From One Book Lover

Only poetry and cute dog illustrations could end Children's Book Week on a high note. Have you met the stray dog in Dogku ? Here, let the author describe his book: A tale in haiku of one adorable dog. Let's find him a home.  With a face like that, what would you do: close the door or make a new friend? I made more than just a new friend. I made a poetry contest and sold multiple copies of the book — none of them to "juvenile" readers. Classifications serve strictly as guidelines. As the late Maurice Sendak once said, he never wrote books for children. He wrote books. His publishers marketed them to children. However, it's a wise reader who jumps genres and age categories to find the next best book. Let your inner child guide you around the library to introduce you to Mr. Putter, Mr. Larson or Mrs. Teaberry. Who knows: you may find plenty of new friends along the way.

Maurice Sendak, the writer who gave us a most honest view of childhood, died today at the age of 83.  Click here for the lovely write-up of his life by AP reporter Hillel Italie: 'Where Wild Things Are' author Maurice Sendak dies. I have to admit , I skipped over his books when I was a child and didn't visit them until much later in life. Sendak's work was very much like what already was in my head: gray lines, dun colors, fear and fascination for what I alone seemed to see. I should have been drawn to the contrast of round, soft bodies and heads with sharp claws and horns, but I wasn't, not at that age. I was the kind of kid who read Very Special People when I was in grade school (and looking up some of the words I didn't recognize taught me more than the words themselves did). I knew about poltergeists before I knew about princesses.  I wasn't a morose child, but early loss made me less Disney and more Tollbooth. However, I made a special trip...

It doesn't take much to stoke my interest in a book.  If I read a note in a magazine or see a title that amuses me, I'll read it. I don't care who the intended audience may be. So when I read about a scientist discussing dinosaur feces in a book, I was excited. I was even more excited to see it was written for children — especially with Children's Book Week being celebrated May 7-13. Did you know that the science of studying fossilized dung was named long before the first dinosaur was? Do you know how to tell what kind of dinosaur eliminated what waste? Do you even know how to tell the difference between waste and other fossils? Read this and find out those, and many more, answers. Then choose your next favorite children's book and read that, too. You have all week to read it up. I think I'll find my new (to me!) copy of Ginger Pye , in honor of another Ginger: Ginger Galore! Now we can return to our regularly scheduled blog. I also ...