Beatrix Potter and her books were a meaningful part of my childhood. As a child, I loved all things tiny - and what's not to love about a tidy little pile of green books with white trim? Especially when the illustrations inside carry you away to a magical world that exists behind hedges, under piles of oily-tasting mown grass and near the damp edges of a pond dotted with lily pads? As a parent reading her books to my children, it was harder to make sense of her strange world, although the illustrations and curious ways of the animals remained transportive enough to make me very excited to get my hands on A Celebration of Beatrix Potter: Art and Letters by More than 30 of Today's Favorite Children's Book Illustrators.
Beyond the obvious attributes that keep Potter's books on the shelves 100 plus years after her debut, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which was originally self-published, are the facts of the woman herself. Born in 1866 and growing up in the Victorian era, Potter was fiercely independent and "unwavering curiosity led her to become a cryptographer, an amateur scientist, an award-winning farmer, a political activist, a revolutionary conservationist and a forward thinking business woman." Pretty spectacular accomplishments for a woman of wealth in an era when women were expected to follow rigid social structures. This celebration of Potter and her 150th birthday is a delight for anyone who is a fan of contemporary children's book illustrators.
From favorites of mine like David Wiesner, Chris Haughton, Jen Corace, Renata Liwska Brendan Wenzel, Dan Santat and Tony DiTerlizzi, to greats like Rosemary Wells, Peggy Rathmann, Wendell Minor, Brian Pinkney and Tomie de Paola, fans of Potter will absolutely delight at their renderings of favorite characters. Nine of Potter's books are featured here, with portions reprinted, along with a brief paragraph about the origins of each book and remembrances from contributors. I completely enjoyed flipping through the pages, seeing Potter's originals next to new interpretations and being transported one more time to that world behind the hedgerow. Such a treat!
Source: Review Copy
Last summer I reviewed the first two books in a new series by a longtime favorite of mine, Ellen Potter. Piper Green and the Fairy Tree is a superb bridge chapter book series, ideal for readers ready to move up from leveled readers but not quite ready for something like The Magic Tree House or Junie B. Jones. Speaking of Junie B., Piper Green is the perfect choice for parents, educators and librarians looking for a winning, quirky, articulate girl character who is not sassy and uses words correctly. You can read my review of the first two books in the Piper Green series, which includes a list of Ellen's other books and links to my reviews of them, here.
In Piper Green and the Fairy Tree: The Sea Pony, Piper's Saturday is filled with twists and turns, ups and downs. But that is life on Peek-a-Boo Island off the coast of Maine where the Greens live. Piper and the other islanders ride a lobster to school on the nearby Mink Island. But, bigger kids have to go to school - and live, during the week anyway - on the mainland, and that is what Piper's beloved big brother, Erik does. Home for the weekend, Piper is looking forward to time with Erik. But Erik is not feeling well and can't get out of bed. Piper decides to make him Cinnamon Snakes (cinnamon toast cut in squiggles) because that's what her mom always does when anyone is feeling under the weather. But, the Greens are all out of cinnamon.
In an organic but completely unpredicatble chain of events that perfectly characterizes the unique perspective of Piper herself, a trip to the store to buy cinnamon leads to a bosun's whistle (a gift from the fairies found in the Fairy Tree) to a glimpse of a beautiful new horse to a job as sternman (the "guy who stuffs dead fish into little net bags for lobster bait") to befriending a sea pony (a harbor seal) to finding a skiff lost in a storm to . . . riding atop that beautiful new horse!
Potter fills this series with little details about island life that, along with the maps in the front of the book, help landlocked readers get a real feel for this way of life. But, the real treat is getting to peek into Piper's life, her thought process and how she handles disappointments, new experiences and best of all, how she problem solves. While working as sternman on her father's lobster boat, Piper feeds half of the day's bait to a playful seal responding to her bosun's whistle. Piper begins to think that maybe she can ride this seal, since she learned just how much a horse costs. Piper eventually realizes the impossibility of this plan, but it doesn't get her down, or stop her planning.
And, coming soon!
Piper Green and the Fairy Tree Book 4:
Going Places
Source: Review Copy
Piper Green and the Fairy Tree marks the sixth book I have reviewed by the wonderful Ellen Potter and I absolutely ADORE it! I reviewed the first book in Potter's Olivia Kidney series, which would make the PERFECT step up for readers after finishing the Piper Green and the Fairy Tree series, back in 2008! It has been such a treat to continue reading her books over the last seven years and
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Otis Dooda : Strange But True!
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The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter reminds me a bit of colorful puzzle pieces that don't seem to make a picture until you have fitted the last few pieces in. Three or four chapters into the book it seems like it's going to be one kind of story, half way through the book you are sure it's a different kind of story. It is not until the end of the book that you realize just what kind of story it
Ellen Potter is the creator of my favorite clairvoyant sleuth, Olivia Kidney, who now has three books to her name. She has also written Pish Posh, which also involves some serious detective work on the part of main character Clara Frankofile. With SLOB we have the honor of meeting Owen Birnbaum, a narrator who is one point shy of having a genius IQ, which is what he tells people because his
Your reviews are always a work of art. I read them with as much enjoyment as I do when reading a great book. Thank you for this one! I'm honored.
Wow! Thanks so much - after two years I still feel like I am mostly just stumbling around when it comes to writing. But, I often feel VERY PASSIONATELY about books that I read, yours included, and I guess that's what comes through! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment - if I was a writer I don't think I'd have the courage to read reviews of my work...