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Minou

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One of the most wonderful things that my wife has brought to our marriage is a massive collection of books from her childhood, a collection that includes both familiar favorites and more obscure gems. In the later category is Minou , the story of a Parisian cat that must learn some important lessons about independence.  When the story begins, Minou is the pampered pet of Madam Violette, a successful French artist. The two live in a luxurious apartment on the left bank of the Seine, where all of Minou's needs are met in return for Minou being affectionate and charming.  Minou has never been out of the apartment on her own before; when the two go to the market Minou is always on a leash, and Minou is perfectly happy with this arrangement--she fears the hustle and bustle of the city and feels secure knowing that her person is close by. But one night, Madam Violette is taken to the hospital and does not return.  Soon people come to box up Madam Violette's possessions, and...
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Ganesha's Sweet Tooth

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           There is something very special about mythology.  Each myth, each legend, that has come down to us is the creative work not of just one brilliant storyteller but of generations of brilliant storytellers, each one refining the story, reforgining it, sometimes putting new little twists and sometimes completing reinventing the story as something entirely new.  Myths are the seeds from which all of our modern fiction springs--you cannot have Harry Potter (and certainly not Percy Jackson) without the foundation of Homer and Virgil.       Given the above, it won't surprise you that I firmly believe that children need an early and thorough introduction to mythology.  But sometimes that can be a bit hard.  I recently began introducing my own children to one of my most beloved books, a childhood introduction to Greek mythology, and found myself suddenly having to explain why Zeus had so many chil...
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Escargot

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     Books with animal protagonists sometimes seem to come a dime a dozen--on our shelves we have books featuring bears, dogs, lions, ponies, unicorns, cats (oh so many cats) and even an assortment of insects such as fireflies, bees, and ladybugs.       Precious few books, however, recount the adventures of the humble (or not-so-humble) snail, and this is a matter of great sorrow to Escargot, the dashing French snail we meet in the pages of this book.  No one chooses the snail as their favorite animal, Escargot laments--they choose instead the dog, the cat, the platypus, the  wildebeest, or the lemur.  To Escargot this is a great injustice--are snails not beautiful?  Are they not fierce?  Is Escargot not magnifique ?       And so Escargot sets off on a journey to the end of the book, where he assures us a salad with a few croutons and a light vinaigrette awaits.  Along the way, Escargot e...
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         I might be a lover of language, but there is truth to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.  A good picture--a really  good picture--is rich with possibility.  Rather than just telling a story, it can invite the viewer to create his or her own.  Done right, this can make for the most magical of children's books.       Done right.       Because not everyone does, and as a general rule, for books I like to stick to words.  After all, how do you read a picture book to your kids?  How do you do special voices for all the villains and keep to just the right rhythm and pace to keep them on the edge of their seats?       Well, again, if a picture book is done just right, then you don't have to worry about those things, because the book will do it for you.  And almost every time I will pick a book of words over a picture book when rea...
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The Word collector

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          A love of reading goes hand-in-hand with a love of words.  I've never (okay, seldom) been one to read the dictionary for fun, but I think every reader knows the thrill of finding a new word, a word that perfectly describes a thing you'd never had a precise way of describing before, a new combination of sounds, sometimes even an entirely new idea.  Sonja Wimmer's The Word Collector is a celebration of that thrill.     Luna is a word collector who lives in a lighthouse high above the sky.  From her tower she uses her fishing net and pole to catch words for her collection:   Funny words that tickle your palate when you say them, words so beautiful they make you cry, friendly words that embrace your soul.  Magic words, delicious words, long and short words, funny words, crazy words, magnificent words, little words, humble words, serious words... But one day a tragedy strikes:  Luna finds that she is catchin...
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       From my earliest childhood, there are few pleasures I’ve savored quite like getting lost in a bookstore.  Wandering from shelf to shelf, eyes catching on curious covers or strange titles, pulling one out to read the dust jacket, then the first page...and then being told that the bookstore is about to close; can you please take any purchases to the front?  And even as a adult, perhaps especially as an adult, I love to browse the children’s section.  All of my old favorites are there--Lewis and Tolkien and L’engle and Alexander and so many more.  Sometimes I’ll see a title that I haven’t thought of in years and be swept immediately back to childhood memories; more often, I’ll see a brand-new book that I wish had been in print when I was a kid.   It was only a few days after my first child was born that I found myself wandering a Barnes and Noble during my lunch break, looking for something a little special.  Looking, in fact,...
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