Children S Literature

If toes were teeth, they would wiggle between a little girl's lips when she smiles. If mice were hair, their bodies would swarm around a child's head and their tails would dangle like tendrils. If dogs were mountains, their noses would form a jagged river bank while their bodies turned into wooded slopes. Such are the improbable ideas and images in Sarah Perry's new children's book, simply titled "If." For each pair of pages, she has illustrated a phrase--"If butterflies were clothes . . .

It's a pity that Madeleine Brand did not heed her own advice and refrain from "throwing yet another (b)log on the towering inferno of mommy blogs out there" [Parenting on the Edge, Oct. 17, and related podcast]. In her commentary about children's books that should be grounded, Brand finds such venerable classics as "The Giving Tree" to be "offensive" because she believes they send a bad message about gender roles. While acknowledging that this book was one she adored and loved as a child, she thinks nothing of slamming this and other classics and depriving the next generation of what have fundamentally become beloved children's literature.

Among the phrases Chris Van Allsburg picked up in his total-immersion introduction to Hollywood was the expression "laying pipe." For most people the term might suggest sewer construction, but Van Allsburg soon learned that laying pipe is actually a crucial element of story development--meaning that the weirdness a character displays in Act 1 will explain the plot twists in Act 3.

Books to inspire and inform young people about President-elect Barack Obama and his historic inauguration include an artist's celebration of the American spirit, the life of the first lady-to-be and a look at our 44th commander in chief for preschoolers. Obama-mania has generated junior biographies and fresh presidential encyclopedias by the armload in time for the big swearing-in Tuesday, but parents beware: Splashy Obama covers or promised postelection updates may not pay off, so check inside.

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you . . . . But if you read the original versions of those tales, you might not want them to. After all, in the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, the stepsisters sliced off their heels and toes in their efforts to make that slipper fit. In the Grimm's version of Snow White, the huntsman was dispatched by the wicked queen not to bring back Snow White's heart--which was grisly enough--but to get her lungs and liver.

Waldo, that geeky guy with the red-and-white-striped sweater, is more elusive than ever before, hiding among crazy clowns or wild toys in the crowded pages of his newest picture book. But 10 years after Waldo first challenged children to find him, his creator, Martin Handford, has become a little more visible. Handford still carefully guards his privacy and doesn't want to be photographed.

Every morning when Letty Sustrin wakes up in the condo she shares with her identical 63-year-old twin, Sheila, she selects what the sisters will wear that day. "Letty's the early bird, there's no doubt about it," Sheila said. When Sheila awakes, she dons the exact outfit Letty's wearing. And we mean exact. Besides the same denim dress, she'll match down to the pearl ring on the identical finger, the thick black plastic eyeglasses, the blue eye shadow.

From their first "Rock-a-bye baby," children learn two important facts of life: 1) The bough will break, and 2) the baby will fall. Maurice Sendak is 65, but he still knows what children know--that life is risky business, that there is trouble in the world, and sorrow, fear and violence--especially violence.

After he's finished his homework and his chores for the day, 8-year-old Skye Vaughn-Perling likes to read Dr. Seuss. He's a particular fan of the hijinks that ensue when the elephant Horton hears strange voices emanating from a dust speck in "Horton Hears a Who." He doesn't read from a dog-eared copy of the children's classic, though. Skye, who lives in Agoura Hills, often reads on his computer, pressing the arrow button when he wants to turn a page.

When Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni came to the United States from India 23 years ago, she brought with her the books she read as a child, old Bengali folk tales filled with gods and demons, and fantastic fairy-tale adventures. She's still reading those books, but this time aloud--translating from Bengali as she goes--to her sons, Anand, 7, and Abhay, 4, as well as other kids from her Houston neighborhood who stop by to listen. "They love stories, my children--genetically, I guess!"

After he's finished his homework and his chores for the day, 8-year-old Skye Vaughn-Perling likes to read Dr. Seuss. He's a particular fan of the hijinks that ensue when the elephant Horton hears strange voices emanating from a dust speck in "Horton Hears a Who." He doesn't read from a dog-eared copy of the children's classic, though. Skye, who lives in Agoura Hills, often reads on his computer, pressing the arrow button when he wants to turn a page.

She's like Pippi Longstocking, Mary Poppins and Mrs. Claus all rolled into one -- an amiable woman of mysterious origin who's hoping to do for reading what "Sesame Street" has done for learning. Her name is Mrs. P. Sitting in an oversized chair, reading children's classics aloud in an Irish brogue near the ambient light of a gas-log fireplace, Mrs. P is the title character of a new children's storytelling website (at www .mrsp.com) that makes its debut today.

On Sept. 9, the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter series will premiere a highly ambitious project with a mystery ending for readers and a couple of puzzlers for the industry: How big is the market for a multimedia story -- and can a phenomenon be conceived by a publisher rather than created by the public? "The 39 Clues" is a planned 10-volume set about young Amy and Dan Cahill and their worldwide search for the secret to their family's power. The first book, "The Maze of Bones," is written by Rick Riordan of "The Lightning Thief" fame and has an announced first printing of 500,000.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced this week that children's author Jon Scieszka ("The Stinky Cheese Man," "Time Warp Trio"), founder of the nonprofit Guys Read literacy organization, will serve a two-year term as the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. The position was created to raise awareness of the importance of such literature in relation to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.

The playbill that landed on my desk touting an East Los Angeles Christmas production featured a familiar drawing -- a clutch of brown-skinned children staring wide-eyed at a plate piled high with tamales. It brought back memories from 10 years ago, when the book "Too Many Tamales" -- a gift to my family from a Mexican American friend -- briefly joined "The Night Before Christmas" as a favorite holiday book with my then-young daughters.

J.K. Rowling has completed her first book after her wildly popular series on teen wizard Harry Potter -- an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled "The Tales of Beedle the Bard." Only seven copies of the handwritten book have been made, Rowling said Thursday. One will be auctioned next month to raise money for a children's charity, while the others have been given away as gifts.

The days of nursery rhymes and fairy tales aren't exactly over, but a relatively new type of children's book is muscling its way onto kid's bookshelves. According to Kathy East, president of the Assn. for Library Service to Children, "realistic fiction"--storybooks that deal with real-life issues--has burgeoned over the past five years. Choose a book at random off the shelf at a children's bookstore and it's just as likely to be a title like "Losing Uncle Tim" as it is "Peter Rabbit."

Mention the name Marguerite Henry to middle-aged women who were once horse-crazy girls and there may be a glimmer of recognition. Mention the horses--Misty, Phantom, Sea Star, Sham, Stormy--and there will be broad smiles. Mention these names to schoolchildren, and they will stand patiently in long lines--as they did recently at the Flower Hill Mall in northern San Diego County--for a chance to meet the woman who wrote the stories. At 90, Henry is captivating yet another generation.

The trend seems as plain as the nose on your child's face, or an arrow through your head. There's Madonna, Billy Crystal and Jamie Lee Curtis. And Jerry Seinfeld. And John Lithgow. And Katie Couric. All celebrities. All parents. All authors of children's books. Now Steve Martin has written one. But he doesn't have any children. "I'm not sure why I did this.

PUBLISHING executive Eric Jackson's first foray into children's books was a cartoon tale of two brothers and a lemonade stand. Hoping to earn money for a swing set, young Tommy and Lou squeeze lemons until their little hands ache. But they are thwarted by broccoli-pushing, camera-hogging, Jesus-hating liberals who pile on taxes and regulations and drive the boys out of business. The book, "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!," came out two years ago.