The Glorious ABC


If you haven't surmised by now, I have a thing for alphabet books.  I also have a thing for Christmas books and wordless books and certainly other categories as well... but I really have a thing for alphabet books.  In fact, I probably need to make another top ten list because the first TWO lists weren't enough!!! Just the challenge of finding a great theme and being able to execute each page of the book well... it takes skill and the thrill of the puzzle is what delights me.

Cooper Edens is a special sort of author/illustrator.  He is best known for his "horizontal storytelling" where the reader solves the string of "problems"... as can be seen in one of my very favorite gift-giving books (for people of ALL ages): If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow.

Well Edens thought it would be special to make a hall-of-fame picture book... one that celebrates many of the fantastic illustrators of picture book past and does a blessed fine job of it.


The Glorious ABC is a lovely diversion in picture book time travel. I had such a delightful time going through this book... and I wondered about how much fun it would be to come up with my own picture book titles "Hall of Fame" for each letter of the alphabet.  Possible I'm sure... and so many possibilities!








Raving about Roger

 I've been on a Roger Duvoisin kick lately.  This is for a couple reasons.  One, I found a couple of treasures from him this summer at a garage sale... Day and Night (of which I had no prior knowledge) and The Beaver Pond (which was on my wish list for some time).  More about these titles later.  The other reason I'm on a Duvoisin kick is because I discovered he has a bunch of out-of-print Christmas titles that I'm aching to see.  In a future post, I'll discuss how I finally saw some of the books on my "Top 10 Out-of-Print Christmas Titles I Want to See" from my Christmas motherload post... and have quickly refilled those unseen titles with some Duvoisin 'new' ones. (As a teaser, check out these photos.)

Most of you probably are familiar with Roger Duvoisin's work through his covers on the old New Yorker magazine and his most famous picture books he wrote and/or illustrated: White Snow, Bright Snow, Petunia, and The Happy Lion.  All are great. So are all the other books from his I've read so far.

           

Anyway, I'll tell you a bit about Day and Night.  It is one of those books that would never be printed by today's publishers.  Not because the art was quirky and wonderful... alternating pages of full color and black and white as was sometimes common. Not even because it's charmingly dated with Mr. and Mrs. Pennyfeathers depicted in their separate beds at night-time.  Not because the boy's name is "Bob." Nope, this book is absolutely off its rocker in its implication that dogs are not IN the family... rather PART OF the family, which is an entirely dated concept.  There's a distinction.  And it was not lost on me as I read this book.  Oddly, it's just in the conclusion to the story's problem of the friendly owl (Night) and the dog (Day) striking up a friendship that couldn't make their hours
meet.  ***SPOILER ALERT***  Bob builds a dog-house for Day to sleep in.  Do people still do that?  Have dog-houses?  It seems our culture is so bent on making sure dogs are simply furrier members of a family; they live indoors, have insurance, and a cushy place to sleep.  Listen, I've got nothing against indoor pets.  But I am one of the increasingly few people that has nothing against OUTDOOR pets either!  So it goes...

          



















In The Beaver Pond, we find the perfect example of a LIVING BOOK.  Authors like Jim Arnosky for example, are diamonds in the rough in the category of "educational picture books." I have to admit that picture book biographies are doing quite well, with exciting new additions to that genre published each year.  But it seems to me that high quality science or nature books are a bit harder to come by new.  (Great, out of print ones exist.)  Anyway, The Beaver Pond is one of those perfect stories that teaches (without preaching) so much about biology and ecology while still maintaing the necessary elements of a storyline to hold a child's attention. I am so glad I was able to get it!







Virtual Garage Sale

I have some books and things that I'd love to rehome and acquire some Paypal funds!  Please let me know in the comment box with your email info if you'd like one of these items, and I'll respond fairly quickly.

Terms:

- Price includes domestic media mail shipping.  For locals, have it shipped or the same price includes the inconvenience of arranging a time to meet for the transaction.  ;-)  

-Paypal only (unless you're local and want to pay cash, homegrown fresh eggs or raw milk!)

-No multiple item shipping discount.  Sorry.  After postage and PayPal fees, I'm barely out of the red on some of these titles.

-I live within walking distance to a post office and can ship by the next day for completed transactions.

-Multiple requests will be handled on a first say, first serve basis. If a sale falls through, I'll offer it to the next person.

-All sales final.




Brand New: $5

Good-Great condition: $5

Good condition (postcards not included): $5

Good condition: $5

Some highlighting and marginal notes on interior, 1st edition: $30
****SOLD**** 
****SOLD**** 
****SOLD**** 
****SOLD**** 

****SOLD**** 
****SOLD**** 


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