CBW Roundup: Elementary Picture Books, continued

The Library Lion, 
by Michelle Knudsen and Kevin Hawkes

A lion is in the library, and no one knows what to do.  At least he is a quiet lion.

The works of 
Robert McCloskey

McCloskey is so awesome, he was declared a living legend by the Library of Congress in 2000.  Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal, and One Morning in Maine are some of our all-time favorites.

Miss Nelson is Missing, 
by Harry G. Allard and James Marshall
This humorous story follows the kids of room 207 as they deal with a scary substitute teacher.

Miss Rumphius, 
by Barbara Cooney 

The landscapes in this award-winning picture book are as beautiful as its message.  Miss Rumphius is timeless.

Misty of Chincoteague, 
by Marguerite Henry and Wesley Dennis

For horse lovers, young and old.

My Friend is Sad, 
by Mo Willems

What does it take to make a sad elephant happy?  This goofy book about friendship has the answer!

Paddington,  
by Michael Bond and Peggy Fortnum

After more than fifty years, Paddington remains one of the world's most adored Teddy bears, along with Milne's Winnie the Pooh, and Jean Robinson's Teddy Robinson.

The works of Dr. Seuss

These rhyming classics are great for reading out loud (even though it's sometimes a challenge!)  We like Horton Hatches the Egg, Fox in Socks, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, and...yeah...pretty much all of them.

Seven Silly Eaters, 
by Mary Ann Hoberman and Marla Frazee

Engaging verses and intricate, wacky pictures make this book about a topsy-turvy household of picky eaters lots of fun.

The works of David Weisner

We can't get enough of David Weisner, whose books are not only gorgeous, but also smart, funny, and sophisticated.  Try The Three Pigs and Flotsam.

Kim Prosise 

CBW Roundup: Fantasy Series

The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander
Alexander's five book epic chronicles the journey of an assistant pig-keeper who becomes a hero, along with his unforgettable friends.  In order, they are: The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and The High King.

The Enchanted Novels, by Gail Carson Levine
Ok, so they're not exactly a series, but Ella Enchanted, Fairest, and the Two Princesses of Bamarre are top notch fairy tales with strong female protagonists.  Ella is a truly fresh take on a classic story that middle school readers will love.

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore
Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue are Kristin Cashore's YA smash hits about a kingdom in which teenagers are granted special and sometimes disturbing abilities. 

Edward Eager's Tales of Magic, with illustrations by N.M. Bodecker and Quentin Blake
These stories about cousins who stumble onto strange magical events are clever and lots of fun.  Though the most famous are Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, Knight's Castle, and The Time Garden, there are plenty more to choose from.

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
Most kids have read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, but there's far more to Narnia, and two different ways to read the series (by order of publication, or in HarperCollins' chronological arrangement).  I'm in the chronological camp, which starts with The Magician's Nephew.

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman 
A gorgeous, sophisticated trilogy for middle schoolers and young adults.  The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass have received countless honors.  

The World of Redwall, by Brian Jacques
The mice of Redwall Abbey, their heroes, myths, and legends, all come alive in these swashbuckling novels.

The Rick Riordan Books
Rick Riordan has written four series so far, and shows no sign of stopping!  Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, The 39 Clues, and The Kane Chronicles are among our most popular kids books.  The Serpent's Shadow, the most recent book in the Kane Chronicles, hit shelves on May 1.

The Underland Chronicles, by Suzanne Collins
Before The Hunger Games, Susan Collins wrote about a dark realm beneath New York City.

Thraxas, by Martin Scott
Probably my all-time favorite fantasy for young adults, Thraxas and its associated sequels detail the misadventures of a portly, middle-aged private eye whose sorcerous abilites are unreliable at best.  This relatively unknown fantasy-noir is a great mystery that's full of hilarious characters, social commentary, action, wit, and high-flying adventure.

Kim Prosise

CBW Roundup: Elementary Picture Books

There are so many great picture books out there.  But when I asked the staff about their favorites, these were some of the ones that came up.

 The works of Beatrix Potter

These are lovely stories for even the smallest readers (I memorized "The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher" by age three).  After more than a hundred years, Potter's delicate sketches and watercolors continue to bring the English countryside to life.    

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,  

by Judi and Ron Barrett 

In the town of Chewandswallow, hamburgers fall from the sky and it rains soup.  So what happens in bad weather?

 The Composer is Dead, by Lemony Snicket and Carson Ellis, music by Nathaniel Stookey and the San Francisco Orchestra

Snicket's dark humor makes this symphony hall murder mystery a must-read.  The accompanying audio CD contains music and clues to solving the crime.

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, by Marla Frazee 

This spirited summer tale is full of bright, comic-y illustrations that really feel like summer.

 

Dr. De Soto, by William Steig

It's impossible to forget the daring De Soto.  William Stieg's ink and watercolor cartoons of the clever mouse dentist make this book one of our favorites.

The works of James Herriot, illustrated by Peter Barrett and Ruth Brown

James Herriot was a veterinarian who spent his later life writing for children.  Barrett and Brown's illustrations of the animals in these heartwarming stories seem simultaneously real and impressionistic.  

Let's Do Nothing, by Tony Fucile 

"A master of animation explores the elusive art of doing nothing in this comical tale of two very active imaginations."  This book is hilarious, and the characters just jump off the page.

The Library, by Sarah Stewart and David Small

A rhyming book for bibliophiles young and old.

-More picture books tomorrow!-

Kim Prosise

Remembering Maurice Sendak

 Today the world said goodbye to Maurice Sendak, renowned childrens' book illustrator, composer, set designer, and author of more than 15 books for children, including the beloved Where the Wild Things Are.  Sendak's famous picture books include Outside Over There, In the Night Kitchen, Higglety Pigglety Pop!, and The Nutshell Library.   My Brother's Book, a poem written and illustrated by Sendak, is scheduled to be published in February.  Click here for today's New York Times article remembering Sendak and his work.
Kim Prosise

CBW Roundup: Books for Tiny Readers

Here are some of our favorite books for babies and preschoolers: classics we loved even before we could read them, and new fare for today's itty bitty bibliophiles.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin and Eric Carle

Our kids still remember the words to this rhythmic creation, which is full of Carle's bright tissue paper and acrylic collages.  Carle's work remains some of the most popular in children's literature; here he is at Harvard Graduate School of Education, in 2010.  We are also big fans of Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and The Grouchy Ladybug.

 

Boynton Books

We absolutely love Sandra Boynton's lively, colorful board books, particularly Hippos Go Berserk, Barnyard Dance, and Your Personal Penguin.  

Each Peach Pear Plum, by Janet and Allen Ahlberg 

A gorgeous little guessing game that kids are sure to love.





 The George and Martha stories, by James Marshall

'George and Martha teach each other (and adoring readers) that even in a close friendship, privacy is important, practical jokes can sometimes backfire, and among other things, pouring split pea soup into your loafers to spare the chef’s feelings is not the best-laid plan.'  Generations of readers remember these wonderful hippos, whose complete stories are now available in a special collector's edition.

 

Here Comes the Cat, by Frank Asch and Vladimir Vagin
This bilingual book about friendship is both suspenseful and charming.  In English and Russian.

  

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie series, by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

The catchy phrasing and cute illustrations in this book and its sequels make them great additions to every young reader's library.

 

The Napping House, by Audrey and Don Wood
The amusing rhymes and spirited illustrations make this the perfect bedtime book.
 





 

  
Sheep in a Jeep, by Nancy Shaw and Margot Apple    

This funny little rhyming book delivers exactly what it advertises and more.  Margot Apple's colored pencil sheep are adorable.

 

Tuesday, by David Wiesner

Wiesner at his whimsical best.  This silent tale of frogs in flight will delight even the youngest readers, even if the humor takes a few years to grow into.  

  

Zoom, by Istvan Banyai
A sprawling picture book full of travel and surprises, Zoom's intriguing landscapes are fabulous fun for even the smallest children.

Kim Prosise

Children's Book Week 2012

Children's Book Week!

This year's commemorative poster, designed by David Wiesner

May 7-13, 2012

Children’s Book Week is the longest running literacy initiative for young people in the United States.  Here at Porter Square, we're celebrating by rounding up some of the books we loved when we were little (or would have loved, had they been written!) and sharing them with you on the blog and in the store every day from May 7th through the 13th.  If you're interested in what book lovers around the country are doing, you can take part in the nationwide event by checking Book Week's calendar or voting in the Children’s Choice Awards.  And IndieBound's Kids' Next list and our monthly staff picks are full of suggestions for kids and young adults looking for something great to read.  
Kim Prosise

World Book Night Givers Stories

World Book Night was a chance to celebrate the power and importance of books in our world by giving away thousands of copies of thirty different titles.  Over 70 people picked up books here at PSB and distributed all over the area. Some givers had such a good time they came back for more distributing the extra boxes of books we had. Here are some of their stories.

I signed up thinking it would be an okay thing to do and was completely unprepared for how positively people responded to getting the books. I'm still choked up.

I hope all of the kids who read the books I gave out end up as your customers.

Leslie Gildart

I had such a good time giving out my book, The Kite Runner. My partner drove me to the YWCA and Senior Center in Central Square, and the Rindge Ave. and Churchill Ave. apartments in North Cambridge. I, too, wish I'd had more books to give out! The people I met were so happy to receive a book I loved, and they couldn't believe it was free. I'll always remember each delighted, beaming face.

I'm so grateful to you for volunteering to be the drop-off point for books and to all the publishers, shippers, paper companies, and authors that enabled this great event. This kind of thing always makes me so hopeful about humanity. We CAN easily be generous, kind, and open to one another.

I can't wait until next year!
C. Barrett


I distributed all my books today....
I had planned to distribute the books at the Park Street T (subway) station during the early morning rush, but unfortunately it was pouring rain. (We are having a nor'easter.) There was a break in the rain at lunch time, so a colleague and I returned to outside the station where people re-emerged from below and handed out the books. They went pretty fast, but it is funny how many people would not even stop to hear what we were doing. Those who did however seemed genuinely interested. We were out of books in about 12 to 15 minutes and then returned to work. I hope some get journaled!

My first book was Little Bee.

 Today over my lunch hour I took the copies of A Prayer for Owen Meany to Charles Street in Beacon Hill, at the crosswalk that connects the Boston Public Gardens to Boston Common.  I was on the Boston Common side of the street first until the hotdog vendor asked me to move.  For a short while he was yelling “Forget about the books.  I’ll give a free drink with every hotdog sold.”  So I went across the street to the Public Garden side.  In about 20 minutes I was able to give out all my books.  It was tougher to give out A Prayer for Owen Meany than it was for Little Bee due to the book’s heft.  Many people would take it from me and flip through it but give it back to me due to its size in spite of my sales pitch.  Something to remember for next year; book size may scare off light readers.  Also, some people thought it was a religious book because it had the word “prayer” in its title.  I assured them it was not.  This is in line with another bookcrosser’s experience who was distributing The Poisonwood Bible.  She had to assure people it wasn’t a religious bible.  Many people shied away from her because they did not want a religious indoctrination of any kind, even though the book had nothing to do with that.  Tomorrow I plan to release the box of The Hunger Games.  I am thinking of doing it outside the Lowe’s Boston Common as the movie is being shown there.  All these locations are near the office where I work.  Thanks again!   

I ended up giving out the HungerGames books at the Davis Square T station Saturday morning.  A lot of people walking by told me they had already read it and that they really enjoyed it.  I gave one to a girl who was sitting at the outside patio tables at Au Bon Pain next to the T station.  She had a small suitcase with her and it looked like she was going to be traveling.  She eagerly accepted one.  Then a friend started to approach her (who also had a suitcase) and she yelled out to her “Hey, Cheryl that lady just gave me a copy of the “Hunger Games”.  And I ended up giving a copy to her friend too.  They both thanked me as they left to get on the red line.  I think we supplied their reading material for the trip.  I was able to give several copies to people waiting for the bus in front of the station.  I wish I had taken my camera as several of them stood in a loose knot together waiting for the bus reading Hunger Games before the bus came.  Another young woman, probably around 14 was sitting on a bench in front of the station and I asked if she wanted a copy of the book and she said “no”.  After she saw I was giving them away to others without there being any strings, she shyly came over and asked for a copy which I gave her.  She went back to her bench and began reading.  Later I asked a grandmotherly woman if she wanted a copy but she said “no”.  She sat next to the young teen on the bench and asked her about the book she was reading, Hunger Games.  The girl told her it was good and that it had been made into a movie.  Then the grandmother came over to me and asked for a copy after all based on the recommendation the young teen had given her.  Another grandmotherly type woman was walking with I assumed to be her granddaughter and I asked if they wanted a book.  At first they said “no” and she asked me what this was all about.  I told her about World Book Night and that the idea was to encourage people to read more, especially those that were light readers.  She thought that was a great idea and took a copy.  I can see that becoming a grandmother-granddaughter shared activity for them.  But my favorite was the woman who was passing by and said World Book Night was Monday and why was I passing out books now?  I told her I passed out my books on Monday, but these were copies people did not pick up from Porter Square Books.  She said she thought the whole idea of World Book Night was a fabulous concept and was appreciative I was out there distributing the additional books.  All in all it took less than 20 minutes for me to give away this batch of books.       
I stopped by Porter Square Books on Sunday (I was going grocery shopping at Shaw’s) and asked someone at the desk if there were any WBN books left that still needed to be distributed.  They said “yes” and gave me a box of Housekeeping which I plan to distribute sometime this week.  Thanks again!  Passing out these books has been a blast!

Annamarie Kersten

My friend Leslie and I, along with her son Sam, distributed our books this afternoon along Rindge Ave. in North Cambridge. Of the first 6 people we offered a book to, 3 refused. That was surprising! But within an hour I had given out all of mine and Leslie had given out half of hers. At one point, we followed an ice cream truck into the public housing on Rindge Ave., feeling sure that we would find lots of people ready for a book with their ice cream. Sadly, as it was raining, there was only one customer, but we gave a book to him and one to the ice cream truck man as well. It was very satisfying to give away books. As a children's librarian, I know how important it is for people learning to read to have books around at home. If you have any influence with the World Book Night people, I would recommend that they include books for younger readers next year.

Thank you so much for participating. Porter Square Books is the best!

Stephanie Tournas

I gave my twenty copies of Sherman Alexi's book to my ESL adult students at SCALE in Somerville and one to my boyfriend's daughter. We took a picture of the whole class with each student holding their copy of the book. We read the first chapter aloud to give them a taste of the book, but I told them that it is theirs to do whatever they want with - read, not read, or give to someone else. It is not a class assignment. I'm very curious to see who reads it and to hear their reactions. They seemed very pleased with the gift. One student talked about how in Brazil (where she's from) a teacher would never do that sort of thing. I think she was very touched. After one student asked me to write something in his book, there was a chain reaction of requests to do the same. I felt like a celebrity. It was the perfect book for me to give away because I am so CRAZY about it. In the next class, I'm going to have each of them write about their reaction to the whole thing. Then I'm going to write an article for the school newspaper about the whole experience and I can include quotes from the students' writing.

I can't wait for next year to do it again!

Laura

I gave away Little Bee at a Roxbury charter school called City on a Hill.  I am forwarding pictures (I hope you can see them!) of our give-away.  Three teachers signed up to give away books, and we quickly gave away all 60 books.  You can see that we were mobbed (the group outside the classroom door is waiting to get in to get their books)!  It was wonderful to see students so excited to get a book.  Thank you so much!

Sincerely,
Kim Jalet, English Teacher, City on a Hill