Friday, January 25, 2019

The Pelican Chorus

I never get tired of silliness and nonsense!  Edward Lear is, of course, the king of such things.  His nonsense verses paired with L. Leslie Brooke's drawings are particularly fun.  There's a chair and table who decide to walk around town, a Pobble (whatever that is!) who loses his toes, and a bold pair of sugar-tongs and nutcracker who decide to ride off on horses (my favorite poem!)

Edward Lear
drawings by L. Leslie Brooke


Kangaroo endpages







Unfortunately Brooke did not draw a Daddy Long-legs.  This looks more like a crane fly to me.




Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Hello Lighthouse


Over Winter break we traveled down to South Carolina and then Florida.  Charleston is definitely someplace I'd like to visit again and spend more time exploring.  We only had a couple days there, but while walking around the city we found a wonderful bookstore- Blue Bicycle Books.  (Anytime we travel I manage to sniff out bookshops!)

Blue Bicycle Books is an interesting mix of new and old books.  In a back hallway shelf I found an antique copy of Twenty Years Before the Mast. I particularly liked the description on the front page:


In the children's room Madeleine picked up Hello Lighthouse.  I immediately loved the illustrations, some of which are drawn with the unique perspective of living in a lighthouse.  Sophie Blackall makes the life of a lighthouse keeper seem particularly charming.

Sophie Blackall 2018













Friday, January 4, 2019

If I Had a Little Dream

Nina Laden
illustrated by Melissa Castrillion
2017

A rhyming verse celebrating life and child-like wonder.  The pictures really make the book.