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.

11th January Caldecott Award Announcement

Yesterday, the American Library Association presented its top awards. The one I am always most interested in is the Caldecott Award and this year it went to illustrator Erin E. Stead for A Sick Day for Amos McGee which is written by her husband Philip C. Stead. Often I have to go and buy the book because it hasn't been released widely in Australia, but this year I won't need to, as we have this book in the library. It is a very gentle story about a zookeeper who gets a cold and therefore does not go to the zoo, so his worried animals come to visit him. The illustrations are delicate woodblock prints and as you know if you have been reading this blog, linoprints are my very favourite pieces of art, so yes I do like this book!

Another book with stunning linoprint illustrations by Rick Allen, won its author, the poet Joyce Sidman a Newbery Honor Medal. It is Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. This lovely book of twelve poems appeals to all age groups because of its illustrations and sensual language. I was hoping her other book, Ubiquitous would be honoured in the Caldecott awards, but I can live with this alternative. On Joyce's website there is a trailer for Dark Emperor. The soundtrack is haunting and inviting at the same time and it makes you wish that some books did come with accompanying sound effects.

And thirdly, of interest for my clientele, Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo, Alison McGhee and Tony Fucile won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for a book for beginning readers. It is already popular in my library.

25th March Kate DiCamillo (1964)

Kate DiCamillo is very well known because of her wonderful book, The Tale of Despereaux, which has since been made into a movie. I haven't seen the movie, but I love the book and so do the second class children I teach. The sales blurbs say that it is a book for 9 to 12 year olds, but as a serial it is accessible to younger children. I love the characters names. I was in high school doing art when I was first introduced to the Italian word 'chiaroscuro' and the teacher told us about juxtaposition of light and dark. I remember thinking it was a great word and it certainly is a great starting point forthe character, Roscuro who is a rat. Originally I thought 'despereaux' was French for 'desperate' and I thought that too was a wonderful name for the mouse character. I know now it is not a real word, but it is still appropriate and Pea for the princess also creates plenty of things to discuss.

DiCamillo names always resonate. Timothy Basil Ering has used chiaroscuro drawings to create stunning illustrations that befit the 'feel' of the story.

More recently one of the American expat teachers at school came back from the States with a DiCamillo picture book, Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken. It hasn't proved to be as popular as her novels, but whenever it is on display it is borrowed. It has a very unlikely heroine which is in keeping with what DiCamillo likes to do.