The Boo! Book by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
illustrated by Nicoletta
Ceccoli
Atheneum, $17.99, Ages
4-8
Although
not many people know this, begins the story, “there are almost as many book
ghosts as there are house ghosts.”
Book ghosts meddle with stories, turn them upside down, and scramble
words.
What
follows are descriptions of how to know if a book is haunted, what to do if you
discover you’re reading a haunted book, when NOT to read a book that’s haunted,
and what to do if you’re trapped in a haunted book. Cast in blues -- to stage the more fanciful moments -- and
greens for more realistic bedroom scenes, this story features many delight-filled
imaginings.
To
accompany author Lachenmeyer’s sometimes spooky, and often reassuring text,
artist Ceccoli creates appealing light blue, round-faced ghosts who ‘swim’
through a book’s pages. She uses a mix of techniques -- plasticine, digital
photography, acrylics on paper and Photoshop – to take young readers through a
collection of dream-like sequences: like a snowy night sky sprinkled with
stardust, or a bubbling underwater world containing strange undersea
creatures.
Lachenmeyer’s
occasionally cryptic language is cheerfully hair-raising; the fantasy is buoyant
and gleeful. Also, the concluding caution; that a
ghost becomes bored when a haunted book is left “unread for too long,” is a ready
reminder that from time to time we all enjoy a haunting.
Boo to You! by Lois Ehlert
Simon & Schuster, $7.99, Ages 3-7
The
mice and their friends are in a frenzy of preparation for a harvest party. And while they don’t mind an occasional
squirrel or raccoon, they have a plan for getting rid of “the creep” they
“didn’t invite.” As they
create and decorate, night falls.
They put on masks, arranging to scare the cat who’s coming to crash
their bash.
Award
winning author/illustrator Ehlert delights the youngest set and their adults
with her hallmark collage illustrations to partner her energetic, rhythmic,
rhyming text. A variety of papers
in earthy autumn colors, combine with photos of edible ingredients, plus twine
and string to bewitch young readers.
Gather
fall materials and supplies to accompany this brief but peppy picture book, as
young listeners will likely be eager to craft their own montage.
Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books
by
Susan L. Roth and Karen Leggett Abouraya
illustrated by Susan L. Roth
Dial, $16.99, Ages 6-9
Although
within the walls of the beautiful and famous Bibliotheca Alexandrina there has always
been safety to read, think and whisper about freedom, people “were not free to
speak or vote as they wished” outside in their daily lives. When Egypt’s young
people began marching for freedom in January 2011, first in Cairo, and later of
Alexandria, demanding the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, who had been Egypt’s
president for thirty years, there were fears that protesters might be angry
enough to hurt each other or their library.
Separated
from the shore of the Mediterranean Sea by only a wide highway, the spectacularly
beautiful Alexandria Library symbolically represents the sun of knowledge shining
on the world. It was during
eighteen days of protest, when marchers joined hands with Dr. Ismail
Serageldin, the library director, to protect the glass building from harm, that
the Egyptian people demonstrated not only their determination to create a
better world by helping spread democratic ideals, they also safeguarded the
space where stories are held and books are valued, participating in a ring of
protection that brought people together.
Using
her “international palette of papers,” illustrator Roth’s distinctive collage
style emphasizes the crowds, the clasped hands, the circles of power, the
emblematic Egyptian flag, and even the granite blocks carved with letters or
signs from five hundred different alphabets. The vitality of the “will of the people” to prevent vandals
from destroying and ransacking the house of treasures the library represents,
is evidenced not only in the seamlessly combined spirited text and vigorous
illustrations, but also confirmed by back matter which includes photos from
actual events, pages of information about both the ancient and modern library,
several paragraphs about the revolution itself, a few words in flowing Arabic
script from protest signs (with pronunciations, and English translations), and
drawn together with an important concluding author’s note.
