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Denise Mealy | The Children’s Book Review | February 10, 2015 Uni the Unicorn By Amy Krouse Rosenthal; Illustrated by Brigette Barrager Age Range: 3-7 Hardback: 48 pages Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers ISBN: 978-0-375-98208-8 What to expect: Unicorns, Fairy Tales, Believing, Friendship Uni the Unicorn is an adorable tale about believing, no matter how fantastical […]

This month's little peek at the current children's book trends on The Children's Book Review showcases Christmas books for kids, books on mindfulness and some best selling young adult books, as well as a wonderful literacy resource on where to find free ebooks for children.

Enter to win a copy of UNI THE UNICORN by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; illustrated by Brigette Barrager. Giveaway begins September 12, 2014, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends October 11, 2014, at 11:59 P.M. PST.

heyoscarwilde:

Happiness is a warm gun

The Beatles illustrated by Brigette Barrager :: via brigetteb.blogspot.ca

By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: October 26, 2011

Fairy tales have the power to teach us valuable lessons about love, loyalty and friendship. In these stories, characters are transformed into magical beings, sacrifices are made in their honor and small creatures perform enormous acts of courage and daring. These classic stories have been told for many generations and yet their legend grows richer with each telling.

Michael Hague’s Treasured Classics has the old-fashioned appeal of books my mother once read to me. Reading “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” I fondly remembered my mom growling like the fierce troll under the bridge. With fourteen tales to choose from including “Jack and The Beanstalk” and “The Gingerbread Man,” children will marvel at the intricately detailed illustrations. It seems this book played a magic trick on me by transporting me back in time. (Ages 6-9)

Mouse & Lion is an unusually beautiful retelling of Aesop’s fable. Rand Burkert’s rich language embellishes the familiar story and Nancy Ekholm Burkert’s lush illustrations reflect the magnificence of the African landscape (with its brilliant orange setting sun and ancient baobab tree) in this heartwarming tale.  Burkert has composed and recorded a CD of songs inspired by Aesop, also entitled Mouse & Lion. (Ages 4-8)

Brigette Barrager illustrations in Twelve Dancing Princesses reminded me of classic Disney movies such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, but her version has a decidedly modern spin.  When Pip the clever cobbler discovers why the sleepy princesses’ shoes are worn out each morning, she unveils the mystery with witty dialogue rather than long-winded descriptions of the enchanted forest, boat ride, and ballroom (yawn). Well done, Miss Barrager. A lovely matching game is also available from Chronicle Books. (Ages 5-8)

Bambi by Felix Salten is such a sad story and yet this coming of age tale brings with it hope and resilience. The soft watercolor paintings by Maja Dusikova of the sweet woodland creatures glow in the forest ligh

Publishing isn’t dying, it’s just becoming more animated. Los Angeles-based JibJab sees an opportunity to benefit from the emergence of digital children’s books on tablets like the iPad. They recently launched a new product line called JibJab Jr. Books. Powered by their “Starring You” technology, it allows kids to insert themselves into their storybooks. The app is free to download on the iTunes store, and comes with a starter book. Additional titles can be purchased for $7.99 individually or $3.99 as part of a monthly subscription plan.

This USA Today article discusses JibJab’s new strategy for children’s books, while this app review on Pad Gadget offers a pretty good overview of how JibJab Jr. works.

The JibJab titles don’t offer the hyper-clickable interactivity or audio narration/sound effects of other recent iPad children’s book efforts like Bill Joyce’s The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, but they have an equally compelling feature in content personalization. Right now, that’s enough to stand out from the pack, although they’ll likely need to add interactivity and sound at some point to stay competitive. Another unique aspect of the books is that JibJab is commissioning a lot of fresh voices, including many from the animation industry, to illustrate their book titles. Among the artists they’ve enlisted so far are Nate Wragg, John Martz, Brigette Barrager and Kai Wu.

(Disclosure: JibJab is a sponsor of Cartoon Brew’s 2011 Student Animation Festival.)

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Brigette Barrager, iPad, jibjab, John Martz, Kai Wu, Nate Wragg