It's dark by 5 pm. The longest night of the year is only two weeks away. Here are some great books about nightime.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen won the Caldecott award for the illustrations by John Schoenherr. This is a quiet look at a winter night and the beauties of nature. A father shares the night with his daughter as they hope to see an owl.
Bear Snores On Karma Wilson. Animals find their way into Bear's cave making more and more noise. When Bear finally wakes up and wants t join the ensuing party, his friends are fast asleep.
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. When a boy invites his snowman into his home, the snowman takes the boy on a night flight over the countryside. This wordless book has been turned into a popular animated short. View the full 1982 version of the film with an intro by David Bowie by clicking above.
Details on a new animated feature from the beloved creator of "The Snowman" and "When the Wind Blows."
The cold winter months are a wonderful time to share books with the people you love! Here are some great read-it-together books from the First Book Marketplace.
If you work with kids in need, you can access these books and many more by signing up with First Book.
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Sometimes the most magical stories can be told without a single word. That is certainly true of The Snowman, which has been delighting children since 1978. In this picture book, Briggs tells the story of a boy whose snowman comes to life in the night and takes him on an incredible adventure. Even though there are no words to read, the expressive and detailed illustrations make this classic a stellar pick for poring over with a loved one.
Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
When Pauline gets an idea in her head, she’s going to do something about it – even if that idea is to sell lemonade and limeade in the dead of winter! Along with her enthusiastic little brother John-John, Pauline counts up her quarters, treks to the grocery store, and sets up a stand on her front lawn. But will anyone really be outside on such a cold day? Jenkins and Karas have created two unforgettable characters that will have readers of all ages giggling (and clamoring to count coins).
Iguanas in the Snow: And Other Winter Poems / Iguanas en la Nieve: Y Otros Poemas de Invierno by Francisco X. Alarcón, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez
Winter takes shape differently in different places. In this engaging book of bilingual poetry, Alarcón explores winter in Northern California – from the streets of San Francisco to the majestic redwood forests of the Sierras. Collections of simply-written poetry offer a great opportunity for children and adults to take turns as they read and can often inspire children to try their hands at writing their own poems.
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Alvin, a Chinese-American second grader, is afraid of everything—elevators, tunnels, girls, and, most of all, school. He’s so afraid of school that, while he’s there, he never, ever, says a word. Luckily, he has a loving and supportive family who help him be brave, even when it’s tough. This entertaining and endearing chapter book also features charming illustrations throughout, making it a perfect choice for reading aloud.
365 Days of Wonder by R. J. Palacio
In the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Wonder, readers were introduced to memorable English teacher Mr. Browne and his love of precepts, or principles to live by. Palacio has compiled 365 precepts into this inspiring book, celebrating kindness, hopefulness, the goodness of human beings, the strength of people’s hearts, and the power of people’s wills. Sharing words of wisdom with children is a wonderful way to start discussions, share values, and encourage each other.
The post Cuddle Up with a Book appeared first on First Book Blog.
Such a coincidence – I am currently reading Marguerite van Geldermalsen’s enthralling Married to a Bedouin (Virago, 2006), when what should I come across, with Raymond Briggs uppermost in my mind, following Corinne’s post a couple of days ago, but the heading “The Elephant and the Bad Baby”. This classic illustrated by Briggs and written by Elfrida Vipont is one of our family favourites and I loved Marguerite’s description of reading it with her daughter:
Soon after dinner I made our bed ready against the back wall of the cave and cuddled up to read with Salwa from the treasures Mum sent [from New Zealand]. I didn’t always speak to her in English, and she spoke mostly Arabic, but through the stories she learned the language.
‘And the elephant went…’ I read.
‘Rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta,’ she recited.
‘All down the road with the…’
‘Ice-cream man…’
The Elephant and the Bad Baby had arrived in the most recent parcel and she already had half of it off by heart. She got me to read it over and over again, but now and then I had to read The Hungry Caterpillar or Mr Magnolia to keep me sane.
What a lovely picture this conjures up (as well as bringing back memories of similar dialogues with my own two). Married to a Bedouin is the story of Marguerite’s life from when she first visited Petra in Jordon and fell in love with a Bedouin souvenir-seller – I simply couldn’t put it down.
Several weeks ago Janet Evans, Literacy and Educational Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Education at Liverpool Hope University, visited the National Institute of Education in Singapore and gave a presentation entitled “Exploring Comics, Graphic Novels and Picture Books as Multimodal Texts with Particular Reference to Raymond Briggs and His Partnership with Controversy.” Myra Garces-Bacsal of Gathering Books attended the lecture and emailed me soon after to say that she was so impressed with Janet’s presentation that she stayed up until 2am to blog about it!
Truth be told, I have little inkling about who Raymond Briggs was, but I love graphic novels and I adore picture books. I thought that it was another blogworthy post for Gathering Books. True enough, it was the highlight of my day.
Janet’s 60-minute talk this afternoon (and I really feel it was waayyyy too short, I could have spent an entire day just listening and talking to Janet who is a fantastic and animated speaker) – basically centered on the subtle differences between comics, graphic novels, picture books and illustrated books. She also discussed the themes in Briggs’ work as a graphic novelist and how comics and graphic novels can be effective conduits to philosophical discourses, existential issues, and profound ruminations about life, death, war, tragedy, you name it – his picture books have them.
Now I feel like a total lark not knowing about Raymond Briggs. His works are now considered classics, extremely rare (thus expensive), and yes, he has a cult following. When Briggs was just beginning (1970’s) to publish his works which may be seen as a cross between comic strip, picture books and graphic novels all rolled into one – this kind of writing was regarded with a raised eyebrow at the very least in British society. Raymond Briggs has been credited to be instrumental in elevating the profile of comics and graphic novels to an intellectual level. Janet claims that “there is now a burgeoning renaissance in their creation, production, and acceptance.”
Read Myra’s entire blog post here.
by Raymond Briggs, is the story of Jim Bloggs, an imaginative toilet cleaner who, dissatisfied with his station in life, devotes his time to envisioning a world beyond it. His walls are lined with books like Out in the Silver West, The Boys Book of Pirates and Executive Opportunities, which provide fodder for his ruminations on career change.
See a Preview (PDF via Drawn and Quarterly)
Very fun! I
I love your "Books from my library" posts.
Happy Holidays Sergio.
Thank you, Annina! Happy Holidays.