Good Night, Little Bunny by Jane Yolen

Stars are shining brightly. The moon is overhead.

Come, little bunny. Now it's time for bed.

Here are your pj's.
Let's put them on.
One foot, then the other...
Oh, a great big yawn!

This Touch-and-Feel book is new this year. (The text was previously published under a different title.)

The drawings are sweet and the focus is on getting ready for bed. Which means that Baby-bunny sees that the stars and moon are out, puts on his/her pj's, brushes teeth and hair, has a bedtime story and then falls to sleep after a goodnight kiss.

Talking Points :::
I was rather surprised that the touch-and-feel aspect of this book wasn't better. Basically there was cotton cloth -- used in two places in two different patterns, but basically with the same feel-- a scratchy plastic (used for toothbrush and hair brush bristles), a soft lamb's wool, a soft felt for the bunny's face, and a smooth silvery surface.

My major complaint is that some of the surfaces were very small. For example, the surface area for bristles on the toothbrush was tiny. I could barely get my fingertip to touch the toothbrush surface which means it would be a darn small target for a baby finger. The surface for the hairbrush, which was made out of the same scratchy plastic, was much larger, and perhaps that was really what they meant children to focus on.

A similar problem exists for the shiney silver stars and the crescent moon. Shiny is good, babies love that, but the surface area is very small. They can't, for example, see themselves in mirror-like surface. And the smoothness of the crescent is scarcely different than that of the page of the boardbook.

Overall, not a bad book-- I like Jane Yolen -- just uninspired.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs

Good Night, Little Bunny

Accelerated Reading level : unknown

• Board book: 12 pages
• Publisher: Little Simon; (January 26, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1416983015

The Black Book of Color by Menena Cottin

The Black Book of Color

by Menena Cottin
Illustrated by Rosana Faria
Translated by Elisa Amado.

There is always something to surprise me hiding in the picture book section of my library. No matter how many times I check through them, no matter how often I peruse the new arrivals or reshelve titles, I always miss something until it finds my fingers and catches my attention.

It’s understandable I might have overlooked this one. It’s a small, unassuming rectangle with a black cover and gray title. It isn’t flashy or attention grabbing—but luckily I know only too well not to judge a book by it’s cover.

The Black Book of Colors is a book that contains no visual colors whatsoever. It is entirely crafted with black pages and spare white text. So why did this book have me excitedly shoving it under the noses of my fellow librarians and other book-lovers?

It’s a book that encapsulates what colors would mean to a person without sight. Above each line of text, the sentence is written in raised Braille. To the right of the text an entire image has been placed in raised texture on the page, but without any color pigment added to distinguish it from the black page background. The sample challenges listeners and readers to use their sensory imagination. “Thomas says yellow tastes like mustard, but is as soft as a baby chick’s feathers.” (on the right side of the 2-page layout are feathers). The entire book is a sensory feast, while avoiding sight, the one sense usually associated with picture books. It’s a perfect way to introduce to children what it might be like to be blind, or an exercise in exploring other senses and how they can be used to describe something. At the back, the author includes the entire alphabet translated into Braille—a helpful inclusion, as most children have little exposure to any Braille text.

It’s a beautiful book, originally published in Mexico and now translated to English so that a wider audience can appreciate the artistry and imagination. It’s difficult to find examples of Braille in the standard library collection, so I’m delighted to have this example to share with teachers and parents.

Normally I like to recommend other books that are similar in some way—but I’m having a hard time coming up with anything. This book is singular, fascinating and great book to share with children Pre-K and up. It won’t make for a great group read aloud (touch is necessary to make this a worthwhile experience) but it’s a good pick for a one-on-one.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

The Black Book of Colors

Accelerated Reading level : 2.6

• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books
  
• ISBN-10: 0888998732
• See-a-Sample
  

Looking Forward ~ Looking Back This Week In Books

Sunday Salon

What can I say-- I hate Daylight Savings Time. The changes are rough on everyone in our family. Me, Bruce, the kids... even the cat! (Ling's stomach doesn't understand that breakfast has been rescheduled.)

Finished:

	If you like YA-Dystopia put Birthmarked on your TDAR (track down and read list). It will be out March 30th. The story is about Gaia, a 16 year-old training as a mid-wife. She's charged with delivering the first 3 babies a month to the powers-that-be within the Enclave. This book kept me on my toes and was a fast, exciting read. (review forthcoming...click here)
	Read it before, and reading it again with Dave and LaLa. Bunnicula is a great read-aloud and we laughed ourselves sore. A classic tale that contains humor and mystery. A great read for elementary aged children.
	Awful. I've been on a Gary Paulsen jag and have read about 17 of his books in the last two months and this is the only one I disliked. There was none of Gary's signature survival information, nor character introspection. Instead it was a flat, rushed movement from scene to scent. Note that 115 kids at Amazon have given this book 4- and 5- Stars. So maybe it's a book for action lovers. (There was one 1-Star and two 3-Stars) (review forthcoming...click here)

Currently Reading:

We had so much fun with Bunnicula, that we had see what happens next. Mini Rant: I have to say that I am annoyed with James Howe for actually telling children that they needn't worry about giving Harold the dog chocolate, because Harold was fictional. I mean what sort of literature device is that.

Truancy is coming out in paperback. I hadn't heard of it until a publicist at Tor offered us a review copy. [We didn't take them up on that since the library had the hardback.] I wasn't planning on squeezing it onto my read-list until I read the reviews at Amazon. Yikes! This poor kid -- Isamu was 15 when he wrote this book -- was viciously attacked and insulted. Well gosh, had to see what was up with that. So far, I'm enjoying this book. It's thought provoking and fun. And in my opinion better written than Dan Brown's books.

Incoming:

	Heard a lot about this one and can't wait to see if it lives up to the reviews. The story is about domestic abuse and two brothers. Not my usual YA-Dystopia choice.
	Love Jane Yolen. Can't wait to read this one. (Update::: Read this one and was disappointed. Review will be up later this week.) (review forthcoming...click here)

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs