Author Spotlight: Janet Stevens

Janet Stevens made me bark like a dog in front of hundreds of teachers at the 2011 SCCRC Asilomar Reading Conference!

Stevens was giving a presentation to the group, and got around to a book of hers called "Help Me, Mr. Mutt: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems." Lots of confused, barking dogs in this one. Stevens suddenly pointed to the person seated directly before her to get up & do the "heavy barking." That was me. She had no idea she was calling up a professional--and I never told her!

Curl up in a comfy place when you open a book by Janet Stevens, because you (and your child, if you're sharing) will both want to take your time to explore the intricate, witty illustrations on each page. Hidden surprises abound. Janet's artwork has enhanced works by authors including Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley, and Stevens herself has penned many books, both alone & with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Here are just a small handful:

Tops & Bottoms
The star of this book is a hare who once “lost a risky bet with a tortoise.” Now he has to get his food by tricking a lazy bear. Kids can laugh along with this trickster tale, and learn a little bit about their veggies at the same time.

My Big Dog
Merl the cat seemed very happy to have his home & his family all to himself—so obviously a dog had to come into the picture. Colorful illustrations are integrated with real photographs, and a very cute puppy.

Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!
Fans of the Little Red Hen will be interested to learn that great-grandson is a baker, as well. Rooster has a lot of help—but it is not necessarily helpful help. The story is funny, there are a lot of lessons about kitchens & cooking along the way, and there’s a tasty recipe at the end.

The Great Fuzz Frenzy
This book is the true story of how Janet's dog, Violet the Golden Retriever, dropped her ball down a prairie dog hole—and the fantastical imagining about what may have happened next. You’ll turn the book, fold out pages—and maybe even want to set about puzzling some prairie dogs, yourself!

Plaidypus Lost
A little girl gets a very special homemade plaid friend from her grandmother, and what’s the first thing she does? She loses it! And she gets it back. And she loses it again. Everybody should recognize the pattern, even if they have no idea what a platypus (or plaidypus) is!

The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
Where did dish & spoon go? Little Dog isn’t laughing—it’s time to round up a search party! Everyone gets involved: Little Boy Blue, Little Miss Muffet’s Spider—even the Big Bad Wolf!

That should be enough to get you started.  You can also visit the author's web page to view a larger list of titles, download coloring sheets, learn about her art process, and more.

Check out Janet Stevens, and let me know what you think!

Upcoming Events

Preschool & Family Storytimes
Livermore Public Library
Join John for the fun each week:
Mondays: 7pm Family Storytime, Civic Center (through May 9)
Fridays: 10:30 & 11:00 Toddler & Preschooler Storytimes, Rincon (through May 13)

Saturday, March 5

Sunday, March 6

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND

Lake Merritt, Oakland
Storytelling at 1:30 & 2:30 each day

Saturday April 9

San Jose Public Library

Vineland Branch
Storytelling at 1pm

Wednesday, April 13

San Jose Public Library

Cambrian Branch
Storytelling at 3pm

Saturday, April 23

Sunnyvale Public Library

Storytelling at 3pm

Saturday, April 30

San Jose Public Library

King Branch
Storytelling at 3pm

Sunday, May 1

The 22nd Annual Sunnyvale Library Storytelling Festival

This 2-hour event runs from 2-4pm.  I'll be on at 3pm.


Saturday, May 21
San Leandro Library
Manor Branch
Storytelling at 10:30am


Other recent or upcoming events include storytelling for Brier Elementary in Fremont, Brentwood Elementary, The Child Day School in Lafayette, and Children's Academy of Danville.  For regular updates, connect with me on Facebook!

Read Up: Hopppy New Year!

Happy New Year!

No, I am not a month late! I am referring to the Lunar New Year, AKA Chinese New Year (but many Asian cultures actually celebrate the Lunar New Year). This year, the new year falls on February 3, kicking off the Year of the Rabbit. If you were born in one of the following years--1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, or 1999--you are a rabbit! To sum up the characteristics of a person born in the Year of the Rabbit: they are very special! Just like everyone born in any of the 12 phases of the lunar cycle!

In honor of the bunnies out there, I am offering up a few of my favorite rabbit books--so let's hop to it!

A Boy and His Bunny
Sean Bryan & Tom Murphy
“One day a boy woke up with a bunny on his head.” It’s an amazing day, and a fun book full of simple pictures & funny rhymes—and you’ll love what Sister brings to the story.

Bunny Fun
Sarah Weeks & Sam Williams
Indoor time on a rainy day, with bright pictures & rhymes as we watch two friends play! There are some wonderful visuals for good things to do—and also a few opportunities to discuss the not-so-great choices!

Duck! Rabbit!
Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld
Is that a duck getting a drink, or a rabbit cooling its ears in the water? A pair of off-page voices disagree over the shape we see, and by the end, we’ve all been able to exercise our imaginations.

The Max & Ruby books
Rosemary Wells
The cute little bunny & his bossy big sister have made it to TV, but make sure you don’t overlook their books! In Bunny Cakes, Max is sent around to buy ingredients for Ruby to make Grandma’s birthday cake—but he also finds time to make one himself. There’s no recipe at the end, & you’ll understand why.

Not a Box
Antoinette Portis
I love this book (which looks like a box, but is not). The rabbit/child is playing with—well, with what the book’s off-page narrator thinks is a box. It’s not a box. It’s many, many things—but it is NOT NOT NOT NOT a box!

Read to Your Bunny
Rosemary Wells
Bunnies read outside & inside, day & night, in every situation possible. Bunnies show the rest of us how it’s done! Read to your bunny often.

If you have any favorite bunny books, or books on celebrations, or culture, or anything at all-- please tell me about them. I don't want to miss out!

New home library design: making less with more!

     
     Books are more than just reading material these days!
 

     Wait, scratch that: there seems to be a trend of people using books as a lot less than reading material.

                According to this article originally printed in The New York Times, the big new trend in interior design is big, custom-built libraries.  Boy, I sure would love to have one of those!  I’m thinking built-in shelves in at least two rooms of my home—and maybe overhead in a hallway or two—to corral the thousands of books that spill out all over, and maybe even encourage me to somehow keep them all organized.  Sure, I’ve got plenty of perfectly-serviceable bookcases, but isn’t the built-in look so much more neat-looking, much cooler—much more, I don’t know, built-in?  That’s not even taking into account the fact that I live in earthquake country, where heavy bookcases can become very dangerous, super-sized dominoes.  And did I mention that built-ins look cool?

                So people are spending thousands for these custom-designed libraries.  The thing is, the designers are also supplying the books!  And you can get any genre of book you want, like light blue & gray, earth tones, paper-wrapped, or even sheathed in linen!  If you’re looking for even more mental stimulation, perhaps you’d like to go for the “books displayed backwards” option, so that you could enjoy the texture of the pages.  Mm, paper-y!  Or if you are into a more classic look, you can still go for a library of same-sized volumes, all bound identically in rich Corinthian leather—on all six sides, if you wish.

                Apparently, those of us who actually like to read our books should be grateful for this decorating trend, as it is a boon to the more-endangered-than-ever publishing industry—if only as a way for them to slough off their remainders of Danielle Steele potboilers and Michael Jackson biographies, giving them a new lease on life following a vigorous draping in taffeta.  Yes, it would appear as if these biblioartistes and their clientele are actually subsidizing the reading habits of the rest of us!

To be fair, if I must, some of these showcase books may eventually get read.  May.  The more affordable of the libraries come without the choice of any particular language of text, but at least one client insisted on English, because “he wanted the option of being able to read his books.” Options, after all, are where it’s at here in the ‘10s.  Of course, other folks are more into appearances than options, such as the people who “insist that (the books) be in English, because they want them to look as if they could read the books.”  Yeah, “as if they could read the books.” As if. 

Now, the buzz you’ll hear a lot in childhood education circles is about having a “literature-rich environment.” This has to do with incorporating books and reading throughout the home and school environments: books in the playhouse, reading recipes aloud as you cook together—and of course, letting your children “catch you” reading for pleasure.  We can translate all of this into the terms of the new decorating craze, can we not?  Next time you redecorate your kids’ room, don’t forget books!  Get some children’s classics—or whatever, really, it doesn’t matter (as long as they are of a uniform size)—find some cute wrapping paper (bonus points if you laminate it first)—and truss them up!  You’ll probably have to tell the children that these are not gifts, and are therefore never to be opened, but they’re sure to catch on eventually and enjoy the style as much as trendy adults around the country already do.  C’mon, get into the spirit; it’s enough that you actually have all of these books in your house—no need to waste time actually reading any of them!

That’s why the e-reader was invented, right?

Read Across America: Every Day!

Read Across America Day is coming!  Sure, it's happening on March 2nd--about a month & a half away as I write this--but it's never too early to start planning, or to start reading!

The Read Across America initiative was created by the National Education Association to celebrate Dr. Seuss (whose birthday was on March 2), and also something that author celebrated in every one of his books for young people: the joy of reading.  Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel was no fan of the beginning reader books of his day, which featured thrilling text along the lines of, "See Mark.  See Janet. See Mark sit.  See Janet sit.  Sit, Mark.  Sit Janet.  See Mark and Janet sit." These are the memories of my bored inner five-year-old; my school had apparently not yet adopted Seuss (though my parents had), and in class I had to read about the "adventures" of Janet, Mark, and their equally-thrilling dog Tip ("See Tip.  Here, Tip.  Come, Tip.  Tip-Tip.").  Ugh.

Thank goodness for Dr. Seuss, who came along and gave beginning reader books what they needed: FUN.  The Foot Book, for instance, combines its simple vocabulary with rhyme, silliness, bright & inventive illustrations--AND also manages to cover the subject of opposites!  Hooray for Dr. Seuss, on his birthday and every day.

So, how to celebrate Read Across America Day?  Schools & libraries do it by hosting special events with guest readers or storytellers, or just by doing a little extra reading on that day.  Seuss-related crafts are very popular, as are campus parades and dramatizations from the works of Dr. Seuss.  Does the whole day have to focus on Seuss works, though?  NO!  It's about celebrating the joy of reading!  Is Read Across America just for schools & libraries? No, please don't leave it there; any person or organization can have an event, no matter big or small.  Parents?  You can read, too!  It would be a nice birthday present for Dr. Seuss, and an even bigger gift for your children--today, March 2, and every day.



Read Across America

Aloha!

In motion at the Waikiki Aquarium

Celebrating the Hawaii Children's Discover Center's 12th "birthday"

Storytelling in Honolulu for the Waikiki Aquarium and the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center was a lot of fun!  I've posted a couple of albums of photos of the experience over at my Facebook page, please go and check them out!

Want to hear a story?

From NPR's Weekend Edition, Daniel Pinkwater & Scott Simon read the book Chicken Big, by Keith Graves.

Listen to the story...

Reading at the Library is Fun

Read Up! A Little Family Time

Fall & Winter are the cold & “celebrate-y” parts of the year, with warm thoughts often turned toward family.  There are so many wonderful picture books available on the topic—and my short list here (just eleven, I don’t want to overwhelm), doesn’t even scratch the surface.  What are some of your favorite books that feature family members having fun together?  Here are just a few of mine.

The Big Honey Hunt, by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Back before the the Berenstain Bears became a ubiquitous franchise, there was just small bear and his mom & dad.  This simpler, funnier era was my favorite, and The Big Honey Hunt is a great example.  Small Bear follows his dad on a stinging adventure, while Mother just waits for the moment they finally get back with the safer, store-bought stuff.

The Family Book, by Todd Parr

We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families, by Todd Parr

“There are lots of different ways to be a family,” writes Todd Parr in The Family Book, and in his typically bright, colorful & simple style, he shows fanciful yet relatable families of all stripes—even skunk stripes!  Parr has individual books to cover mommies, daddies, grandmas & grandpas, and even one on adoption: We Belong Together.  The entire collection shares funny images that are sure to get kids giggling & talking.

Let’s Go, Froggy, by Jonathan London & Frank Remkiewicz

Froggy & his daddy are planning a bike trip & a picnic, but will they manage to get out of the house in time?  The story certainly reinforces the adage, “it’s always the last place you look.”  It’s always fun to imitate Froggy’s voice as he replies to his parents’ calls with a stretched-out, “wha-a-a-a-at?”

Oh, Daddy!  By Bob Shea

This book is worth picking up for the cool, bold art alone, but the story isn’t lagging either!  Little Hippo loves his daddy—and loves showing him how to do things.  In fact, Daddy wouldn’t be able to get dressed, get in the car, or even eat lunch without Little Hippo!  Great big fun.

Our Grandparents: A Global Album, by Maya Ajmera, Sheila Kinkade, & Cynthia Pon

Beautiful photos from around the world celebrate the joys shared by grandparents and grandchildren.  The book ends with “five things to do with your grandparents.”   A treasure of a book about treasured family.

Our Granny, by Margaret Wild & Julie Vivas

With gentle wit and lots of love, a pair of children talks about the fact that there are all kinds of grandmothers in the world—and the fact that the most special one to them is their own.  Grandmas at storytime always get a giggle out of the idea of a wobbly-bottomed granny who “marches in demonstrations!”

Lola at the Library, by Anna Mcquinn and Rosalind Beardshaw

Lola Loves Stories by Anna Mcquinn and Rosalind Beardshaw

What a great imagination Lola has!  She & her daddy load up on library books once a week, and Lola’s parents read or tell her stories every evening.  The next day, Lola’s play echoes the previous evening’s stories!  This is a family who really knows how to love & play together.  For more Lola & family, check out Lola at the Library.

Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen

Chloe is scared that when her favorite uncle gets married, she’ll lose him forever.  Over the course of this sweet and reaffirming book, she is assured that her family is actually growing to include another favorite relative.

What!  Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story, by Kate Lum & Adrian Johnson

Patrick has arrived at his Granny’s for his very first sleepover there—but he seems to be missing a pillow, a teddy bear—and a few other things!  Granny will do whatever it takes to make sure Patrick has all of the bedtime essentials he needs, even if it takes all night!  Johnson’s bold, colorful art carries the weight of the story, and will have adults & kids smiling at this eager-to-please grandmother.

I hope you check these out, and maybe find some new favorites. If you’ve got some great books in mind—whether they fit in with this list or not—please share them with me!

Happy Halloween!

Upcoming Events

Preschool & Family Storytimes
Livermore Public Library
Join John for the fun each week:
Mondays: 7pm Family Storytime, Civic Center (through December 13)
Fridays: 10:30 & 11:00 Toddler & Preschooler Storytimes, Rincon (through December 17)

Saturday, November 27

Sunday, November 28

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND

Lake Merritt, Oakland
Storytelling at 1:30 & 2:30 each day

Saturday, December 18

WAIKIKI AQUARIUM

Honolulu
Storytelling 10am-12 noon

Sunday, December 19

HAWAII CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTER

Honolulu
Storytelling at 11am, to celebrate the center's 12th birthday

Wednesday, December 22

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND

Lake Merritt, Oakland
Storytelling at 5:30pm, part of the Fairy Winterland Celebration

Livermore Library storytimes resume
Monday, January 10, 2011



January 14-16, 2011
Attending Asilomar Reading Conference

Saturday, January 29

Sunday, January 30

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND

Lake Merritt, Oakland
Storytelling at 1:30 & 2:30 each day



Saturday, May 21
San Leandro Library
Manor Branch
Storytelling at 10:30am


Other recent or upcoming events include storytelling for Rainbow of Knowledge in Los Gatos, ILM Tree in Lafayette, Bright Horizons Family Solutions in SF, and San José Public Library.  For regular updates, connect with me on Facebook!

John's Mailbag

I opened my mailbox recently to discover a thick envelope from an elementary school I'd visited about a week before. It was filled with notes from students of various ages, thanking me for my storytelling performance. What a pleasant surprise! Here are a few quick excerpts--some funny stuff in here!


"Dear John Weaver, Thank you for coming to our school and telling us stories again. I liked all of your stories... I also liked the voices and impressions. When you told us all of the stories, you made us laugh and everybody liked it. I thought when you told us the stories, you did it way better than last year. Anyways, thank you again for coming."


"Thank you Mr. Weaver for coming to our school and telling real cool story's. I like all of the stories because they were all funny."


"...that was really cool how do you do those voices those where funny voices to me and those princess stories i loved those."


"Dear John: I really liked your stories but the one I liked the most is the one with all the talking animals and my favorite animal in it was the fish because I really REALLY! liked his voice."


"I want to say thank you for comming to our school and telling us stories. They were really funny... I hope you can come again so other kids will laugh as much as we did."


"You mister, are 1 funny story teller. You should try my mom's fudge, it's so yummy."

Read Up! Use Your Mind

Have you got your library card & book bag ready? This time out, I’d like to share a few books that should get your imagination running. Plenty of newer entries on this list—and one oldie that I consider an all-time classic!

Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson
I hope you’ve already been long-acquainted with this one! Harold’s been spun off many times into further adventures in animation & in print—but it’s the Crockett Johnson original that deserves your fullest attention. I suppose some kids might’ve been inspired to take crayon to wall after meeting Harold—but I was never one of them.

Something to Do, by David Lucas
This is very much in the tradition of the Harold series, and it will also appeal to parents who have a little one who has been known to whine, “I’m booored!” The little bear claims to have nothing to do, but a solution is at hand. Before long, big bear and little are walking and drawing, with their pictures becoming real.

The Squiggle, by Carole Lexa Schaefer
Another book about lines coming to life (well, at least within a child’s fertile mind). Rather than a drawn line, this is a red string. A few pages in, and you’ll be ready to fight the cat for the last bit of yarn in the house!

Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis
Not a Stick, by Antoinette Portis
If you read these books aloud, you’ll have the honor of getting corrected by cute little animals that get increasingly frustrated with having to tell you that things are not always as they seem to serious adult eyes. Ask the children present what the box or stick have transformed into, and they’ll be glad to help you out!

Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli
Whenever I went too high on a swing as a child, I was afraid I might end up doing a full loop. The girl in this book doesn’t seem to believe in “too high”—in fact, it would seem the moon is not far enough! Not much text here, just a far-reaching imagination.

In My New Yellow Shirt, by Eileen Spinelli & Hideko Takahashi
I wish I’d known as a little boy that getting clothes for your birthday could actually be FUN! In his new yellow shirt, this boy can be a lion, a fish, pirate treasure, and a submarine! His shirt keeps him entertained all day. I’d love to see a sequel starring gift socks!

I hope you check these out, and maybe find some new favorites. If you’ve got some great books in mind—whether they fit in with this list or not—please share them with me!

Read a Banned Book!

September 25 - October 2 marks Banned Books Week, the American Library Association's annual celebration of the freedom to read.  It's a great time to read some books that have been challenged or banned, to think about why people might have a problem with certain material, and to be grateful that we are able to make up our minds for ourselves and within our families-- without others trampling our liberty.

My work is about sharing stories, and my desire for people of all ages to enjoy stories & reading together; since most of what I tend to do is within my field of Early Childhood Education, though, I decided to search for the banned books that fall within the scope of children's literature.  You may be surprised to find some of your own favorite books & authors within the ALA's lists of banned or challenged kids' books! There's Dr. Seuss & Maurice Sendak, the hilarious series of books about Junie B. Jones & Captain Underpants, and the perennial favorites by Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein.  Objectionable fantasy series?  There's Harry Potter, of course-- but he was preceded by Philip Pullman's "His Dark Material" series (which includes The Golden Compass); The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and even The Wonderful World of Oz!  And my meager list doesn't even scratch the surface of challenged titles.

The right to decide what media your family consumes is your own.  I celebrate the freedom to think about & ultimately choose what books can be read within my own home, and that is why I am celebrating Banned Books Week.

**Join me on my Facebook page, where I am posting some of my favorite video celebrations of Banned Books week!**