Wanda Ga'g

Here's an author that Paul grew up with that I don't remember at all from my childhood. Wanda Ga'g is among the illustrators credited with "reinventing" the modern picture book. Her art is like nothing I've ever seen in a children's book. The full-page spreads hold even young children rapt despite being printed entirely in black and white. The stories are all wonderfully strange (compared to the standard picture book) and make good use of repetition and rhyming.

She is most famous for Millions of Cats, a story about a man who goes out to find a cat but has trouble choosing. So, he brings home "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats."

But I think my favorite is Gone is Gone (or the Story of a Man Who Wanted to Do Housework). It's an old Bohemian story that she remembered hearing as a girl. Not finding it in Brothers Grimm, she decided to write it down the way she remembered it complete with some vernacular. It's a familiar theme but the way she tells it is so sweet and so funny. Poor Fritzl blunders around exclaiming "Na, na! What's gone is gone" after every chore ends in ruin. And wise Liesi wraps it all up (after Fritzl cries uncle) by declaring, "Well then, if that's how it is, we surely can live in peace and happiness for ever and ever."

For illustrations, I think I like Snippy and Snappy the best. You can actually see the whole thing (in a pretty chopped up format) at Project Gutenberg. The illustrations match the text so beautifully.

Why evolution is true by Jerry Coyne

Jerry Coyne's 2009 book "Why evolution is true" is an engaging presentation of the abundant evidence for evolution drawn from a diversity of fields that include genetics, paleontology, biogeography, developmental biology, etc. etc. The book is chock full of great examples and is really nicely written.

Wise Child and Juniper

If you are looking for a great young adult read, I highly recommend Monica Furlong's books Wise Child and Juniper (there is apparently a sequel called Colman that I have not read). I fell in love with these books 20 years ago at age 10, and am still a huge fan today, having just re-read them on a whim last month. These books follow Wise Child and her guardian Juniper and are set in Cornwall in the Dark Ages. In Wise Child, Juniper becomes guardian to Wise Child after her grandmother passes away (her father is off at sea and her mother has abandoned her). Juniper is the healer, midwife, and witch of a small village. Under Juniper's mentorship, Wise Child learns all about herbs, healing, astronomy, reading, and magic. The acceptance of witchcraft by the village is challenged, however, as Maeve (Wise Child's real mother... a dark sorcerer) returns. The book culminates in a trial of Juniper for witchcraft. The book is beautifully written and an intriguing description of historical healing techniques and ways of life. While it is not quite a coming of age story, it is definitely a tale of self realization and follows wonderful female heroines. Juniper, while written after Wise Child, is a prequel and follows Juniper at a younger age as she trains to be a Doran. While my personal favorite is the book Wise Child, Juniper too offers a compelling story, beautiful writing, and an inspiring heroine.

The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan

Dodsworth the mouse is living a rather uninspired life, running his junk shop and watching some shows on the tube, when he stumbles upon a magical pink refrigerator in the junkyard that engages him in a variety of life-changing adventures. A really cool book. Tim Egan has written some other favorites of ours (e.g., Roasted Peanuts and Serious Farm).

Amos & Boris by William Steig

Amos & Boris is another all time favorite of mine. It is the story of a mouse (Amos) and a whale (Boris) who meet under unfortunate circumstances and become dear and supportive friends. I love William Steig's writing, both for his choice of words and story lines and his commitment to tackling issues like mortality, loneliness, and aspiration. Here is one succulent excerpt: "One night, in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the sight of some whales spouting luminous water; and later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the immense, starry sky, the tiny mouse, Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all." Highly recommended!

Elisa Klevin

We have enjoyed Elisa Klevin's artwork in many books but it was just recently that we discovered that the books she has written herself are truly extraordinary. They are filled with characters who live art and you get the sense that it must have been a pretty interesting time growing up with Elisa's family. Must-have books for a family that is trying to foster craftiness.

The Puddle Pail is a story about Ernst, a crocodile whose brother encourages him to begin collecting things (stones, feathers, bottle caps...the brother is truly compulsive!) Ernst is every bit as interested in the world around him but he doesn't want to lock it up, he delights in watching things change and interact. He finally decides to collect puddles but he quietly refuses to do it "the right way". An astounding story about a beautiful dreamer. Lena has been asking to read it again and again and I've been happy to oblige.

The Apple Doll is the story of another dreamer who spends her time playing alone in her apple tree until it's time to start school. Lizzie picks the best apple and makes it into a crude doll to take to school with her but the kids tease her and the doll begins to go soft. One of the noteworthy things about this book is that Lizzie's family is very supportive of her - even her older sister who suggests that she could plant her aging doll and let it grow into a new apple tree. Together they think of a way to save Lizzie's doll and she is able to share it with her classmates and begin to make friends.

One last book that we've read but she has many others which I know we'll be keeping our eyes out for. I think we jumped into this one mid-stream as I see now that there are other Paper Princess books, but it didn't matter. The paper princess is a paper doll lovingly created and treasured by a girl who is now growing up. She puts her on the dresser for safe keeping but the paper princess does not want to be shelved. The Paper Princess Finds Her Way is the story of her journey to find a new home.

The Island of the Skog by Steven Kellogg

A group of mice set sail in search of a peaceful island but are unsure what to do when they read in the atlas that the island they find is populated by one skog (no one knows what a skog is). Bring it a present or fire the cannons?

I might need to start a new tag called 'mythical creatures'. This is definitely one of Lena's favorite genres. I think she really likes to be surprised by a story. And she loves stories that are a little bit scary but have funny endings. We took this book to school to read after nap and she got very animated telling the other kids about the skog but she didn't spill the beans about the surprise ending! All the kids loved it. Parents will appreciate the Utopian premise of the story and the sarcastic comments that go along with it: "here we can all *feel* like kings, and that's the most important part of being king, as everyone knows."