Barefoot Books- LadyD: Italy

Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts

Listen, Listen Book Review

Listen carefully to all the wonderful sounds of the different seasons, from summer's sizzling sun to winter's crunching snow. I am delighted to share with you a new lap book I've discovered. Phillis Gershator is the author of Listen, Listen and you'll find breath taking illustrations by Alison Jay. This book will open your child's eyes and ears to the world around them!
When I look at the magnificent artwork throughout the book, I am immediately transported to Italy. There is such a European country charm woven throughout this wonderful book. You will learn about all the animals that come with summer. Then there's the sounds of birds and squirrels with fall approaching. We go into the winter season with mistletoe and a mouse but then once again spring arrives with flower bulbs, bunnies and rainbows. A wonderful, educational and very visual book for $14.99 I highly recommend this book. 5+stars!

Phillis Gershator has written more than twenty-five books for children. She has worked as a children's librarian and enjoys cooking, gardening, and especially reading. Phillis lives in the U.S. Virgin Islands with her husband and frequent co-author, David.

You can visit her website at

http://www.phillisgershator.com

"Listen, listen...what's that sound? Insects singing all around!"--Listen, Listen
* Product Details:
Written by: Phillis Gershator
Illustrated by: Alison Jay
Read Alone: Ages 4-7
Read Together: Ages 0-4
Hardcover; Jacketed; full-color illustrations; 32pp;
10 x 10 inches
Item No. 9781846860843

* Alison Jay
Alison Jay lives and works in London, England. A graduate in illustration from the London College of Printing, Alison has been illustrating children's books for ten years. To create her unique style, she uses alkyd oil paint on paper with a crackling varnish, which gives her illustrations an antique, nostalgic quality.
Recent praise:
"Jay’s stylized pictures, with the texture of ancient frescos, are a window into a world in which the buzz of an insect and the whoosh of the wind lend surprising emotion. Illustrations filled with snowmen, anthropomorphized animals, and people running through a leaf-swept field will make children long to discover what is just over a hill or around the next bend. Capturing a summer idyll reading in a hammock with the same care as a warm evening by the fireplace, Jay invests each image with both joy and melancholy. This jewel of a book will draw children back again and again"—Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
"In this ode to the seasons, the sights and sounds of a picturesque country village are artfully evoked. Under the summer sun, 'Leaves rustle, hammocks sway. Splish, splash, children play.' In autumn, 'Pumpkins ripen, quick, quick. Apples, corn—pick, pick.' During winter, 'Crunch, crunch, boots clomp. Grown-ups shovel, children romp./Skaters spin, skiers glide. Zip, zoom, slip, slide.' When spring arrives, 'Pop, pop, bulbs sprout. Leaves grow, flowers shout.' Jay's crackled-varnish paintings have a nostalgic, folk-art quality. The rhyming, onomatopoeic text wraps around the busy scenes, and the words and art together provide a smooth transition between the seasons: 'summer's gone' is illustrated with a swarm of insects buzzing off the page. An appended 'can you see' game encourages close examination of the changing landscapes. Children will be inspired to 'listen, listen' in their own environments."—School Library Journal

Do You Know Carol Ann Duffy?

Barefoot author, Carol Ann Duffy, was appointed Poet Laureate in the UK this month. Not only is this an amazing honor for any poet - it is especially relevant because Carol Ann Duffy is the first female to ever achieve the post! She has been a poet for her entire life and also the author of The Tear Thief, and Barefoot Book's upcoming release The Gift. Congratulations Carol Ann Duffy!
You'll discover some great tidbits in this article I found.

First female Poet Laureate named
Carol Ann Duffy has been named as the new Poet Laureate, the first woman to be appointed in the 341-year history of the post.
Duffy, 53, who takes over immediately from Andrew Motion and will serve 10 years in the position, says she will give the £5,750 annual payment away.
The author, who is best known for her collection The World's Wife, is also the first Scot to be named Laureate.
Duffy said she felt "very honoured and humbled" by her appointment.
'Truly brilliant'
The poet told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour she had thought "long and hard" about taking the appointment.
"I look on it as a recognition of the great woman poets we have writing now," she said.
"I've decided to accept it for that reason."
She added: "Poetry is all around us, all of the time, whether in song or in speech or on the page, and we turn to it when events, personal or public, matter most.
"In accepting this Laureateship, I hope to contribute to people's understanding of what poetry can do and where it can be found."
Read more of the article at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8027767.stm

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "She is a truly brilliant modern poet who has stretched our imaginations by putting the whole range of human experiences into lines that capture the emotions perfectly."
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said Duffy "has achieved something that only the true greats of literature manage".
"That is to be regarded as both popular and profound," he said.

The Tear Thief - Hardcover
Nominated for the 2008 Red House Children's Book Award!
Each night, in the hours between supper and bedtime, the Tear Thief carries her waterproof, silvery sack as she steals the tears of every child who cries. But what does she do with all those tears? This warm, poignant, and beautifully illustrated story offers a thought-provoking message and a starting point to share children's emotional experiences.

"Only if you happened to look into a puddle as she was passing could you see what the Tear Thief looked like because a puddle was the one thing that showed her reflection."

Book Review
"When the Tear Thief comes upon a little girl crying because she has lost her dog, she befriends the girl and dries her tears. As the story progresses, young listeners may begin to wonder why the Tear Thief collects tears and what she does with them, and in a soothing resolution, they find out"—Booklist
"Duffy’s beautiful story brings the world of magic to life. My children smiled and seemed to gaze into the tear thief’s world after I finished and closed the book… Nicoletta Ceccoli’s soft, dreamy illustrations compliment Duffy’s story giving it an enchanting appeal."- Picket News

Product Details
Written by: Carol Ann Duffy
Illustrated by: Nicoletta Ceccoli
Read Alone: Ages 6-10
Read Together: Ages 4-8
Hardcover; Jacketed; full-color illustrations; 32pp;
8.5 x 10.75 inches
Item No. 9781846860454
$16.99

Illustrator Nicoletta Ceccoli
Nicoletta Ceccoli was born and still lives in San Marino, Italy, with her family and two pet hens. Since studying at the State Institute of Art in Urbino, she has illustrated a number of children's titles for prominent Italian publishers. Selected three times for exhibition at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, Nicoletta was awarded the prestigious Andersen Prize in 2000, honoring her as the best children's book illustrator in Italy.
The Tear Thief- Nominated for the 2008 Red House Children's Book Award!
You can order the book at

http://www.mybarefootbooks.com/LadyD

An Island In The Sun- Nicoletta Ceccoli Illustrator and Stella Blackburn Author

Have a look at Nicoletta Ceccoli's Barefoot Book, An Island In The Sun. I love her stylized rich turquoise illustrations of a seascape. Reminds me of Greece and Italy!
Island In The Sun
Written by: Stella Blackstone
Illustrated by: Nicoletta Ceccoli
"What did I spy with my little eye? And shall we sail home now, just you and I?"
Out of Stock. Expected in
$15.99
Special Offer Price $9.99

Read Alone: Ages 4-7
Read Together: Ages 0-4
Hardcover; Full-color illustrations;
In a spectacular seascape, a young boy sails for a distant island where he finds a special friend waiting for him. Who could it be? Children will delight in pointing out the animals and objects that the little boy spies along his journey.
Award-winning artist Nicoletta Ceccoli's radiant illustrations spill off the pages with their dramatic ocean scenes and vibrant tropical hues.