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The high is 82 degrees today in New York City, and yet it’s already time to talk holiday books! I’m soaking up this warm weather, because Winter will make its appearance the way it always does: abruptly and with no mercy… but when it does, books that evoke feelings like these–nostalgia, gratitude, love for family and friends, the magic of the holiday season– are what make it all worthwhile.

Check out new sure-to-be classics from the HarperCollins Children’s Books list:

THANKSGIVING DAY THANKS
by Laura Malone Elliot, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
ISBN: 9780060002367, $17.99
On sale now!

Thanksgiving is almost here and Sam’s class is excited for their Thanksgiving feast! Mary Ann is going to dress up like Squanto. Winston’s building a popsicle-stick Mayflower. Jeffrey’s organizing a pumpkin pie-making contest. Everyone already knows the one special thing they are thankful for—everyone but Sam, that is. When something goes wrong with Sam’s surprise project, will the class be able to save it? Will Sam discover what he’s thankful for?  From the author/illustrator combination of A STRING OF HEARTS.

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
written and illustrated by Susan Jeffers
ISBN: 9780062066152, $17.99
On sale now!

Splendidly rendered in Susan Jeffers’s breathtaking panoramic spreads, this jovial interpretation of a holiday classic will have readers of all ages singing their way through the holidays.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, SPLAT!
by Rob Scotton
ISBN: 9780062124500 $9.99
On sale now!

It’s the night before Christmas and Splat wonders if he’s been a good enough cat this year to deserve a really big present. Just to make sure, Splat offers some last-minute help to his mom—but messes up completely! That night Splat stays awake hoping to see Santa Claus, only to miss him. Splat is sure his Christmas is ruined along with his hopes for a really big present. It turns out that Splat may have been on the nice list after all!

SANTA CLAUS AND THE THREE BEARS
by Maria Modugno, illustrated by Jane Dyer and Brooke Dyer
ISBN: 9780061700231 $17.99
On sale now!

One snowy night, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear decide to go for a winter stroll while their Christmas pudding cools. Unbeknownst to them, a white-bearded, black-booted, jolly interloper happens upon their cottage. When the bears return, they are shocked to find their pudding eaten, their chairs broken, and their cozy beds slept in! And it looks like he’s still there! Clad in a bright red jacket and completely covered in soot, there’s something awfully familiar about this guy…. Who could he be?

THE SNOW QUEEN
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
ISBN: 9780062209504 $17.99
On sale 10/8/13

Bagram Ibatoulline illustrates a storybook version of the classic tale about an evil queen and the ordinary girl who triumphs over her.

CHRISTMAS MOUSE
written and illustrated by Anne Mortimer
ISBN: 9780062089281 $12.99
On sale now!

It’s Christmastime and Mouse has lots to do! The tree needs decorating, lights need hanging, and carols must be sung. There are presents to leave for special friends, treats to nibble on, and stockings to hang by the fire. When everything is ready, Mouse makes a Christmas wish before snuggling down to sleep. A final spread shows a very happy (and very full) Mouse lounging near his Christmas wish come true—a giant piece of cheese all his own. Anne Mortimer’s cozy story celebrates the little things we do that make Christmas a magical time for all.

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: September 21, 2011

It’s time to start prepping for the holiday season. First stop: Halloween. No tricks here—only treats!

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Our 2011 Halloween book list spotlights everything from growing pumpkins; overcoming fears (a great topic for youngsters that tend to get a little surprised when they no longer recognize their family and friends due to colorful costumes and scary masks); witches; skeletons; cats and bats; and plain-old, creepy stories that beg to be read on a dark night with a flashlight. From babies to beginning readers to middle graders to young adults, TCBR has you covered.

Board Books

Spooky Boo! A Halloween Adventure

by Lily Karr (Author), Kyle Poling (Illustrator)

Reading level: Baby-Preschool

Board book: 12 pages

Publisher: Cartwheel Books; Brdbk edition (July 1, 2011)

Source: Publisher

Publisher’s synopsis: What’s Halloween without a haunted house? Come inside SPOOKY BOO! A HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE – it’s filled with tons of Halloween fun! With spooky lift-the-flaps, icky touch-and-feels, and outrageous mirrors throughout, this is one haunted house that trick-or-treaters will want to visit again and again!

Add this book to your collection: Spooky Boo! A Halloween Adventure

____________________________________________________________

Little Black Book

by Renee Khatami

Reading level: Baby-Preschool

Board book: 14 pages

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (July 26, 2011)

Source: Publisher

Publisher’s synopsis: Black is the new black in this darkly tantalizing touch-and-feel extravaganza for the senses! Now babies can enjoy this daring color in a novelty board book chock-full of gorgeous, full-color photographs. There are textures to touch, a flap surprise, and the scratch ‘n’ sniff scent of sweet licorice that you can almost taste!

Add this book to your collection: Little Black Book

____________________________________________________________

Seriously, it is!  Back-to-school?  They’re back now and we’re looking ahead to holiday book ordering and displays.  First up: Halloween!  Here are some ideas to help you with your book displays:

PUMPKIN TROUBLE by Jan Thomas

LITTLE GOBLINS TEN by Pamela Jane, illustrated by Jane Manning

PUMPKIN CAT by Anne Mortimer

SCARY SCHOOL by Derek the Ghost, illustrated by Scott M. Fischer

ZOMBIE CHASERS #2: UNDEAD AHEAD by John Kloepfer, illustrated by Steve Wolfhard

JUNIPER BERRY by M.P. Kozlowsky

GUYS READ: THRILLER edited by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Brett Helquist (check out the discussion guide)

FROST by Marianna Baer (and read by Sasha Obama!)

FAT VAMPIRE by Adam Rex (now in paperback!)

POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil

What are your go-to recommendations for kids looking for scary books?  Anything fun that you do for Halloween book displays?

The following books have been carefully selected to honor modern day Easter celebrations—Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts, bunnies, and chocolate—and the fruitful season of spring.

Reviewed by Carma Dutra, Picture Book Reviewer for the National Writing for Children Center

Title: Sneakers, the Seaside Cat

Author: Margaret Wise Brown

Illustrator: Anne Mortimer

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Harper Trophy (April 26, 2005)

ISBN-10: 0064436225

ISBN-13: 978-0064436229

Sneakers is a plump and handsome black and white cat. If you’re a cat lover, illustrations by Anne Mortimer make you want to reach through the page and snuggle with Sneakers. He accompanies his human family to the seaside for the first time. Sneakers can hardly wait to explore the sea. He smells fish and envisions he can catch them like he catches mice. Boy does he get a surprise.

“But when he dipped his careful little white paw into the blue sea, the water was wet. And it was cold. So Sneakers decided to go out in a field and look for mice instead.”

Sneakers explores the beach all by himself. He is curious as any four or five year old would be, especially when he discovers a sea shell that is yellow and pink on the outside. He has never seen anything like it so he creeps up and listens. He hears a roar like the ocean but nothing is in it. Uninterested, he moves on and walks along the beach some more. However when he experiences something very unusual, like the seaweed popping, he says “My, I’m glad I heard that.”

Sneakers’ childlike adventures will thrill children because he is not followed around by adults or told not to wander off. He experiences the wonders of the seashore without constraint. This allows readers to use their imagination to explore the seashore.

Anne Mortimer’s illustrations are just spectacular. She captures the naturalisms of a cat so well you can almost feel the fur when you touch the picture. The expressions are the best and incredibly naturalistic. I highly recommend this for young readers.

About the Author: Margaret Wise Brown (1910 – 1952) best known for her classic “Goodnight Moon” book, was a prolific author. Sneakers, the Seaside Cat is just one of Brown’s books that has been reprinted of late with new illustrations. Brown’s gift of envisioning the world through a child’s eyes is said to be responsible for transforming children’s book writing into the art form it has become today.

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Carma Dutra is a freelance writer. Learn more about children’s writing tips and reviews of award winning books by visiting Carma’s Window at carmaswindow.blogspot.com.

Mmmm. If you think these are tempting to look at, you should be staring at them live and smelling them like I am while I'm drawing!
This one's also 5 x 7, done with Polychromos on illustration board.

This morning started off great with the FedEx man dropping off my package of newly ordered pencils from Dick Blick.


I figured I'd better stock up on my browns if I'm going to be doing this whole chocolate series.


Hey, I don't mess around. I said I stocked up.
That's my sophisticated labeling system: drafting tape with the color written in Sharpie marker. This way I can look in the drawer and see what I have easily. These are all my backups after I use up the couple or three I have in my tins (which are all organized according to color... maybe I'll do a post about that next week.)


This afternoon I took a trip to Barnes and Noble, and sitting there on the shelf in the children's book section, just for me, was this gorgeous book:


"The Chocolate Cat", written by Sue Stainton and illustrated by Anne Mortimer. (I hope they won't mind me posting this image here since I'm linking to them on Amazon.)
Anne Mortimer's illustrations are AMAZING. I've been a big fan of hers for a long time, and have several of the books she's illustrated. She's especially known for her cats. You can almost smell the chocolate on every page, its just the most gorgeous thing!!!!!! This low res image doesn't do it justice at all. She works in watercolor, and the illustrations are all very detailed and lush and must take her more hours than I can imagine (well no, I can imagine.)

What a treat to look forward to drooling over in bed tonight!

All images and content herein are © Paula Pertile and may not be used or reproduced without permission.

Sneedy was spooky with fiery red eyes and as Billy looked he doubled in size.

It looked like a mean grouchy 'ole brute, with jagged big teeth and a crooked

green snoot. He tried to breath fire, but it was only hot air, and the look on his

face made you too scared to stare.

His hair was orange and covered in soot, but you cannot judge a dragon

because of a look. Although Billy was scared, he watched Sneedy's face and

he looked like a dragon who felt out of place. Maybe Sneedy thought

he was supposed to be mean, since sometimes things are different from what they

seem.





The above excerpt is from one of my children's picture book manuscripts, Billy Board and the Reading Glasses. Billy, the protagonist, helps resolve a conflict between an entire kingdom and its adversary Sneedy, a dragon. It is a small way of helping kids understand that people and situations can appear to be different on the outside than they are in reality. Children's book characters are an effective way of teaching children about empathy, since they tell the story through the eyes of the characters. For example, Billy thinks for himself and puts himself in Sneedy's place by viewing his situation from the dragon’s point of view.

Children join their peers in judging or ridiculing other children, because they want to feel accepted. This encourages the cowardly act of bullying so prevalent in childhood today. If it is part of human nature to harass the weaker members of a community, then isn't it also possible that it is part of human nature to feel compassion?

Children’s need for acceptance encourages them to take part in whatever is popular rather than take the chance of being outcasts. When kids are taught how to feel empathy they are more likely to think for themselves than follow the crowd, since they are able to see things from another person's perspective. Nothing colors a persons view of a situation better than viewing themselves experiencing the same occurrence. It takes character to stand your own ground and listen to your own voice.

Sneedy’s appearance has little do with his heart or character however he is judged by his community for his outside persona. The ridiculed dragon is labeled evil before he has had an opportunity to earn the title.

As a result, Sneedy acts and reacts in the way the people in the kingdom expect him too, since he assumes the title of evil rather than accept the feelings associated with rejection, or worse yet no recognition at all.

Since children emulate their parents we need to act in the manner we wish them to act, respond to others the way we wish them to respond and so forth. By teaching empathy, we are teaching tolerance and disregarding the notion that to be accepted we must duplicate a certain popular attitude. If we teach kids how to develop and listen to their own voice, especially when it comes to the welfare of others, their generation is more likely to discourage indifference toward people who are different or less fortunate, thereby removing the opportunity for more misery and heartache. The most important thing we can teach kids is how to think their own thoughts and provide their own answers based on the values their parents taught them, and not the opinions or viewpoints of other more popular points of view.

Children’s writers, parents, aunts, uncles, teachers, everyone concerned with the welfare of children should do their part in teaching them how to empathize with others and when they do, show them how much you admire that quality.

My grandfather once said that when a man/woman treats a beggar with the same respect he would regard a king or queen it is the mark of true character.


Read Teaching Children Empathy Through Benevolent Selfishness an article from by Dr. Elisa Medhus, on MyParentime.com
about teaching child/children empathy.