Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Hello, My Name is Ruby , is the sweetest of  sweet sweet stories, and in true Philip C. Stead's style, the text is endearing, "...sometimes I do not feel small...would you like to see?" --the next page shows a flock of small birds making an elephant shape, in line with other elephants, very Swimmy-esque. Stead's signature beautiful artwork is present, his pictures always so stunning and colorful (watch a demo of Stead CREATING !) Can we just say that I love that things as simple as squiggly lines can make up tufts of fur or feathers! So beautiful! I think kids will enjoy the themes of the books: friendship, being yourself, loneliness, feeling like a part of something, and the adventurous spirit of Ruby. I think children will love talking about the pictures, most especially all the different birds...I just LOVED it.

Klassen's illustration from The Dark by Lemony Snicket This book is AWESOME! The thing I was most looking forward to about the Mazza Museum Summer Conference last week was the slight possibility of meeting one of my new favs. Jon Klassen snatched my heart with his simple and whimsical illustrations and I have just been dying to meet him and tell him how much the kiddos (and I) love his books. So, with nearly a two hour break for lunch, I ran across the street to the awesome George House --part coffee shop, part book haven, part awesome sandwich shop--then hurried back to find an empty conference room where I then shamelessly parked myself in the 2nd row right behind the chair marked for guest speakers.  One of Klassen's illustrations from Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett I heart this book so much! I sat and read and read and sat and in no time guess who walked in!? Jon Klassen--be still my beating heart, he's exactly the way I expected the creator of my beloved ...

The "Trees of Knowledge" started as this: primer over our freshly painted walls, so the mural paint can stick better. The "Trees of Knowledge," grow out of books, get it?! A Queen emerges... Then a rocket! A ship sails across! A letter and a book emerge! The finished Queen. I wish my iPhone could do these beautiful colors justice! She is a most marvelous pink! This tree is going to be bling free, make it less "kid-ish," since it's near the J novels, the other tree is near the Board Books/Picture Books area.