Penguin Craze!

I have found this great book at a garage sale on Sunday: "The Penguins of Penguin Town by Gerhard Oberlander and Gaby Baldner (Arco Publishing Company, New York, 1962).
What attracted me right away, as it is often the case, was the illustrations, deliciously retro, great colors and the topic: penguins, simply irresistible...
Right away, I thought about 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet, now internationally famous. This book has been a favorite of mine to give as a present to kids, because it is so big, beautiful, funny and super smart. I have been a longtime fan of Joelle Jolivet but until today, I had never seen her website and blog which are both well worth visiting.
"The Penguins of Penguin Town" is not available in French and it has not had been re-published more recently. But you can score an original 1962 copy on amazon for a reasonable amount. Definitely worth it.
To wear black and white clothes is not mandatory to enjoy these books!

Gros-Lapin: simply irrestible!!!

Lovers of Pomelo, rejoice!!! Gros Lapin is here! It is for sale at lapetitebeteonline.com. This long time favorite of La Petite Bete has recently been translated in published in English by Chronicles Book "Big Rabbit's Bad Mood."Author Ramona Badescu and illustrator Delphine Durand strike again after the wonderful series of Pomelo, available in the US in bilingual version english /spanish, which is wonderful.

Gros Lapin has a problem, which materializes as a big hairy monster who follows him around, eats his food, socks, radio and plants, climb on his furniture, makes a mess and bothers him so much that he finds himself unable to do anything at all.

M. & MME BY MELISSA PIGOIS

While browsing the website of FNAC, I came accross this book "M. & Mme".
Attracted by the cover and very curious to know more about it, I contacted the publisher, Belize, who sent me a copy and put me in touch with the author Melissa Pigois. At first, you might think, this is a very simple book, with not much on which to build. But it is not the case. I have read this book to my children, to my neighbor's children, I have used it with my students (adults beginners) and I based a one hour french class for 4-5 years old on it. Everyone loved it. The idea, using a very simple concept, is to demonstrate that each child although part of a family (whether adopted or not) is unique, even if a child might resemble his/her siblings and/or his/her parents.
When I e-mailed Melissa Pigois, I was hoping that she would still be making regular trips to New Jersey, since she was born in Morristown NJ and grew up in Parsippany, and for years, while growing up, spent summer vacations in New Jersey. Unfortunately, she no longer comes to NJ. Her background is very interesting. She studied fashion design, worked at Yves Saint Laurent and later on became assistant at Elle before starting to write for various fashion magazines (Biba, Cosmopolita, Marie-France,...).
" M. & Mme " is her first children book. As a little girl, she was writing stories and making books using tape and staples. While growing up, she always had tons of stories and characters in her head. One idea finally came to fruition after the birth of her son Cyan. You can hear Melissa Pigois talk about "M & Mme" in length by watching the following interview.
To buy it, click HERE. Quantities are limited!!!!

BROSSE MOI UN ANIMAL/BRUSH ME AN ANIMAL

I have recently met Nathalie Trovato, children books illustrator, french native who has been living in Brooklyn for over a year. I had been hearing about her for months and alas we managed to meet. We talked a lot about children books, and more specifically about her wonderful self published book: Brosse moi un Animal/Brush me an animal. I will let her speak for herself, since she does it so well. See the videos below and click here to buy her book.

If you like it, let me know, her second book is soon to be published (and it will be another little jewel, in gorgeous bright colors and in a totally different format and concept). LA PETITE BETE will be one of the first (if not the first) to feature and sell it!

NAUGHTY PETS, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE... ALAS NOT IN FRENCH!

Wendy Ann Gardner is an artist who began sewing plush baby toys as baby gifts for her friends. Each character is based on a real-life pet, with its own quirky personality. Eventually her business grew, and nowadays, her toys and books are sold all over the world. There currently are four hilarious "Naughty pets" books published in English by Hyperion, "Heedly Pecked me in the eye", "Yes, a cat named Marty Cohen", "Dig Ivan Dig!" and "Naughty Kiefer." Illustrations are bright and the writing is great to read to little ones or to be read by beginner readers as they rime and some words are printed bigger than others. View the video of Lucas, almost 7, reading "Naughty Kiefer."

I also just discovered that it has been made into a cartoon, three episodes are posted on Youtube. Log on on the Naughty Pets Blog to easily view the three episodes, as well as other info about the NP and their author.

Ammo Books

AMMO BOOKS has recently published a series of wonderful books for children (the adults will want them too!) based on the design of Charley Harper, a Cincinnati based American Modernist artist (August 4, 1922-June 10, 2007) .

He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations. Born in Frenchton (not Frenchtown!), West Virginia in 1922, Harper's upbringing on his family farm influenced his work to his last days. While at the Academy, and supposedly on the first day, Charley met fellow artist Edie Mckee, whom he would marry shortly after graduation in 1947. Charley Harper returned to the Art Academy of Cincinnati as a teacher and also worked for a commercial firm before working on his own. He and his wife worked out of their Roselawn and Finneytown homes, and later, with their only child Brett Harper, formed Harper Studios. During his career, Charley Harper illustrated numerous books, notably The Golden Book of Biology, magazines such as Ford Times, as well as many prints, posters, and other works. As his subjects are namely natural, with birds prominently featured, Charley often created works for many nature-based organizations. Charley Harper passed away on Sunday June 10, 2007 after contending with pneumonia for some months.In a style he called "minimal realism", Charley Harper captured the essence of his subjects with the fewest possible visual elements. When asked to describe his unique visual style, Charley responded:

"When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe."

The results are bold, colorful, and often whimsical. The designer Todd Oldham wrote with Harper a very big and wonderful book that can be purchased on amazon here. combined with the precision he exacts on rendering only the most important details, one is always left with a sense of awe." Charley, on numerous examples, also went outside the medium of graphic art and included short prose poems for the artwork he made.
Using Parker's designs for children books makes complete sense and at the same time is a strike of genius. Parents and children will adore them. The Gap and Old Navy, now carrying children books and toys, are selling the entire line of Charley Parker books and games. No french version (yet!). but the memory game can be played in any language. A great gift for all ages!

Le Rouergue

The publishing house of Le Rouergue has always been a favorite of mine, for many reasons. Instead of writing a long text detailing all its merits, log onto their website, which is very nice. You won't be sorry you did. The flash animations have been favorite of my kids and I for a long time. Recently, Nico, who is now three, has been asking to see "Mouton", everytime he sees me on my computer (which is all the time..). He was given the book by Henri Meunier for Christmas. Since he knew the little film before the book, he reads the book mimicking the animation, funny... Beware, the flash animation or the actual book could very well put you to sleep...