CCBC-Net Archives
Favorites...
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Karen L. Simonetti <klsimonetti>
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 14:14:23 -0600
Gee, Dean's list (see below post) mysteriously mirror my own! And we didn't even talk about it beforehand! However, for whatever reason I decided that I should narrow down my "favorites" to two books. Well, really three, if I am to include a Printz award contender; but I haven't gotten that far on my list of all-so-mysterious hand scrawled notes.
So, without further ado: the books I've already ordered in multiples for gift-giving and hence, my "favorites" are:
Picture Book: Welandia by Paul Fleischman. Yes, it is true. If anyone is paying attention, I've got a thing for this man's writing (see the archives for earlier gushing on Seedfolks-). But, Welandia really captured my heart. With such language as:
"Of course he's miserable, " moaned Wesley's mother. "He sticks out."
"Like a nose," snapped his father.
How could one not fall in love? Not admire and cheer on Wesley? This is a kid with imagination, fortitude and individuality that sums up being a hero. And such an approachable hero, willing to let his curiosity sweep himself and others (including the readers) into the unknown. Best part of the deal? At the end, "He had no shortage of friends."
Kevin Hawkes' illustrations do what we all need a good picture book to do: put us right smack dab in the middle of the story. The use of colors, repeated designs (those red poppy flowers), various angles and details
(from the subtle to the obvious) truly compliment the story. I suppose my favorite "shot" is the double-page spread (towards the end) when Wesley is lying in his purple hammock , playing a flute against the alive-with-potential, blue sky and the night's constellations (which he renames!).
Now, for my fiction pick -for which I really must thank you all from our earlier conversation/thread- is Polly Horvath's The Trolls. I had a "need" for some sophisticated, yet down-to?rth humor and wisdom. Could anyone, but Aunt Sally do it any better? When Aunt Sally tells a story, she spins a multi-colored fabric of a yarn. Horvath let's the whole concept unwind. With such clever use of detail, the writing style is never bogged down: just merely trips and flows along it's way.
Well, this hasn't been the most analytical of posts, but this year's (KLS) favorites really embedded themselves deep in my heart. Hmm...I now have a most unusual craving for FRANKS AND BEANS! Gotta dash!
Karen Sue...thanking you all for your insightful comments and sharing throughout the year...
At 08:24 AM 12/3/99 00, you wrote:
"Mistakes are the portals of discovery."
James Joyce
Karen L. Simonetti email: klsimonetti at earthlink.net phone: 312.337.7114
Received on Fri 03 Dec 1999 02:14:23 PM CST
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 14:14:23 -0600
Gee, Dean's list (see below post) mysteriously mirror my own! And we didn't even talk about it beforehand! However, for whatever reason I decided that I should narrow down my "favorites" to two books. Well, really three, if I am to include a Printz award contender; but I haven't gotten that far on my list of all-so-mysterious hand scrawled notes.
So, without further ado: the books I've already ordered in multiples for gift-giving and hence, my "favorites" are:
Picture Book: Welandia by Paul Fleischman. Yes, it is true. If anyone is paying attention, I've got a thing for this man's writing (see the archives for earlier gushing on Seedfolks-). But, Welandia really captured my heart. With such language as:
"Of course he's miserable, " moaned Wesley's mother. "He sticks out."
"Like a nose," snapped his father.
How could one not fall in love? Not admire and cheer on Wesley? This is a kid with imagination, fortitude and individuality that sums up being a hero. And such an approachable hero, willing to let his curiosity sweep himself and others (including the readers) into the unknown. Best part of the deal? At the end, "He had no shortage of friends."
Kevin Hawkes' illustrations do what we all need a good picture book to do: put us right smack dab in the middle of the story. The use of colors, repeated designs (those red poppy flowers), various angles and details
(from the subtle to the obvious) truly compliment the story. I suppose my favorite "shot" is the double-page spread (towards the end) when Wesley is lying in his purple hammock , playing a flute against the alive-with-potential, blue sky and the night's constellations (which he renames!).
Now, for my fiction pick -for which I really must thank you all from our earlier conversation/thread- is Polly Horvath's The Trolls. I had a "need" for some sophisticated, yet down-to?rth humor and wisdom. Could anyone, but Aunt Sally do it any better? When Aunt Sally tells a story, she spins a multi-colored fabric of a yarn. Horvath let's the whole concept unwind. With such clever use of detail, the writing style is never bogged down: just merely trips and flows along it's way.
Well, this hasn't been the most analytical of posts, but this year's (KLS) favorites really embedded themselves deep in my heart. Hmm...I now have a most unusual craving for FRANKS AND BEANS! Gotta dash!
Karen Sue...thanking you all for your insightful comments and sharing throughout the year...
At 08:24 AM 12/3/99 00, you wrote:
"Mistakes are the portals of discovery."
James Joyce
Karen L. Simonetti email: klsimonetti at earthlink.net phone: 312.337.7114
Received on Fri 03 Dec 1999 02:14:23 PM CST
