I’ve loved doing Just One More Book!! and it will be sad to turn my back on it.

While I’m reflecting on the future of what has been a huge part of our family, every single day for more than three years, I thought it was appropriate to share this era-ending poem (read by its recipient, Brent Bambury).

A Capital Lament — by Andrea Ross, May 2005.

That April day, infused by May, seemed clearly heaven sent,
The Gomery mess couldn’t bug us less — we’re listening to Brent!
Big news from Rome, then Pow! our own calamitous event,
We’d lost our man, and thus began our Capital Lament.

In two aught two, when Brent was new, our cautious ears we lent,
But soon his pace, words, voice and taste led to enravishment.
Who know his stint would be a glint? That Go! would lead to went?
And we’d be left a town bereft, despite all blandishments.

Robert Fontaine, comedien, now who will he torment?
Will Lucy sob? Or grab the job? To whom will Laurence vent?
We’re sure of this, we’ll sorely miss our host omniloquent.
You’re lane to fame is Hog Town’s gain. Best luck and Thank you, Brent.

Read Mark’s post about Just One More Book!! as a member of our family: The baby, the bathwater, or both?

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was the compact camera. This sprightly tale of curiosity and determination puts the spotlight on the inventive young man who made photographers of all of us, one improvement at a time.

On this date, September 4, in 1888, George Eastman registered the trademark Kodak. You can learn more here.

Other books mentioned:

• One Beetle Too Many — The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin
• Neo Leo (the Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci)
• The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau
• The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur

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, so we can include your audio in our show.

Cute only gets you so far in the real world. Capturing the glee of victory and the sting of defeat, this hilariously illustrated rhyming book lets us laugh at our own (and our little sibling’s) attempts to prove otherwise.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Dusan Petricic
• David Roberts

More little ones and learnings on JOMB:

• Greedyanna
• Sourpuss And Sweetie Pie
• I’m Not Cute!
• Scribble
• Do Unto Otters
• Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons
• I Am Small

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

HOTLINE VOICES: Cathy Miller, “The Literacy Ambassador”, alerts us about Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes (by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury).

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, so we can include your audio in our show.

Crisp salt air and sunshine breeze from airy, upbeat illustrations in this chattily shared and poignant reminder of the bliss that is forgiveness.

Rosh Hashanah is September 19-20, 2009. Will you be tossing an “I’m Sorry” list?

More forgiveness on JOMB:

• Enemy Pie
• The Worst Best Friend
• Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big
• Too Many Tamales
• Not so Rotten Ralph
• The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
• Elinor and Violet: The Story of Two Naughty Chickens
• Pumpkin Soup
• Chloë’s Birthday. . . and Me
• Do Unto Otters
• The Unknown Soldier
• The Diary of Laura’s Twin (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
• Bird
• Sourpuss And Sweetie Pie
• Sleeping Dragons All Around
• Smoky Mountain Rose (An Appalachian Cinderella)
• Silly Tilly
• and more….

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, so we can include your audio in our show.

Dexterous textile, text and recipe clipping collage are the pièce de résistance of this delectable adventure in talent, teamwork, travel — and sneaked treats!

More gallivanting animals on JOMB:

• Safe and Sound
• Someday When My Cat Can Talk

More food on JOMB:

• A Medieval Feast
• The Butter Man
• The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
• The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating
• The Tortilla Cat
• Too Many Tamales
• Treasure for Lunch
• Berry Magic
• Chopsticks
• Mammoth Pie
• On Top of Spaghetti
• Pumpkin Soup
• Sanji and the Baker

More kings on JOMB:

• The King of Capri
• The King’s Equal
• Rumplestilskin’s Daughter
• The Red Wolf
• Wenceslas

More dogs on JOMB here.

HOTLINE VOICES: Eden Spodek — who will be at PAB09 — has fabulous childhood and parenthood memories of Where the Wild Things Are (by Maurice Sendak)

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, so we can include your audio in our show.

Just look for the tall, handsome guy in the Wild Rumpus shirt!

This week, almost one year to the day after our June 15, 2008 cutoff date, we were thrilled to receive this fabulous new submission from illustrator & author Peggy Collins (on JOMB). Thank you, Peggy!!

Over the summer, we’ll be catching up on our series of short interviews with each of the more than 50 contributors to our Love of Reading Gallery.

Details on how to submit appear at the top of our Love of Reading Gallery page.

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Hard-core horror meets sumptuous simile in this gripping exploration of siblinghood, self-destruction and sanitized sameness.

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.

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Dazzling light glows against darkening shadow as this warmly told memory of friendship and fortitude peeks into a dim chapter in Canadian history.

Other books mentioned:

• Gleam and Glow
• Naomi’s Tree
• Naomi’s Road
• Baseball Saved Us

For more information about the Japanese Internment of 1942-1945, visit Vanishing British Columbia, Canada: A People’s History, and Canadian Nikkei.

You can read about more of our favourite Canadian, Asian-themed children’s books in this essay by Andrea at Paper Tigers.

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.

“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.

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Offbeat chalk pastel illustrations and delicious defiance are the stars of this giggle-inducing tale of wedding wear, willpower and sibling solidarity.

More wedding books on JOMB:

• Jamela’s Dress
• The Ring Bear

HOTLINE VOICES: Bill Rowland raves about Olive, the Other Reindeer (by Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold) as a book that appeals to all ages.

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.

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Quick! What’s used for communication, transportation, self defence, sound-dampening, warmth, entertainment and hatching and doesn’t cost a cent? If you didn’t say “bubbles” – and even if you did – you will be blown away (how could we resist?) by this beautifully illustrated and light hearted look at the ingenious uses of suds in the wild.

More fascinating animal facts on JOMB:

• There’s a Babirusa in My Bathtub
• Animals at the EDGE (Saving the World’s Rarest Creatures)
• Where in the Wild?
• Nic Bishop’s Frogs
• A Horse in the House
• Over in the Ocean … in a Coral Reef

HOTLINE VOICES: Chel Pixie recalls a colourful favourite, The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle).

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.

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Mark and I clearly had a tough time packing all our love for this fabulously inspiring and entertaining book into a coherent chat, so I definitely can’t pack it into one sentence.

How about this?

If you are a parent or a teacher or a writer or a child, if you’ve had the gift of an extraordinary educator, if you’ve ever felt small, if you’re prepared to have your heart swell with hope or you’d just enjoy a good laugh, get your hands on a copy of this unpredictable, heart-warming super-hero tale — and then rise to its challenges to live life, exercise your strengths and recognize greatness in yourself and others.

Looking for more inspiring teachers in children’s books? Check out 100 Cool Teachers in Children’s Literature on A Year of Reading (thanks to Franki, Mary Lee — and to Tricia for the reminder).

HOTLINE VOICES: Mark corners April Harkinson at the PodCamp Philly Bowling Event and learns that her favourite children’s books are the Berenstain Bears Series (by Stan and Jan Berenstain).

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.

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Two hundred and eighty three pages of flawless rhyme whisk us through joy, sorrow, suspense, giggles, bliss, shock and triumph in this beautifully illustrated and designed adventure in friendship, self-discovery and the power of engagement.

Other books mentioned:

• Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers
• The Call to Shakabaz
• Waiting at the Door to Unger
• Jillian Jiggs

Pop over to The Holly and the Ivy for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

HOTLINE VOICES: Author Kirby Larson shares how the book How to Steal a Dog (by Barbara O’Connor) stole her heart.

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.

But spending the evening reading aloud Zorgamazoo, Robert Paul Weston’s incredibly uplifting, completely rhyming adventure novel, has actually whisked me away from the torment of reality.

So I’m stepping briefly out of our Just One More Book! grid to share with you a much-needed rallying cry from the reluctant (furry) hero of this fabulously sweet and exciting adventure:

“Now, sometimes you lose and sometimes you win,
but my Pop always told me: You never give in!
And if he were here now, I know what he’d say:
Morty, my son, when you’re caught in a fray,

or your travels are tough and the going is rough,
or you’re up to your neck in the slippery stuff,
or say some old robots are on the attack,
then I tell you, my son: You start fighting back!”

I’m not fighting back, literally, but I am bolstered. So Thank you, Morty. And thanks to Robert Paul Weston for this great rhyming ride.

Andrea

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Fabulous photos of scarce, strange and, often, sweet-looking animals and intimate glimpses of the young scientists who are working to save them make this exciting look at work of the Zoological Society of London’s EDGE of Existence Program an engaging introduction to the science of conservation.

HOTLINE VOICES: Mrs. Incredible talks about the poetic devotion she and her three year-old son share for A Light in the Attic (by Shel Silverstein).

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.

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Saucy cartoon-style illustrations and catchy rhyme make this gritty ditty so much fun it just may etch examples and relative sizes of ounces, grams, pounds, tons and tonnes into unsuspecting little minds.

More math on JOMB:

• Missing Math (A Number Mystery)
• A Very Improbable Story
• Full House: An Invitation to Fractions

More cartoonist creations on JOMB:

• Sandy Mackenzie, Why Look So Glum?
• Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big
• Baby Brains
• She’s Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head
• Cinderella Skeleton
• interview with Simon James
• interview with Christine Tripp

HOTLINE VOICES: Sarah Hatfield of No Whey, Mama shares her thoughts about Blueberries for Sal (by Robert McCloskey)

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.

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

To celebrate the 500th episode of our JustOneMoreBook! Children’s Book Podcast, our daughters, Lucy (9) and Bayla (7), share their thoughts on a few of their favourite chapter books.

Books mentioned:

• Anne of Green Gables
• Before Green Gables (Budge Wilson on JOMB)
• Clarice Bean Spells Trouble
• Dial-a-Ghost (Eva Ibbotson on JOMB)
• Dodger and Me
• Horrid Henry and the Mega Mean Time Machine
• Horrid Henry Meets the Queen
• If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona Macgregor, 1918 (Jean Little on JOMB)
• Ivy and Bean: Bound to be Bad
• Journey to the River Sea (Eva Ibbotson on JOMB)
• Kendra Kandlestar and the Shard from Greeve (Lee Edward Fodi on JOMB)
• Little Wolf , Terror of the Shivery Sea (Ian Whybrow on JOMB)
  Monster Mission (Eva Ibbotson on JOMB)
• Mr Gumm and the Power Crystals
• No Safe Harbour, The Halifax Explosion Diary of Charlotte Blackburn, 1917
• Sir Fartsalot Hunts the Booger (Kevin Bolger on JOMB)
• The Dreadful Truth: The Northwest Passage
• The Great Ghost Rescue (Eva Ibbotson on JOMB)
• The Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stewart on JOMB)
• The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (Trenton Lee Stewart on JOMB)
• The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall on JOMB)
• The Penderwicks On Gardam Street (Jeanne Birdsall on JOMB)
• The Phantom Tollbooth
• The Secret of Platform 13 (Eva Ibbotson on JOMB)
• The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls
• The Star of Kazan (Eva Ibbotson on JOMB)
• Which Witch? (Eva Ibbotson on JOMB)
• You’re a Bad Man Mr. Gumm

We hope you’ll help us celebrate by sharing some of your favourite chapter book titles in our comments section.

Thank you for making our 500 episodes possible. Looking forward to show #1000.

Andrea & Mark

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.

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Adorably hilarious illustrations and snappy, understated text make this imaginative tale of a truly crafty canine a swoon and coo storytime favourite.

If you’re wondering how on earth the author came up with this very bizaare plot, here’s your answer.

More dogs on JOMB:

• Owney the Mail-Pouch Pooch
• Night Running: How James Escaped with the Help of His Faithful Dog
• Stella, Unleashed!
• Little Lions, Bull Baiters & Hunting Hounds: A History of Dog Breeds
• Biscuits in the Cupboard
• Good Dog
• Heroes of Isle aux Morts
• May I Pet Your Dog?
• Rosie: A Visiting Dog’s Story
• “Let’s Get a Pup!” said Kate
• The Pound from the Hound
• Poodlena
• The Trouble with Tilly Trumble
• The Outside Dog
• Lady Lupin’s Book of Etiquette
• Dogs’ Night
• I Want A Dog
• Safe and Sound
• Dirty Dog Boogie

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.

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Hoopla, bloopers and the rantings of temperamental talent turn a lesson in the science of snow into a boisterous blast of behind-the-scenes TV-making lunacy — who knew deposition, sublimation, sectored plates and radiating dendrites could be so much fun?

Other books mentioned:

• The Scrambled States of America Talent Show
• Do Unto Otters

HOTLINE VOICES: Author and Professor of Library Science at Texas Woman’s Universit, Sylvia Vardell explains why Diamond Willow (by Helen Frost) is one of her current favourite books.

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.

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Mind boggling puzzles, optical illusions and layer after layer of fascinating detail draws the reader into a visual vortex that rivals any handheld game console — and not a single moving part!

Other books mentioned:

• The Rich Man and the Parrot
• Monkey Business
• The Sound of Colors

HOTLINE VOICES: Elsa recounts several of her childhood favourites including the lesser known Spurs For Suzanna (by Betty Cavanna) and tells us why her selections are so important to her.

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

Accessible narrative, detailed annotations and a thought-provoking collection of photographs, postcards, pins and poems shed light on the ceremony, symbolism, chronology and controversy commemorating our global family’s losses to war.

More books about war and peace on JOMB:

• Angel Girl
• A New Coat for Anna
• The Donkey of Gallipoli (A True Story of Courage in World War I)
• If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona Macgregor, 1918
• A Poppy is To Remember
• The Diary of Laura’s Twin (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
• Gleam and Glow
• Janusz Korczak’s Children
• What We Remember
• The Cello of Mr. O
• Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War
• One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
• Seven Brave Women
• And to Think That We Thought That We’d Never Be Friends
• Aunt Claire’s Yellow Beehive Hair

HOTLINE VOICES: Author Alison McGhee shares the reasons why Swiss Family Robinson (by Johann D. Wyss) is one of her childhood favourites.

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.

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Musings and melodrama of a modern twelve year old, careful chronicling of a young prisoner of the Warsaw Ghetto and dozens of potent photographs stitch together the present and the past in this engaging and educational look at bullying, bigotry and backbone.

Other books mentioned:

• Janusz Korczak’s Children
• Angel Girl

HOTLINE VOICES: Thank you to a former education instructor at University of Victoria for sharing her high opinion of Shimmerdogs (by Dianne Linden).

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.

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Bhajias, samosas and imaginative snowy play are front and centre in this appetizing tale of friendship, acceptance and the perceived risk of being seen as different.

Other books mentioned:

• Carla’s Sandwich
• A Bad Case of Stripes

More flavours of The East on JOMB:

• Lights For Gita
• Mama’s Saris
• In the Heart of the Village
• Taj Mahal
• A Horse in the House

HOTLINE VOICES: Thanks to editor/author Sandhya Nankani for telling us about Divali Rose (by Vashanti Rahaman and Jamel Akib).

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.

Captivating caricatures, fact-filled rhyme and pithy biographical chasers make this entertaining introduction to the first sixteen Canadian Prime Ministers must-read madness for youngsters and oldsters alike. Eh?

Other books mentioned:

• The Book Of Time Outs: A Mostly True History of the World’s Biggest Troublemakers

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.

HOTLINE VOICES: An unidentified listener tells us about The Time-for-Bed Angel (by Ronica Stromberg and Kristina Stephenson).  Thank you!

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

Beautifully bound in a soft unevenly edged journal and told with humour, innocence, intimacy and affection, the daily entries of a fictional twelve year old disclose the spellbinding details of life during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-19.

Our daughter Lucy (9) also contributes to the discussion of the book, which she tells us is part of her current favourite series.

More books touching on war and peace on JOMB:

• The Donkey of Gallipoli (A True Story of Courage in World War I)
• A Poppy is To Remember
• Gleam and Glow
• Janusz Korczak’s Children
• What We Remember
• The Cello of Mr. O
• Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War
• One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
• Seven Brave Women
• And to Think That We Thought That We’d Never Be Friends
• Aunt Claire’s Yellow Beehive Hair

More illness on JOMB:

• The Tortilla Cat
• The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur
• Farm Flu

HOTLINE VOICES: Author Michelle Mulder from Victoria, British Columbia shares her thoughts on The Composition (by Antonio Skarmeta and Alfonso Ruano). Thanks, Michelle!

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Loads of grade-school laughs, visual variety and the ongoing antics of the two exuberant monsters who are building the book make this collection of riddles, jokes and activities a take-anywhere stash of performance opportunities and entertainment.

Other books mentioned:

• CTON’s Super A-maze-ing Year of Crazy Comics

HOTLINE VOICES: Kimberley Clayton Blaine of TheGoToMom.tv shares one of her favourites, Slinky Malinky (written by Lynley Dodd and illustrated by Mallinson Rendel).

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.

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Toasty tones, a hint of terror and boisterous, confident rhyme make this gleeful triumph over imagined dangers a rowdy and reassuring bedtime read.

Other books mentioned:

• There Were Monkeys in my Kitchen

More bedtime and frights on JOMB:

• Oh No, Not Ghosts!
• Is a Worry Worrying You?
• Go to Bed, Monster!

Stay tuned at the end of this review for a special treat:
Author/Illustrator extraordinaire, Mo Willems, shares his thoughts on Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, a new book written and illustrated by Bob Shea.

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

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Rich, realistic, edge-to-edge illustrations full of action, maps and lovable hounds combine with history, humour and friendly, accessible text to provide the full scoop on 43 canine breeds in this quickly dog-eared non-fiction tome.

This episode includes contributions from our daughter, Lucy.

More Dogs on JOMB:

• Biscuits in the Cupboard
• Good Dog
• Heroes of Isle aux Morts
• May I Pet Your Dog?
• Rosie: A Visiting Dog’s Story
• “Let’s Get a Pup!” said Kate
• The Pound from the Hound
• Poodlena
• The Trouble with Tilly Trumble
• The Outside Dog
• Lady Lupin’s Book of Etiquette
• Dogs’ Night
• I Want A Dog
• Safe and Sound
• Dirty Dog Boogie

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Good friends, good intentions and an unstoppable stream of creativity: this infectiously upbeat tale of disarray, distraction and blissful disobedience makes us glad we chose the adventure that is family life. We can’t imagine a childhood without it.

Other books mentioned:

• The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs
• Jillian Jiggs to the Rescue
• Jillian Jiggs and the Secret Surprise

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

Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things are.

– Marianne Williamson

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Dizzying perspectives, deadpan musings and the small scale dramas of everyday life turn a slo-mo tumble from a sixth storey window into an entertaining peek at excess, ingratitude and the thrill of being loved.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

If these thirty-two pages of flipping, flopping, bouncing, buzzing, twitching, itching, hissing, humming, fizzing, popping, whizzing, waltzing, shaking, leaping, rug-cutting rhyme don’t get your toes tapping, we’d like to hear about it.

Other books mentioned:

• Nothing Beats A Pizza
• Cabbagehead
• Zigzag
• I Did It Because …

Listen to Mark’s interview with Loris.

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

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

Packed with punchlines, puzzles, spookiness and spunk, these forty fabulous fur-filled poems keep our family scrambling for read-aloud dibs.

Pop over to The Well-Read Child for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Passion sparked by childhood reading leads us through snow, salt, sandstorms, camel spit and souks in this eye opening introduction to the wonders of the Sahara and the sensational potential of curiosity and pluck.

More of the Arab World on JOMB:

• The Butter Man
• Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In The War
• My Friend Jamal

If we sound slightly odd in this show, it’s because we recorded it during a live television appearance on Roger’s Daytime.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Fall rain surrenders to vividly blustering snow as a young girl thinks her way from fear through curiosity, empathy and finally into action in this heartwarming tale of hardship and humanity.

More books touching on homelessness on JOMB:

• The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge
• I Can Hear the Sun
• Amelia’s Road

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Tabloid-style coverage, Looney-Toonesque illustrations and the feisty narration of a bohemian godmother transform the traditional tending of a love-sick princess into a comical read-again caper.

Other books mentioned:

• Stories at the Door
• The Three May Peaches

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Windswept bleakness and ceaseless toil surrender to light hearts and lushness as this beautifully illustrated allegory reminds us to make time for music, beauty and the nourishment of our souls.

Beware of the Barrenness of a Busy Life — Socrates

Other books mentioned:

• Wild Cameron Women
• Some Helpful Tips for a Better World and a Happier Life

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Radically textured paint and collage illustrations combine with informative rhyming text as the imagined journeys of a young girl’s cat become an upbeat introduction to the landmarks and traditions of Europe.

Other books mentioned:

• Safe and Sound

More cats on JOMB:

• Cat Magic
• The Tortilla Cat

Be sure to pop over to Sarah Reinhard’s blog for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

With spring upon us and green spaces awash with waddling waterfowl, this humourous account of an outraged donation-dependent duck provides an entertaining reminder of why we resist the temptation to feed our feathered friends.

Other books mentioned:

• Wings

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Beaming boyhood bliss pops from zesty action-packed photography-and-paint collage as a spunky seven year old proudly presents the shared adventures and intriguing details of life with his very best bud, Jamal — who happens to be Somali.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Based on a true story and starring a Newfoundland dog, this suspenseful account of a daring maritime rescue is an inspiring reminder of the resourcefulness, generosity and pluck of an era gone by.

You can read more about the Canadian Coast Guard vessel, CGCS Ann Harvey, which was named for one of the young rescuers, here.

Other ships and shipwrecks on JOMB:

• The Killick
• The Lamp, the Ice and the Boat Called Fish
• The Edmund Fitzgerald: Song of the Bell
• Up
• Pirate Bob

More working dogs on JOMB:

• Rosie: A Visiting Dog’s Story
• How Smudge Came

You can learn more about Newfoundland Dogs here.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

The cheeky mother-replacement schemings of a disgruntled son and a crackerjack combination of collage, paint and cleverly carefree scrawling make this hilarious showdown between the delights of imagined control and the irreplaceable affection of a loving mom a pore-over-each-page favourite.

Books and Resources mentioned:

• National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
• The Incredible Book Eating Boy

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Thoughtful, unhurried narrative and rich, enveloping art capture the clutter and compassion of two celebrated sculptors, a fledgling robin’s rescue and the birth of a life-changing friendship.

You can learn more about sculptors Frances Loring and Florence Wyle here. Read about the recently published adult book, And Beauty Answers: The Life of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, here.

Aha! I found a photo of their studio church on Glenrose Avenue!

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

A clever combination of first person illustration and third-person narrative sweep us from the bleak friendlessness of a half-built subdivision to the sunny satisfaction of a job well done in this wordless triumph of teamwork and imagination.

More imagination on JOMB:

• Iggy Peck, Architect
• Scribble
• Go to Bed, Monster!
• I Want A Dog
• The Grandmother Doll

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Hazy, gold and red, retro artwork and snappy, all-too-familiar bickering make this simple yet surprisingly stirring tale of rivalry and resilience a memorable reminder of a decided route to happiness.

Other books mentioned:

• Suki’s Kimono

More Dogs on JOMB:

• Good Dog
• “Let’s Get a Pup!” said Kate
• The Pound from the Hound
• Poodlena
• The Trouble with Tilly Trumble
• The Outside Dog
• Dogs’ Night
• I Want A Dog

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Soothing speculation, striking details and spellbinding scratchboard art present a gripping account of The Karluk’s last icy voyage and the strength and resourcefulness that beat all odds.

More shipwrecks on JOMB:

• The Edmund Fitzgerald: Song of the Bell
• The Killick

Trafford.com Amazon.com

What could be more giggle-inducing than recognizing our own human foibles in a pair of sweet and spunky turtles? With its slapstick, smiles and airy, upbeat illustrations, this simple story helps us laugh at the silliness of squabbles and invites us to find a better way.

You can sneak a peek at the whole book on Heather Castles’ blog, here!

More turtles on JOMB:

• Nanabosho: How the Turtle Got Its Shell
• Tudley Didn’t Know

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.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Gorgeously funky, dark but glowing illustrations and soon-to-be classic rhyme take us on a midnight journey from bleak solo sleeplessness to the blissful comfort of a snuggly, loving clump in this lighthearted bedtime adventure.

Other books mentioned:

• Room on the Broom
• My Friend Bear

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

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Enchanting moonlit expanses, snappy, intelligent narration and plenty of clever details turn the tiny personal experience of that awkward first crush into a sweeping, surreal adventure that feels almost as big as infatuation.

You can hear a JOMB chat with Marie-Louise Gay here.

You can read more about Stuart McLean here.

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!

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Warm, evocative illustrations and beautifully worded, thought provoking narration make this fictional encounter with poet Emily Dickenson a stirring introduction to poetry, eccentricity and the power of understanding.

You can read more about social anxiety in children’s book here.

On this edition of Just One More Book, Mark speaks with social worker and children’s book author and illustrator Tim Huff about his book The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge. They talk about the struggles Tim faced in getting his book published and how adults can help children understand homeless people.

Books and resources discussed:

• The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge
  
• Light Patrol (street outreach program)

The wait is now over. The Door to Unger opened a few weeks ago, just before the end of October.

Lee Edward Fodi joins us for this ninth and final edition of the series to talk about his release party, early feedback on the book, an upcoming event in New York City and his plans for the next installments of the Kendra Kandlestar series.

You are entering the Door to Unger.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Rhythmic narration, enchanting riddles and an elegant fusion of Asian and art deco illustration draw us into an adventure in friendship and fortitude that highlights the fragility of life and the fortune that is water.

You can read about more of our favourite Canadian, Asian-themed children’s books here.

You’ll find a great list of dragon related books and activities here.

On this edition of Just One More Book, Mark and Dan Bar-el sit in The Gallery Cafe of the Vancouver Art Gallery to discuss how Dan’s experience in live theatre has influenced his children’s picture books, writing with a flair for the absurd, and a classroom program called Stories In our Own Words which encourages children to write and perform their own stories.

Books mentioned:

• Alphabetter (on JOMB)
  
• Such a Prince

Books by Vivian Gussin Paley referenced by Dan Bar-el:

• A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play
• The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter

Photo: Dan Bar-el holding the original draft of Alphabetter (then called ‘Don’t Panic’)

We are thrilled to announce that an excerpt from our review of Lee Edward Fodi’s new fantasy adventure Kendra Kandlestar and the Door to Unger, the long awaited sequel to Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers, has been printed on the back of the freshly released book:

“In The Box of Whispers, Kendra Kandlestar helped us understand the magic of facing ourselves. Now she’s back — older, wiser and full of spunk — to share with us the incredible power of resisting negativity and being gatekeepers of our own truth.”
~ Andrea Ross and Mark Blevis, JustOneMoreBook.com

We hope you’ll get your hands on a copy of this engaging adventure so you can see for yourself!

This episode is part of our Publishers Showcase, a special series of interviews with children’s book publishers, which we are running during the weeks of July 2 and July 9 2007.

A publisher was once asked how someone could start a small children’s book publishing company in Canada. The response ’start a big one and wait’.

On this edition of Just One More Book, Mark speaks with Rick Wilks about the thirty-two year evolution of his independent children’s book publishing company, Annick Press, from two books per year by kids for kids to thirty amazing titles each year. You can learn more about Annick Press by visiting their website, annickpress.com.

Photo: Annick Press