10 Edgy Picture Books: Picture Book 10 for 10

What are your favorite picture books? What if you had to pick your ten favorites? 

If you love picture books, today will be a happy day for you. Today is Picture Book 10 for 10! 

Mandy of Enjoy and Embrace Learning and Cathy of Reflect and Refine host this annual event. Parents, media specialists, authors, educators and people who love good picture books 

post the ten picture books they can't live without. Mandy and Cathy will create a magazine-like collection of everyone's lists to share.  

Here are older Picture Book 10 for 10s: 

2010    2011    2012    2013 (Nonfiction)

NEW!  Here's a link to this year's Picture Book 10 for 10s:
2013

If you'd like to have your blog linked to the conversation, 

just comment with the link (cut and paste your post address in the comments) 

for your picture book list here OR here. 

How could I resist joining in?

Picture books are my life.

I'm a primary school librarian.

My favorites are always books with bite.

Here are my current ten favorites,

books I just can't resist reading, year after year:

Ooooh. Look at that big toy dinosaur. A little bit scary, right?

And what's that he has in his mouth? A gift bag? What's inside?

Well, let's just find out.

This cute and cuddly rabbit checks out a book about wolves from the library.

He's so absorbed in the book that he's oblivious to the 

appearance of the very creature he's reading about...until it's too late.

Rotten Island is paradise for all the horrible, terrible monsters

that slither and spit and kick and bite there.

I've always wondered what would happen if junior high teachers read this to their students

on Valentine's Day. The real, cold truth about ooey-gooey romantic love.

I love all the Stupids books. The Stupids are just so...well, stupid.

Why does the Viper keep calling and calling Peggy Pig?

Just showing the cover, with a little boy of seven or eight holding a big rifle,

gets the ooos and aaaas going.

He wants his hat back.

And he's going to get it.

I warn children about The Green Ribbon.

And, of course, it's the first story they turn to.

One tiny step down from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Not for everyone. 

Beware of Beware of the Frog.

What are your favorite edgy children's picture books? What have I missed? 

Chiffonade

"Chiffonade is a knife technique used for cutting herbs and leaf vegetables such as lettuce into thin strips or ribbons. To chiffonade leaves of basil, for instance, you would stack the basil leaves and roll them into a tube, and then carefully cut across the ends of the tube with your knife to produce fine strips."                                                                                                      ---From About Culinary Arts

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words

that we’ve encountered in our reading.

If you want to play along, grab the button,

write a post and come back and add your link to Mr. Linky at Bermuda Onion!

For more wordless photos,

go to Wordless Wednesday.

I Poohpooh Sequels

"She silently watched him go up the stairs, feeling that she would strangle at the pain in her throat....She knew now that there was no appeal  of emotion or reason which would turn that cool brain from its verdict.... 'I won't think of it now,' she thought grimly, summoning up her old charm.  'I'll go crazy if I think about losing him now.  I'll think of it tomorrow....' With the spirit of her people who would not know defeat, even when it stared them in the face, she raised her chin.  She could get Rhett back.  She knew she could.  There had never been a man she couldn't get, once she set her mind upon him. "I'll think of it all tomorrow, at Tara.  I can stand it then. Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back.  After all, tomorrow is another day." The End.

Why isn't The End always The End?

This will probably strike you as very, very odd, but I never read sequels. 

The first book is just fine as it is, thank you very much. 

Lonesome Dove? Amazing.    Streets of Laredo? No interest.

Stargirl? Great story.    Love, Stargirl? Not so much.

Dune? Brilliant.    Sandworms of Dune? I don't think so.

Wrinkle in Time? Yes, of course.   Wind in the Door? No, sorry.   

Author Nick Hornby says, "Sequels are very rarely a good idea...."

Author Connie Willis writes, "I hate sequels. They're never as good as the first book."

Author Laurie Halse Anderson is blunt: "Sequels are too often crass attempts to make money off something that worked the first time, but without the care and attention that made the first movie or book so special." 

I hanker for a sequel when I close a good book. But the sequels I've tried consistently founder.

What am I missing? You have run across wonderful sequels, haven't you? Convert me, please.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

It's Monday!

It's almost time for school to resume. Two weeks of summer left.

I've had lots of children's books arrive lately. 

I'm reading these, finishing two books about improving education in America, and reading a mysterious 1001 Children's Book You Must Read book, Picnic at Hanging Rock. 

What are your reading plans for this week? 

HERE'S WHAT ARRIVED LAST WEEK

Chamelia and the New Kid in Class

by Ethan Long

From Amazon:   "Chamelia is a chameleon who loves to stand out in a crowd. She's always the star of the show, especially at school. But when a new kid in class becomes the center of attention, Chamelia feels left out. Can she figure out how to beat her competition? Or will she learn to share the spotlight and make a new best friend?"

Violet Mackerel's Personal Space

by Anna Branford 

From Amazon:  "Meet Violet Mackerel - a girl with a mission to think outside the box. Violet invents her "Theory of Leaving Small Things" (when you leave something small in a nice place, so a tiny bit of you gets to stay too). Then there are lots of special news: Mum and Vincent are getting married, and they'll all be moving to a new house. Violet is excited about the wedding part (she will wear a dress with fairy wings) but not so keen on the moving house: brother Dylan is not keen on ANY of it. "

Children of the Tipi: Life in the Buffalo Days

edited by Michael Oren Fitzgerald

From Amazon:  "What was it like to grow up in the world of the pre-reservation Plains Indians before the coming of the white settlers? Prior to our modern era of television, video games, and computers how did American Indian children live, learn, and play? In this beautifully illustrated book, award-winning author, Michael Oren Fitzgerald, combines stunning photographs and simple quotations by Indian chiefs and elders to explain to today’s youth what life would have been like growing up on the American plains."

What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World

by Henry Clark

From Amazon: "When River, Freak, and Fiona discover a mysterious sofa sitting at their bus stop, their search for loose change produces a rare zucchini-colored crayon. Little do they know this peculiar treasure is about to launch them into the middle of a plot to conquer the world!"

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp

by Kathi Appelt

From Amazon:  "Raccoon brothers Bingo and J’miah are the newest recruits of the Official Sugar Man Swamp Scouts. The opportunity to serve the Sugar Man—the massive creature who delights in delicious sugar cane and magnanimously rules over the swamp—is an honor, and also a big responsibility, since the rest of the swamp critters rely heavily on the intel of these hardworking Scouts. Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn is not a member of any such organization. But he loves the swamp something fierce, and he’ll do anything to help protect it."

The Merits of Mischief: The Bad Apple

by T. R. Burns

From Amazon:  "Twelve-year-old Seamus Hinkle is a good kid with a perfect school record—until the day of the unfortunate apple incident.

Seamus is immediately shipped off to a detention facility—only to discover that Kilter Academy is actually a school to mold future Troublemakers, where demerits are awarded as a prize for bad behavior and each student is tasked to pull various pranks on their teachers in order to excel."

The Merits of Mischief: A World of Trouble
by T. R. Burns

From Amazon:   "Sometimes you find trouble, and sometimes trouble finds you.

It’s Seamus Hinkle’s second semester at Kilter Academy, where he’s quickly become an ace troublemaking student. In fact, the headmistress has even entrusted him with a special assignment—one he’s forbidden to share with any of his friends."

Pirates on the Farm

by Denette Fretz

From Amazon:  "No one ever imagined that five swashbuckling pirates would settle in our proper little southern community. But they did.' When pirates move in next door, life on the farm is bound to get interesting. "

Bruschetta

School supplies choke the main aisles at Kroger and Wal-Mart;

that's a mayday siren that my langorous days of summer are almost spent.

I've made fresh bread every week this summer.

My happiest weeks are when 

I luxuriate in the bread one night as a side

and savor it again by repurposing it into a main dish the next night.

I've puttered around with bread recipes this summer.

I've experimented with a Texas version of Croque Monsieur

and today I try Bruschetta.

Start by chiffonading fresh basil from the garden.

(I'm proud of this shot, btw; I used the timer on my camera.)

Brown a loaf of homemade bread in butter.

Mix fresh tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar.

Dinner!

If you want specifics, here's the

Bruschetta recipe I used.

Anyone have any other great ideas to use homemade bread?

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Saturday Snapshot is now hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Human Blood

Please tell me why there are boxes of human blood in my hotel lobby.

For more wordless photos,

go to Wordless Wednesday.

Best First Lines in Books

"Where's Papa going with that axe?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.                                                                E. B. White, Charlotte’s Web

If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.                                                                        Lemony Snickett, Series of Unfortunate Events

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.                                               Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis 

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.                                                                                                                       C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Call me Ismael.                                                          Herman Melville, Moby Dick

I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as "Claudius the Idiot," or "That Claudius," or "Claudius the Stammerer," or "Clau-Clau-Claudius" or at best as "Poor Uncle Claudius," am now about to write this strange history of my life; starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the "golden predicament" from which I have never since become disentangled.                                                                                                     Robert Graves, I, Claudius

It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.                                            Sylvia Plath,The Bell Jar

Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.   Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.                                                                                                                                George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.                           Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

In Which I Finish My Summer Required Reading

A Cautionary Tale

"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." 

---Joseph Campbell

What killed these two books for me? Why am I not prattling on and on about the amazing-ness of these two novels? 

I've had a hankering for Cloud Atlas and East of Eden for months. Both books have been teacher's pets of not only critics but some of my favorite book bloggers right out of the starting gate.

So what happened? Why am I dejectedly feeling meh about the two books I designated in early June as my summer reads, the two books I devoted the last two months to reading?

It's me. It's my own fault. 

Something dies in a book when you force yourself to read it.

I should have known. It happened to me in 2011. In January, I optimistically announce that War and Peace is my goal for the year. I trudge through three hundred of the thousand pages before I finally acknowledge that (1) I have no idea what is going on in the plot and (2) I don't care about the characters. I am a grownup, I remind myself; nobody's making me eat beets and I close the book. 

I wish I'd done that with these two books. I wish I'd closed the books when I first started to dread picking them up. I wish I'd set the books back under the bed until I felt real book desire for these two again. It should have been hot summer evenings in my rocker on the front porch, plunging through the pages,  I adore you, You're the love of my life, We were made for each other. Instead it was waking up each morning to face the same two old heavy books still weighing down my nightstand, I think we need space, We have to talk, You've lost that lovin' feelin', inching through the books, strong-arming myself to stick with it for the kids long past the time it should have been Splitsville.

A cautionary tale. A cautionary tale for all of us teachers and librarians who so yearn to push our book loves on others that we try to marry young readers off to books before they've even shared a good night kiss. A cautionary tale.

WHAT I FINISHED THIS WEEK:

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Any reading disasters for you this week? Any happy stories?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 

Top Ten Words that Will Stop Me From Picking Up a Book

Top Ten Words that Will Stop Me From Picking Up a Book

Oh dear.  This is a hard one for me. 

Ten words that will stop me from picking up a book?  

Me?  Honestly?  I read everything. 

Well, almost everything.

There are a few things I do not read. 

Here goes then...the top ten words that will stop me from picking up a book....

1. Romance. Especially Harlequin Romance.

2. Action-packed thriller. And action-packed spy novel. 

Honestly, anything that is action-packed. 

I like my stories as action-less as possible.

3. Textbook.

Does anybody get excited thinking about reading a textbook?

4. Self-help. 

Authors of self-help books seem like know-it-alls.

5. Witch. Or zombie. Or vampire. Or any scary monster.

See #6.

6. Scary.

I am a big scared-y cat baby.

7. Math. And Science.

I apologize for this.

I've tried and tried to like these.

I just can't.

8. Celebrity.

I just really don't care about the empty lives of these empty people.

9. Sports. 

It's hard to raise two sports-crazy sons without reading a sports book or two.

And there were a couple I really loved, 

like The Last Shot and Bill Bradley's Values of the Game.

But, mostly, no sports.

10. Bestseller. 

If there is anything that will put me off a book, it's this word. 

If it's a bestseller, I probably won't like it.

Hope I didn't step on any toes.

How about you? What words on a book cover will make you put that book back on the shelf?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.