Book and Tech Wednesday: Raindrops and the New Microsoft Phone
Raindrops: A Shower of Colors by Chieu Anh Urban
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Spring is just around the corner and for young ones who are just beginning to learn their colors, Raindrops: A Shower of Colors is an excellent board book to teach them about animals and the various hues of the rainbow.
More and more I judge toddler books primarily by their illustrations.
When my daughters were quite young their little eyes feverishly gazed across the pages of vibrantly-colored books. And while their young ears heard the stories the illustrations really told the story. That said, the illustrations in Raindrops paints the entire story beautifully and the wording is ideal for young children whose brains are constantly learning new things.
What I love most about Raindrops is each page has a see-through raindrop of its respective color.
Why I love this book: Raindrops: A Shower of Colors is a perfect book for young children to read alone when they’re sitting on the floor using their tiny fingers to explore their piles and piles of board books. The illustrations in Raindrops are vibrant enough to capture and keep your child’s attention and the story is simple enough to teach them new insects, animals and colors without overwhelming them or taking away from their favorite things: pictures!
My New Favorite Illustrator: Jane Ray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Every so often I run into an illustrator whose images are so beautifully rendered I become a bit obsessed with their work. It’s akin to when I discovered Miro and Gustav Klimt while in college. I traveled to New York twice in one fall semester just to see their masterpieces up close and personal. I didn’t care if those trips left me penniless by semester’s end. It was worth it!
My latest creative hero isn’t a dead artist. No, she’s 
quite alive and well and utterly brilliant. Her name is Jane Ray and her illustrations are not only gorgeous, but quite magical and ethereal.
Her latest work from Candlewick Press is Snow White. I know what you’re thinking: how can anyone put a new twist on such a legendary fairy tale? I’m here to tell you, she doesn’t attempt to control the story or add any new flair to it. But she certainly adds a layer of beauty, novelty and suspense simply with her illustrations. I also love Jane Ray’s illustrations because she isn’t afraid to add people of color in her scenes, even making major characters like princesses and princes 
people of color such as in The Apple Pip Princess and Classic Fairy Tales. And to make the book even more appealing, it is a three-dimensional pop-up book that Candlewick Press is widely noted for.
Jane Ray’s Snow White will be a marvelous gift to any girl for the holidays. Not only will they get lost in the story, but the 3-D scenes will take their breath away.
January’s Sparrow: One of the Best Books of the Year
January’s Sparrow by Patricia Polacco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
You might be a bit like me; only buying great books once they’ve come out in paperback. It’s least expensive and the story is the same as the hardback edition. But, if there is one book you should pay extra for this year, I highly recommend January’s Sparrow by Patricia Pollaco.
I was a bit surprised to get January’s Sparrow in October to review as it seems like a book ripe for Black History Month. After reading January’s Sparrow I now know it’s perfect any time of year. January Sparrow is a children’s book dripping with the harrowing true tale of a family of runaway slaves. Intended for an audience of eight-year-olds and older, this story will stick with your children for a lifetime, especially as they identify with the main character, Sadie, who’s around eight herself.
Pollaco does a masterful job infusing history and the horrors of slavery including merciless whippings and escaping in the middle of the night to reach free states. But amidst all of the terrifying pages of the Crosswhite family seeking freedom is a heartwarming story of a family that stuck together, escaped together, and a Michigan town that refused to hand them over to the perils of the south.
Classic Fairy Tales by Candlewick Press
Classic Fairy Tales by Berlie Doherty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am always cautious of modern re-tellings of classic fairy tales. I greatly prefer fairy tales to remain largely the way I remember them from my childhood and I wholeheartedly believe children today should experience the same joy from these stories as generations before them. That said, I am happy to report Candlewick Press’s Classic Fairy Tales written by Berlie Doherty passes my rigid authenticity test.
Doherty admits that she took the liberty to add small changes to each of the fairy tales with a “color here or a jewel there”, but these inclusions don’t twist the plot or characters into unrecognizable new stories.
I love Candlewick Press’ edition of the classic fairy tales because the illistrations modernize the stories while the text remains the same. Jane Ray, the amazingly talented illustrator of these fairy tales, render the characters more diverse and even ethereal. For example, Sleeping Beauty looks as if she was born in South America, not Europe. And Beauty from Beauty and the Beast is clearly an African-American character.
Regardless of race, though, Ray’s drawings bring each fairy tale to life with her attention to detail and gorgeous depictions of characters we have all come to love and behold in our collective imaginations.
Kindergarten and up
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book
By now we’ve all read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and if you haven’t you really should! It is indeed one of the best children’s books of all time. It’s allure? Eric Carle used nature and simplicity to create pure literary magic. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is akin to The Cat in the Hat; it’s obligatory reading for every child.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Philomel; Hardcover/Pop-up Book; On Sale March 2009; $29.99; 14 pages; Ages 3 up/PreS up) Penguin has refashioned the story into a pop-up book and it is in a word: gorgeous! The story, which is already phenomenal, pops off the page in wondrous 3-D at every turn. Even though my daughters are older (10 and 8) they were delighted by the creativity and the intricacies of the pop-up technology.
While the book is intended for children ages 3 and older I would recommend that you don’t put this masterpiece in the hands of a 3-year-old or even a 5-year-old. The pop-up version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is so well made it can serve as a wonderful collector’s item. You can save it for your grandchildren and even then they will adore it and be riveted by the gorgeous design of this book. Or, it can become a bedtime story for special occasions. However you decide to use it, it is well worth buying and sharing with your little ones.
The Best Children’s Books of 2007
The American Library Association bestowed the 2008 highest honors in children’s literature yesterday. Here are the winners.
Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults
King Author Book winner
Elijah Of Buxton
King Illustrator Book winner
Let it Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature. 
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children. 
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.
New Book Review: Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China
Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China
Written by Deborah Noyes , Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Ages: 6-10, Grades: 3-6
If you have a budding artist or future illustrator in your midst, you must pick up Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China this month to share with your son or daughter. Not only does Deborah Noyes exquisitely tell the story of silk and its move to the west, she also masterfully take us on a trip to explore and discover the pageantry of China’s imperial court.
Equally of importance are the splendid illustrations by Sophie Blackall that exude elegance, beauty, grace and the richness of tradition. Any child who already has a talent for drawing and for the arts will be inspired to continue their craft after seeing these stellar illustrations.
Written in a first person narrative with a distinct poetic flow, a Chinese princess describes her last days at court before she is married off to the king of Khotan. We travel with the princess through the cultural rites and rituals of an ensuing imperial marriage as well as experience the understandable sadness of a young princess who is leaving the only family and palace she has ever known.
Buy Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China.
Fact-Finding For Kids
If your children are anything like mine, they love learning new things, even the most trivial facts like: What time is it in Tokyo right now? Or, how many moons does Jupiter have? My children get their curiosity honestly, though. I am always looking up something in the Almanac or the encyclopedia because there are simply so many things to learn in one day. I love discovering new
tidbits to add to the storage bin under my skull.
I want to tell you about two new books that are perfect for any school-aged child. Absolutely perfect! In fact, in my opinion, every child should own these gems.
as come out with two new books that will keep little Einsteins riveted for days and all year, really. Time for Kids World Atlas 2008 (Time for Kids)
is brimming with 200 colorful photos, 50 unique and detailed maps, and facts from around the world. Any child would love this book for mind-stimulating educational entertainment and parents will love it, too.Time has also come out with Time for Kids: Almanac 2008 (Time for Kids Almanac)
. Any fact your child may be interested in is covered in this almanac from what happened in history 50, 100 and 150 years before 2008 to every country’s flag, capital, government and monetary unit. These are definite must-haves for your kids this year. 
Nadia Simone: Age 2 1/2 years
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