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Today is National Cat Day! In celebration of this day and the four-legged, furry creatures it honors, I would like to introduce you to a famous cat; one who changed a man’s life and possibly a few classical music fans as well. Here is Ketzel, a cat who actually composed music. Enjoy! . Ketzel, the Cat …

If you’re a fan of historical fiction, then Donna Jo Napoli‘s YA novel The Smile is for you.  It tells the story of fifteen-year-old Elisabetta, the girl later immortalized as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.  Monna Elisabetta hopes to marry for love, but knows she’s destined for an arranged marriage.  As members of the lesser nobility in Florence, Elisabetta’s family needs her to marry well and she is bound by the limited role prescribed to her.  But Elisabetta, unconventional and strong, meets a boy she can love, Guiliano de’ Medici.     Against all odds and due to the introduction by her father’s famous friend, Leonardo da Vinci, Elisabetta meets the Medici family, the most powerful and wealthy family in Florence. She and the youngest son, Giuliano meet and fall in love. But can their love survive the violent political upheavals of the Renaissance and the overthrow of the Medici rule?  In Napoli’s hands, the mysterious Mona Lisa smile is created from love, loss, poignancy and passion.  

If you like The Westing Game, you’re sure to like Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett and illustrated by Brett Helquist (illustrator of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events).   The book jacket says Chasing Vermeer “is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art.” A famous painting by Jan Vermeer known as A Woman Writing has disappeared and its mysterious thief has threatened to destroy it. Sixth-graders Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay start out as classmates but soon become friends and fellow sleuths as they boldly venture to follow a trail of clues and track down the missing painting.  Using their wits and intuition, they solve the puzzle of the painting’s disappearance and its mysterious thief  . Chasing Vermeer reminds me a bit of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Petra finds an old used book called Lo! that tells of coincidences throughout time.  As Petra thinks, “Why wasn’t more time . . .  spent studying things that were unknown or not understood .  . . ?  . . . To try to piece together a meaning behind events that didn’t seem to fit?” Perhaps there are no coincidences–perhaps life is really full of patterns and cosmic synchronicity.  Petra dreams of [...]

If you like The Westing Game, you’re sure to like Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett and illustrated by Brett Helquist (illustrator of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events).   The book jacket says Chasing Vermeer “is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art.” A famous painting by Jan Vermeer known as A Woman Writing has disappeared and its mysterious thief has threatened to destroy it. Sixth-graders Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay start out as classmates but soon become friends and fellow sleuths as they boldly venture to follow a trail of clues and track down the missing painting.  Using their wits and intuition, they solve the puzzle of the painting’s disappearance and its mysterious thief  . Chasing Vermeer reminds me a bit of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Petra finds an old used book called Lo! that tells of coincidences throughout time.  As Petra thinks, “Why wasn’t more time . . .  spent studying things that were unknown or not understood .  . . ?  . . . To try to piece together a meaning behind events that didn’t seem to fit?” Perhaps there are no coincidences–perhaps life is really full of patterns and cosmic synchronicity.  Petra dreams of [...]

Love, love, love this poster I got from Burning Through Pages!  Iconic poster + worthy cause=awesome. More about Burning Through Pages (from their website): “Burning Through Pages is a Denver-based non-profit organization that helps kids join book clubs in their communities (run by our volunteers and other kids), launch new book clubs in their communities, or interact one-on-one with a BTP volunteer.  We want to help kids experience literature on whatever level makes them comfortable, excited and reading, reading, reading!  We actually buy the books for the kids and if they love them, they keep them – and no, we are not joking.”  

Dare to follow your dreams!

Dare to be yourself!

Dare to be free!

This is the premise of Liesel Soley's inspiring children's picture book, Can You Be an Artist?

Freddie, Honey and Bae are so different culturally speaking, yet they're so alike at the same time. They all have one thing in common: they have a big dream and they believe in making that dream a reality. Freddie wants to become a violinist. He sees himself playing in a string quartet and starts practicing everyday. Honey wants to become a painter. She sees her paintings in other people's homes and begins to experiement with colored pencils and oil paints. Bae wants to become a dancer. He sees himself dancing in his home country and starts taking dance lessons. As they channel their creative energies, their behavior and work at school begin to excel.

Can You Be an Artist? is a celebration of dreams and the arts. Using an engaging, simple prose and without preaching, the author presents snapshots of Freddie's, Honey's and Bae's lives to encourage young minds to have dreams and goals and to take the steps to make those dreams come true. The book is an invitation into the world of the arts. The adorable illustrations, done in colored pencils, are filled with detail and depict beautiful scenes both indoors and outdoors. I especially loved the illustrations of flowers, gardens, animals, trees and the seasons.

This is a wonderful book that introduces children to the arts and unleashes their creativity. Especially if your child already has expressed an interest in playing an instrument, painting or dancing, this book will give them an invaluable proactive message: dreams don't become a reality by themselves; it's vital to work and practice in order to grow as an artist.

Liesel Soley is a professional violinist, a music instructor, and also an artist. You can check out her website at www.lieselsoley.com. This is her first children's book.