How to Spell "SCIESZKA"

Whew, it's taken months of laborious work (enough to keep me away from this blog and my family), but I think I finally figured out how to spell "Scieszka," as in Jon (or is it "John?").

Anyway, I came up with what has proven in early trials to be a promising mnemonic for spelling our outgoing Ambassador's name. Please bear with me while I work out the kinks:

1. You start with the word "science," as in the great Scieszkan Science Verse (sure to convert the science averse, by the way). Both words share the same initial four letters. Stop after #4:

S-C-I-E

2. Okay, next comes ska music, because it has to, right? So we get: S-C-I-E-S-K-A

3. Wait, not so fast. We still have that pesky "Z" to deal with, something that might be known as a "free radical" if we follow the science metaphor. That crazy, zany "Z" interrupts the rocksteady beat of S-K-A music by wedging itself between the "S" and "K." Thus, we get:

S-C-I-E-S-Z-K-A

4. Voila! Now spelling "Scieszka" is a piece of cake, right? As you may have guessed, I've returned to the deep recesses of my linguistic laboratory, trying to decipher the actual pronunciation of "Scieszka." I've made some major breakthroughs and expect to reemerge in the winter of 2012 with exciting results.

In the meantime, here's a partial SCIESZKA acrostic (with sincere apologies to those who know their trocheedactyl from their pteradactyl):

HOW TO SPELL "SCIESZKA"

It starts with an "S,"

A nod to the Stinky Cheese Man.

And follows with a "C,"

'Cuz only Scieszka can--

Can masterfully pull an "I,"

Which stands for irreverently wry,

Proceeded by "E," woops, excuse me,

(Interrupting this poem to say that Jon helps all Guys Read).

In case you missed it once, there's a second helping of "S,"

And now it's all too easy to say that Jon's the ________ .

Instead of that, I have a question.

What the heck is "Z" doing there?

Whenever people try to spell,

It ends up everywhere.

Oh, "K," I haven't forgotten

That you're the penultimate letter,

Who stands before "A" of "Ambassador, hey,

No one could have done it better!"

Many thanks to Mr. Jon Sciezka Scieszka, our esteemed inaugural Children's Literature Ambassador, for representin'!

Read more Scieszka appreciations at A Year of Reading blog by clicking here.

Jacqui Robbins's TWO OF A KIND Book Release Alert (Imagine You Saw This on 6/7/09)

It's Buy Indie Day!

What did you buy?

The World As It Is...the World As I See It

The real travesty of the world today is that giant roadside clowns aren't peddling the best drug around-- the imagination.

Speaking of the circus and books, has anyone taken a look at Bruno Munari's The Circus in the Mist? Wow, what book design genius!

Book a Trip: La Tierra de la Culebra Art Park Is Where the Wild Things Art

Nestled in the hills of Highland Park in Northeast Los Angeles is the funky, bohemian La Tierra de la Culebra Art Park, otherwise known as the Land of the Serpent.

My son and I visited recently and realized a strange parallel between our experiences and Max's from Maurice Sendak's kidlit classic, Where the Wild Things Are. With sincere apologies to that book's creator, here's a super-abbreviated and paraphrased account of our day among serpents:

Max made mischief.

"I'LL EAT YOU UP!" he said.

That night a forest grew in Max's bedroom.

When Max got to the place of the wild things, they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth...

Max tamed the wild things with a magic trick of staring into their eyes...

Max, the king of all wild things, cried, "Let the wild rumpus start!"

Soon, Max grew lonely and wanted to be where he was loved best of all...

He traveled in and out of weeks and through a day...

And when he got home, his comfy chair was waiting for him, along with his supper-- and it was still hot.

Okay, so there was no comfy chair waiting for Max, but it's supposed to be symbolic of the comforts of a parent's love, blah, blah, blah. Also, I just thought the chair in the park was so cool that it had to be included.

If you "book" a trip to the Land of the Serpent, let us know which book you take along to read, or which book best reflects your experiences there.

"Booking" a trip elsewhere? Let us know about it.

Submit Photos of Your Child's Bookshelf to the PaperTigers Blog

I'm a sucker for fun-lovin' bookshelves. Remember my son's "On Beyond Zebra" bookshelf? I just sent a photo of it covered in books to a cool contest, "Around the World in a Hundred Bookshelves," being sponsored by the PaperTigers Blog.

Click here for more info about the contest and to see kids' bookshelves from around the world.

Hungering for more amazing bookshelves? Check out this blog, totally devoted to the art of the bookshelf. Some of the bookshelves here are so amazingly beautiful that it would be a shame to clutter them up with books.

Librarypalooza! Los Angeles Public Library: Cypress Park Branch

"Great Books Are the Golden Keys to the Palace of Wisdom" is the title of the mural that decorates the Children's Room at the Cypress Park Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Don't worry if the big apple falls on your head. It'll probably just lead to another revolution in physics. The mural also includes a vision chart in Hebrew and the entire alphabet of ASL hand signs.

The Cypress Park Branch contains a large number of books in Spanish. This ninja-in-training takes a break from La Historia de Spider-Man to search for ninja secrets in Owen's Marshmellow Chick by Kevin Henkes. You'd be surprised how many secrets are buried deep within the "Way of the Marshmellow."

The pride of the library's community room is a large mural that celebrates the adjacent L.A. River and honors the life work of César Chávez as a farm labor advocate. Why not plan a class field trip here to learn more about his life?

Currently, the Cypress Park Branch features pre-school storytime and LACMA art classes for kids. Check it out!

Celebrate Poetry Month with 30 Poets/30 Days

I'm sending you on a field trip to this place, otherwise known as the 30 Poets/30 Days Poetry Month blog event at the GottaBook blog. Unlike art at the museum, these poems you can touch. Have at it!

Fuse #8 Inspired "Top Ten Favorite Picture Books of All Time"

This is my all-time favorite picture book list as of March 31, 2009. It was different yesterday, and it will be different tomorrow. As I change, so does it.

I tried to choose books that I have lived with for some time, but not all books behaved themselves (thank goodness) and listened to my futile attempts to impose order on them.

Maybe in a few years my list will contain books by Mo Willems, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Adam Rex, Emily Gravett, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Mini Grey, and so many other contemporary talents.

Disclaimer: Only one of the books on the list did I fall in love with as a child (i.e. under age 8), but it wasn't because of my discerning tastes. I had little exposure to picture books as a kid.

Some Scholastic book fair books, a couple of Golden Books, and a few Dr. Seuss "Beginner Books" provided my foundation in picture books. I was only read to on Christmas Eves, and they were the same couple of Christmas-themed books at that.

I fell in love with most of these books as an adult, or an emerging adult, as the #10 selection makes clear.

#10 The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey. I first discovered this book as a poster (I had no idea that it was adapted from a book). I was in middle school at the time and didn't know anything about Edward Gorey, or Jonathan Swift for that matter.

It spoke to my burgeoning sense of satire, and I took it home that day to hang on my closet door. I've never looked at ABC books the same again.

#9 The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater. It's probably because I am literally and figuratively Mr. Plumbean.

#8 Zoom by Istvan Banyai. This book will either send you hurtling into an existential dilemma, or it will help you appreciate "the size" of life and the universe. That's power.

#7 Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni. Abstract art with a heart. And someone said it couldn't be done. If we listen carefully enough, even torn pieces of paper have something to tell us.

#6 The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson. This book should be issued to every kindergartner the world over and reviewed at the beginning of each school year through post-graduate studies. A powerful message of believing in what nobody else will.

#5 The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I fell in love with this book as a kid. My fingers read the holes like Braille, and my eyes salivated at the textured colors of Eric Carle's incomparable collage art.

#4 Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton. There should be a law against how funny this book is, it just steals laughter from your belly. Wow!

#3 Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. I don't know if the word "genius" is applied often enough to the work of Crockett Johnson, but this is Nobel Prize material. And the ending, oh... be still my beating pun heart.

#2 On Beyond Zebra by Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss proves he's the Einstein of kidlit with this book. It took a while for the world to "get" E=mc², blowing the roof off Newtonian physics. Dr. Seuss blows the roof off the alphabet and language itself with this book.

Cool kidlit scholar Philip Nel writes in Dr. Seuss: American Icon, "...On Beyond Zebra is Seuss's Finnegans Wake." 'Nuff said?

#1 The Red Tree by Shaun Tan. After reading this book, I'd been wondering since 2005 how long it would take the world to discover Shaun Tan. Then came The Arrival, and the world started taking notice.

Please do yourself a favor and read this book. Show someone you love them by sharing a copy of this book. Achingly beautiful artwork overflowing with humanity-- it's not something you see everyday.

That's it! Thanks, Betsy Bird, for giving me something to sweat and churn over for one month in coming up with this list. Unfortunately, I didn't burn any calories doing it, but I did have a lot of fun contemplating great picture books!

P.S. Notice how many of my faves feature the names of colors? I didn't mean to do that, really. My brain just has a mind of its own sometimes.

Writer2Writer Revision Workshop with Lisa Yee

On March 1st, Squiddy and I made our way to the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse to visit with Peepy. Oh yeah... her sidekick, Lisa Yee, was also there presenting a Writer2Writer workshop on revision. It was kind of hard to hear Peepy with Lisa yacking away in the background, but we somehow managed.

I took the above photo of the two when Lisa presented her first Writer2Writer workshop at Flintridge last summer. (Check out this much better picture Lisa took by clicking here.)

Before the revision workshop began, Squiddy cemented his Peepy fandom with the help of a yummy dish from Little Tokyo. What the heck am I talking about? Click here for all the visual details. Just remember not to bite at the tempura, unless you want a mouth full of pixels.

So it's taken me a month to write this post, but that's part of the point. You see, I've been diligently revising it day and night, night and day, continually since some of Lisa's words of wisdom on revision must have seeped into my brain between joke-telling sessions with Squiddy and Peepy.

What was the great take-away from the day? Well, there was the joke about how many Peeps it takes to change a lightbulb, and who could forget the one about why the squid crossed the road, but there was also something Lisa said-- that revision is all about the chance to do something over, a chance we don't usually get in real life, but one that is freely available in writing.

That's when a light went off (yes, probably one a Peep screwed in), and I realized why I love writing so much. It's a do-over's paradise. It's for those of us who secretly thrill to changing through four and a half outfits before deciding what to wear to the library. (Okay, maybe five, but it's important to color-coordinate with the covers of the books you're checking out.)

So, go forth, writers, and change your minds, try different words on for size, take advantage of the ability to make complete do-overs. Take inspiration from Bill Murray's character in Groundhog Day. It's never done until you get it right.

P.S. Absolutely, definitely check out Lisa's first foray into YA, Absolutely, Maybe.

The Soles of My Feet...

On an audio recording, I once heard Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way, say something to the effect of, "The soles of my feet lead to the feats of my soul."
She was referring, of course, to the oft-cited relationship between walking and creativity. The one (walking) increases the other (creativity).

While I would love to claim credit for Cameron's brilliant use of a punning antimetabole, I'll settle for appreciating the connection between my soles and my soul.

Although I'm not walking in the photo above, my soles are ready to dance across the alphabet with tip-tapping toes like a typewriter, because that's the type of writer I am. A few words later, hopefully, and that's where I'll find my soul.

Having Fun With Bertolt Brecht From Head to Tome

In the above photo, my son takes on the role of Uncle Ede from head to tome in Bertolt Brecht's Onkel Ede Hat Einen Schnurrbart.

A book of twelve Kinderlieder, or children's songs, the titular piece translates roughly as such:

Uncle Ede Has a Moustache

Uncle Ede has a moustache
The moustache has five hairs.
And so that he doesn't lose any of them
Each one has a name.

They're named Fritz and Otto
And Max and Karl and Paul.
Max is somewhat sickly
And Fritz is somewhat lazy.

What are your must-have moustache picture books? Add them in the comments section if you feel so moved. Thanks!

We Are Here! We Are Here! We Are Here!

The "Share a Story -- Shape a Future" Blog Tour for Literacy may have ended, but the fun continues. In one of the site's contests, my son and I won this Horton Hears a Who Pop-Up, courtesy of Eva, the wonderful blogging children's librarian at Eva's Book Addiction.

My son loves to use manipulatives in tandem with the books he reads. Those familiar with Horton Hears a Who know that a single clover plays a singular role. Since clover is in short supply in our garden (read "non-existent"), we settled on that ever-ready stand-by-- a dandelion seed head.

If you look close enough at the photo, you will see the tiny speck that is Whoville. We could even hear them chanting, "We are here! We are here! We are here!" -- that is, up until my son made a wish. Well, they were there...

Please welcome Spring, who's two days old today! And if you're in sunny Southern California, ripe with dandelion seed heads, please send us word of any suspicious specks. We do miss our little Whos so, and my son promises to make wishes only with pennies from now on.

ReJoyce in Children's Literature: James Joyce's Kid's Book

[The above image is from the 1964 Dodd, Mead & Company The Cat and the Devil, written by James Joyce and illustrated by Richard Erdoes. The Los Angeles Central Library also contains a copy of the 1981 Schocken Books edition, illustrated by Roger Blanchon.]

It is with great pleasure that I bring this Joycean kidlit post on St. Patrick's Day, spotlighting a little known work by the Irish icon of literary iconoclasm. Somewhere between The House That Jack Built and "the hoax that jokes bilked" lies James Joyce's children's book The Cat and the Devil.

Written in 1936 as a letter to his grandson, Stephen James Joyce, The Cat and the Devil reveals Joyce as an endearing "Nonno." It begins, "My dear Stevie: I sent you a little cat filled with sweets a few days ago but perhaps you do not know the story about the cat of Beaugency."

Based on an "old French story," according to the James Joyce Centre, The Cat and the Devil bubbles forth in Joysprick now and then, but otherwise reads like Joyce "the Grandpa," having fun spinning a yarn.

[The most Joycean word we find is "Bellsybabble" (see photo excerpt below), which, incidentally, is misspelled in the Schocken edition as "Bellybabble."]

The Cat and the Devil recounts the origins of the bridge over the Loire River in Beaugency, France, built in one night by the Devil after striking a deal with the Lord Mayor. The Devil built the bridge on the condition that he could keep the first soul to cross it.

The Lord Mayor, Monsieur Alfred Byrne (named after an Irish nationalist politician), ultimately outwits the Devil with the aid of an unwitting cat. No spoilers here. You're going to have to visit a library, or buy your own copy, to read the rest.

Joyce had a wonderful sense of humor, although that fact is sometimes lost on readers who writhe in the rhythms of the Wake. Nevertheless, behold the biting humor in the photo above (be Joyce the devil himself?), which concludes the story of The Cat and the Devil. Enjoyce!

P.S. For extra fun, check out this link to see super-cool illustrations of The Cat and the Devil for a Croatian edition of the book by illustrator and painter Tomislav Torjanac.

I wonder how one translates "Bellsybabble" in Croatian? Comment away if you have any idea. Thanks!

Librarypalooza! Los Angeles Public Library: Eagle Rock Branch

Not far from the intersection of Eagle Rock Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard, lies the cozy neighborhood Eagle Rock Branch Library.

The Children's Library contains a permanent collection of original artwork by such local children's book author/illustrators as Tim Egan and the late Leo Politi.

What better way to encourage the next generation of art collectors than to give their little eyes access to "the real deal"?

An über-loved Winnie-the-Pooh takes a break from guard duty between two "Tim Egans."

Please click the link above to access current toddler and preschool storytimes. Interested in art classes for your kiddos? You're in luck-- LACMA runs art classes here on a regular basis.

What to do on Mom's or Dad's night out? Check out the Knit and Lit Club that knits while listening to books-on-tape. How cool is that?

When you're done at the library, there's lots of fun restaurants, shops, and art galleries to explore. Have at it!

On Beyond Zebra, the Bookshelf

Scrap wood, homeless books, a 4 year-old's imagination-- these were the ingredients needed to bring this bookshelf to life. The fact that one of our cats cowered at the sight of the zebra's eye gave it just that much more credibility.

For the bookshelf's christening, all it needs is a copy of Dr. Seuss's On Beyond Zebra. After all, this zebra's imaginative life begins where that of other zebras ends.

I'm a fan of fun book furniture. Please describe your favorites. Even better, send links to pictures!

"Share a Story -- Shape a Future" Blog Tour for Literacy

Please visit the Share a Story -- Shape a Future Blog Tour for Literacy this week for lively discussion and practical literacy-building tips.

Seuss-athon: Party # 5 of 5!

We made it! Woohoo! Yesterday was the 5th and final Dr. Seuss party of our week-long Seuss-athon, held at the Los Angeles Central Library.

There was lots of Seuss silliness to be had, as we listened to readings of "The Sneetches" from The Sneetches and Other Stories, Fox in Socks, Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, and Green Eggs and Ham.

Plus, we enjoyed a rare reading from the oeuvre of the mysterious Theo. LeSieg- Ten Apples Up on Top!

See these books? 99.9% of them were checked out by a book-hungry mob of ravenous children by the end of the program. What a beautiful sight!

Children's Librarian Miss Linda treats us to a felt board performance of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. With all those felt fish up there, I probably didn't have to tell you that.

Children's Librarian Miss Joanna joins Miss Linda in a boisterous reading of Green Eggs and Ham. Don't you just love how librarians show the pictures so nicely when they read?

What's a birthday party without a birthday cake? Since the library doesn't own 105 felt candles (and they would have obscured the cake anyway), we were asked to imagine the other 100 candles-- not too difficult a task considering our imaginations had just been given a super Seuss work-out.

For the grand finale, our lovely librarians staged a puppet performance of Horton Hatches the Egg. Here's a photo of Horton with that no-good, lazy Mayzie.

Well, that's all for now folks, until "the Good Doctor" turns 106! In the meantime, hang out with him in Seussville.

Seuss-athon: The Cat in the Hat Rocks the Library!

Party #4 of our Seuss-athon! Woo-hoo! The La Pintoresca Branch of the Pasadena Public Library threw a fantabulous Dr. Seuss party under the direction of the wonderful Children's Librarian Mr. William, a.k.a. The Cat in the Hat.

Check out this amazing display he set up behind the information desk.

After a super spirited reading of his eponymous story, The Cat in the Hat engages us in a game of Seuss Jeopardy. "What is...Theodor Geisel!"

Next, we settle in for some vintage television Seuss. We can't get enough of that Sam-I-Am! Here he is in the 1973 "Green Eggs and Ham" adaptation from Dr. Seuss on the Loose.

Two die-hard Seuss fans create the most iconic hat to ever grace a head, feline or otherwise, perfect for having "good fun that is funny."

One more Seuss party to go. Onward ho!

Seuss-athon: Happy Birthday, Dr. Sweet Horse!

Day #3 of the Seuss-athon brought us to the Chatsworth Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. The Children's Librarian treated us to some of Dr. Seuss's more obscure works, including "What Was I Scared of?" from The Sneetches and Other Stories and "King Looie Katz" from I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories.

The latter tale is particularly well-suited for young activists-in-training. In his book, Dr. Seuss: American Icon, scholar Philip Nel states, "Zooie's 'I QUIT!' demonstrates how activists can promote democratic ideals by speaking out and standing up for their rights."
Kudos also to the Children's Librarian for making age-appropriate Seuss biographies available at the program! Yay!

What of the Dr. Sweet Horse reference? An obscure linguistic footnote in the marginalia of Seuss's life could include the fact that "süß" means "sweet" in German, and "sus" means "horse" in Hebrew.

Both words sound like "Seuss"-- hence, Dr. Süß Sus, or, Dr. Sweet Horse. (That's quite a tasty language treat for our die-hard Seuss fan to contemplate.

What's a Seuss party without an art activity? Here's next year's Halloween costume, perhaps?

This die-hard Seuss fan moves through the labyrinth of the "Good Doctor's" work, making nonsense of sense like any good disciple, because you're only absurd once!

Seuss-athon: ¡Celebre el Cumpleaños del Gato con Sombrero!

Party #2 of this week's Seuss-athon was held at the Cypress Park Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. Serving a largely bilingual population, the Cypress Park Branch children's collection contains many Dr. Seuss books translated into Spanish.

¡Celebre el Cumpleaños del Gato con Sombrero! Tipping a hat to the Good Doctor's famous feline creation, the Cypress Park Branch also honored the 40th anniversary of The Cat in the Hat. ¡Viva el Gato!

The library's Seuss-celebration featured a Horton Hears a Who! craft project,

modeled here by a die-hard Seuss fan.

As if the elephant ears couldn't be topped, we were treated to the original 1970 Chuck Jones animated T.V. special, Horton Hears a Who!

Thanks to the planning and organizing of Children's Librarian Miss Alicia, we had popcorn* and fruit juice to carry us through the adventures of Horton and his "speck of dust."

Among our take-home goodies, Miss Alicia hooked us up with some Shel Silverstein tatoos. How cool is that? Yeah, I know it's not Dr. Seuss, but they're both full of nonsense. And nonsense is the best sense of all!

*Of course, no Beezelnut Oil was used in the making of the popcorn.

Seuss-athon: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Probably because I don't have television service, Sudo Nimm and I come up with alternative activities to entertain the family. Sometimes, we brainstorm while gorging on strawberries, which can lead to mind-altering perspectives on life, the universe, and wardrobe selection.

(If you think I'm making this up, John Lennon knew what I was talking about-- "Strawberry Fields Forever," anyone?)

So, this week we came up with the idea of a Seuss-athon-- attending as many Dr. Seuss parties as humanly (and motherly) possible in honor of the Good Doctor's natal coming 105 years ago.

Tonight, on the official date of the birth of serious nonsense in this country, we attended a Dr. Seuss "Chocolate Party" at the Hastings Ranch Branch of the Pasadena Public Library.

The above photo depicts a spirited reading of Green Eggs and Ham, complete with the eponymous epicurian delight, of course!

I'll let you guess which one is trying to decline Sam-I-Am's beseechings.

The party shifted into high gear with a game of Seuss Bingo. Between the M&M "chips" and the jumbo Hershey's chocolate bar prizes, this party was really starting to live up to its name.

I'm not so sure how well the game worked for those little ones who decided to eat it instead, but, anyway...

The chocolate climax of the party came in the form of fondue.

Here is the chocolate fondue fountain only moments before an unfortunate mishap. Yes, librarians endure much in the line of fire, including the effects of a fondue malfunction. Oh well! "That's what dry cleaners are for," he said.

It would be too graphic to recount all the details. Besides, that's what imaginations are for.

A Mouthful of Words and Pancakes

On Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras/National Pancake Day, my son's school hosted a Read Across America Celebration/Family Literacy Night. Whew!

With all those words, it was hard to slip a bite of pancake in edgewise. Of course, the school celebrated with a pancake-themed book.

We were treated to a reading of Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond's If You Give a Pig a Pancake by actor Gary Cole. Groups of students also read pancake-themed poetry by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky.
As for our esteemed reader, talk about class. This was no read-and-run event for Mr. Cole. He stayed the entire evening to eat dinner, sign autographs, and mingle. Bravo!

I applaud the teachers, parents, students, and school staff for planning and organizing such a wonderful event. I only wish this could happen more than once a year!

The Kidlitosphere's Poetry Friday: Macaronic Verse

According to H.L. Yelland's A Handbook of Literary Terms, macaronic verse is "humorous verse in which there is a mixture of languages, especially English and Latin."

Here is my submission for the "Monday Poetry Stretch" challenge at The Miss Rumphius Effect blog:

I have a lingua for lengua.
I got a schwa for bar mitzvah.
But not even I
Can use mein old eye
For decoding Joyce's Wörte.

Please click through the link to read other submissions.

Corpus Libris: Are You Book Enough?

Are you such a bibliophile that you don't know your toe from your tome? Your vertebral spine from your leather-bound spine? Your appendix from your appendix? Then the art of Corpus Libris is for you!

Formalized by Emily Pullen of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, the art of Corpus Libris consists of photographing a book and subject such that the two appear blended. Please hop over to the Corpus Libris blog for some cool examples.

When I learned about the Corpus Libris phenomenon, I dug around in my digital archives to retrieve the above photo of my son with a monstrous spread from Deb Lund and Robert Neubecker's Monsters on Machines.

Link in! I'd love to see your kidlit Corpus Libris pics!

Librarypalooza! Los Angeles Public Library: Los Feliz Branch

A view of the moon from a wintry clearing? Try again. How's about the domed ceiling of the "Storytime Room" at the Los Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library? (If someone has a better picture depicting the bare branches that encircle this space, please link away. My camera hasn't the lenses to capture the full effect.)

This room is all about roundness. With a window like this, why not pull out a submarine picture book and imagine away!

The size of this library's menagerie almost matches that of the L.A. Zoo, which is just a short trip away across Griffith Park. Spend a morning at the Zoo and come here to read more about your favorite animals in the afternoon.

You don't have to trek through the L.A. Zoo's Botanical Gardens to enjoy Mother Nature. Relax outside the Los Feliz Branch Library in the company of some architecturally-pleasing plants. I'm a sucker for succulents!

This may be a small library, but it's bustling with activity. Take the kids here for LACMA-run art classes, Mother Daughter Book Club, Boys' Book Club, Baby Mother Goose Storytime, Toddler Storytime, Preschool Storytime, Teen Anime Club, or Teen Book Club.

Adults can choose from the Book Club, Book Gossip, Chess Club, Scrabble Club, Quilting Circle, Architecture & Beyond, and the Family Art Class.

You get the idea. This is a vibrant book-loving community. What are you waiting for? Come on by and see what's happening.

Librarypalooza! Los Angeles Public Library: Arroyo Seco Regional Branch

Situated in the Highland Park neighborhood of northeast Los Angeles, the Arroyo Seco Regional Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is a beautiful Arts & Crafts destination for book lovers. Additional photos of the library can be seen here.

Remember the amazing library mural we featured on the blog recently? This is where it lives.

The above photo features the Children's Room. It almost looks too tidy, doesn't it? Send some kids, quick!

Here's the "storytime room," complete with a classic Arts & Crafts rocker and a cute child prop.

This is a totally staged photo. I directed the cute child prop to color-coordinate his outfit to Goodnight, Moon. Well, not really... but it worked out nicely, huh?

Conveniently, a park lies adjacent to the library. When you need to slide even further into your imagination, here's the place to do it.

Currently, the Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library features fortune telling classes for adults and LACMA-run art classes for kids.

I suppose these programs really go hand-in-hand for those parents who want to divine if their child will be the next Rene Magritte. Hmmm... maybe that's not such a bad idea.

I Love KidLit!

In honor of the Kidlitosphere's "We Love KidLit!" Blog Carnival of Children's Literature this month (which challenged a multi-media entry), Sudo Nimm created the above image. Need we say more? Check out the rest of the Carnival starting February 27th by clicking here.

Random Picture Book Thought, or THE GROUCHY LADYBUG and Whisperings of Space-Time Theory

My son and I were reading Eric Carle's The Grouchy Ladybug recently, when a random question struck me. As a reader, I wondered what the difference was between experiencing a scene as multiple, double-page spreads, or as a gatefold.

Let me set the stage. In The Grouchy Ladybug, the eponymous insect meets various animals throughout the day and tries to pick a fight with each one of them. At "five o'clock," he meets a whale. The massive mammal doesn't respond to the insect's provocation, so the ladybug "flies on."

The grouchy ladybug then attempts to pick a fight with the whale's flipper and fin, but to no avail. By "a quarter to six," he reaches the whale's tail, and you either know what happens next, or you need to read it yourself to find out.

In any case, what fascinated me was the 45-minute flight the reader shares with the grouchy ladybug across the whale's body. Executed as a pair of gatefolds, this scene would have ably expressed one of the concepts explored in the book-- size; yet, executed as 4 double-page spreads, the scene expresses size and another important concept explored in the book-- time.

The use of 4 double-page spreads in The Grouchy Ladybug helps the reader to not only "take in" the size of the whale, but to also experience a sense of the 45 minutes it took the ladybug to fly the length of the whale. The page turns create a momentum of forward motion. And where there is motion, there is time to measure it.

Because the multiple, double-page spreads prevent the reader from being able to see the whale "all at once," there is also the effect of creating a sense of time having passed. The reader would have to go back to an earlier time, by turning the pages, to be at the "beginning" of the whale physically and temporally.

Finally, the use of multiple spreads makes the whale's size seem even larger, because the imagination has to piece the spreads together to form a complete mental picture. As a result, the whale's size can only be limited by the imagination of the individual reader.

The Grouchy Ladybug's use of multiple page spreads, instead of gatefolds, demonstrates the power of picture book design as an important, if somewhat "hidden," element of a picture book's text. And any addition to a picture book creator's arsenal makes even the grouchiest ladybugs smile.

Librarypalooza! Burbank Public Library: Buena Vista Branch

In honor of Presidents' Day, Sudo Nimm and I are spotlighting the Buena Vista Branch of the Burbank Public Library. "Why?" you ask. That's easy. Check out the above photo.

The library is adjacent to Lincoln Park. Completed in 2002, the site features the bust of a "Thinkin' Lincoln" and grassy, tree-covered areas perfect for a picnic with picture books.

The enclosed play area is designed primarily for the toddler set and includes heaps of communal toys at the time of this posting.

When you're ready to visit the library to read picture books about Abraham Lincoln and other past Presidents, be sure to check out this public art sculpture of a boy reading a stained glass book.

Hop on in across the stones like this little guy, and you'll be on your way to a sylvan reading experience. Once you're done reading about Presidents, you'll want to snuggle in with books about forests and their creatures.

This tree should help set the mood. Look up to find all sorts of critters hiding among the leaves. I hope you're not afraid of snakes.

Hey, librarians! Wouldn't you love having these art tiles adorn your reference desk?

Here's an amazing reading room. Complete with clouded high ceilings and ample windows for natural lighting, you won't want to leave come closing time. Is that a real skunk in the picture? You're going to have to visit the library and find out.

With palm trees outside and pine trees inside, there's no mistaking you're in sunny Southern California. Nestle into the "mountainous" seat backs in this reading room and feel free to travel anywhere else your imagination fancies.

Are there any other forest-themed children's libraries out there? Comment and let us know. Thanks!