The Book Report: Sharing the latest in books, apps and literary marketplace news

'Books' by Paula Slade

Today’s edition of “The Book Report” focuses on a charming book and CD about a duck in New York, and a newly released app that features a delightful opera-singing hippo. We also highlight this week’s upcoming author visit to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

EVENTS

Talking About Words and Pictures with Barry Moser

Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 11:30 a.m.

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

125 West Bay Road, Amherst, Massachusetts 01001

FREE event with regular museum admission

Barry Moser visits the Carle for a conversation about his life, career and his books. A book signing with Mr. Mosner will follow this event.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES FROM THE CARLE:

“The books Moser has illustrated and/or designed forms a list of over three hundred titles. That list includes the Arion Press Moby-Dick and the University of California Press The Divine Comedy of Dante. Moser's edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, won the National Book Award for design and illustration in 1983 and prompted the poet John Ashbery writing in NEWSWEEK (March 1, 1982), to call Moser's work “never less than dazzling.”

In addition to being an illustrator, Barry Moser is also a printer, painter, printmaker, designer, author, essayist, and teacher. His work is represented in numerous collections, museums, and libraries in the United States and abroad, including The National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Metropolitan Museum, The British Museum and The Library of Congress, to name a few.

Mr. Moser lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, two English mastiffs and four cats. He has three grown daughters and nine grandchildren.”

For event details: Email: info@carlemuseum.org |www.carlemuseum.org or Phone: (413) 658-1100 | Fax: (413) 658-1139

BOOKS

Un pato en Nueva York

This book is a charming adaptation and translation to Spanish from author/songwriter Connie Kaldor’s Parents’ Choice and Juno Award-winning Book and CD, A Duck in New York City.

Produced by The Secret Mountain, a high quality Montreal based publisher of children’s picture books, videos and music, Un pato en Nueva York is the tale of a little duck from the heartland who has a big dream – to dance his little ducky feet on a Broadway stage.

The book is delightfully illustrated by Fil & Juli; expertly translated by noted Cuban author Yanitzia Canetti, and includes narration and vocals for the CD by Ines Canepa.

You can preview and download all 13 MP3 tracks through The Secret Mountain where the tracks are available for $1.25 CDN each. There is also window on the same listening page that provides a link to view the entire book online before purchasing. Both book and CD are offered for $22.95 CDN.

APPS

Hildegard Sings

First introduced in 1993 as a delightful children’s book by Thomas Wharton, Hildegard Sings is the tale of one very voluptuous hippo, Hildegard Rhineheffer whose dreams of stardom as an opera singer are as endearing as her quest to overcome stage fright when fate provides her a big break

Beautifully illustrated with bright watercolors, this app engages and charms.

Produced by One Hundred Robots, the app is compatible with iPad, iPod and iPhone and requires iOS 4.0 or later. It has 28 interactive features including read- to-me or read-to-myself options, spoofs of famous opera classics, an opera glossary, navigation map, matching game and much more.

The video below gives a bit of a preview of Hildegard Sings. To view more screenshots and check out product reviews or for ordering, visit the Hildegard Sings iTunes page where the app is specially priced for only $1.99.

The Book Report: Books about ‘Bullying’

'Books' by Paula Slade

Today’s edition of “The Book Report” focuses on books that are written specifically for children and teens and tackle the difficult subject of “bullying,” which has become an epidemic in our society.

In an oft-quoted article, “School Bullying Statistics - The ABCs of Harassment”, the statistics, which were gathered in 2009 as part of a national survey on bullying are astounding:

“Over 75% of our students are subjected to harassment by a bully or Cyber-Bully and experience physical, psychological and/or emotional abuse.

Over 20% of our kids admit to being a bully or participating in bully-like activities.

Over one-half of bullying and Cyber-Bullying events go unreported to authorities or parents.

Over 100,000 children carried guns to school as a result of being bullied.

28% of students who carry weapons in school have witnessed violence in their homes.

On a daily average, 160,000 children miss school because they fear they will be bullied if they attend classes.

On a monthly average, 282,000 students are physically attacked by a bully each month.

Every seven minutes, a child is bullied on a school playground, with over 85% of those instances occurring without any intervention.

46% of males and 26% of females admit to having been involved in physical fights as a result of being bullied.

Over 85% of our teenagers say that revenge as an aftermath of being bullied is the leading cause for school shootings and homicide.

The top 5 states in regards to reported incidents of bullying and Cyber-Bullying are California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington.”

And the most disturbing statistic of all: “ A child commits suicide (as a direct result of being bullied) once every half hour, with 19,000 bullied children attempting to commit suicide over the course of one year.”

It doesn’t have to be that way. There are many fine written resources for parents, caregivers, teachers and school administrators such as Barbara Coloroso’s, The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander, and Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin’s, Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying; both books fully enlighten and provide strategies for adults whose children are experiencing bullying on many levels.

The three books and the app that are featured below, provide the same valuable information and strategies as the adult-level books, but are geared directly to young people who are dealing with the difficult dynamics of bullying on a day-to-day basis. By sharing these excellent reads with the young person in your life, you’ll be offering tools and understanding that will indeed help them.

Each of these books and app are targeted for specific age ranges and are presented with different approaches using fiction, a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and non-fiction alone.

A brief overview of these highly recommended books along with pricing information has been provided for your convenience. 

To explore each title further or for ordering information, simply follow the highlighted link.

The Great Snowball Escapade written and illustrated by J.D. Holiday

This 90-page chapter book, geared for early readers age six to eight, is the fictional story of 7-year-old Wilhelmina (“Wil”) Brooks and the trials of dealing with her bullying cousin Bud Dunphry, when he comes to live in Wil’s household.

The book subtly teaches and instills the important foundations of cooperation, trust, empathy and friendship.

Best pricing for the paperback edition of The Great Snowball Escapade is available through Amazon.com for $5.99 or the Kindle edition for $3.99. The Nook edition is also available for $3.99 at Barnes and Noble.

Be Confident in Who You Are (Book I from the Middle School Confidential Series) by Annie Fox, M. Ed

A fiction/non-fiction blend presented in appealing graphic novel format for children in the all-important transitional “tween” years ages 11 to 14.

All the books in this series take young readers into the world of six middle school students, Jack, Jen, Mateo, Abby, Chris, and Michelle as they navigate some of life’s hardest lessons covering friendships, bullying, self esteem and family dynamics.

Along with engaging character narratives, the books provide quizzes and quotes from real kids, plus practical tips, tools and resources that children can effectively employ in their lives. Take a look at the book trailer video that is embedded below.

Best available Paperback pricing for Be Confident Who You Are (Middle School Confidential Series Book I) is through Free Spirit Publishing at $6.49 or through Amazon Marketplace beginning at $5.47. Amazon.com also offers the Kindle edition for $7.99. 

Be Confident in Who You Are is now also available for iPad or iPad 2 with (iPhone and iPod versions coming soon). Requires iOS 4.0 or later (iOS 4.3 tested) 30.4 MB.

As a 49-page digital graphic novel it offers sound effects, music, interactive features, zooming in-and-out, auto-save, “Special Meet the Cast Pages” , and is available at iTunes for only $3.99.

 

Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories

Young adults need a totally different approach, and from Harper Teen, comes a brand new 352-page paperback anthology, Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Story presented by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones.

This unique book provides teens with first hand accounts from the voices of experience - 70 admired authors sharing and uniting in a common bond in the retelling of their own true life stories about bullying, and the effects that it had on their lives.

Pre-orders of Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories are being taken by Amazon.com where the paperback edition is being offered for $9.99 and will ship on the August 23, 2011 release date. There is also a Kindle Edition for $8.99 and Hardcover for $11.21.

Barnes and Noble has best price for the Paperback Edition at $9.49 or Nook delivery for $8.99.

Wubbzy Be Mine: The perfect preschooler valentine

 With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, a perfect collection of adorable heartfelt tales on DVD is provided by Anchor Bay Entertainment in WOW! WOW! WUBBZY!: WUBBZY BE MINE, featuring that cute, yellow, bendy-tailed character “Wubbzy” and all the “Wuzzleburg” gang as seen on the Nick Jr. award-winning television series, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

The DVD includes three charming episodes: “Mr. Valentine”; “Cupid’s Helper,” and “My Speedy Valentine,” which collectively highlight the importance of friendship and appreciation.

Appealing to the preschool set, this 36-minute compilation also includes Sneak Peeks, eight Valentine’s Day cards for sharing, plus coloring activity sheets.

For your enjoyment, a video preview of WUBBZY BE MINE is available below, and best pricing is currently through Amazon Marketplace for $6.70 plus shipping and handling.