A trip to the library yesterday, and the discovery of new children’s books. I think I’ve read 90% of the children’s book stock in the local library, but new ones do come in, which is always welcome.
I thought I would share the haul with you, partly because I love children’s books, and partly because I’ve always heard you need to read a lot to write. I may not manage it on some of the genres I want to write, but I believe I can on children’s books : )
Here we go:
– Skeleton Pirate – illustration style familiar, though haven’t yet worked out what else the illustrator has done. Slightly Punch and Judy type pictures with an infusion of Maurice Sendak about them. (LOVE Maurice Sendak – Where the Wild Things Are, among others.) Favoured theme: pirates. ‘Nuf said.
– Where’s Asterix? – a Where’s Wally style but with Asterix, popular at the moment. And unlike some of the puzzle books where you have to find things, not too fiendish.
– Asterix and the Magic Carpet – this is where I have to dig deeper and remember which Asterix books we’ve got at home, and try to find one we don’t. (The maternal brain is full of such lists of haves and have nots.)
– A junior science book about the body, with experiments to try at home, but which don’t need too much equipment. Think string and tin cans type stuff. I fancy the one where you suspend a fork on a string, strike the fork on an object, and then put each end of string up to your ears.
– New David McKee book, The Invisible Watch. David McKee did Mr Benn, Elmer, and an increasing stream of interesting picture books. Love the illustration style.
– Dr Seuss that I haven’t come across before, O Say Can You Say? I know the title, but haven’t seen the book before. It turns out to be lots of shorter nonsense poem type bits.
Those were the ones I could remember off the top of my head. What does it tell me?
I do tend to go back to authors I know and like. I also go on visual recognition, important for children’s picture books. I plump for favourite themes, to see how it’s handled this time, and hopefully enjoy a new take on them. I generally pick fiction but I have improved on appreciating the merits of a well-written factual book too.
Separate post for the ones I couldn’t remember straight off. How do you choose your books, library or purchased?