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Author: Caroline Lazo
Illustrator: Kyrsten Brooker
Published: 2008 Random House (on JOMB)
ISBN: 037583754X

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Radically textured paint and collage illustrations combine with informative rhyming text as the imagined journeys of a young girl’s cat become an upbeat introduction to the landmarks and traditions of Europe.

Other books mentioned:

• Safe and Sound

More cats on JOMB:

• Cat Magic
• The Tortilla Cat

Be sure to pop over to Sarah Reinhard’s blog for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

You know, I love Poetry Friday. I really, really do. You can post your own poetry--say, about spring, or about (hellish) winter, or about graduation--or you can just post a picture of your cat and link it tangentially to a Poetry Friday book review.*

Today I review a rhyming picture book over at Book Buds for Poetry Friday. The book in question is the utterly fun Someday When My Cat Can Talk, by Caroline Lazo and illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker. In Someday When My Cat Can Talk, the little girl protagonist imagines what her cat would say if he could talk. And, guess what? He takes a witty trip around Europe and has great things to say. Check out this fabulous stanza, which is my Poetry Friday entry:


He'll speak fondly of the snail he met
while camping out near Cannes.
And he'll whisper why she's hiding
from the chef at Cafe Sands.

Oh, snap! That's one smart cat. (And one smart picture book.)

My cat, however, pictured above, is a different sort of animal. I imagine his thought process as follows: Paper! R-i-i-i-i-p! [Blank] What's that sound? Food? [Blank] What's that sound? Food? Food? Food? [Blank] [Blank] [Blank] [Blank] R-i-i-i-i-p!

And, yeah, that's pretty much it for poor Norbert. He's a book killing, pear-shaped, dim witted, sweetheart of a cat. We love him, but he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

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* Speaking of original poetry...can I just say that I am getting several hits per day from people searching for "pedicure poems"? I'm honestly truly shocked by this.

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Also, did you know it's Vampire month? I'll be back in a few hours with a Vampire graphic novel review!
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Writer2be is on the roundup. Head on over and leave your links!

Elizabeth Barrett, a 17-month-old baby, can read at a 7-year-old’s level. Her parents read to her ever since she was born, and she also learned sign language through “Signing Times” show, which her parents believe helped her learn to read.

Elizabeth seems to take great delight in reading, and in the delight and wonder of others around her. I found myself watching the video with a big smile on my face. I also really like that her parents read to her and play with her about reading, in what seems like a loving way; they weren’t pushing her to learn–just teaching a love of reading. You can read more about the story and watch the video here.

Publisher David Fickling, through his Random House Imprint, will be launching The David Fickling Comic (The DFC). The comics will have 36 pages, no advertisements, printed in full color on recycled paper, and it’s aimed at children 8-10 years old, but will appeal to other ages as well.

Each issue will contain about seven different storylines written and illustrated by various authors and illustrators; as each strip ends, it will be replaced by new ones. The comic will arrive in UK children’s mailboxes starting Friday, May 30, and will also be mailed to worldwide subscribers (hurray!) if they’re willing to pay the postage.

I think this is a wonderful way to get children to read; it incorporates two things children love–comics, and receiving something in the mail just for them. What an appealing way to get children excited about reading! I would have *loved* to receive a comic in the mail every week as a child. I still would.

Publisher David Fickling says ““In my own experience, the link between reading a comic and reading a book is wonderful and exciting,” and I think he’s right about the link. Fickling sees the comic as a stepping stone for readers who might not naturally be pulled to books–and that makes a lot of sense to me.

If you’re interested in a subscription, or just want to read more, you can visit their site here. Right now there’s just a countdown counter on their site, and a form where you can sign up for a special code, but in 23 days (or possibly sooner), you should be able to purchase a subscription if you want to.

You can also read more about this here, which is where I heard about this.

I love comics–most especially when they’re well-written and well-drawn. I’m a superhero fan from my childhood–and some current comics still give me such enjoyment. There are some really good comic writers out there, who give their characters depth, good backstory, and character motivation. And there are all types of comics and graphic novels, not just superhero comics. (But I have to admit, the well-written super-hero ones are my favorites.)

I know some people put down comics as reading material, but I don’t think they’re anything to be ashamed of. Some of them are like junk food–as are some books and movies. But some of them are well written and illustrated, and deserve a second look. They provide entertainment, enjoyment, scope for the imagination, and many of the well-written ones also include a lot of strong metaphors and thoughtful ideas for readers to mull over and digest.

On top of that, if they get a child or teen–or anyone, really–reading, then they’ve accomplished something positive.

I was a voracious reader of books as a child and teen (I still am), but I also loved comics; they brought a different type of pleasure and escape, close to fantasy books–and gave me some ideals and visions of strength that I needed. I think, if you overlook comics as a source of reading, and especially reading for pleasure, then you’re overlooking a potential treasure trove.

Jen Robinson has some great links about encouraging reading through comics. Head on over there and check them out.

I love reading inspiring stories, especially related to books and reading. And this story is inspiring. 10-year-old R. J. Bolian wanted a library for his small town in New Hampshire–and so he helped this dream to become a reality by speaking at a town meeting for the need for a library; raising money through a Texas hold ‘em tournament; face painting at a local fair; and applying for grants; requesting books as donations (all the books in the new library are donated); and creating a celebrities’ recipes book to raise money.

Now, four years after he started, the library is about to become a reality. You can read more about this amazing boy and the library he helped bring about at School Library Journal.

This is a story to warm book-lovers’ hearts. I find it not only inspiring that R.J. cared enough to establish a library in his town, and worked to accomplish it, at such a young age, but also that he loves books. You go, R. J.!

Children’s illustrator Paula Nizamas is donating the illustrations from two previously published books to Books2Color.com (a non-profit activity-page website) for children to print out and color.

The first picture book, “My Little Diary,” will be turned into a printable e-book and available for free on the site on March 8, 2008. The second book, “Snow Queen,” will be available June 30.

I find this transition from actual hardcopy books which sold well (100,000 copies) into free ebooks interesting. I think this is a move that could encourage young children to read more–and hopefully to have some good-quality free ebooks (there are some dreadful free “children’s ebooks” out there, that aren’t well written or illustrated).

January 27 is Family Literacy Day, at least in Canada. Various events are being held to celebrate, often at libraries, but also community centers, including story times, pajama parties, and more. You can check out the various events in Canada here.

It’s a great day to share a book with someone–though of course, I think every day is a great day to do that. But it’s nice to have a day to celebrate literacy and reading. So let’s celebrate!

Spiderwick Chronicles books will appear in specially marked boxes of Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Reese’s Puffs, Cookie Crisps and Honey Nut Cheerios in the US, from January 1 to March 1. Three different collectible books based on the second title in the Spiderwick series, The Seeing Stone, will appear in the boxes. This ties in to the launching of the Spiderwick film in February, but should encourage kids to pick up the books and read them.

The promotion is for 10-million boxes of cereal with books inside. Now that is some hefty book promotion!

Part of me winces at the books being paired with such sugary cereal. But part of me thinks–if it gets kids reading, isn’t it a good thing? I would have *loved* to have had a book as a “prize” inside a cereal box when I was a kid. Heck, I still would. (Anyone want to mail me one? )

I’m also betting that these books are smaller in size than the regular ones. There’s something about tiny-sized books that just appeals to me. It almost makes me want to go over the border, just to buy myself a box.

Thanks to Publishers Weekly Children’s book news for this.

Brian Martin has come up with a neat idea to entice reluctant readers–and busy kids–to read. He calls them Lunchbox Stories–cards that each contain one short chapter with a cliff-hanger ending. The cards can be slipped into a lunchbox or used at bedtime. This sounds like a great idea to me; it reminds me of those old-time serial radio shows, with cliffhanger endings. It might drive voracious readers like me nuts, waiting for the next card (unless you happen to hold the whole deck), but this could be a fun way to encourage reluctant readers to read. I don’t know anything about the quality of the writing; I haven’t read a Lunchbox Story, and there are no excerpts online (I think there should be) but I know that the idea is very appealing.

You can check out his website at www.lunchboxstories.com.

There’s a lovely animation from Sesame Street about “Sometimes All I Need Is a Book to Read” on YouTube. Some of you might remember it; I sure do. I love how the art moves from one image into another, the way imagination can, and how positive it is about books, about the stories inside. I think this is a really neat way to encourage children to read (in addition to many, many other things)–a short, fun animated clip. Check it out.

Want to know how to help reluctant readers enjoy reading? Check out this fantastic article by Jen Robinson, with suggestions from many kidlit bloggers. The article has so many suggestions that feel truly helpful–suggestions, that, to me, are all on target; I was nodding as I read. You can download and print out a lovely formatted PDF version of her article here.

Jon Scieszka (The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Cowboy and Octopus), is the USA’s first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He will promote children’s books and encourage children to read through personal appearances around the USA and in the media. Scieszka is known for his encouraging boys to read, and runs the nonprofit literacy program called Guys Read. You can read more about this in the Washington article here.
Thanks to Susan Kusel over at Wizards Wireless for this link.

Photo by brokenarts

I love reading about–and discussing–the benefits of reading. I think there are so many.

Some of my favorite benefits from reading books are that:

• Reading can help you know you are not alone;
• Reading can help you safely experience or think about something that you might not be ready to experience in the world;
• Reading can help you work through things emotionally, and come to a greater understanding;
• Reading encourages imagination and creative thinking;
• Reading can help increase your focus and thinking;
• Reading can bring inspiration, hope, wisdom, comfort, and can act like a friend;
• And reading can provide wonderful entertainment, while helping you learn, often without realizing it.

Reading is also an inexpensive form of entertainment, far cheaper than a movie or CD if you’re buying a book, and free if you get the book from the library.

Brad Isaac has written a great article on the benefits of reading (he’s listed 26 benefits). The article is geared towards adults, and seems focused on non-fiction (and has a little bit of hype), but most of the benefits are still the same for fiction readers and child and teen readers, including that reading can: stimulate brain activity and thinking; increase vocabulary; give you a glimpse into other cultures and places; improve concentration and focus; increase self-esteem; improve memory; improve reasoning skills; and much more. You might not agree with all his listed benefits or the way he’s worded them, but many are validating. Check the article out.

A love of reading is so important. Children who read do better in school, and probably in life. I think they’re more prepared for things that come their way. And of course reading helps stimulate a child’s creativity and imagination–and uses their mind in a way that television and video games never will.

But many children seem to be losing their love of reading, as books are forced on them or dissected at school, or they are tested on them. In the UK, they recently discovered that children’s reading skills had hardly benefited from the government’s £500 million National Literacy Strategy because the children were so stressed out by test scores. That makes a lot of sense to me. Sure, it’s important to know how to write, and why a piece of writing works so well. But if you don’t also help a child to read, what good will it ever do? And I know that I always resisted reading the books that I was assigned in school, even though I was a voracious reader.

So what can we do to help children regain their love of reading?

Head teachers in the UK suggest something very simple and effective–read to your children. That time of sharing and love, where you read to your child, can create a lifelong love of reading. Great discussions can also come out of that reading aloud together. I also think it’s important to allow a child to read what they want to read. Let them pick their own books at the library and bookstore. Offer to buy a child some books–ones the child picks out. And have fun, reading together.