Ordinary Tales

Some time ago, I promised I would post my final project for my Kid Lit class, which is a picture book written and illustrated by me. I finished the project and turned it in and got an 'A' on the project and an 'A' in the class and have since graduated with an A.S. in Library and Information Technology. Yeay me! However, I'm having a hard time embedding my book project on this blog in a format that is readable and I'm tired of messing with it so here is a link to it on my Wiki. You have to manually click through the slide show, which is fine, you can look at the child-like pictures as long as you please.
Ordinary Tales: Or When Fairytale Characters Behave Themselves and Mind Their Manners.

The story was inspired by a class discussion about fairytales and how some of the discussion participants thought that fairytales were too violent, unsavory, or otherwise inappropriate for children. Fairytales can be strange but that's what I love about them, and I started to think, what would the stories be like if the characters were all kind and polite to each other? My guess is that they wouldn't be very interesting.

And speaking of fairytales, you should check out Neil Gaiman's new picture book for all ages Instructions, illustrated by Charles Vess. It tells you what you should do if you should happen to find yourself inside a fairytale world. Absolutely gorgeous illustrations. You could really get lost in them.

So that's all I have for now. I know the school year is winding down and the library is closed but the public library is still open so keep reading!

New books!

Just a quick post to let you know that the new JLG shipment is in and ready for check out. Take a look at these titles:

The Moon Over Star

I was just under 4 years old when the world watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon for the first time. I have vague memories of launches and moonwalks being broadcast on television. I don't really remember the first one. The Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (2008) tells the story of one family's experience watching that first moon landing. It starts with the family in church praying for the safety of the astronauts, then, back at the family's farmhouse, Mae, the narrator of the story, and her cousins build a rocket in the backyard with found objects and pretend they are astronauts. Gran calls the children in to gather around the television to watch the launch. Mae is inspired to dream of becoming an astronaut herself but Gramps does not share in the excitement. He says the space program is a waste of money when there are so many people in need on Earth. After the launch, the family has a picnic dinner under the stars, gazing at the moon and wondering what the astronauts are thinking. Later, they gather around the television again to watch Commander Armstrong step out onto the moon and speak his immortal words. The graphite, ink, and watercolor illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, especially the two-page spread of the rocket launch which is informed by footage of the actual launch. In the end, Gramps comes to appreciate the amazing feat of human endeavor that he has just witnessed and encourages Mae to hold on to her dreams. I absolutely love this book. It recalls a moment in history when the world stopped and watched as humans flew into space and traveled to another world and a generation was inspired to dream of great things.