Brother Hugo and the Bear for Lent!

For Valentine's Day this year, I gifted each of my children a "one free book" coupon and they got to select ANY book they wanted to have shipped to them (all second hand "Like New" copies, to keep it cost effective and I retained veto powers of course...)  With just a hint of guidance, my three year old saw the picture of Brother Hugo and the Bear and declared proudly that it was to be his choice. Yes!

The book came and immediately I fell in love with it. It is a story imagined by Katy Beebe from one tiny little line in a real, historical letter that comments this:

"And send to us, if you please, the great volume of letters by the holy father Augustine, which contains his letters to Saint Jerome, and Saint Jerome's to him. For it happens that the greater part of our volume was eaten by a bear."

The book is not Catholic per se. But it is decidedly real and fresh in the dealings with 100% of the characters being monks (except the bear) and the work they do being authentic to that time period.  It opens up, fittingly on Lent as poor Brother Hugo has to recopy the entire manuscript he lost... which makes for a proper seasonal penance. Illustrations are exceptionally well done by Steve Schindler for the book and the illuminated lettering mimics the style (in a nouveaux way) of the medieval masters. 

The book would be a great unit study builder for all things medieval... especially cloistered life, illuminated letters, manuscript making and the 12th century in general. I am going to pair it with a viewing of that oddly strange and beautiful period movie: The Secret of Kells. If I was really motivated, I'd figure out some sort of illuminated letter lesson but I'm pretty sure all our markers are currently lost in heater return vents or chewed up by the puppy. So that may need to wait...  

All in all, I'm delighted to have this book and use it as Lenten reading (not in a pious way, but at least in a relevant, fun way) and highly recommend it to those who are interested in bringing the Middle Aged, monastic life alive for their children. Probably my best picture book purchase in a long time...

Check out this hypnotic video showing the start to finish illustrations, set to chant... 

Spring Transition Favorites

The coming of spring is probably the most prolific genre of seasonal transition books in the picture book world.  Summer is absolutely the LEAST written about as far as transition time goes... likely because it's a much more subtle change than the crisping of leaves in fall and falling of snow in winter.  With spring it's the new life and the great thaw.

I know half the country is blanketed with snow still but here in the Pacific Northwest it's been downright glorious and unusually warm. The daffodils and tulips are poking out of the ground and we all want to scream at them, "Wait! Not yet! It's too soon!"  Not because we don't welcome the sun and 60 degree weather but because we are afraid the frost season isn't over and this warm spell is some sort of cosmic trickery.

But I will take this opportunity to revel in some of my favorite books of the time and opine about which springtime titles merit being called some of the BEST in "seasonal transition literature." A couple are pulled from my general Top Ten Springtime Book list.

 Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons by Il Sung Na. I purchased this board book recently for my daughter to fill in our baby book basket. It is delightful and fun.  Il Sung Na's style is so unique, I am always happy to have her books offer a bit of a different picture than the rich, traditional drawings.  I think this would make a marvelous precursor to her A Book of Babies which seems to be just about perfect springtime reading...

Spring Thaw by Steven Schnur is such an obvious choice with the gorgeous, pastoral setting and oil painted illustrations by Stacey Schuett and the light, quiet text. I discussed it more here.

 And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano and Erin Stead is one of those rare books that I bought at full price right when I saw it.  I was and still am enamored by the cadence and pacing of this book. I declare it to be a must have. When read properly, it's bliss.


 At Grandpa's Sugar Bush and/or  Sugarbush Spring by Marsha Wilson Chall.  Any beginning of spring list should include at least one title about tapping maple trees.  Both of these are great choices in their own right. Rich, luscious artwork, either title will make non-New Englanders wish they could trample the slushy snow and tap trees. If I had to choose one, I'd only be able to base it on whether I wanted my child to identify with the female or male voice. Now if anyone reading this happens to know or get a hold of The Sugaring-Off Party, please let me know what you think! I'm dying to see those folksy illustrations up close.

 You're probably familiar with the winter delight, Owl Moon, but did you know about Goose Moon by Carolyn Arden and Jim Postier? The story kicks off with winter coming when geese fly southward and a little girl enjoys the season of sledding and fun. But eventually it gets tiresome and she longs for springtime. Her grandpa tells her how we can tell spring is coming and the story ends with the arrival of a very special moonlit moment.

 Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven. Another one heavy on the excellent rhyme and meter, I'm in love with this book. A town needs to shake off the cold and positively FORCE springtime into existence with the baking of sun bread. The always enchanting Kleven illustrations bring this one alive.

 When Spring Comes by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock traipses through the various (19th century) activities a girl longs for while she waits for the sun to return after winter. This is also illustrated by Stacey Scheuett who did Spring Thaw. I like the easy amount of text that stands back just enough to let the gorgeous illustrations tell the story.

The River: Something Strange and Something Beautiful

As if we needed more proof that picture books are not just for kids.  Along comes traipsing The River by Alessandro Sanna.  It's a wordless wonder. I was struck immediately how art transcends culture so often.  Part of the beauty of wordless books is that the story is the same in Mumbai as it is in Miami. This title was created by an Italian artist who uses watercolors to illustrate the dramatic changes of life on a river over the course of a year.

I looked at the first few pages with my brow furrowed, seeing if I could get used to the dark, undulating painted water and sky and simple blobs for concrete objects.  But what I found after my initial skepticism gave way to the turning of each page... was kind of, sort of special. I just surrendered to a style that was not initially in my comfort zone of favorites and became engrossed in the passing scenery and brilliant use of light... like I was floating along in a hot air balloon just watching.  Outside perspective, unobtrusive. Nothing in your face or giving the first-person intimacy technique like some illustrations employ. Detached, the images still beckoned.

I especially liked how Sanna chose his springtime color motif. Not your typical pastels, but the bold violets of a crispy sunset and the hint of color in a semi-limited palette really will resonate with those Northern Hemisphere readers who don't really experience "spring" until something like June.
The River is something different. It's something that evokes the word beauty... but not in a way you necessarily anticipate in a traditional way... and I like that in a book.

The results are in!!!

Well, y'all had a 25% chance of winning Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening which are extraordinary odds in giveaways... yippee!

Here was my methodology:

And then I called an almost year old lass in to come choose a toy. (Don't worry, she had no prior favorites from this batch.  These are actually part of a big bin of "random bits and game pieces" that I collect throughout the house and keep for various projects and games and crafts, etc.  They are in effect, MY toys once they get into that bin!)

Here is what transpired. She jostled the whole stool and then went in at at an angle for her selection:

Kansas Mom, it's all yours! Please e-mail me with your address!  knowloveserve  at  gmail

Pace, Poetry and Passing on the Blessing

I've been thinking a lot about cadence and pacing in storytelling lately.  So many good things about that I want to discuss but I'm saving my thoughts for an article in the next issue of Soul Gardening.  So, you'll have to wait for publication to hear all about it.

In the meantime, I received a little affiliate bonus again and I want to give away a beautiful book to someone: Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. The book is illustrated by the fantastic Susan Jeffers... who breathes life into the delightful Robert Frost poem.

I chose this book for a couple reasons:

1- It's the thick of winter right now... let's enjoy the wonderful titles celebrating that...

2- This book is a perfect example of the importance in savoring the words on a page and letting them hang suspended in the air for a bit before turning the page.

3- I love books that are able to serve in making poetry very easy and accessible to children.  Using picture books is a great way to acclimate young ones to the study of, but more importantly, the enjoyment of poetry.


So there's that.  I'll pick a winner this Friday in some random but unscientific way.  To enter, just comment please with whatever it is you'd like to say... :-)

****** CONTEST CLOSED *******

The most basic of living books

 

2014 passed by my attention without me noticing this very fun, very engaging new book: Some Bugs.   There is a very happy area between "stories" and "educational content" that has to be very artfully done in the picture book world, especially when the audience is Pre-K.  It's one of my favorite little niches to explore because I find it very challenging to do well.  Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi nails it.  It's a very, very simple primer for the pre-school set that is just fun to sit and delight over with a child.  Not only does it keep the text in very simple rhymes, it doesn't make the mistake that many "edu-stories" make in overloading the child with text and information. This "early living book" technique is perfectly executed here, just like it is in my favorite beginner bird book by Kevin Henkes: Birds. The goal is simply to meet bugs, giggle at the pictures and be inspired to do some hunting in your own front yard.  Education to light a fire, not fill a bucket. Mixed media illustrations by Brendan Wenzel are a positive delight, refreshingly original and quirky.

Simple pleasures like these kinds of books really remind to stop and take an important five minutes in my day to engage with my little ones in a beautiful way... it's the little things in life.

Subtlety and Christmas Mice

I can't tell you how many books there are out there that forget what I think is the point of a picture book: to engage a child's imagination in a beautiful way.  I suppose the logic is that if you put some colorful characters on paper, a child will be more receptive to the "message" that the author wants to get across.  The effect of this is thousands of well-meaning but poorly executed books on manners, virtues, going to the doctor, anger therapy, and yes even (maybe especially!) religion.

I always find it such a joy to discover a book where the "message" may be there, but it is so artfully made that the story is engaging enough without having to convince children to pick it up and read it.  The message may be obvious as in the exquisite What Do You Say, Dear? and What Do You Do, Dear? books... where manners are taught but in such an unexpected and fun way that a child simply has to love it.  Or there are other books which weave in a message within the story without preaching at the child.  Think of Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs which isn't designed to be a bereavement therapy program... but it is nonetheless.  This is where the art of subtlety comes in.  Some authors have it. Others don't.

A relevant case right now is in the world of Christmas picture books. I think there are many categories of books—indeed something to suit everyone— within this genre and all have their place, whether you're looking for a beautifully illustrated Nativity story or a thought provoking piece of history.  But I've slowly come to realize something about myself in this category: my very favorite books are ones that are fun or sweet but have a hint toward the spiritual meaning of the holiday. I don't necessarily need the full blown preaching on the gift of Jesus. I don't need the tear jerker "true spirit of Christmas" charity-toward-the-poor or the be-kind-to-others story. I don't even need the cutesy board books so much.  What I do need... what are my very favorites... are the picture books that tell a lovely story and then somehow the reader is left with a little warm feeling inside that there is something special going on here. And the child doesn't need to be told how to felt. And the child may feel just a twinge of wonder after the book is closed.  It's the same way I feel about music. My very favorite music is definitely not overtly "Christian"... but it is heartfelt and full of depth and meaning and the complexity of human nature. Off the top of my head, when I think of the Christmas books in this category they mostly involve the humble little mouse! How funny that mice are such dear, beloved creatures warming their cute paws by the fire in picture books... but in real life they are loathed and hunted. But I digress:

Mousekin's Christmas Eve
Mortimer and the Christmas Manger (a quite similar book to Mousekin, only newer and cheaper)
The Little Drummer Mouse
Drummer Boy (not a mouse... but a wee, dear toy instead)

a new policy in saving the world...

I had fun giving away a couple saint books this last week. I get just as much joy as the recipients must get from winning I think. I want to do giveaways more. I especially like how 'small beans' my following is here to the point that I can write entries on a whiteboard and have a 3 year old point to a name to choose a winner. No raffle-copter technology need apply when you didn't go into blogging to make it big time.

The point is this: my Amazon affiliate money is now going to be turned right back around to my audience. Unless by some absurd stroke of fate, I start to generate revenue in the thousands of dollars, I am delighted to use my average $15 - $20 per quarter or so to decide to purchase and give away whatever strikes my fancy at the time.

I get to give great books.
It doesn't cost me a thing.
I am happy to know that bookshelves all over are being filled with beautiful things.
It's my mission to bring beauty into the world.

Beauty is evangelization.

And as Dostoevsky said: "Beauty will save the world."

So my link clicks are now dedicated to saving the world.

Carry on...

Double Giveaway!

****CONTEST CLOSED!!!**** 

 I love how my dinky blog gives people a pretty decent chance of winning; how fun is that?!

The winners were chosen by two non-literate children (Henry needs a haircut; don't mind him):

"Hidden Fern" wins the St. Nicholas board book!

"Sarah O." wins the Guadalupe book!

Please contact me asap to get these books shipped out to you: knowloveserve  at   gmail

Thanks for playing everyone!

I have been blessed to receive infrequent but delightful gift card announcements from amazon every few months from this blog.  Your clicks and purchases have added an incredibly fun bonus for me to opine on one of my favorite subjects, which I'd happily do for free anyway.  For that, I am taking this latest reward amount (which was small but exciting) and turning it right back to you...

Kindly leave a comment sharing one of your favorite Advent traditions and I'll have a high-tech method (child's hand reaching in hat) of choosing a winner for two different copies of a couple of our favorite books celebrating the feasts of St. Nicholas and Our Lady of Guadalupe coming up this week and next.

Deadline for both is Thursday, December 4th by noon, PST.

Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend:  This board book is always a happy sight to see in our "baby book basket" this time of year.

Our Lady of Guadalupe: There are a few great versions of this tale; this one is our favorite for its realism and nicely done art.