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Sylvester and the Magic Pebble – William Steig

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is a well loved children’s book written and illustrated by William Steig. The illustrations of this loving family of donkeys are very dear. Not only did this book win the Caldecott Medal in 1970, it was also selected as one of the 100 Best Books of the Century by the National Education Association. Sylvester is a young donkey who lives with his mother and father. One of his hobbies is collecting pebbles of unusual shape and color. One rainy day he finds a shiny, red, round pebble. As he examines it, he feels the cold … Continue reading →

Which Would You Rather Be? – William Steig

Some books lend themselves well to playing games. Which Would You Rather Be? by William Steig is such a book. This isn’t just a book to read aloud. This is a book to discuss and have fun answering the questions. Your children’s answers and reasoning may surprise you. As the book opens the illustrations by Harry Bliss show a boy and a girl sitting across from a rabbit. The rabbit has a wand and magicians black hat. The rabbit asks the children which they would rather be, a stick or a stone. The rabbit seems to bring both of them … Continue reading →

Shrek! – William Steig

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Many parents and children are familiar with the Dreamworks movie Shrek. Less people realize that the movie was based on a picture book titled Shrek! authored by William Steig and published in 1993. The book begins with this hilarious sentence, “His mother was ugly and his father was ugly, but Shrek was uglier”. The book is different than the movie, and the illustration don’t really match the movie characters that we are familiar with. This is such a fun book, but it takes a little while to get used to the differences. Shrek is an ogre. Everywhere he goes trees … Continue reading →

C D B! and C D C? – William Steig

C D B! and C D C? are incredibly clever and unique picture books. Each page has some letters and a pen and ink drawings from renowned cartoonist and children’s author William Steig. (He also wrote a picture book about an ogre named Shrek!) Below the drawings are letters, and an occasional number or symbol. At first glance, they don’t seem to make any sense. But if you read the letters aloud you can puzzle out words and sentences. The titles of these books are really read as “See the Bee!” and “See the Sea?”. For example, in C D … Continue reading →

Media Week in Review July 14th – 19th

We had a great week here in Media Reviews! In case you missed out, here’s a summary of what we discussed. We started the week with an author interview. Abel Keogh, author of “Room for Two,” chatted with us about his writing process and the things he learned along the way. We then took a look at “Organic for Health,” a book which tells us of the importance of going organic and how it can help us overcome our health issues. It also includes some tasty-sounding recipes. “I’d Really Like to Eat a Child” is a quirky children’s picture book … Continue reading →

Media Week in Review – May 5th-10th

Thank you for joining us at our look back at the week here in Media. We began the week with a look at the Christian novel, “A Bride Most Begrudging.” Constance was mistakenly sent as a tobacco bride to the new colonies in America, but she discovers that perhaps this new land holds more for her than she ever thought. American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken released another album this week, and the legendary Neil Diamond has a new offering coming soon as well. I guess we’ll all be standing in line at the music store or hovering on our favorite … Continue reading →

Media Week in Review – April 21st-25th

We sure had a lot of fun this week in Media Reviews. Well, we always have fun, and this week was no exception. We started off with a review of “Embittered Justice,” the story of a woman who was accused of a crime she did not commit and could not get anyone to believe her. She was finally set free, but only after time in jail and in court. This is a story of how the justice system can sometimes fail. A fiction novel, it is based on a true story. What is America reading this month? Take a look … Continue reading →

Newbery Medal Winners: 1981-1990

The 1980’s had a huge boom of video games. Just with the releases of Donkey Kong and Pac Man in 1981 and 1982, respectively, the video game came alive. However, did you also know that Centipede, released in 1981, was the first arcade video game designed by a woman? Cool, right? In 1982, Thomas Keneally’s novel, “Schindler’s List” has its beginning as “Schindler’s Ark.” The term cyberspace was coined in William Gibon’s novel “Neuromancer” in 1984. In 1990, Michael Chrichton’s gargantuan novel “Jurassic Park” was released. 1981 Medal Winner: “Jacob Have I Loved” by Katherine Paterson Honor Books “The Fledgling” … Continue reading →

Newbery Medal Winners: 1971-1980

You might be amazed to discover that e-mail first appeared in the 1970’s. That’s “write!” Electronic mail made its debut in 1971 — the same year that the cell phone was invented. In 1973, my dad’s favorite movie “The Sting” — starring a dashing Robert Redford and handsome Paul Newman — won the Oscar for Best Picture. A literature leap comes about in 1974, with Stephen King’s “Carrie” becoming a thrilling hit. The movie was released in 1976 and starred Sissy Spacek as the title character. 1971 Medal Winner: “Summer of the Swans” by Betsy Byars Honor Books “Knee Knock … Continue reading →

Winners of the Caldecott Medal: 1973-1977

For more information about the origins of the Caldecott Medal, please see The Caldecott Medal and the Man for Whom it was Named. I am giving a brief synopsis of each book along with a comment about the artwork here and there. I am also including lists of the Honor winners for each year. I hope you enjoy my series. Feel free to comment!! 1973 “The Funny Little Woman” illustrated by Blair Lent; text retold by Arlene Mosel This book is about a woman in Old Japan who liked to laugh and make rice dumplings. While she was cooking one … Continue reading →