Weekly Readings (Holiday 2013 Edition)

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With one week before Christmas, it’s high time I shared some of the books I’ve read and will be re-reading this holiday season. Two are modern classics (In your humble Literary Rat’s Opinion, anyway…) and three are new titles released in 2013.

Two aren’t specifically “Holiday” books but were released before or in December 2013 and even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, two of the three books still have the spirit we try to bring to the winter holidays, friendship, being grateful for what we have, and sharing it with those dearest to us.

As long time readers know, Weekly Readings is when I share some of the picture books I’ve read in the last week or so and give mini-reviews of them. This week is Holiday Themed, but again, even if you don’t celebrate a specific holiday, there are books you can get great enjoyment from, and I’ll start with one of them now-

 

Herman and Rosie

 

Herman and Rosie

by Gus Gordon (@IllustratorGus)

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (An Imprint of Macmillan)

Pub. Date: October 15th, 2013

Books have always had a storied history with an ongoing playlist of love songs to iconic settings (Real, imagined, and all in-between) and picture books are no different.

In fact, with SO MANY love songs to a specific place, it’s HARD to stand out, but I believe ”Herman and Rosie” is one such stand out. For me, of the many love songs to New York City (Real or Surreal), this book DOES jump out in the most positive sense.

The story follows titular characters: Herman, a crocodile salary-man who loves playing his oboe, hot dogs in winter, and movies about the ocean, and Rosie, who loves toffee, movies about the ocean, and singing her heart out at a jazz club at night, after working in the restaurant biz by day.

While both Herman and Rosie love life in the city, it can feel lonely at times, sometimes lacking the kind of community building more directly inherent in a small town, or county within a large city or town.

The illustrations do an excellent job projecting the urban motif, using collage scrapbook-like elements to further enhance the overall charm to the illustration.

When I first saw the cover for this book, I almost wanted to weep with joy, because it’s unabashedly old-fashioned, in a tune when being modern is often meant to mean “Simplistic to a fault.”

Please understand, I’m not bashing simplicity, when it’s right for the story that’s fine, whether we;re talking words or text, but I don’t want simplicity to overly dictate stories that frankly demand some finesse and sophistication.

These two have a lot in common, yet like most city slickers, start out as two wayward spirits who are strangers to each other, but certainly not to the readers of their story.

When Herman loses his job (Due to lack of sales), and Rosie learns the jazz club where she sings is forced to close down, the two once mostly content souls have been infected with the “Lost my job, (Herman) Lost my Passion, (Rosie), whatever will I do now” blues…

They spend days and weeks at home.

Herman too bummed out to play his Oboe.

Rosie too down in dumps to sing and share her song to others.

Eventually, the two find their way back to their musical passions and soon after, AT LAST, find each other…
There’s something about the vintage feel that I’ve always responded to, long before I even knew the history behind it, which only enriched my appreciation as I got older.

This book manages to feel modern without also feeling cold and lifeless. It also brings a certain flair to the everyday hustle and bustle that those of you who are urban dwellers will find familiar, yet those you in the boonies will feel right at home with theme this book organically projects: connections to friends helps fight the day do day doldrums we all face, wherever in the world we call home.

For me, of the many love songs to New York (Real or Surreal), this book DOES jump out in the most positive sense.

 

 

 

Melrose and Croc (A Christmas to Remember

Melrose and Croc: A Christmas to Remember

by Emma Chichester Clark (@emmachichesterc)

 U.K. Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s UK

U.S. Publisher: (Bloomsbury Kids) Orginally Walker & Company (An imprint of Macmillan)

U.S. Pub. Date: October 3rd, 2006 

U.K. Pub. Date: October 3rd, 2005

This is the first in a series of books starring  a dog named Melrose and the plucky little reptile, Croc. Like “Herman and Rosie” this is a story about two lonely souls in the big city, but gives a more childlike quality to the characters and a softer tone to the charming illustrations by author-illustrator Emma Chichester Clark, best known for her “Blue Kangaroo” series, the first of which won the Christopher Award

Those of you who grew up watching “Oswald” back before Nick Jr. was its own channel (Created  by author-illustrator  Dan Yaccarino) Melrose and Croc have that unassuming quirkiness that stands out from other books.

I honestly feel in love with Melrose and Croc long before I even read a book in the series, buddy stories always get my heart going as I didn’t have many friends growing up, or when I did they moved or I moved and it didn’t last, so books have been healing in a way for my not having a lifelong bond to call my own.

Melrose and Croc is especially endearing to me because like Herman and Rosie, this odd couple creature duo not only become friends, but you get this unspoken sense they’re become the other’s family, too.

Melrose the slightly paternal straight man (Er, dog) and Croc, the adoring kid brother those of you with more wild kid siblings might’ve liked to have instead…(I’m an only rat, so I bow out on that here)

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Coyote Christmas: A Lakota Story

By S.D. Nelson

Publisher: ABRAMS

Pub. Date: December 1st, 2007

Fans of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” will love how the infamous trickster of Native American myth and lore lets greed and mischief get the better of him, with frenetic and “biting” results!

The Snatchabook

The Snatchabook

Written by Helen Docherty

Illustrated by Thomas Docherty

U.K. Publisher: Alison Green Books

U.S. Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

U.K. Pub. Date: October 2013

U.S. Pub. Date: December 2013

In the forest, books and story time are celebrated and sacred (You know, really super important), but books start going missing, ruining the late night joys of story time, whether it’s the one reading a book to themselves, or a family reading to each other before bedtime, and a rabbit named Emily is determined to find this thief of books and get them back.

Illustrator Thomas Docherty (Helen’s Husband and also an author himself) channels his inner Seuss in the illustrations that properly compliment Helen’s solid but non-traditional rhyme scheme and can happily stand up to author-illustrator duo, Julia Donaldson and Axel Schrieffer (Who brought us gems like “The Gruffalo” and most recently “The Highway Rat”)

The Snatchabook manages to envoke a feeling of nostalgia (For those of us old enough to have that perspective, and you don’t have to be 30+ to have it, in my opinion…) and deliver the modern reader’s demand for quick moving tale that lingers in the RIGHT ways and for the right REASONS. Something that may sound counter-intuitive, but something you’ll get when you read this book for yourself and/or to others.

But make no mistake, this story is no fake wannabe, when your literary rat compares ANYTHING to someone as beloved (And often debated about) as Seuss, it’s NOT faint praise, and is still a solid title in its own right, and Helen and Thomas Docherty have a lot to be proud of. The Snatchabook is their second collaboration in book form, and I believe it will be known as their breakout work, you heard this first from your Literary Rat, I highly recommend it, and that will be that.

Lyle at Christmas

Lyle at Christmas

By Bernard Waber

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Pub. Date: September 29th, 2003

 

Back during T.A.A.’s celebration of “Picture Book Month” I shared my thoughts on the death of author-illustrator, Bernard Waber, best known for “Ira Sleeps Over” and the Lyle the Crocodile series of picture books. For his close friends and family he’ll certainly be missed, but readers who grew up with his books, or found them later in life (As in my case) we’re grateful his books and their illustrations remain.

This is a charming Christmas story with surprisingly frenetic moments to help the pacing feel smooth and slow in a GOOD way. I’m always impressed when I come across characters that don’t audibly speak are able to show their actions and feelings without the narrator feeling omniscient in a distant way that feels annoying telling when read aloud. Trust me, as a writer myself, that’s not easy to do.

 

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Written by Jerry Davis

Illustrated by Katie Davis (Yes, they’re related!)

Pub. Date: November 2013 (Sales End 12.26.13)

Those of you who followed T.A.A. back in November may remember my highlighting this book before, and this is my review of the book originally on Amazon

NOTE FROM THE LITERARY RAT: I was given a review copy of this book, but am not personally affiliated with either the book’s author or illustrator, other than sharing fellow respect for them both as an author myself.

As commercialized as most holidays have become, I do believe the hallmark values of Christmas still exist, even without the direct religious contexts, and you don’t have to just mine the classics of yesteryear to share stories that delight and teach (NOT preach…) with the “Little Chicks” in your life.

“Little Chicken’s Big Christmas” is a 21st century example of just that. Again, it doesn’t preach its message, but is a natural part of the story.

Rather than obsess over wanting toys for himself, Little Chicken instead wants to give a gift, reminding all of us (Particularly us “Big Chickens”) that kids can be just as capable of generosity as St. Nick himself, who clearly has been around longer than most…

As is common with picture books (Though there are exceptions), you needn’t have read the previous book to get enjoyment out of this one, but those who have read L.C.’s Big Day will enjoy various through-lines in the illustrations by Katie Davis, who usually is also the author of her other picture books, the words in this story (As in the original book, “Little Chicken’s Big Day”) were penned by her husband, Jerry (As made obvious via the cover)

For those of you wary of literary family team-ups, I promise you this one works, and I love when the fun and joy book’s creators have is translated into a solid experience for the end lay reader.

One of the hallmarks of a picture book is how well it stands up to that idealistic image of parent reading the book to their child. I am not a parent yet, but I would not hesitate reading this story to one of my own.

That said, some books are dependent on not just the interests, but the overall temperament of the child him or herself.

Because L.C. himself is as bouncy and direct as most kids are, even the most fidgety ones are welcome.

Katie’s spare and smartly directed illustrators, along with Jerry’s spare text and light refrain and repetition naturally guide the story on a swift click.

I do hope Simon and Schuster imprint, “Margaret K. McElderry Books” (Who released “Little Chicken Big Day”), seriously considers bringing this story to print in the future.

Fans of Katie Davis in general (Or L.C. in particular) make no mistake, NO corners were cut in either the presentation or execution of this story, and while picture books are still best realized in print, this digital first sequel is no less worthy in overall quality, and as a print book-centric reader myself, that’s saying a lot!

I knew when “Little Chicken’s Big Day” came out in 2011, it would not likely be the last time we’d see L.C. grace the literary landscape, and this holiday follow-up has happily proven me right.

If you’re reading this review at the time before sales end on December 26th, 2013, this is the FINAL week and a half for you to buy it for your Kindle, or the Kindle app for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 8, or web app for PC or Mac.

If you need a little more convincing  watch the trailers for this book-

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This was made by your very own “Literary Rat” Taurean J. Watkins, who was part of the OFFICIAL launch team.

Trailer #2 was made by the Illustrator, Katie Davis-

 

 [sz-youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLA6lBeQhNI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUG2zl8V-E8jSOf8DRaG_BkA” userdata=”Katie Davis” /]

 

You can find these videos and more on our “T.A.A. Holiday Showcase” Pinterest board-

http://www.pinterest.com/taureanjwatkins/taa-holiday-showcase-2013/

You’ll also want to like us on Facebook for more fun fantastical fauna goodness, and special holiday goodies you’ll only find there.

That’s it for today. Until next time,

May the fantastical fauna be with you.

P.S: If my ramblings convinced you to buy one or more of

the books mentioned above, please support T.A.A. by

clicking on the affiliate cover images above.

Picture Book Month – Author Spotlight #2: Katie Davis

Today, as Picture Book Month Continues, I’m happy to introduce an author who’s helped me as much as I now hope to help her now, and made the word “Business” less of a dirty word for me. (It used to ber a MAJOR “Hulk Trigger” to hear that word), but while I’m not cured, I’m at least in rehab. author-illustrator (And all-around “Writerpreneur”

[Writer + Entrepreneur] Katie Davis.

 

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(Meet Katie, Author, Illustrator, Video Marketing Maven and unofficial “Soothsayer of Reciprocity”)

 

Katie is the author/illustrator of 8 (Soon to be 9!) Picture Books, from her debut classic “Who Hops?” (1998) to fan favorites, “I Hate to Go to Bed”*, “Kindergarten Rocks” and “Little Chicken’s Big Day” which also marked Katie’s first collaboration with her husband, movie producer/author, Jerry Davis, who has his a hand in many well known animated films, most notably the first “Toy Story”, “Ice Age”, and (Katie’s Fave) “The Iron Giant.”

Jerry’s most recent film “Epic” debuted in theaters back in Spring 2013, and is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, or digital download.

Fans of Little Chicken (L.C. as I like to call him) will be glad to know a holiday follow-up is soon to launch, making this Katie’s 9th picture book, and 2nd collaboration with her husband, Jerry-

 

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(*Though “I Hate To Go To Bed” is sadly out of print, it will be re-issued in ebook format with remastered art by Katie, eventually…If you can’t wait, you might be able to hunt out a used copy or find a library near you that still has a copy in the stacks)

Katie has also written a middle grade novel, “The Curse of Addy McMahon” that also sadly is out of print, but again, some books are worth hunting for used, and again, utilize your local library if you can…

On the upside, Katie will soon grace the YA literary landscape for first time with her upcoming (Long Overdue) novel, “Dancing with The Devil” (Title subject to change) scheduled to be released by Diversion Books sometime in 2014.

In addition to her picture books and novels, Katie has also released various nonfiction, such as the ebook guide, “How to Promote Your Children’s Book: Tips, tricks and secrets to create a bestseller” (Which will eventually release in a second edition packed with new content and revised changes to previous info), and in May 2013 (Your Literary Rat’s Birthday Month!) launched “Video Idiot Boot Camp”, an on-demand, 8 lesson course designed to teach authors and other professionals how create engaging videos without needing tons of money, fancy equipment, and the camera skills of Hollywood Cinematographers.

As part of the First Generation of VIBC graduates, who had ZERO experience creating video this time last year, I can personally tell you, with Katie (And her alter-ego sidekick, the Fairy “Vid-Mother”) as your guides, you will succeed in the emerging shift to video-centric content.

YouTube gets a billions of views a day!

Why shouldn’t authors like Katie and myself get a fraction of those views for the content we work hard to provide?

Those of my long-time readers who are also authors, you too can and should grab a slice of the video viewer’s pie, there’s MORE than enough to go around, unlike the pies we can eat…

But don’t just take my word for it, this is a recent video I made to help Katie promote her upcoming release of “Little Chicken’s Big Christmas”-

[sz-youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c_OXGnDo-s” cover=”https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/0c_OXGnDo-s/2.jpg?time=1384398380350″ userdata=”Taury” /]

(I know the cover in the video is white, but I think the final cover will be Green, but I chose the white cover Katie posted on her blog when she hadn’t decided yet and the white contrasted better for the video)

I recently joined Katie’s “Launch Team” to aid in getting the word on on this book. For those of you who listen regularly to Katie’s “Brain Burps About Books” podcast (The No. 1 podcast geared specifically to the craft and business of children’s publishing) know Katie’s (Self-proclaimed cynic as she is) BIG on reciprocity, which is key to not only her success, but that of other writers such as myself who she’s helped reach the next level in the writerly skillsets thanks to her ability to break things down into steps that foster the hope to do better, know better, BE BETTER.

In that spirit of gratitude and reciprocity I learned from Katie (And Julie Hedlund who I spotlighted for my T.A.A. CARES initiative) I joined the team to aid Katie in the Thanksgiving launch of “Little Chicken’s Big Christmas”  and here’s why-

While “Little Chicken’s Big Day” was traditionally published by Simon And Schuster imprint “Margaret K. McElderry Books”, L.C.’s Big Christmas is going the indie route, and this being a holiday release, hence the reason for the concentrated launch, and it was a cool way to get some marketing experience and insights to help make the launch of my debut middle grade novel GABRIEL (pub. date still unknown to me, but I’ll have a BIG UPDATE to share in the near future) that much stronger, and for those of you who gave me so much support and imparting whatever advice you gave me, I’ll do all in my power to be worth the wait.

Plus, this book fits my “Animal Story” theme, and now that I’m addicted to doing video, this just gives me more ways to practice what I’ve learned from VIBC.

The teaser video I did for “Little Chicken’s Big Christmas” was just the FIRST step, I will also be reviewing the book (After getting a review PDF copy from Katie over the weekend, should all go well on her end) and do a review on Amazon at a later date at or just before launch, and later re-post on T.A.A., alongside reviews of other holiday books (Already in my private library) I’ve been LONGING to re-read and review for T.A.A.

You can check out the teaser videos I made for my upcoming middle grade novel, Gabriel from yesterday’s blog post: http://talkinganimaladdicts.com/video-remixing-2

Julie Hedlund (Who I highlight yesterday to support her “Epic Adventure” on Kickstarter) has also taken VIBC (She was the “Original Vidiot” back when VIBC was still in beta) and she herself admits to owe Katie an insurmountable debt and gratitude (As do I) to gain knowledge to something that is now key for writers and other content creators to learn, because while book trends come and go, the demand and need for video is a FINITE game-changer, and no writer wants to be “Left Behind”-

[sz-youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF-PVpFH3Lg” /]

But UNLIKE another “No [Rhymes with [“Mild”] Left Behind” program/mandate that has been bane the bane of many parent, teacher and non-traditional student’s existence, as writers, we can take video wherever we want, and like the best parents, teachers and mentors for kids and teens, video can “Meet us where we are.” Here’s a quick example-

When a teacher or parent has a child (or teen) who is struggling to read at grade level, or just doesn’t like to read, or they struggle with math, or have social problems. The best teachers find ways to meet students where they are right now, even if that’s WAY far off where the student needs or even WANTS to be (Even struggling students can be Type A overachievers, you know, if a bit disguised)

Creating video (Like writing) is the same way. While I’d LOVE to do the kind of tight, engaging videos like many of my fellow VIBC colleagues, I need to remember that like me, they learned this over time and much trial and error (Just like me), and  throughout the course and in the VIBC Facebook Group (Which ONLY students can join and access) Katie always instills this constant: “It doesn’t have to be ‘Perfect’ but needs to be as professional and tight as you can make it technically, so any imperfections are minor and don’t detract from the overall experience.”

I struggle a bit here as while I’m not a perfectionist regarding video (The I am with say, QUERY LETTERS, which can be onerous and drive me screaming into H***!) I do want it to be professional enough so it represents that I as author take my work (While creative and fantastical) seriously, and not to jerk off the viewers I want to have, some of who will someday buy my books as they’re released.

That said, in my re-do of my welcome video for T.A.A., I had to use a photo of myself, not because I’m paranoid of being on-camera pseudo-real time, but because recording myself via phone or laptop webcam is too low for my standards, plus the fact I talk like a stereotypical chipmunk auctioneer, and people can have a hard time understanding what I’m saying, something those who of you that watched my original welcome video know all too well (Sorry about that, but I will be better next time.)

Now that I’m committed to video, I’m going to eventually invest in some better equipment, because I do want to be on camera for some of my videos and want to be clearly seen, no matter if you’re viewing it on a phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

 (Katie’s a pure Apple devotee, but while I love my iPhone and the iPod Touch [3rd Generation] I used to own before it, and iTunes and QuickTime, PCs have their advantages, too. That said, if I can EVER afford or win a Macbook, I’d get one for Screenflow, I think I’ll navigate it FAR easier than Camtasia [The only known equivalent to Screenflow for PC users], which is only on Macs, why Apple?! You let us PC folks use iTunes and QuickTime but not Screenflow?!)

Katie, if you ever read this, know you aren’t alone in the “Babbling” habit.

This is part of why my videos never hit that 30 second to 1 minute “Sweet Spot” because I’m such a chatty, detail freak, and I’m really more afraid of potential viewers going “Huh?” than “This is a tad too long” as much as I don’t want to go on for longer than necessary, but I’m getting there.

That said, I thank cheddar I find this fun, since the videos I’ve done so far have taken hours to time everything just right, finding legal to use content and music is the easy part (Thanks to the resources and links provided and recommended in VIBC) and what I’ve found on own, it’s bringing the content together that’s the time-consuming part. Some of it’s learning curve, but also just what they take on average.

But it’s worth it when you finally get what you envisioned/scripted to work. Something you know as well as I now, right?

Anyway, that’s all for today.

Check tomorrow for a special spotlight on great authors and/or illustrators who’re sadly no longer with us. Until than, may the fantastical fauna be with you.