Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Book of the Day: Steady Hands:Poems About Work by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy

#6 in the HMH Book of the Day series:

Steady Hands: Poems About Work
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
9780618903511, $16, Clarion

This hardcover picture book harkens back to the post I did earlier about picture books for adults (Part I is posted, Part II is coming soon). Published by Clarion Books just last year in 2009, everything about this book screams "made for an adult audience here!". From the sophisticated collage-style, often abstract artwork (not that children can't also appreciate, understand, and create this type of artwork) to the free verse, deep though poetry about various types of jobs adults have, I can't really imagine children under the age of 12-14 enjoying this book in the "Can we read that book before going to bed?" sort-of-way.

That said, not being a child any more myself (despite whatever my parents may tell me), I greatly enjoy this book and keep a copy above my desk at work. Not only is the cover illustration inspiring, but if I need some inspiration, it's fun to take a 2-minute break and read about what someone else may be doing for work right that very minute, say as a Dog Walker, Filmmaker, Personnel Administrator, or even:

Writer
Paid daydreamer
imaginary soothsayer
odd-fact researcher,
the writer
hovers like a hummingbird
by the
answering machine
computer
mailbox,
holding her breath while
scanning e-mails
listening to messages
sifting through junk mail
waiting, waiting,
forever waiting,
for the next
check
project
or call.

The artwork, in particular, is what draws me to this book, especially the displaced ISBN/barcode on the back cover. I love collage-style art, and also am a huge fan of this illustrator duo, who have numerous other picture books together. Going back to my earlier point about the "sophisticated, often abstract artwork", just to emphasize how much children can appreciate it, this duo has co-illustrated one of my favorite high concept picture book series: Trains (9780761455936, Marshall Cavendish, $6.99), Cars (9780761456162, $6.99), Airplanes (9780761453888, $14.99), Trucks (9780761453284, $6.99), and Boats (9780761455240, $17.99).

Ode to the Long-necked Herbivore

A lot of giraffe-themed books have been popping up lately. Thanks to Laura at Tampa Bookworm for a giraffe book recommendation that sparked this post.

I admit I have a soft spot for giraffes. Polar bears, giraffes, and lobsters are my top three favorite non-domesticated animals. Okay, add elephant in there. My four top favorite non-domesticated animals. Maybe I'll post sometime in the future about books for the others, but today it's all giraffes, all the time.

Laura recommended The Giraffe Who Was Afraid of Heights by David Ufer, illustrated by Kirsten Carlson (9781934359051, Sylvan Dell Publishing, $8.95). I haven't read it yet, but I always appreciate the recommendation.

In my recent Spring 2010 Picturebook Highlights: Marshall Cavendish post, I mentioned A Giraffe Goes to Paris by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, illustrated by Jon Cannell (9780761455950, $17.99)

When Lulu Went to the Zoo
by Andy Ellis
9780761354994, Andersen Press USA, $16.95
Though not primarily about a giraffe, this book does feature a giraffe on the cover. This is a sweet book about a little girl who doesn't like seeing the caged animals, so she frees them and takes them all home to live with her, with some funny results.

Raf
by Anke de Vries & Charlotte Dematons
9781590787496, Boyds Mill Press, $16.95
Raf is short for Giraffe, Ben's favorite stuffed toy. Sort of like the traveling gnome from the Travelocity commercials, when Ben loses Raf, Raf starts sending Ben postcards from his travels with the people who found him. But the real question is, will Raf make it back to Ben in time for Ben's birthday?

Giraffes Can't Dance
by Giles Andreae & Guy Parker-Rees
9780439287197, Scholastic, $16.99
Gerald is my favorite name for a giraffe, and this book is about a Gerald. The animals make fun of Gerald's awkward dancing at a jungle party. Gerald mopes away in shame, but a special friend helps Gerald see there's a type of music out there for everyone to dance to.

Last but not least, don't miss out on the finger puppet book Little Giraffe by Klaartje van der Put (9780811867870, Chronicle, $6.99) and the Melissa & Doug, large, stuffed giraffe ($99.99).

Summer 2010 Picturebook Highlights - Marshall Cavendish

Okay, I lied. Penguin was not the last. This morning I discovered a publisher's catalogue on my desk I had neglected to blog about before: Marshall Cavendish!

Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale
by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Omar Rayyan
9780761455998, $17.99, published in March 2010

I admit I have a big soft spot for Eric Kimmel, after growing up with his Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins and The Chanukkah Guest. He writes multicultural tales with humor and sensitivity (and is lucky enough to have amazing illustrators put pictures to his words!) Omar Rayyan's illustrations bring this book to life with intricate details and a playful ambiance. Joha finds a wishing stick on his way to Baghdad. He makes several small wishes, but it's when the sultan starts using the wishing stick, that things really get out of hand.

Chalk
by Bill Thomson
9780761455264, $15.99, published in March 2010

One rainy day, three kids in a park discover a bag of chalk. They begin to draw the sun, butterflies, even a dinosaur that all come to life! It takes some quick thinking and quick drawing to save the kids from the magic and the dinosaur that run amok. Crystal clear, almost photographic-quality illustrations are a nice contrast with the surreal subject matter. This wordless picturebook reminds me of some of Chris Van Allsburg's work: there's a similar fantasy quality and the endless possibilities of imagination (only, you know, in color).

A Giraffe Goes to Paris
by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, illustrated by Jon Cannell 
9780761455950, $17.99, published in April 2010

This picturebook tells the re-imagined true story about a very famous giraffe. In 1827, the pasha of Egypt gave the king of France a gift: Belle, a giraffe. Belle traveled from Alexandria, Egypt to Paris, France, riding on a boat with a hole cut out for her neck, and then walking 500 miles in 41 days, parading through France from Marseilles to Paris. Jon Cannell's quirky cartoon-esque illustrations encompass artifacts and paintings from the 1800s, as we follow Belle's life story.

Pioneer Valley Children's Book Exhibit

For those folks living in, around, near, or feel like traveling to the Pioneer Valley in Western Mass (an area consisting of towns such as Amherst, Northampton, & South Hadley), a traveling area picturebook exhibit is making its final stop.


The Making of a Picture Book: The Marriage of Text and Art is an exhibit curated by Mount Holyoke College Professor and author, Corinne Demas. The exhibit focuses on these four picturebooks:

Hans Christian Andersen's The Perfect Wizard
written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Dennis Nolan
9780525469551, Dutton Books (Penguin), $16.99

The Littlest Matryoskha
by Corinne Demas, illustrated by Kathryn Brown
9780786801534, HarperCollins, $15.99


Once I Ate a Pie
co-written by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest, illustrated by Katy Schneider
9780060735319, HarperCollins, $17.99

Ten Times Better
by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Leonard Baskin
9780761450702, Marshall Cavendish Children's Books, $17.95

The exhibit has toured around the Pioneer Valley, most recently at Mount Holyoke College, and now is installed in its final exhibit space at the Forbes Library in Northampton (20 West Street, Northampton, MA - 413.587.1011). The exhibit will be up through the end of May. Stop by and check it out!