Lyle's Back!

Remember Lyle Lyle Crocodile? Word on the street (and by street, I mean Publisher's Weekly) is that the original author/illustrator has teamed up with his daughter for a new Lyle book. Due to Bernard Waber's macular degeneration, daughter Paulis has taken over the illustration duties for this new book, titled Lyle Walks the Dogs, and planned subsequent books.

I often have mixed feelings about new or updated versions of classics. But seeing as this is the original author, I think it has a better chance of being the same Lyle, or at least a worthy progression. What do you think?

Picture Book Linkeration

I ran across these two links awhile ago, and have been carrying them around in my Google Reader ever since.

First, courtesy of Bookshelves of Doom, is The Most Depressing Children's Books Ever Written from the 10 Zen Monkeys webzine. I've read most of the books on the list and they are all, indeed, depressing as hell. Two are about 9/11. However, there's an annoying undertone to the commentary that seems to run, "OMG, this isn't about hugs and puppies! Don't you know the tender kiddies can only handle hugs and puppies?" . . . Sheesh.

Second, from my Google newsfeed, is The Five Most Overused Children's Book Plots at ParentDish, which made me laugh but also roll my eyes a little. Yeah, we're tired of them, but we're not the target audience.

The best part of both articles, of course, are the responses. This being the Internet, they range from slavish agreement to sharp, child-development-aware slaps upside the head to "You are mean and have no sense of humor" responses to said slaps.

Reading Roundup March 2010

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 11
Early Readers: 1

Sources
Swapped: 1
Library: 10

Standouts
Writing: Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell
Want to learn how to write accessible and interesting nonfiction for the emerging reader? Sit yourself down in front of this book and take notes.
Illustration: Posy, illustrated by Catherine Rayner, written by Linda Newbery
Posy is a mass of squiggles and wiggles, just like a real kitten.
Overall: Sleepy Boy by Polly Kanevsky, illustrated by Stephanie Anderson
A little boy is soothed to sleep at bedtime with sensory memories of his day at the zoo and pictures himself as one of the lions he saw. Relaxed me all over.

Because I Want To Awards
Most Obvious Pairing When You Stop to Think About It: As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel's amazing march toward freedom by Richard Michelson and Raúl Colón
Most Disturbing Illustration: That one with the pig frying bacon in The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers. Eurghhhhh . . .
Most Universal: A Ride on Mother's Back: A Day of Baby Carrying Around the World by Emery Bernhard, illustrated by Durga Bernhard