Are You an Echo?

Are you an Echo?

poems by Misuzu Kaneko 

illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri

Sometimes we stumbled across the most wonderful things!  Like this biography of the Japanese children's poet Misuzu Kaneko

David Jacobson delicately tells her story, which includes an unhappy marriage and a sad ending.  But her poetry speaks of her child-like curiosity and wonder at the world around her.   The title comes from one of her most famous poems that was broadcasted to comfort the nation after the devastating 2011 tsunami.

(If you read Japanese, each poem has another illustrated Japanese version on the opposite page.)

The Ice Cream Store

The Ice Cream Store

poems by Dennis Lee

pictures by David McPhail 1992

Last week books at the thrift store were 5 for $1.  I might have gone a little crazy!  But it's hard to pass up fun books like this one.  

The Shortest Day

Apparently I love books about the Winter Solstice, even thought we've passed the solstice and the days are slowly getting longer.  But what's not to love about Susan Cooper's poem paired with Carson Ellis' primal illustrations?  

The Shortest Day

Susan Cooper

illustrated by Carson Ellis 2019

When the Moon is Full

 Another seasonal book of the moons throughout the year.  This time illustrated quite movingly by Mary Azarian.

When the Moon is Full

A Lunar Year

Penny Pollock

illustrated by Mary Azarian

The Changing Maze

The Changing Maze

Zilpha Keatley Snyder

illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak 1985

Life is always so serendipitous.  Just after finishing The Velvet Room, I stumbled across this picture book at the thrift store.  A short story by Zilpha Keatley Snyer and illustrated by none other than Charles Mikolaycak (a favorite!)

A magical tale told by an old Grandmother to her grandson has real life lessons to impart.  I love Mikolycak's artwork, my only (silly) complaint is that the pictures are drawn in a Victorian time period while I was imaging an older Medieval style.