Welcome to first-time Nonfiction Monday participants!

Zoe at Playing by the book is all about flags today, with a post titled Vexillology (that is, the study of flags).  Playing by the book features all sorts of great books for kids and the projects they inspire Zoe and her kids to create--today, it's a regatta!

Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning reviews Z is for Zookeeper, which is about the changing role of zoos (not just the animals in them).  Her daughter is meeting author Roland Smith at school today.

Paula at Pink Me reviews some Really, Really BIG Questions about Life, the Universe, and Everything, Dr. Stephen Law's attempt to reach the youngest philosphers.  42?

Mid-morning edition (or, We're glad you're back, too!)

100 Scope Notes recommends DK's Children's Book of Art, which is beautifully laid out (see the post for a look at the inside).

Sarah at In Need of Chocolate reviews Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins.  She mentions a timeline of the development of life on earth as if it were taking place during a 24-hour day.  When do humans show up?  Read her post (and the book) to find out.

Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect is in today with Nic Bishop Marsupials.  I'm glad to see that Bishop is training his lens on some furry animals and wonder what Tricia's favorite, the bilby, looks like.

Roberta at Wrapped in Foil enjoyed reading Nic Bishop Butterflies and Moths, which is a Cybils nonfiction picture book nominee this year.

Lynn and Cindy's post at Bookends comes with a warning:  do not read while eating!  It's about Crust and Spray: Gross Stuff in Your Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat by CS. Larsen.

The Wild About Nature blog reviewed two titles this week, Marsh Music and Marsh Morning, both written by Marianne Berkes.  The marsh is the place to go for music, it seems.

Abby (the) Librarian has a review of Sacred Mountain Everest by Christine Butler-Taylor, all about our relationship with Everest and about the mountain itself.

The NEW Lori Calabrese Writes! reviews How We Are Smart by W. Nikola-Lisa and Sean Qualls. Learn all about multiple intelligences and the different ways people are smart.

Shirley at SimplyScience has DK's Open Me Up (and an activity to go along with it).

Mid-afternoon edition

Jennie at Biblio File is in with Show and Tell by Dilys Evans:  not really for kids, but for adults who like picture books.  One of the picture book artists profiled in this book (and highlighted by Jennie) is Denise Fleming, whose medium is...paper.

Anastasia at Picture Book of the Day is reading The Obama Family in Pictures by Jane Katirgis, just in time for Election Day tomorrow.

Amanda at a Patchwork of Books has a review of A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, which emphasizes science and natural history.

And for their very first Nonfiction Monday post, the Z-Kids and their dad Aaron Zenz of Bookie Woogie have interviewed author Patricia Newman about "Nugget on the Flightdeck," an exciting book about life aboard an aircraft carrier (illustrated by Zenz himself).  Bookie Woogie features the kids' commentary  and fan art for every book they review.

Late evening news

Jone is in with a review of Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Baycock, another Cybils nonfiction picture book nominee with a great title and unusual focus on the uses of bubbles in the natural world.

And Bookmoot is back in the saddle with Texas Bluebonnet List Picture Book Biographies.  There are two biographies on the list this year: Surfer of the Century and The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau.

One more:  Doret at The Happy Nappy Bookseller has Sweethearts of Rhythm by Marilyn Nelson and Jerry Pinckney.  It's the story of the greatest all-girl swing band in the world, and you'll never guess who tells it.

Thanks for participating in Nonfiction Monday this week, everyone!

[The Tuesday Edition:  3T News and Reviews looks at books from Lerner's history and Visual Geography series.]

Now, there are two kinds of writers in the world [writes Jane], and they were described for me by my friend Susan Schwartz.  "I," she said, "am a mad monk, going up a rock face with a rather large chisel and carving out great swaths of story.  But you are a gem polisher.  You take a small, wonderful gem of a tale and polish it till it shines."

I'm the first to admit that I'm no Jane Yolen (ni mucho menos), and I'm not entirely sure whether this passage is speaking to process or product, but if gem-polishing works for her (and she's incredibly prolific, too) then maybe I can make it work for me.

Even though I'm not participating, I want to cheer on the "mad monks" among us who are.  Who are you?  And what's your novel about?

I did pick up a copy of Edward Eager's Half Magic to read with the kids, although sadly not the glorious 50th anniversary edition (Harcourt, 2004) shown here.  I'm beginning to think I picked up the magic charm in the book (it grants you half of whatever you wish for) somewhere along the way, too.

Part of my problem is that I've lost my mind--or rather, the key to it.  The metaphor is scientist Sim Lolness's:

"Every brain has its key," [Toby's] father always used to say. "Mine is my bed.  Yours is your plate.  Eat before you think, or you'll think badly."  (48)

My key is solitude.  Companionable quiet will also work.  Both have been in short supply lately; in the last week or so alone I've attended everything from my 20-year high school reunion to KidlitCon (guess which was better?!).  Right now I'm making room for more quiet in which to read and write and think.

In the meantime, I would love to know what your keys (or your children's) might be.  Sleep, food, quiet, or something else entirely--what do you need to think your best?

Exciting news:  This year I'm a first round panelist in Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy, which means I'll be reading a lot of SFF between now and December 31.  Where should I begin?  Leave me a comment with the title and author of your favorite book in this category, and I'll move it to the top of my to-read pile.  Provided it's been nominated for a Cybil this year, of course.  And if it hasn't, what are you waiting for?

The early reader format makes sense for Bear and Mouse, who are literary descendants of Frog and Toad, and it suits Becker's storytelling here as well.  While I miss the spaciousness and surprises of Visitor, Mouse's attempts to deliver balloons, a present, and finally a chocolate cake to Bear in Birthday fall nicely into short chapters.  Spoiler alert:  The cake succeeds!  I'm not sure about the present, though.

Interestingly, the next Bear and Mouse book, A Bedtime for Bear (Spring 2010), will be another picture book.  From Becker's website:  "Bear has Mouse over for Bear’s first ever sleep over. But in order to sleep, Bear must have quiet, absolute quiet. To Bear’s great frustration and growing annoyance, Mouse is far from quiet as a… well, you know."  I sort of wish that everyone involved had chosen one format or the other and stuck with it.  My vote would be for the picture book, but A Birthday for Bear is a great choice for newly independent readers...and you can read it aloud, too.

Do you have a favorite Tomie dePaola book?  Please share!

The cover image and text below are from Walker Books Australia, Candlewick's sister company:

"What would happen to a fairy if she lost her wings and could no longer fly? Flory, a young night fairy no taller than an acorn and still becoming accustomed to her wings - wings as beautiful as those of a luna moth - is about to find out. What she discovers is that the world is very big and very, very dangerous. But Flory is fierce and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. If that means telling others what to do like Skuggle, a squirrel ruled by his stomach so be it. Not every creature, however, is as willing to bend to Flory’s demands. Newbery Medal winner Laura Amy Schlitz and world-renowned illustrator and miniaturist Angela Barrett venture into the realm of the illustrated classic a classic entirely and exquisitely of their making, and a magnificent adventure."

Hmmm.  Do you believe in fairies?

"Awful Ogre Reflects on the Summer"

Oh, it's been an awful summer,
A delightful awful summer,
Just the sort of awful summer
Awful Ogre does adore.
But at last, alas, it's ending,
Yes my awful summer's ending,
My delightful awful summer
Now is practically no more.
[continued]

Prelutsky and Zelinsky's Awful Ogre's Awful Day (Greenwillow, 2005) is just as awful as his summer was.  Which is to say, we loved it.

[Poetry Friday is at Wild Rose Reader today.  Thanks, Elaine!]

Be that as it may, bookstogether is here to tell you that if you have a sensitive child, perhaps one who just started kindergarten this very day, you may not make it past the place where Mrs. Tabby says to her kittens, "I think you are ready.  I want you to have a good dinner and fly away--far away."  Because they're not ready.  And neither are you.

[See also Rumer Godden's A Kindle of Kittens (illustrated by Lynne Byrnes; Viking, 1978), which is a sort of cautionary tale for single cat mothers.  We didn't read that one, either.  But it may interest you to know that the verb to kindle can mean to give birth, and a kindle is the collective noun for--kittens!  Probably not what Amazon had in mind.]