The list maker

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant with pictures by Melissa Sweet is a biography (written for children) of the creator of the Thesaurus, Peter Roget. Some of the most beautiful mixed media art has been used to enhance a subject which I imagine many adults (not to mention kids) would consider quite dry. While the art is gorgeous, I have to be honest and say that Roget didn’t lead the most exciting life so the story itself isn't exactly edge of the seat content. From childhood, he spent much of his time making categorized lists (sounds like the life of the party) which didn't help his shyness but did help him to graduate early from school. It also helped him in his preparations to become a doctor where an ability to stay focused while learning a vast amount of information came in handy. This book tracks his life and accomplishments in an easy to digest manner for kids aged 9 and up (although younger kids could understand the content with help from an adult). If nothing else, this is an absolutely beautiful piece of art and for that alone should be celebrated. 6/10 because it didn't knock my socks off or supply me with any particularly new information.

Source: Amazon.com

What's Up Next: The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry with pictures by Jules Feiffer

What I'm Currently Reading: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

The man behind the spider and the mouse

Up til this point, I could most likely count the number of biographies written for children that I've read. Actually I could probably count how many biographies in total I've ever read because I have to admit biographies in general not my favorite genre. However, there are always exceptions and every now and again there are people who I find intriguing enough to seek out more information about them. Last year I read My Ears Are Bent which included different excerpts from The New Yorker along with background on the magazine itself. I discovered from this book just how much of the writing was done by E.B. White. (You might recognize him from such things as Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web.) This piqued my interest in White but I had so many other things on my TRL that I somewhat forgot about him until I saw Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet pop up as a recommended read. I think E.B. White would have heartily approved of this biography even though he was an intensely private, low-key individual. This book delivered not only on giving me the biography that I was looking for but also offering up beautiful mixed media layouts which make it more accessible to children.  His approach to writing and his proliferation of works is fascinating and astonishing. Sweet manages to educate the reader about his works but she also manages to paint a portrait of a writer that was passionate about his craft, his family, and his farm. She does this almost from the start. This book is great if you want to learn more about E.B. White yourself or if you want to introduce your kids to biographies. It's easily accessible and the layout is beautiful. Quick, fun read that I'd recommend for reluctant biography readers (like myself). 10/10

To give you a taste of what I mean about the mixed media approach:

Source: NPR

Source: NPR

What's Up Next: Brian Selznick Masterpost including The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Marvels, and Wonderstruck

What I'm Currently Reading: Alice by Christina Henry

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Using mixed media to perfection

I think it's been well-established that Roald Dahl is my favorite author of all time (with Charles Dickens at a close second). If you were in doubt about my love of Dahl's works you can check out this masterpost that I wrote last year with no less than 5 reviews. XD It should come as no surprise that I fangirled pretty hard over Wonderful, Wicked, and Whizzpopping: The stories, characters, and inventions of Roald Dahl by Stela Caldwell with (of course) illustrations by the incomparable Quentin Blake. From the very first page (the front-matter section), it is apparent that this is a special book. There are little snippets which look like yellow, lined notebook paper which denote actual notes that Dahl wrote to himself about the books which made him famous. (He always wrote his books on yellow, lined notebook paper by the way.) Did you know it was nearly James and the Giant Cherry instead of James and the Giant Peach? That somehow doesn't have quite the same ring to it. This entire book is like getting a glimpse behind the scenes PLUS reading condensed versions of some of his more famous children's books. The mixed media used in this book complements the subject matter perfectly. I'd go so far as to say this is a visually stunning book and you'd be silly not to check it out for yourselves...especially if you're a fan of Quentin Blake. You might have guessed already but this is a 10/10 in my books (pun totally intended).

The front-matter section which sets the tone for the rest of the book.

How can you not love this?!

There are a couple of foldouts which are fun.

Blogger's hands not included in purchase of the book.

I really loved these little touches.

At the very end there's a little surprise. ;-)

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

I read a graphic novel...and I liked it

I've been binge-watching BookTube (YouTube videos for book lovers full of reviews, book hauls, etc) which of course means I've added a ton of books to my TRL (To-Read-List for any newbies to the blog. Hey there!). As I've mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of graphic novels. However, I saw a review of one which peaked my interest and...I actually liked it! It's Emily Carroll's Through the Woods which contains 5 short horror stories which range from a tale of 3 sisters left in their cabin in the woods to a pair of best friends mixed up in the occult. The illustrations are really beautiful and I especially liked the color scheme which relied heavily on blacks and reds. The stories
fall into the category of 'gothic horror' and I don't recommend reading them by flashlight under your bedcovers at night (unless you're feeling especially brave).

Excerpt from the book's Amazon page

I also read a really fun book by British YouTubers Dan Howell (danisnotonfire) and Phil Lester (AmazingPhil) called The Amazing Book is Not on Fire. The talk of the town on this book is how lovely it smells. I'm going to have to call 'bull' on that one as I found the smell to be off-putting. I wasn't at all impressed with the smell but I was impressed with the use of mixed media which ran the gamut from collages to excerpts of their text messages with one another. If you're a fan of their YouTube channels, it's a really fun ride but I think that even for those uninitiated into the fold it's a silly, smile-inducing book. Edit: I also listened to the audiobook and it was FANTASTIC. Unlike any audiobook I've ever listened to because there were two authors and they often went 'off script' and just chatted with one another. A really unique experience that I encourage you all to give a whirl.

Finally, I read The 40s: The Story of a Decade which has made me want to subscribe to The New Yorker so it definitely did its job. It's a collection of pieces from that illustrious publication during the 1940s when it underwent the change from witty, humorist magazine to political, correspondence magazine. From profiles to poetry to politics, The New Yorker broke down barriers and contributed some truly revolutionary writings that left an indelible mark on the history of journalism. I was especially moved by the essay on Hiroshima which focused on a handful of survivors of the atomic bomb. The entire collection was fascinating for its time capsule like quality but it was also a fine sampling of excellent writing. I'd also like to point out that I heard about this book on the New York Public Library's homepage on a blog post entitled "The Blacklist: What is Red Reading?". Turns out James Spader is currently reading this book and it sounded so intriguing that I decided to give it a shot. I'm so glad that I did!