May 13, 2011
Birds of a Feather poems by Jane Yolen, Photographys by Jason Stemple
Birds of a Feather
poems by Jane Yolen
photographs by Jason Stemple
Wordsong
The world of our feathered friends comes alive in this poetry collection by the mother and son team of Jane Yolen and Jason Stemple. Yolen’s poetry introduces young readers to a variety of birds ranging from the regal bald eagle to the diminutive chickadee and from the solitary Great Horned Owl to the group loving Oystercatcher.
Each two page spread is dedicated to an individual bird. Yolen’s poem is complimented by a sidebar of additional information on the bird. But pulling it all together are Stemple’s stand out photos.
As much as I adore Yolen’s poems, I have to admit that I order each book the pair does for the photos. Even the everyday chickadee is a masterpiece when it is brought into focus by Stemple’s lens.
Pick up a copy of this book to share with the poetry lovers and the nature lovers in your life. Younger readers can focus on the poems and return later to learn a bit more from the sidebars.
A must for anyone who loves nature photography or our feathered friends.
–SueBE
Pretty Princess Pig by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrated by Sam Williams
Pretty Princess Pig
by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
illustrated by Sam Willaims
Little Simon
Pretty Princess Pig has a big day ahead. Today is her big tea party. A tea party calls for a party dress, a clean house, a spiffed up dining room, a carefully set table, flowers and cakes.
Unfortunately, the only step Pretty Princess Pig completes without making a huge mess is putting on her party dress – Step 1. As you might expect, by the time the guests arrive, things are pulled together but also a huge mess. Still, no one says a word as they graciously accept her hospitality.
Williams illustrations are incredibly expressive. You can easily see Pretty Princess Pig’s eagerness to make things perfect for her guests as well as their dismay at the disarray that greets them.
I’m not a princess fan but I had great sympathy for Pretty Princess Pig. I’m still the one who constantly has something smeared across her clothes, a lock of hair in her face and either pet hair or my own hair dangling about.
I’ve seen this book called a “board book.” Don’t order it expecting heavy cardboard pages. That said the construction is sturdier than your standard picture book with a padded cover and heavy high gloss pages.
Pick up a copy to share with mess-maker in your life who is both girly and chaos on the hoof. Together you can share this story that is gently sweet and funny all at the same time. I’m just waiting for a certain someone’s birthday to pass a copy on.
–SueBE
April 12, 2011
My Father Knows the Names of Things by Jane Yolen
My Father Knows the Names of Things
by Jane Yolen
illustrated by Stephane Jorisch
(Simon and Schuster)
My Father Knows the Names of Things is a lyrical, light-hearted book about a boy and his amazing father who loves birds and bugs and cheese and clouds and moss and dogs and . . . well, you get the idea.
Dedicated to and inspired by the author’s husband, this book is perfect for any child, boy or girl, who loves to spend time with Dad and learn what Dad knows. Because this Dad who knows so many things is not an annoying adult know-it-all, he is an enthusiastic gatherer of knowledge who approaches it all with a contagious excitement.
Still, this is a gentle, cuddle-close book that would be perfect for bed time or any other time that calls for sharing a loving story. Yolen’s text rhymes masterfully, making the book an enjoyable read-aloud.
Jorisch’s illustrations compliment the text masterfully, with water color to create bright, joyous color and pen to give the detail which all these many passions require.
Give this book as a gift on Father’s Day or to Dad at a Baby Shower. Or bring it home for the young reader who already enjoys Daddy Time — in our home we call it “Boy Time.”
Either way, this is a celebration of closeness, passion and love.
–SueBE
March 16, 2011
Lost Boy: The Story of the Man Who Created Peter Pan by Jane Yolen
Lost Boy:
The Story of the Man Who Created Peter Pan
by Jane Yolen
Dutton
AR 5.2
Do you know the story of Jamie Barrie? Maybe not, but you’ve probably heard of J. M. Barrie, the man who wrote Peter Pan.
In this picture book biography, author Jane Yolen tells about Barrie’s childhood, both the fact and the fiction, his time in school and also his friendship with the Davies family, which in many ways was a second childhood.
With so much information to fit into a picture book, Yolen uses the play Peter Pan as her focus. Relative events from Barrie’s childhood are highlighted as are lines from the play that reflect on these events.
Just as Jamie grew from a boy to the man who wrote about a boy, Yolen tells of the growth of the story of Peter Pan from play to novel and also various additions that have been tried out only to be discarded.
Children will readily identify with Barrie who, even as a grown man, was quite small (only about 5 feet tall) and preferred life in his imagination to the tedium of being a grown up. Yes, Barrie truly was Pan.
Share this page turner with the child in your life and be sure to have a copy of Peter Pan on hand so that the adventure can continue.
–SueBE
November 25, 2010
Elsie’s Bird by Jane Yolen
Elsie’s Bird
by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by David Small
AR 4. 3
Elsie loves everything about life in Boston — the calls of the fish merchants, the screams of the gulls, skipping rope with her friends, horses hooves on cobble stones and the songs of the many birds. Even after Mama dies, Elsie loves Boston but Boston holds too much sadness for Papa. When Papa decides he has to find some place he can be happy, Elsie doesn’t hesitate. She’s already lost one parent. No way is Papa heading to Nebraska without her.
But Nebraska isn’t Boston and Elsie can’t bring herself to leave the confines of their little dugout house. The prairie is just too big and too quiet, so quiet you can hear the wind blowing in the grass. Inside is filled with the songs of her beloved canary Timmy Tune —
until the day Timmy flies out of his cage and into the wide open prairie.
Facing a loss she might be able to prevent, Elsie finds the courage to go after her beloved pet and finds a whole word outside the dugout door.
Yolen has created an amazing story of love and loss, of fear and courage, of home and the larger world. Small’s art work captures an amazing range of emotion on the faces of Elsie, her father, and her grandparents. He uses color to mirror Elsie’s growing love of the prairie — grey when she is scared to a variety of greens and yellows as her heart is opened.
As much as I love many of Yolen’s books, I have to admit that I was first drawn in by Small’s art work. His simple lines and use of color in some ways resemble comic book art — expressing so much in such a simple form.
Whether your young reader loves the prairie, a particular bird or is having trouble facing a new challenge or change, this gentle story is sure to find a place next to your reading chair and in your heart.
–SueBE
August 25, 2010
How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs? How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats?
“How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs”August 18, 2010
An Egret’s Day by Jane Yolen
An Egret’s Day (AR 4 .9)All Star: Honus Wagner and the Most Famous Baseball Card Ever by Jane Yolen
All Star: Honus Wagner and 
Bookshelf: What We're Reading 
