"The ingredients are simple: words and pictures and page turns. Stir in the magic of a story read aloud, a lap to sit on, a story circle to be part of, a nap time, a private space –– and a picture book can be a force that shapes us, changes us, and never quite releases its grip on our heart."
–Marla Frazee*
Showing posts with label Marla Frazee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marla Frazee. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Friday, December 4, 2015
PPBF: Santa Claus, #1 Toy Expert
Today's Perfect Picture Book Friday pick
Santa Claus, The World's Number One Toy Expert
Written and illustrated by Marla Frazee
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| Santa Claus, The World's Number One Toy Expert, text and art by Marla Frazee |
Written and illustrated by Marla Frazee
Scholastic, 2005
Ages 4-7
Themes:
Christmas, Humor
Opening:
"No one knows more about kids than Santa Claus. He is the number one kid expert."
Synopsis:
Santa knows kids. Santa knows toys. Santa knows wrapping, and planning, and playing. He loves his job. Santa Claus, The World's Number One Toy Expert gives a humorous peek into Santa's world. But there are no elves or gingerbread villages here. This book is a light-hearted look at a hard-working guy who knows when to take a break. It follows Santa through the process of choosing the perfect gift for each child. Then there's just one more important gift to discover. This isn't a typical three-act picture book. Nor will you find an insurmountable problem. After all, Santa tackles this problem every year!
What I Love:
Well, Marla Frazee! But there's more. I love Marla's fresh imagining of Santa Claus. I love the subtle message of play in your work and sacrifice for others' happiness. To me, that captures much of the gift-giving part of the holiday. Page after page of lively, lovely art will make this a traditional read in your home. My favorite touches include the thoroughly diverse children, the illustration of Santa reading to his stuffed animals, the child who wasn't quite happy with his gift . . . yet, and the wrapping paper endpapers. Why not slip a copy of this charming picture book into someone's stocking this year?
Bonus:
1. For a Toyland Christmas, try the Playmobil advent calendar.
2. Rather make your own advent? Wrap picture books and read one a day like these from Striped Armchair, or get creative and stack books as a Christmas tree, like the one from My Little Bookcase.
3. Build Santa's village with the annual Lego winter sets. Include a toy workshop like the one in the book.
4. Check out these amazing toy themed cookies by Sweet Sugarbelle. She even gives you directions to make your own, if you are adventurous. Wouldn't Santa eat these up on Christmas eve?
5. Visit a local toy museum like The Strong, National Museum of Play, The Marx Toy Museum, or The Classic Toy Museum in California.
6. Learn the history and evolution of Santa Claus on The History Channel.
7. Check out these and more Perfect Picture Books at your local library.
Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!
Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for December 4, 2015 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.
Ages 4-7
Themes:
Christmas, Humor
Opening:
"No one knows more about kids than Santa Claus. He is the number one kid expert."
Synopsis:
Santa knows kids. Santa knows toys. Santa knows wrapping, and planning, and playing. He loves his job. Santa Claus, The World's Number One Toy Expert gives a humorous peek into Santa's world. But there are no elves or gingerbread villages here. This book is a light-hearted look at a hard-working guy who knows when to take a break. It follows Santa through the process of choosing the perfect gift for each child. Then there's just one more important gift to discover. This isn't a typical three-act picture book. Nor will you find an insurmountable problem. After all, Santa tackles this problem every year!
What I Love:
Well, Marla Frazee! But there's more. I love Marla's fresh imagining of Santa Claus. I love the subtle message of play in your work and sacrifice for others' happiness. To me, that captures much of the gift-giving part of the holiday. Page after page of lively, lovely art will make this a traditional read in your home. My favorite touches include the thoroughly diverse children, the illustration of Santa reading to his stuffed animals, the child who wasn't quite happy with his gift . . . yet, and the wrapping paper endpapers. Why not slip a copy of this charming picture book into someone's stocking this year?
Bonus:
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| Find these toy-themed cookies and more courtesy The Adventures of Sweet Sugarbelle |
2. Rather make your own advent? Wrap picture books and read one a day like these from Striped Armchair, or get creative and stack books as a Christmas tree, like the one from My Little Bookcase.
3. Build Santa's village with the annual Lego winter sets. Include a toy workshop like the one in the book.
4. Check out these amazing toy themed cookies by Sweet Sugarbelle. She even gives you directions to make your own, if you are adventurous. Wouldn't Santa eat these up on Christmas eve?
5. Visit a local toy museum like The Strong, National Museum of Play, The Marx Toy Museum, or The Classic Toy Museum in California.
6. Learn the history and evolution of Santa Claus on The History Channel.
7. Check out these and more Perfect Picture Books at your local library.
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| Reviewed by Penny |
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| Reviewed by Joanne and Beth |
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| Reviewed by Julie |
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| Reviewed by Laura |
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| Reviewed by Joanne |
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| Reviewed by Erik |
Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!
Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for December 4, 2015 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.
Friday, September 25, 2015
PPBF: Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild!
Today's Perfect Picture Book Friday pick
Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild!
Written and by Mem Fox
Illustrated by Marla Frazee
Voyager Books, 2000
Ages 4-7
Themes:
Parenting, Mischief
Opening:
"Harriet Harris was a pesky child. She didn't mean to be. She just was."
Synopsis:
Harriet Harris is constantly in trouble for things that "just happen," like the jam that just happens to fall on her pants, the paint that just happens to drip on the floor, or the pillow that just happens to explode. Harriet's mom is patient. She quietly corrects her daughter until the antics push her past her motherly limits. What happens next is a source of learning for both mother and daughter.
What I Love:
Every mom knows the exasperation of a child whose curiosity and playfulness keep getting them into trouble. This book is for the harried mom who is running out of patience and the toddler who can't seem to understand why these things just happen: Engaging text by Mem Fox, who understands families like no one else. Beautifully illustrated by Marla Frazee with lots of detail and plenty of white space.
Bonus:
1. Reading Rockets has interviewed author Mem Fox. Watch the video here.
2. The Children's Book Review has posted a lovely interview with illustrator Marla Frazee.
3. Find a teachers guide for the book at Teachers Pay Teachers.
4. Messy kids? Try this homemade, non-toxic paint for little ones from the BowerPower blog.
Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!
Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for September 25, 2015 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.
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| Harriet, You'l Drive Me Wild!, by Mem Fox and Marla Frazee |
Written and by Mem Fox
Illustrated by Marla Frazee
Voyager Books, 2000
Ages 4-7
Themes:
Parenting, Mischief
Opening:
"Harriet Harris was a pesky child. She didn't mean to be. She just was."
Synopsis:
Harriet Harris is constantly in trouble for things that "just happen," like the jam that just happens to fall on her pants, the paint that just happens to drip on the floor, or the pillow that just happens to explode. Harriet's mom is patient. She quietly corrects her daughter until the antics push her past her motherly limits. What happens next is a source of learning for both mother and daughter.
What I Love:
Every mom knows the exasperation of a child whose curiosity and playfulness keep getting them into trouble. This book is for the harried mom who is running out of patience and the toddler who can't seem to understand why these things just happen: Engaging text by Mem Fox, who understands families like no one else. Beautifully illustrated by Marla Frazee with lots of detail and plenty of white space.
Bonus:
1. Reading Rockets has interviewed author Mem Fox. Watch the video here.
2. The Children's Book Review has posted a lovely interview with illustrator Marla Frazee.
3. Find a teachers guide for the book at Teachers Pay Teachers.
4. Messy kids? Try this homemade, non-toxic paint for little ones from the BowerPower blog.
Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!
Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for September 25, 2015 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Picture Book Influences: Old and New
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| Bright and Early Books, delivered right to my house |
For the remainder of Picture Book Month, I'd like to highlight illustrators who literally changed my life.
First, a few of those early influences whose classic illustrations still move readers today.
Next spotlighting some artists who I idolized as a youth.
Lastly adding a few of their modern counterparts, illustrators whose work touches me in the same way as those early masters.
I hope you rediscover some old favorites and uncover some new sources of inspiration.
The Berenstain Bears Books arrived at my house with some regularity through a book club in the early 70's. I loved the energy in the drawings and the clues that were often found before or after the action. These books taught me the importance of the page turn, the "space between."*
* Thanks to Dianne de las Casas
Trina Schart Hyman, as Bookish Ambition regulars will know, was my inspiration, my hero, my ideal. From the early exposure through Cricket's Choice, to the award winners of the 80's, my admiration for her skill grew into obsession. I finally had the bright idea to write her a letter. I'm not sure how many hands it passed through until it got to her, but I do know that sometime after I'd given up hope, a card arrived from the artist herself, crystallizing my determination to be an illustrator when I grew up.
The Berenstain Bears Books arrived at my house with some regularity through a book club in the early 70's. I loved the energy in the drawings and the clues that were often found before or after the action. These books taught me the importance of the page turn, the "space between."*
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| The Bears' Almanac sparked my early love of non-fiction |
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| I couldn't get enough of the clever hats in Old Hat, New Hat |
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| A simple example of the illustration giving a clue to what is to come, from Bears' Vacation. |
Trina Schart Hyman, as Bookish Ambition regulars will know, was my inspiration, my hero, my ideal. From the early exposure through Cricket's Choice, to the award winners of the 80's, my admiration for her skill grew into obsession. I finally had the bright idea to write her a letter. I'm not sure how many hands it passed through until it got to her, but I do know that sometime after I'd given up hope, a card arrived from the artist herself, crystallizing my determination to be an illustrator when I grew up.
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| Trina Schart Hyman from Cricket Vol. 7 No. 6, 1980 |
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| By Barbara Rogasky, mentioned pre-publication in the letter from Trina |
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| Perhaps my favorite Hyman find |
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| Interior art from A Hidden Magic, by Vivian Vande Velde |
Last but not least is Marla Frazee. My adult obsessions are more to do with the longing I feel, than the desire to imitate, but if I could be Marla, I would.
When I saw Clementine, I thought, "Who IS this charming illustrator?" When I read Rollercoaster, I smiled broadly. And when I purchased All the World, I sighed in utter contentment. Here is an illustrator with the clues and secondary storylines of the Berenstains, the details and character draftsmanship of Trina Schart Hyman. It is the quality of her art, and the indefinable emotion it stirs in me, that I aspire to.
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| A great book series, by Sara Pennypacker |
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| A sketch of the characters from Rollercoaster! |
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| All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee |
Who influences you? Who informs your style of illustration? Who makes you want to sit and stare into the pages of a book?
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
PB 300 Update #3
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| Bear Snores On By Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman |
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| Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? By Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth |
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| One Leaf Rides the Wind, By Celeste Mannis and Susan Kathleen Hartung |
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| All the World, By Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee |
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| Tiger Trouble!, By Diane Goode |
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| The Rice Bowl Pet, By Patricia Miles Martin and Ezra Jack Keats |
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| The Twelve Days of Christmas, By Hilary Knight |
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| The Rainbabies, By Laura Krauss Melmed and Jim LaMarche |
Friday, February 1, 2013
PB 300 Update
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| Sponsored by Shar Mohr |
Some of these books are old favorites. Some were chosen for the illustrator. Some were chosen because they have an unusual concept or layout. I'll be pointing out some great characteristics in the writing of these and other books during my PB Dummy Challenge spotlights, so stay tuned.
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| Shoe-La-La! By Karen Beaumont and LeUyen Pham |
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| The Little Daragon By Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright |
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| The Boss Baby By Marla Frazee |
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| Obadiah the Bold by Brinton Turkle |
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| Sailing Off To Sleep By Linda Ashman and Susan Winter |
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| Bunk Beds By Elizabeth Winthrop and Ron Himler |
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| The Tournament By Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright |
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| The Royal Broomstick By Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright |
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| I Can Fly By Ruth Krauss and Mary Blair |
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| Genie's ABC By Eric and Susan Goldberg |
Friday, November 9, 2012
Nothing Like A Picture Book
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| Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee |
". . . there’s nothing in the world that sticks with you like a picture book. Think about your favorite book when you were little. Why do you still remember it? The most special of special characters, voices, stories—they all contribute to this warm little nugget of childhood that you’ll carry around with you forever. You can’t create that by hitching a ride on the big, flashy, commercial, book-selling train of the moment. You create that by pulling your inspiration directly from that spot, by reigniting that spark from your childhood and writing from your heart."
This was the invaluable advice from Emma Ledbetter, editorial assistant at Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster.
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| Bedtime For Frances By Russell Hoban and Garth Williams |
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| Crafty Chloe by Kelly DiPucchio and Heather Ross |
Here are three of her favorites and below you'll find three of mine to help you celebrate Picture Book Month.
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| "Stand Back", Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!" By Pat Thomas and Wally Tripp |
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| The Most Perfect Spot By Diane Goode |
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| The Quiet Place, By Sarah Stewart and David Small |
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