Patricia Dunn, author of Rebels by Accident, selected her family’s five favorite books with the help of her husband Allan Tepper. They are a beautiful collection of diverse characters and plots.
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Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Bob Thiele, Judith Heide Gilliland, Louis Armstorng, Patricia Dunn, Sourcebooks Fire Books, HarperCollins, Ages 4-8, Diversity, Book Lists, Scholastic, featured, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Ted Lewin, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Ashley Bryan, Jeanette Winter, Muriel Harris Weinstein, Orchard Books, Florence Parry Heide, George David Weiss, Teens: Young Adults, Cultural Wisdom, Family Favorites, Best Kids Stories, HMH Books for Young Readers, Add a tag
Blog: Children's Illustration (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Edward Gorey, Florence Parry Heide, Add a tag
Blog: Miss Marple's Musings (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Julie Hedlund, 12x12, Carson Ellis., Dillweed’s Revenge, Gaugain, kidlit411, Toulouse Lautrec, Yvonne Mes, Interview, picture books, illustrator interviews, Illustrators, Florence Parry Heide, Add a tag
I feel I have been a little remiss as one of my goals with this interview series over the past three years has been to highlight up-and-coming illustrators, who are not yet published but whom I want to get on … Continue reading
Add a CommentBlog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry Friday, Reading Aloud, Poetry Books, Nadine Bernard Westcott, Orchard Books, Florence Parry Heide, Oh Grow Up, Read Write Howl, Roxanne Heide Pierce, Add a tag
Sometimes poetry can feel like such a grown-up subject — too hard for children to understand and enjoy. My efforts in getting my children to like poetry have had mixed results. However, a children’s poetry book by the recently deceased Florence Parry Heide and daughter Roxanne Heide Pierce entitled Oh, Grow Up: Poems to Help You Survive Parents, Chores, School and Other Afflictions (Orchard Books, 1996) was a real hit with my daughter. Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, this funny book explores what it’s like to be a child and have to ‘grow up.’ There’s poems about having to share with or being outnumbered by siblings; there are poems about braces and hand-me-downs. My daughter was particularly fixated with the ‘braces’ poem:
My braces have been on for years.
They’re coming off next week
I can hardly wait to see
if there are teeth beneath.
I wonder if her fascination has to do with her brother’s braces which, rather coincidentally, are coming off this week! As is our usual custom, we read the poems alternately — she reading one poem and I reading the other — and it was an enjoyable poetry reading experience for both of us. The illustrations by Westcott were as down-to-earth as the poems and my daughter quite liked the pictures.
Poetry Friday this week is hosted by Robyn at Read Write Howl.
Blog: The Cath in the Hat (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Florence Parry Heide, Curious Pages, Add a tag
One of my all-time favorite children's book authors, Florence Parry Heide, died recently at age 92. Read her New York Times obit here.
In all her works, Heide was a champion for children, an advocate who presented kids as they really are and not how adults prefer to see them. And she did so with a large serving of humor.
My favorite Heide book is--surprise, surprise--ideal for beginning readers. Tales for the Perfect Child is a collection of seven short, easy-to-read stories featuring furry beasties drolly illustrated by Victoria Chess. Like all Heide's tales, the stories are subversive. In "Ruby" big sister Ruby wants to visit a friend. Her mother wants her to mind her little brother. Ruby does. She watches him take the clothes out of all the drawers. She watches him spill rice, flour, salt, and sugar on the kitchen floor. She watches him pull off the tablecloth, sending the bananas flying. Her mother, surveying the destruction, says, "I told you to watch Clyde." "I was watching him," said Ruby truthfully. "I was watching him the whole time."
The other story characters are similarly passive aggressive. In "Gertrude and Gloria" Gertrude is the careful sister. She carries the supper dishes without dropping them. She puts the dried ones back in their proper place. Gloria is not careful. She breaks dishes and put them back any old way. Their mother, seeing the results, won't let Gloria help any more. But Gertrude, because she did such a good job, gets to help with the dishes every day. As Heide ends her tale, "Good for Gertrude." Like Gorey, Chess is an excellent match for Heide's deadpan style. Her detailed pen and ink drawings capture each monster's smirk or gleeful look as they manage to get their way.
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Edward Ormondroyd, Hot Men of Children's Literature strike again, The Little Fur Family, graphic novels, Uncategorized, obits, Ann M. Martin, Jarrett Krosoczka, bindings, Margaret Wise Brown, The Secret Garden, Florence Parry Heide, Raina Telgemeier, Fusenews, The Baby-Sitters Club, Julian Hector, Add a tag
- “Jarrett Krosoczka is one of 25 hottest children’s authors in the nation.” So said Henderson City Mayor Andy Hafen when presenting Mr. Krosoczka with the key to the city. I’ll just say that again. The mayor of a city mentioned Jarrett being part of my old The Hot Men of Children’s Literature series when presenting him with that city’s key. Geez o’ petes. Looks like I’m going to have to restart that series one of these days (though I KNOW I did more than just twenty-five!). Credit to The Las Vegas Review Journal for the image.
- In my children’s room we have two copies of Florence Parry Heide’s The Shrinking of Treehorn. It is regularly requested throughout the system, though sometimes difficult to find thanks to its small size (it will occasionally meander over to our Little Books Shelf when it’s in a wandering mood). Thus it was with sadness that I learned that Ms. Heide passed away recently at the age of 92. We should all reread Treehorn (or any of her other works, for that matter) in her honor.
- Wow. I am in awe. Here we have a really amazing and worthwhile piece over at Teach Mentor Texts charting a teacher’s changing attitude towards Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back. From initial disgust to grudging appreciation to possible enjoyment. It’s a testament to keeping an open mind after a first reading, and the amount of self-awareness at work here is amazing. Folks sometimes tell me that my reviews of picture books are far too long, but I think this post makes it infinitely clear how there is to be said about the power of that format.
- Remember that picture book manifesto that aired recently? Well at Fomagrams there’s a piece from David Elzey called of picture books and amnesiacs that gives that document a thorough once over. Everything from the statement on “robust criticism” to the relative honesty or dishonesty of “tidy endings” is examined thoroughly. Today I appear to be linking to posts from folks unafraid to use their brains. A nice trend.
- Is 90% of everything crap? Jonathan Hunt says so, sparking a variety of different comments from his regular readers. Heavy Medal is always good for thoughts of this sort. In fact, I recently decided that the site has given me a chance to examine my own personal Newbery book prejudices. Prejudices, I would add, that most committee members share, but prejudices just the same. More on that when I tally up the final predictions at the end of the year, of course.
- Speaking of the Newbery, is it a good or bad idea to find out as much as you can about a book before rendering a final decision about its worth? I ask this because Jules recently had 6 Comments on Fusenews: “A sort of child’s Jane Eyre.”, last added: 11/2/2011
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Florence Parry Heide, Robert N. Munsch, Anna Pignataro, Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban, Philippe Lechermeier, Princesses, Books for Girls, Ages Four to Eight: Books for pre-school to second grade, Goodie Bag: Books to share and give, Ages Nine to Twelve: Books for third through sixth grade, Teens: Books for young adults, Marion Dane Bauer, Fantasy: Whimsical fiction, Rebecca Dautremer, Add a tag
In my quest to find new and original stories with a good princess feel—less boy-meets-girl and more strength and self-discovery—the following books really struck a chord with me; each for their own reasons.
Add a CommentBlog: MISS O's SCHOOL LIBRARY (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Princess Hyacinth The Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated, Florence Parry Heide, Add a tag
The month of September so quickly disappeared and I can't believe that Halloween is approaching. Today, I discovered a princess book. However, this is not your typical princess book. I think it has a Princess appeal for both girls and boys.
Princess Hyacinth (the Suprising Tale of a Girl who Floated) by Florence Parry Heide is the perfect read-aloud for October. Princess Hyacinth has a unique problem. She floats up in the air unless she is attached to something. Her princess gown has golden weights sewn to the hem and her socks have diamond pebbles on the top. Her crown has the heaviest jewels and a strap to keep it on. Once she takes her royal outfit off she floats in her royal underwear. She can't go outside because she might float away, so she watches the children from the window. She becomes friend with Boy and he waves to her each day. He paints a gold crown on his kite in honor of the Princess.
The princess however, decides one day that she needs a new adventure and heads to the park. This leads to a very exciting balloon adventure and rescue by her friend Boy and his kite. This ends her boredom forever.
This is a great imaginative story for every child that ever dreamed of floating in the air. The famous Lane Smith adds wonderful drawings that complient the story and add the magic of a royal family.
I'm sorry I never read any of Heide's work. These sound right up my alley.