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Archive for March, 2012
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan (Viking/Penguin, 2011)
This book celebrates life after sunset, when wide-eyed Little Owl and his friends play, eat, and sing. The animals, trees, and plants are illustrated with simple and engaging lines, often with a lively and creative spin — a snail is about the size of a morning glory, and a cricket isn’t dwarfed by a frog. After some time spent among possums, a hedgehog, a skunk, beavers, a turtle, fireflies, a raccoon, and moths, Little Owl tries to wake up a bear, to no avail. As bats glide home, Little Owl asks his Mama to tell him again about how night ends. Mama poetically describes dawn as we see its glow begin — and Little Owl falls asleep.
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Want more recommendations from The Carle Bookshop? Click here to read for Top of the Shelf book reviews.
Tags: animals, bedtime, Divya Srinivasan, Little Owl's Night, night, owls, Viking
Posted in Books Ages 0-3, Books Ages 3-6, Recommended Books, Top of the Shelf | No Comments »
Monday, March 26th, 2012
Happy Spring! There’s one favorite classic children’s novel of mine that I re-read every year in the spring. Can you guess what book it is by the quote below?
“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like? You don’t see it in rooms if you are ill.”
“It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth…”
What a lovely and perfect way to describe spring. Do you recognize the book? Put your guesses in the comments below and I’ll be back at the end of the week with the answer.
Tags: classic, garden, puzzler, quiz, spring, Trivia
Posted in Picture Book Puzzlers | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
Today is the anniversary of Eric Carle’s bestselling picture book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Hooray!
To celebrate 41 years of a classic book that has reached and delighted so many children all over the world, today we are giving away a very special gift to one lucky reader. The winner of this giveaway will receive a hardcover copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, autographed by Eric Carle and a copy of the new, award-winning DVD about Eric Carle and his work, Eric Carle: Picture Writer: The Art of the Picture Book.
To enter, leave a comment below before 12:00 pm EST Wednesday, March 21st. We’ll randomly pick one winner from the comments on Wednesday. Good luck!
UPDATE: Submissions for the giveaway are now closed. Congratulations to the winner of this giveaway, Brook Gideon!
What lovely comments! It’s so nice to read how The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other Eric Carle’s books have impacted so many of you and your families. And especially nice to hear how many of you have been able to visit us here at The Eric Carle Museum! Here’s to many more years of bringing the joy of Eric Carle books into your lives! Happy Birthday to you, Very Hungry Caterpillar and Happy Spring!
Tags: anniversary, Birthday, Eric Carle, Giveaway, March 20, Very Hungry Caterpillar
Posted in Giveaways | 81 Comments »
Monday, March 19th, 2012
Sometimes an author’s manuscript has to go through a whole lot of changes before an editor agrees to publish the book. Main characters may change or even be removed completely! Do you know what bestselling picture book was originally titled “A Week with Willi Worm” when the author initially submitted it to his/her editor? Put your guesses in the comments below and I’ll be back at the end of the week with the answer!
Tags: children's literature, picture book puzzler, picture books, quiz, revision, Trivia
Posted in Picture Book Puzzlers | No Comments »
Saturday, March 17th, 2012
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today’s Puzzler is a quote from a book that contains the real truth about human misconceptions about leprechauns. Can you name the middle-grade fiction book that contains this quote?
“The fairy suited up, zipping the dull-green jumpsuit up to her chin and strapping on her helmet. LEPrecon uniforms were stylish these days. Not like the top-o’-the-morning costume the force had to wear back in the old days. Buckled shoes and knickerbockers! Honestly. No wonder leprechauns were such ridiculous figures in human folklore. Still, probably better that way. If the Mud People knew that the word “leprechaun” actually originated from LEPrecon, an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police, they’d probably take steps to stamp them out. Better to stay inconspicuous and let the humans have their stereotypes.”
Leave your guesses in the comments below and I’ll be back at the end of the week with the answer!
Tags: leprechauns, LEPrecon, middle grade fiction
Posted in Books Ages 6-12, Picture Book Puzzlers | 1 Comment »
Thursday, March 15th, 2012
One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin, 2012)
Here’s a story about “a very proper young man,” who looks a bit like a penguin, and a distracted father, who resembles a tortoise, who visit the aquarium, where a penguin is popped into a backpack. Children will laugh at the antics accompanied by good manners, and thrill at the thought of a penguin finding a new home in an apartment, with the air conditioner turned way down. When the father at last meets the stowaway in the bathtub, he asks, “Young man, where did this penguin come from?”
The southern tip of Argentina,” his son answers, before a perfectly happy and silly ending. Pick up a copy of One Cool Friend.
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Want more recommendations from The Carle Bookshop? Click here to read for Top of the Shelf book reviews.
Tags: aquarium, David Small, Dial Books for Young Readers, funny, manners, One Cool Friend, penguins, silly, Toni Buzzeo, tortoise
Posted in Recommended Books, Top of the Shelf | No Comments »
Monday, March 12th, 2012
In March we start looking for early signs of spring. The first flowers in the garden, green buds on trees, the return of songbirds and, of course, rainy days. Grey, rainy days can still bring the chance for bursts of bright color — seen in children’s raincoats and galoshes, cheerful umbrellas, and if you’re lucky, a rainbow in the sky. This week’s puzzler is filled with images from picture books of rainbows. Can you name each book? Put your guesses in the comments below and I’ll be back at the end of the week with the answers.
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Tags: children's books, children's literature, picture books, quiz, rainbows, Trivia
Posted in Just for Fun, Picture Book Puzzlers | 2 Comments »
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
While we love reading and reviewing picture books here at The Carle, sometimes we need a little help! So, in our cozy reading library at The Carle, we’ve invited our child visitors to take a moment after reading a book, to write or draw a little about what they thought. What did they like or not like about the book? Would they want to read it again or was it so boring they couldn’t even finish? Was there something special about the illustrations that caught their eye? Whatever they thought, we wanted to know!
This week, Keith was able to help us out with a review of Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Balzer & Bray, 2012).
Here’s what Keith thought: (Spoiler alert!)
“I loved it because the robbers did not get yarn.” Keith gave this book five caterpillars out of five caterpillars. That’s about as good as it gets! Thanks, Keith!
Tags: Balzer and Bray, book review, Extra Yarn, Jon Klassen, Mac Barnett
Posted in Books Ages 3-6, Caterpillar Review, Recommended Books | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
Mr. Prickles: A Quill-Fated Love Story by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Scott Magoon (A Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press, 2012)
As Mr. Prickles tries to find a friend, a raccoon, a chipmunk, and skunk, tell him that he’s not cute, cuddly, and playful, like them. Mr. Prickles believes he is adorable on the inside, but as he’s kept from joining in, he does feel prickly on the inside, too. Fortunately he meets Miss Pointypants, who understands him, plays with him, eats with him, and shows him that “porcupines do hug, very carefully.” This is a quick book to read, filled with love, humor, a bit of prickliness, wordplay, and food for thought. Pick up a copy of Mr. Prickles.
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Want more recommendations from The Carle Bookshop? Click here to read for Top of the Shelf book reviews.
Tags: feelings, friends, Kara LaReau, love, Mr. Prickles: A Quill-Fated Love Story, Neal Porter Book, picture books, porcupines, Roaring Brook Press, Scott Magoon
Posted in Books Ages 3-6, Recommended Books | No Comments »
Monday, March 5th, 2012
Happy March! After a pretty mild winter here in New England, March came in with a delightful snowstorm. Mother Nature’s way of reminding us that winter isn’t over until she says it’s over! There’s a common saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, so for this week’s puzzler, we have images of lions and lambs. Can you name each picture book correctly? Put your guesses in the comments below and I’ll be back at the end of the week with the answers.
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Tags: children's books, children's literature, just for fun, lambs, lions, March, picture books, quiz, Trivia
Posted in Just for Fun, Picture Book Puzzlers | 5 Comments »
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