Fresh Approaches: Noteworthy New Editions and Reissues
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Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 1/8/2008 6:29:00 AM
Charlie and Lola in 3-D
Fans of these endearing siblings—in both their picture book and television-series incarnations—will welcome this pop-up version of Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola’s I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, originally published in 2000 by Candlewick. Child’s effervescent illustrations have been cleverly manipulated into moveable spreads that incorporate pull tabs, foldouts, turning window wheels, and paper sculptures to amplify the original’s humor and charm.
Big brother Charlie tries to get his little sister, Lola, the consummate fussy eater, to gobble her dinner by giving common foods tantalizing new identities, and his efforts are made all the more amusing by the new format. Carrots, or “orange twiglets from Jupiter,” are eaten beneath a pop-up of colorful planets; a large plate of peas folds down to reveal the siblings catching “green drops” in bowls as they fall from the sky; and another 3-D scene shows them tasting “cloud fluff” (aka mashed potatoes) while perched atop Mount Fuji. While most of the spreads are fairly sturdy, cut-outs of Lola and a crescent moon might be easily lost. Still, this engaging book will make a fun addition to storytime programs and displays.
Take a Trip to the Prairie
A third edition of William Anderson’s The Little House Guidebook (originally published in 1996) is available from HarperCollins/Collins. This title introduces the many sites—now literary and historic landmarks—described by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her "Little House" books. Each chapter, appropriately introduced with a quote from the stories, focuses on a particular locale, detailing how the site was founded and what it looks like today, offering tips about where to stay and what to do in the area, and providing travel directions. Maps and full-color interior and exterior photographs appear throughout. According to HarperCollins editor Tara Weikum, this new edition has been completely revised. The text has been fact-checked once again and updated, applicable Web sites have been included, and old photos have been updated and new ones added.
If you need more copies of Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods (1932) with Garth Williams’s soft-edged pencil sketches (which first appeared in the 1953 revised edition), consider purchasing the 75th anniversary edition of the book (HarperCollins). The text and illustrations are the same, but the format has been upsized to 8 x 10 inches, the print is large, and the jacket has been attractively redesigned. It’s easy to imagine kids curling up with this generous-size volume for cozy reading, or adults showing off the easy-to-see pictures while sharing it aloud with a group.
Return to Egypt
While you’re checking shelves, see if you need a fresh copy of Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s The Egypt Game (1967), a 1968 Newbery Honor book and classroom staple for more than 30 years. A new hardcover edition, illustrated with Alton Raible’s original drawings, is available from Atheneum. The cover has been snazzed up with a graphic design that emphasizes the game element (silhouette figures of children run along the bright yellow title letters as if finding their way across a game board), while small background images of the sphinx and a pyramid add a sense mystery.
Pub Info
CHILD, Lauren. Charlie and Lola’s I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato. illus. by author. paper engineering by Corina Fletcher. Candlewick. 2007. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3708-8.
ANDERSON, William. The Little House Guidebook. photos by Leslie A. Kelly. 3rd ed. HarperCollins/Collins. 2007. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-125512-0.
WILDER, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods: 75th Anniversary Edition. illus. by Garth Williams. 2007. HarperCollins. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-0-06-128980-4.
SNYDER, Zilpha Keatley. The Egypt Game. illus. by Alton Raible. 2007. S & S/Atheneum. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-6065-2.
