Search Results for "palmquist" |

Graphic Storytelling

February 3, 2017 No Comments

A good graphic novel should pose a mystery. As it opens (last possible minute), the reader often has no clue what’s going on. It’s often an unknown world, even if it looks like our world. This isn’t that different than the opening of a conventional print book but, for some reason, people often react to graphic novels by telling me, “I can’t read them!… more

The Delight of Reading Older Books

January 18, 2017 3 Comments

One of my favorite types of reading is to go back and read books I’ve missed from years ago. I once spent an entire summer reading books that were published in the 1950s. I had such a strong feeling of the decade after reading those books that I felt more connected to people who lived then. That feeling of connection is very satisfying to me.… more

Irresistible Reading: How Things Work

December 6, 2016 No Comments

Now, if that Science Encyclopedia wasn’t cool enough, here’s another sure-fire hit for kids who love to read facts, true stories, and know how things work. In fact, the book is called How Things Work and it’s another powerhouse from National Geographic. As the book admonishes, “PUT THIS BOOK DOWN NOW. It’s dangerous. It might make you think you can do impossible things.”… more

Feeding the Naturally Curious Brain

November 29, 2016 No Comments

“You’ll discover mouthless worms and walking ferns … ” (pg. 13) And with those words, I’m charged up for the hunt. Along the way, I can’t help being distracted by a satisfying amount of irresistible information in National Geographic’s Science Encyclopedia. If you learn best visually, there is a surfeit of images to stimulate a curious mind. If you learn best verbally, then this book is chock full of words arranged in the most interesting ways.… more

Essential Holiday Giving: Books

November 29, 2016 14 Comments

Hands down, there is no better gift for holidays or birthdays than a book. You can find a book to suit every interest, every taste, and your budget. You can always feel good about giving a book (unless you’re giving a gift to someone who lives in a Tiny House … ask first). Here’s my list of suggestions for the holidays. It’s filled with books that are informative, beautifully illustrated or photographed, useful, well-written, but mostly books that can be savored or cherished, with uplifting stories.… more

Orbiting Kindergarten

November 22, 2016 No Comments

That lively, quirky-thinking duo from Planet Kindergarten have teamed up once again for Planet Kindergarten: 100 Days in Orbit. Many schools use the 100-day marker to reflect on how far they’ve come since the first day of kindergarten. Social graces, etiquette, mindfulness, assignments, singing, pledges … they’re all included in this new book. But the extra-fun twist is that our hero recounts the entire story as a trip into space aboard a starship filled with aliens and a thoughtful commander. … more

Trailblazing Illustrator, Elizabeth Shippen Green

November 16, 2016 2 Comments

Younger readers may not fully appreciate how difficult it was for women to break into the highly competitive field of illustration. For many years, men were routinely hired for advertising art, newspaper and magazine illustration, and children’s book illustration. Elizabeth Shippen Green, born in 1871 and dying in 1954, was one of the earliest female illustrators to win high regard, helping to open the door a little wider for the women who followed her, Her father was an artist-correspondent during the Civil War.… more

Tucked In for the Winter

November 8, 2016 2 Comments

Every detail in this book is heartwarming. You know that the author and the illustrator and the book’s publishing team put a lot of love and respect into bringing this story to readers. From the moment you see the opening end papers, a forest and pasture ablaze with fall color, until you discover the closing end papers, that same forest with the snowy skeletons of those trees, you sense the care within.… more

Third Grader Reading at a Sixth Grade Level

November 1, 2016 5 Comments

Responding to a parent request for books that would interest her third-grader-reading-at-a-sixth-grade-level, we crowd-sourced a list. Big thanks to Sara Alcott, Linda Baie, Lesley Mandros Bell, Karen Cramer, Caren Creech, Melinda Fant, Ellen Klarreich, Vickie LoPiccolo, Ellen McEvoy, Laura Moe, Tunie Munson-Benson, Vicki Palmquist, Carrie Shay, Faythe Dyrud Thureen, Cindy Walker, and Sharon J. Wilson. Unlike our usual annotated booklists, we are presenting this one in alphabetical order by book title due to the length of the list.

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Women Can Be Magicians, Too!

October 25, 2016 2 Comments

In a sumptuous picture book biography, author Mara Rockliff and illustrator Iacopo Bruno give us the life of Adelaide Scarcez Herrmann, a real person who lived from 1853 to 1932. During her 79 years, she was an actress, a dancer, a vaudevillian, and she was shot out of a cannon. As the title says, she was Anything but Ordinary Addie.… more

Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook

Everything You Need to Ace Five Subjects

October 11, 2016 No Comments

I’ve had this TBR pile of five very attractive, come-hither-looking books begging to be recommended for weeks now. The spines are bright primary colors so I know that even when I shelve them they will be calling to me. And I think they’ll be calling to your students as well. I open what are for me the two scariest volumes (eat your vegetables first — oops, as an adult, I find I LOVE vegetables), Everything You Need to Know to Ace Science in One Fat Notebook: Notes Borrowed from the Smartest Kid in Class (Double-Checked by Award-Winning Teacher) and Everything You Need to Ace Math in One Big Fat Notebook: Notes Borrowed from the Smartest Kid in Class (Double-Checked by Award-Winning Teacher).… more

Those Alluring Comics Storytellers

September 29, 2016 2 Comments

When I began working as, and thinking of myself as, a graphic designer, I assumed that all of my ideas would have to spring out of my mind … and that was terrifying. (Think of the oft-asked question, “Where do your ideas come from?”) I didn’t think I was creative enough or widely traveled enough or even educated enough as a graphic designer to come up with ideas that would translate into smart, pleasing designs on paper or a computer screen.… more

Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie

Apples, Well-Being, and Family

September 13, 2016 2 Comments

Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie: A Story about Edna Lewis is a memorable book about growing food throughout the seasons and living off the land in Virginia. Wild strawberry, purslane, dandelions, sassafras, honey. As spring rides the breeze into summer, this extended family tends to their larder, taking full advantage of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables growing around them.… more

Welcome to Roy’s House

August 30, 2016 No Comments

What better way to familiarize one’s self with the work of pop culture artist Roy Lichtenstein than to walk through his house from living room to snack bar, from bathroom to bedroom, and finally into his studio, where we can try our hand at painting? Susan Goldman Rubin and her team at Chronicle have created a book illustrated by Roy Lichtenstein’s paintings, Roy’s House, which lets us see up close his style of art, the colors he used, and the technique of shading color in dots.… more

August Shorts

August 17, 2016 No Comments

Warning: There’s a lot of enthusiasm ahead for these books! Where Do Pants Go?
Written by Rebecca Van Slyke, illustrated by Chris Robertson
Sterling Children’s Books, 2016 Well, this is just adorable … and I can already hear households throughout the English-speaking world chanting: “Where do pants go? On your arms? No. On your neck? No. No, no, no. Pants go on your legs, that’s where pants go.”… more

Books Like This Are Convincing

August 5, 2016 No Comments

I’m more comfortable with magic than I am with science. Married to a science guy, I work harder to be interested in science. It gives us something to talk about. When I find narrative nonfiction that tells a compelling story, I’m thankful … and intrigued. I’m particularly happy to find books that feature lesser-known aspects of science, thereby taunting my curiosity.… more

Dear Peacemakers

July 19, 2016 No Comments

In recent weeks, we’ve had many requests for books about anger and fear and conflict resolution. I was immediately reminded of an excellent resource published in 2010 called Book by Book: an Annotated Guide to Young People’s Literature with Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution Themes (Carol Spiegel, published by Educators for Social Responsibility, now called Engaging Schools).… more

Reading Memories

July 5, 2016 6 Comments

Memories of my childhood are imperfect. Yours, too? I don’t remember having a lot of books as a child. I remember The Poky Little Puppy and another dog book (title unknown) and Three Little Kittens (perhaps a reminder to me to keep track of my mittens). I remember using the school library voraciously to read books. I had no access to the public library (too far away) so that school library was my lifeline.… more

Visiting Brigadoon

June 21, 2016 10 Comments

Steve and I returned earlier this week from Montpelier, Vermont, where we spoke at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, specifically to the alumni of their Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program. We were there to talk about “Marketing as Storytelling,” with the goal of making these typically introverted writers feel more comfortable about touting their books.… more

Going to Camp

May 24, 2016 2 Comments

As summer begins, it’s possible there is no more ubiquitous experience for American children than summer camp. Whether it’s a day camp or a sleepaway camp, an art or music camp, a Girl Scout or church camp, there are some things that most camps have in common: the outdoors, getting along with other kids and counselors, and new experiences.… more

Adventures in Cartooning: Characters in Action

Summer Adventures

May 10, 2016 No Comments

The other day, a public librarian asked on social media for graphic novel recommendations for readers aged 6 to 12. I immediately recommended the Adventures in Cartooning series by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost. The first book was Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles into Comics, introducing us to The Knight, Edward the chubby horse, and the Magic Cartooning Elf.… more

Light vs Dark

April 6, 2016 No Comments

Do you have a book that you re-read periodically? At least every few years? Sometimes more often? For me, it’s The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. I have read thousands of books in my lifetime, but this book stands out as the one that captured my full heart, mind, and imagination. When I think of it, a hush falls over me.… more

The Jungle Book

March 22, 2016 No Comments

The word exquisite once won the game for me while playing Password. I have been fond of that word since that time and look for instances where it applies. That is surely the illustrated edition of The Jungle Book, written by Rudyard Kipling all of those years ago, and newly illustrated by Nicola Bayley. Candlewick published this edition of the classic stories and their classics are worth collecting, reading, and treasuring.… more

Fashion Studio

March 8, 2016 No Comments

Oh. my goodness. When I opened up this box, I was immediately transported to my grandparents’ back yard, on the blue blanket under the elm tree, when a gaggle of friends brought their Barbies and Kens together and we sewed clothes out of fabric scraps and held fashion shows. Those days are some of my best memories of childhood.… more

Perspective

February 23, 2016 No Comments

At Bookology, we believe the adage about “the right book for the right reader.” Those are not necessarily the books that we see in advertisements, in the bloggers’ buzz, or on award lists. Only by listening to each other, and especially to kids, talk about books do we find those gems our hearts were looking for but didn’t know existed.… more

Boys and Girls of Bookland

February 10, 2016 3 Comments

This is how book collecting goes. You see something that piques your curiosity. You wonder: “Why did this book get published?” “Who would have bought this book?” “On whose shelves did this book rest and why did they let it go?” “Was it a gift, never opened, or was it cherished and read over and over again?” Sometimes you’re curious about the text or the illustrations or the binding or the publisher.… more

Libraries in the USA are at Mission Critical

February 9, 2016 No Comments

“There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration.” —Andrew Carnegie Libraries in the USA are at mission critical. Those who went before us worked hard to establish free public libraries so we could have access to what we need to know.… more

Telling a Story the Hard Way

January 26, 2016 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist I’ve just finished reading the graphic novel Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson, with color by Dave Stewart (Graphix, 2015). I am overwhelmed by the work that went into this book. First off, it’s an engrossing, turn-the-page story with an appealing cast of characters. As readers, we care about what will happen. That’s a good start.… more

Rolling the Storytelling Blocks

January 12, 2016 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist Looking for hours of fun with a book the whole family can enjoy … or one person can easily study to learn to write or tell a story … better? Then you’ll want to give this a try: How to Tell a Story, written by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Brian Won, and published by Workman Publishing in 2015. This book comes in a box.… more

Interview with Julie Downing: Illustrating The Firekeeper’s Son

December 17, 2015 No Comments

interview by Vicki Palmquist and Marsha Qualey The illustrations in The Firekeeper's Son are all double-page spreads. How did that design decision affect your choices and work? I decided on the format because the landscape is an important part of the story. The original dummy I made had fewer pages so I split many spreads into smaller images.… more

Looking inside

December 15, 2015 2 Comments

by Vicki Palmquist For several years, I have been dipping into a book that I keep beside my desk. It’s called Today I Will: a Year of Quotes, Notes, and Promises to Myself (Knopf, 2009). Two acknowledged masters of children’s literature, Eileen Spinelli and Jerry Spinelli, wrote it. They are parents and grandparents and one can feel their love and concern for future generations in this book.… more

“Don’t get took! Read a book!”

December 1, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist I go crazy when I hear that Vaunda Michaux Nelson has another book coming out. I’m a fan. For my own reading life, No Crystal Stair: a documentary novel of the life and work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem bookseller, is one of my top ten books in the last ten years. I found every aspect of that book satisfying.… more

Beautiful Books: an interview with designer Marty Ittner

November 25, 2015 2 Comments

For young writers who aspire to write information books of their own, or readers who will enjoy the experience of reading more, we’d like to help them understand how a book designer works. Marty Ittner designed Untamed: the Wild Life of Jane Goodall and graciously agreed to answer bookologist Vicki Palmquist’s questions. When you start the process of designing a book, what provides your inspiration?… more

Changing Science Fiction Forever

November 24, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist In its October 1912 issue, All-Story Magazine published a short story by Edgar Rice Burroughs called “Tarzan of the Apes.” Do you remember the plot? John Clayton is born to parents who are marooned on the west coast of Africa. His parents, Lord and Lady Greystoke, die on his first birthday. John is adopted by Kala, an ape, who mothers him as one of her own.… more

Changing Science Fiction Forever

November 24, 2015 1 Comment

Collecting your observations

November 17, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist I never kept a journal. Why? It never occurred to me. It wasn’t within my realm of familiarity. I started writing many stories on notebook paper and stuffed them into folders. But how satisfying to have a journal, specifically an observation journal to keep track of what you see, hear, and think. As a child, I was a hunter-gatherer. Were you?… more

Is It a Classic?

November 3, 2015 5 Comments

by Vicki Palmquist When I was in my twenties, I worked at an architecture firm. Several of the architects were fascinated by my deep connection to children’s books. One day, one of them asked me, “Which books, being published now, will become classics?” That question has stuck with me, holding up a signpost every now and then. How does one predict a classic?… more

Museum Feast

October 20, 2015 No Comments

Historium
curated by Richard Wilkinson and Jo Nelson
Big Picture Press, 2015 by Vicki Palmquist In a large, folio-sized book, the curators of Historium present a printed-page trip through a museum, grouped by cultures and described in detail so you can understand what you are seeing without being rushed along by the crowd. Much like those rentable museum audio tapes or the placards on the wall, it’s an enhanced experience of the artifacts.… more

Interview: Eric Rohmann

October 6, 2015 No Comments

Bulldozer’s Big Day
written by Candace Fleming
illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Atheneum, 2015 interview by Vicki Palmquist What’s the illustration tool you turn to more than any other? Graphite pencil. Simple, efficient, erasable, feels good in the hand, makes a lovely line with infinite possibilities for line variation. Did I mention that it’s erasable? Always forgiving!… more

Laughter and Grief

October 6, 2015 4 Comments

by Vicki Palmquist There are books we remember all of our lives, even if we can’t remember the details. Sometimes we can’t even remember the story, but we remember the characters and how they made us feel. We recall being transported into the pages of the book, seeing what the characters see, hearing what they hear, and understanding the time and spaces and breathing in and out of the characters.… more

Interview: Ann Bausum

September 29, 2015 No Comments

With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman’s Right to Vote
Ann Bausum
National Geographic, 2004 interview by Vicki Palmquist You state that you weren’t taught women’s history in school. (Neither was I. I remember reading and re-reading the few biographies in the library about Molly Pitcher, Clara Barton, and Florence Nightingale.) When you went looking for information for With Courage and Cloth, how did you start?… more

Beyond the Page

September 24, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist I’ve been savoring Quentin Blake: Beyond the Page (Tate Publishing, 2012), a book that is replete with photos, illustrative art, and all the many ways Mr. Blake’s art has adorned many aspects of life “beyond the page.” In his own voice, we hear of the places illustration has taken him. With something near a state of wonder, Mr.… more

Interview: Rita Williams-Garcia

September 23, 2015 3 Comments

Interview by Vicki Palmquist When you wrote One Crazy Summer, did you already know you had a longer story to tell? And if you didn’t know then, when did you know? I was so focused on telling the one story of children’s involvement in the Black Panther Movement. As I dug into my characters’ backstories and projected their actions into the future, I knew I had another book to write.… more

The Classics, Galdone-Style

September 22, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist Are you looking for a shower or baby gift that will be appreciated for a long time? A good birthday present for a young child? The Folk Tale Classics Treasury, interpreted and illustrated by Paul Galdone (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2013), is a good place for parents to start with retellings of western European folk tales.… more

Fashion Forward and Backward

September 8, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist (A) If your kids are plugged in to Project Runway or
(B) if you come from a tradition of sewing clothes in your family or
© if you’ve ever been asked about where jeans come from … this is the right book for your 5- to 8‑year-old. Where Did My Clothes Come From? by Chris Butterworth, with illustrations by Lucia Gaggiotti (Candlewick Press, 2015) is a nifty book with words and drawings that combine to give satisfying answers.… more

Nikki Grimes: Researching and Writing Chasing Freedom

September 1, 2015 No Comments

Interview by Vicki Palmquist Chasing Freedom
written by Nikki Grimes
illustrated by Michelle Wood
Orchard Books, 2014 Did you know more about one of your two characters when you conceived of the book? Yes. I knew a fair amount about Harriet Tubman. Hers was one of the few stories about African Americans brought out every year during what, in my youth, was called Negro History Month.… more

There’s Nothing to Dooooooooo

August 11, 2015 6 Comments

by Vicki Palmquist By this point in the summer when I was young, the charm of being out of school had worn off, I’d played every game on my grandma’s shelves, and I’d had a few fights with my friends in the neighborhood, so I’d retreated to reading as many books as I could, consuming stories like Ms. Pacman swallowing energy pellets.… more

Advertising Terms and Conditions

August 6, 2015 No Comments

Advertising Terms & Conditions

Via our free online magazine, Bookology, Winding Oak is pleased to offer advertising to a vertical market of children’s literature professionals and enthusiasts throughout the world, including educational institutions, trade publishers and distributors, suppliers, events and conferences, authors and illustrators of trade books, and bookstores. How to place an ad: Fill out our Ad Request Form or contact our advertising manager, Steve Palmquist, at advertise@bookologymagazine.com

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Classic Children’s Comics

July 22, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist “No one I knew ever picked up Archie or Lulu or Dennis the Menace because it was Required Reading. We read comics because we wanted to see what was going to happen. We wanted to take that unexpected turn.” — Jon Scieszka When I was in high school, I went on a hunt to find as many old comics as I could, learning about the history, the controversy, the artists, and the love affair that swooped up so many kids and showed them that good stories exist in many forms.… more

A Trip to the Art Museum

July 15, 2015 No Comments

by Vicki Palmquist

Arlo’s Artrageous Adventure! David LaRochelle
Sterling Children’s Books, 2013 When Arlo’s grandmother drags him to the art museum, he can’t imagine how he’ll be interested. Something odd catches his eye and he soon realizes the paintings have things to say that surprise and delight him — and the reader. Fun and quirky, with illustrations that will make you smile and flaps to lift that will reveal nuances in much the same way you discover something new in a painting each time you look at it … this is a good choice to prepare a child for a trip to the museum.

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