It's Been a Long Long Time

 Wow!  It looks like three years have passed since my last blog entry! 

I'm not even sure I remember how to make a blog post haha!

I'm more into journaling, stationery, and pens now than embroidery and handiwork.

Children's picture books are still a hobby, and I spend many winter evenings in our home library. My husband even installed hidden lighting across the top three shelves for my birthday!

I still enjoy decorating with vintage items, but I have not been purchasing much vintage.  

That's all for today.  It's a beautiful day outside and time for a walk.  

Have a colorful day!--Jen

Caldecott 2020

It's that time of year again!  Tomorrow is Caldecott day and I'm very excited!  This year I have three favorite books that I'd love to see win.  The first is The Scarecrow written by Beth Ferry and illustrated by the Fan Brothers.

I was actually lucky enough to come across a signed copy at my local independent bookstore, Main Street Books!  The story is very sweet and the illustrations are beautiful.  As a girl who grew up in a rural area, I especially liked the two page spreads of the fields as they went from being covered with snow, to green, to gold as we roll through the seasons.

Another favorite for the year is Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler.  This is another book that takes us through the seasons.  We follow a widowed mother and her children as they turn an old abandoned shack into their home.  

The illustrations are full of detail and expression.  I'm not a gifted enough writer to fully explain all of my reasons for loving this book.  All I can think to say is that there seems to be a sense of hope throughout the whole story, a hope that circumstances will be better as the seasons progress, a sense of hope that the cold little shack will become a warm home, with a pantry full of good food from the garden, and a table surrounded by a family that works and plays together.  It reminded me much of the TV show The Waltons, (especially when they are "playing store" out in the yard.  This book is on my wish list to own!

There is one more book I'd like to mention, and that's Spot and Dot by Henry Cole, which, I think, is a sequel to Cole's Spot the Cat book. 

I kid you not, I sat down at my kitchen table to look this book and became totally immersed in the detailed drawings until twenty minutes had gone by!  There is so much to see on each page, and kids like finding Spot and Dot as their adventure unfolds.

I would love to see any of these win the Caldecott.  Tune in tomorrow (or Tuesday) for an update!  Until then, have a happy vintage day! 

UPDATE!!  I can't believe it is 2022 and I forgot to update you on the winner of the Caldecott.  No excuse, I just lost my desire to blog.  

The winner of the Caldecott and Honors were:

Winner---The Undefeated, By Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Honor--Bear Came Along, By Richard T. Morris and illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Honor--Double Bass Blues, By Andrea J. Loney and illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez

Honor--Going Down Home With Daddy, By Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Daniel Minter

Congratulations to all of the winners!

Vintage Reading Book

Peter's Family is quite possibly my favorite vintage reader that I own.  It was published in 1942 by Scott, Foresman and Company, and has the most darling illustrations.

 

 

There is a part in the book where the children visit their grandparents on the farm.

 

 

Here is an old fashioned clothes line!

 

And a picket fence!

 



 

 

Ah, the magic of telephone lines. 

 

    And when the children return home they all have a barbeque in the backyard of their new home.  

 

 

It is all so sun-shiny happy it almost makes you want to toss your cookies, but I love it anyways. 

 

That's all for now.  Until another time, have a happy vintage day! 

 



Vintage Book The Trailer Trio

Like I've said before, it seems as though certain vintage books just find their way into my life.  On a table at November's flea market there were at least 100 books all spread out and this little blue one caught my eye.  Maybe it was the sweet little illustration on the cover, but whatever it was, for only a dollar I couldn't pass it up and it has been a joy to read!

 

 

 

If I remember correctly, the book takes place in 1940 or 1941, and the "trio" consists of siblings.  Big sister Anne is the oldest at 21 and is recovering from a terrible bout of pneumonia.  Brother Roger is 18, and baby sister Maleta is 15.  Their parents have died, and they have left their drought-stricken farm in South Dakota and are traveling to their Uncle's old homestead in Idaho that has been sitting empty for years.  He's offered it to them as he now lives in Florida.  They are traveling with a nifty little homemade trailer that Roger built with his own two hands. 

They stop in many places along the way including the small, government built towns of Mason City and Engineer City, built to house those working on the Grand Coulee Dam (which I discovered are all real places!)  Here Roger was to work until they had the funds to move over to Idaho and their Uncle's land.

But they end up leaving the dam and this takes them to many different fun places where they become farm hands, fruit pickers and dish washers.  The characters are very likeable, and since this is a "teen" book a romance blossoms between a college student (also traveling) and Anne. 

It reminds me a little bit of the Box Car Children.

 

One of my favorite chapters is when they find themselves in an old fashioned farm yard and they knock on the door looking for odd jobs to do.  The friendly farmer's wife gives them little chores to do in exchange for food from the garden and a couple of meals.  These jobs include helping with weeding the garden and washing dishes for the harvest crews.  This chapter has a cute illustration.

 

 

The farm women gives them her old, wood burning, cook stove that she threw out to the trash heap just a while ago (because she'd won a new stove in a contest).  They pack the old stove into their trailer and head on down the road. 

 

When they get to their destination (uncle's homestead land), they fix up the little cabin on the property, and create a new start for themselves.

 

I loved this little book and plan to read it again as it is such an easy read.  It's no worse than sitting and watching one of those cheesy Christmas movies onTV for the fourth or fifth time, right?

 

That's all for now.  Until another time have a happy vintage day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Springtime Poem

In a little red schoolhouse,

 

 

in a sunny classroom,

 

 

there is a book shelf.  And on that colorful shelf, there sits a book.

 

 

And in this book there is a little song to sing

about the joys of Spring!

 

 

Happy Spring everyone!  Until another time have a happy vintage day!

The Caldecott Award

Well, there were 4 honor books...

Leave Me Alone Written and Illustrated by Vera Brosgol (which looks cute)

 

Freedom in Congo Square Written by Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

 

Du Is Tak? Written and Illustrated by Carson Ellis (if The Night Gardener didn't win, this was my second choice.)

 

They All Saw A Cat Written and Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel (Nice book!)

 

 

The WINNER of the Caldecott Medal for best Illustrated picture book of 2016 is...

 

Radiant Child Written and Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe.

 

 

I've never seen Radiant Child, but hope to see it soon. 

I'm a little disappointed that The Night Gardener didn't even get a nod, but I've learned through the years that what I like usually isn't what the committee likes.

Next year I will keep my eyes open a little better and be more active about getting to the library to see the new picture books as they are published!

 

Until another time, have a bright, creative day!

Caldecott Prediction

The Caldecott Medal will soon be given for the best illustrated children's book of 2016.   I have only ONE selection this year and here is why. 

I haven't seen many other books! 

We all know that life gets busy, and this year time constraints have kept me from searching out and perusing newly published children's books.   But, I DO have a FAVORITE to win.  It is actually the ONLY new children's book I purchased for myself this past year. 

My pick to win is The Night Gardener Written by Terry Fan and Illustrated by Eric Fan (The Fan Brothers).

 

 

I LOVE this book.

 

The illustrations are highly detailed, and those who know me, know I like detail.  When I think of an illustrator drawing each tiny leaf and each textured brick I imagine he must be thoroughly in love with his craft because WOW, there are thousands of individually drawn leaves throughout the pages of this book!

 

 

 

The book begins with a sepia-greenish-toned-coloring to it and as story progresses, the illustrations become brighter and brighter as does the mood of the story.

 

Towards the end of the book there are three illustrations depicting the changing seasons, which I found to be enjoyable to look at and a neat addition to the story.

 

 

By the end of the story, we see a more colorful landscape with brightly colored flowers, cheerful people, and even an ice cream truck.

 

So, that is my pick for the year 2016....and I'm sad to say it doesn't look like it's on anyone else's radar (as far as the internet, mock Caldecott contests, and teacher picks go) but I will not give up hope! 

The Caldecott Medal will be given out Monday morning, January 23rd, usually around 7:45-8:30 central time.  I have my alarm set and will try to watch again this year via my computer (come on Night Gardener!!)

 

Until another time, have a happy, creative day!

 

2015 Caldecott Predictions (or is it 2016?)

So, it dawned on me this evening that I have not written about my Caldecott favorites!  I thought I had plenty of time, but found out earlier this week that the ALA conference was THIS WEEKEND!  The Youth Award winners will be awarded very early tomorrow morning!  So, as I sit here typing it is 9:45 pm and I'm going to quickly share my "picks" for Caldecott with you.

 

First, I would LOVE to see Kevin Henkes win for his beautiful book, Waiting.

 

 

Or...I'd like to see FLOAT by Daniel Miyares win.  When I first saw this book, I LOVED IT!

I wish I could go into more detail here, but it's past my bedtime.  There are some really nice two page spreads in this book and some nifty reflection drawings.

 

My favorite book of the year was Mama Seaton's Whistle by Jerry Spinelli Ill by LeUyen Pham, which I received for Christmas.  I don't think this book has gotten much attention, and I don't think it will beat the two books above, but I like it.

 

 

Two other books I quite enjoyed looking at (pouring over is more like it) are Finding Winnie: The True Story of the Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick Ill by Sophie Blackall,

 

and

 

Water is Water by Miranda Paul Ill by Jason Chin, which is beautiful! (I may actually have to buy this book, it's so well done.)

 

 

 But I honestly think the medal will go to either Waiting by Henkes, or Float by

 Daniel Miyares.  They are both so wonderful!

 

I would like to go into more detail but I am tired.  It is 10:18 and I will be getting up early to watch the awards live on my computer.

 

Good Night Ya'll!  Have a happy day tomorrow!

 

Update: 

There were four HONOR BOOKS announced!

 

Trombone Shorty Written by: Troy Andrews  Illustrated by: Bryan Collier

 

Waiting Written and Illustrated by: Kevin Henkes

 

Voice of Freedom By: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement Written by: Carole Boston Weatherford  Illustrated by: Ekua Holmes

 

Last Stop On Market Street  Written by: Matt De La Pena Illustrated by: Christian Robinson

 

The CALDECOTT MEDAL went to

 

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear  Written by: Lindsay Mattick Illustrated by: Sophie Blackall

All excellent winners!!

November Flea Market Finds Continued

Time to finish up my vintage finds of November!

A few weeks ago, at the November flea market, I spied this little book from the 50s, and have to say, it's pert' near the cutest little farm book I ever did see.  I was tickled to find it too, because the one I already own is not intact and has pages torn or missing.  This new one is almost perfect!

 

 

 

The pictures are so nice and bright!

 

 

 

 

 

I suppose there aren't too many farm words that start with "Z"  I mean, it's not like farmer Brown raised zebras.  Maybe it should read, "Mother planted zucchini, and it's taken over the garden, grown over the clothesline, and we can no longer see the house."  OR  "The children are full of zeal as they chop through Zucchini vines to find the front door".  But none of those rhyme, so I guess Whitman Publishers won't be dialing my line any time soon.  Not sure what Zero means, unless they mean Zero Degrees temperature. Our temps haven't gotten down quite that low yet, but you can bet the farm, down to that green chair she's sittin' in, that we'll see sub-zero temps eventually. 

The Harker, Apple Pear, salad set was a great find!  I almost squealed when I spotted them amongst all the other little knick-knacks and what-nots, but managed to maintain my "poker face".

Dominoes!

Yep, I can always use dominoes...the daycare kids love them! 
The box is in pretty rough condition, but I love the message, written in pen, on the back. 
"To: Gerald & Dale  From: Clara  Dec. 25, 1956"  How cool is that!?  I wonder who Clara was...maybe a babysitter, or maybe Gerald and Dale's big sister who was in high school and had plenty of babysitting money to spend on a Christmas gift for her two little brothers.  Maybe Clara had been doing some Christmas shopping downtown, and decided to visit Peterson's Drugstore and Soda Fountain, (because no trip downtown was ever complete without stopping into Peterson's to see if any of the gang was there, and to have something to drink).  And while trying to decide between a Dr. Pepper or a Coke Float, she casually walked down the toy aisle and spotted these dominoes, sitting on the shelf.  She figured they'd be the perfect gift for her two younger brothers, who liked to fritter their Sunday afternoons away by playing games.
Then again, Dale could've been a woman, like Dale Evans, and maybe Clara was a neighbor lady. 
Who knows, but it's fun to imagine and guess.

Those were most of my finds at the November flea market.

 That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy vintage day!