This Picture Book Life

ed emberley + make a face giveaway

10.16.2014

In honor of Halloween coming up fast, I got to thinking about how perfect Ed Emberley books are for this time of year. (Do you know him and his popular how-to drawing books?)

Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Weirdos and Ten Little Beasties (made with his daughter, Rebecca) especially come to mind, but all of his books involve creatures of all kinds.

They’re perfect precursors to Halloween costumes and crafts!

And there’s a new one!

Make a Face with Ed Emberley (Ed Emberley on the Go!).

It’s published by Two Little Birds, which was created by Ed’s daughter Rebecca Emberley. The company donates a book for every book purchased! Two birds! (Check out their partner Bess the Book Bus.)

This one has Ed’s signature step by step drawing with shapes technique AND includes bonus pages at the back to draw feelings, create bookmarks, and faces with accompanying speech bubbles. It’s all SO MUCH FUN!

And if you’re the kind who hunkers down for winter with the sewing machine, there’s Ed Embereley fabric at Cloud 9!

In closing, I like the way Ed describes himself on his website:

“I am an old grandpa kind of guy.”

He’s pretty modest, don’t you think?!

Thanks to Myrick Marketing for images!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Picture Book Life is giving away one copy of Make a Face with Ed Emberley (Ed Emberley on the Go!), courtesy of Two Little Birds.

The greatest news is that it’s an activity book! You can draw right on the pages! Woo hoo and good luck!

I’ll contact the randomly chosen winner by email for your mailing address.

(Open to U.S. only—sorry about that far flung international readers! Good luck!)

reading to kids in los angeles

DISPATCH FROM DANIELLE

10.14.2014

Since my birthday was over the weekend, I had a chance to reflect on the year behind me (and one ahead!). One of the best things about the last year for me has been that Saturday morning each month when I volunteer with Reading to Kids. It’s something I’m excited to continue with this year.

Why? Because I get to read to kids. And then craft with kids. And, with the other volunteers, make an impact on children in Los Angeles. It’s a privilege to be a small part of what this incredible organization is doing.

Last Saturday I recruited my dude to join me, reading and crafting Creepy Carrots! with second graders. We had a group of four sweet kids and it was a blast!

There were googly eyes galore, good conversations about the story and illustrations, and at the end of the morning, all the kids who attended got to see a magic show!

Every single Saturday morning is a meaningful experience. Sometimes, you get to see a glimmer of understanding. Sometimes you get to affirm a child’s talents. Sometimes you have a breakthrough with a kid who needs some extra attention.

R2K started in 1999 and now averages over 800 kids attending each month at a handful of elementary schools around LA. That’s parents bringing their kids, not because they have to, but because they value the reading clubs. And while the kids are being read to by pairs of volunteers, their parents receive encouragement about the importance of reading to children at home.

Each kid also gets a prize book to take with them, which is pretty cool and something they get super excited about! (And for some of them, these are the only books they own.) That’s 800 books given out every month for each and every one of them to start or add to a library at home.

Let’s just say a Kindergartner comes to the program and keeps coming most of the time until she graduates fifth grade. That child could be read to and crafted with over 50 times! 50 books, 50 crafts, 50 Saturday mornings focused on literacy, learning, art-making, communicating, and building self-esteem. Pretty cool, right?

I typically choose which grade to work with based on the book they’re reading. And since teachers at participating schools pick, there are some really great choices!

I’ve read Cats’ Night Out, I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, A Home for Bird, and The Year of Billy Miller over my Saturdays reading to kids so far.

Not everyone has space in their lives for volunteering, but if you’re in L.A., I highly recommend Reading to Kids, even if you only sign up once or organize a volunteer opportunity with your school or business or other group as a special activity.

Plus, October is the Reading to Kids annual fund drive.

And if you’re not in L.A., maybe there’s a similar literacy organization in your area. It’s an everybody wins kind of thing.

Thanks to Todd Davis for first 4 images and Reading to Kids for the rest!

wolves in the walls

picture books for the older set

10.09.2014

22341 The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean (2003).

Creepy title, creepy cover, right?!

This reads like a book for older kids and even adults. In part, because it’s kind of scary, this idea of wolves in the walls. And those mixed-media illustrations! Super scary. Also wonderful for their use of real photographs and line drawings that together, give me the creeps. In a good way.

Lucy is the wise one in her family, we come to know that. She’s the one who knows there are wolves in the walls. Her family doesn’t believe her. They also say that if wolves are in the walls and wolves come out of the walls, “It’s all over.” Lucy’s wiser than that too. (She also knows her pig puppet is someone real you can talk to unlike her parents, so there’s one more reason she’s wise!)

If we relate this book to fears, other fears, the message is solid. Sometimes fears are real, but they may not pose the threat we think. We may be able to tolerate them. Even overcome them. Even if they are wolves in the walls.

The details make this great too. Lucy’s father is a tuba player. The mother makes jam. Lucy’s animal friend is a pig puppet (as in, the three little pigs and the wolf!). And when the wolves get hold of that berry jam, red like blood, the result is ferociously unsettling.

The ending, which I won’t give away, is one more detail to consider. It has to do with Lucy knowing a new thing and what she’ll choose to do with knowing it. It’s as original as the rest.

nine picture books about night

picture books for pairing

10.07.2014

It’s October and that means (at least) two things:

1.) Halloween is approaching.

2.) Nights are getting longer.

So as fall and spooky stuff appear, I give you nine picture books for night owls.

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd.

(I received a review copy of Flashlight.)

The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara.

The Insomniacs by Karina Wolf and The Brothers Hilts.

Hannah’s Night by Komako Sakai.

The Dark by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen.

Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep by Barney Saltzberg.

Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan.

Switching on the Moon collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by G. Brian Karas.

Run Home, Little Mouse by Britta Teckentrup.

Enjoy these books at bedtime and don’t miss the full moon tomorrow night!

fine furniture in picture books

PICTURE BOOKS +

10.02.2014

A few weeks ago, Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes tweeted that he wanted to read a blog or blog post about furniture in picture books.

So, with his permission, I took it and ran. Travis was inspired by The Memory of an Elephant: An Unforgettable Journey. So I started there and looked for other bold furnishings, specifically seating, in picture books.

Behold, picture books in which furniture and decor take a front seat (har har):

MEMORY OF AN ELEPHANT: A Charles and Ray Eames DSW chair appears on the first spread of this one-of-a-kind book and the mid-century modern furniture cameos continue.

Eames DSW chair; fiberglass chairs via Modernica.

BKF/Butterfly chair; butterfly chairs via Plux.

ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER: This is a stylish book all around. Just one example is that the far left pink-haired aunt sits in what resembles a Solair Chair in black.