Picturepedia: An Encyclopedia on Every Page - DK Canada

'Learning begins at home' - and DK books are great part of that! They've put together a great selection of titles with learning in mind - you can check them out here.

The one that caught my eye was Picturepedia: An Encyclopedia on
Every Page. Inside you'll find "ten thousand stunning photographs and illustrations"!

Now Little Guy and I always have to look at the cover first. There was lots up front to pique his interest. Once he was done looking at that, and instead of reading front to back, we just started reading whatever page caught his attention. Animals, trucks and diggers have been the favourites so far.  (I quite liked the Women's Fashion and Bread pages. Did you know that Turkey consumes more bread per person than any other county?)

For those of you who like to be a little more organized, the book does categories listed up front - Science and Technology, Nature, Geography Culture, Sports and Hobbies and History. Within those headings, you'll find a number of subcategories. There's also an index in the back if you want to look up specific topics.

And you'll find exactly what I expect from DK books. Beautiful, crisp, clean, full colour photographs and pictures. The layout is always great - with sidebars, information boxes and text with lots of white space framing them all. The book has sturdy covers and is very well made. And above all - concise information written in easy to understand language.

There's so much information inside - enough to keep preschool and elementary school aged interested and curious. This made for great reading together for Gramma and Little Guy. It's going to take a while to work our way through Picturepedia. Lots of learning to be had as he grows! Now this book is part of the DK children's collection, but I have to say the adults that saw this book were just as fascinated by it as the children that read it. It was left on the coffee table and everyone just had to have a peek inside! And here's a peek for you...

Vintage Trailer Voyeur - Victoria Ocken

I have been fascinated by the little house movement for awhile now. Looking, dreaming and imagining what if? But to be honest, unless I build it myself - they're out of my price range.

But when Victoria Ocken's  new book, Vintage Trailer Voyeur: A Peek Inside the Unique Custom Trailer Culture crossed my path, I got excited. A trailer is doable for me. And not just any old trailer - a vintage trailer. And I imagined all the fun that could be had by fixing and gussying up that vintage beauty.

I remember camping in a wee little trailer with my parents and sister when I was younger. We delighted in sleeping in the upper bunk, that on reflection could have only been about 16 inches from the ceiling. I remember how cosy it was and the sound of the rain on the tin roof.

There are over 400 beautiful colour  photos of many, many types of vintage trailers - from wee little teardrops to full size Airstreams. Each of them has a style and presence. Some have been redone with a theme in mind, some have been left as they were, with original cabinets, some have been re-outfitted.  But all of them are beautiful - tiny little homes that look so comfortable and inviting. I loved looking at the detail and care put into each restoration or outfitting. A caption accompanies each photo and there are short essays from many of the owners as well. The joy that the author and other vintage trailer lovers have for their passion shines through. I would have enjoyed seeing a photo of each owner with their trailer.

Ocken has a very personal connection with trailers. The prologue "Everyone has a story. My story has been intertwined with trailers from an early age when I was abandoned in one as an infant....."

Vintage Trailer Voyeur is a great coffee table book or a wonderful inspiration. Me - it's the latter. Now, to start scouring for just the right one.......

Humans of New York: Stories - Brandon Stanton

Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York is a daily fix for me. I usually follow HONY on Facebook. There are now over "fifteen million people who follow the blog everyday." In case, you've not heard of HONY....it started as a project to "photograph thousands of people on the streets of New York." Moving along, quotes were added to the pictures. And those quotes morphed into stories......

Humans of New York: Stories released at the end of last year, but I was holding off reading it 'til 'the right time' - a time where I could sit and ponder, enjoy each photo and the bits of life strangers chose to share.

New Years Day seemed like the right time - a perfect first book for 2016.

And it was. Stanton is a talented photographer, capturing people of all ages, genders, races and gamut of circumstances , conditions, relationships, life, work and more. I enjoyed the photographs on their own in the first book, but Stories is simply amazing. Each and every page, I started by looking, really looking, at the person and only then reading their story. Then back to the photograph. Stories will take you on an emotional ride - they're sad, joyful, uplifting, thought provoking, inspiring, moving and oh so addicting. If you're an online follower, you also know how connecting and powerful the blog is. The comments, the changes and the challenges inspired by this project are astounding. It took me most of the day to make my way through the 400 plus pages. As I turned the last page, I wondered what story I would tell......

Humans of New York: Stories is a book I'll read again. Absolutely a powerful way to start a New Year. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Humans of New York: Stories.

Real - Shelley Malcolm and Terilee Dawn Ouimette

I just knew when I saw the cover of Real by Shelley Malcolm and Terilee Dawn Ouimette that I wanted to read it. The photo made me immediately just stop. I thought of my ninety six year old grandmother's hands - holding them and feeling the paper thin skin and the delicate bones. But also the strength, the love and the life that those hands had experienced and the caring she imparted to those whose lives she touched.

I often find myself at work in the library looking at patron's hands as they pass their books across the counter to me to be checked out. I'm sure they hold the key to a world of stories.

Shelley Malcolm had the idea that " a deep beauty exists in the honest stories our hands have to tell. "Whatever their weathering, in their tenderness, their task, their injury or age, there is a beauty." When she approached Terilee about taking the photos for the project, Terilee was excited - "I wanted my images to inspire people to love, live, feel and appreciate the unique that is often mistaken for the ordinary. For me, hands have always told the story of how amazingly different our lives are."

Each picture of hands is accompanied by a story written by Shelley letting us know a bit more about the subjects' lives, hopes, dreams and anything else they cared to share.

I found myself reading Real in small bits. First I would look at each photograph and absorb the unspoken story, then read the accompanying words. There are various 'chapters' - courage , hope, work, dreams etc, but each and every one of the sixty stories had a message. I found the stories of hope and perserverance the most moving for me. People from every walk and stage of life are represented. I found myself wishing I could meet with some of them to carry on the conversations.

Real is a unique project and a truly moving, inspirational and poignant book. Take a look at your own hands - what story would they tell?

Proceeds from the sale of Real go to various charities. Find out what others on the tour thought.

Off the Tourist Trail - Dorling Kindersley Books

More delicious armchair travel! But with a twist this time. Off the Tourist Trail explores 'unexpected travel alternatives'. The authors of this book are the many travel writers who have contributed to the Eyewitness Travel books that DK publishers.

The format is pretty unique - alternatives to well known attractions, journeys, natural phenomenon and more such as Stonehenge, Niagara Falls and more are presented -up to six specifically related suggestions and up to 45 additional recommendations.

Many of the 'well-known' attractions were new to me, so I had just as much fun reading about them. But the off the beaten track destinations are amazing. Our world is so full of extraordinary sites and events. Many of them, I will never get a chance to see, so I enjoy travelling from my armchair. Each destination has a description along with practical information - getting there, where to stay, best time of the year to visit and a direct web address. ( I stopped many times to hop on the computer)

Of course, I always have to check out the Canadian suggestions. I was thrilled to see that Nova Scotia's Evangeline Trail was presented as an alternative to driving the old Route 66 in the US. We actually drove this trail this past summer and yes, it was pretty stunning. We took the train out to the East Coast to start, so I was interested to see the section on alternatives to the famous Orient Express train. The Canadian from T.O. to Vancouver is listed -  a trip I'd like to undertake. As was the Viking Trail in Newfoundland, an suggestion in the Great Journeys section.

I've focused on North America, but there are mostly world wide suggestions. The Camino de Santiago has attracted literally hundreds of thousands of walkers, but there are alternatives - a pilgrimage to Rome being one of them.

I'm always drawn to the small islands found as specks on maps and globes. I wonder at the people who live there and what their lives are like. I had never heard of the tropical Fernando de Noronha Islands, suggested as a substitute for the Galapagos Islands, but I'd sure love to visit!

This coffee table sized book is printed on glossy stock and filled with lots of sharp, clear photos. Perfect for an armchair getaway. Peek inside.

Bill Bryson wrote the forward for Off the Tourist Trail. He speaks about the book in the video below.

The Peanuts Collection - Nat Gertler

The Charlie Brown Christmas special was on tv the other night. The very same one since - do you believe this - 1965! Forty five years. And I still enjoy watching it. It's a classic and brings back so many memories.

And memories are the order of the day in Nat Gertler's new book The Peanuts Collection. Subtitled; Treasures From the World's Most Beloved Comic Strip.

And that it is. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in North America who doesn't recognize the characters. When the strip began it was carried in 7 newspapers and topped out at 2600 papers! Charles Shulz created the Peanuts comic strip and created 18,000 strips over the course of 50 years. Reprints are still carried by over 2200 newspapers.

The introduction by Shulz's daughter Amy says it best..." My dad believed that he was born to draw his comic strip, and his fans refer to him as a genius. If he is a genius, then I believe it is because of his ability to create characters that were loved as thought they were real and to draw fifty year's worth of strips that had relevance in the lives of millions of people."

Gertler has combed through both family mementos and the archives of The Charles M. Shulz Museum  to showcase Peanuts materials, items, stories, pictures and ephemera - many not seen before.

Each of the characters is covered, from their early look to the nineties, complete with their contributions to the strip. There was so much included - toys and games based on the characters, advertising(the amount of products was amazing!) social causes, books, colouring pages, television specials. I appreciated the level of detail.  The book is filled with beautifully glossy pictures. It's an interactive book as well. There are lots of little pockets with reproduction of letters, baseball cards, greeting cards, sketches, songbooks and more. There is even a set of prints included that could be framed. Here's a shot of what's inside. Or check out this slideshow.

It's the season for gorgeous coffee table and collector books and this is one you don't want to miss. Perfect for a Peanuts fan or nostalgia buff. It's a fitting tribute to an American icon.

Now who is your favourite character? I always wanted to see the inside of Snoopy's doghouse. And I always had a soft spot for Peppermint Patty.

Norman Rockwell - Behind the Camera - Ron Schick

Norman Rockwell is an American icon. His style is easily identifiable, but I had no idea of the processes he used to produce his paintings until I read Behind the Camera.

At first, Rockwell posed his ideas using live models and made preliminary sketches to paint from later. But this proved difficult, as it was hard for the models to hold the expressions that are a hallmark of his style. The next step - photography.

"Photography opened a door to the keenly observed realism that defines Norman Rockwell's art."

But Rockwell struggled with the idea of using photography as a tool to prepare for his painting. Indeed, he took criticism from some of his peers for this decision, but realized he could capture moments in time quickly and reproduce them at leisure.

Thankfully, those photographs have been kept in the Massachusetts Norman Rockwell Museum. This book was produced with those photographic archives.

It is utterly fascinating to see the finished painting on one side of the page and then view the photographs that he used to achieve the look he wanted. Rockwell always used everyday people. All of the props used in a picture/painting were authentic. Details were very important to him.

"I love to tell stories in pictures."

And his pictures do tell stories. The expressions and the details make his work fairly leap off the page. You have to explore every corner. Many times Rockwell painted himself in as an extra.

There are detailed descriptions accompanying every plate. The book itself progresses linearly, from his early work, though to his last completed work - a self portrait in 1976.

The book is beautiful, produced on heavy, glossy stock with hundreds of images. A wonderful coffee table book and one to share. I'm taking mine over when I visit my grandmother. I know she'll enjoy looking at remembered images.

Rockwell's career began in 1916 when he sold two covers to the Saturday Evening Post. His partnership with them lasted 47 years. It is this publication that his work is most closely linked to, although his work appeared on the covers of 79 other publications. His career spanned 65 years and will live on in history.

Sesame Street - Louise A. Gikow - Review AND Giveaway

Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 years of Life on the Street

Today marks the last day of the 26th annual Miami Book Fair International - an event I would dearly love to attend. If you're thinking about it - next year's dates are November 7 - 14, 2010.

Author Louise A Gikow was there talking about her just released book from Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.

I use Google as my main search engine. All last week they featured characters from Sesame Street on the homepage. The first day it wasn't even a whole character - just some banded orange legs. I bet there are very few people who didn't identify them as Big Bird's appendages!

At forty years, Sesame Street is the longest running children's television show. It's now seen in 120 countries. I was already in school when it first aired, but remember sitting with my little sister and watching it with her when I got home. And then twenty years later, watching it with my children. The theme song is still easily recalled: " Sunny days, sweepin' the clouds away...."

The show is iconic and the book is amazing. It's a wonderfully heavy coffee table book. Glossy stock and over 1500 colour photographs. But it's the stories within that make it such a keeper. Founder Joan Ganz Cooney realized that television could be educational as well as entertaining and broke new ground in broadcasting that has both matched the test of time and stayed two steps ahead, always finding new ways to teach and reach children.

I loved the behind the scenes stuff - how and who is behind and in and under those Muppets? The set itself and the changes it's undergone. Scripts are reproduced, songs, anecdotes, art and oh, so much more. The 'real' folks that appeared are featured as well, as are the celebrities who did guest appearances.

I had such fun, enjoying every page - and it's not a book to be rushed through - there is so much to take in and relish.

And if that wasn't enough, there's a bonus DVD included, featuring clips and moments from the show. I remembered so many of them!! I was singing along to "Who are the people in your neighbourhood?", "One of these things is not like the others..." and a few more!

As Gordon said on the very first show Nov 10, 1969:

" You've never seen a street like Sesame Street. Everything happens here. You're gonna love it."

And millions of children and adults have and do love it. This would be a fantastic gift for anyone of any age. And thanks to the sponsorship of The Miami Book Fair International, I have one copy to give away.

What do you have to do to enter? Let me know who your favourite character is. Muppet or human. Myself, I am very partial to Grover. An extra entry for followers or subscribers Open to both Canada and the US. Closes Sunday December 13th at 6 pm EST.