First things first.PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON 2010 (18)Under BLOG ARCHIVE (below right) because we want you to see ALL of our posts from children's book illustrators and writers!
As the year winds down we thank all the authors and artists who have helped us with our peace project. You can read our blog to learn more about their beautiful books and we hope you will give them to someone special in your life. We built the book tree in this picture to celebrate books and reading.
December makes you think about giving. The holidays are a chance to share the magic of books with your friends, teachers and loved ones. It's fantastic to think that there is a book for every special person in your life. Here at Kids Growing Libraries we got very excited when we saw a blog post by an inspiring artist and writer Yuyi Morales. She promised to write to us soon and we can't wait to find out what she is working on. You can check out her terrific blog Corazonadas at http://yuyimorales.blogspot.com/ There is also a link to the post that inspired her to pair books at Mother Reader.
This idea was so much fun we had to give it a try!
There is an Art to Giving Books and we brainstormed these ideas for pairing the books featured this year. Don't forget a great big bow.
Doña Flor. Art by Raul Colón and Written by Pat Mora.
Doña Flor. Art by Raul Colón and Written by Pat Mora.Illustrator Raul Colon used Prismacolor pencils to make this gorgeous book and what kid wouldn't want a set of their own radiant colors. The flat box will nestle nicely on top of this book.
The House in the Night. Illustrated by Beth Krommes and Written by Susan Marie Swanson. Caldecott Medal Winner Beth Krommes sent me Scratchmagic Paper and now I can practice making art that looks like real scratchboard. The little wooden pencils and papers could be bound up with a bow to the top of this soaring book.
¡Book Fiesta! Written by Pat Mora with Art by Rafael López. This book won the 2010 Pura Belpré for illustration. You can organize your own book party and string colorful papel picados. Kids can learn to make their own at http://pbskids.org/zoom. Why not include an application form for a local library card? Together we are growing a family of readers.
Gracias. Thanks. Art by John Parra and Words by Pat Mora.
Simply click the CRICKET toy and and you will hear a cricket chirping. Perfect for the text and gorgeous illustration "For the cricket hiding when he serenades us to sleep. thanks!"
Return to Sender. Written by Julia Alvarez. Winner of the 201o Pura Belpré for Narrative.
At supplier list you can find this beautiful folding rainbow colored umbrella for children. Express your love of peace even on rainy days. Ms. Alvarez we are still working on that Read for World Peace bumper sticker.
Waiting for the Biblioburro. Written by Monica Brown and Illustrated by John Parra.
Best Wooden Toys has these charming bookmarks and kids can also make their own unique creations that are the perfect companion to any good book. Alfa and Beto you're next!
The Dreamer. Words by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Art by Peter Sis.
Really Big Words refridgerator magnet poetry is a great way to have fun and start to dream like Pablo Neruda. Your parents will want to read this shiny, beautiful book too-you'll see!
Books can teach you things you didn't know before. If you have a winter cold and have to stay in bed they give you something fun to do and before you know it you will feel much better. When you are traveling over the river and through the woods a book will help you pass the time. Sometimes things get crazy at the holidays and you just need to escape to a quiet place-well a good book will take you there. When you finish reading a book you can keep it on your shelf or pass it on to a library or school because another child might really love that story too. Great books get better when they get old just like people.
Here are some of Santiago's most loved books paired with favorite things your friends and family will simply remember.
Never take a Shark to the Dentist [and other things not to do] by
Judi Barrett with fantastic art by John Nickle and a colorful Plaksmacker toothbrush.
This is the same amazing author who wrote Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs and you will learn important lessons wonderfully illustrated like never hold hands with a lobster or never go to the bank with a raccoon.
Blueberries for Sal by a legendary author/artist Robert McCloskey. Find out what happens on a summer day in Maine when a little girl and a bear cub wander away from their mothers. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 1949 but it is as fresh today as it was back then. Speaking of fresh, pair it with fresh blueberries in a beautiful bowl. In art class with Miss Bell my friends and I made peace bowls and I think it is the perfect book to put with sweet berries.
Iggy Peck Architect makes you smile by Andrea Beaty with clever illustrations by David Roberts. "Young Iggy Peck is an architect and has been since he was two, when he built a great tower-in only an hour-with nothing but diapers and glue". Brio natural building blocks have wonderful shapes to construct you own skyscrapers. Or make your own like my friend Daniel Renner who saved leftover wood scraps and sanded them. I now have an incredible set of blocks in crazy shapes that I never get tired of.
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema with pictures by Leo and Diane Dillon. This is my favorite African tale and I bought the book on a trip with my parents and grandmother to Washington D.C and the National Museum of African Art/Smithsonian Institution. http://www.nmafa.si.edu/ No wonder these paintings won the Caldecott Medal as they take you deep into the heart of the African jungle. You will love the ending and the moral to this story. I love to draw and tell it again and again.
At Rosenberry books you can buy an inexpensive kit to cut and glue amazing handmade papers [some are like tree bark] to make your own African masks.
This is New York, This is Paris, This is London, This is San Francicso by Miroslav Sasek created circa 1958. I love to draw but my Grandad Jer was a mechanic for United Airlines and - I love to travel. I have never been to New York, Paris or London but you would think I know these places after spending time exploring these classic books. Include an inflatable Hugg a Planet Material Globe from Elstead Maps.
Frederick's Fables: A Leo Lionni Treasury of Favorite Stories. Leo Lionni. This was a book I wanted for a long time because the stories and art makes you imagination soar into the clouds. You can learn about nature, peace, community, friendship, beauty, and being your own unique self. More than any other character in books if I were an animal I would be Frederick. I love the part where it is winter and the mice are tired of the snow and cold. Frederick tells them to "close their eyes and sends them the golden rays of the sun, and the colors, blue periwinkles, red poppies in yellow wheat, the green leaves of the berry bush and they saw the colors as clearly as if they had been painted in their minds". I want to learn to draw and tell stories like that! Pair this book with inexpensive Backyard Safari Binoculars to see the world as Frederick does.
Santi and family: I love this list you came up with for pairing books with other great things. My nephews know me as "the Aunt who gives us books." For Christmas this year, I will definitely be using some of the ideas you have here for gifts for my nephews. --Mrs. Lau
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