Book Review: This Moose Belongs to Me

As a girl, I loved moose. I read every moose book in my little library, collected stuffed versions, stickers, keychains, figurines. I even named our very large dog, Moose. I was a little obsessed. Luckily, I have lived most of my life in New England where Moose goods are not too hard to come by. Strangely, I have yet to see a real live moose. But I digress... Today's review? This Moose Belongs to Me, by Oliver Jeffers. How could I NOT buy this book? I love the washy brown moose, big headed protagonist Wilfred, and the brilliant combination of oil landscapes and painterly, stylized characters.

The story equal parts about assumptions, animal ownerships, wild animals, being a good friend, and the freedom of being a child.

What a lovely imagination Oliver Jeffers has, right? Brilliant.

Library Loot and Link Love

This pile might be two visits worth of books. The Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie series is a huge hit right now with my 3yo. We've also been reading lots of Oliver Jeffers - although The Incredible Book Eating Boy remains my son's favorite (I couldn't pick, really).

And for some Link Love:

Design of the Picture Book : Authored by Carter Higgins, this is a gorgeous blog, devoted to gorgeous, well-designed books. I'll be losing myself here tonight, reading every post.

Sweet Squares : Illustrator Diandra Mae just started a fun month of experimentation called 'Sweet Squares'. I'm joining in the fun. You should too. Let loose for five minutes a day on a 3"x3" square.

Oliver Jeffers

From Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

© Oliver Jeffers

I thought I would share with you

 this wonderful interview with Oliver Jeffers I came across on The Telegraph today.

I love Oliver. :o)

Books in the Easter basket!

Shhh. The Easter Bunny will be putting this book in my son's basket this weekend. I love how the simple narrative is elevated by the dramatic environment and sense of big adventure for a small boy.
And my little girl will hopefully enjoy this little Llama board book. We've read a few of these picture books, but board books are just her size for now. She's become excellent at flipping those chunky pages. The rhyming text is so much fun in all of the Llama Llama books.

Happy Easter to all!

An Arroz con Mango Post

Is today Wednesday? I need to make sure. Last week I thought I posted on Wednesday and it turned out it was Thursday. ;o)

OK, to be brutally honest I have no clue what to post today so I will make it an "arroz con mango" type of post. That means a little bit of everything, non-related stuff, all put into one.

I recently visited a lovely bookstore in a converted brick little house (above) that used to be part of an old tobacco & coffee hacienda in the late 1700's. I was SO happy when I found it! I spent a good couple of hours browsing all the books and talking with the owner. Such a nice lady.

I also showed some of the kids in the store a few books I knew they would love, like Flotsam. As soon as I told them a bit about how the book was made, how long it took him to make it (I had seen David Wiesner speak at the NY conference a few years ago) and that the book had NO words.. this really interested them. They sat down on the floor in a circle and started reading it.

I found a few goodies for myself too. One book that I always wanted to get was Lost & Found by Oliver Jeffers. I recently posted a video of him on my blog giving some very interesting tips on how to write. This copy I got is in Spanish of course.

He is so brilliant. His art and stories are so simple but every little detail counts. Every shadow, every tilt of a line. Look at it carefully. He is amazing.

I still choke a bit with the spread of the boy and penguin hugging. So simple but so expressive. Seems effortless but says so much. It's like someone whispering a loud statement from the top of their lungs. Does that make sense?

To top it off, my wonderful bookstore day didn't end there. I had the most delicious gelato ever! The flavor was Bacci, which is my favorite Italian chocolate. It's a magnificent little dark chocolate wrapped in star bright foil and filled with hazelnuts bits. Ahhh.. sooo good! A gelato made of Bacci tastes like heaven.

So there you go. My arroz con mango post is over. Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday, and if you can.. try to go to a bookstore and then have some gelato afterwards. I highly recommend it. :oD