Children's Books discussion
The Picture-Book Club
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April 2020 (and beyond): What Picture Books Are You Reading During Shelter-in-Place?
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Count Them While You Can . . .: A Book of Endangered Animals is another such Over in the Meadow remakes, but the fact that the ten featured species are all very critically endangered, the wonderful and educational supplemental information (on the animals, on extinction) as well as the lovely and realistic illustrations makes this a real gem and an important one at the same time.
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I feel very fortunate. The branch that allowed me to check out 35 books is a twenty minute drive from here and, as I try to combine errands and not drive unnecessarily, I likely won't go too often because I don't have much reason to go out that way, especially with the COVID situation but I am glad to know it's an option. The branch closest to me got back to me and said they would allow me to check out 15 books at at time, which is still better than 5.
Kathryn wrote: ". It *does* get repetitive (at least, to this adult) but my youngest seems to love them and many children do appreciate that repetition..."That's why Jack Wang decided to write the Cozy Classics! He got tired of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" when his daughter was small. The Cozy Classics have one word per page carefully chosen to convey the meaning of the text and also teach children language. The adults can fill in the story as the kids get older. My favorite, for the illustrations, is
. Miss O liked it and she also loved the goriness of
(he has a wooden leg!!!)https://www.mycozyclassics.com/books/
These are my go-to baby gift!
Nephew #2 enjoyed
.
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Kathryn wrote: "So, is anyone besides Cheryl interested in trying to find some 1920s picture books online for June? Or are most of you not quite ready to get back to themed reads yet? I can push it to July? Thoughts?"Yes! I already have a list.
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Yay! :-)
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Yay! :-)"
I hope that Open Library will have lots of picture books from the 1920s.
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Yay! :-)"
I hope that Open Library will have lots of picture books from the 1920s."
That is my hope and expectation, too. I had plans to do a bunch of research to upload a list of suggestions on the weekend but our refrigerator has died quite unexpectedly (not fun in the best of circumstances, but with the food situation already trying due to coronavirus, I'm really frazzled) so I am scrambling to figure out a solution for that. I will still get something up in time for the 1st but it may not be as robust a list as I'd hoped. I figure we will all contribute, anyway, (as we did with the 1910s) so I'll look forward to seeing what you've all come up with, also.
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I know many places online to read public domain children's books for free other than the Internet Archive. Searching by year isn't always easy though. I made a list from Wikipedia and the The Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature, so far. I have to look around and see what else I can find.
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Thank you. We've been plugging away but is so challenging right now with the COVID-19 situation. The soonest we could get someone to look at it is Thursday and then they will likely have to order a new part and who knows how long that will take. It is really disappointing as the fridge came with the house and fridge is only five years old and was expensive when new. In comparison, the fridge we bought when we got our first house was nothing fancy and it worked like a champ all eight years we had that house. My grandparents had one that hummed along for twenty years! In doing my research it sounds like there are no truly good brands out there now, the best you can hope for is one that lasts seven years. Just makes me feel so upset with how "disposable" things have become. We are really hoping we can get it repaired without it being too expensive and without having to buy another one, not only for the cost but also because I hate to think of the waste involved with all these junked appliances. It's also very hard to get a new fridge right now due to supply chain issues most are not delivering for one to two months. Thank goodness we nabbed the very last 7 cu ft fridge in town today -- I don't know what we would have done otherwise. I could not imagine trying to feed a family of four without refrigeration right now. We have so many allergies that we cannot buy prepackaged food everything is from scratch. My mom had given us her mini fridge and we were cramming everything possible in there just so we didn't have hundreds of dollars in spoiled food and supplements. Sigh.
Anyway, sorry for the tirade! It's just been so frazzling but I know this is really not the worst issue to have right now and we should just be grateful!
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Oh, yay! I was trying to get start on Open Library today and was finding it challenging because there was no year feature. I'm glad you have made such progress.
I would love it if you would share your list and maybe we could all use that as a starting point then add to it as it sounds like you are much farther along than I am (or will be, given how my weekend is going) and then we won't be overlapping unnecessarily, either. I'll actually go ahead and put the thread up now in case it's easier for you to post on the weekend, but no pressure if you can't get to it right away. Thank you for being so far along with your research! :-)
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Good luck, and yes, we do live in a throw away type of world with everything made abroad as well (but we also demand increasingly cheap products and this is what we get). I guess the fridge would also not be under warranty anymore either. I am glad you were able to get a replacement. But also, I wonder if one of the reasons the more current fridges are blitzing out sooner is because everything is so fancy with often unnecessary bells and whistles and everything is also so computerized and digital.
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Yes, it would be nice if there was a list, as I have also found doing research on Open Library a bit daunting.
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I think you're right. I actually have very little interest in the "bells and whistles" of modern appliances myself but I know that is what most people want and what is being made but, yes, I think more prone to failure and also, yes, probably more cheaply made just like most things nowadays. Well, I'm just grateful that we got the little one to get us by until we can get our regular one repaired (I hope) or have time to look for and pay for a replacement. It will still be useful to us with two growing boys or we can offer up extra storage to friends and family or have a back up for our circle should anyone find themselves in a similar situation that we faced.
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Good luck and I sure am glad you managed to nab a replacement even though it was just a small one.
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Thank you! :-)
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This is how it was for us in Phase One about a month ago. The quarantine on returns was 7 days, though. I'm glad you will be have access to library books soon.
message 274:
by
Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Jun 04, 2020 09:08AM)
(new)
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Our 'lobby open' includes computers, 'new books' shelves, magazines, and DVDs & CDs. Not stacks, and not children's section at all. Each patron is limited to 30 minutes onsite no matter what they want to do.
Curbside pickup is preferred, and incoming books are quarantined for 72 hours 'rolling.'
2 1/2 weeks left of this, and we're hoping for almost back to normal then. Probably not much if any programming though.
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Our 'lobby open' includes computers, 'new books' shelves, magazines, and DVDs & CDs. Not stacks, and not children's section at all. Each patron is limited to 30 min..."
They were as of the previous stage. There were two stations set up outside, weather permitting. I'm not sure if that has moved inside with the newest phase. I haven't been by since.
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Manybooks wrote: "Are any of the libraries making masks mandatory? Increasing studies are showing that any kind of face covering will actually be helpful preventing the spread of covid-19, but while some jurisdictio..."I'm guessing so because the governor is strongly encouraging masks. I see a lot of people walking around without them or with masks hanging around their necks or in their hands. I haven't been inside a public building since the quarantine. The libraries aren't open inside quite yet.
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That's good. Still not enough people wearing masks where I am (in my opinion) and it is rather weird that even in stores that have a sign that masks are mandatory, they generally will not bother enforcing this and insisting on it if someone comes in without a mask.
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The governor is encouraging everyone to wear a mask indoors but hardly anyone here is wearing masks, either. When we had the fridge repairman here today we had to ask him to wear a mask, which he did, but they said hardly anyone is asking them to wear masks. When we have been out for curbside pick up maybe 10-20% of the people going into or out of the stores are wearing masks. I thought at one point places like hair salons it was mandatory but I know someone who got a haircut last week and she and her stylist were wearing masks but the people at the other station were not. I think the issue is even if it's being asked no one is enforcing it.
As regards the library, our local branch says the following:
The Library strongly encourages the use of masks and will make them available to the public. Library staff wears masks to protect the library users; we’d like the public to wear masks to help protect other users and the staff.
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Well put.
Because asymptomatic ppl can spread the virus just by talking with volume or enthusiasm, and can be asymptomatic for three or more days, there can be several links in a chain before someone actually gets sick. I almost never leave the house except for neighborhood walks, but when I do go out to a shop, I wear a mask, because I may be carrying what my husband unwittingly brought home from one of his long daily walks up to town.
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Indeed, and even if a mask might not offer full protection, it offers some, and that is better than none.
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This was an old-fashioned story--a dog's adventures on the streets of Rome, with wonderful, retro illustrations that perfectly matched the style of the story. The illustrations reminded me of the styles of Paul Galdone, H. A. Rey, Robert Bright, and Ludwig Bemelmans.
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I loved this sweet bedtime story. I really liked how the illustrator juxtaposed the realistic looking humans with the highly stylized, patterned animals. In my opinion, the text and illustrations meshed perfectly, with an adept intermingling of the real and imaginary.
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This was an old-fashioned story--a dog's adventures on the streets of Rome, with wonderful, retro illustrations that perfectly..."
That sounds charming. Mac Barnett can sometimes be a miss for me, but I will see if I can find this one.
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I love the concept of this book, explaining the different sounds animals make and when they use those sounds to communicate. Some of the animals are commonly seen (giraffes, gorillas) but others (such as the margay) are less prominent in children's picture books and I appreciated the variety. I would have appreciated a world map in the back, showing where the different animals are located. Unfortunately, I was not at all a fan of the illustrations. I know that Steven Jenkins is beloved by many and I certainly appreciate his work and all the education he brings to children through his books, but for me personally I have never found his art aesthetically pleasing. In this book, many of the animals had their mouths open to show them making sounds. It makes sense, but in a few cases I felt it was just a little too much (I especially caution sensitive readers about the huge open mouth and teeth of the hyena -- I'm sure it's accurate, but it just looked unnecessarily scary, IMO. My children have asked me to take the book back to the library because of the illustrations so that is a big bummer as I feel the text alone is worthy of rereads.)
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I love the concept of this book, explaining the different sounds animals make and when they use those sounds to communicate. Some of ..."
I have never thought that Jenkins' illustrtations were off putting except in his books on dangerous animals, where I do think he sometiomes goes a bit overboard.
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I felt that the hyena especially in this one went overboard. In many other books I haven't found anything "scary" though I would still not consider myself a fan of his style. (Which is unfortunate because I really do admire the work he does. Actual Size, for example, is such a neat concept!)
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Hope it saves some of you some headaches :-)
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REVIEW OF THE KINDLE EDITION (and yes, the Kindle edition does seem to have a slightly different book title and the font sizes are definitely and once again a bit too small for easy reading)
Although Michelle Markel's Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers does indeed and certainly provide a very meticulously researched and enlightening general introduction to both the Shirtwaist Makers Strike of 1909 and also to the horrible and also often incredibly dangerous working conditions which made this strike both necessary and also (at least in my opinion) absolutely justifiable and laudable in every conceivable way, with the full page bibliography at the back of Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers being a very much appreciated added bonus (and not to mention that the additional presented details about the garment industry also and definitely does very much expand on Clara Lemlich's personal story and as such also renders Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers much more universal in scope and not simply the account of one girl's bravery and courage to stand up for workers' rights and for better and less dangerous working conditions), the story itself, Michelle Markel's printed words, while indeed and certainly inspiring and engaging, they have also felt just a trifle too simplistic, and with a to and for me generally overly optimistic tone of narrative voice.
And yes, this inherent, unrelenting and always very much present in Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers optimism is why I have (as an older and more critical) reader not been quite as lastingly inspired by Clara Lemlich as I had thought I would be from the book title. For really, I just do not think that Michelle Markel has with and in her featured text ever sufficiently demonstrated and shown the always present dangers and threats that Clara Lemlich and the other striking shirtwaist makers were constantly facing due to their job actions (not just possible dismissal, but also and much more importantly so, the potential of being injured or even killed by the police, by the authorities), so that indeed, this all encompassing over-optimism and positivity just does not really sit all that well with me, as Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers should also and totally show and remind us readers (or listeners) that Clara Lemlich certainly was playing a very dangerous but necessarily so game with her job actions and her advocating for and leading the Shirtwaist Makers Strike.
And combined with the fact that while I do tend to usually very much enjoy Melissa Sweet's artwork, in her accomapying illustrations for Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers, I have on a visual and aesthetic level found Sweet's pictorial renderings of human figures and indeed in particular of Clara Lemlich kind of strangely proportioned (with Clara often appearing as though she is from both her stature and her clothing considerably older than she is textually described by Michelle Markel as being), albeit that I do recommend Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers, for me, three stars is the maximum I will consider.
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I'm glad your branches are starting to open. It is definitely a bit of a learning curve, and some frustrations, if it's anything like the way ours has progressed, but I think it's great to have this important service open again and I hope it can be done in a way to protect both patrons and library staff. Yours definitely does sound a bit trickier than ours in that all we need to do for curbside pick-up is call about 15 minutes ahead of our arrival time. But, I think that for areas with a greater population, or where theft might be an issue, it makes sense to have a scheduled pick-up time.
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My review:
I wish every science book was this engaging, entertaining and educational. It corrects the misconception that a fossil skeleton = a dinosaur and explains that many more of them are NOT dinosaurs. Some of these seemed obvious to me, for example, saber-toothed cat and woolly mammoth, but some completely surprised me (I'm looking at you, Dimetrodon! He's actually an early relative of mammals and lived 50 million years before dinosaurs evolved. Wow!) Plesiosaur and Pterosaur -- also NOT dinos. I also encountered a few new-to-me mamals, such as glyptodont (looks like a capybara with a tortoise shell--early relative of the armadillo) and learned that the ancient fish Latimeria is not extinct. It was also just a good refresher course in the timeline of dinosaurs and mammals (the illustration of Carcharodon megalodon beside humpback whales gave me pause, but of course it's accurate). Dinosaur enthusiasts will be happy to see a few familiar favorites DO make an appearance later in the book (shout out to T. Rex and Triceratops!) and... a parakeet? Yes, this is one of the up-to-date books on paleontology that you really need to have in your dino collection. Much appreciated the note by Dr. Norell, Curator of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, as well as the "What is a Dinosaur?" lesson at the end: "Dinosaurs are classified by certain physical characteristics: a hole in their hip socket, a three-toed foot, and an S shaped neck. If we base our definition for dinosaurs on these three traits, even our long0held belief that dinosaurs went extinct isn't true. All of these characteristics you can observe in pigeons and chickens." The "About the Characters in this Book" at the back provides a bit more info on each creature along with a photo of its fossil skeleton. And there's a timeline, too. (Amazing to think we are much closer in time to T. Rex than T. Rex was to Stegosaurus!)
That sounds great Kathryn! Younger nephew loves dinosaurs. He probably knows all this but he might enjoy this book. I'll add it to the never-ending list.
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:-) I hope he will learn something new or at least enjoy it even if it's old news to him.
Great library news! We can now check out TEN books, make appointments for browsing, use copiers/microfilm/printers. Now I can grab some of those books for the kiddos too. AFTER I return the huge stack I have checked out from before the quarantine. Returning books is allowed now too, thank goodness. All books are still due in July at the latest though.
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Hooray! :-)
At our library, returns are still quarantined for seven days... which seems a little excessive and does add to some delays in getting materials, but it is better than nothing!
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Oh, take it from me, this series is far from having the exclusive to the "Over in the Meadow" re-dos. I can't even count how many PBs (by different authors and illustrators) I've read to the boys featuring various animals in various settings all set to that tune. It *does* get repetitive (at least, to this adult) but my youngest seems to love them and many children do appreciate that repetition. I do have to stifle a sigh sometimes at the redundancy, especially for number seven as there are so few words to rhyme with it (it is somewhat amusing to see how the various authors make the little babies seven look/leap/fly/etc. to/under heaven.
We read Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme and it was along much the same lines though I didn't find it as appealing as the River one... primarily because I wasn't a personal fan of the illustrations (though I could appreciate the skill. They are made of polymer clay). It contained similar back matter to the River book, though, and is still a worthwhile educational resource, IMO.