Very Tiny Blank Books

I made these tiny books out of paint chip samples today.  They were quick and easy, and I'm sure that our toy house will be full of them before long.

This is all you need:

Cut out your covers and score them lightly along the edges of the white line:

Cut strips of paper that are slightly shorter than the covers:

 

Cover the whole back of the paper with glue:

Then just carefully re-fold the paper and stick it into the cover.  If you've got a steady hand, you can write on the cover with a very fine point permanent pen before you glue them together.  I used a .005 on this one:

I want to make one with a family photo album printed on the paper inside!

These are very simple five-minute miniature books, but if you want to see some incredible tiny artists' books, check out my friend Elsa's book blog.

One of THOSE Days

"What is the matter, my dear? said Miss Grizzel.  "Is the jelly not to your liking?"

That face just kills me.  Even though I was having "one of those days," a look at this picture lightened my load.  This is from a 1931 edition of The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth, and the brilliant illustration is by C.S. Brock.  It is in Chapter 6, "Rubbed the Wrong Way."

What makes you smile when even the jelly is not to your liking?

Some Great Little Books

I've spent a lot of time reading, thinking about and making books for children.  My love and enjoyment of picture books has expanded in the past six years, as I've had the pleasure of field-testing some old and new favorites with my three little book-lovers.  I put a lot of thought into choosing books for this list, with the aim of selecting those that could be enjoyed by boys and girls (and their adults) with a broad range of interests and backgrounds.  Now, go read someone a story!

THE PICTURE BOOKS THAT MAIZ WISHES THAT ALL CHILDREN EVERYWHERE COULD HAVE IN THEIR LIBRARIES:

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese
Ferdinand by Munro Leaf / Robert Lawson, illus.
The Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel
Blueberries For Sal by Robert McCloskey
Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne / Ernest Shepard, illus.
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne / Ernest Shepard, illus.
The Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik / Maurice Sendak, illus.
Beatrix Potter books, especially: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
The Complete Adventures of Curious George by Margaret & H.A. Rey
Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
The Sneeches and Other Tales by Dr. Seuss
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion / Margaret Bloy Graham, illus.

Okay, so those are what I consider to be the CLASSICS.  My taste in kids' books may seem a little old fashioned, but those are all beautifully written and illustrated.  They have a wide appeal, and introduce readers to a great variety of words, ideas and lifestyles.  Here are some more that I am also crazy about:

MORE BOOKS THAT MAIZ IS CRAZY ABOUT:

In the Town All Year 'Round by Rotraut Susanne Berner
Up, Up, Up! It's Apple-Picking Time by Jody Fickes Shapiro / Kitty Harvill, illus.
Traction Man is Here! by Mini Grey
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman / Marla Frazee, illus.
Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra / Marc Brown, illus.
Doctor De Soto by William Steig
Shrek! by William Steig
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen / John Schoenherr illus.

What, there are more?!  And...

SOME OTHER GREAT BOOKS FOR TODDLERS and BOOK BEGINNERS:

Hug by Jez Alborough
Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown / Garth Williams, illus.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown / Clement Hurd, illus.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman 
The Everything Book by Denise Fleming
Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins / Eric Gurney, illus.
Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
The Nutshell Library by Maurice Sendak
"More, More, More" Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams

Some notes on finding more: Many of these authors have more great books out there, especially Steig, Sendak, Taback, Henkes, Rathmann, Potter, Scarry and Seuss.  Look for the originals, as there are many not-so-good derivations of some of these classics, especially of Curious George, Winnie-the-Pooh and Richard Scarry.  

There are lots of places to find these books.  If you can shop at an independent children's bookstore, lucky you!  (There is a great one in LA called Children's Book World.)  I hope you can also find them all for free at your local library.

Detail of illustration by Ernest H. Shepard from Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, 2006 Dutton Children's Books ed.

House Bookshelf

Here's a bookshelf that I made a few years ago to house our picture books.  It is made out of 3/4" plywood, and is very sturdy.  One of my favorite features is the sideways shelf on the right, which holds all of our long books that stick out too far if we put them on the other shelves.

I imagined that we would occasionally empty it and use it like a toy house, but that has yet to happen.  It also has a chimney tissue holder that holds a regular square tissue box.  Here's a closer look:

I want to show you some more of my home made projects, and I was having so much fun taking pictures around the house that I left Julio happily entertaining himself at the dining table.  From the other room, I heard him say, "Cow milk.  Want it!"  And then his big brother call out, "I'll get it for you, Julio!"  I got back just in time to see this near-disaster:

Casanova and Me

In the spring of 2001, a dear friend of mine died unexpectedly.  While clearing out his apartment with a few close friends, I noticed that he had one shelf of special books on the wall of his bedroom.  I knew they must have been his favorites because even though the rest of his apartment was crammed with books, on this one small shelf I recognized several titles that he had recommended to me over the years.  From this eclectic mix of fiction, philosophy, education, and autobiography, each of the books that he had loaned me had been extraordinary, and had introduced me to some of my most favorite authors and ideas.

 

Somewhere in an old box of 35mm slides, I have a picture that I took of his shelf before we boxed up the books.  I picked out a few to keep, and then we donated the rest to charity.

 

One of these books that has languished on my shelf until now is The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova.  Have you read it?  Much more than just the exaggerations of a wealthy womanizer, it is a lavish 1700's autobiography, part travelogue and part trickster-tales, overflowing with impossible romance and adventure.  Could the life of Jacques Casanova possibly be any more different from that of a 21st Century frugal, faithful, forty-something L.A. mom with a minivan?!  Although I am not escaping from the Inquisition, seducing my way across Europe, gambling, masquerading, dropping diamonds, dueling and duping princes and popes, I sure am having fun reading about it.

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes so far:

(As Casanova is arrested in Venice by the Inquisition) 

There were about forty archers outside the door, which showed they expected some difficulty in arresting me!  Two would have been enough.  It is odd that in London, where every one is brave, one can arrest another single-handed.  Among cowards thirty are not considered too many: it is, perhaps, because the coward turned assailant is more frightened than the coward whom he assails!

                                                  This archer is neither Venetian nor 18th C.

(After meeting a beautiful French woman) 

A letter of recommendation written by the Graces on the forehead of Beauty is never dishonoured, for every one who has his eyes and a heart pays on sight.

                         My favorite 18th C. French beauty, Quentin de la Tour

So, tell me please, what books are on your special shelf?

Cowboy Parenting

For the past couple of years, I've been inching my way through the long and consistently wonderful list of Newbery medal winners.  I'm midway through Will James' Smoky, the Cowhorse, winner of the 1927 medal, and I just came across this gem that brought to my mind some of the concepts behind compassionate parenting:

Will James was a French Canadian turned Wild West cattle rustler, who wrote and illustrated many books on horses and cowboys.  His characters of both Smoky and Clint, the cowboy who becomes Smoky's "pardner" are beautifully described.  James' deep compassion for horses and his entertaining use of cowboy dialect are making this book a real pleasure to read.

And, since I just can't bring myself to write a post without a picture, here's an old one of Ruben waiting for his grub from the chuckwagon: