Esmé Raji Codell's Blog, page 3

BROTHER HUGO AND THE BEAR (PICTURE BOOK)

Brother Hugo and the Bear by Katy Beebe, illustrated by S.D. Schindler.  Based on a real note found in a 12th century manuscript, a monk loses a library book when it is eaten by a bear, and makes penance by recreating the manuscript page by painstaking page.  But will the bear be waiting for another course?  An exciting read-aloud that teaches the process of how books used to be made, you don't have to be a bruin to find this book delicious.  I only wish the publisher had invested in a little illumination...ah, well, nothing a gold marker can't fix.<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Link for information; please support your local independent bookseller.  </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><br />

HELP! WE NEED A TITLE! (PICTURE BOOK)

Help!  We Need a Title!  by Henré Tullet.  Nothing's betta than a little meta.  An author climbs inside his own story to make peace with his characters and give them something exciting to do.  While this character-in-a-book awareness stunt has been done in various iterations in children's literature before (Henrik Drescher's unfairly out-of-print Simon's Book being one example, Mo Willems' We Are In a Book! and Mordecai Gerstein's A Book more recent explorations on the theme)  and my favorite writing-process-book-for-kids remains Mary Jane Auch's The Plot Chickens, naturally the author of Press Here has his own fun and cunning spin on things; expressive photos of the author himself pasted inside the book makes this a little fresh and lively lines are kid-friendly and worth a look.  Link for information; please support your local independent bookseller.  

FOOD TRUCKS! (NONFICTION)

Food Trucks by Mark Todd.  Each double-paged spread features a chummy vehicle, a poem and fun facts to fit every taste:  breakfast , burger, barbecue, falafel, salad, grilled cheese, cupcakes, sushi, curries, taco, pretzel, waffle, and, of course, ice cream.  While this title's content travels a bit all over the place with verse on one side and surprising non-fiction samples on the other, it offers an appetizing opportunity for children not only to choose a favorite but to design their own truck celebrating whatever culture and culinary tradition honks their horn.
Link for information; please support your local independent bookseller.

SECRET PIZZA PARTY (PICTURE BOOK)

Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri. Silly raccoon! Pizza's for kids! Can't blame a guy for trying, though. Count on this author to make us laugh out loud. Recommended by The PlanetEsme Plan.  Link for information; please support your local independent bookseller.  

WHO PUT THE COOKIES IN THE COOKIE JAR? (PICTURE BOOK)

Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? by George Shannon and Julie Paschkis. Gotta love a book that shows kids where their food comes from. Large, folksy illustrations are a pleasure to share with a group. Recommended by The PlanetEsme Plan.  Link for information; please support your local independent bookseller.  

THE ANIMAL BOOK (NONFICTION)

The Animal Book: A Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest,Cleverest, Shyest--and Most Surprising--Animals on Earth by Steve Jenkins.  Boom! A massive collection of animal information by the master, accented with amazing cut and torn paper illustration. Recommended by The PlanetEsme Plan.  Link for information; please support your local independent bookseller.  

OPEN THIS LITTLE BOOK (PICTURE BOOK)

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JONATHAN AND MARTHA (PICTURE BOOK)

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style>  <br /> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASI..." target="_blank"><b><i>Jonathan and Martha</i> by Petr Horacek</b></a>. In this worm love story, two invertebrates become entangled in an argument, but learn to love each other through pear-sharing, sickness, health and bird attacks. Most offbeat and resonating little affair since the butterflies in Trina Paulus' <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASI..." target="_blank">Hope for the Flowers</a></i>. Recommended by The PlanetEsme Plan.</span>

WILD (PICTURE BOOK)

Wild by Emily Hughes . Artwork as free-spirited as the main character! Recommended by The PlanetEsme Plan.

MARY HAD A LITTLE LLAMA (PICTURE BOOK)

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