We recently got Wild and Free by Carrie Gallasch from our library and it was fantastic. It has some of the best art I've seen this year and while it is clearly an aspirational fantasy (children playing outside all day without any adult supervision?!) it is one I can get behind.
A family of three children wake up early one summer day and rush out the door to spend a day looking at leaves and insect and jumping in puddles and climbing trees. Very much the quintessential what we all wish our kids were actually doing during summer.
Also, related to picture books for older kids it occurred to me whether reading manga together might be a good strategy since there are tons of those targeting that age range. They aren't QUITE the same as picture books but also kind of are?
I think manga is closer to graphic novels than picture books, but manga/graphic novels offer some — though not all — of the same benefits of picture books. (That’s not a dig on manga or graphic novels, merely a distinction between formats that do serve different purposes and enrich kids’ reading lives in different ways. As you probably know, I am all for — ALL FOR — whatever reading material a child is into, alone or together.)
Oh my gosh, I'm so honored! And especially to be included in a section for older kids because I am all for the idea of never growing out of picture books. I collected picture books until I left for college (and only had to stop because I didn't have room haha). But love this list and love everything you are doing for books. I'm so behind on substack reading...it's overwhelming, but I always love to see a post from you!!
I’ve thought a lot about your book 😂 and I honestly think it goes over the heads of younger kids. They don’t get all the jokes. Doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy it, I just think the sweet spot is late elementary!
Oh, how fascinating! Yeah, it's been cool to see how when I do school visits, the book connects differently with younger kids and older kids. With younger, they do get a lot of the jokes, but they really absorb the language of the book. Like teachers have told me after that when a kid pees their pants, another kid will say, "We've all been there" or they'll make a little joke about pants. Which made me tear up to hear. And then with older kids, we'll have more literary/craft discussions about the book including the humor. It has really taught me a lot about the importance of story layers that helps many audiences connect in the way they want to!
Ahahahaha, you're the best. Also what a hilarious image -- hearing the words pee pants at any prestigious ceremony or fancy pants event would make me pee my pants with laughter!
We recently got Wild and Free by Carrie Gallasch from our library and it was fantastic. It has some of the best art I've seen this year and while it is clearly an aspirational fantasy (children playing outside all day without any adult supervision?!) it is one I can get behind.
A family of three children wake up early one summer day and rush out the door to spend a day looking at leaves and insect and jumping in puddles and climbing trees. Very much the quintessential what we all wish our kids were actually doing during summer.
Also, related to picture books for older kids it occurred to me whether reading manga together might be a good strategy since there are tons of those targeting that age range. They aren't QUITE the same as picture books but also kind of are?
I think manga is closer to graphic novels than picture books, but manga/graphic novels offer some — though not all — of the same benefits of picture books. (That’s not a dig on manga or graphic novels, merely a distinction between formats that do serve different purposes and enrich kids’ reading lives in different ways. As you probably know, I am all for — ALL FOR — whatever reading material a child is into, alone or together.)
I LOOOOVED No Matter The Distance!! All of Cindy's books are wonderful and lovely. Also now I want ALL these poetry books.
I’ve only read No Matter the Distance but I loved it, too. I don’t know why it’s not much more well-known and popular.
And: you should absolutely have all these poetry books!
Great idea to do a summer gift list! I always find something new to read when I read your lists.
That makes me very happy 😊
Hooray for summer reading! Thanks for filling my library request list to kick off summer reading.
Oh my gosh, I'm so honored! And especially to be included in a section for older kids because I am all for the idea of never growing out of picture books. I collected picture books until I left for college (and only had to stop because I didn't have room haha). But love this list and love everything you are doing for books. I'm so behind on substack reading...it's overwhelming, but I always love to see a post from you!!
I’ve thought a lot about your book 😂 and I honestly think it goes over the heads of younger kids. They don’t get all the jokes. Doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy it, I just think the sweet spot is late elementary!
Oh, how fascinating! Yeah, it's been cool to see how when I do school visits, the book connects differently with younger kids and older kids. With younger, they do get a lot of the jokes, but they really absorb the language of the book. Like teachers have told me after that when a kid pees their pants, another kid will say, "We've all been there" or they'll make a little joke about pants. Which made me tear up to hear. And then with older kids, we'll have more literary/craft discussions about the book including the humor. It has really taught me a lot about the importance of story layers that helps many audiences connect in the way they want to!
🤯 That's amazing! And wow, the impact your words have had. You've NORMALIZED PEEING YOUR PANTS, Rachel. That's Nobel Prize territory 😂
Ahahahaha, you're the best. Also what a hilarious image -- hearing the words pee pants at any prestigious ceremony or fancy pants event would make me pee my pants with laughter!