Recently in Book of the Week Category

Things have been busy in the office, of late, so I hope you'll forgive me for being remiss in my blogging duties.

This week's book is Am I a Color Too?, written by mother-daughter team Nancy Vogl and Heidi Cole. Accomapanied by the stunning illustrations of Gerald Purnell, Am I a Color Too? tells the story of Tyler, a young interracial boy who wonders at the labels of race. He says,

My dad, my mom, and me...
Black, White, and ...
am I a color too?

I think I'm a person,
A person just like you.

He also notices that color has no bearing on how a person sings, feels, dances, or dreams. This is a wonderful book for introducing children to the concept of race. It may be especially helpful for an interracial child, who may be struggling, just like Tyler, with how to identify himself.

This week's book is Too Many Murkles, written by Heidi Charissa Schmidt and illustrated by Mary Gregg Byrne (who also illustrated the very-popular One Smile). Too Many Murkles is a whimsical take on embracing differences and letting nature take its course.

Every year, the dreaded Murkles come to invade Summerville with their terrible stench. And every year, the townspeople fend them off. When Juliana lets one Murkle through their defenses, she follows it to its destination--and something wonderful happens. She must convince the mayor to leave nature to its own devices.

The town experiences two more invasions of creatures, and each one turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Though the plants and animals in the book are entirely made up, Too Many Murkles would make a good lesson for kids on how ecosystems work. Plus, it's just a fun story!

This week, I'd like to highlight the DragonFire Trilogy by Jody Bergsma. This Celtic-inspired series begins with Dragon. The first installment focuses on a prince and a dragon who share a destiny due to their synchronous births.

Prince Langilor of Lugin is a kind and gentle boy; the dragon Saras, however, grows into a bully who terrorizes his clan and the kingdom of Lugin. The subjects of Langilor's kingdom worry that the boy is too peaceful to deal with the growing threat of the fire-breathing dragon in the north. To prove his worthiness, the young prince goes in search of Saras.

I won't give away the ending, of course, but suffice to say that the prince must find a way to reconcile his gentle nature with the demands of kingship.

This book, and the others in the trilogy, are frequent favorites of fantasy lovers at the trade shows we attend. Bergsma's ethereal illustrations capture the imagination and draw you into her vibrant world. It's not without reason that Bergsma is so well known throughout the Northwest.

This week's book, Mrs. Murphy's Marvelous Mansion by Emma Perry Roberts, is your typical "Don't judge a book by its cover" story. Mrs. Murphy is a rather odd woman who lives in a very small, somewhat ugly house in the middle of her community. None of her neighbors, who live in uniform white houses, appreciate this blight on their "VERY FINE" neighborhood. But when Mrs. Murphy invites these neighbors over for lunch one day, they are treated to a more fantastic house than their wildest dreams could have created.

A large part part of what makes this book special are its whimsical illustrations by Robert Rogalski. Each page is vibrantly painted, using what seems like every color of the rainbow. Rogalski takes Roberts' simple words and breathes life into them. The artwork is truly a treat, so I would highly recommend you view the book on BigUniverse.com.

Published in 2006, Mrs. Murphy's Marvelous Mansion is the winner of the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Children's Book, as well as Creative Child Magazine's Preferred Choice Award.

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I've done a Book of the Week! Shame on me. Up this week, I've got We Share One World, a colorful book written and illustrated by sisters Jane Hoffelt and Marty Husted.

The book follows a young boy around the world, as he marvels at how similar the children of the world are to him. "You and I, we share one world," he smartly notes, "one golden sun, one silver moon."

As the pages progress from one country to the next, there is a terrific contrast between the illustrations, which highlight the uniqueness of each country, and the writing, which highlights the similarities of people around the world. The small maps on each page are a nice touch, making this book lend itself nicely to a world geography lesson. This is one picture book no elementary classroom should be without.

This week's book is Something Special, a charming riddle book written by Terri Cohlene and illustrated by Doug Keith. The text of the book is very simple, suitable for a child as young as 3, but the solution to the riddle will resonate with any age group (including a young adult such as myself!). Kids will have a great time trying to guess the riddle's answer as the pages turn.

The art and design are what really make this book terrific. The text on each page is stylized, and, in many cases, drawn into the page by the illustrator. This makes every page a visual delight, and is a large part of the reason why the book won the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Interior Design.

Something Special is one of my favorite books in the Illumination Arts collection, and I would highly recommend it to any parent, child, or teacher.

This week I'd like to turn your attention to one of our lesser-known titles, The Bonsai Bear, written by Bernard Libster and illustrated by Aries Cheung. The Bonsai Bear tells the tale of an orphaned bear in Japan who is adopted by a bonsai master and his wife. The Emperor has forbidden wild animals to be kept as pets, however, so Issa the bonsai master must find a way to disguise the young bear.

You can probably see where this is going. When the little bear begins to grow too large to remain hidden, Issa binds the bear like a bonsai tree to stop him from growing, despite his wife's protestations.

Issa knows that keeping the bear small and domesticated is against its nature, but he loves the bear too much to set him free. He must learn that the true test of his love is accepting and embracing the bear's nature.

The Bonsai Bear is the perfect answer to the child who asks, "Mommy, why can't I have a pet tiger?" Wordier than some of our picture books, this title is probably best suited for children in the eight- to nine-year-old range, though it can certainly be read aloud to younger children.

The first children's book Illumination Arts ever published was All I See is Part of Me, written by Chara M. Curtis and illustrated by Cynthia Aldrich. As you may know from our company history, our initial focus had been on adult metaphysical titles; however, All I See is Part of Me imparts such a powerful message that president John Thompson couldn't help but publish it.

This rhyming picture book, illustrated in colored pencil, brings to life the interconnectedness of the universe. When the Sun tells a young boy, "We are one," the boy asks, "How can I be both me and you?" and embarks on journey to discover the light that shines within all things.

All I See is Part of Me makes a great introduction to metaphysical concepts for young children. Published in 1989, it remains one of Illumination Arts' best-selling books to this day.

This week's book, In Every Moon There is a Face, features some of the most breathtaking illustrations you will ever find in a children's picture book. No, I'm being serious. I want these pictures hanging on my wall, they are that gorgeous.

Written by Charles Mathes, this simple poem explores the interconnectedness of all things. Beginning with the titular phrase, "In every Moon there is a face," the poem delves deeper and deeper: "In every Face there is... / a Tree / And every Tree is full..." and so on, until it finally comes full circle back to the moon.

Arlene Graston's illustrations breathe meaning and life into the little poem. Through the progression from one illustration to the next, even the youngest reader will be able to grasp the connections between the images. I would highly recommend this book for any child with a strong imagination.
 

Next up, I'd like to highlight Sandy Kleven's The Right Touch: A Read-Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse. Illustrated by Jody Bergsma, this book deals with a sensitive subject in a thoughtful, non-scary manner, providing parents and other caregivers with a framework for discussing sexual abuse with their own children.

The Right Touch covers good and bad touching, how to say no when you feel uncomfortable, and what parts of the body are private. The back cover even has illustrations of every kind of feeling you could think of, from "confused" or "stubborn" to "silly" or "confident." It is a great tool for talking about feelings, and would recommend it for a child of any age.

If you want to read through this book before you buy, check it out at BigUniverse.com. All of the text and illustrations are available to you, just like if you picked the book up in a store to browse through.