And this week, we are obsessed with...

Have you seen this book?

A Birthday for Cow, by Jan Thomas

We are totally obsessed with this one this week, me and the kids. It's cow's birthday and Pig and Mouse are going to make him the best birthday cake ever. Duck, however, has other ideas. Hilarity ensues.

There's something of the pigeon in Duck's humor, so this would be a great gift for a kid who loves Mo Willems, too. Plus, your kid might ask to try a turnip...

This week's library haul

It was a good library week. Destructo was in the "too sick to go to school - too well to stay home another day" mode, so we read a TON of books and only brought home the good ones.*


1. The Uglified Ducky (book and CD)
by Willy Claflin

You must listen to this book on the CD, told "in the original Moose" language by storyteller Willy Claflin. It is absolutely hilarious. You know the story: a baby moose wanders off and finds itself a cozy spot in the nest of a mother duck. When the mother duck finds her baby moose, she assumes he is an uglified ducky. Giggling ensues, with such adventures as flying lessons and a trip to Dr. Quack, duck therapist. Credit to Destructo's teachers and The Mighty Thor for finding this one. I will be purchasing this one, and possibly "Sleeping Beastly and Other Tales."


2. Bunny Party
by Rosemary Wells

My children ARE Max and Ruby. The first time we read one of these books, Tink couldn't stop laughing. Honestly, Destructo looks remarkably like Max, down to the pure white fur and gigantic head. And Tink can be, um, a bit Ruby-esque in her bossiness. So we love these books. In this one, Ruby is throwing a birthday party for their grandma, but she's only invited her own stuffed friends, not Max's Jellyball Shooting Spider, etc. Max, of course, finds a way to make space for the spider et al, and it is much fun. Also, there is good counting/math in here.


3. Yoko
by Rosemary Wells

Yoko brings her favorite sushi to lunch and the other kids tease her. When she cries to Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. Jenkins tells her the other kids will forget about it soon. How is this supposed to make Yoko feel better? I don't know. Of course, they tease her again when she has red bean ice cream. So Mrs. Jenkins throws an "international lunch" where everyone brings something and everyone is supposed to "try everything." But nobody tries Yoko's sushi. Why? I don't know. Why doesn't Mrs. Jenkins MAKE them try it, after she stressed that everyone would need to try everything? I don't know. While Yoko's sad about it, Tommy comes along, still hungry, and tries a crab roll. Yoko teaches him to use chopsticks. Where is Mrs. Jenkins while one kid cries and the kid maws leftovers? I don't know. Tommy loves the crab roll, he and Yoko push their desks together and are BFF. Why do writers persist in writing about making friends like it's a piece of (rice) cake? I DON'T KNOW.

TeacherFAIL aside, this is a cute book that my kids enjoyed. It's a nice platform to talk about making fun of other people's lunches/traditions. AND, it had the added benefit of convincing Tink to try sushi, because it really does look delish in the illustrations.

* Sometimes, when we have less attention span, he just grabs, say, all the M books he can hold and throws them in the bag.

Over at the Castle

Hurrah! Boni Ashburn, author of the hilarious and adorable Hush Little Dragon and frequent visitor to Jacqui's Room, has a new book out today.



We love love love Hush Little Dragon. I have read it 80 times and never tire of it. I even sing Boni's version of the song to my children instead of the original. So even without reading it, I can whole-heartedly endorse Over at the Castle, although I have heard there is no feeding on humans in this one.

Go over to Boni's blog to win a copy. And then go buy one anyway.

My Best Friend

Tink and I fell in love last night. With this:

My Best Friend
by Mary Ann Rodman,
illus. E.B. Lewis

First of all, look at that cover. It's gorgeous. The inside is just as gorgeous. Honestly, the book could have had no words and no story and it would still be worth falling in love.

But it does have a story, and if you know anyone who is a year older than you and cool, it is the story of your life. Six year old Lily desperately wants to be best friends with seven year old Tameka, but Tameka barely notices her. Lily tries having the right kind of bathing suit and learning how to dive, but it's useless.

While I read, Tink squirmed and shook her head. 'That's never going to work," she predicted. "Oh boy," she worried. "Ugh," she groaned, squirming in recognition.

When I got done, she sighed in contentment. "That was good," she said, hugging the book.

Then we spent the rest of bedtime looking at the pictures all over again, and wishing it was summer and we were swimming.

Jacqui Reads Her Children & Herself Books By & About People Different From Her, day 2

(explanation here)

Looking Like Me
by Walter Dean Myers*, illus. Christopher Myers

Jeremy looks in the mirror and sees all the things that make him himself: a brother, a son, a runner, a dancer...

Every once in a while I read a book to my kids and think, "Oh, I wish I had a classroom full of kids right now." If I were still teaching, I would snatch up Looking Like Me and we would read it alongside George Ella Lyon's fantastic poem "Where I'm From" (read it here). And we would write our own poems of what we see and where we're from, and we would study Christopher Myers collages and talk about how we are all collages, really, of all that makes us us, and then we'd make our own collage self-portraits and...

My kids enjoyed it. The verse is fun to read and there's a chance on each page to yell "Bam!" and give a fist-punch. But man, if I were a teacher, the fun we would have.

I know it's cheating to start with the Myers family. It's not like the genius of Walter Dean Myers is a hidden gem none of you know. But considering I decided to do this project exactly three minutes before I told you about it, I had to go with what I had around unexplored. And if you haven't read any Walter Dean Myers, go -- go now and buy Monster or Sunrise Over Fallujah, or any of them really, and settle in for some brilliance.

Wanna Buy Some Picture Books as Presents? Try These.

Tara Lazar asked me to name my top three picture books of 2009 for her Best Picture Books of 2009 list. She ended up with a great list (go check it out), but I was all, "Really, Tara? Three?! Why don't I also pick my favorite two toes and one doughnut flavor, while I'm at it?"

So for my own list, I'm cheating. I'm doing five, including the three I gave Tara and two other favorites, any of which could have made the top three.

Here goes:


1. Two of a Kind
story by me
art by Matt Phelan

Let's get the shameless self-love out of the way: I would be lying if I didn't pick Two of a Kind. Michael Sussman refrained from mentioning Otto Grows Down, citing modesty. But let's be honest. 1. I am not that modest, and 2. I'd like to be cool enough to pretend I didn't dance like a four year-old fairy girl whenever I turn to the page with my name on it. But I'm not. And I do. More than that, though, I still love the story and the way it makes kids nod in recognition.


2. Duck! Rabbit!
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld

I was smitten with this book from the start. The concept is simple: is it a duck or a rabbit? Two voices argue. Giggling ensues. As I blogged in July, we get extra giggling in our house because Destructo does not have the cognitive ability to see it both ways and so he thinks the point of the book is that some poor dope thinks that bunny's a duck.




3. A Book
by Mordecai Gerstein

Kirkus called it "Metafiction for the picture-book set." A young girl who lives in the book with her family struggles to find her story, trying on different genres and marveling at the giant mushy faces (that's us) looking in on her. It's funny, it's smart, and it is truly unique. Plus, we read it five hundred times in the first month we had it and I never tired of it.



4. Thunder Boomer
by Shutta Crum, illus. Carol Thompson

I just searched my blog and I only briefly recommended this book to you. This is a big mistake. The only reason this wasn't on my top three list is that I thought I'd already blabbed enough about it all over the intrawebs. If you have a kid or are a kid or want to write picture books or if you are afraid of storms or if you love storms or if you think underwear is funny and kittens are cute, you should GO BUY THIS BOOK TODAY. Shutta Crum writes simply beautiful prose-poetry, the illustrations are gorgeous, and the story of the family, the storm that hits their farm, and the surprise they find afterwards is lovely. Don't take my word for it: School Library Journal and the Smithsonian both chose it as one of the best books of the year.


5. You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!
by Jonah Winter, André Carrilho

I totally forgot this one was from this year!. The text below is stolen from my original post about it.

Why you must love it: Because you must love Sandy Koufax, who struggled and overcame and stood up for his beliefs and retired on top. And was a good guy, it seems. The voice is perfect and the story has what I consider the perfect level of information for a picture book biography.*

Caveat: The illustrations. I like them and they're very cool, but the faces are warped and it freaked Destructo out quite a bit: "Why he YOOK yike dat? He really yook yike dat?"


There it is. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Unless I see something else I forgot about that's awesome. Or someone offers doughnuts.

So, what are YOUR top three (or five) picture books of 2009? Discuss.

PiBoIdMo

In which I answer your most pressing questions.

1. What is PiBoIdMo?
It's Picture Book Idea Month, the picture book lover's alternative to NaNoWriMo, in which you think of a picture book idea every day for a month.

2. Cool. I'll try it. So, what should I write about today?
Funny you should ask! I am guest blogging over at Tara Lazar's blog today! Come on by and be inspired. And check out Tara's brilliant PiBoIdMo contest; you could have an agent check out five of your favorite picture book ideas.

3. Wait! I was already over at Tara's. That's how I got here. Now what?
Welcome to Jacqui's Room! Come on in and have a look around. Ideas for getting started are to your left under "New to Jacqui's Room? Try these." If you are doing PiBoIdMo, you may especially like the Thursday News of the Absurd Inspirational Moments. And come back again soon!

4, What are some bad puns you made up that didn't fit anywhere in this post?
Why, I'm so glad you asked. I was just going to cook some pumpkin PiBoIdMo.

The Least You Need to Know: How to Write a Picture Book

Lately, I've had a ton of questions about picture books from people who are just starting to write them. I realized this: I have very strong opinions on what makes a good picture book. Here they are...

Jacqui's Rules/Suggestions/Thoughts

1. Read 100 first.
Immerse yourself in the great picture books that are already written. Start with Fuse #8’s list of the Top 100 Picture Books of All Time.Check out the Jacqui's Room top ten list. Ask your local librarian. Ask a five year old. Read them all. Study what you like and don't like. Eavesdrop on story time and hear what kids like. Then go write, but don't try to sound like a picture book. Write something totally different.

2. Picture books have 500-700 words. Or fewer.
When the act of sounding out each word is hard for readers, you need to make every word count. Plus, you don't want to be that book parents hide because it's too long for bedtime.

3. Picture books are 32 pages long.
1 half page to start, 14 two page spreads, and 1 half page to end.

Don't think about this while you write your story, or when you format it for publishers (if you do). But when you're done, make a "dummy" version of the book where you split the text into pages and imagine the art for each page. If your story won't fit the format, you may need to revise.

4. Each page much have something newly illustratable.
Nobody wants to read a book where ten pictures in a row show the grandma and kid talking. Something new has to happen on each page.

5. The text of your story must stand alone.
Don't write with art directions or explanations. Use your words to draw the pictures in your reader's head. If you have to explain the story, figure out a way to make those things clear in the text.

6. Don't talk down to children or moralize to them.
On talking down: Kids are young; they are not stupid. In fact, they are much harder to write for than adults. Kids' problems may seem small or cute to you, but to the kids they are everything. Don't write "top down." Put yourself in their shoes.

On moralising: I am guessing you never got really excited about a book because someone told you, "This is going to teach you about compassion!" Focus on a story, not a lesson.

7. Your story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Good stories do.

8. Your story must have a conflict or a problem, and that problem must be solved by the kid.
Without a problem, it's hard to have a story where I care what happens. And if the kid doesn't solve it, how can kids feel great about it?

9. Show, don't tell.
I want the juicy details. Don't tell me how she feels; put me in her shoes.

10. If you write in rhyme, your rhyme and meter must be perfect.
Absolutely perfect. If I am six years old and I try to sound out your book letter by painstaking letter, I rely on your rhyme and meter to help me read. If I'm a parent, I am far more likely to read your book if it makes my mouth happy to do so.

If you are writing in rhyme,
Make it rhyme all of the time,
Don't let your meter get wonky,
And put too many syllables in your not-really-rhyming pay-off line.

11. Forget numbers 2-10 until your story is written. Just start writing. Worry about the rules later.
And have fun.

This Week's Library Haul

We have taken ten million books out of the library since last installment. But all this linking and cover-finding takes time I do not have. Also, some of our haul includes I Spy: Spooky Things That No Kid Could Find* and the such. So here are my two favorites.


The Mine-o-saur
by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, illus. David Clark

"It's mine!" screams the Mine-o-saur about everything, until none of the other dinosaurs will play with him. Now he's got all the toys, but (surprise) it's not much fun. So he returns the toys and wins back his friends. The book has some rhyming verse, some prose, which gives it a nice rhythm but keeps it from becoming sing-song.

At first, I thought, "Oh, this is cute." Then we read it. "Again," said Destructo. So we read it the next night. "Again," said Destructo. So we read it the next night. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. And I didn't get tired of it, which is saying A LOT.

Then, the other day, we were in the sand box, making spaghetti with rockballs in the dump truck as usual, when a little boy came over and screamed, "Mine!" He grabbed the dump truck/sauce pan. I expected fireworks. But Destructo just smiled and looked at me. "Dat the Mine-o-saur," he said. See that people? Books in life!

P.S. He still snatched the truck back from the other kid.



Wolves
by Emily Gravett

"Idolize" is not too strong a word for how I feel about Emily Gravett. You've heard about the snuggly fun that Monkey & Me has brought my house. And now I find this. Nobody else plays around with the picture book format like this.

A rabbit borrows a book about wolves from the library. As he reads, a wolf peels off the pages of the book. Tink giggled herself silly at the rabbit's oblivion, as he continues to read even while standing amidst the fleas on the wolf's back. At the end of the book, yes, the wolf eats him, leaving only a fur tuft on the page. The best part: Gravett adds an ending for more "sensitive" readers in which the wolf turns out to be vegetarian and shares a jam sandwich with the rabbit (and they are illustrated as taped back together, rescued from the carnage of the previous page).

It was a little scary for Destructo ("Mama, I don't YIKE wooves.") but Tink and I loved it. And every picture book writer should read it, if only to see the possibilities in the format.

* not the real title

Book Beat (and Bears)

Oh, I am a fool who did not take a picture of the stuffed and labyrinthine fantasticness that is Book Beat, this week's new favorite book store. Suffice it to say I went up to sign 40 copies of TWO OF A KIND and THE NEW GIRL...AND ME -- yes, you read that correctly, so if you live near Oak Park, Michigan and you want a signed copy, or any other book, go get it at Book Beat, okay? -- and the trip turned into an hour long book-fondling expedition.

And I came away with this:

Bears in Chairs
by Shirley Parenteau, illus. David Walker

This is the sweetest book I have seen all year. Four grab-your-heart-adorable bears all climb onto four chairs until they are happily all seated, one to a chair so no one has to share. And then a big bear comes along. Sparse and cute but not saccharine. Destructo is going to eat it up.

This Week's Library Haul

In which Destructo shows why books are good for kids.

1. No, David!
by David Shannon
David's mother always said, "No, David!"
David never listens and he makes a mess, but in the end, his mama loves him anyway. I love this book and the picture of David running away down the street naked always makes us laugh.

Recommended for: every child everywhere except the kids of the sneering lady behind me in the grocery store the other day because HER kids obviously never, say, try to eat one another's hair while trapped in the cart.



2. Strega Nona Takes a Vacation
by Tomie dePaola
When Strega Nona tries to take a vacation, her assistants Bambolona and Big Anthony screw up and make a big mess, but Strega Nona comes back and loves them anyway.

We have had to read this book every night. It's a true sequel, and better if you've read the original Strega Nona, where Big Anthony fills the town with pasta. It's best, though, if you get to hear it in my fabulous variety of Italian accents.

If you like Tomie dePaola, check out the birthday treat Jarrett Krosoczka made him at Three Kisses for Tomie.


3. several Curious George books, all of which have the same plot: Curious George tries to be a good little monkey but is too curious and so makes a mess and gets in trouble but it all turns out okay and everyone still loves him anyway.

Are you sensing a trend? Let's switch it up.

4. Bear Feels Scared
by Karma Wilson, illus. Jane Chapman
I'll be honest: we didn't take this book out. We took out Bear's New Friend, which is pretty good. But we heard Bear Feels Scared at story time and it's awesome. Bear, who you'd think would be a big, tough guy used to scaring others turns out to be a bowl full of chicken when he's left alone in the woods. Luckily, his friends find him and bring him back to his safe cave.

Let me repeat: Bear is a big boy who you'd think would be, um, destructive, but he really feels scared a lot of the time.

Recommended for: anyone who gets scared.

And then, tonight at bed time, after reading these for the 100th time, after I checked his room for monsters and hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door so no bad guys can get in, Destructo snuggled up next to me and told me about when Tinkerbell knocked him off the slide today.

"It was a mistake," I said. "Everybody makes them."

"Yeah," he said. "But you yuv me anyway."

The Five Chinese Brothers

In which I attempt to incite my children to violence and they are underwhelmed.

Welcome back to Jacqui Reads Her Children Even More Books That Other People Think Are Bad For Them (explanation here).

Somebody asked me if I would feel differently if the books that people wanted to ban or challenge were things I truly thought were inappropriate for kids. She implied that it's easy for me to make fun of not wanting kids to read books about two daddies when I have no problem with someone having two daddies. So this week I decided to read something with which I might have a real problem. And in honor of today, and the violence associated with it, I decided to read something violent.


In The Five Chinese Brothers (by Claire Huchet Bishop, illus. Kurt Wiese) five brothers who look exactly alike have five different superpowers, each of which luckily corresponds to the five ways their town tries to execute criminals. When the first brother drowns a little greedy boy, the law comes after them and the brothers take turns pretending to be the first one and using their powers to escape justice. This book has the added bonus of having been challenged as promoting racial stereotypes* (I think because all five brothers are supposed to look exactly alike and the pictures are highly stylized). So there was going to be, I thought, lots of juicy conversation, lots of teachable moments, lots of good dirt for the blog.

I read it to Captain Destructo in the library. I cringed. I mean, a kid is drowned and never heard from again. Then the rest of the book is the town trying to kill the brothers by beheading, death by fire, drowning, and suffocation. Here I am reading it aloud to my two year old. But I refused to budge. I didn't change a word. Tink read it to herself and then I sat them down to discuss it.

DESTRUCTO: (happy and charmed) They get to see their mommy in the end!
JACQUI: Yup.
DESTRUCTO and TINK:
JACQUI: Well?
DESTRUCTO and TINK:
JACQUI: Hello?
DESTRUCTO: Why you say "he-yo?"
JACQUI: What did you think?
TINK: Pbbltt.
JACQUI: You didn't like it?
TINK: Nah.
JACQUI: Because it was violent?
TINK: No, because it was boring.
DESTRUCTO: Yeah. It bo-ying.
TINK: Can we go have breakfast now?
JACQUI: But --
DESTRUCTO: Yet's go! (exit, pursued by sister)

And that, ladies and gentleman, is all I got. At least you know I'm not making this stuff up.

* It has been challenged both for the racial stereotypes and the violence.

Chicken Dance

Remember Space Chicken? He has a new favorite book, just out, and I can't wait to read it.










by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Dan Santat

Here is why I am going to buy this book:

1. Poultry + Elvis. It sounds like a Thursday News of the Absurd Inspirational Moment set up.

2. If reading the book is half as much fun as they had making this video, it's worth twice the cost:

This week's library haul

In which I reveal what really goes on around here.

I am inventing a new occasional feature here in Jacqui's Room. Let me know if you:
1. love it
2. really love it
3. are always going to skip it
4. came here because you accidentally googled "hidden sheep"*

In the meantime, welcome to THIS WEEK'S LIBRARY HAUL.

Captain Destructo is obsessed with our local library. And rightly so. So we go every week and he is allowed to take out whatever picture books he likes. I grab some books (picture and otherwise) for Tink, or she requests them, and we come home laden. Voilà. Instant reviewing material. And the real life peanut gallery has been clamoring for more reviews, particularly from Tink and Destructo. So I thought I'd share...

...THIS WEEK'S LIBRARY HAUL

1. Duck Rabbit
Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illus. Tom Lichtenheld
Laura read this at story time and Destructo was smitten. We brought it home to read to Tink and she loves it too. The book is simple: is the animal you can see on the cover a duck or a rabbit? Two voices argue. Giggling ensues. We get extra giggling in our house because Destructo, being only two, does not have the cognitive ability to see it both ways and so he thinks the point of the book is that some poor dope thinks that bunny's a duck. **



2. There's a Dragon Downstairs
by Hilary McKay, illus. Amanda Harvey
We only picked this up because I read the title aloud as I scanned the shelves and Destructo started begging to "go downstairs see dragon!" It's adorable. I like the voice (very childlike) and the surprise ending and we all giggled a lot at the illustrations.

Plus, it won an award from these folks, whom we already know have exquisite taste.

3. 500 different Bailey School Kids books (demanded by Tink)
These are so all the same that when I asked, "Is she really a vampire?" Tink said, "Mo-om! They're ALWAYS really what the kids think they are!" But she loves them and they're funny and quick reads and I find them not so bad to read aloud. Plus, I think they're gender neutral, which is rare.

4. I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles
This is one of those "can you find the..." activity books. I have no opinion on it other than this: if you have been trapped in your house alone for 12 hours with two sick kids and no electricity and no doughnuts and no caffeine and you've finally decided that swine flu transmission be darned you have got to have some coffee or you are going to kill someone, this will keep a 2 1/2 year old and a six year old entertained long enough for you to order and take at least five slurps which is more alone time than you've had in five days and god I love this book but I think I burned my tongue.

5. Meet Diego: a Dora Adventure
Someone kill me. Please.

* Now, apparently, the number one way, other than, you know, actually trying to find me, that people get to Jacqui's Room
** OMG. I just wrote that and then The Mighty Thor, who apparently isn't much further developed cognitively than his son, looked over and said, "I like Duck Rabbit. Though it's clearly a rabbit. Duh."

Picture Book Mamas, a list

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought, well, I thought I'd run away to the Bahamas with a suitcase full of books and Chompo bars, but that didn't happen.* So instead, I bring you a Respect the Mighty Picture Book Mother's Day moment:

Three Picture Book Mamas You Have to Love

1. Frances's mother (from A Baby Sister for Frances or A Birthday for Frances,** by Russell Hoban, illus. Lillian Hoban)
Frances pitches a fit because Mom forgot the raisins. Frances shakes a coffee can full of rocks while the baby's sleeping. Frances catches Mother and Father self-medicating with cake and asks to share. Does Mother put the baby lock on the outside of the cabinet to which Frances runs away? No. The woman is a rock of patience. And yet, you get the sense she and Father laugh at Frances. A lot.




2. Patrick Edward's mama (from Monster Mama, by Liz Rosenberg, illus. Stephen Gammell)
She's a monster, but she loves him with "the sweetest touch in the world." Monster Mama and I are kindred spirits in the "turn into a raving lunatic if someone hurts your kids" thing. And yes, she understands the value of a tasty cake.***

I also love her because Publisher's Weekly called her an "impish-faced woman experiencing a decidedly bad hair day and needing a manicure." Um, that's me every day.




3. Mama Llama (from Llama Llama Red Pajama, by Anna Dewdney)
Yeah, we're still obsessed with this one in our house. Picture books need more mamas with some attitude, I think. Enough of this, "If you turn into a sailboat, I will be the wind and blow you where I want you to go" and more "Baby llama, what a tizzy!/ Sometimes Mama Llama's busy."

So who did I miss? Who's on your list?





* Other ways I am not celebrating Mother's Day include starting Captain Destructo's baby book and having a moment's peace.
** Confession: I hate Bedtime for Frances (plugs ears to avoid hearing the screams). Yes, well, come talk to me when YOU have had to read Bedtime for Frances every single night for several months. Do you know how long that book is?! Plus, I am guessing you have forgotten that Frances only finally goes to bed after her father threatens to wallop her.
*** Note to graduate students: do you notice the frequency of cake in these stories? There is a thesis here. You should write it. Or you should go bake me some cake.

Sunday bits

1. A poll:
Do you ever give up on a book you're reading? And if so, do you feel guilty afterwards, or freed? I just gave up on a book. Halfway through (and "halfway" = about 250 pages) I not only didn't want to keep reading, but if the book had disintegrated in my hands and ceased to exist entirely, I would have felt nothing but relief. So why am I still thinking about it?

2. Here is a book on which you should not give up*:

Beach, by Elisha Cooper

I must admit I am partial because
1. it's dedicated to the North Avenue beach in Chicago, where I spent many a run,
2. I sort of know Elisha from college, which is why I picked it up, and
3. we are about to head to the beach for a quick spring break and I can't wait.

But my bias aside, you really should check it out. It is a gorgeous, simple, charming story starring the beach on a summer day, and it captures that hot, sandy, relaxed, salty mood perfectly, so much so that Destructo sighed contentedly at the end and Tink said, "Mama, he is really, really good at drawing people doing things."

3. If you haven't been obeying my linky commands and checking out GottaBook daily during National Poetry Month, you have been missing out. As I commented there, it's like getting a present every day. I loved today's, OWL, by Ann Whitford Paul for its ending.

* up on which you should not give

Respect the Mighty Top Ten Picture Book List

Think you could list your top ten picture books ever written, in order? I didn't either. As I told a friend, when I read Fuse 8's call for our top ten lists, the very idea of narrowing down and classifying my love for all things picture book got me so sweaty with anxiety that I had to eat a box of Thin Mints instead.

But, like most things, when I actually sat down, it was kind of easy. Well begun is half done and all that. Here's what I wrote:

Okay, here is my list. I know I’d seem cooler if I had fewer classics and more obscurity, but these are the ones I love. Also, I did NOT include The New Girl…And Me or Two of a Kind, written by yours truly, even though they are clearly my favorites; this was not out of modesty, but because doing so would have required bumping Piggie Pie, which is so good to read aloud.

And darn you, Betsy Bird, for giving me nightmares in which Emily Gravett and Maurice Sendak haunt me chanting “Why not us?”

Jacqui’s Top Ten Picture Books

1. Goodnight Gorilla (Peggy Rathmann)

2. Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown)

3. Owl Moon (Jane Yolen) – To my mind, this is the most beautiful and poetic book ever, pictures or not. Every time I read it to a class, the whispers hush and the air tingles.

4. My Fierce Tiger (James Hepburn) – my very favorite book as a child, and just as good every time I read it now

5. Miss Rumphius (Barbara Cooney) – because I want my life to be summed up by seeing the world, coming home to live by the sea, and doing something to make the world more beautiful

6. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (Mo Willems)

7. Close Your Eyes (Kate Banks) – because “Dark is just the other side of light. It’s what comes before dreams.”

8. Harold and the Purple Crayon (Crockett Johnson)

9. Llama Llama Red Pajama (Anna Dewdney) – because it makes us all giggle every time, and because when he wakes up afraid in the middle of the night, my toddler calls, “MAMA! My hab llama drama!”

10. Piggie Pie (Margie Palatini)

So, dear visitors to Jacqui's Room, what's on your list? And do you have opinions on mine?

Everywhere Babies

In which I take a suggestion from the real world peanut gallery and begin recommending more picture books people might not know.




Everywhere Babies,
by Susan Meyers, illustrated by Marla Frazee

As if I needed more of a reason to love Marla Frazee, a friend handed Destructo this book at the library today. The rhyme is simple and sweet, but the illustrations are what shine. Destructo and I read it before his nap. It took us forty minutes because he wanted to examine every baby and report back on whether "my bigger dat baby" or "dat baby hab diaper!" I was equally enthralled.

If you have a baby, or a toddler, or a recently-a-baby or recently-a-toddler, or, well, just go check it out, okay?

The hardest part...

... of being a picture book author who can't draw worth a lick
is when the greatest,
most fabulousest,
hilariousest
IDEA
falls into your lap and your mind, fully formed and ready to go,
and you realize:
it's wordless.

Sigh. What's your hardest part?

Picture books as a second language

In which I ask you to remember ninth grade Spanish class, and then I go off a little.

I used to speak French fluently. At various times in my life, I have also been able to speak Italian pretty well, to teach a class of mostly Spanish-speaking first graders, and to read and write Japanese at the first grade level. But French is the only language besides English in which I've dreamt, and in which I've read extensively.

I can't do it now. I probably can't do any of it now and it KILLS me. I was looking through all my wonderful French novels and plays today (because I have so much time to kill and it was IMPERATIVE that instead of emptying the dead squirrel* out of the trap in my attic, I make sure every single book I own was catalogued in LibraryThing).

I picked up L'Etranger, by Camus, and thought, "I should read this." Then I thought, "But it will be so HARD" and I pictured myself not understanding and getting all tense and then it hit me. This is how first graders feel. This is how a child just learning to read feels about every single book. Can you remember it? Trying to read in ninth grade Spanish, maybe?

Reading is not easy when you are just learning. We adults can pick up a book and skim it or read a few pages and if it stinks or is mediocre, well, it's just a bit of our time. But when you are just learning to read, reading is an EFFORT. Every word takes determination.

All of which is to say: if you are writing for first graders, you'd better make it worth it. Every word had better be important. Your story must be satisfying, your language precise, your characters easily cheered for, and your whole book had better not be in service of a ridiculous "moral" that you think kids ought to hear. And for goodness sake, if you write in rhyme, don't be lazy. It is so hard to see kids struggle to the end of a rhymed couplet only to get to the last word and have it not rhyme, or not fit, or be archaic and useless just because it rhymes and fits.

So, what books do I think deliver? There are so many, but my two favorites -- for their language and carefulness and satisfying pay-offs.


1. Close Your Eyes, by Kate Banks, illus. Georg Hallensleben
A mother tiger reassures her little tiger as he goes to sleep.
This book is pure poetry, the little tiger is infinitely lovable, and Tink still uses the line "light is just the other side of dark" to reassure herself at night. Good to read aloud or to read to yourself at night after Mom and Dad go downstairs.

2. Is it cliché to say Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnston?
If you haven't read it for a while, read it. Harold is adorable, he has adventures that get my kids' pulses up, there is not a wasted word in the text, and Tink laughs at "draw up the covers" every time.



* yes, he died. Somehow, in the humane trap, he died. Live-blogging of my war on Squirreldom will continue later this week...