New books by local children's authors
By Kristina Tedeschi
Staff Writer
Published on November 23, 2007
For those worried about toy safety, a book might make a good gift alternative for a child this holiday season.
Following is a roundup of recently released children's books by area authors and illustrators. In addition to author interviews, sources for the following descriptions include Broadside Bookshop in Northampton and bookselling Web sites Amazon.com, RandomHouse.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
* "Tuttle's Red Barn: The Story of America's Oldest Family Farm" (G.P. Putnam's Sons, $16.99) is the latest children's book by Richard Michelson, owner of R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton. With illustrations by Mary Azarian, the book chronicles the story of the Tuttle family, which has been farming the same land in Dover, N.H., since 1632.
The book is divided into sections that describe each of 12 generations. Over the years, the Tuttles witnessed the settlement and expansion of New England. Family members fought in the American Revolution, helped slaves escape to freedom, sold their maple syrup to Abraham Lincoln, started the first cider mill in Dover and bought the first Model T in the town. The family pulled their farm through tough times, and today has grown to include a greenhouse, a gourmet deli, a gift and flower shop, and more.
The book was named one of the best children's picture books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Michelson, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., said at first he wasn't keen on writing the book; the idea came from his agent, who read an article on the farm in The Wall Street Journal. "I'm a city boy: I've never been on a farm in my life," said Michelson in a telephone interview. All of his nearly dozen other children's books are set in cities. In the end, though, he decided to go for it, partly because he wanted to work with Azarian, he says, who is a winner of the Caldecott Medal.
"The more I thought about it, the more I realized what interested me in the story was how knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. Suddenly, it didn't seem so foreign to what I was doing in my other books."
Still, Michelson had a lot to learn about the farm. He prepared for writing the book by researching the Tuttles' genealogy on the Internet and at libraries, speaking with members of the family, and digging up information about what Dover looked like hundreds of years ago. He didn't actually visit the farm until after he had written the book.
"In a sense, I was using the family to create a broad sense of American history," Michelson said. "The family was really a prompt in many ways to talk about the Underground Railroad, and Lincoln; the American Revolution and farming. Most of what I needed to know was really more U.S. history as a whole."
* In her debut book, "A Mezuzah on the Door" (Kar-Ben Publishing, $17.99), Amy Meltzer of Northampton tells the story of Noah, a little boy who misses his old apartment in the city.
Having a hard time adjusting to his new house in the suburbs, Noah finds comfort through Hanukkat Habayit, a Jewish ceremony that traditionally takes place 30 days after a family moves into a new home. The dedication is marked by hanging a mezuzah - a piece of parchment inscribed with Hebrew verses from the Torah inside a decorative case - on the door. Friends and family take part in the ceremony, through which Noah learns the meaning and comfort of friendship. The book is illustrated by Janice Fried and available in paperback and hardcover.
* "Edward's Eyes" (Atheneum, $15.99), by Williamsburg author Patricia MacLachlan, is the story of 11-year-old Jake and what he learns about himself by remembering his beloved brother, Edward, who died when he was just 8 years old.
Jake's family life is filled with art, music, summer nights on Cape Cod and lots of baseball. But to him, no one was more special than Edward, who could make everyone laugh, learned to throw an unhittable knuckleball and left behind a gift that was a miracle to a stranger.
* "The Random House Book of Bedtime Stories" (Random House, $21.99), illustrated by Northampton artist Jane Dyer, is a re-release of 21 bedtime stories, from classics like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Peter Rabbit" to works by Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling.
* "How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?" (The Blue Sky Press, $16.99), by Jane Yolen, of Hatfield, with illustrations by Mark Teague, is the seventh book in the pair's dinosaur series, which began with "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?"
This story educates children on school dos and don'ts through dinosaurs that grapple with common situations such as bullying, show and tell, riding the bus and carpooling.
* "Let It Snow" (Little, Brown Young Readers, $16.99) is the last in Conway author and illustrator Holly Hobbie's series starring best friends Toot and Puddle, two little pigs who live together in Woodcock Pocket and are as different as can be.
With Christmas fast approaching, the piglet pair start pondering the perfect gift for a best friend while anxiously awaiting the first snow of the season. With a nod to previous books in the series, Hobbie shows that the best present for a best friend is the kind that shows how much you care. Limited-edition Christmas ornaments are included with the book.
* "Raleigh's Page" (Random House Books for Young Readers, $16.99), written by Hatfield author Alan Armstrong and illustrated by Tim Jessell, is a chapter book recommended for readers age 9 through 12. It tells the story of Andrew, an 11-year-old boy living in 16th-century England who has a dream of sailing to America.
Knowing that Andrew's heart is set on reaching the New World, his father sends him to London to serve as a page in the house of Sir Walter Raleigh, a star in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. But Andrew soon learns that to earn his voyage to America, he must pass difficult tests in deception, secrecy and trust.
Within two years, he has served Raleigh by sailing to France as a spy and helping to steal an important map. When he finally earns the voyage to America, Andrew befriends a Native American boy and learns the most important lessons about becoming an adult.
