The Library

The Library

Sarah Stewart 1995

illustrated by David Small

For those of us who always seem to have our nose buried in a book, who have piles of books in every room, who have made library cards for our friends, and would rather spend the grocery money at the bookstore.

Elizabeth Brown LOVES books.  She reads and reads and reads and soon her house is filled and overflowing with books. 

Books were piled on top of chairs

And spread across the floor.

Her shelves began to fall apart,

As she read more and more.

When volumes climed the parlor walls

And blocked the big front door,

She had to face the awful fact

She could not have one more.

She quickly wrote this line:

"I, E. Brown, give to the town

All that was ever mine."

Caldecott

There’s a reason there’s an award named after him. I found these two reproductions last week. They are simple nursery stories and rhymes wonderfully illustrated.

                   

The Farmer's Boy: One of R. Caldecott's Picture Books

Randolph Caldecott 1989

 The Mad Dog (The Randolph Caldecott series)

Randolph Caldecott 1989

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

In honor of my friend Robyn’s birthday today (I hope her day is the very opposite of this!).  She counts this as one of her favorite books. Henry does too. Actually, this book is very Henry. Sometimes when he is ridiculously miserable and pessimistic I get this out and read it to him. I think it makes him feel better.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Judith Viorst 1972

illustrated by Ray Cruz

It seems like everything that can go wrong does go wrong for Alexander. Like his mom says at the end “Some days are like that.”

My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad-train pajamas.  I hate my railroad-train pajamas.

Owl at Home

Owl at Home (I Can Read Book 2)

Arnold Lobel 1975

This is my favorite Arnold Lobel book, which is really saying something because he has written and illustrated so many great books (don’t worry, of course Frog and Toad will make it on here).

Owl invites Winter in, who proves to be a very poor houseguest. He tries to be upstairs and downstairs at the same time. He sleeps in his chair because of “bumps” in his bed (the kids and I still laugh about this story). He says goodnight to a moon that follows him home and in "Tear-water tea" (the best story) he fills his teapot by thinking about sad things that make him cry- chairs with broken legs, spoons that have fallen behind the stove, books that cannot be read because some of the pages have been torn out.  I don't know why, but I love the very last lines: 

 Owl felt happy as he filled his cup.  "It tastes a little bit salty," he said, "but tear-water tea is always very good."

The Rooster Crows

I absolutely love when a book that’s been on my Amazon wish list (which incidentally is 267 items long) shows up at the used bookstore for $1.  I have been known to actually squeal out loud when this happens.  This one showed up a week ago.

  The Rooster Crows : A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles

Maud and Miska Petersham 1987

The Mouse Book

This morning when I went out to water the garden I found a tiny mouse body, dead in the grass. My cats have been at it again. They are voracious hunters. Our yard has been littered with the bodies of mice, voles, birds and baby rabbits. This poor little mouse just couldn’t get away in time. (I don’t feel too bad- mice are a dime a dozen.)

The mouse book

Helen Piers 1966

This older book tells the story of a mouse looking for a house and then a friend, all through photographs. He settles into a doll house like Hunca Munca and finds a girl mouse to share it with. When they go to look for food their house is transformed into a nice little pet cage with straw and a wheel and plenty of food and water just perfect for them.