#46 in on ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.
Food + ABCs together in one book — what could be better?
Steve Charney and David Goldbeck serve up a fun and delectable two course meal sure to satisfy a variety of appetites in The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond (Ceres Press, 2007). This alphabet book with extended activities contains just the right ingredients to feed hungry minds and hopefully get kids excited about incorporating more fruits and veggies in their diet.
In Part One, (the first “course”), Charney presents a chewy, crunchy, giggle-inducing platter of rhyming alphabet poems (E is for Eggplant, K is for Kiwi, W is for Watermelon). Each page turn showcases one letter/one fruit/one veggie with a photo set against a bold-colored background on one side, and the illustrated poem on the other.
The focus is on familiar, kid-friendly produce as well as the more elusive Jicama, Quince, Ugli®, and Xemenia (a wild yellow plum from Africa). Food-related extras like Vanilla, Herbs, Farmer, and Organic round out the menu. Littlest munchkins will enjoy the lively, comical poems and poring over the cartoony illustrations, perhaps not realizing they are consuming lots of ‘good-for-you’ facts at the same time.
Water Sings Blue was also a 2012 Cybils Finalist and has earned a veritable galaxy of bright and shiny *starred reviews* and other well deserved accolades. The week it was released last Spring, Kate dropped by Alphabet Soup to tell us more about the book. At the time, I was so blown away by this stunner that I really wanted it to win the LBH Poetry Award — and now it has! *happy dance*
Since the time we celebrated this perky, quirky, fun collection (charmingly illustrated by Josée Bisaillon) on its pub day, BookSpeak went on to win the Minnesota Book Award (squee!) as well as many other very cool honors (NCTE Notable Book, Bank Street Best Books, Eureka! Gold Medal, Librarians’ Choice, et. al.). We congratulate Laura again on winning this year’s Cybils and are only too happy to don top hat and tails for another happy dance :).
This online competition is open to anyone, with or without a blog — children, parents, authors, illustrators, booksellers, librarians, families, bakers. All are invited to create an edible book based on a children’s book in any language. This year’s Festival patron is British author/illustrator Bruce Ingman, and the deadline for submissions is March 20,2013.Click here for full details and also check out Playing by the Book’s Pinterest board for ideas and inspiration.
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4. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, you probably already know about TheNiblings,a new children’s literature blog consortium representing Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (Jules Danielson), A Fuse #8 Production (Betsy Bird), Nine Kindsof Pie (Philip Nel), and 100 Scope Notes (Travis Jonker). I like being able to nosh on the tasty links and kidlit news served up by all four of these powerhouse bloggers at the same table. 🙂
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5. Can you believe tomorrow’s the first day of March already? That means it’ll be Women’s History Month! Check in each day at the Kidlit Celebrates Women’s HistoryMonthblog for essays, book reviews and commentaries from authors, illustrators, and kidlit bloggers. This year’s theme is “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.” This site is a great resource for those interested in both new and older books for young people focusing on notable women throughout history.
6. Finally, Children’s Book Week will be here before we know it (May 13-19, 2013). Brian Selznick designed this year’s snazzy poster,
#46 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.
Fancy some Moroccan dates, farm fresh eggs from France, bananas from the Caribbean? How about a stroll through the street markets of Burma, Guatemala and England? Now, I know that if you chanced upon a particular street vendor in Thailand, you’d surely insist on a bowl of yummy noodles. Sitting around a low table on your plastic stool, you’d likely find the happy conversation every bit as satisfying as the food.
Acclaimed UK food and travel writer and photo journalist Chris Caldicott serves up an international feast for the senses in his photographic alphabet of world food. He takes us to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, giving us a fascinating glimpse of how food is grown, transported, sold, cooked, eaten and shared. Far more than a standard “A is for Apple” compendium, each photograph in World Food Alphabet (Frances Lincoln, 2012) tells a story with an interesting cultural and geographical context, showing people interacting with particular foods in their everyday lives.
Don’t move a muscle. Word on the street is that the Moogees are on the move!
If you’re really lucky, they just might move in right next door to you. In the meantime, you can read all about them in this fun and whimsical new picture book, The Moogees Move House, written and illustrated by the endlessly creative, and yes, quirky, Leslie McGuirk.
It’s always a treat to see just what Leslie will do next. You may remember the last time she was here to chat about her amazing alphabet book, If Rocks Could Sing (Tricycle Press, 2011), or the time before that, when she and co-author Alex von Bidder shared tasty tidbits about Wiggens Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant (Candlewick Press, 2009). Doggone delish!
In The Moogees Move House, a family of fanciful creatures searches for a new home. The perky, picky, peculiar-looking Moogees want something round, on the ground, “with class and a nice wide yard and plenty of grass.” With the help of Moogee realtor Mr. Ruru, they see and then reject homes that are too blue, too expensive, and too cheesy (if it were me, I’d move in immediately with a lifetime stash of crackers). Will they ever find just the right house? And what do the three baby Moogees know all along, as they scream, waawaa moogee doogee wee wee low lum!?
It’s time to put on your party clothes and fancy shoes: for our first Soup of the Day for 2013, we’re celebrating a birthday book’s book birthday! Got that?
And I’m doubly, even triple-y excited because it was written by one of my favorite author/poets, Liz Garton Scanlon, and beautifully illustrated by Brooklyn-based artist Stephanie Graegin, who did such a brilliant job that it’s hard to believe it’s her very first picture book. You know how much I love featuring “first books.” 🙂 I totally agree with Kirkus, who called Stephanie “an up-and-coming artist to watch” in their *starred review*. Hooray!
But more about Happy Birthday, Bunny! (Beach Lane Books, 2013), right after we suit up for the festivities.
Jama's Alphabet Soup 