Jan Brett – Snowy Delight!
December 12, 2011
If you are seeking a seasonal tale for a child in your life or an adult who enjoys gorgeous illustrations and heartwarming folktales, then do visit the Jan Brett section at the bookshop. Every one of her colourful stories is brilliant but I particularly delight in her wintry tales; they’re perfect for this time of year. All of her books feature a wonderful array of animals and often exotic locations – she’s even blogged for the National Geographic about her travels and furry inspiration. (Read more here.) It’s also fascinating to hear about Jan at home with her very own menagerie – she raises a fancy brood of chickens and has a resident hedgehog who always graces the pages of her tales. It’s hard to choose a favourite but I am smitten by The Mitten!
Want-to-Reads
November 30, 2011
Yes – I am fully aware that I have a stack of books right here waiting for me to get back to reading at a normal rate of consumption (Ve-e-ee-ery slow lately!) but … these relatively new titles are among those on my “Want-to-Read” list. You have one of those too, right? I was chatting with a Bedside Table Books community member (Hello Jessica!) the other evening about good book club titles to suggest. These are ones I’d have on my suggestion list. Have you read any of them? Let us know what you thought. What titles are on your current “Want-to-Read” list?
Eloise … and Kay!
November 22, 2011
Ahhhh Eloise. Who doesn’t love this little scamp? She’s precocious, chatty, and cheeky, lives in New York City’s Plaza Hotel, torments her Nanny and the hotel staff, has a pet turtle named Skipperdee (he eats raisins she’s ordered from room service) and a pug called Weenie. She’s a busy one for all of six years old and she’s a favourite of several generations of storybook readers for sure. I couldn’t even begin to do justice to all of the reincarnations of Eloise out there so instead I offer this link to her home page where you’ll read about her various stories and the background. Meanwhile for present-day activities at The Plaza Hotel be certain to take a peek here.
Eloise was first published in 1955 and is a product of the imagination of one Kay Thompson – a musical performer, renowned vocal arranger for the likes of Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, actress famed for her appearance with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in Funny Face and a generally quirky character herself. She collaborated with illustrator Hilary Knight who was perfectly skilled in bringing to life the words of Kay in the form of our beloved Eloise. It seems obvious that Eloise was just a smaller version of the real-life Kay though rumours swirl that her God-daughter Liza Minnelli was the inspiration. To straighten out this story and learn more about the lively Kay Thompson I’m delighted to report we can turn to the pages of a newly released biography by Sam Irvin.
If you think Eloise is a handful, you’ll be astonished by the sassiness of her creator. This quote from Kay has me hooked on wanting to learn more about her:
I’ve discovered the secret of life: a lot of hard work, a lot of sense of humor, a lot of joy, and a whole lot of tra-la-la!
— Kay Thompson
Tra-la-la!
Shel Silverstein
October 26, 2011
Shel Silverstein is an icon of the written word – poetic, lyrical or prosaic. Collections of his poetry, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up and A Light in The Attic, are nostalgic favourites of several generations now. Award nominations came his way for writing chart-topping songs like A Boy Named Sue and The Unicorn (bet you know the words yourself to those classics!) as well as many other more serious ones performed by musicians like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Marianne Faithfull, and Peter, Paul & Mary. While the words captivate and amuse in his written collections, the charming illustrations are just as entertaining. Silverstein began his creative life as a cartoonist and only well into that career began to add writing for children.
Leaving behind an astounding legacy of words, written, sung, and performed in theatres, Shel Silverstein died in 1999. In 2005, Runny Babbit: a Billy Sook, was released – apparently Silverstein had been creating this collection of spoonerisms for over 20 years. Another posthumous release, and only very recently, is Everything On It – again combining over 100 poems with delightful drawings. Prophetically perhaps, one of the poems in this collection reads:
“Although I cannot see your face
As you flip these poems awhile,
Somewhere from some far-off place
I hear you laughing–and I smile.”
A reviewer of this latest production wrote: “It should come as little surprise that I thought Every Thing On It was really great, setting my brain’s wonder-and-glee-meter off the charts many times.”
And so if you’re not familiar with the legend of Shel Silverstein then I hope you’ll make yourself so by reading one of his beloved books, listed below. (Unintentional poetry!) If you only know him by his poetry then be tempted to listen to compilations of his music and be entertained. If you are a devotee already then share your favourite poem with us in the comments. I’ve always been partial to this one:
Dragons!
October 14, 2011
The CBC television program, Dragon’s Den, is a runaway success. Viewers watch hopeful business innovators seek financial investment and expert guidance from a panel of extraordinarily successful Canadian business persons. These experts are willing to invest significant sums to give the aspiring entrepreneur an advantage on the road to success. Of course the panel members do so only when there is strong faith and proof that they will gain impressive returns. The business ideas are creative, witty, and practical with huge potential and with great risk for failure, while the entrepreneur wannabees range from confident to colourful with a healthy dose of crazy too. It is great viewing and has spawned what appears to be great reading as well.
The experts or “Dragons” have their own intriguing stories – rags to riches with adventurous highs and lows along the way. Three of the Dragons have recently put their tales (not tails!) into written form. If you are familiar with the show you will know that each Dragon has his or her own strong and unique history and personality – the book titles and images clearly reflect this. (Click on book cover to be taken to website)
Oh Canada!
October 3, 2011
Four wonderful Canadian writers have recently released new novels. Having savoured previous novels by each of the authors I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into these new stories. The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens, The Birth House by Ami McKay, The Custodian of Paradise by Wayne Johnston and Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards are all evocative and memorable – each one capturing an element of the Canadian experience with beautifully crafted language and imagery. Harsh elements and themes of survival make all of these particularly well suited to long winter nights curled up in an armchair. Enjoy!
Creative Juices
September 14, 2011
September seems to prompt the creative juices to get flowing – a loyalty to acquiring education that remains in our hearts long past the school years perhaps. I found myself inspired to read an intriguing non-fiction book called The Element – How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Sir Ken Robinson. Robinson may be a familiar name to those of you who’ve had an opportunity to see his TED talk on the importance of incorporating creativity into education. I’ll include links to the talk and to his books below for those who would like to know more about Sir Ken and his theories. He is a compelling (and funny!) speaker and writer. Find his website here and enjoy a number of his archived articles as well.
Meanwhile, I thought I’d share this list with you – it’s posted above my desk to keep me focused (with varying results) – and I hope it prompts you to explore your own creativity with great success!
Books by Ken Robinson:
TED talks:
A Good Reading Run
August 2, 2011
Biographies
June 23, 2011
I enjoyed a conversation with a friend yesterday about summer reading and we decided that a Biography or two should be on the list. These are a few new releases that captured my attention. Any great biographies you’d like to recommend?
Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias by Don Van Natta Jr.
My Faraway One – Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz: Volume One, 1915-1933 edited by Sarah Greenough
No Regrets – The Story of Edith Piaf by Carolyn Burke
A Romance on Three Legs – Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano by Katie Hafner
More Connections – Sophie Blackall
May 31, 2011
And so to carry on from the last post Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found in which we learned about the talented illustrator Sophie Blackall…
A few weeks ago, I was helping out in the book booth at a school fair. As we sorted through the books I discovered a number of donations from a series called Ivy & Bean. Being in a household of boys I wasn’t familiar with them at all but was immediately enchanted by their quirky illustrations and sassy story lines. As I explored the world of Sophie Blackall for the last post, I realised she was the illustrator of Ivy & Bean!
The coincidence doesn’t stop there. Reading about Ivy & Bean I learned that the author of the series was none other than Annie Barrows. Wondering why that name sounds familiar? You’ve no doubt read one of her other works, the hugely popular The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. If you haven’t had a chance to read this yet, treat yourself soon!
But back to Ivy & Bean … These adorable tales are geared toward the elementary school aged girl but I’m convinced there’s wider appeal. Let’s take number 6 in the series: Doomed to Dance. My schooldays pal Molly and I could well have been the inspiration behind this story. When Molly and I were convinced we’d be the next prima ballerinas our gracious mothers enrolled us and diligently delivered us to Ms. McBirney’s ballet class once a week. Let’s just say it was grossly obvious from the start that we were delusional.
Aren’t the drawings tremendous? Sophie Blackall has a number of projects on the go – other illustrated storybooks and also a poignant project with her father. Take the time to visit her website here and enjoy her inspiring work.
