The Base StealerBy Robert Francis Poised between going on and back, pulledBoth ways taut like a tightrope-walker,Fingertips pointing the opposites,Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ballOr a kid skipping rope, come on, come on,Running a scattering of steps sidewise,How he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases,Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird,He’s only flirting, crowd him, crowd him,Delicate, … Continue reading National Poetry Month: Robert Francis
Month: April 2010
Book Review: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Jellicoe Roadby Melina MarchettaHardcover: 9780061431838, HarperTeen, $17.99Paperback: 9780061431852, HarperTeen, $8.99This post was originally published here in August 2008. A few alterations have been made to the version posted on Afterthoughts...Every time I read this book, I cry. I am not generally a crier. Yes, tears welled at the news of Walter in Rilla of Ingleside … Continue reading Book Review: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Gift of Reading Club Selections: April 2010
Ever have one of those "duh" moments when you wonder why it took you so long to think of that simple, yet brilliant, idea?Each month at the Odyssey Bookshop, I hand-select books for children signed up for our Gift of Reading Program. Usually a family member or close family friend signs up the child (age … Continue reading Gift of Reading Club Selections: April 2010
Fall 2010 Picturebook Highlights: Random House
Remember back in January when I posted about ordering books that would be published this Summer 2010? Well, it's the end of April and guess what I'm doing.If you guessed buying books for Fall/Winter 2010, you'd be correct!Introducing the Fall 2010 Picturebook Highlights, beginning with Random House!Camille Saint-Saens's The Carnival of the Animalsmusic by Camille … Continue reading Fall 2010 Picturebook Highlights: Random House
Author Visit: David Hyde Costello, Author of I Can Help and Here They Come!
You want to know why I love my job?Yes, I get to read children's books months before they get published and then recommend them to you and others to read. Yes, I get to hold weekly storytimes where adorable children sit at my feet and listen with rapt attention (usually) while I read them picturebooks. … Continue reading Author Visit: David Hyde Costello, Author of I Can Help and Here They Come!
Ode to Stephen Gammell
Author and illustrator Stephen Gammell's work is known in two very different veins: sassy, whimsical picturebook illustrator and nightmare-inducing, horror illustrator.My first introduction to his work was through his Caldecott Award winning book Song and Dance Man (9780679819950, Random House, $6.99). I loved having my parents read the story to me, but it was for … Continue reading Ode to Stephen Gammell
Book Review: Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman
Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman9780547231846, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16Meggy Swann is crippled at a time when non-able-bodied people were thought to be cursed by the Devil. She must walk with two crutch-sticks to support her weak and twister legs. Her sour disposition doesn't help her make friends, but which came first – the … Continue reading Book Review: Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman
Typography Tuesday: Measuring Type
Ever wondered how economical your favorite typeface might be?Me neither.But these guys have, and they've created the Measuring Type project. The picture to the left shows how much ink was used to write the same word at the same point size in the different font styles.While I've never thought about it before, I admit I … Continue reading Typography Tuesday: Measuring Type
Typography Tuesday: Intro to Typography II
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=195632&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1TYPOGRAPHICS from BoCa on Vimeo.View the first Intro to Typography video here.
Book Review: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller9781595143082, Penguin, $18.99, Pub. Date: August 2010I admit I don't tend to like lovey-dovey YA, but Haven's voice, and that of her gay best friend Beau, kept me hanging in there. As did the unique premise –love as the cause for reincarnation.Haven Moore lives in Tennessee but can describe New … Continue reading Book Review: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
WildlyRead 