Spectacles

Spectacles
Ellen Raskin ~ Macmillan, 1968

Still mired in pre-celebration, birthday business. Throw in a field trip and poof, there went the day. So, before the wee hours on the night get here, meet what might possibly be the most adorable book on getting glasses. Seriously... Raskin's drawings are always great, but the concept behind the pictures is what wins the super-cute stamp from me this time.

My name is Iris Fogel and I didn't always wear glasses. Not until a fire-breathing dragon knocked on our door. It was Great-aunt Fanny. The giant pygmy nuthatch on our front lawn was only my good friend Chester.

What follows are a string of perfect optical misfires, the sort that if you've ever needed glasses (ahem), you can totally relate to. This book, really, couldn't be any sweeter. Only wish I'd read it earlier... like 30 years ago.

Also by:
Nothing Ever Happens on My Block

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Around the House That Jack Built

Around the House That Jack Built
Roz Abisch ~ Boche Kaplan
Parents' Magazine Press, 1972

Busy, busy day. Four days left to get ready before the birthday party, and yesterday afternoon, we found out my son got into Spanish immersion for elementary school. Ack! By coincidence, yesterday morning I bought a copy of Oso polar, oso polar, ¿que es ese ruido? and we had our first official book reading en español here at breakfast. Now I'm regretting all the million and one books in Spanish I've seen over the years and failed to buy. I guess a part of me thought that buying them would jinx his chance of getting into the program. Seriously though, if anyone has any (good) children's books in Spanish that they'd be willing to trade for some vintage lovelies, shoot me an e-mail. I'm all about the swapping!


That said, not much time for blogging here today, so instead I'll share some images from this sweet book that follows the basic "house that Jack built" theme...

This is the house that Jack built.
This is the sun
That shines on the house that Jack built.
These are the clouds that cover the sun
That shines on the house that Jack built.

And so on and so forth. Have a great day everyone...

Also by:
Open Your Eyes

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Who's Got the Apple?

Who's Got the Apple?
Jan Lööf ~ translated and adapted by Ole Risom and Linda Hayward
Random House, 1975

Now that I'm on a roll... one last nod to the Swede Jan Lööf and then I'm done (at least for now). This week is our "Race to Read" at school, a program that I find kinda nice and kinda obnoxious. Kind of obnoxious because it sorta sucks the fun out of reading by making it competitive, and as this is kindergarten, the actual race depends more on parent participation that on that of the child, bringing attention to the kid whose parent doesn't even bother to read the paperwork and ends up with not a book on her/his list. And kinda fun, because, hey, we are read all the time anyways. I'm unsure of the effect the contest has on a child in a non-reading family, but maybe it ups their game. Who knows? All I know is that this week, I've been strategically going through the shelves pulling out all the old favorites we haven't seen in a while and having a blast.

Which is completely unrelated to my post today as I'm just rambling. Ha!

Anywho... I have vague memories of Who's Got the Apple?, not that I owned it, but I'm sure it got my attention on one library/book store visit or another. Soooo, there's this guy in a swanky, black pinstriped suit who gets ripped off by a fruit salesman...

Since it was April Fools' Day, the storekeeper decided to play a joke. He gave the man a plastic green apple, telling him to let it ripen. Then the storekeeper went outside to see how his giant red apple was doing. He was sure it would win first frize at the county fair.

The man in the striped suit went home with his plastic green apple. He did not know that he had been fooled.

In possibly the ultimate karma story, one thing leads to another as after a bird, a cat, a little boy, a bank robber, a student, and a fireman chain-interact, the red apple ends up in the hands of its rightful owner. Very cool sequence of events, and again, I can't get enough of this illustration style... further fueling my new kids' book crush. Oh, and the boy loves it, too, but in this case, that might be beside the point.

Also by:
Uncle Louie's Fantastic Sea Voyage
My Grandpa is a Pirate

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Great Monday Give: Hey, Al

The Great Monday Give today is a swell paperback of one of my son's favorites, Hey, Al! Lots of birds in these pages, of course. I'm getting ready for his birthday, so the Give will run a little long this time round. To be entered to win, all you must do is comment on this post between now and May 8th. A winner will be selected at random and announced the next day.

The winner of last week's Little Black book? Books for Breakfast. Congrats and e-mail me at webe(at)soon(dot)com with your info...

Later skaters.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter
Kurt Wiese ~ Viking, 1952

What happens when a pair of Easter Bunnies beg some eggs that were not meant for dyeing? A multicolored Easter and a rainbow of peeps!

Also by:
The Five Chinese Brothers
The Wonderful Story of Ting Ling
The Story about Ping

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Update Friday: I am a Bunny

Here comes Peter Cottontail. Hoppin' down the bunny trail!

Thought in celebration of the season I'd dust off a must-have classic. I Am A Bunny by Ole Risom with pictures by Richard Scarry, updated from my original post in 2007.

Enjoy and have a great one!

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Hello, Friend

Hello, Friend
Joan & Roger Bradfield ~ Augsburg Publishing, 1969

Most of you longtime readers know that I'm a lapsed Episcopalian. That as far as devotional children's books go, I lean toward the open-minded 60s when "God is Love" was more pervasive in religion than the politics of so many of today's churches. I'm a big fan of titles that are secular and focus on themes like loving your fellow man no matter what color, religion or creed. So, to find that from the creative mind of Roger Bradfield (and his wife!) is pretty spectacular, indeed.

Hello, Friend is part "birthday book", part "God is awesome" manifesto and part "friends from all over the world are cool" celebration. And if religion isn't your thing at all, the pictures are enough to appreciate from afar. Case in point...

Lester McGuire has just moved into a new house, and he awakens on the morning of his birthday feeling he has not a friend in the world.

How could he have a birthday party if he didn't have any friends to invite? And what good was the shiny new camera his father had given him for his birthday if he didn't have any friends to take pictures of?

Ahhh, there's the rub. Young Lester soon falls asleep and finds himself on the street in Paris where he meets a little girl who shares her balloons. Soon, they float to China where they meet another boy and learn about kites and cricket cages. Next, they end up in Africa, riding an elephant with a sweet little animal-loving boy. In Denmark, they meet gobs of Scandinavian children and take a balloon ride that ends in a loud bang, thus ending the dream.

Later in the morning, Lester goes to church school, and who should be there waiting for him? You guessed it!

A sweet story that emphasizes how were are all, everyone of us, God's children. Be it Allah or YHVH or none at all. I'd like to teach the world to sing... Though, again, some of Bradfield's depictions are a bit dated, the heart of the text shines through.

Also by:
The Together Book
Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery
There's an Elephant in the Bathtub

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Uncle Louie's Fantastic Sea Voyage

Uncle Louie's Fantastic Sea Voyage
Jan Lööf ~ Random House, 1977

As with most things vintage children's books related in our house, a small bout of puppy love can fast turn into a full blown obsession. Little did I know that my post last Thursday would start an avalanche of awesome into my mailbox. Case in point, this story. Here we have a book that appeals to my sense of everything in a myriad of different ways. The illustrations are rich in color, leaned a bit on the cartoonish (which I always like). And the story is dark and mysterious, with an overall air of unnecessary dread... as what is thought to be ominous and spooky is really the everyday viewed in a different light. So, right out of the gate, I am bestowing it the coveted 80 thumbs up.

Our young hero is named Rusty, an inventor or sorts, who gets totally psyched at the thought of visiting his uncle, a scrap-iron dealer and junkyard dog. But when he arrives, he finds his uncle has bigger plans than a mere tinkering...

"Hi there Rusty!" cried Uncle Louie. "Wait till you see the great old boat I found. I'm making it into a paddle steamer, and then I'm going to sail it to Africa. I've always wanted to see the wild animals there, and my friend Millstone wants to go with me."

Upon seeing the old wreck, Rusty knows the boat will never make the trip but humors his Uncle all the same. What he doesn't know is that Louie's friend Millstone has magical powers, ummm... sort of. I don't want to give too much away, but but after stowing away, Rusty indeed gets to participate in his uncle's fantastic sea voyage, even if it is only one of the mind.

I LOVE THIS BOOK, and after begging three consecutive reads last night, I think my son would second that emotion.

Also by:
My Grandpa is a Pirate

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Great Monday Give: Little Black Goes to the Circus!

Is it Monday already? Jeez. I can literally see the days ticking off until my son graduates kindergarten. This morning, he wanted to sleep in instead of going to school, and I let him. This will be the one "tardy" scar on his report card, but so be it. We have to make the best of this time while we have it. These last days are short, as I imagine the coming summer months will be over before I know it. And, pardon if I'm sounding a wee bit "glass half full"-ish, as the opposite is the case. Sometimes I feel like my son's glass is so full, that it's actually overflowing and, in turn, washing me away entirely. But that's love and life for ya.

For the next few weeks, I'll take the boy in my arms and read and read and read, in hopes that the words will bring him closer. That all the thousands of letters and thoughts will wrap around him and bind him to me, forever. Or at least, until he slips away.

If they could just stay little...

Ah, but we're not here to talk about growing up this morning. No. We are here to give a book away. The book up for grabs is a nice, vintage copy of Little Black Goes to the Circus! by Walter Farley. All you have to do to be entered to win is comment on this post between now and April 24, Sunday at 11:59 PM. A winner will be selected at random and announced the next morning.

As such, the winner of last week's give of Calico the Wonder Horse is Jennifer Miller. Congrats! E-mail me your info to webe(at)soon(dot)com, and I'll (try to) get it right out to you.

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Update Friday: Come Over to My House

Looked to the Beginner Books shelf for update inspiration this morning and was reminded of my Richard Erdoes love, Come Over to My House. (Every house must have a Beginner Books shelf along with one for Golden Books and another smaller one for Beatrix Potter and Golden Nature Guides. Seriously.)

So, please re-welcome this extraordinary post from 2008, updated for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy and have a great one. (And happy Battle of the Flowers if any of you kids live here in San Antonio!)

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My Grandpa is a Pirate

My Grandpa Is a Pirate
Jan Lööf ~ translated from the Danish by Else Holmelund Minarik
Harper & Row, 1968
originally published as Min Morfar er Sørøver ~ Denmark, 1966

How I've gotten this far and this deep into doing this and never noticed Jan Lööf's stuff before is beyond me. A Swedish author, comic book artist and jazz musician, I've seen his work before (most notably, Who's Got the Apple), but it didn't really click until this time around. Love at first read, for sure. My son is a wiggler when I read, and I always know that when he goes dead still and quiet on the first read of a book that means it's an instant favorite. I knew the moment I saw the cover that I was in love.
Here is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa and me. Grandma and Grandpa have a house and a garden, and I live with them in the summertime. Grandpa has a model of an old pirate ship.

"I was the captain of that ship," he says. And then he tells long stories about how he dueled with his worst enemy, the Arabian priate chief, Omar.

"He's making it all up!" says Grandma. "He has worked in the post office all his life."

But I don't think Grandpa's making it all up, because he keeps some pirate clothes
up in the attic.

Indeed he does, and when he shows up one day dressed to the nines in pirate gear, it's off to the docks they go to stir up some adventure. Pirates, distant lands, magic carpets and treasure abounds in this unforgettable tale of imagination and intrigue. The line drawings here are my favorite sort, and illustrate simply and elegantly how effortless a true genius can make it seem. Twenty thumbs up and a yo ho ho for good measure!

Also by:
Uncle Louie's Fantastic Sea Voyage
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The Wing on a Flea

The Wing on a Flea: A Book about Shapes
Ed Emberley ~ Little Brown, 1961

Ed Emberley has taught thousands of children how to draw over the years, including my high school boyfriend who painted this dragon on a rock for me on my 16th birthday. (Romantic, no?) And let's not the Drummer Hoff who fired it off. But in this, his first book, he takes kids on the journey of shapes, finding them in all sorts of random places, that in sum make up the whole, wide world.

A triangle is
The wing on a flea,
And the beak on a bird,
If you'll just look and see.
A triangle is
A finny fish-tail
An ice-cream cone,
A harpoon for a whale,
A bandit's bandanna,
An admiral's hat
And, in case you
don't know it,
The nose on a cat.

And on through rectangles and circles in a romp of super fun color and rhythm. Everywhere you look, shapes make up each person, place or thing providing a visual challenge and surprise for any age. Plus, any book that employs blue and green in conjunction with a pink end-papers and an orange dust-jacket is OK by me. The Wing on a Flea was reprinted in 2001, but from what I can tell it is back out of print again. Yes? No? Oh well, can't win them all. I suppose that's what the Library of Congress if for. Wait, let me look that up... NOOOOOOO!

According to the Wiki "Nearly 22,000 new items published in the U.S. arrive every business day at the Library. Contrary to popular belief, however, the Library does not retain all of these works in its permanent collection, although it does add an average of 10,000 items per day. Rejected items are used in trades with other libraries around the world, distributed to federal agencies, or donated to schools, communities, and other organizations within the United States." Wow... I wonder who the folks are that weed out the stinkers?

(Dust-jacket image from here.)

Also by:
Klippity Klop
Story of Paul Bunyan