Stimulate the Publishing Industry -- Give books for Christmas

Holiday Buying Guide #2 -- Little People

I got this list today from the great people at First Five LA as books important for a family to have in their home. While looking for a gift for youe favorite little person consider some of these titles, many of them classics.

Children 0-3
Pretty Brown Face
Barnyard Dance
Blue Hat, Green Hat
Goodnight Moon
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Machines at Work
"More More More," said the Baby

Preschool
Where the Wild Things Are
Abiyoyo
The Recess Queen
Leo the Late Bloomer
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Love You Forever
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Bilingual
The Bossy Gallito
Sip, Slur, Soup, Soup Caldo, Caldo, Caldo
Margaret and Margarita
Hairs/Pelitos
Moonrope
Uncle Nacho's Hat

But don't forget to check out some of the amazing new authors out there too. Your favorite bookstore can point you in the right direction. Also, your favorite book with a note is a gift beyond all others, especially with a coupon to read it to them.

Fantasyland Live's Holiday Gift Guide #1

Is Black Friday a reason to stay in bed? Do you avoid Malls between Thanksgiving and New Years? Is holiday gift giving right up there with going to the dentist and tetanus shots? Let us help you! Okay, so all our ideas are books, book related, or can be found in the book store. But this is a blog about books.

Gift Guide #1 – The Teenaged Girl

Is there anything more frightening than shopping for a teen aged girl? Okay, maybe the prospect of being chased by hungry zombies in clown suits?

Seriously, you don’t have to succumb to buying expensive electronics or gift cards to trendy clothing stores. Even teen girls like books.

But odds are, if she likes to read, she’s already read Twilight. So here are some of our other favorites books for teens, both old and new.

For the younger teen, we recommend Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies Series. If you want to try something a little “old skool,” you can’t go wrong with Tamora Pierce. We are especially fond of the Lioness Quartet. Also, you can’t go wrong with the classics – I still treasure my copy of The Hobbit that I got one Christmas. The Chronicles of Narnia, Podkayne of Mars , or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

For older teens we love anything by Melissa Marr, especially Ink Exchange . We here at Live From Fantasy land are also tickled that they’re reprinting LJ Smith’s Books. (Proof that Vampire Love stories for teens existed in the early 1990’s, lol). The Secret Circle is a personal fave. But we haven’t read one of her books we haven’t liked. If she’s like most older teens, she’s probably reading adult books too. Many of the teens we know are into Urban Fantasy. Why not go “old skool” and give her War for the Oaks which is, as far as I know, the first Urban Fantasy. We’re big fans of Mercedes Lackey’s Bedlam’s Bard Series. But there’s lots of great contemporary stuff to. How can we not suggest Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan Bounty Hunter Series, or Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries, and another personal fave, Jeanne Stein’s The Anna Strong Chronicles.

The choices are numerous and these are but a *few* of our suggestions. Your friendly local bookstore person (or the chat board at your fave online bookstore if you’re so inclined) can also make recommendations. There’s always your favorite book with a personal note. (Okay, and gift cards work too, lol).

Happy shopping and tune in for our next gift buying guide….

Um, I have another blog? Oh yeah...

Holy Blog Of Doom, Batman! I just climbed out from under my rock and realised I have not updated this since they let me out!... You would not believe how heavy that rock really is. Please don't abandon me!.

I am absolutely consumed with work, personal projects, just generally being a mother to my kids, my day is full to bursting from the second I am woken by murderous Teletubbies to 11pm at which point I fall asleep on the couch. I am looking at rectifying this. life happens.

I solemnly swear you will see me writing more to you in the future. Seriously! I really, truly promise!

Courtesey of The Lazy Blogger's Post Generator

Seriouly folks, I apologize for my hiatus. Keep reading for the "Fantasyland Gift Buying Guid" and other holiday goodies...

Picture Book Week -Beasty Bath

Here’s a book you can (and should) check out at the local library (or pick up at your favorite bookstore.) I got this one at Storyopolis, the best children’s bookstore I’ve ever been to.

Beasty Bath
By Robert Neubecker

Ready...set...go. Its bath time and the chase is on. We move effortlessly though the tasks of getting ready for bed as the child in question changes from beast to beast. Each beast has a cute and cuddly side and at the end, the clean child is tucked into bed amongst a mountain of stuffed animals which resemble the beasts the child portrays in the story. The change from bedroom to forest at the end is reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are.

Beasty Bath features catchy and rollicking prose: The evening’s come, I hear a roar, it’s time to catch my dinosaur , complimented with colorful and clear illustrations. Children will enjoy the fantastical beasts as well as identify with the common bedtime tasks. The simple beauty of this story will make a treasured addition to your bedtime collection.

Picture Book Week -- Jack and the Box

Okay, so today’s book isn’t out yet either, but you can preorder it too. I picked it up at BEA at the Graphic Novel Breakfast. It’s one of Art Spiegelman’s new projects.

Jack and the Box (Toon Books)
By Art Spiegelman

Jack and the Box in the first in a series of hardcover comics aimed at small children to both introduce them to comics and help them learn to read. It’s the brainchild of Art Spiegelman (who else) and his wife.

Jack and the Box is the story of a boy whose parents give him a new toy, a jack-in-the-box. Sometimes the toy is silly, sometimes he’s scary, sometimes he talks back, and sometimes he’s just plain weird.

The story is clearly aimed at young children and is told in colorful, simple, and clear frames, with concise, easy to read and understand dialogue. This is a great book for pre-readers, early readers, and young reluctant readers. It’s smaller than a usual picture book, just right for small hands to read.

One caveat, this might not be the right book for children afraid of jack-in-the-boxes or clowns.

Picture Book Week -- Tickle Monster

Okay, so this book doesn’t actually come out until August 15, but you can pre-order it on Amazon. This is one that I picked up at BEA but I didn’t have the patience to wait in line to get it signed.

Tickle Monster
by Josie Bissett and Kevan J. Atteberry

Tickle Monster is yet another children’s book, written by yet another celebrity (think back to Melrose Place ). Celebrity-written kid’s books tend to be really good or really bad. This one is really good.

A lovable monster flies in on his spaceship from planet tickle. This funny tale, with a rolling, rhythmic tone leads children and their parents though his mission – to tickle unsuspecting children before returning back to his home planet. Parents do the tickling, children to the following along and laughing.

The rhymes are cute and the story is simple enough for kids to guess what happens next, but charming enough that it’s tolerable to read over and over. Bright and bold illustrations complement the story. Add the parent interaction to illustrate the story’s words in person, and you have an instant bookshelf classic that will become a story time staple.

Picture Book Week -- Flotsam

Alright, so, I missed Monday. Oops. But I’m trying to continue. Here’s another beautiful book. Someone recommended this one to me while the tot and I were at her favorite place, our local library.


Flotsam
By David Wiesner

A young beachcomber finds an old underwater camera washed up on the beach. He develops the film and finds amazing pictures of undersea wonders – a mechanical fish, hot-air puffer-fish, entire civilizations living on the backs of gigantic starfish, among other things. The last picture is of another child, holding a picture of a picture of yet another child, and so one. Among close examination under a microscope the young man goes though the images until he finds the first one. He takes a picture of himself, holding the picture, and throws it back into the ocean for someone else to find.

This beautiful story is told entirely though amazing pictures. (There are no words.) It’s a great opportunity to practice pre-literacy skills (what are they doing in the pictures?) or just let their (and your) imaginations run wild.