By: Cathy Morrison,
on 3/25/2016
I'm working on a new book scheduled for Spring 2017. It's by Marianne Berkes and published by Dawn Publications. I'll post more as I go along. If you haven't guessed it's about how animals carry their young. How did somebody carry you when you were little?
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| Baby clings on Mama's Hair. |
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| This Mom is like a living raft as she transports her pup. |
#BabyLove: My Social Life Written & Illustrated by Corine Dehghanpisheh My Art to Inspire 7/09/2015 978-0-9851930-4 18 pages Ages 1—3 “’Click.’ ‘Tap.’ Tag and post. An adorable baby tells a modern tale about life in today’s digital world. #BabyLife: My Social Life highlights the social phenomena of sharing daily activities using technology and …
When a Dragon Moves In Again Written by Jodi Moore Illustrated by Howard McWilliam Flashlight Press 9/01/2015 978-1-936261-35-2 32 pages Age 4—8 “If you build a perfect castle, a dragon will move in, followed by. . . a baby?! Preparations are in fll swing o welcome a new family …
By: Betsy Bird,
on 9/5/2015
Boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. So MUCH very very good stuff to show you today. Honestly, I don’t even know where to start. Hrm. Howzabout we begin with one of my favorite tropes: things that parody other things that you’ve never seen. It was Dana Sheridan who directed my attention to this video about The Queen of Hearts from an Alice ballet. A lot of time is spent explaining how one of her dances parodies a very specific dance from Sleeping Beauty. All I know is that we need more funny ballets in this world. Preferably based on children’s books in some manner.
Thanks to Dana Sheridan for the link.
In the book trailer world I came across this little trailer for Hilo. I liked Hilo quite a bit and the animated portions of this video simple sweeten the pot.
And well . . . come on. It’s the viral video of the week. You don’t think I’d let this one go, do you? It’s practically the whole reason I’m doing a Video Sunday today. What I like to do is look at the book covers the kid’s being read. Lots of Margaret Wise Brown in there, but a nice shot of Global Babies and other beloved contemporary favs as well. Bravo, parents!
Me stuff and it’s audio, not video, but eh. Life’s short. I was asked to speak with Chicago’s radio station WGN on Friday evening, so I did so about pretty much all things children’s literature. Now I’ll admit right now that I should have made a better point about how picture books have a higher reading level than easy books and that reading them as an older kid is totally legitimate. That’s the problem with live radio. It just goes too fast. But Justin Kaufmann was an awesome host and we had a great time with the yakkety yak. In case you’re curious, the link is here.
So full credit where credit is due to Travis Jonker for locating this remarkable Wall Street Journal interview with Brian Selznick about how his drawings become a book like The Marvels. Brief it may be, but worth your time and attention.
Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.
Okay. The off-topic video. I want to pay tribute to my new town. And what better way to do so than to show you this truly dated and WONDERFUL history of Evanston, IL. For fun, just skip to the section on “Evanston Today” at 12:10, sit back, and just soak it in. Soak. It. In.
By: Shelf-employed,
on 6/8/2015
By: [email protected],
on 4/29/2015
Hop Up! Wriggle Over!, Elizabeth Honey (author, illus.), Allen & Unwin, April 2015. Cherish the moments of early mornings, chaotic meal times, constantly chasing tails and a house that’s never tidy, because one day it will be a distant memory; and you’ll miss it. This recent release emanates all this energy, and more; it’s […]
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/18/2015
Last night, the 17th, I gave birth to my daughter. Welcome to the world, Olivia.
— Mariah Huehner (@TiredFairy) March 18, 2015
Our daughter has @shift9 lovely long hands. pic.twitter.com/oN9MBHE1c6
— Mariah Huehner (@TiredFairy) March 18, 2015
Comics writer and former Vertigo and IDW editor Mariah Huehner gave birth to a daughter yesterday, named Olivia. Mom is alert and tweeting. Baby looks cute. Congrats to Mariah, husband Chris Koeppel and baby Olivia. we see some comics in your future.
Also this is the perfect place to post that Mariah/Rose McIver of iZombie Separated at Birth I’ve been sitting on for years and years. Eerie, isn’t it!
By: DanP,
on 3/9/2015
The news that Britain is set to become the first country to authorize IVF using genetic material from three people—the so-called ‘three-parent baby’—has given rise to (very predictable) divisions of opinion. On the one hand are those who celebrate a national ‘first’, just as happened when Louise Brown, the first ever ‘test-tube baby’, was born in Oldham in 1978. Just as with IVF more broadly, the possibility for people who otherwise couldn’t to be come parents of healthy children is something to be welcomed.
The post The third parent appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Kim Sponaugle,
on 3/3/2015
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By: Kim Sponaugle,
on 2/6/2015
By: Karen Maxwell,
on 1/25/2015
I love, love, LOVE this video. I’ve always had a problem with sanctimonious mothers who think THEIR way is the BEST way to raise a child.
I couldn’t disagree more.
I bottle fed my children and I’m not ashamed to admit that. I used to be ashamed to admit it because whenever I would mention it on this blog, or anywhere else, quite frankly, I would get the disapproving stink eye or a snarky comment. And then I would inevitably feel inadequate and guilty.
Not anymore, dude. I’m not even going to justify my decision – I did what I thought was best for my children and my sanity.
It always annoys me whenever people feel the need to justify their decisions. I’m sure you did what you thought best. End of discussion.
And that’s where I stand on motherhood issues.
Whether you bottle fed, breast fed, stayed at home, worked out of the home, used cloth diapers or disposable diapers – in the end, it’s really none of my business. As long as you’re doing what’s best for the child and your family, it really doesn’t matter. The ultimate goal is to raise our children to be responsible, educated, compassionate human beings; how you reach that goal is up to you. There is no “one size fits all” answer, no matter what you hear politicians, the media, or even other mothers try to convince us otherwise.
You do what’s best for you and your family and don’t you dare feel guilty about your decisions or feel like you have to justify your decisions.
Ultimately – it’s none of our business how you live your life.
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By: Eve Ainsworth,
on 12/9/2014
By: E.C. Myers,
on 12/3/2014
by
E.C. Myers
—
People sometimes talk about books as if they are babies, raised by the author and ultimately sent into the world to make their fortunes. We even wish authors a “happy book birthday” on their publication day! In the last month, I’ve been thinking about the similarities and differences between “book babies” and actual babies, since I’m in the position to compare the two directly; as it happens (as it was meant to happen), my new book and our first baby were both scheduled to debut in the first week of November. 
My son turned up a little early, which made the launch of The Silence of Six slightly easier, but it has still been an interesting experience juggling my new life as a father with my life as a writer with a day job. I decided to put books and babies side by side in the chart below. Like books and babies, it’s still a work in progress, and I left a few things out. Do you have anything you would add or disagree with? Let me know in the comments below!
(click to embiggen)
—
E.C. Myers was assembled in the U.S. from Korean and German parts and raised by a single mother and the public library in Yonkers, New York. He is the author of the Andre Norton Award–winning young adult novel Fair Coin and Quantum Coin, as well as numerous short stories. His new novel, The Silence of Six, a thriller about teenage hackers and government conspiracies, is out now from Adaptive Books. You can find traces of him all over the internet, but especially at http://ecmyers.net and on Twitter: @ecmyers.
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By: Zoe,
on 10/1/2014
Fascinating and reassuring, thoughtful and funny, Welcome to the Family by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Ros Asquith is a very special book about all sorts of different families and the ways children end up in them. If ever a book was cut and bound with love, this is it.
It’s the perfect book if you’re part of a family with step-parents, adopted siblings, or any sort of family which is not vanilla Mum, Dad and 2.4 kids, and you want your family to see families just like yours in between the pages of a book.
It’s also the perfect book if you are part of a family with Mum, Dad and 2.4 kids and you want to help your kids understand that there’s not just one way of being a family, even if all families do have one very important thing in common: Love.
All sorts of children (and parents) will find themselves in this book; they will see themselves and their family set-ups acknowledged and celebrated without judgement. And as is appropriate of any celebration there’s lots of joy, happiness and humour in both words and pictures. Reassurance that the child is loved and welcomed is the beating heart of this book.
A special cuddly teddy bear provides commentary at different points in the text, allowing children to feel ok if what they’re reading is new or surprising for them. Sibling rivalry, anxiety and the difficulties which can arise in any family are also mentioned; this remains a realistic, not a sugar-coated view of family life, and it’s all the more comforting for that.
Whilst I adore this book more than I have found easy to say (I’ve drafted this review many times trying to find just mix of exuberance and professionalism), I think it worth pointing out that although all sorts of families are included, they are all core, nuclear families ie parents and children. No explicit mention is made of aunts and uncles, grandparents or cousins, and yet these people too are very important parts of many families.
Sharing this book (or letting your child discover it for themselves) is an easy and enjoyable way to introduce your primary school aged kids to everything from IVF babies to the fact that some kids are brought up by two Dads. It’s honest, welcoming text is brilliantly brought to life by spirited illustrations. It’s unpatronising, unthreatening approach is a breath of fresh air. Simply put, this is an outstanding book, a book that fights evil and ignorance with joy, love and respect.
Inspired by Welcome to the Family we made a set of family puppets.
We started by taking a load of photos of each other, with our faces showing different sorts of expressions. I cropped our heads out and resized them so they were only 1.5-2 cm tall, before printing them out.
(Alternatively you could also go to a passport photo booth and get have fun there, coming home with strips of faces.)
Next we drew bodies and clothing. I gave the kids pieces of paper between 10 and 15 cm long and encouraged them to draw their bodies/clothes to fill the space; if your printed head is about 2 cm big, you’ll need the bodies to be between 10 and 15 cm long if you want them to be approximately in proportion to the heads. The kids found the scale issue a little difficult to begin with, but it definitely helped to give them rectangles of paper approximately the right size, rather than big sheets of paper.
We cut out the heads and bodies and stuck them onto wooden barbecue skewers using label stickers, but you could use tape.
Now we were ready to act out all sorts of family dramas!
Whilst making our family puppets we listened to:
Other activities which could work well alongside reading Welcome to the Family include these:
What are your favourite books about families?
Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of Welcome to the Family by the publisher.
By: Jen Robinson,
on 6/26/2014
Book: Open Wide!
Author: Stephen Krensky
Illustrator: James Burks
Pages: 14
Age Range: 1-4
"These yummy green beans will make you as big as an elephant."
We see the mom holding out the spoon/airplane, while the dad pretends to be an elephant. The dad's shadow is in the shape of an elephant, lending an additional visual cue so that readers can see what he's trying to do. My four year old found the goofiness of the dad's animal postures hilarious. He is particularly silly jumping around the kitchen like a bunny. His son, however, is not amused. The baby remains recalcitrant to the very end, when he takes matters into his own hands. As a bonus, this book comes with a paper airplane / spoon holder that can be extracted fro the back cover and folded together.
Although this book is about a baby, I think that it works for preschoolers, too, because stubborn behavior in regards to eating does not go away when kids learn to walk and talk. When reading with a preschooler, one can leave the punch line of each animal comparison up in the air, and ask the child to fill in the blanks.
Open Wide! is entertaining for parents, too, because we've all been there. It's quite clear, though not explicitly stated, that these are first-time parents. The cute animal examples are interspersed with statements like: "Sam, we don't have all night." For me, this dance between cajoling and demanding obedience rang true.
Burks' illustrations are entertaining, full of funny animal shadows, grouchy baby faces, and increasingly frantic parents. There is enough detail here to make this more a book for preschoolers than for babies, though I'm sure parents will not be able to resist sharing it with their brand-new solid food eaters.
Open Wide!, with its combination of little kid humor and realistic (ok, slightly exaggerated) depiction of first-time parents, is going on my baby gift list. The "Free Plane Inside" is an added bonus. This one is definitely worth a look.
Publisher: Cartwheel Books (@Scholastic)
Publication Date: July 29, 2014
Source of Book: Advance review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
By: Jen Robinson,
on 5/13/2014
Book: The Baby Tree
Author: Sophie Blackall
Pages: 40
Age Range: 4-8
This book does so many things right. First of all, the illustrations are hilarious. The "baby tree" is shown on the cover. Even better is a picture of a hospital chock-full of babies, with a line of swaddled babies (basically heads atop blankets) somehow upright and making their way out the front door. Other aspects of the illustrations are more subtle, but also pleasing. The babies are a multi-cultural rainbow, also bearing a diverse assortment of blankets. The expressions on the faces of the people the boy asks about babies are priceless. The mailman looks positively sheepish as he scratches his head and says something about eggs. (And oh, the baby face peeking out of a bird's egg is adorable.)
The other thing that I like about this book is that even though it's about something (where babies come from), there are lots of other details that are simply true to the life of a preschooler. I know that my daughter is going to laugh when she reads about the boy waking up Dad, then eventually waking up Dad again. And she'll relate to when the boy uses his parents' excitement about the baby to finagle a second bowl of cocopops. Kids have priorities, you know. There are a few tidbits in here for parents, too, as when the teacher gives the briefest possible answer to the boy's question, and then immediately says: "Boys and girls, it's time to wash our brushes." The adult reader can practically hear her thinking: "Because I don't want to get into this discussion here at school."
The fact that the boy's parents tell him their news at a time when they have to rush off, leaving him to ask all of these other people, is a tiny bit contrived. But I will cheerfully forgive Sophie Blackall for that. Because this book is wonderful. In the end, it answers children's questions about where babies come from, simply and honestly. But along the way, it provides delightful, whimsical pictures set against realistic depictions of the life of a preschooler. This is a must-purchase for parents expecting another baby, and for libraries. Highly recommended.
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books (@PenguinKids)
Publication Date: May 1, 2014
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
What a wonderful little video clip! If you’ve read Catherine Friend’s The Perfect Nest, you’ll enjoy watching this Perfect Nest in Ireland
The season my first daughter was born, Kentucky won the NCAA championship. Two years later, along came daughter number two and, lo and behold, UK hoisted another banner. I joked with my lovely wife at the time that with all of the rich basketball fanatics in my home state, we could surely find a patron who would sponsor future babies if Kentucky kept cutting down nets. Alas, no such luck with numbers three and four.
You’d have to know my wife, though. She loves babies. She would have started looking for real estate in Lexington had they won with our third. Her baby wanter gets turned on just by the smell of hospital soap. If she gets to hold one, I practically have to pry the child out of her hands. I came home not too long ago and she was holding a baby I had never seen with a contented smile on her face. I looked around…no one else in the house. For the briefest of moments I truly thought she had finally stolen one. (It turned out we were babysitting a teacher’s baby for a night.) Me, I like ‘em okay. I liked watching a game with one sleeping on my chest, but they always felt too fragile in my oversized mitts. I preferred the toddler years where we could wrestle and play.
Much to my delight, my beloved Wildcats have made it to the Final Four again this year. I said at the outset of the tourney that I wouldn’t be surprised if they got beat in the first round and I wouldn’t be surprised if they won it all. It’s been just that type of up and down year. I don’t keep up with sports like I used to, but I still watch my Cats when I can.
I’m sorry Cats. I love you and want you to win with all of my heart. But my baby days are behind me. I won’t do that!
(A little Meatloaf just for fun!)
Good luck to the Wildcats this weekend. I hope you cut the nets down on Monday. You just have to do it without my progeny this time.
♦
Speaking of my progeny, I was set to post this yesterday until we got news related to the health of our youngest. We haven’t gotten an exact diagnosis yet, but have further tests next week. I appreciate the prayers and words of affirmation from my friends here. We’re hanging in there and she has meds now to make her feel better…
By: Roberta Baird,
on 10/24/2013
Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the Everywhere and into here.
~George MacDonald, At the Back of the North Wind
I’ve been working a lot on middle grade art lately. I really like the preteen quirkiness, but baby books are fun to draw too.
So I’ve decided to also build up my younger portfolio as well.
Basically… I like to work in all areas.
Stay tuned!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/6/2013
It has been suggested to me that running Big Two teasers as news is destroying the very fabric of comics; however, when they are a cute, clever Image, I reserve the right to run them. This refers to some yet to be revealed storyline involving the character Iron Man, as far as I can make out.
By: Storied Cities,
on 1/16/2013
By: bookkm,
on 9/1/2012
Yesterday was a heavenly day! Hub and I got our granddaughter to ourselves for almost four hours. Such a pretty, smart, funny and just perfect little girl!! How very, very lucky we - her parents and grandparents - are.
So, when I saw this video posted over on GottaBook, I had to share it. Every child is beautiful. Every parent feels challenged. But some of us have been "blessed" with more challenges than others. My heart goes out to parents with differently-abled children and I doff my virtual hat to them in respect.
By: Lynne Chapman,
on 7/8/2012
By: Kim Sponaugle,
on 6/19/2012
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| Sketch washes of the Wee folk.... |
LOVE the “vintage” Evanston video! The narrator’s voice sounded familiar, I was happy to see in the credits it was Byrne Piven. If you’re immersing yourself in all-things-Evanston you must look up the Piven family and their contributions to stage and screen. Thanks for sharing!
Evanston of “today” is a lot like the beginning of some seventies TV show like… St. Elsewhere??? Even down to the music. Much amused.
The music was the real charm for me. I want to record it and use it for my own malicious purposes.