Jun 8, 2014

Berry Season Has Arrived!

I'm borrowing a post today, due to special circumstances. Here's my list of reasons:

  1. I'll need several days to prepare a post about a remarkable picture book workshop I attended on Saturday, 
  2. Berry season has arrived and it deserves our attention- NOW!
  3. SHELFTALKER created a better picture book post about berry season than I could have!
1) When you read my post about the workshop you'll understand why it required some reflection, digestion, and attention to do it full credit. 

2) After our interminably long and severe winter, having berries ripen is an event even more incredible this year than it's ever been before. 

3) SHELFTALKER is the frequently posted blog by the amazing Josie Leavitt and her talented staff at the Connecticut indie-bookstore everyone loves, THE FLYING PIG. Their blog appears in a Publishers Weekly newsletter I receive digitally. If I've done things right, you should be able to read their full post here.

Just in case you don't have time to do that, or the link gives you fits, (it was doing that for me, but this one seems more reliable,) here are some of the picture books she recommends.

Berry Season 

Josie Leavitt -- June 5th, 2014  Publishers Weekly Digital Newsletter


She starts off with the best of the best, Caldecott-winning classic by Robert McCloskey:

"Of course, Blueberries for Sal is probably my most favorite book about berries. In a humorous mix-up, Little Sal and Little Bear almost switch moms in the quest for blueberries. This classic book really captures the joy of picking berries and the sounds the berries landing in the metal pail…"





Then there's JAMBERRY, by Bruce Degen.

"...Exuberant rhyme make this berry-hunting book a delight and will get kids ready for all manner of berry that might come their way…"



Next up is a modern classic, loaded with color and comedy,  that every child loves:


"...One of the best storytime books is The Little Mouse, the Red-Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear, about a mouse and bear who both love berries…"



Then Josie tops off the list with a new release I haven't yet read. I'm as eager to get my hands on it as I am to gobble berries, since it's the latest release from the amazing Liz Garton Scanlon:


"...The Good-Pie Party, which turns the sadness of a girl moving into a celebration of friendship and the joy of sharing pie. There’s also the older book, The Blueberry Pie Elf, about an blueberry-loving little elf with a large appetite for pie…"
Whether you're picking your own, stopping at a favorite farmer's market, or stocking up at the supermarket, plan to stop by your library or indie bookstore and introduce these berry-picking picture books into your reading diet.






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