28th March Doreen Cronin

I read today that it is American author Doreen Cronin's birthday. I don't know when she was born, but I will still celebrate her birthday in the future in the library. She is the author of that wonderful book about cows that type, Click Clack Moo and all the subsequent farmyard spin offs illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type always creates great discussion when compared with Martin Waddell's Farmer Duck.

Doreen Cronin is also the author of the series of diaries about minibeasts, The Diary of a Spider; The Diary of a Worm and The Diary of a Fly. These are illustrated by Harry Bliss.

I had already planned to use Doreen's books Wiggle; Stretch and Bounce having fun with my preschool class tomorrow, so it will be an added bonus to tell them about her birthday! These three books are illustrated by Scott Menchin. No matter who is chosen to illustrate Doreen's books they seem bound to succeed.

9th March Harry Bliss (1964)

Coincidentally, a Year 1 teacher came into the library today looking for tooth fairy books and I had Mrs Watson Wants Your Teeth out on display. She didn't know it was Harry's birthday, but it planted the seed for me to write up his birthday.

Harry Bliss grew up in New York and became an illustrator and cartoonist. He does cartoons for The New Yorker magazine. On initial perusal many adults make comments about the covers of his books, saying things such as 'it looks as if it will be scary', but if they do pick up the book and read them with a child they change their mind. Don't Forget to Come Back!; Mrs Watson Wants Your Teeth and A Very Brave Witch may illicit comments like this, but his better known illustrations for Kate DiCamillo's Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken, Doreen Cronin's diary books, Diary of a Worm; Diary of a Spider and Diary of a Fly certainly won't.

8th July Alison McGhee (1960)

Alison McGhee is a very talented American author. She seems to write for all ages and in all forms, making her the perfect creative writing teacher which she is also an expert at. I haven't read any of her novels, but reading that she was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize I feel the need to rush out and find Shadow Baby .I first met her work in the picture book, Mrs Watson Wants Your Teeth. The subject of losing teeth is always very important with the age group of children I teach. They were fascinated by the concept of a teacher who was collecting baby teeth. Rumours abounded at school about how one of our Year 1 teachers was just like Mrs Watson. Then I twigged that the girl in this book was also in Countdown to Kindergarten, another book written by Alison and illustrated by Harry Bliss, so now I often put them on display together.

More recently I have followed her reflective titles that are illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, Someday (perfect for Mother's Day), Little Boy and Always. Her two most recent picture books have been illustrated by Taeeun Yoo, Only a Witch can Fly and So Many Days (every library needs a print from this of the child reading). The piece de resistance of her picture books has to be, Only A Witch Can Fly. Granted this is a beautiful book because of Taeeun Yoo's amazing linoleum block illustrations, but the poetic text combined with these illustrations makes it a very special book and it would be a shame if it was seen purely as a Halloween book. It is so much more. Make the unusual poetic stanzas accessible to young children by reading them aloud, probably more than once, talking about the words and pictures and then discussing the theme of determination and finding one's own way to do something.