Perfect, we all have been there!

 That situation where you think you have a brilliant idea and many people are discouraging (including one who does not have enough time for you) but you triumph because your idea "clicks" with just the right person it was meant for!
Yes, that is basically the gist of this fabulous picture book. I love picture books written on two levels: one for the child readers and one for the (accompanying) adult readers!

Yum!

 My personal craving for fruit in winter drew me to this fantastic book! In it, the reader learns about 9 fruits that are not native to the United States. What a cool way to learn about other places and climates! It is fun to learn the 9 names (and descriptions) and how they might be available in a Chinatown market near you. Fun!

MLK Jr. tie-in

 I was glad to learn about this piece of history. The attention paid to finding the cart and making it beautiful was so touching. All of the people who attended Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral surely showed how beloved and respected he was. We learn about the mules who pulled the cart named Ada and Belle. A small ordinary story that has layers of meaning--how extraordinary positivity and kindness and attention to detail can be!
*The Dreamscape 7 minute video based on this book was lovely, too. c)2013

Wow--neat story!

 This book is cool because it teaches three things in a neat package of a story. The illustrations practically jump off of the page! The book is written in the style of haiku.

At the beginning of the book there is a "billboard" featuring the three lessons.

1) Haiku: A short form of poetry from Japan consisting of three lines, with a 5/7/5 syllable pattern.

2) Kaiju: A Japanese word meaning "strange creature".

3) Ah-Choo: A word used to represent the sound of a sneeze. This type of word is also called onomatopoeia.

A beautiful version of THE MITTEN

 

There are many versions of THE MITTEN. I was happy to discover this one which is Ukranian. The pastels used in the illustrations are gorgeous and evoke the feeling of deep winter. There are six animals in the story and they cleverly named. These are fun to say with readers as they help retell the story: 

Mistress Mouse~Frog Limpyleg~Rabbit Fast-on-Foot~

Fox Goldenfur~Boar Flatnose~Master Bigfoot

Reminders of vibrant colors during the "white" time of the year

I love this series of books. The pictures are always very colorful and inviting! In this case, the reader learns the customs of CHINESE NEW YEAR with a focus on the different colors seen during that celebration! Definitely, after reading this book, you will want to seek out the nearest Chinatown! 

                                                                  🏮🪁🐲🐉💸🜚

 

Jan Brett, synonymous with the holidays in my mind!

This December I enjoyed using Jan Brett titles for story time. 

Snowy nap is about the animals telling hedgehog about all the winter fun he will miss while hibernating. 

He is brought inside a house for a few days and gets to witness through the windows all of the things he was told about. 

The comical ending is when the other animals want a piece of that action!

Animals' Santa is about the animals debating which animal their Santa could be. When we discover who it is, it is spectacular. The spread, showing the animal replete with a basket full of goodies, is gorgeous!

Gingerbread Christmas has the Gingerbread baby forming a band with gingerbread instruments that Mattie makes (again not waiting the necessary time before peeking!). The band performs in a gazebo in the middle of the village and bystanders are getting hungry for a snack. Mattie disguises the instruments in snow while the Gingerbread baby distracts the villagers by singing. Then he taunts the people to chase him. He lands in a Christmas tree with so many decorations on it that he is very well disguised. The Christmas tree is a fold out in the book. The children have fun looking for the Gingerbread baby. It is just the right amount of challenging to do that. 

I was showing 

patrons some of the art projects available from Jan Brett on her website:

janbrett.com

I ran off for them the Night Before Christmas tree topper, the Christmas tree cone, and Christmas gift name tags. All of them exude Jan Brett's signature beauty. I like the name tags because they are creatively reversed to have FROM first and TO second.