Christmas Reading Recommendations

There is something special about holiday traditions. Every year I watch A Christmas Story. I don't really watch it anymore, but rather listen to it on an endless loop while decorating or baking or wrapping presents. But nonetheless, the DVD is out every year.

The same applies to holiday books.

Every year, my mother would give me books for Christmas. Usually a book or two for my reading level, but I always received a beautifully illustrated hardcover children's book which had an inscription written in the front cover and dated. We follow the same tradition of books with Little Tomato.

Now entering the month of December, my favorite holiday books are making the scene. Reading by the fireplace is optional, however the hot cocoa is required:

The Christmas Magic

Author- Lauren Thompson

Illustrator- Jon Muth

Image Credit: ziggityzoom

This book has become a new favorite around here. I am a sucker for anything illustrated by Jon Muth; not only do you have frame-worthy illustrations, but the stories are almost guaranteed to be spectacular.

Great Joy

Author- Kate DiCamillo

Illustrator- Bagram Ibatouilline

image credit: amazon.com

Beautiful illustrations and a simple story of compassion and love for others.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

Author- Susan Wojciechowski

Illustrator- PJ Lynch

image credit: amazon.com

This is my favorite Christmas book of all time. If I could own only one Christmas book, this would be it.

A sad, reclusive woodcarver is visited by a widow and her son. They are new to the town, and she has realized that her family nativity set is gone. She asks the woodcarver to make her a new set before Christmas. He grumpily accepts the job, and is visited the following week by the widow and her son- the boy wants to watch him carve. As the woodcarver works, the boy teaches him about his nativity set- each figure and why it was special. Slowly, as each visit approaches, the woodcarver is softened by the kindness of the widow and the joy of the boy. The illustrations are warm and heartfelt and the story is lyrical and poignant.

My recommendation: Get an early edition! The newest edition has done a hatchet job on the illustrations, both shrinking and cropping them. I was beyond disappointed to see this. The 1995, 1998 and 2000 editions look to have the full sized illustrations.

Other noteworthy holiday reads:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Dr. Seuss)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Charles Schultz)

The Jolly Christmas Postman (Allen Ahlberg)

The Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg

Do you have any favorite Christmas books? 

Christmas Traditions?

Book Review: Press Here by Herve Tullet

Little Tomato has a new favorite book: "Press Here" by Herve Tullet.

The book starts with a simple yellow dot and the instructions, "Press Here." Each page instructs the reader to interact with the dots. Whether by pressing, rubbing, shaking or clapping, each action causes a reaction on the following pages. Little Tomato is squealing with glee at the end, as she is clapping as hard as she can.

Check out the video on Chronicle Books.

Note to parents: If your children have a hard time 'powering down' at night, this may not be good bedtime book material. It is by no means sleep-inducing.

Enjoy!

Zoo Inspired Reading

Isabella the tiger cub at HDZ.

Hello Spring!

Little Tomato and I have been stretching our legs outside, enjoying the warm weather. 

This week we visited the zoo and of course we had to visit the tigers.

The zoo has a baby cub who steals the show with her bouncy play. 

However, Little Tomato's favorite animals to see are 'the monkeys.'

Specifically, the Siamang gibbons.

These gibbons are incredibly animated. Their voices can be heard from across the zoo in chorus with the peacock calls. 

At first glance, the Siamang looks like a normal 'monkey'... until it fills the giant pouch in its neck with air. It sounds like the low-key hum you hear when you blow over the neck of a bottle. Then comes the whooping calls and swinging about.

Little Tomato is enamored by them.

In the spirit of our zoo visit, I thought I would share some favorite zoo/ world animal inspired children's books:

Agate by Joy Morgan Dey

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead

The Zoo by Suzy Lee

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Follow the Line Around the World by Laura Ljungvist

Alphabeasties by Sarah Forss & Sharon Werner

Pssst by Adam Rex

Who is your favorite animal at the zoo?

What is your favorite zoo or animal story book?

Book Review: The Zoo by Suzy Lee

The Zoo by Suzy Lee

I am a big fan of Suzy Lee. Her books have few, if any, words, but convey stories exquisitely through the illustrations. Though I still feel that her book "Wave" will always be my favorite, The Zoo is another great Suzy Lee book.

Synopsis: A little girl goes on a trip to the zoo with her parents. The illustrations on these first pages are washed out grey tones as the girl visits empty cage after empty cage with her family... with the exception of a colorful peacock that catches the girl's attention. She absentmindedly wanders away from her family to follow the peacock, and as she does, the greyscale background of the empty zoo transitions into a vivid green one.

The following pages are a contrast between her parents search for the girl in the grey empty zoo and the girl's adventures in the colorful oasis of animals. "We watched the hippos in their pool," the book narrates, on a greyscale page where her parents are searching for her at the empty hippo pool. The following page shows the peacock leading the girl to a colorful pond with happy hippos and monkeys who have escaped their drab cages.

In the end, she is found by her parents asleep on a zoo bench. As the relieved parents carry the little girl home, you can see the animals in the background watching her go and, as she smiles at them, the book states, "I love the zoo. It is very exciting."

Book Review: Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch on Amazon

My favorite Valentine's Day read is "Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch" by Eileen Spinelli. The story was written in such a way that it is both simple and full of depth. The illustrations complement the story so well that I cannot imagine the story without them.

Synopsis:

Mr. Hatch is a sad man. His story begins with a description of him,

"Mr. Hatch was tall and thin and he did not smile."

The story continues by describing his daily schedule, which never varies and is dull and grey. The illustrations that accompany this first part of the story are done in washed-out and grey tones which reflects the lack of color and light in his life.  (The character very much reminds me of Harold Crick in Stranger than Fiction, a delightful movie).

One day, Mr. Hatch receives an unexpected package from the postman. He opens the box to find a heart-shaped box of candy and a simple note attached: Somebody Loves You.

This small thing, a simple unexpected gift, makes Mr. Hatch smile. From here, color seeps into the pages of the book and Mr. Hatch's life.

I won't give away the ending of the book. But suffice to say, it will give you that 'warm fuzzy feeling' that Valentine's day is all about.

Enjoy!

Illustrator Review: Laura Ljungvist

Laura Ljungvist Illustration: check out her website!

Last year I was working on a children's hospital design (which, sadly, never came to fruition; it was completely reworked design-wise). The inspiration was a linear element which would carry throughout the hospital as a wayfinding element. Each floor of the hospital would highlight features of the city; one floor highlighted parks, another bridges and water, another the cityscape. We wanted a clean-lined, sophisticated graphic style using bold colors that would appeal to children of all ages.

When I stumbled upon Laura's book "Follow the Line" it was like déjà vu. The sketches we drew were eerily similar, and the concept of a line which carries you through space? Wow. It was like she read our minds. And not a single person on the design team had ever seen her work.

Since I first saw Follow the Line, I have collected almost every one of Laura's books. The graphic style is a unique combination of colors and geometric forms. Each page of the three book series not only follows the story, but has activity questions such as "How many cars have their headlights on?" in Follow the Line, or "What shape is the swiss cheese?" in Follow the Line through the House.

As you can see in the illustration below (example page from Follow the Line through the House), there is a line which comes from the left hand side of the page (which is a continuation of the line on the previous page) and becomes the form of the drawers, then becomes the form of stove, the form of the chairs and table base, to finally carry off the right hand side of the page and into the next. I love how the line pulls the reader through the story, while showing the reader how everyday objects can be broken down into simple geometric forms.

Sample Page from Follow the Line through the House by Laura Ljungvist

If you are interested in seeing more examples of her illustrations, where to buy her books, or information on Laura, check out her website here.

Book Review: "What Good is a Moose" by Joy Morgan Dey

"Agate" is the story of a moose who thinks there is nothing special about himself. He sees the unique traits of each of his animal friends, but wonders, "What good is a moose?" The watercolor illustrations of his friends, each named after and painted in the color of birthstones, are exquisite. On each page, you learn unique traits of each of the animals, even the moose! A fabulous read before a trip to the zoo.

Book Review: "The Surprise" by Sylvia van Ommen

It has been a while since I made a blog post... I struggled with 'what kind' of blog I want this to be... Crafts? Personal stories? Design? I couldn't decide, so I have been procrastinating. Today I decided that I am going to write about what interests me... which is all of the above.

So... Almost a month after my first post, I will begin with a book review.

Let me begin with saying: I am a huge advocate for reading. Every holiday as a child I would receive a book with an inscription written in the front cover and it was always a treasured gift. Books make such a lasting impression on little minds, especially when the love and prayers of their parents are included in their favorite books.

Perhaps because of this, I hold a special place in my heart for children's books. I want to share a few of my favorites in the following weeks, and thought I would start with a little-known, 'all ages' picture book: "The Surprise" by Sylvia van Ommen.

"The Surprise" is a wordless 32 page mystery. The illustrations are simple and sophisticated using bold colors and simple backgrounds to 'spin the tale' (pun intended) of the adorable sheep who is crafting a gift for a friend. This book is the perfect example of 'pictures speak louder than words.' The sheep is given a distinct personality as she measures her wool coat, rides her vespa to the dye store and to the French pink poodle who spins her dyed wool into yarn ... and finally gives the gift she knitted to her best friend. Each picture shows the process of wool clothing from the shearing of the sheep, through the dying, spinning and knitting into a final product. It is a mystery for the little reader who wonders from page 1, "Why is she measuring her coat?" to the end where her wrapped package is taking a vespa ride to its final destination and you finally see what the sheep made for her tall friend. A wonderful story from an extremely talented illustrator in The Netherlands.