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Chris Riddell is an award-winning illustrator of Children's books in the UK.

Bloomsbury are very aware that there are two very different audiences for The Graveyard Book -- that it's a book that works as a children's book and it's also a book for adults. So Sarah, my editor, proposed that Chris illustrate the childrens' edition, and that the one illustrated by Dave McKean will be aimed at an adult readership. In the UK, Dave's babe-on-a-knife-edge cover will be for adults (and may also have a signed, limited edition). Chris's version will be for younger readers.

Here's Chris Riddell's wonderful cover -- the jacket flaps are at each side. The text on the cover is dummy text -- it'll have a different quote on the back, I expect, and there are several things that need fixing in the blurbs and the biographies and such. But the artwork is really lovely, and I thought people would like to see it...

(Reposted as the colours were strangely wrong on the last version I put up.)

Winnie the Witch by Valerie Thomas, illus. by Korky Paul
Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Space Boy by Leo Landry
Dog and Cat Make a Splash by Kate Spohn

A trend, if that's the correct word, that my daughter developed in the early days of bedtime stories, was to put herself into the stories. It started with Ian Falconer's Olivia. Clearly there was something about that "porcine wonder (apologies to Mercy Watson!) that she identified with. She asked that her name be used instead, and Olivia was never 'Olivia' in this house again. When I was a child I used to play act out my favorite books, and then scenes from chapter books, as I got older. Eventually I was no longer happy being part of someone else's story and began writing my own. But that initial incursion into beloved books was the first step in unlocking my own creativity.

'Daughter-as-character' made an appearance not once but twice this evening. Perhaps it was the unexpected appearance of a Christmas story (and she so loves Christmas,) but first she was that daft hen Minerva Louise. Even more impressive was the character swap involved in 'Dog and Cat', because she was reading that one to me. And she not only placed herself in that story, but she also found room for my husband and I, our next door neightbor, her favorite teddy bear, and her American Girl doll. So not only did she have to concentrate on reading the words correctly, but she had to keep all the charcters straight. And by golly, she did it! An impressive display, if I do say so myself. And a wonderful example of the maxim that "books can take you anywhere".

Watch the clip.

Jenny's Birthday Book (Averill, Esther)
Something to tell the Grandcows (Spinelli, Eileen and Bill Slavin, illus.)
Pierre in Love (Pennypacker, Sara and Petra Mathers, illus.)

It's been a couple of evenings of sharing favorites with the little one. Last night she read The Snowy Day to me, which was a big deal, because it was the first time her reading assignment for school was a proper book and not a phonetic worksheet. So there was a real sense of achievement, as well as the warm glow of nostalgia. And then tonight we returned to Jenny Linsky and her cat club in Jenny's Birthday Book. I was a big fan of the Cat Club as a kid, particularly Pickles the firecat. My daughter likes him, too, but for her the delight is in the sight of the cats dancing the Sailor's Hornpipe in Central Park, and the diva cat Concertina with her mouth wide open, forever belting out an aria. It's amazing how some books age so much better than others, and this is one of them. I mean, excellent is excellent, at any time, right? But in reality, not all good books are created equal. Fortunately, the Jenny books have managed to age without dating itself. I'm constantly pushing them at work (recently bought a brand new set of them with nice clean covers and intact bindings.) The gentle tone that ends the book, as Jenny says a prayer that "Please may all cats everywhere have happy birthdays when their birthdays come," and she falls into contented sleep, is as tranquil as the green room and the bowl of mush in Goodnight Moon. If you managed to miss Jenny Linsky in your youth, meet her now!

(Project for a future date--write a biography of Esther Averill. I can't find one. It's on my list of things to do.)

Danny's First Snow (Gore, Leonid)
The Buffalo Storm (Appelgate, Katherine and Jan Ormerod, illus.)
Amanda Pig, Schoolgirl (Van Leeuwen, Jean and Ann Schweninger, illus.)

We had a bit of snow today, which no one seemed to be expecting, so a snow book seemed a cozy fit. But tonight's real treat was The Buffalo Storm. It told the story of a pioneer family headed west for Oregon (its not clear where they started from.) The story is told through the eyes of a young girl who isn't afraid of anything, except storms. And although her heart breaks at leaving her grandmother behind, she is a brave little participant in a long wagon train, lyrically described as "beads slowly stringing." (The poetic moment was slightly tarnished, though, when my daughter commented that the covers of the wagons looked like toilet paper rolls. Which they did!) When the girl witnesses a buffalo storm--a wild, enthusiastic, stampede of "crazed with life" buffalo--she is able to put behind her both her fear of storms and her "homesickness" for her grandmother. This was a beautiful book, both visually and emotionally. I've been a fan of Jan Ormerod for years; I loved the Miss Mouse books, and she has a wonderful back catalog of wordless picture books. But I've always dismissed Katherine Applegate--also known as K.A. Applegate--as a writer of series fiction. That's not a diss of series fiction in general, because I'm a fan. But her long running Animorph's series has never appealed to me and has always struck me as formulaic (plus it made the dreaded jump to TV.) To have written a debut picture book that is such a departure from her previous work is a real testament to her talent. Perhaps now with The Buffalo Storm, and the highly regarded Home of the Brave, Applegate will move out of the shadow of her success and show us what other stories she has inside her.

Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble (Schachner, Judy)
Wilfred the Rat (Stevenson, James)

I'm not a fan of Skippyjon Jones, the Siamese cat who insists that he is a chihuahua, but I have to admit that I liked this outing. Maybe it's because he wasn't as willfully naughty as he has been in past books. Maybe it was Judy Schachner's narration (I confess, we listened to CD, rather than test my cold-plagued voice) and her funny little accent and rolling of her R's. Maybe it was the reference to the "Under Mundo" and the fact that The Night Tourist was still fresh in my memory. Whatever it was--I liked this one. Skippyjon decides that he wants to visit Ancient Egypt. And, despite the warnings of his own Mummy (warning that he will get scared,) Skippyjon escapes to his closet and sets off on adventure with his band of Chimichangos. There are plenty of silly worditos, as in the previous books, which I think is part of the appeal.

And continuing my efforts to highlight any book with favorable representations of rats, I present Wilfred the Rat. James Stevenson, for all of his wry brilliance, is rapidly approaching Lost Treasure status. His Worst Person in the World books are pretty hard to come by, as are his Monty stories. "Wilfred" tells the story of a rat who finds himself at an amusement park abandoned for the winter. While there he befriends a squirrel and a chipmunk who show him the pleasures of a pleasure park when there are no people to chase them away. These are Wilfred's first friends, and when he has the opportunity to chose between fame or friends, the choice is easy. You can add "loyalty" to the list of fine ratty qualities!

Amazing Grace (Hoffman, Mary and Caroline Binch, illus.)
Follow the Line Through the House (Ljungkvist, Laura)
You'll be Sorry (Schneider, Josh)

As we prepare for a return to school, and the end of the holiday routine, it was not very easy getting these stories read, because it was not very easy getting washed and in bed on time. And then once we did, we realized that we should have saved something like"Follow the Line" for a reading opportunity when we had time to do just that--follow the line. It was a cool book with lots of details to investigate, and the appeal of trying to follow the single line from the front cover all the way through. But we were racing against the clock, so we did not give the book it's full due. However, we did read "Sorry" twice. The premise is simple: a little mouse is warned against hitting her baby brother. She does not believe it when her parents say "You'll be sorry." She should have listened to them! The comic ramifications will scare off any young reader. Parents--get this book for your squabbling offspring!

As for "Grace," this is a favorite. We have enjoyed all the Grace books and are revisiting them as we wait for the latest installment in the series, Princess Grace, due out in just a few days. I sang the first verse of "Amazing Grace" for my daughter, who was rather surprised to hear it. Apparently she was unaware of its existence. Clearly not paying attention in church!

Backbeard Pirate for Hire (McElligott, Matthew)
When Dinosaurs Came With Everything (Broach, Elise and David Small, illus.)
Play, Mozart, Play! (Sis, Peter)

And so 2008 starts very much like 2007 ended--still reading and looking for great books. Sis's "Mozart" put me in mind of M.T. Anderson's Handel who Knew What He Liked, mainly because it's a picture book biography of a great composer. And McElligott's Backbeard, with his outlandish clothes and pig (as opposed to a parrot) joins the rank of other misfit pirates Roger the Jolly Pirate and Jack Plank. In fact, Backbeard's search for employment is reminiscent of Jack Plank's attempts to find life after piracy. And as for "Dinosaurs", it gives a new twist to the "look-what-followed me-home" story. I guess that goes to show that good themes and ideas can never be exhausted.

I told you Martha and I were writing a book, but apparently somebody, um, beat us to it. More than a century ago.

Little Red Riding Hood (Pinkney, Jerry)
At Night (Bean, Jonathan)
Chilly Charlie (Rau, Dana Meredith)
Millie Waits for the Mail (Steffensmeier, Alexander)
Alligator Boy (Rylant, Cynthia and Diane Goode)

A fabulous bunch this evening! I've had my eye on Pinkney's Red Riding Hood since it made its way through Tech Services. It has a very Christmasy feel, with snow covered woods and cardinals to match the tell-tale hood. Pinkney has had a particularly stellar year, IMHO, with Little Red Hen and The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll (which he illustrated) also seeing release in 2007.

But the stand out title for me tonight was Millie Waits for the Mail, about a cow who takes great delight in frightening the mail carrier each day. The unexpected canine behavior reminded me of My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World by Gilles Bachelet. And why is the cat so silly? Because he's an elephant! I love it when reality is thoroughly turned on its head, yet it still makes sense. And following up on yesterday's post about the success of translated books for children, I'd like to point out that both titles are imports: "Millie" from Germany and "Cat" from France.

I've been asked by a loyal reader (so nice to know you are there!) to keep a running list of all the picture books mentioned in this blog. Look for it in the new year.

Museum Trip (Lehman, Barbara)
Rabbit's Morning (Tafuri, Nancy)

In order to facilitate the fact that I can't talk because I have no voice tonight (nasty head cold,) we read some wordless picture books. "Rabbit" isn't strictly wordless; there is a single sentence which is split between the first and last page of the book. But I didn't even need to read that much, because my daughter could handle it ably on her own. "Museum" reminded me a lot of Rainstorm, because in both books the opening of a door leads to unexpected adventure. This is hinted at on the cover itself, as the protagonist of the story peals back a plain white corner to reveal a maze beneath. Very clever.

I might be a new convert to the charms of Lehman's picture puzzles, but I am a long time fan of Nancy Tafuri. I love the clean, uncluttered lines of her drawings. She manages to make her characters (almost always animals in their natural habitat) look realistic and anthromorphized at the same time. I use her books a lot in my baby story times. Her books are generally over sized, which makes them easy to show to a group. And there is always just enough to look at, without having to take in too much.

Pursuant to my recent post about sequels, I see from A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy that not only are Ellen Emerson White's old books about The President's Daughter being republished, she's rewriting them to bring them in line with the most recent book, Long May She Reign, which is set in the present day but picks up the action from the end of the last book, Long Live the Queen.

Phew. If only they could do this with the old Magic Attic books, which apparently invite readers to join a fan club by calling an 800 number which time and fate have transformed into a phone sex line. And I wonder what's happened to 537-3331, Amy's phone number in I Am the Cheese. If you figured out the area code you could find yourself talking to "Amy's father," aka Robert Cormier. Or so I was told.

Gargoyles: Monsters in Stone (Dussling, Jennifer)
Un-Brella (Franson, Scott E.)
Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share (O'Malley, Kevin)
Someday (Spinelli, Eileen)

Rather an eclectic selection tonight. We had a wordless picture book (Un-Brella,) a pun-fest ('Cracked Corn",) a prose picture book (Someday,) and a highly informative early reader. Did you know that "gargoyle" comes from a French word meaning "throat"? and have you noticed that it sounds very much like "gargle", which is technically what a Gargoyles do, since they are decorative water spouts? Bedtime reading that is not just for kids indeed!

Check out this trailer for Un-Brella. It doesn't really give an idea of what the book is about (a little girl and her magic umbrella that turns a snowy day to a sunny one, and vice-versa.) But it's sweet and gentle, and the book is certainly all that.

Claire has compiled a list of recommended bedtime stories perfect for these cooling nights. Allow me to add one--Jonathan Bean's At Night (FSG), which received a starred review from Jennifer Brabander in the September/October issue but whose perfection I only realized when I read it aloud in Vermont last week.

This evening saw us enjoying:

There is a Bird on Your Head (Willems, Mo)
Ginger and Petunia (Polacco, Patricia)
Blue Ribbon Henry (Calhoun, Mary)

Where is Henry? He's "some cat"! He shows such compassion and ingenuity in the dealings with his human family (particularly the Kid, who loves him, and the Man, who loves him in spite of himself,) and I for one would love to read more about him. Five books just isn't enough! This may merit a Lost Treasures entry....... Read the rest of this post

My toddler LOVES to be read to before she goes to bed, but lately we read many books, and she STILL doesn't want to go to bed. My husband and I have been very bad parents. Reading book after book after book makes you want to scream sometimes (especially when it's the same books over and over again). On a recent trip to the library, I chose a whole stack of books, two of which specifically were about bedtime. Well, they were both a hoot. They had my daughter and I both laughing a whole lot about how the characters in the books didn't want to go to bed.

Bedtime book #1:

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
words and pictures by Mo Willems

Hyperion, 2006

What I loved about this book:

It's so simplistic. Let's face it, the pigeon books by Willems should take the prize for brevity and humor.

There is a human, male character at the beginning of the book that talks to the reader from the very beginning. He instructs the reader "don't let the pigeon stay up late." So the reader, in my case, the toddler actually gets to listen to the pigeon give all of his excuses of why he doesn't want to go to bed. And there are pages where the pigeon acts like the reader is talking to him and telling him he has to go to bed.

What a fun bedtime book! It make my toddler laugh at the pigeon who is doing the very same thing that the pigeon is doing!!

Bedtime book #2

Once Upon a Time, the End (asleep in 60 Seconds)

by Geoffrey Kloske and Barry Blitt

Atheneum, 2005

This is another great bedtime story. It starts out with an introduction of sorts. A child wants story after story after story. The child doesn't want to go to bed. Finally, the father starts making the stories shorter and shorter and shorter, just to get through them. This is a collection of familiar stories, mostly fairy tales and familiar rhymes. The essence of the story is retained, but the stories are VERY brief. They are so brief, they are humorous.

What I loved:

I loved the fact that this proved I'm not the only parent who rushes through stories some nights just to get through them so my daughter will go to bed. I LOVE storytime and I LOVE to read wonderful picture books, but sometimes after I've read the same wonderful story for the 40th time that week, I want to get through it.

Stories that are abbreviated and make MOST hilarious include: Chicken Little, The TWO little pigs (HA! Even the number of characters is shortened), Princess Pea, The Little Red Hen, and many more.

At the end of some of the stories there is even a interjection or two to the listener--go to bed!! My favorite one is at the end of "Princess Pea." "Is there a pea under your bed? Then what's your excuse? Go to bed." It made my reluctant toddler laugh about going to bed. This book couldn't be more fun!

This was a library book we checked out, but we will be buying our own copy of this book. It's too funny not to have on hand when I really need to use it.