GOING TO JAPAN!

Hello all! Today I hope you will indulge me in a personal note, because I have big news to share: I am leaving tomorrow for Tokyo, Japan! SAHARA SPECIAL was a recent nominee for the Sakura Medal, a wonderful honor, and it will be an even greater honor to speak with children and meet with parents and educators at a number of International Schools in and around this exciting city. During the coming weeks, I will not be blogging because I do not travel with my computer, and also, because I will be too busy eating sushi, trying to get on the right Shinkansen and hopefully picking up some of the fabuloso fashion style of the Japanese teenagers. Though I would love to put you all in my suitcase and take you along, given recent airport security measures I don't think we could pull it off. So instead, I'll catch you all up on the adventure when I get back, and in the meantime you can travel vicariously by checking out these three Japanese-influenced picture books:

CAT AND MOUSE by Jiwon Oh (HarperCollins)
Cat and mouse are roomates and best friends…until mischievious monkey drops down and offers cat, of all things, a cookbook. Suddenly, Cat's goombah is looking especially gourmet. Cat can't stop envisioning the different delicious ways he might be prepared, and a slightly gruesome double-page spread suggests mouse in a variety of poses, including taco, potsticker, and even in an ice cream cone. The illustrations clearly have a Japanese aesthetic, with a setting of pagodas, mountains and cherry blossoms, and cat takes a decidedly Eastern tack to tackle his snack attack: he climbs a mountain and meditates on his contemplated misdeed till he goes a bit kooky and is rescued by her forgiving friend. The humor in this book is definitely dark, but the dramatic "Tom and Jerry" quality of the plot with a twist is sure to turn on kids who need to turn off Cartoon Network . The graphically sumptuous computer-generated artwork is so crisp and smooth, you will probably find yourself running your hands over the pages. Ultimately, this quirky book is very refreshing, with many elements that are completely original and will catch you off guard. Though not as "cutesy" as it may seem at first glance, the ending sums up what the dedication of this book suggests: "for friendship." (5 and up)

TASTY BABY BELLY BUTTONS by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Meilo So (Knopf) Moms and Dads all know how delicious baby belly buttons are. Unfortunately, the terrible Onis have also discovered this scrumptious delicacy, and steal all the babies away! Uriko-hime, or "melon princess," is born inside a watermelon (notice her pink and black kimono!) and grows up to rescue the toddlers in trouble. Featuring a strong female lead, this Japanese folktale-adventure is paced just right for a lively storytime with lots of good chanting (like the Onis' "Belly buttons/Belly buttons/Tasty Baby Belly Buttons!"). Serve butterscotch candies or some other small round treat at the end and call them belly buttons! Or, crack open a watermelon and see what's inside (probably seeds, but you never know)! (5 and up)

KAMISHIBAI MAN by Ed Young (Houghton Mifflin)
Kamishibai, or "paper theater," is an art form popularized during an economic depression in Japan during the 1930's. The kamishibai storyteller would be surrounded by children, eager to hear his tales and see the hand-painted illustrations, and buy the candies from his cart. But with the advent of the television, the unique form of street performance loses its audience. What's an old kamishibai man to do? This touching story chronicles what happens when an artist once celebrated ventures out into a modern, urban world, filled with traffic and television, for a final performance. Will he find his audience once more? Sophisticated ideas of aging and cultural change make this ideal for discussion with older children, and young artists may also enjoy trying to create their own kamishibai. Warning: you may need two copies of this book, because you'll want to cut out the pictures and frame them. (7 and up)

Other personal news:
An audio interview about my new book, VIVE LA PARIS, can be heard at the Book of Life website, at www.jewishbooks.blogspot.com. You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy! This is a podcast that I listen to regularly, full of great bookloving information and real voices behind the books we love, so I was delighted to be asked to be interviewed by Heidi Estrin, who earlier in the season wrote the following review for the Association of Jewish Libraries:

Paris is a black fifth-grade girl with a large, loving family, a creative schoolteacher, and a funny-and-wise elderly Jewish piano teacher. While the protagonist of the book is not Jewish, this is a book that Jewish readers should take time for. A mix of lyrical prose and real “kid-speak” reveals Paris’s inner thoughts on family, on getting along with others, and on the girl who bullies Paris’s peace-loving brother. Paris’s piano teacher gives her the yellow star she has kept since the Holocaust, and Paris, in ignorance, wears it to school believing it is a gang badge. As a consequence, she is assigned to learn about World War II and temporarily loses her own faith in humankind. Her struggle with the burden of knowledge, and her steps back toward embracing life, are handled with sensitivity and even joy. This is a beautifully-written and universal story that goes beyond “never forget” and shows a girl coming into her own as a mensch to help heal the world. This book belongs in Jewish libraries, Christian libraries, Muslim libraries, and every other kind of library serving youth.

Well, I think this is about the best review I could ever hope for, and I must extend my deepest thanks to Ms. Estrin for her most generous remarks...I only wish every author who puts a best effort forward could enjoy such amazing kindness as I was privileged to receive here. In my latest novel, I was indeed very interested in trying to write a secular book about what it means to be your brother’s keeper, and how hard is it, really, to love your enemy. In that vein, I would also love to introduce you to author Jean Marzollo. Originally of I SPY series fame, she went on to teach herself illustration, coming up with a lovely, free-flowing line, a computer-meets-Chagall-like style and using her new talent to create highly accessible retellings of Old Testament stories such as DAVID AND GOLIATH, DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN, JONAH AND THE WHALE (AND THE WORM),MIRIAM AND HER BROTHER MOSES, and RUTH AND NAOMI. Whatever your faith, you will appreciate the storytelling style just right for introducing these tales to the very young, stories that are alluded to throughout literature and life, with lively running commentary delivered in the lower margins by creatures great and small. Together, they make a wonderful holiday gift, and a wonderful collection.

Speaking of holiday gifts, while I am away, please check in the Blog-a-Day archives where hundreds of recommendations are posted, and more will be waiting for you right here, in time for holiday shopping after Thanksgiving. (You will be reading Laurie Halse Anderson's eye-opening THANK YOU, SARAH: THE WOMAN WHO SAVED THANKSGIVING and Lisa Wheeler's hilarious TURK AND RUNT around Turkey Day, won't you?) For now, though, sayonara!

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

FLOTSAM (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
FLOTSAM by David Wiesner (Clarion)

"Flotsam" is something that floats, in this case, an old-fashioned camera, tossed without harm onto the shore by a wayward wave, and into the hands of a young naturalist, a boy who has his microscope in a zip-lock bag and was beforehand occupied with the obeservation of crabs through a magnifying glass. Lo and behold, there is film in this camera, and, in character, our curious friend has it developed; but neither he or us, the lucky onlookers, will believe our eyes. Clockwork carp, cities built on sea-turtle backs, starfish that dwarf sperm whales, extraterrestrial tourists on a scuba expedition, an octopus holding court in an undersea living-room read-aloud (my favorite, worth the price of the book alone), and one strange picture of another child that goes back-back-back in time, and offers a clue of what our boy should do next. This crazily imaginative candid camera gives new meaning to "a picture is worth a thousand words," and contains so much detail, from the wrinkle of the beach towel to the beachcomber's collection on the title page, one would practically expect sand to trickle out of the seams or to hear the ocean if you held this book up to your ear. I think it takes a certain genius to create a book in which we don't miss the language at all; the book still works as a "look-aloud" with a group, with panels in which actions are easy to describe, and other pictures that thankfully require nothing more of us than a groan of admiration and delight. Despite the two Caldecotts and two Caldecott honors Weisner has garnered in the past, I would have to say this latest effort blows the rest out of the water. (5 and up)

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ABBIE IN STITCHES (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
ABBIE IN STITCHES by Cynthia Cotten, illustrated by Beth Peck (Farrar Straus Giroux)

Needlework was an important part of a girl's education in the early 19th century; she would someday need the skill to sew household linens and clothing for her family, or use her ability to help provide support. But this is of little concern to Abbie, whose crooked stitches and blood-spotted linens from pricked fingers are evidence of her frustration at being put to the task, when she would so much rather be reading! When she, along with a gaggle of more gifted girls, is called upon to make a sampler, and she can't decide what the subject should be...but when she decides to put what she really feels into words, her fingers fly. This story misses some visual opportunities; a few examples of the stitches on the endpapers, for example, or a photograph of a finished sampler along with the informative afterword would have been welcome. That said, the expressive figures throughout done in evocative oil pastels go far to capture this girl's true spirit, and a spirit that was surely shared by booklovers both then and now. The resolution and ultimate, if measured, understanding from her family is believable. Overall, a lovely and liberating historical picture book. (7 and up)

Also of interest:
One good reader deserves another! Try this other period piece about a title-seeker who will not be thwarted:
THE HARD-TIMES JAR by by Ethel Footman Smothers, John Holyfield (Farrar Stras Giroux) Emma is one book-hungry little girl. But money is "scarcer than hen's teeth," which means "no extras" for this family of African American migrant workers, and that includes no store-bought books. So Emma makes her own , fastening brown paper pages with safety pins. When Emma starts school, it is with much trepidation, until kind Miss Miller reveals-- wonder of wonders!--a coatroom full of books! The temptation to take one home proves too much for Emma, Will her lapse be the end of her chances to read, or will it be the beginning of her mother recognizing that maybe a book is worth taking money out of the family's "hard times jar"? Beautiful paintings featuring elongated figures against lush backdrops are frame-worthy, a perfect accent to this sensitive story about the allure of literature and it's value. You'll be glad you took money out of your "hard times jar" for this one; it belongs in the collection of anyone whose heart has beaten a little bit faster at the sight of a brand-new book. (6 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

CHICKENS TO THE RESCUE (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
CHICKENS TO THE RESCUE by John Himmelman (Holt)

When Farmer Greenstalk drops his watch down the well, it's chickens to the rescue! When Mrs. Greenstalk is too tired to make dinner, guess what? Chickens to the rescue! When the big wind blows a cow into a tree, have no fear! Chickens to the rescue! Whether a dog has eaten the homework, sheep wander off into the woods, or Ernie the duck takes off with the truck, it's chickens saving the day in the most hilarious and cooperative way, every day of the week, or so it seems...come Sunday, when Emily Greenstalk spills her breakfast, will she find our heros come to the rescue, or are they having their day of rest? A surprise ending gives lovely, laugh-out loud closure to a near- perfect picture book, full of page after page of the kind of visual wit that mark the works of Sandra Boynton (MOO, BAA, LA LA LA) and Betsy Lewin (CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE, with Doreen Cronin). With chickens typing on computer keyboards and looking decidedly peeved at reckless duck driving habits, this book rescues us from the picture-book blahs, with a message that manages to create a provocative balance between the need to cooperate to get things done and the need to sometimes come to our own darn rescue. (5 and up)

Also of interest:
MANNY'S COWS: THE NIAGARA FALLS TALE by Suzy Becker (HarperCollins) Preposterous story of young Manny who decides it's time to go on vacation, even if it means shlepping his five hundred milk cows along with him. Factual sidelines about the care and feeding of cows mixes like butter with Becker's sketchy cartoons and a story that somehow, crazily, manges to get us to suspend our belief and root for our hard-working hero (though he might need a vacation after this vacation). A barrel of laughs. (5 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

HORNS AND WRINKLES (FICTION)

FICTION
HORNS AND WRINKLES by Joseph Helgerson (Houghton Mifflin)

Use the word "fantasy," and what comes to mind? Dragons? Hobbits? Time tesselations? How about the Mississippi River? In ths fetching little tome (love the textured lizard-skin endpapers) we have the rare American breed of fantasy, as this quest down our very own legendary waterway leads characters--and readers--into funny and cliffhanging encounters with trolls (wearing bicycle suits and threatening things like" I'll turn you into books. Thick ones with no pictures and tiny print"), fairies (who knew they abounded around Minnesota?) and, um, fortune-telling catfish. The first page even starts with a cliffhanger (or rather, a bridgehanger) of a first sentence: "My cousin Duke's troubles on the river started the day he dangled me off the wagon wheel bridge," and doesn't let up unti the last page. Readers can decide for themselves if cousin Duke deserved the horn that grew on his nose. Funny and original, at last, we are over the rainbow here in the literary Midwest. (9 and up)

Also of interest:
For another fine American fantasy but with an East Coast flair, check out Laura Ruby's WALL IN THE WING, in which readers can decide which wish they would prefer to have granted: to fly, or to be invisible. (11 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

WHAT ATHLETES ARE MADE OF (NONFICTION)

PICTURE BOOK
WHAT ATHLETES ARE MADE OF by Hanoch Piven (Atheneum)

Photographed collage illustrations a la Joan Steiner's LOOK-ALIKES utlizes everyday objects in ingenious ways to create fantastic portraits of twenty three sport superstars representing both genders and a variety of sports and cultural/racial backgrounds. Babe Rith has a hot dog for a mouth (he did eat eight of them at Coney Island one afternoon), David Beckham has pink nail polish bottle for a nose (he painted his nails to match his girlfriend's), and every page has such a thoughtful visual detail to point out and discuss. Though the clever pictures will be pored over again and again, the anecdotes are equally strong: "Once when [Mohammed Ali] was on a plane, the flight attendant told him to fasten his seat belt. 'Superman don't need no seat belt,' he bragged. 'Well, Superman don't need to airplane,' she shot back. Ali fastened his seat belt." Also inspiring is how Pele pressed the pause button on the war between Biafra and Nigeria for two days just by playing his game, and the advice given to children by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "You should have dreams as students in addition to having dreams as athletes." A "post game recap" at the end of the book contains real photos, stats and career highlights for every game-player named. A strong addition to any biography or sports collection, it's also a fantastic read-aloud.I know, because I had the pleasure of having a sixth grade boy read it to me cover-to-cover, without my asking, because he thought it was that good. Do you need another reason to get your hands on this one? Home run, goal, touchdown! The crowd goes wild for this, the kind of book boys battle to be next in line to read. (7 and up)

Also of interest:
By the same author, in the same artistic style (since this one will leave you wanting more),
WHAT PRESIDENTS ARE MADE OF (Atheneum), just in time for Election Day! And
FACES: 78 PORTRAITS FROM MADONNA TO THE POPE (Pomegranite), decidely more grown-up, but good fun for any fan of pop culture...good for upper-grade social studies discussion as well.

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

WITCH CATCHER (FICTION)

PICTURE BOOK
WITCH CATCHER by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion)

Well, Ms. Hahn scared us cross-eyed with one of the most masterful ghost stories of juvenile literature, WAIT TILL HELEN COMES, so why not let's show her some love with her latest? Jen is thrilled to move into the castle that her father has inherited, and less thrilled with Maura, the woman he chose to marry since her mother passed away. Maura's obsessive passion for antiques is the least of her problems, or so Jen thinks. When Jen accidently breaks a glass globe from Maura's collection, the stepmother becomes increasingly creepy. If only Jen had known what that little orb held...and what she has unleashed!

This book is a combo pack of the contemporary and the classic. Though the stigma of the unwanted stepmother was one stereotype I think we could possibly do without, the strength of the story is in Jen, a problem-solving twelve-year-old who corrals her own power, and a supernatural plot that will engage and enchant many a reading thrill-seeker. And I have to wonder, what would that little glass globe would be appraised for on Antiques Roadshow? (10 and up)

Also of interest:
THE WITCH FAMILY by Eleanor Estes (Harcourt) is about a million times more mild than THE WITCH CATCHER, but since witches are likely on the fly tonight, I thought I'd offer up something more to read! We have the story of two good friends who love to write and draw pictures of a family of witches and making up stories, little knowing that as they do, they are coming to life in a distant, make-believe land. All forces converge on Halloween, when the girls meet the dear little witch, and are whisked away to the glass hill where it as clear that a mermaid, a baby sister witch and a bumblebee named Malachi have overstepped their written and drawn adventures, and where the embittered, banished Old Witch wreaks her mischief. This reissue has a snazzy new cover but smartly maintained the inimitable spot illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. When I found this book in the "discard" pile of my public library when I was about ten years old, I clutched it to my chest with both hands and tears filled my eyes...could I really take it home? It was one of the most magical reads of a childhood, old-fashioned in the very, very best sense of the word, and I am so excited to pass it on to you as a read-aloud treat. See, no need to toilet paper my tree! (7 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

LOS GATOS BLACK ON HALLOWEEN (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
LOS GATOS BLACK ON HALLOWEEN by Marisa Montes, illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Holt)

The Halloween hour is nigh...las calabazas glow, las brujas glide on broomsticks, los esqueletos rattle their bones, los muertos rise "And in a slow and strange parade, /The creatures of the night invade/A haunted casa long asleep--/The mansion's secrets buried deep." But who is that rapping at the door? It is the one creature that can scare these spirits back into submission: los ninos! Seasonal Spanish vocabulary is seamlessly interwoven into the spooky verse, and matching illustrations, full of shadow and shiver. This book is no-holds-barred and will offer those transitional older picture book readers the prickly back and pause at bedtime that they have been begging for in time for the holiday, so make sure you share with a group who is really in the spirit of things! Gotta love those unseen fingers playing the piano, and the eerily lovely graveyard, complete with zombies coming on up to party on down. The finale in which children are still in the driver's seats gives this story just the right touch to settle any fretful young hearts. Install Ms. Morales and Ms. Montes as this year's Queens of Halloween...bilingual, no less. Glossary included. (7 and up)

Also of interest:
Halloween season is also the season of Dia de Los Muertos, also a blast to celebrate (and with a fabulous color scheme). This holiday also offers up a chance to read another book by Yuyi Morales, which happens to be my folkloric favorite that she has written: JUST A MINUTE: A TRICKSTER TALE AND COUNTING BOOK (Chronicle). In this clever story, it takes more than a pretty please to separate a grandma from her grandchildren, as this clever abuela proves in a trickster tale in which party preparations take up a little too much time for Senor Calavera, a skeleton patiently waiting to take this busy woman to the other side. When he sees that she is indeed the hostess with the mostess, he rescinds his own creepy invitation…after all, he wants to come to next year's party, doesn't he? Bold Mexican motifs make this a sensible pick for Day of the Dead, but don't be silly like Senor Calavera and wait, use the book right away to help children learn to count from one to ten in Spanish, and to celebrate the special loving ties of a family that can cordially show trouble the door. This not-too-scary book ends with a reassuring wink, and is smiles all through, thanks to writing that belies Morales' storytelling background and an absolutely gorgeous palette that seems inspired by the streamers of a pinata. (7 and up)

Other excellent "Dia de los Muertos" literature (for November 1st):
THE SPIRIT OF TIO FERNANDO: A DAY OF THE DEAD STORY by Janice Levy, illustrated by Morella Fuenmayor (Whitman)(6 and up)
CLATTER BASH! A DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION by Richard Keep (Peachtree)(4 and up)
CALAVERA ABCEDARIO: A DAY OF THE DEAD ALPHABET BOOK by Jeanette Winter (Harcourt) (5 and up)
FELIPA AND THE DAY OF THE DEAD by Birte Muller (North-South Books) (6 and up)
THE FESTIVAL OF BONES/EL FESTIVAL DE LAS CALAVERAS by Luis San Vicente (Cinco Puntos) (7 and up)
DAY OF THE DEAD by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Jeanette Winter (Voyager) (5 and up)
PABLO REMEMBERS by Tony Johnston, illustrated by George Ancona (HarperCollins) (5 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.