Monday, January 31, 2011

A Valentine from Tomie, 1967

Tomie de Paola's work seems to sneak up on me, and Things to Make and Do for Valentine's Day was no exception.


The 48-page (Scholastic, for Franklin Watts) paperback speaks directly to the pre-K to early-elementary set. de Paola leads with a two-page comic explaining how we celebrate Valentine's Day, then proceeds to pack the book with simple projects and easy-to-follow directions for making cards, desserts, and gifts, a couple of games to play, and even a card trick to perform at a Valentine's Day party. It's simply perfect - which is no surprise.

I know Tomie's work well enough to expect it to be sweet, concise, and full of fun. So what surprised me? The slim how-to-have-fun-on-Valentine's Day manual remains perfectly relevant in spite of the fact it was published in 1967.

It's also available at the ridiculous bargain price of about a buck at Half.com, which means you can pick it up and deliver a lovely surprise to your favorite little Valentine, mom, or preschool teacher. They'll love ya for it!


Learn more about the author: www.tomie.com

Monday, January 17, 2011

Brett Borrows Well

In Regina Brett's God Never Blinks, The Plain Dealer columnist borrows heavily, unapologetically, and wisely from her friends, the Bible, and real and imaginary icons (including the very-human George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life).

She's a journalist,* so she cites her sources and uses the material well. So God Never Blinks isn't the most original material and doesn't contain The Answer to Life's Problems; it is a worthwhile book. The 50  essays between its covers comprise an easy-to-read, get-going (in the right direction) or get-going-again guide that is ideal for folks who've hit one of life's speed bumps or who are wending their way through one of its "little detours."

What I'd like to see next from Brett: more, with the spotlight on her reporting/storytelling skills. Her best columns in The Plain Dealer feature both. Meanwhile, no need to wait for the next book; pick up her first and enjoy... your life a little more.

  * And two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist! 
In addition to writing a PD column and hosting a weekly radio show, Brett posts to her blog regularly. You can read it at www.reginabrett.com 


Monday, January 3, 2011

Dear Kindle, I Love My Paper

I didn't want and didn't get a Kindle for Christmas. My former mother-in-law wasn't so lucky.

She didn't want one, but she got one.

My ex-hubby, who gave her Amazon's wonder product, is still laughing. He thinks it's all about age and says he's enjoyed "watching her struggle" to master the third-generation electronic reader. I defended the woman, as I always will a fellow reader and book lover. Notice how that's no longer redundant. (Before I continue, said ex-MIL is no luddite. If she wants to read an LCD screen, she'll manage.)

And that distinction - that you can love to read and have no affinity for the printed word - may save newspapers, the (possibly-in-need-of-a-new-name) publishing industry, and life as we (who cut our teeth on board books) know it.

My daughter, and too many of her Facebook peers, professes to "hate" reading. I hope that's a miscommunication, that they really loathe the form - OMG! my mother reads books - and not the function. That is, the reading.

Once again, I'm a tweener. While I'm tech-savvy enough to conduct my own Facebook research, thank you, my life-long love of books won't easily translate to the pixelated page. Paper feels good. Smells. Not always good, but it's a smell. It's real. Ink can smudge. In short, reading hints at being alive. It's really, really, really personal. Sure you can make notes in the margin of a Kindle. But you can't dog-ear the pages. And what about the bookmark, like a steady hand guiding me through the rough passages, patiently holding my place while I'm away?

I'm realistic enough to accept/smart enough to be thrilled by digital accessibility. Libraries are jumping on Kindle (and competitors) as well they should.

But reading the Sunday paper at the breakfast table, its form changing as it follows me throughout the day, is a joy I won't abandon anytime soon. I don't need batteries or a protective case for The Plain Dealer. In fact, those as-yet-unread sections I carry can protect me from a sudden shower, dirty dog, or unwanted conversation. As opposed to Kindle, which at that cute toddler stage only invites chitchat.

Yesterday, I lingered over coffee while marveling at the optimism of building a $33 million aquarium downtown, read Terry Pluto's wonderful column on Jesus's messed-up family in the car, and toted the Arts Section (with its book reviews!!) to the evening's soccer game. Sure, I could have taken Kindle along. But the paper is so much...softer. Sweeter. Pulpier.

But pulp free progress marches on. Perhaps some of us will acquiesce and turn to the shiny reader as early as this month. Thanks to the International Consumer Electronics Show, which starts Thursday, the price is sure to drop on Kindles and all electronic readers (as well as the uber-cool iPad).

Til then - at least - the books are piling up on my nightstand. Which is exactly how I like it. Thank you, dear friends and fellow readers, for not giving me a Kindle. Just yet.

Please support libraries and your local booksellers in 2011.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~