|
The Holiday 21 appeared originally in The Franklin Journal Holiday Guide The Arrival, by Shaun Tan. Ellis Island is at once a firm piece of history
and a beguiling metaphor. The sense of passage, the struggle for entry, the
strangeness and It is perhaps fitting, given all the holiday bustle, not to mention the struggle among book titles to be a popular choice during the holiday season, that a story whose tale is rooted in the immigration experience, by a relatively unknown Australian author, should be the finest gift book of the year. The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, is a story told entirely through sequential pictures. Several of the drawings are based upon turn of the century historical photographs, rooting the book in the Ellis Island period. The brilliance and the wonder of the book, apart from the truly exquisite drawings, is the element of the fantastic which Tan inserts. The marvel of The Arrival is that its readers are placed inside the story. We too cannot read the signs and billboards written in a strange language. The odd animals and unknown machines are, at first, as bewildering to us as they are to the immigrants. As the story progresses, we move along with it, gaining at first a foothold, and then a steadily building comprehension of the world through which we are traveling. The Arrival is a truly exceptional book. To read it is to enjoy a unique, wondrous, and satisfying experience. Giving it as a gift this holiday season isn’t a bad idea either. Coffee Table Books The Story of Sugarloaf, by John Christie, Shells, by Paul Starosta and Jacques Senders, Snog: A Puppy’s Guide to Love, by Rachael Hale Are other books jealous of Coffee Table Books, their high price tags, expensive production values, and the life of leisure they live off the shelves? Perhaps we’ll never know. Here are three books who have earned some envy though. The Story of Sugarloaf is just the
thing for any Maine skier. Gorgeous photographs, balanced by crisp, informative
text, make Picture the most incredible collection of shells
imaginable and you will Any book of puppy photographs worth its salt should be at least very cute. Snog: A Puppy’s Guide To Love, on the other hand, will make any dog lover positively melt in a puddle of indecipherable, half finished adjectives. These delightful, almost unfair puppy photographs, sprinkled with a few brief, well chosen quotations, have set a new standard in dog lover gift books. Interactive Books Mythology, by Lady Hestia Evans, The Dangerous Book for Boys & The Daring Book for Girls, by Conn and Hal Iggulden, and Andrea J Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz, Look-Alikes Around the World, by Joan Steiner
Candlewick has hit the "Ology" mark
again with this year’s entry, Mythology. Treating the Greek
Alphabet like a secret code, and filled with all kinds of cool stuff, like
knowledge cards, and oak leaves of the oracle, Mythology really
brings its subject to life. The only downside is that a well directed lightning
bolt awaits anyone who isn’t pleased by that news. Speaking of danger, The Dangerous Book for Boys & The Daring Book for Girls, have struck a resounding chord with parents looking for books filled with wholesome, fun, and engaging activities which have a realistic hope of cutting into the younger generation’s stoutly defended computer time. These books, with their appealing layout and outstanding content are a near sure thing in that regard. It’s been five long years since the last Look-Alike book stepped forth to delight puzzle fans of all ages. The wait is over. Joan Steiner is an exceptional visual artist who builds photographic scenes in which each object in a picture is constructed of other objects. For example her Taj Mahal is composed of onions, ballet slipper and small white shoes, price tags, straws, pushpins, lace, recorders, white chocolate bars, brussel sprouts, and other unlikely components. Many happy hours spent deciphering Look-Alikes Around the World await its recipients.
Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction Time To Smell The Roses, by Michael Hoeye, How To Save Your Tail, by Mary Hanson, A Crooked Kind of Perfect, by Linda Urban, Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren, Illustrated by Lauren Child There are so many fantasy books set in a world of intelligent rodents, that one wonders whether young rodents spend their free time reading about the adventures of mouse like humans. Michael Hoeye’s Hermux Tantamoq adventures stand out in this crowded field, however, for their well realized, satisfying characters, their exciting, well paced plots, but also for their thoughtful, warm tone. In Hoeye’s fourth adventure, Time To Smell The Roses, Hermux and company are at the peak of their form. Another excellent rodent narrative is Mary
Hanson’s How To Save Your Tail. The full title of this book for
the 6-10 year old set is H Linda Urban’s A Crooked Kind of Perfect is a very fine book indeed. Ten year old Zoe Elias’ quest to turn her loathed Perfectone Organ into a real, and longed for piano, is symbolic of other transitions, developments, and challenges in her life. This moving and engaging story is a genuine standout for middle school age readers. Some things are just wrong, like not loving Pippi Longstocking. This is a crime of which Lauren Child, beloved author and illustrator of The Clarice Bean books, can never be accused. Child has brought her unique, infectious sensibility to Lindgren’s classic. This illustrated edition is designed to be a read aloud treasure. Holiday Books Oli When it comes to Olivia Helps with Christmas, it might be more accurate to say that Ian Falconer helped with Christmas by writing a holiday story starring his beloved young pig. Though there is nothing unexpected about the story, Olivia’s fans will be delighted with this book. Puttapit, a gifted illustrator from Thailand who now makes his home in England, has crafted a marvelous and unique edition of Moore’s classic poem. Using only green, red, black and white, the artist achieves a truly sublime effect throughout this edition, just subtitled "A Magical Cut-Paper Edition.
How Many, by Ron Van der Meer, Journey to the Moon, by Lucio and Meera Santoro Modern Pop-Up Books, dating from Robert Sabuda’s early masterpieces of paper engineering, have become something of a holiday tradition in themselves. Though Sabuda, his partner Mathew Reinhardt, and David Carter, have ruled the roost the last few years, their entries this year, though solid, are a bit too similar in layout and design to their previous efforts to generate much genuine amazement. To be fair, Sabuda’s pop-up verison of Narnia doesn’t release until 11/27/07, and I haven’t seen it yet. Nonetheless, let us put the spotlight on some fresh faces and different styles. How Many, by Ron Van Der Meer,
strongly reflects Meer’s architectural and mathematical background. The Journey to the Moon, by newcomers Lucia and Meera Santoro, is billed as "A Rip Roaring Ride! With Revolutionary Pop-Up Technology." The Santoros really do have a unique style. Several of their more complex creations break a cardinal rule of pop-ups, by requiring the page to be tucked into a flap by hand in order to stand up. The effect is spectacular though. The story is also a tale unto itself, rather than an adaptation of a classic book, or a strictly a thematic undertaking. The Santoros also employ far more moving parts than any pop-up I’ve seen: boats that rock, planes that fly, rocket ships that soar through space. This makes the book both unusually delicate and exceptionally cool. Humor: I Am America (And So Can You!), by Stephen Colbert, The Maine Dictionary, by John Macdonald Self anoint Maine humorist and story teller John Macdonald has provided a much needed guide to "the correct way to talk in Maine." With John Gould’s Maine Lingo long out of print, it was high time that someone stepped in to fill the void. Part of The Maine Dictionary’s charm is that it mixes humor, "Deah: The deah was invented to give Mainers some time off in the fall," with light hearted but informative accounts of words such as gore and gurry. At $12.95 The Maine Dictionary is a good fit for long Christmas lists as well. Picture Books: Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, By Melanie Watts, Clancy The Courageous Cow, by Laiche Hume, Toy Boat, by Randall de Seve, Illustrated by Loren Long Scaredy Squirrel Makes A Friend
and Clancy The Courageous Cow are two of the funniest, most
engaging picture books Peerless illustrator Loren Long shines again in this charming, old fashioned tale of a toy boat lost at sea, seeking to find its way back to the boy who built and launched him. This is a story young children will want to hear again and again. |
immersion, the aspirations and complex realities which mark Ellis Island, make
for both compelling history and a dramatic representation of many aspects of the
human experience.
the book a real pleasure to flip through.
still fall short of imagining Shells.
Photographer Paul Starosta was commissioned to photograph the famous Senders
shell collection. The result makes the age old activity of gazing up at clouds
on a summer afternoon and imagining what they resemble seem positively tepid by
comparison. The fantastical shapes which emerge from Shells’
pages stir the imagination and sense of wonder in all of us. 
ow to Save Your Tail: If You Are a Rat Nabbed by
Cats Who Really Like Stories about Magic Spoons, Wolves with Snout-Warts, Big,
Hairy Chimney Trolls...And Cookies Too. Indeed, nabbed by cats, Bob the
Rat saves himself by entertaining his captors with a series of stories that will
have young readers laughing out loud for days.
via Helps With Christmas,
by Ian Falconer, The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore,
Illustrated by Niroot Pu
se
stunning pop up shapes are accompanied by a whole world of mathematical and
geometrical puzzles to solve based on each pop-up. There is plenty to ooh and
ahh at here, but also many hours of fun and educational puzzle solving to enjoy
as well.
ed winner of "The Stephen T.
Colbert Award For The Literary Excellence," I am America deserves not only
its own recognition, but that of anyone looking for a good laugh. There is no
question but that Mr. Colbert has followed in his friend John Stewart’s footsteps by successfully transferring his Comedy Central shtick to the printed
page.
you’ll ever read aloud to a child. We know that the
best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. To this select list we many now
add squirrels. "Scaredy Squirrel doesn’t have a friend. He’d rather be
alone than risk encountering someone dangerous." Scaredy’s plan to meet
the perfect friend takes some extremely entertaining detours in this, his second
adventure. Clancy The Courageous Cow is a truly priceless account
of Clancy, the Beltless Galloway, and his wrestling match, (after having
mastered such moves as"The Helicowpter, The Cud Cruncher, and The
Ruminator) with the polled Hereford champion for the right to the best grazing
field.