmarks — Casa Loma — and its eccentric owner, Sir Henry Pellat.

The Always Prayer Shawl illustrated by Ted Lewin (Boyds Mills Press, 1994) is about a Jewish boy named Adam.  When Adam is a boy (and it is a time when eggs were got from chickens, heat from chopped wood, and rides in wagons pulled by horses), he receives a special gift from his grandfather — a prayer shawl.  His grandfather, a rabbi, tells him that although “some things change, some don’t.”  He tells him that one of the things that will not change is his name, Adam, and he gives Adam a prayer shawl.  Adam carries that prayer shawl with him all through his long life until many decades later he is able to give it to his grandson, Adam, when he is an old man.

TV Sal and The Game Show from Outer Space illustrated by Craig Terlson (Red Deer College Press, 1993) is about a girl sucked into a TV by TV station aliens.  This delightful story about TV addiction pokes fun at both parent and child.  I especially relate to Sal’s Mom who suggests to her TV watching daughter, “Would you like to do something different, dear?  Come out with us to look at the fog.”   I’m always nagging my children to get outside more.  It is while Sal’s family is out for a walk that Sal finds herself in that alien TV world and can’t get herself out.

Sheldon Oberman’s books are a delight and pleasure to read.  Hope you can find copies in your bookstore and library!

Author: Michael Bedard (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Les Tait (on JOMB)
Published: 1999 Tundra Books (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0887765734 Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Thoughtful, unhurried narrative and rich, enveloping art capture the clutter and compassion of two celebrated sculptors, a fledgling robin’s rescue and the birth of a life-changing friendship.

You can learn more about sculptors Frances Loring and Florence Wyle here. Read about the recently published adult book, And Beauty Answers: The Life of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, here.

Aha! I found a photo of their studio church on Glenrose Avenue!

Robert Forbes, author of Beastly Feasts! A Mischievous Menagerie in Rhyme, recently paid a visit to the Palm Beach Day Academy in Palm Beach, Florida. A crowd of 150 second-through-seventh graders were delighted with the mischiveous rhymes, reports Jan Sjostrom in a feature article in The Palm Beach Daily News. Theater students from the Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Schoool of Arts were also on hand to give an interpretation of the poems. Now that's a thought, could Beastly Feasts! The Movie be coming soon to a theater near you?

Columnist Betty Woodward salutes Beastly Feasts! on Grandparents.com: "Subtitled A Mischievous Menagarie in Rhyme, Beastly Feasts! is a collection of delicious rhymes about animals, loving and not so-so-loving. There are plenty among the 40-odd poems that will appeal to grandchildren ages 7 and younger such as "The Rhinosaurus." The slightly older set will appreciate the more sophisticated poems, such as "Ode on a Fishbowl" that describes the perennial standoff between cat and goldfish. I could go on quoting these luscious little poems, but they are best read aloud to your grandchildren. They'll eat up the madcap creature illustrations by cartoonist Ronald Searle. Add the search fo the secret beast hidden within each drawing and you have the makings of a repeat read for years to come."

Christmas is only a few days away, and The Winged Elephant has a few suggestions for last-minute shoppers: Church Signs Across America is a great gift for everyone in the family - a guaranteed chuckle on Christmas morning. For kids, we recommend Beastly Feasts, the magnificent collaboration between Robert Forbes and illustrator Ronald Searle, and the new collector's edition of Emil and the Detectives, which features a new introduction by Maurice Sendak. For avid readers looking to spend the holidays curled up with a great novel, don't overlook Susan Hill's The Pure in Heart, Penny Vincenzi's The Dilemma, or Second Sight by Charles McCarry.

Robert Forbes, author of Beastly Feasts! A Mischievous Menagerie in Rhyme, will appear at the 16th annual Connecticut Children's Book Fair on Saturday, November 10. Held on the campus of the University of Connecticut, this popular event brings together prominent children's authors and illustrators and the general public in an annual event designed to foster the enjoyment of children's literature. The Connecticut Book Fair is available to the public without an entrance fee. Children, parents, grandparents, book collectors, and interested members of the public are welcome to attend. Just don't leave without and autographed copy of Beastly Feasts!

Opening this week at The Forbes Gallery in New York is a magnificent new exhibition of the work of legendary caricaturist Ronald Searle. The exhibit features the orginal drawings that illustrate Overlook's new children's book by Robert L. Forbes, Beastly Feasts: A Mischievious Menagerie in Rhyme, and a retrospective of Searle's career, "Ronald Searle: A Lifetime of Drawing." The exhibition is on dispaly September 19, 2007 - March 15, 20008. One of the great illustrators of our generation, Searle's amazing cartoons of the St.Trinian's boarding school will be collected in a new book published by The Rookery Press in January 2008, coinciding with the major motion picture release of St. Trinians's, starring Rupert Everett, Mischa Barton, and Colin Firth.

PW's CHILDREN'S BOOKSHELF features BEASTLY FEASTS: A Mischievious Menagerie in Rhyme by Robert Forbes with Drawings by Ronald Searle.

Here's a little footage from the Overlook Press booth from this weekend at the Javits. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi.



Beloved publisher and gentleman Peter Mayer with beloved Overlook author and gentleman Robert Forbes. His September book BEASTLY FEASTS was the hit of the Overlook Booth.