The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter without the illustrations? Heresy! What were they thinking? I think of the Beatrix Potter books as the perfect integration of illustration and text. Having one without the other just doesn't cut it. And the book itself is an expanse of white with black print. There is no explanation of why it contains just the text for all her books. It totally drains the life out of her stories. Bad, bad, bad idea!

Invention of Hugo Cabret

This is a book you really have to sit down to read. At 533 pages it is heavy and awkard to hold in one hand. Though it is not a graphic novel the story is told in word and drawing alternately. There are pages of pictures followed by pages of words followed by pages of pictures. The drawings which are only in shades of black, white and grey, fully evoke the enormity and the scariness of the huge railroad station where Hugo hides/lives. Most interestingly, it is based on an actual historical event - the invention of an automaton which could draw and write.
Check it out. I think the Children's Lit world will be talking about it for some time.

Middle School Books?

Hi,
I know everyone has been reading Book Bash Authors. Has anyone read any
titles that they would recommend for middle school readers. It seems that
there is a preponderance of High School Titles. It would be helpful to have a list
of authors and titles to recommend to our younger reading zealots. The following authors
seem to fit the bill so far: Ann Rinaldi, David Lubar, Wendy Mass, Maureen Johnson's
Little Blue Envelopes. Any other suggestions?
Ann

Illustrations

Reading though the new picture books I found one with lovey illustrations. Half a World Away is by Libby Gleeson and illustrated by Freya Blackwood. It is a simple, sweet story about the power of friendship. The illustrations are water colors -- fairly monocromatic and simple but the use of red on each page focuses one on the important detail. The children's faces are sweet and a tad melancholy -- appropriate to the story line.

New Picture Books

Of the current new batch of picture books I found a few I thought were worth noting.

1) The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan tells the story of Dodsworth. Dodsworth spends his days doing as little as possible -- running his trift shop, visiting the junkyard to find new things for his store, napping, and watching TV. One day he finds a pink refrigerator with a note clamped to the front with a powerful magnet. The note contains a mysterious message. Soon Dodsworth is living a very different, far more interesting life. Great message about living life to the fullest.

2) Wolf! Wolf! by John Rocco is the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" from the perspective of the hungry old wolf. Nice resolution. The illustrations have a Japanese quality (-- and I don't mean anime.)

3) Silly Billy by Anthony Browne is about a boy with too many worries. The solution proposed by his grandma? Worry dolls! Soon that poses a new problem. But a stronger Billy finds a solution to this new problem on his own.