Bon Anniversaire Mila

Yesterday, we had the joy of meeting our cousin for the very first time. She was enchanting, and I am hoping she will teach us all French one day.  We knew she'd be a trip-trapping sort of gal, and thus gave this favorite folk tale for her first birthday.

Here Comes the Storm

If loading up on Tin Tin and Holly Hobie books is preparing for the blizzard headed our way then we are good to go. Throw in a bag of salt and vinegar Cape Cod chips and we can weather anything, piece of cake. This morning at the library there were crowds of patrons balancing towering stacks of all the audio visual material they could manage. The librarians smiled wearily. I thought about bringing them a Box o' Joe to aid their stamina, but that idea stayed where it started.  Thankfully they were closing early at noon. We made it out with an arsenal.

And then the seas parted and I caught sight of something buried deep in my childhood, Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre.  Do you remember these? Robin Williams as the Frog Prince? Liza Minelli as the storm worn princess in The Princess and the Pea? My friends and I spent countless hours mesmerized by these tales. The production is so homey, and quality, and hilarious, all at the same time. They are better than I remembered.  Myles and Fiona are equally enamored, Praise God. I think I would have had to give them up if they did not perform cartwheels after viewing. Their favorite part was when Red Riding Hood knocked at the door of Granny's house who was still working on her precious red hood. Stalling for time to hide the gift, Granny shouts, "Wait...uhh..I'm naked!"  It is better than it sounds.

Little Book of Fables

Because what household couldn't use its own teeny tiny little book o' fables. Veronica Uribe did a splendid job cleverly retelling the stories, and they are beautifully illustrated to beat all.  Apparently she created a series of these that also includes Little Book of Latin American Folktales and Little Book of Fairy Tales.  Yay, I love old new finds.

Leave Your Sleep

This might verge on blasphemy, but Natalie Merchant's Leave Your Sleep is the modern answer to Robert Louis Stevenson's A Children's Garden of Verse.  Perhaps she herself realized this and politely nodded to him by opening with 'The Land of Nod.' This collection of classic children's poetry is just wonderful.   Merchant released the album Leave Your Sleep a couple years ago, and now it is beatufully illustrated by the amazing Barbara McClintock.  Merchant describes this as the most ambitious project she has ever attempted.  It shows.  We owe much to her hard work as we are whirled away by poetic magic. It comes complete with a CD, for there is one song for each poem in the book.  Our family favorite is Bleezer's Ice-Cream with its hilarious list of twenty-eight divine creations. Cocoa Mocha Macaroni is at the top.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Recently, I have grown concerned that St. Nick will be taking me up on my word this season to keep it simple, and I will not find a lovely cashmere turtleneck under the tree.  Appropriately the favorite book around the house is a beautiful retelling of  The Emperor's New Clothes.  This graphic novel is a treat.  The story is clear and compelling and the illustrations by, Jeffrey Stewart Timmins are amazing.  He nails the emperor and the crooks spot on.   In fact, there is a whole series of wonderful fairy tales retold in graphic novel format from Rapunzel to Paul Bunyan.  We cannot get enough. Check out these books published by Capstone.  

Mother Goose

I love Mother Goose.  She is full of magic and song.  I remember my own mother reading her rhymes to me over and over again.  A little primer on poetry it was.  The McElderry Book of Mother Goose contains revered and rare rhymes compiled and illustrated by Petra Mathers.  Offbeat, while remaining faithful to familiar classics, Mathers keeps us on the edge of our seat from Wibbleton and Wobbleton, to Little Miss Muffett.  If your Mother Goose is in as many tattered pieces as ours is, this refreshing volume might be just the replacement you are looking for.

The Best of Little Red Riding Hood

I think I just found my favorite retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.  Everything about this production is noteworthy- the plot twists, the pictures, and the theatrical story CD read by Imelda Staunton.   Lari Don's interpretation of our heroine is wonderful, and the illustrations by Celia Chauffrey are beautiful and intriguing.  But then the list keeps going!  Trina Schart Hyman's book won a Caldecott Honor and Melissa Sweet's version was listed as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book a few years back.

I love how the hunter is armed with a bow and quiver full of arrows, in lieu of shotgun!

All of these stories are beautiful and cunning in their own right. Find your family's favorite! A distinct nod to the Brothers Grimm, though despite their despicable anti-semetic views wrote fairy tales for us to savor forever and ever.

 Check out the new compilation of their work to honor 200 years.

Kate and Bobby

If you stopped at the "Magic Tree House Collection" assuming Mary Pope Osborne threw in the towel  after creating such a magically, winning, popular series- keep going. I made that same assumption until 

I discovered Kate and the Beanstalk and Sleeping Bobby.  These books are delightful retellings of fairy tales that never grow old, 

with the gender role swaps you always dreamed of.

Despite Myles' face, Sleeping Bobby is actually hilarious. Of course you know the story of a royal couple who longed for an heir.  "The child was so extraordinary and so delightful that the king and queen wanted him to have a very special name. "How about Bob?" asked the queen." 

And who might you ask illustrated these winsome stories? Why bingbangcrashboom's very own illustrator crush, Giselle Potter. 

We are not worthy.

And thank you, Mary for creating clever and benevolent Kate. We always wanted a girl who could climb to the clouds with as much gusto as Jack.

"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum'un, I smell the blood of an Englishwoman."

And I will end on that note.  :)

PS. Bonus points to anyone who can give a hair tutorial for Bobby's princess.

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Helen Ward brings to life an old fable with beauty and more beauty.  The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse is told with sophistication.  There is nothing trivial about the country mouse's dilema in this story. He had always been content, but could he trust that satisfaction?

  

Winter is coming and as his cousin, visiting from New York City, leaves the mud and frost behind for carpeted floors and a warm bed, the country mouse wonders what new comforts he might discover in the big city.

The watercolor illustrations astound as the reader is brought from the orchards of the field to a sumptuous holiday table.  

 

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse asks ageless questions about comfort and contentment.  And to top it all off the festive trimmings of New York City make it a perfect Christmas sampler, if you will.

Enjoy this step back  in time!

The 3 Bears and Goldilocks

We could read folktales all day. They are antiques for the soul. This is especially true when one takes a delightful new twist! In The 3 Bears and Goldilocks, created by the award winning duo of Margaret Willey and Heather Solomon, who brought us Clever Beatrice, an old time story is transformed into an adventure with an unexpected perspective.

The writing sings and the illustrations captivate.

Goldilocks is cunning, mischeivous, and naive. 

Not a twirpy blonde. 

Fiona gave this book to a bosom friend on her birthday. 

I think it makes a great gift.

Enjoy!