A Little Bitty Man and Other Poems for the Very Young
By Halfdan Rasmussen
Translated by Marilyn Nelson and Pamela Espeland
Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Candlewick Press
$15.99
ISBN: 978-0763623791
Ages 3-8
On shelves now.
Denmark! Mention the country and children’s literature in one breath and what would most Americans think of? Well, if they were well-versed in the form they might think of Hans Christian Andersen. Our national interest in children’s authors from other countries is sparse, but once in a while someone pierces the collective unconscious. Unfortunately for us, Danish children’s literature begins and ends with the esteemed Andersen. For all we know, that country’s interest in kids’ fare began and ended with his reign. So it was with great interest that I became acquainted with one Halfdan Rasmussen. Former resistance fighter against the German occupation, human rights advocate, and children’s poet, the man wore many a hat in his day. Having already been introduced to U.S. kids in the previous publication The Ladder, Rasmussen returns to our public eye with a collection of younger fare. Sweet and jaunty by turns, A Little Bitty Man exhibits all the best aspects of classic children’s poetry. You may have never known this Rasmussen fellow before but after reading this you’ll be happy to make his acquaintance.
Thirteen poems of relative brevity are collected together. Ranging from the realistic to the fantastical, Rasmussen dares to spark young imaginations with this collection. In it you’ll encounter an elf with a singular method of retaining warmth in a chilly proboscis, a dolly with latrophobia, incontinent rainclouds, clever goats, literary fowl, and many more. Accompanied by the delicate, charming illustrations of Kevin Hawkes, this is one poetic introduction you’ll be happy to have made.
I can’t think of the last time a funny poem for kids made me laugh out loud. So imagine my surprise when I found myself reading the poem “You Can Pat My Pet” and ran across these two stanzas: “You can pat my dog for a dime / and my horse for an egg and a half. / You can pat my favorite aunt / if you give me your granddad’s moustache.” It proceeds to get sillier after that but I just love the exchange of aunt patting for facial hair. Rasmussen does not choose to be a funny poet for kids or a meaningful one. He’s both at once. For the most part, when Rasmussen is trying to be insightful, he succeeds. “What Comes Next” is lovely. “What Things Are For” feels like a natural companion to the picture book A Hole Is to Dig by Ruth Krauss. The sole fly in the ointment is “Those Fierce Grown-Up Soldiers” which is the kind of poem we’ve seen done a hundred times before, and never particula
Well, first things first! The Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Awards were handed out two days ago, and at long last I can finally tell you the winners. These awards are given out to new authors and illustrators of children’s books with no more than three books to their names that “portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world”. This year, Laurel Croza wins the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for I Know Here:
And Tao Nyeu wins the New Illustrator Award for Bunny Days:
Congrats to both winners !
- How very interesting. TIME for Kids has come up with a Summer Book Review. Which is to say, they’re recommending books that will be new and in print this summer, from other publishers. One wonders how they came up with this particular list. Thanks to Mr. Schu for the link.
- The art of the clever blog post title is difficult to teach. My method tends to be to come up with something vaguely interesting, or to simply quote somebody famous but obscure in the hopes of making approximately four other people in the world happy. This is not an effective strategy. Playing by the Book did it better when it came up with the recent This post has taken me 6 months to write … Seriously. How on earth is a person supposed to resist that? Warning: Contains Danes.
- NPR has looked at Wendy McClure’s Little House inspired title The Wilder Life. This is not to be confused with the short lived Gene Wilder television show Something Wilder. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is your non-essential trivia of the day.
- I admit to being disappointed when I heard that Woody Harrelson had cornered the role of Haymitch in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, but only because I had my heart set on John C. Reilly. Honestly, it’s not bad casting (he can actually act, so that whole drunk/charming/reliable/unreliable thing will go over like gangbusters). It’s the casting of Stanly Tucci as Caesar Flickerman that has me baffled. Honestly I just figured they’d get Regis Philbin, dye his hair blue, and be done with it. Tucci will give the whole project a strange horror. Seems the only big part in the film left to cast would be President Snow. My vote? Tommy Lee Jones. An insane choice, but I can’t think of anyone more frightening you could put in that role. And when was he last allowed to play a baddie anyway? I think he needs to make Batman Forever up to us. Not that they could afford him, I suppose.
- Aw. I wish I could say I was surprised when I heard that Wonderland, the Alice musical update, was
Like the wind! Faster than lightning! Lots of news and no time to tell it. In brief . . .
Oh, how cool! This is not to be missed. For those of you with an interest in children’s literature around the globe, the blog Playing by the Book offers this fantastic view of children’s literary destinations in Denmark. That Little Mermaid statue is worth the price of the flight alone.
Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes was kind enough to stop by my library the other week to say howdy. He recounts his time near the library lions in the post Fuse Live! Cheers, mate!
I was pleased to see James Kennedy post a new entry for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival that will be held at New York Public Library this November. Of course we need more, people. MORE! If you know any creative kids who would be interested in distilling a Newbery winning book down to 90 seconds, please do not hesitate to read the rules here and have them submit. We must have more!
- A similar article pointed out that the number of characters with disabilities as portrayed in Newbery books is not equal to the number of children in the real world who “attend special education classes”. The report appears to look at the whole of Newebery winners from the past to today. It does acknowledge that things have gotten better, though, so I’m a bit confused about the point of it all. If books today do a much better job than books in the past, isn’t that the point?
- In other news, the picture book is not dead. Nor is it about to be supplanted by apps or anything with spangles and whizzbangs. Allyn Johnston and Marla Frazee explain more.
- The Detroit Public Library recently came under fire for its new renovation. The concern is how much was spent on a single library wing ($2.3 million) while neighborhood branches close. More info here. Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.
Author of the Year: Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero
Illustrator of the Year: David Wiesner for Art & Max
K-2nd Grade Book of the Year: Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby
3-4th Grade Book of the Year: Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
5-6th Grade Book of the Year: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Teen Choice Book of
I can’t think of the last time a funny poem for kids made me laugh out loud. So imagine my surprise when I found myself reading the poem “You Can Pat My Pet” and ran across these two stanzas: “You can pat my dog for a dime / and my horse for an egg and a half. / You can pat my favorite aunt / if you give me your granddad’s moustache.” It proceeds to get sillier after that but I just love the exchange of aunt patting for facial hair. Rasmussen does not choose to be a funny poet for kids or a meaningful one. He’s both at once. For the most part, when Rasmussen is trying to be insightful, he succeeds. “What Comes Next” is lovely. “What Things Are For” feels like a natural companion to the picture book A Hole Is to Dig by Ruth Krauss. The sole fly in the ointment is “Those Fierce Grown-Up Soldiers” which is the kind of poem we’ve seen done a hundred times before, and never particula
Ah! Will have to see if I can track down Laurel Croza’s book – that’s new to me. As to plant pots my favourite this week has been this (nothing to do with books, but such a clever use of cacti!) – http://etsy.me/jimdyd.
And can’t you help me out with a lovely Danish picture book suggestion? I’m still searching….
Hahahahahah! Poor Eragon. Donated mine to the library.
I do think Woody Harrelson as mercurial, unreliable drunk will go over well — but I hear ya on Tommy Lee Jones – he is Scariest Man Ever when he plays the villain. I vote yes! And I’m glad to hear that the author of Anna Hibiscus is soldiering forward. I do get tired of other people trying to determine what an author knows, based on such flimsy assumptions. Those books really are cool.
That Time magazine summer reads section is great-a mix of good lighthearted reads and some reads that are a bit more serious.
Just read the reviews from the Time for Kids reporters. I’m impressed!
I’m so glad I read to the end of this post. The Eragon line cracked me up.
Yeah, Tommy Lee Jones would be great as Pres. Snow — but my heart is set on having him portray the uber-scary Mayor Prentiss in the imaginary film version of The Knife of Never Letting Go!
I’ll flip you for him.
LOL Betsy on the “Eragon” quip! I’m not sure that book would even be good enough as a planter, but it would be a use for it at least. I, sadly, don’t feel like I can part with my copy because it was a gift from the dear friend that introduced me to my husband. And while the book was awful, her friendship and her match-making skills are bar none. She wouldn’t be insulted if she knew I gave it away, though!