A little treat for all you Rainbow Fish haters out there:
Rainbow Fish Roll Try the most beautiful tasting fish on the menu. We've removed the famous scales, but the taste is as unique and vibrant as ever...$10.99
...unless you are the kind of kids that are allowed to read tasteless satire sprinkled with naughty words, expose yourself to various degrees of blasphemy, and see the occasional picture of a bare butt. In which case, by all means: Go on with your bad selves. But don't say I didn't warn you.
The bottom shelf of the bookcase is where I keep all my picture books. That way they're accessible to any little ones that might be around... but that doesn't mean that kids are the only ones that can enjoy them. Afterall, they are my damn books.
Why Picture Books?
As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words... and weighs significantly less."
I love reading as much as the next person, but there are only so many hours in the day. For example, why spend weeks (or months) reading David Foster Wallace's indulgently long Infinite Jest when you could spend minutes reading Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon which is basically the same story? (minus the prescription drug addiction.) It's really just a matter of efficient time management.
Picture Books and Intellectual Growth
While it is great to invoke the heart and spirit of your childhood when reading a picture book, that doesn't mean that you have to revert to the mentality of a child. Like all books, picture books have layers of meaning that only the individual reader can peel away. What makes picture books unique is that you can use them to chart your intellectual growth. As an exercise, pick a favorite picture book that you read as a child and read it again every couple years to see how your experience in the world has altered your reading. You will probably find that you've gotten dumber with time. But the sooner you realize this, the better.
If you are reading this, you must like books and you probably know how to use the internet, so...
3, 2, 1, Contact
If you have any other questions, comments, book suggestions, cash gifts, or extra macaroni and cheese that you would like to share, email bottomshelfbooks@gmail.com.
One of the incredibly attractive, smartly-dressed Bottom Shelf Interns will field your inquiry. (Unless it involves macaroni and cheese, in which case I will handle the matter personally.)
also, if you are an author, illustrator, publisher, agent, gourmet mac and cheese chef, children's book aficionado, hipster librarian, parent, teacher, or just some dude with funny shoes and a story to tell, email us (see above) to talk about setting up an INTERVIEW. We promise that we will try our best not to probe TOO deeply into the nether regions of your soul.
Thanks to author/illustrator Barbara Johansen Newman for hitting me with a Thinking Blogger Award. It's an honor and the first award I've gotten since I won the dubious "Looks Surprisingly Hot in a Skirt" Award from my ultimate frisbee team (an award that I definitely deserved, but it was a dubious distinction nonetheless).
I'm not sure what to make of the logo, which looks like some kind of baby alien with a tattoo of the recycling symbol on its forehead. Which I guess is appropriate. It is very thoughtful of this alien life form from a distant galaxy to concern itself with our humble planet's environmental needs.
Thank you Barbara, and thank you tattooed alien baby!
6 comments:
::slow clap:: Amazing!
Thanks Kristi(e)--you get a free miso soup to go with your rainbow fish roll!
Oh snap!
Now THAT is a thing of beauty! Are you posting a recipe?
Oh yummers.
I feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only person on the planet who rolls her eyes each and every time she sees that book!
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