Saptamana trecuta a aparut ultimul album al artistei Mihaela Noroc, “Girls of the world”. Autoarea a precizat ca va fi disponibila si varianta in limba romana. Lansarea va fi in primavara, insa nu se stie inca data aparitiei. Pana atunci, va invit sa priviti cateva imagini din album si sa va inchipuiti activitatea colosala din spatele acestui proiect. Nu o cunosc personal pe Mihaela Noroc, desi mi-as dori tare mult. Sa o felicit pentru ceea ce face, pentru tot ce inseamna proiectele ei si ce vrea sa lase in urma. Ce o invata pe fiica ei, ce mostenire artistica ii pregateste.
De la simpaticii si talentatii autori, Davide Cali si Benjamin Chaud, o noua povestioara haioasa despre lungul drum si ratacirea prin galaxii indepartate a temelor pentru acasa. Lectura nerecomandata celor carora nu le-a molfait cainele niciun caiet sau niciun manual pana acum 🙂 Glumesc desigur, este o lectura pe care o recomand tuturor, cu mult drag!
The renewed australian author has done it again 🙂 Her book “Things to look forward to” is a win by itself for anyone who reads it. Started as a pandemic silver lining, the book is a collection of 52 ( the artist’s age in the year the book appeared) things that may help us to keep going. We always relate to the future accordingly with our past, with what we know and we have felt until now. So it is the emotion of the future experiences that we long to feel, more that the experience itself. For someone it can be seeing an old friend or a loved one; or going to the beach; eating a favourite dish. Going in a new place or starting a new job. The things that we wish to come in our lives are as different as we are. But they all give us the same feelings: anticipation, happiness, excitement, joy, emotions. So in the end they kind of bring us together in a yet not known future.
This is the first book for grown-ups that the awarded author has written. And I loved it, I red it all in the same evening, the day it arrived. If you feel like you need an extra thing to look forward to, then maybe you’ll read it too. Or if you are curious just how good writing looks like, this is a wonderful exemple.
It was a romanian old saying about a guy who lived in a rural area and when he arrives in a big city he goes to the zoo and there he sees a giraffe. Dumbfounded, he had never seen a giraffe before, he murmurs: “something like this doesn’t exist”. I’ve seen lots of things in my life and lost of illustration and this is a fact. But when I saw Iban Barrenetxea illustrations for the first time I had the same reaction as the peasant in my story: it is surreal, something like that is beyond my imagination! The details and the symbols are just sublime!
The spanish illustrator, born in 1973 in the Basque region of Spain it is already an establish author and illustrator. Because my 8 years old daughter is learning spanish, I just bought her two of the book he illustrated: Grimm Brothers’ Snow White and Un mundo mejor, derecho des ninos ( 10 children rights illustrated). I let the images to speak for themselves and Iban Barrenetxea’s talent.
The summer holiday has always been my favourite time of year. Which kid doesn’t like to be free all day, to play and explore as he wishes? For the last 5 years, along with my daughter, I rediscovered the joys of the summer holiday. I am fortunate enough to be able to spend time with her; to sleep in late if we want or if our body feels the need to. To go in the park or shopping together. To cook and to eat, to play and to read. To watch movies or play cards.
It is the hotest summer of the last years, so we spend more time indoors or on our balcony than outdoor in the burning sun. And so, we had to discover more ways to keep our creative hands and minds busy 🙂
One of that discoveries I really must share with you because we just love it. It is called “marble painting” and it is magic! Your child can do some great works using this technique. For a more versatile use, I recommend making the base for the painting ( water mixed with powder) in advance. Otherwise, you have to wait 3 to 6 hours for the ingredients to fully mixed and become a gel. The final work can be transfered on plain paper, cardbox, tshirts, mugs or some other items that you want to personalize. You can use different object to create new forms and colors.
For the last 3 days, since the kit arrived, we paint all day with it. We aim for a heart, but until then, we enjoy our collection of marbled paitings.
I first heard of Paolo Domeniconi a few months ago. He is an italian illustrator and one of his latest work was a collaboration with Jane Yolen, “What to do with a stick”. And in January 2024 will be released another collaboration of this artistic duo, “ Tea with an old giant”.
He also illustrated for Davide Cali and is a constant presence at the Bologna Children’s books fair and events. The next week he will be present at Sarmede , at the International Ilustration School.
The book I want to present today, Lola and me, was an 2015 IBBY selection of Oustanding Books for Young People with Disabilities.
It is the story of Lola and her furry best friend. A story about life and how it sometimes hits the best of us. But we have no other chance than to get up and continue the ride. It was the same with Lola. After being hit by a car in a Christmas eve, she lost her sight. The adaption at the new reality is beyond grief and pain. It seems unbearable at first; who would want to live like that, in the darkness, a constant reminder of the trauma?
But soon, life comes back to Lola; she moves to the city where all the noises startle her at first. The dog she choose to be her trained companion becomes a partner in everything she does. They feel the wind and the sun in the balcony. They take walks together, have ice cream in the park. They laugh and argue. They live life at the fullest, as all the partners do. They have pizza and movies evenings and shopping trips.
Life is like an opened box of chocolates. The easy part is when you get one, the real art and the great struggle is picking up an empty wrapping. Then you have to do your best and try the hardest to overcome the loss. To enjoy life as a whole human being, even if physical or emotional you no longer are one.
This story is a delicate one and I really loved it. The illustration is touching and in perfect armony with the text. Find it and read it; if not for any other reason, here’s one: you will be remembered that you’re ok. That your life if fine even if you don’t always feel that.
If you haven’t heard of Mo Willems you entered by mistake on my blog 🙂 Or you just don’t have kids or you really, really don’t like picture books. And a very funny story. Either way, maybe it’s time for me to introduce to you the Mo Willems universe.
As the story goes, in this case the one he tells himself, he started creating funny story when he was a kid. A few years back he already begun writing and drawing children stories. But he was concern that the grown-ups would like his opera out of politeness. And he thought that nobody could fake a good laugh so he begin his career that he still practice.
After graduating from college he worked as an animator and writer for Sesame street and later on, for Nickeldon. But he leaved all that behind in 2003 when he decided to pursue his writing career. And so appeared the well-known Pigeon serie and then the Elephant&Piggie one.
He draws in a very simple and clean style, yet so expressive. The lines are so so funny and the stories are easy to follow by the youngest readers, 2-3 years.
My daughter simple loves all of his books. She still reads them now, at 8 years old. And the laughter have the same intesity, even though she knows the lines by heart.
I recently saw Mo Willems as a guest at the Jimmy Fallon show. He is quite a character himself, if I may say this. He was trying to get the audience to learn how to draw Pigeon. If you are up to a few good laughter and a good time, you should find the video and watch it.
A few years back, the picture book “Because” was released. It break the pattern from his known series and it is a good opportunity to teach kids that nothing is just happening in life. It is always a cause-effect in every little thing we do. It is always someone making an effort so we could be able to do something else. It is a book about legacies and generation and of course, about love.
And here is our collection of all the books about Elephant, Piggie, Pigeon and their friends that we manage to collect in the last years. It’a a collection in progress, but we will get there 🙂
Este 10 iunie si o pagina pe care o urmaresc imi aduce aminte ca intr-un alt 10 Iunie, cel din 1928, se nastea Maurice Sendak. Poate cel mai cunoscut scriitor si ilustrator de carte pentru copii ce a existat vreodata. Nu cred ca s-a realizat vreun top international sau regional de autori sau carti pentru copii in care sa nu fie prezent si numele lui.
“Where the wild things are” ( in romana a aparut sub titlul “Regele tuturor salbataciunilor”) este una dintre cele mai cunoscute si controversate lucrari ale lui. Multi parinti au reclamat ilustratiile prea infricosatoare. Si povestea “teribila”. Povestea nu are nimic terifiant in ea; copiii iubesc aceasta poveste! Mai ales baietei nazdravani din intreaga lume care sigur au fost si ei trimisi in camera lor macar o data in viata 🙂
In 2009 cartea a fost ecranizata in regia lui Spike Jonze, cel care ii va dedica in 2013, la un an de la moartea artistului, filmul HER.
Sendak a ilustrat pentru Else Holmelund Minarik binecunoscuta colectie “Little bear”. Ca un semn al apropierii lor si dincolo de condeie si creioane si pensule, artista va parasi lumea aceasta la cateva luni dupa moartea lui Sendak.
Influenta tatalui, Patrick Sendak, in arta lui este evidenta si artistul o si recunoaste public. Tatal sau a fost designer de costume si rochii si Maurice va mosteni acest talent. El va fi cel care va concepe mai tarziu costumele pentru spectacolul de balet The Nutcracker. Si va ilustra o carte pentru copii cu acelasi nume. Alte influente in opera lui au fost Herman Melville, Emily Dickenson, Mozary si… Walt Disney, Fantasia si Mickey Mouse fiind doua dintre sursele sale de inspiratie.
Datorita faptului ca “In bucataria de noapte” apare un baietel in pielea goala, cartea devine una dintre cele mai cenzurate carti ilustrate pentru copii.
“Undeva in lumea larga” este o alta carte din bibliografia lui. Sau Brundibar. Sau “Soup chicken with rice”. Sau “The nutshell library”. Pentru a numi doar cateva dintre lucrarile lui.
Maurice Sendak cu siguranta a dat o noua semnificatie pentru “wild things”. In viata personala a declarat ca a incercat sa para cat mai normal cu putinta si sa isi ascunda adevarata fire. Cel putin parintilor sai, care nu au stiut niciodata detalii din viata lui personala, de cuplu.
In literatura pentru copii va ramane mereu Regele lor, al tuturor spiritelor libere si inca salbatice. Va fi mereu un punct de reper; un schimbator de drumuri si directii. De semnificatii si influente din lumea reala care combinate ofera o lume imaginara atat de complexa si fascinanta. Si nu usor de inteles si acceptat. Dar asta e si normal, nu? Toate spiritele libere asa sunt 🙂
N-am cunoscut om mare sau mic sa nu ii placa joaca 🙂 Unul dintre jocurile de care nu ne mai saturam este “Alege ce carte citim in seara asta”. Cum ce joc e asta? Nu il jucati si voi? De vreun an si ceva, cand chiar suntem in pana de idei sau vrem sa ne surprindem, jucam jocul asta. Biblioteca copilului are 3 sectiuni, fiecare cu cate 5 rafturi. Pe cele de sus le poate alege doar un parinte. De obicei nu se intampla asta 🙂
Regulile jocului sunt urmatoarele: un jucator alege un numar de la 1 la 3 si astfel se alege sectiunea. Apoi alege un numar de la 1-5 si se alege astfel raftul. Apoi se face pauza, pentru ca cineva numara cartile de pe raftul respectiv. La final se alege stanga sau dreapta si rezulta cartea serii. Asa am aflat si noi cate carti stau cuminti in biblioteca: cam 1025 🙂 In ritmul asta, in cativa ani ne mutam si de aici…
Aseara eu am ales cartile, iar ea a tot numarat. Asadar s-au recitit a nu stiu cata oara cartile din imagini. In dreptul meu pot spune ca atunci cand aleg eu cartea este mereu cea de la numaratoare. In dreptul ei nu stiu ce sa spun, prea citim mereu preferatele ei 🙂
little humans 