I had a wonderful conversation recently with a 7-year-old girl named Kate. We were walking along the shore of Lake Michigan and we came upon a wedding being held on the beach. This caused Kate to launch into a description of her own wedding dress. Flowers were a central theme. As I watched her describe—using her hands as well as her words—the dress and the veil and the headband in such great detail, I started thinking about children’s book illustrations that would feed her marvelous visual imagination. The moral of today’s post is, ‘the right book for the right child at the right time’ is what we need to do more of… I told Kate, don’t bother to read the words if you don’t want. Just look at the pictures and think about the pictures in your mind.

Of course, I told Kate’s parents about Fairie-ality: The Fashion Collection From the House of Ellwand (Candlewick, $19.99 paper) by David Ellwand, but that wasn’t enough for me. When I got home, I looked through my extensive collection to see what other books would be a combination of flora and fauna and fashion. I ended up putting together a book bag of fabulously-illustrated books that are not necessarily as fabulously written. Some went on way too long, some were copyright-free texts of classics that just don’t play well today. The stories in some were okay, but all of them had lush amazing illustrations.

Two in particular suited my purposes. Sleeping Bunny (Random House, out-of-print) by Emily Snowell Keller and Pamela Silin-Palmer is a silly take on the fairy tale classic, Sleeping Beauty. The paintings are so rich with detail. Carrots cross in coats of armor, good fairies are named after flowers and dressed appropriately. There are some corny plays on ‘hoppily ever after,’ but the brilliance of this book is in the border to border attention to imaginative detail.

The other is A Summertime Song (Aladdin, out-of-print) by Irene Haas. A young child named Lucy is given a magic hat by a frog and when she puts it on, she becomes a wee person whose journey through her own garden is completely changed by her size and new perspective. Animals and insects come alive and the illustrations, set against dark dusky backgrounds have an ethereal quality. Flowers and leaves form raiment for mice and birds.

Exciting news for Wireman, my comic series devoted to late and reluctant readers! The project is profiled in the May 2008 issue of School Library Journal! Executive Editor Rick Margolis interviewed me to find out why this comic series—now also available as a graphic novel—has been so effective in reaching hard-to-reach kids. Learn more by reading the article on line—it’s in Rick’s “Under Cover” column or visiting our web site www.wiremancomics.com.

For Mother’s Day, I’m choosing to do my favorite thing—write about childrens’ books! One of the ways to lure kids to reading is to hook them by using a favorite topic. Maybe they’re obsessed with “High School Musical” or one of the many crime dramas on television. How Does the Show Go On? (Disney, $19.95) is a complete compendium of all things dramatic. Thomas Schumacher, producer of the amazing Broadway musical, “The Lion King,” takes kids backstage to meet all the talented folks required to perform an award-winning theatrical experience. But first, aspiring theater-goers will see a ticket, a playbill, a bit of the script. Photos, notes and sketches abound. This is a great book to have in the classroom before a scheduled performance to avoid what we call in the arts-education biz, ‘drive-by’ art experiences. Getting children ready beforehand and whetting their appetite with a how-it-happens book like How Does The Show Go On? will deepen the experience.

Same goes for Do Not Open (DK, $24.99). This encyclopedia of the world’s best kept secrets has some trademark DK flourishes. The title of course is brilliant. Next the book is recessed in box that looks like a little jail cell complete with barred cover. Entries are brief and visually exciting. From the different versions we learn of Christopher Columbus—okay was he a hero or a tyrant?—to what has been sucked into the Bermuda Triangle, Do Not Open is a great book for exploration and discovery in small group classroom work or the back seat of the car. Start that wonderful practice of having kids read aloud their most exciting discoveries.

So many board books are just wrong—adaptations of popular selling books with too much text or ooey-gooey parent sensibilities. Friends, board books have a distinct place in the children’s literature canon and “Baby! Baby!” (Random House, $6.99) has earned its place. Why? Because author Vicky Ceelen has taken a very simple concept and conveyed it in photographs. It will be mesmerizing to babies and toddlers and a lot of fun for mom and dad, too. All Ceelen does is present a variety of baby expressions and poses and pair them with an animal in a similar pose. The typical newborn with legs curled up really does look like a frog when you think about it. There is striking symmetry between a child and a chimp trying to fit all fingers and maybe a whole hand into their mouths. Small children love to look at photographs of people and they adore animals. This one will be requested, studied, and chewed on, just as a board book should be!

Simon James’ Baby Brains and RoboMom (Candlewick, $15.99) is a delightful ‘be careful what you wish for’ scenario for uber-moms and dads. Mom and dad did everything right with their baby while in utero and now that he’s born he’s a baby genius! Their little darling begins inventing while in diapers, but soon sees that motorized strollers and electric baby rockers are less than ideal for an exhausted mom and dad. So he invents them a robomom. At first all is well as robomom washes the car, prepares the meals and bathes Baby Brains. But the life of a busy mom is even too much for this mechanical miracle. Soon the Brains family is having nuts and bolts with engine oil for breakfast, Baby Brains is dunked into the dishwater and hung out to dry on the laundry line. “I want my mommy!” says Baby Brains. Moral of the story: there’s nothing that can replace a mother’s tender love. Darling illustrations and lovely interplay with the text. It’s got a sophisticated premise, so might tender older, striving readers

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Woohoo! It’s Poetry Month. Just my humble opinion, but nobody does poetry like Harcourt. You see lovely poetry books from other publishers, but this is a publisher that seems to have a nose for lilting rhymes, playful, tummy-tickling, rollicking, good-time rhymes. Ferocious free verse. Just great stuff. Sigh. We’ve had quite a week here in Michigan: snow, hail and rain have pelted the adventurous spring buds. That inspired me to re-read Mrs. Biddlebox, Her Bad Day and What She Did About It! (Harcourt, $15) by Linda Smith. “On a grubby little hill, in a dreary little funk, Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over on the wrong side of her bunk.” Poor Mrs. Biddlebox. It looks as gray outside as newly paved cement and she’s just in a horrible mood—can’t you relate? But unlike the rest of us, who simply mutter, what can you do when you live in Michigan/Portland/Buffalo/Toledo? Mrs. Biddlebox decides to be proactive. “I will cook this rotten morning! I will turn it into cake! I will fire up my oven! I will set the day to bake!” Marla Frazee channels grumpy dumpy Mrs. Biddlebox with illustrator’s elan. Sometimes it just pleasing to be in a bad mood. Find more great books from Harcourt at www.harcourtbooks.com/childrensbooks/

Here’s one from the vault. I can still almost remember this name by heart from childhood readings (I was tempted to put a Ricky Ticky Tavi on the front at first). Tikki tikki Tembo (Square Fish, 6.95) by Arlene Mosel is not the full name of the first and honored son of his Chinese parents. No, his full name is Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo. The second son’s name is Chang. When Chang falls into the well, it’s no big deal. His older brother runs to find help to get Chang out. But when Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo falls into the well, Chang must get that mouthful out to his most honorable mother as well as the old man with the ladder…well, it almost undoes the child. The suspense both visual and narrative, the delightful illustrations and the ability of kids to chant with urgency Tikki’s long long name, make this book a winner. First published in 1968, Square Fish is devoted to re-issuing titles from backlists of MacMillan’s imprints: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers and Roaring Brook Press. Wonderful authors like William Steig, Polly Horvath, George Selden, Natalie Babbitt. Oh my. Visit them on the web and start drooling: http://us.macmillan.com/squarefish.aspx

Dear Friends of Readia,

We have not gone away! We have simply been in a chrysalis stage. Over the next several months, Readia will transform from my sole efforts to alert teachers and librarians to books for struggling and reluctant readers to encompass many members of our community through my new position as Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Aquinas College. I will be recruiting a band of retired educators to help me review books. But what is most exciting is that we have four independent bookstores that have agreed to highlight readia books for the public to purchase and donate to local schools. Here is an innovative way to get the best books where they are most needed.

What’s even more exciting is that you will be able to do this in your communities as well. All you need is a bookstore who wants to participate along with you. We’re heading to our local senior residential facility and asking the men and women who do woodworking to build displays to be placed in each store. Stores will know in advance what the next month’s books are so they can order copies. While the book is on display, members of the public can purchase it for donation to a local school in need. We’ll also be identifying these beforehand.

This is a way to highlight the importance of children’s literacy to our larger community as well as allow people to participate on a smaller scale in these efforts. We’ll be keeping you informed of our grand experiment! And of course, be bringing lots of book ideas and suggestions to you.

It’s an exciting time. Stay tuned!

Here’s a great resource for interviews with children’s book authors. Patricia Newman, an author herself (Jingle the Brass, among others), reads the body of an author’s work and then does an in-depth interview of him/her for California Kids Magazine. Post-publication, she posts them on her web site, www.patriciamnewman.com. Just click on “Meet Other Children’s Authors” on the left-hand side. I was struck by the time and energy Patricia put into the endeavor, which resulted in a much more interesting interview. So introduce your students to the authors, from Julia Alvarez to Jane Yolen.