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Lots of rain on the East Coast this weekend, which made me want to share this stunning retelling of the great biblical flood.  Noah’s Ark by Linda Falken (Abrams Books for Young Readers, $17.95) tells the classic story Noah and the flood, and is accompanied by stunning illustrations by Marc Chagall, Gustave Courbet and Currier & Ives. All the illustrations come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which collaborated in the publication. Insightful commentary provides readers with further information on the art. An ideal gift for rain-soaked pals, and a reminder that the sun will come out again soon.

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Just the Ticket

Railway locomotion is a big theme for children’s books this fall, and we’ve found two coffee-table/reference guides for conductors of all ages.

All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains, by Dana Amendola; Disney Editions Deluxe, 192 pages, $50.00 all ages.

Perfect for fans of Disney history and railway enthusiasts, this lovely oversize compendium chronicles how trains have always held a prominent place in Disney lore – Walt himself was a lifelong admirer of locomotives, and even worked aboard the Missouri Pacific Railroad as a teenager. Disney incorproated trains into many of his animations – Mickey Mouse’s first appearance on a train was in a black and white short called “Mickey’s Choo-Choo” in 1929. Trains continue to figure prominently in Disney films, and engines including the Fort Wilderness Railroad, the Monorail, and the Disney Express are just a few  that dot the various parks throughout the world. Clocking in at just under 200 pages, there’s enough train trivia in All Aboard coupled with Disney lore to keep readers happy for hours.

Iron Rails, Tough Men, and the Race to Link the Nation: The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad, by Martin W. Sandler; Candlewick Press, $22.99, 224 pages, all ages. (A Junior Library Guild Selection)

In 1845, Asa Whitney (a relative of cotton-gin inventor Eli Whitney) went to Congress to propose a transcontinental railroad, but the lawmakers rejected the bill, mostly due to backbiting and squabbling over who would most profit from the endeavor. (Sound familiar?) The country would have to wait until 1862, when Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act that authorized two companies to build railroads linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, thereby thrusting America into the modern era. Pulitzer-Prize nominee Martin Sandler presents all the moving parts in this six-year saga clearly and in wonderful detail, and doesn’t skimp on the intrigue and greed found at every level of the project. Still, there’s a palpable understanding among everyone involved that these 1800 miles (all laid mostly by hand), were an historic moment and great change was coming to the country, one rail at a time. Thoroughly researched, including a timeline, notes, sketches and photos, this volume will long remain an invaluable and entertaining resource for research projects on the American West and Reconstruction periods.

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(via Paper Architects Draw the Unbuildable, Inspire the World – The Fine Books Blog)

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Gone to the Dogs
Two middle-grade readers for kids who know that dogs are loyal to the end. 

A Handful of Stars, by Cynthia Lord; Scholastic Press, $16.99, 184 pages, ages 10-13.

Every summer, migrant families travel from as far as Mexico to harvest blueberries in a remote part of Downeast Maine, and local residents generally don’t interact with them. That is, until one afternoon, when Lily’s blind retriever Lucky runs away and into the blueberry fields. Salma Santiago lures the dog back with her peanut butter sandwich, and from that moment on, Lily and Salma become friends. Salma wants to enter the Blueberry Queen pageant, but does she have the courage to do it? Newbery Honor Author Cynthia Lord (Rules) tackles such themes as prejudice, courage, and friendship with compassion and grace, and as a Maine resident herself, descriptions of this wild and wonderful area of New England are wonderfully accurate.

Finder, Coal Mine Dog, by Alison Hart, illustrated by Michael G. Montgomery; Peachtree Publishers, $12.95, 181 pages, ages 7-10.

In 1909, 259 coal miners died in a tunnel fire in Cherry, Illinois, becoming the third most deadly mine disaster in U.S. history. In this fictionalized thriller, readers meet Finder, a dog who pulls a cart in those dangerous mines. His young owner Thomas works too, trying to pay off his deceased parents’ debts. Soon enough, fire breaks out, and the unlikely duo find themselves in a race against time to save fellow miners. Told from the point of view of the dog, Alison Hart’s latest canine thriller in her Dog Chronicles series is action-packed, while also offering children a look at what life was like for children and their pets in America a century ago. Michael G. Montgomery’s pen and ink illustrations capture the fast pace of the tale. A map of the mine, notes about the actual fire, mining, child and animal labor bring this poignant moment in American history to life.

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uispeccoll:

houghtonlib:

This color illustration from The Nursery Alice (an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for very young readers) shows the behind-the-scenes process of color printing. Each stage represents a printing plate of the same image inked with different colors, building to the finished illustration. 

One of the many highlights from our online exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland.

Tenniel, John. Proof plates for “The Jury Box,” 1889, from The Nursery Alice. 

21472.14.9

Houghton Library, Harvard University

Wonderful!

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Vincent and the Night, by Adele Enersen; Dial Books, $16.99, 32 pages, ages 2-5.

Finnish copywriter-turned author Adele Enersen gained global attention with her blog, Mila’s Daydreams, thrilling readers with photos of her baby in various imaginary situations.  Now, pen and ink line drawings surround her youngest child in this latest installment. Here, little Vincent shows no interest in falling asleep, and is imagined as a swashbuckling pirate, zookeeper, and even a violinist. Despite the artistic whimsy, the text doesn’t sing like it ought to, and the images just aren’t strong enough to carry the story on their own. Even though Amazon lists Vincent as one of it’s best books for 2015, I have to respectfully demur. It’s cute, but geared more towards cooing adults than young readers. That said, I think it would be excellent refashioned as a board book – gather the black and white images closer together, and put the thing right into children’s hands so that they might gaze into the eyes of Vincent, marvel at his antics, and perhaps engage in a few adventures of their own.