On this edition, Sheree Fitch is a guest of our home to talk about being shortlisted for the highest honour in Canadian adult humour — The Stephen Leacock award, the differences between writing adult fiction and children’s books, and the movie deal for her YA novel The Gravesavers.

Other books by Sheree Fitch:

• If I Had a Million Onions
• Mabel Murple
• I Am Small
• There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen

“My eyes belong only to me, they tell me I’m me and nobody else.
But if I were not inside my body, who would be me?”

Breezy, upbeat illustrations and beautifully worded wonderings give us a stirring glimpse of the fresh and often forgotten preschool perspective in this thought-provoking reminder that, when it comes right down to it, we’re all small.

Pop over to ayuddha.net for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

HOTLINE VOICES: Thelma Slater, Chair of the Mayor’s Literacy Commission in Canton, Ohio, checks in with her fifty-something son to recall some of his childhood favourites including Dr. Seuss.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Why are author and illustrator photos so often so far out of date?

Listen to our discussion about author and illustrator photos then share your thoughts by either leaving a comment on our blog or leaving a voice message on our listener hotline, +1.206.350.6487.

Authors mentioned:

• Oliver Jeffers
• Laurie Keller
• Sheree Fitch

Thanks to Bob Staake for making us ageless in his great Just One More Book!! caricature.

In November 2006, we spent a few hours with Sheree when she was in Ottawa.  We talked about children’s books and our daughter Lucy read aloud the amazing book Sleeping Dragons All Around.  We brought Mocha Maple Chocolate cupcakes as a treat.  And so began our campaign to have Sleeping Dragons reprinted.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, author Sheree Fitch talks about the 20th anniversary edition of Sleeping Dragons All Around, being the author of a book that’s reaching a second generation and how Sleeping Dragons became and will always be a part of a family that suffered a tragic loss.

More Sheree Fitch on Just One More Book:

• Poesy Perfection: Sleeping Dragons All Around
• A conversation with Sheree Fitch
• Exquisite Insanity: There Were Monkeys in my Kitchen!
• Soul Tonic and Spoonerisms: If I Had a Million Onions
• Revisiting Poesy Perfection: Sleeping Dragons All Around

This is the second in a two-part series about Sleeping Dragons All Around. In part one, we replayed our original review of Sleeping Dragons, complete with questionable recording quality.

On August 30, 2006, we published episode 22 of Just One More Book!! It was a review of a permanent family favourite, Sleeping Dragons All Around, written by Sheree Fitch and illustrated by Michele Nidenoff. We would learn, shortly afterward, that the book was out of print.

We’ve become friendly with Sheree since we interviewed her for episode 54 published on November 13, 2006 and we’ve always told her how disappointed we were that Sleeping Dragons and some of her other fabulous children’s books, were no longer available.

Not for long.

As it turns out, the 20th anniversary of Sleeping Dragons All Around will be celebrated on January 25, 2009, with the re-release of the book. And guess what’s printed on the dust jacket. Our Just One More Book!! blog blurb from that August 30, 2006 book chat:

How cool is that?

This is the first of a two-part series about Sleeping Dragons All Around. In this part, we replay our original review of Sleeping Dragons, complete with questionable recording quality. Part two will be released on Monday, December 15, 2008 and will feature a new interview with Sheree about the new edition and a story of how Sleeping Dragons All Around has made an impact.

Want to see our other dust jacket appearance? Click here.

HOTLINE VOICES: Shelley Burns shares a year-after-year favourite book, Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge (by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas).

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Tangy rainbow-fashioned sketches and popping, crackling, soaring, gliding rhyme make these sixty three pages of wordplay and warmth a poetry medley for all ages.

Pop over to Becky’s Book Reviews for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

Also mentioned:

• Loris Lesynski (on JOMB)

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Concentrated comedy, chaos, and commotion explode from every detail-packed image and fervent verse of this frenzied celebration of syllables and silliness.

Is it just me, or does this book perfectly capture the pandemonium of parenting?

Other books mentioned:

• Mabel Murple

Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

As it turns out, there are far too many amazing children’s books, authors and illustrators to limit ourselves to just ten choices. Even so, Mark suggested we try compiling our Desert Island 10 — books we’d need to have with us if we were stranded on a desert island.

The list that follows captures the names of books, book series and authors mentioned.

• The Sound of Colors
• The Little Wolf Series
• Alligator Pie
• Jack Prelutsky books (Dragons are Singing Tonight, Monday’s Troll, Something Big Has Been Here, A Pizza the Size of the Sun)
• Dr. Xargle series
• Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers
• Sheree Fitch books
• Barbara Reid books
• Loris Lesynski books
• The Hound From the Pound
• Iggy Peck, Architect *
• Dr. Ted (coming April 2008)
• Jon Scieszka books
• Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book
• The Three Little Bears
• The Princess and the Pea
• The Frog Prince
• Fairy tales generically
• Two Frogs
• Eva Ibbotson’s books
• The Meanest Doll in the World
• I Want a Dog

Are you brave or crazy enough to create your own Desert Island 10? Share your list as a comment on this post, send your MP3 recorded or type-written list via email to justonemorebook@gmail.com, or phone it in to our listener feedback line (206-350-6487).

* Congratulations to Andrea Beaty. Her book, Iggy Peck, Architect, is one of Time Magazine’s top ten children’s books of 2007!

Mark has whittled the recording down to a 30-minute conversation that includes Sheree’s thoughts on writing for children, the Theology of Nonsense and the power of poetry.

For more on The Theology of Nonsense, listen to Sheree on Mark’s Podcast, Electric Sky.

• Harriet the Spy reviewed by Sage of Quirky Nomads

We hope you’ll tell us about one of your favourite books too!

Send your review (five-minutes or less) as an MP3 file in email to justonemorebook@gmail.com, phone it in to our listener feedback line (206-350-6487), leave a two-minute MyChingo, or send your text review in email.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

This fabulously fun nighttime expedition is essential bedtime reading for the toddler and preschool crowd. Full of crackerjack words, plenty of variety and a deceptively simple plot, our copy is worn ragged.