Jamie Michalak's Blog, page 19

Loved to Pieces . . . with Linda Urban!

Holy cow! One of our favorite authors is in the Cottage RIGHT NOW! Welcome . . .

Linda Urban! 
Linda Urban is the author of the CBC Children’s Choice Award finalist MOUSE WAS MAD, illustrated by Henry Cole. Her beloved middle grade novels include A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT, HOUND DOG TRUE, and THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING.

Linda's brand-new picture book, LITTLE RED HENRY, illustrated by Madeline Valentine, was published yesterday! It's the story of a coddled little boy determined to assert his independence and do things himself – no matter what his helicopter parents might say about it. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly said, “From start to finish, it’s an irresistible story.”

Linda, what is your favorite book of all time?

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"Andrew Henry’s Meadow is the story of middle child Andrew Henry. His twin older sisters like to sew things and try new ways to do their hair. (Okay, so the gender stereotypes are a little outdated.) His twin younger brothers like to play with toy cars and coloring books. But Andrew Henry likes to build things.  

The things Andrew Henry builds are marvelous. Who wouldn’t want an enormous eagle’s cage in the middle of the living room? His dad, Mr. Thatcher, as it turns out. His brothers don’t love the system of pulleys he's made for their bedroom, either. In fact, nobody in the family appreciates Andrew Henry’s skills and imagination. He feels alone in his house. No one to share with. No place to dream and build. 
And so, one day Andrew Henry packs up his tools and leaves.


Holy smokes.
 What kid doesn’t feel underappreciated for their talents? How come my mother wasn’t interested in watching every hour-long spontaneous play I would put on in the garage? What did she mean she “had to get dinner ready?” Pif! What is spaghetti and meatballs compared to art???

Anyway, I understood Andrew Henry. I cheered him on as he left his home for a distant meadow where he built himself his very own house, a perfect little Arts and Crafts influenced cottage. Author-illustrator Doris Burn renders the cottage in beautifully detailed pen and ink, with a line that is reminiscent of Walter McCloskey and a precursor to Marla Frazee. Apparently, she made the entire book while living on an island in Washington State -- an island with no electricity, telephone, or running water. The paper, pens, brushes, and ink she used had to be brought in on a mail boat from the mainland. THIS is a woman who understands what it means to have a space of your own in which to do what you love.

But back to the plot . . . soon, Alice Burdock, birdwatcher, comes to the meadow, birdfeeders and binoculars in tow. Andrew Henry builds her a tree house. He builds a circus tent for another child with two racing toads. And an underground warren for a pet lover (great for rabbits). And a small castle with a drawbridge for the a girl who loves to play dress up. Eventually, there are nine houses in the meadow, each reflecting the uniqueness of the child who lived there.
From ANDREW HENRY'S MEADOW. Illustration copyright by Doris Burn.
I spent hours looking at the spread of the meadow full of houses. Which would I choose? Or better yet, if I met Andrew Henry what would he see in me? What sort of house would he build that would let my true self shine?  

Thankfully, the children’s families miss them and their odd quirks. For four days they search and eventually the children are found. OH! The joy of that reuniting! There is dancing and clapping and hugging and kissing! These children WERE loved after all! Their families just forgot to tell them so! My childhood self understood this page pretty well, too.   

Best of all, when Andrew Henry gets home, his parents turn over a corner of the basement to him to use as his very own workshop. The final illustration shows him happily at work, his family all seated on the basement stairs, eager to see what he would build next. A space of one’s own! And, oh, to be seen!

 For as much as I carried that book around, it is in surprisingly good shape. The corners are a little dinged and the stitching has some give, but it is holding up okay. I suspect that this is because, even at seven and eight and ten and twelve, I knew this book was special and maybe even sacred. This book saw me. And I saw myself in it. I suspect I always will."


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Check out Linda Urban's NEW book! LITTLE RED HENRY
Illustrated by Madeline Valentine
Candlewick Press
April 2015

* "From start to finish, it’s an irresistible story for the target audience: Henry’s assertiveness results in an epic play date, as Urban’s . . . terrific text elaborates ("They teeter-totted and monkey-barred and triumphed gloriously on the battlefield"), and his family is still at his beck and call at bedtime. Who says you can’t have it all?" —Publishers Weekly (starred review)




Praise for Linda Urban's Middle Grade Novels 

THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2013

* "[Urban] compactly, gently addresses some common aspects of grief: the isolation, the regrets, the bargaining, and the epistemological questions about meaning. . . . This is a terrific first step up for kids who are just beginning to explore more complicated novels." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

* "A poignant, finely wrought exploration of grief."—Kirkus (starred review)
   
HOUND DOG TRUE
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2011

* "There are many books that offer adventure and twists and unusual story lines. Most of them do not offer young readers such fine writing and real characters. That is hook enough."—School Library Journal (starred review)  

* "Urban (A Crooked Kind of Perfect) traces a highly self-conscious child's cautious emergence from her shell in this tender novel about new beginnings and "small brave" acts."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT 
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2007

"An impressive and poignant debut novel . . . filled with hope and humor." —School Library Journal

"Immediately engaging . . . Zoe’s world is drawn with sometimes painful precision, her emotions are revealed with empathy, and her story unfolds realistically, without the miracles she hopes for, but with small, sometimes surprising changes . . . sometimes funny, sometimes tender, this is a promising debut." —Booklist

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

Day Dreamers 
A Journey of Imagination
by Emily Winfield Martin

This week's pick is from Cottager Kara LaReau.

What it's all about...
Whether we’re looking up at the clouds, walking in the rain, or visiting a museum or library, our imaginations are waiting to take us on grand adventures.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf...
We’re fangirls for all things Emily Winfield Martin, so her latest creation is a (day)dream come true!

Our favorite lines...
You don’t need to search for secret doors
Or magic words to speak.
Your imaginings will carry you
Anywhere you seek.

Our favorite illustration...  
From DAY DREAMERS. Illustration copyright 2015 by Emily Winfield Martin.
Why kids will love it...
It’s a celebration of imagination, sure to resound in the “wondering, wandering” hearts of children of all ages.

Why grown-ups will love it...
This sweet, playful read-aloud features lovely illustrations worth visiting again and again.

Quote of the Week

“O, when she's angry, she is keen and shrewd! She was a vixen when she went to school; And though she be but little, she is fierce.” 

― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream


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Sarah Albee's Five Favorite History Books

Every now and then, we Cottagers get giddy over one of our guests. That's not to say we don't enjoy each and every visitor we are fortunate to host at our humble abode… but, you know how it is, when someone comes to dinner you just KNOW is going to have the BEST stories? That's Sarah Albee. Sarah is the author of more than 100 books for young readers, many of them related to beguiling historical subjects such as Bugs, or Poop, or her latest… Why'd They Wear That? a funny and informative romp through centuries of fashion dos and don'ts. From the skeevy to the sublime, Sarah is a master at getting kids excited about fascinating tidbits of history—so we asked her for a list of her five favorite books to get budding history buffs reading.
Thanks, Cottagers, for inviting me to talk about some of my favorite history books. It was really hard to narrow it down to these, but I did manage to sneak in a sixth because one of my choices is a follow-up, heh heh. I love medical history, social history, and stories that help kids see the human side of history. Extra points go to history writers with a sense of humor, which helps draw kids into the story.
Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat, by Gail Jarrow  (Calkins Creek, 2014).
It’s a dramatically-designed book with plenty of graphic pictures of the dreadful disease called pellagra, which ravaged the country in the first part of the twentieth century but which has practically been forgotten in modern times. Jarrow meticulously chronicles the progress made by medical “detectives” who uncovered its cause and who ultimately saved thousands of lives. If you have—or know of—a kid who says she hates to eat her vegetables, shove this book into her hands. It’ll do the trick. I’m a big fan of histories of public health heroes, and books about epidemiology, and Gail Jarrow has done a remarkable job portraying the disease and its ultimate cure. Plus the pictures are truly gruesome. What’s not to love?   I Feel Better With a Frog in My Throat , written and illustrated by Carlyn Beccia (Houghton Mifflin, 2010)
An entertaining romp through medical history and the cures for various ailments that medical practitioners have tried on their patients. Versions of some of these treatments are still in practice today (see caterpillar fungus, frog slime, and leeches). Beccia is a hilarious writer (“Some things get better with age. Urine is not one of them.”), a thorough researcher, and also, she illustrates her own books. I know. It’s enough to make a history writer want to Frisbee her own laptop across the room at the opposite wall.
How They Choked: Failures, Flops, and Flaws of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley (Walker, 2014)
See? By mentioning this follow-up to Bragg’s wonderful How they Croaked (2010) as one of my top five, I am slyly able to up my title count, because I love both of these books so much. In her intro, Georgia Bragg says, “Juicy failures don’t often make it into biographies because sometimes historians lose sight of the fact that their subjects were human beings.” And the book covers the lives of some of my favorite historical figures, including Ferdinand Magellan, Isaac Newton, and Queen Isabella. The writing is hilarious and lively and compelling.
The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris Barton. Illustrated by Tony Persiani (Charlesbridge, 2009).This book is ingenious for all sorts of reasons: the writing, which captures the lives of two brothers and distills down some pretty complicated science into an entertaining read; the design, which perfectly complements the historical era; and most notably, the art, which is flat brilliant. As the story of the brothers’ discoveries unfolds, the pictures progress from black and white, to including spots of color, to full-on Day-Glo. And the style is so evocative of the era, which is one of my favorite time periods for animation (and for fashion).(Bonus points if you want to see historical examples of this style of animation. Click on this link to watch the memorable opening of the 1960s TV show My Three Sons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3nLLI-CilM. And the 1961 Disney version of 101 Dalmationshas a jazzy opening credit sequence—complete with Day-Glo-like colors-- that I could watch over and over: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34e-ADjBwG4. You’ll appreciate how the design of Day-Glo Brothers is so spot-on.)

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion and The Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming (Schwartz and Wade, 2014).

I’ve been obsessed with the Romanovs ever since I did a report on Rasputin in sixth grade. Also, my sister is fluent in Russian—she has lived in Saint Petersburg for twenty years with her Russian husband and my Russian niece, and I’m super close to my sister, so I feel like I’m kind of part-Russian. The story of the fall of Imperial Russia and the doomed, out-of-touch Tsar and his family is incredibly compelling, dramatic, and tragic, and Candace Fleming is a master storyteller—the perfect writer for this complex and interwoven tale. She moves back and forth between the royal family and the starving Russian peasantry and the dreadfully underequipped soldiers fighting in World War I, so the reader has a vivid picture of how and why the Bolsheviks were able to rise to power, and can appreciate how much suffering the average Russians had to endure.
Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 books for kids, ranging from preschool through middle grade. Her nonfiction middle grade titles include Why'd They Wear That? (National Geographic, 2015), Bugged: How Insects Changed History (2014), and Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up (2010)–and several more are on the way. She loves to visit schools to talk to kids about history and writing. She lives in Connecticut with her family and blogs about offbeat history at http://sarahalbeebooks.com.
Why'd They Wear That? (National Geographic, 2015)
By Sarah Albee
Foreward by Tim Gunn
ISBN: 978-1426319198"Opening with a foreword by style guru Tim Gunn, this lavishly illustrated book presents history as a long and winding runway of fashion. In its brightly adorned pages, readers can gaze and gawk at the strange outfits humans have dreamed up since “casting off their smelly bear-skins” 10,000 years ago." - The Washington Post

"...this is truly an ageless piece of work that does everything a book should do. This book educates, elucidates, and entertains and should be deemed required reading for anyone who is interested in fashion on any level." - New York Journal of Books

"What a good idea for a book. And what a clever way to do it. As the subtitle says, this hefty, extensively illustrated book uses fashion to discuss the ways and whys people dress and how it reflects what’s happening in their civilization." - Booklist

"Now see, the reason I like National Geographic Kids is that they’re reliable. Take Why’d They Wear That?, for example. You know what you’re getting here, even if you don’t know the details. Mind you, the details are where all the good stuff is." - School Library Journal

"Full of period images that show off every bustle, frill, and rivet, this wide-ranging guide to clothing throughout time will fascinate history and fashion buffs alike." - Publishers Weekly


Bugged
By Sarah Albee
Illustrated by Robert Leighton
Bloomsbury USA Childrens (April 15, 2014)ISBN: 978-0802734228

"The shock value alone makes this worth the cover price, but once kids are pulled in, they will learn more than they bargained for about the impact of insects on human history. Insects have determined the outcomes of wars and the paths of human migrations; they have brought plagues, provided strong fabrics, and sweetened our tea. Chapters are divided topically, beginning with the basics of insect life cycles, moving on to human hygiene and beneficial insects, and then covering 'bad news bugs,' before tackling history from the 'earliest epidemics' to current concerns in the relationship between humans and insects. This is history for those with a strong constitution, who aren't bothered by phrases such as 'cockroach brain tissue,' 'crawling with maggots,' and 'bursting buboes' or by the idea of receiving 9,000 insect bites in a minute. With a green-and-purple design, reminiscent of a beetle, and black-and-white photos and cartoon illustrations, this is an attractive package full of hand-washing inducing facts. Overall, this title is astonishing, disgusting, revolting, and ultimately fascinating, making it perfect for emerging entomologists, budding historians, reluctant readers, and gross-out junkies alike."—SLJ

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

RUDE CAKES
by Rowboat Watkins(Chronicle, June 2, 2015)

This week's pick is from Cottager, Anika Denise
What it's all about...
Who knew that cakes were so rude?! In this deliciously entertaining book, a not-so-sweet cake—who never says please or thank you or listens to its parents—gets its just desserts.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf...
Because it's funny, original and the story takes a quirky, unexpected turn. (Full disclosure: I received an advance copy from the publisher, but this book stood out among the stack. I just had to read it—and then my kids had to read it, and then we all read it again and again.)

Our favorite line…
"They also think baths are dumb
Seriously, I'm a cake, how dirty can I be?and that bedtime is for donut holes."
Our favorite illustrations…

Why kids will love it... 
Super-cute illustrations, quirky humor and a surprise twist will have kids giggling from the words "rude cakes." Like Drew Daywalt's lovable, irreverent Crayons, we predict Watkins' canny confections will capture the hearts of kids around the world.

Why grown-ups will love it…
It's a totally fresh and funny take on a manners book, fun to read aloud, and charming. Plus, we like that the author goes by his nickname, Rowboat. Anyone named Rowboat must be a cool dude. 

Quote of the Week

"I love language. Language is phenomenal. I have always been fascinated that one word can mean many different things. I love the challenge of painting a story in as few words as possible. I'm also a very direct person and poetry is a no-nonsense genre. If it's done well, no words are wasted or minced. That really appeals to my personality. I love that poetry can make a beeline for the heart."  
-- Nikki Grimes, poet and award-winning author
HAPPY POETRY MONTH! 

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

THE TERRIBLE TWO
by Jory John and Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Kevin Cornell

This week's pick is from Cottager Jamie Michalak.

What it's all about... 
Bestselling authors Mac Barnett and Jory John team up for a terribly funny chapter book about a Prank War between two master pranksters--Miles and Niles.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf... 
Because we could read about the Terrible Two til the cows come home. Kevin Cornell's art, with its bug-eyed characters, is laugh-out-loud funny.

Our favorite line...
Although Miles's pranking notebook contained contingency plans for "Tornado," "Bird Attack," and "Food Poisoning," there was nothing in there for "Your Fictional Character Becomes Real, Pulls a Green Pail Out from Behind the Gazebo, and Throws Footballs into the Crowd," which is what was happening right now.

Our favorite illustrations... 
From THE TERRIBLE TWO by Jory John and Mac Barnett. Illustrations copyright 2015 by Kevin Cornell.
Why kids will love it...  
Rubber chickens! The Prankster's Oath! Catapulting pies! What's not to love?
 
Why grown-ups will love it...
The Terrible Two will get kids reading. This reviewer's eight-year-old assistant--a top prankster as evidenced by EXHIBIT A*--kept swiping her copy when she wasn't looking. 

*EXHIBIT A: "The Pranking Play" created by the reviewer's assistant in first grade. He pranked the class so many times that his teacher gave up and encouraged him to perform his best pranks as a play.

"The Pringcking Play" 

Chris Barton's Five Favorite Picture Book Biographies

Today, we are honored to welcome CHRIS BARTON to the Cottage! Chris is the author of many award-winning fiction and nonfiction picture books including THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH (out this month), ATTACK! BOSS! CHEAT CODE! A GAMER'S ALPHABET,  THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS   (winner of the American Library Association Sibert Honor), and SHARK VS. TRAIN, a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller.

Chris has another picture book biography  THE NUTCRACKER' COMES TO AMERICA: HOW THREE BALLET-LOVING BROTHERS CREATED A HOLIDAY TRADITION  coming in September. We can't wait!

We asked Chris to share his five favorite picture book biographies with us--a nearly impossible request, says Chris, given how many amazing titles there are to choose from. Here are a few books that have inspired him along the way.

"There are too many excellent picture book biographies -- and too many excellent authors and illustrators working in this field -- for me to narrow them down to my all-time favorite five. But there are a handful that have been especially meaningful to me at one time or another, so I'm going to limit my list to those.
After realizing that I might like to write books for kids, the first picture book biography that I really took notice of was the then-brand-new The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, which was written by Barbara Kerley and won a Caldecott Honor for illustrator Brian Selznick. This book perfectly married fascinating subject matter (Hawkins was one of the first dinosaur scientists) and artistic approach (who could resist the depiction of a dinner party held inside a iguanodon model?). It made me realize how much children's nonfiction had changed from the Childhood of Famous Americans volumes I read in elementary school. More importantly, it made me realize that a picture book -- one printed with Day-Glo ink -- would be the ideal medium for telling the story of how daylight fluorescent colors were invented.
Some time later, I was wondering which publisher might be a good fit for The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch. Meanwhile, I had gotten onto friendly terms with Anita Eerdmans through years of visiting with her at her company's booth at the Texas Library Association conference. I knew that Eerdmans Publishing specialized in religious books, so I wasn't thinking of them for my own work -- until I saw  A River of Words , their Caldecott Honor-winning biography of poet and physician William Carlos Williams, written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. It wasn't a religious biography, but it was a deeply meaningful book, with text and art and design obviously created with a lot of love and thought and care. I wanted that treatment for my biography of John Roy Lynch, not only for my sake but for the benefit of readers. Who wouldn't want a book like that?
I offer a picture book biography presentation called "Who Did It First? Who Did It Best? Who Did It Differently?" for inspiring writers to find the biographical subject that's just right for them. Often, my students have never considered writing nonfiction, and some may even be disinclined to think they would find it interesting. So the very first thing I do in that presentation is read a dry summary of the life of author Gertrude Stein, followed by the beginning of author Jonah Winter and illustrator Calef Brown's book  Gertrude Is Gertrude Is Gertrude Is Gertrude . ("And Alice is Alice. And Gertrude and Alice are Gertrude and Alice.") It's the best example I know of how the brevity of a picture book text can allow an author to distill and convey the essence of a nonfiction subject more effectively than a longer book can.
When my 16- and 11-year-old sons were younger, I blogged about my efforts each month to find a set of books -- ideally, nonfiction picture books -- that could help introduce them to a period or theme in United States history. One standout for the middle of the 20th century was  Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez . Kathleen Krull's detailed text makes clear the human toll of injustice and the bravery and sacrifice required for effective social action, while Yuyi Morales' art manages to be both earthy and magical at the same time. I still find this book so moving, so inspiring. I reread it as I prepared these these comments, and it gave me goosebumps all over again for the umpteenth time.
To offer my boys some insight into the worlds of business and entrepreneurship, I was looking for a good rags-to-riches picture book biography. I found a great one in  Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker , written by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Nneka Bennett. In too short a lifetime, Walker made the journey from the daughter of former slaves in Reconstruction-era Louisiana to the inspirational employer of hundreds across the country. Lasky and Bennett vividly depict the determination, ingenuity, and activism that contributed to the rise of beauty products magnate known as Madam C.J. Walker."

Chris Barton's newest books are THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH and ATTACK! BOSS! CHEAT CODE! A GAMER'S ALPHABET. Chris is also the author of SHARK VS. TRAIN (a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller) and THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS (winner, American Library Association Sibert Honor), as well as the young adult nonfiction thriller CAN I SEE YOUR I.D.? TRUE STORIES OF FALSE IDENTITIES. He has five more picture books on the way through 2016, including THE NUTCRACKER' COMES TO AMERICA: HOW THREE BALLET-LOVING BROTHERS CREATED A HOLIDAY TRADITION. Chris and his wife, novelist Jennifer Ziegler (REVENGE OF THE FLOWER GIRLS, REVENGE OF THE ANGELS), live in Austin, Texas, with their family. You can visit Chris's website at www.chrisbarton.info.

THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH
By Chris Barton
Illustrated by Don Tate

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (April 1, 2015)

★ Publishers Weekly (STARRED review)
"Barton offers an immersive, engaging, and unflinching portrait of the difficulties of the Reconstruction era, while Tate's cartoonlike artwork softens moments of cruelty and prejudice without diminishing them."

Kirkus Reviews
"Published while the United States has its first African-American president, this story of John Roy Lynch, the first African-American speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, lays bare the long and arduous path black Americans have walked to obtain equality. The title's first three words—'The Amazing Age'—emphasize how many more freedoms African-Americans had during Reconstruction than for decades afterward. . . . A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering."


ATTACK! BOSS! CHEAT CODE! A GAMER'S ALPHABET
By Chris BartonIllustrated by Joey Spiotto
 -
POW! (October 2014)
"Here's a new book, gorgeously illustrated, that takes a lighthearted look at the lexicon of game culture."
- Polygon
"It’s a novel concept – take gamers from A to Z and give them nostalgic images that will spark great or not so great memories. It will be at home on a coffee table, in a dorm room or in your Man Cave."
- The Houston Chronicle

“It combines common gaming terms and lingo with colorful illustrations by artist Joey Spiotto to create an introductory book that people of all stripes can learn from and enjoy.”
- The Escapist

Coming Soon!
THE NUTCRACKER' COMES TO AMERICA: HOW THREE BALLET-LOVING BROTHERS CREATED A HOLIDAY TRADITION
By Chris Barton
Illustrated by Cathy Gendron
-
Millbrook Press (September 2015)

Every December, The Nutcracker comes to life in theaters all across the United States. But how did this 19th-century Russian ballet become such a big part of the holidays in 21st-century America?

Meet Willam, Harold, and Lew Christensen, three small-town Utah boys who caught the ballet bug from an uncle in the early 1900s. They performed alongside elephants and clowns on vaudeville, immersed themselves in the New York City dance scene, and even put on a ballet featuring gangsters at a gas station. Russian immigrants shared the story of The Nutcracker with them, and during World War II–on a shoestring budget and in need of a hit–they staged their own Christmastime production in San Francisco. It was America's first full-length version and the beginning of a delightful holiday tradition.

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

BIGFOOT IS MISSING!
by J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt
Illustrated by Minalima

This week's pick is from Cottager Kara LaReau.

What it's all about...
Renowned children’s poets J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt and design agency Minalima shine a light on seventeen cryptids (aka mysterious creatures) from around the world.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf...
A frighteningly fresh and funny pick for Poetry Month!

Our favorite lines...
SAILORS
NEEDED.
CALL TODAY!
Last crew missing; gone
aweigh. Ship leaves soon.
Hard work. No slackin.’
Be prepared to work 
with Kraken.

Our favorite illustration... 

From BIGFOOT IS MISSING! Illustration copyright 2015 by Minalima. Why kids will love it...
Like their subject matter, these poems will sneak up on you, as they hide in signs, in labels, and in classified ads, among other unexpected places.

Why grown-ups will love it...
It’s no mystery — this book is monstrously fun for all ages!

Quote of the Week

"You gotta face the hand you're dealt with and deal with it, and make your problems be the smallest part of who you are.” 


― Jack Gantos, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key









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