Word Lovers UNITE! (With E.B. White and Others...)

The back story as to how I discovered this delightful new biography for children about E.B. White is rather sad...

It involves my favorite children's bookshop, Once Upon a Storybook, which (until it closed a couple of weeks ago) was one of the three children's bookstores here in Orange County. 

I had stopped in to make some purchases and say goodbye, reminiscing about the first time I took my grandson and my goddaughter there three years ago.  :..(

My grandson and my goddaughter, peeking in the window
during their first visit to Once Upon a Storybook.

The owner, Miss Susie, is the sweetest woman in the world. She loves children's books, and she recommended Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White to me.  I wish her all the best in her future book endeavors (I know those endeavors will not stop!)  

This captivating biography (for grades 3-7), written and illustrated by the gifted Melissa Sweet, will immediately draw you into the childhood world of Elwyn White (1899-1985) as he chases words through dictionary pages and weaves them into poems for St. Nicholas magazine.

Elwyn Brooks White became a writer while he was still wearing knickers.  He was seven or eight years old when he looked a sheet of paper "square in the eyes" and thought, "this is where I belong, this is it."

You'll follow him as a young man, when his love of words leads him to big city newspapers and a brand new publication, The New Yorker (where he worked with writers like John Updike and James Thurber).  

Of course you'll also learn the backstories about his most-loved spins, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, which were written from his farm in Maine during his mid-life years.

Melissa Sweet uses White's own letters, photos, journals, sketches, and manuscripts - interspersed with her fun, original collaged art - in this wonderful glimpse into the life of beloved author, E.B. White.

Young writers will be inspired by Melissa Sweet's inclusion of E.B. White's revision work on Strunk and White's Elements of Style (1959) - true evidence of his love of the written word.  White's most famous writing advice?  "Omit needless words".

If you've got a word lover/grammar nerd in the family, I have a couple more book recommendations for today:

The ABeCeDarian Book (1964) by Charles W. Ferguson.  This engaging book is a treasure for adults and kids alike.

An alphabet book of big words for adults with the curiosity of children and for children with the capacity of adults.

Jacket: "In this delightful book, Charles Ferguson spins out the life histories of words of all kinds - pretty, sad, or scientific.  He tells you all their secrets, using unforgettable anecdotes as well as solid linguistic facts, so that each word becomes known in its fullest sense..."

And one more:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (grades 7 and up) by Lynne Truss.

A friend of mine recently introduced me to this hilarious tribute to punctuation.  The title is based on a joke:

A panda walks into a cafe.  He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit.  The panda produces a badly punctated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door.  "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda.  Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China.  Eats, shoots and leaves."

Get ready to laugh as you brush up on punctuation.  There's also a very simplified version for young children (grades 1-3).

All the books I highlighted today would be great reads for inquisitive older children who are curious about words and language - and a great introduction for those who aren't (yet)!

A Storybook Pumpkin Patch full of Book-O'-Lanterns

What child wouldn't love to help make a storybook themed Jack-O'-Lantern?  Low on the scary scale, high on the fun factor...

Have you every wondered how the tradition of Jack-O'-Lanterns started? Every October, carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season. The practice of decorating “jack-o’-lanterns”—the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack—originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of Halloween festivities. [source: history.com]

POOH BEAR

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OLIVER JEFFER'S PENGUIN

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SOME HUNGRY CATERPILLARS

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VARIOUS LITERARY SPIDERS

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Lots of schools host "no-carve-pumpkin" contests each year. I couldn't resist posting these cute book pumpkins that I found on the blog, "Sunny Days in Second Grade". Click here to see more!

FROG AND TOAD!

RAINBOW FISH

Source: Unless noted otherwise, all the bookish Halloween pumpkins featured in my post are from parents.com.  Click HERE for how to's.

DO YOU THINK THIS BOOK BELONGS IN SCHOLASTIC MAGAZINE'S #1 SPOT?

Scholastic's Parent & Child Magazine recently completed its 100 Greatest Books for Kids list. Their Number One Pick?  E.B. White's beloved book, Charlotte's Web.  I think it was a perfect choice...a wonderfully illustrated story (thank you, Garth Williams), told from the perspective of animals, revealing many truths about humanity, friendship, sacrifice, and the fleeting nature of life.

Don't you love the innocence of Garth Williams' pen and ink illustrations?

I'll never forget my third grade teacher reading Charlotte's Web aloud to our class. We all loved the plot and characters:
the Terrific, and yet Humble Pig, Wilbur;
Fern, the compassionate farm girl who is Wilbur's loving owner;
Templeton, the sneaky rat who always has food on his mind;
and finally Charlotte, the kind spider who be-friends Wilbur when none of the other animals will, and who ultimately saves the pig from being butchered.

Original illustration [source]

My schoolmates and I were so drawn into the story, I doubt we realized E.B. White was helping to expand our vocabularies (did you utilize Strunk and White's The Elements of Style for a college-prep English class?  Yes he's that "White"):

And then, just as Wilbur was settling down for his morning nap, he heard again the thin voice that had addressed him the night before.

"Salutations!" said the voice.

Wilbur jumped to his feet. "Salu-what?" he cried.

"Salutations!" repeated the voice.

"What are they, and where are you?" screamed Wilbur. "Please, please, tell me where you are. And what are salutations?"

"Salutations are greetings," said the voice. "When I say 'salutations,' it's just my fancy way of saying hello or good morning.”

We were also being led by E.B. White to not only consider the treasure of true friendship, but to look at the wonder of nature:

“Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?"

"Oh, no," said Dr. Dorian. "I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."

"What's miraculous about a spider's web?" said Mrs. Arable. "I don't see why you say a web is a miracle-it's just a web."

"Ever try to spin one?" asked Dr. Dorian.”

Original illustration [source]

The list of 100 Greatest Books for Kids was selected by the editors of Scholastic's Parent & Child Magazine from more than 500 titles suggested by ten contributors  The books were chosen from 4 categories:

"Books to Cuddle With": Ages 0–3

"Books to Explore Together": Ages 4–7

"Books to Grow On": Ages 8–10

"Books to Discover": Ages 11+

Click HERE for the interactive virtual bookshelf, with all 100 titles.