#michael emberley

[roesolo]

Graphic Novels for all ages and stages! @candlewickpress @holidayhousebks @pixelandinkbks

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Picture Book in Brief: An Annoying ABC

An Annoying ABC Written by Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Michael Emberley

Publishing Information:

Published by Alfred A. Knopf, September 13, 2011. Hardback dimensions measure 10.35 x 7.26.

Awards Won:

None found.

Story or Concept Theme:

The children in a Pre-K classroom each act out in turn, working alliteratively through the alphabet, and concluding with apologies.

Target Audience/Age:

Ages 2-5

Narrative Plot

Escalation: Each member of a Pre-K class do something to upset another, in alphabetical order, until Zelda retaliates by spraying Adelaide with a hose.  Resolution: With some encouragement from the teacher, Adelaide apologizes to Bailey for the events she triggered, which begins a chain reaction of the children apologizing to each other.

Coherence/relation between text + visual pictures:

The text in this book is fairly simple ("Nigel nudged Olivia. Olivia overreacted. Petunia pestered Quentin,” etc.), and the illustrations do a good job of expanding on each action that the children take. 

Storytelling techniques used:

The strongest linguistic device in this book is alliteration. The increasingly chaotic illustrations help create a sense of escalating tensions as more of the children in the classroom are upset, and the resolution at the end (which is expressed in illustration without text) does a great job of contrasting the busy chaos of the rest of the book.

Physical structure/design:

Physical copy had 32 pages, with story on 26 pages. The illustrations are placed in small groups close to the text, rather than taking up a whole page, and while some of the illustrations overlapped onto the next page, I’m not sure that it qualifies as a spread.

Brief assessment of the book's quality:

I was expecting this book to be much more simplistic than it was. The structured, formulaic text allowed for fast pacing, but the lack of description gives the reader space to examine the drawings to form meaning. 

Brief assessment of potential use of book with young readers, if applicable:

I could see this going well in a storytime, where children are asked what the next letter will be, and would pair well with a name game. It could also be used as a teaching tool for early explorations of cause and effect.

Brief assessment of the book's appeal to potential readers:

This book shows fun and exciting misbehavior while also making it a learning experience, which is great for Pre-K! The resolution with an emphasis on apology would be appealing to caregivers who want to show their children an example of what to do when they’ve upset someone.

[bookscoffeeandnaps]

Today's book came into my life by chance. For those of you who aren't aware, I recently started a new job as a Children's Librarian (hence w...

[in-the-stacks]

Presenting Episode #34 of the Banned Library Podcast, It's So Amazing! by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley. Hosted by Evan Williamson, who discusses books that have been challenged or banned.

http://www.inthestacks.tv/2016/09/banned-library-34-its-so-amazing-by-robie-h-harris-and-michael-emberley

[library-rose]

Book mark craft for grandparents

[sophia-sol]

It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley This is the book my parents used for giving me the birds-and-bees talk as a kid. And after they'd read it through with me, they left it prominently visible on one of the bookshelves for easy access, and I reread the hell out of it, because it was just so fascinating. It's nice to come back to it as an adult and be impressed with the quality of it. I mean, it's not perfect, but - especially for the era - it's doing really well. It acknowledges (and does not condemn!) the existence of both homosexuality and bisexuality! Its illustrations include people of different races and body types, including people with disabilities! It talks honestly and rationally about both perspectives on the abortion issue! It includes good information on safer sex and on the importance of consent! It does a good job of explaining bodies and reproduction! The only place where it really falls down is its extremely binary approach to sex/gender.