literaryfeatures

Posted on April 18, 2016November 9, 2016 by literaryfeatures

©2016 Reinhard Kleist. Reproduced with permission from SelfMadeHero

@abramsbooks

An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar, by Reinhard Kleist; SelfMadeHero, $22.95, 152 pages, ages 13 and up.

Today is Patriots’ Day, a holiday recognizing the brave fighters of the Revolutionary War. It is celebrated only in Maine and Massachusetts, but it is also the running of the Boston Marathon (originally called the Patriots’ Day Race). As a native of the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it seems only fitting, as the race live-streams on a screen nearby, to share with you a remarkable biography about courage and dignity in the face of overwhelming odds.

Reinhard Kleist’s graphic novel An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar tells the poignant story of a Somali runner who endured challenges including civil war, religious persecution, abuse, malnutrition, and imprisonment in her bid to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Readers may remember watching Omar in the 200 meter sprint, wearing donated shoes, a baggy t-shirt and spandex. She came in last, and for awhile, her story and plight became international news. Soon enough, Omar faded from public view. In 2012, Omar was in Libya. There, she boarded an Italy-bound migrant boat, hoping to train in Italy to qualify for the 2012 London games. The boat capsized, and Omar drowned at the age of 21. Kleist’s dramatic pen-and-ink illustrations explore the challenges Omar faced and offers powerful commentary on the European response to the current refugee crisis.

Congratulations to all the runners in today’s race!

Classics Professors in France Protest Education Reform in Style – The Fine Books Blog

Posted on April 14, 2016 by literaryfeatures

Missing Fred Marcellino

@FredMarcellino @harpercollinschildrens

I’m reading The Wainscott Weasel to my daughter at bedtime. Tor Seidler’s rhythmic storytelling and Fred Marcellino’s graceful illustrations are so totally in tune with each other, it’s worth taking off the shelf if you haven’t read it in a while.
Stellar pacing and expressive illustration, this is a prime example of words and art in perfect harmony.

Published in 1993 by HarperCollins and reissued in 2014, this was the second collaboration for Seidler and Marcellino (A Rat’s Tale, about a
mischievous

Manhattan rodent, appeared in 1986), and the combination is electric. The story follows love-struck weasels, striped bass, and a predatory osprey all living on the South Fork of Long Island. There are daring acts of heroism, dancing, and dashes of philosophical musings on a weasel’s rightful place in the world. Big concepts, yes, but skillfully and simply articulated for young readers. Up and coming children’s book creators would learn much about their craft by reading this book.

Siedler continues to write–Mean Margaret (1997) was named
Notable Children’s Book by the American Library Association, and his most recent book, Firstborn, was published in 2015. Marcellino designed book jackets for Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale and Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities and others before entering and revolutionizing the world of children’s picture book art. He died of colon cancer in July 2001.

Posted on April 13, 2016 by literaryfeatures

(Children’s) BookNotes, April 13, 2016

Beverly Cleary turns 100, and Scholastic announces a poetry contest.

Publisher’s Weekly interviewed beloved children’s book author Beverly Cleary, who turned 100 on April 12.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Scholastic and
U.S.A. Gold®

Pencils company announces a student poetry contest for public school children in grades 1-6. Read the details here. (Hurry! The contest ends April 29.)

Posted on April 12, 2016November 9, 2016 by literaryfeatures

Text and images ©2016 Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. Reproduced with permission from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

@hmhco Upward Mobility

Flying Frogs and Walking Fish, by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99, 32 pages, ages 4-8.

Tree-climbing goats, walking octopuses, flying snakes, and other creatures make an appearance in the latest scientific exploration by husband-and-wife duo Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. Over forty animals climb, jet, roll, and leap through the pages, highlighting all the ways critters move. Expressive paper collage renderings of elephants, springboks, and scallops are accompanied by precise, straightforward text that both informs and delights. A glossary offers further explanation about each creature.

An engaging concept book that nurtures scientific inquiry and artistic creation.

Posted on April 11, 2016November 9, 2016 by literaryfeatures

text ©2016 Audrey Vernick, images ©2016 Steven Salerno. Reproduced with permission from Clarion Books.

literarykids:

@HMHCo @yourbuffalo

The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton, by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Steven Salerno; Clarion Press, $17.99, 38 pages, ages 6-9.

Baseball is officially in season, and what better way to celebrate America’s pastime than with a few well-chosen children’s books? First-Grade Dropout author Audrey Vernick’s latest picture book explores the often overlooked story of legendary ballplayer Edith Houghton (1912-2013), who, as a ten year old, played starting shortstop for the all-women’s Philadelphia Bobbies in the 1920s. Houghton and the Bobbies competed against men’s teams at home and abroad–their trip to Japan was an international sensation. Salerno’s charcoal and gouache illustrations capture Houghton’s love of the sport while also channeling the vibrance and modernity of the 1920s and 30s. Though Vernick peppers choice quotes from Houghton throughout the text, there is no mention of her sources in the author’s notes–the only strike against this otherwise excellent book on the joy of sport.

Posted on April 9, 2016November 9, 2016 by literaryfeatures

@HMHCo @yourbuffalo

The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton, by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Steven Salerno; Clarion Press, $17.99, 38 pages, ages 6-9.

Baseball is officially in season, and what better way to celebrate America’s pastime than with a few well-chosen children’s books? First-Grade Dropout author Audrey Vernick’s latest picture book explores the often overlooked story of legendary ballplayer Edith Houghton (1912-2013), who, as a ten year old, played starting shortstop for the all-women’s Philadelphia Bobbies in the 1920s. Houghton and the Bobbies competed against men’s teams at home and abroad–their trip to Japan was an international sensation. Salerno’s charcoal and gouache illustrations capture Houghton’s love of the sport while also channeling the vibrance and modernity of the 1920s and 30s. Though Vernick peppers choice quotes from Houghton throughout the text, there is no mention of her sources in the author’s notes–the only strike against this otherwise excellent book on the joy of sport.

Posted on April 8, 2016November 9, 2016 by literaryfeatures

New York Antiquarian Book Fair Preview: Honey & Wax Debuts at Fair with Eye-Catching Wares, Like This
Guercino

See more at the Fine Books Blog:

Posted on April 7, 2016November 9, 2016 by literaryfeatures

text ©2015 Marilyn Singer, ilustrations ©2016 Josee Masee. Reproduced with permission from the publisher

ECHO
ECHO: Reverso Poems About the Greek Myths
by Marilyn Singer, Illustrated by Josee Masse, Dial Books, $16.99, 32 pages ages 6-9.

This April marks the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month, and in recognition of that milestone we’ll be highlighting many of the best new poetry books. Marilyn Singer and Josee Masse’s last collaboration of poetry was 2013′s Follow Follow, a book of poetic reversos: read one way, each poem recounts one mythological character’s side of the story. Read in reverse, the poems reveal a new, unexpected point of view. Fourteen reversos offer new interpretations of
great tales from Greek mythology–Medusa gives her haughty, powerful counterpoint to Perseus’s stony bravery, and even the devilish box of horrors opened by Pandora gets the poetic treatment. Masse’s familiar illustrations are fun and slyly offer two perspectives to match the poetry. Echo Echo would make an excellent addition to an English or Language Arts curriculum.