What I am Reading Today--Jack Plank Tells Tales

2007 really is the year of the pirate--even failed ones, like Jack Plank. I picked this one up because it's short (I need a quick read before immersing myself in Red Sox postseason baseball,) and because I like Natalie Babbitt. Reading this book of tightly constructed vignettes, I'm reminded that Babbitt is an excellent picture book author as well as a novelist. I'd enjoy more structure in "Plank" but the tales are amusing.

What I'm reading today--I Believe in Unicorns

Michael Morpurgo is the former UK Children's Laureate. I've read the picture book Wombat goes walkabout, and that's about it! It's time to broaden my Morpurgo horizons with one of his most recent offerings. Plus, librarians get good publicity in this one!

For the Voracious Reader

For children just starting to appreciate the craft of a tale well told, here are two picture books that celebrate the joy of the written word: Winston the book wolf (McGee, Marni) and The Boy who loved words (Schotter, Roni.) The idea that shared stories have a healing or protective power has been explored in chapter books as different as Kathryn Lasky's Guardians of G'Ahoole adventure series and Alan Armstrong's barnyard fable Whittington. In keeping with the premise that the picture book is a format and not a limitation, it's satisfying to see complex ideas presented in a way that the youngest reader, or listener, can experience and learn from them.