Petunia

With the conviction that "he who owns books and loves them is wise," Petunia the silly goose, upon finding a book, sets off on a mission to help all her friends on the farm with her new found wisdom.

"If I take this Book with me, and love it, I will be wise, too And no one will call me a silly goose ever again," she concludes.

A series of slapstick calamity ensues and somewhere in the midst of all the mishap is the moral that it is "not enough to carry wisdom under my wing. I must put it in my mind and in my heart."

Roger Duvoisin wrote many other children's books in addition to creating the Petunia series. Interestingly, he liked to intertwine characters from one story into another, thereby weaving a number of cameo appearances of Petunia in his Veronica books and vice versa.

While some of the Petunia tales are out of print, fortunately, this vintage classic is still in print! I picked up my copy from a used bookstore some years ago and it warmed my heart to see that it was also a Weekly Reader Children's Book Club edition. Although I didn't originally receive it as part of my subscription as a child, it is a glad addition to my book club books collection.

Petunia
words & pictures by Roger Duvoisin
© 1950 Alfred A. Knopf

G is for Gecko

Ever wonder what a gecko does in a day? Now you can take a peek into this little gecko's life as you step along with him from A to Z.

Gecko begins his day being shooed out of the house by Auntie with a Broom then gets chased by her Cat out the Door . . .

and so he ventures out into the world outside on a bright and Early day where he does everything from the Hula to playing with friends at the beach.

Published by BeachHouse Publishing, an imprint of Mutual, G is for Gecko is just one of many adorable and unique local books made especially for local kids. Because local books are not usually sold on Amazon and only have limited distribution within the state, they make great gifts for ex-kamaaina (residents) or friends and family who live elsewhere but love Hawaii.

Reading a local children's story can be a nostalgic walk down memory lane or a colorful way to experience the magical childhood that only paradise can offer. Local books are fun to read and definitely a collectible so scoop them up!

G is for Gecko
words by Jane Gillespie
pictures by Don Robinson

© 2006 BeachHouse Publishing LLC

I Am An Owl

Rather like a book of riddles, part of the fun of reading through the pages is to guess what animal is featured as you watch their eyes disappear into diminishing concentric circles. At the very end, guess which animal falls asleep?

This book can be a nice interactive diversion when you want a break from toys but your child is still in a playful mood. Alas, this is an out-of-print book, and I can't even remember where I picked up my copy. This type of book never claims perpetual reprintings yet often ends up as a perennial favorite if part of your home library. A friend's daughter has something similar, where you can turn different pages to guess different animal heads and bodies as well as mix and match them to create new animals. It was another thrift shop find at $1, but it was her FAVORITE book. Books like these are more or less rarities nowadays, so keep your eyes open when perusing garage sales or thrift shops.

We live in water, in rivers and seas,

Blowing out bubbles, not making a sound.

Men try to catch us with nets and with rods,

But we flick our tails and swim round and round.

What are we?

Fishes.

I am an Owl

words by Yvonne Hooker

pictures by Giorgio Vanetti

© 1983 Grosset & Dunlap, Inc.

Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All

Children's books come in all shapes, sizes, and styles, which is one of the things I love about them.

Sometimes, it dawns on an editor that a well-known verse or literary piece, traditionally 
meant for adults, could make an equally appropriate choice for young readers.

"Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All," Maya Angelou's reknown poem, is both powerful and 
playful and makes a wonderful introduction to poetry for kids. Many children's stories 
already have a lot of rhythm and rhyme but to present the cadence, symbolism, art and beauty of words strung together specifically into a POEM by a bona fide POET can lay a nice foundation for poetry appreciation in the future. 

It takes a certain state of mind to listen to, absorb, and understand poetry. It is a very sophisticated style of writing that has its own rules and breaking of the rules. From traditionalists (John Keats) to modernists (e.e. cummings), poems in all their variations present a view of the world in a swift and succinct way. One can even view reading a poem as a skill to be learned, so for me, I believe earlier the better (Alright, I was an English major; admittedly, I may be biased). 

What's nice about Angelou's poem, which makes it a perfect first choice for a child, is that it can be taken quite literally and still be fun and accessible to children.

Paired with the bold yet childlike paintings of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, her words
and his images provoke the imagination into fanciful flights of glory where anyone—big
or small—is able to overcome their greatest fears and challenges.

Here is an except:

Shadows on the wall

Noises down the hall

Life doesn't frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking loud

Big ghosts in a cloud

Life doesn't frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose

Lions on the loose

They don't frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame

On my counterpane

That doesn't frighten me at all.

I go boo

Make them shoo

I make fun

way they run

I won't cry

so they fly

I just smile

They go wild

Life doesn't frighten me at all...

Not at all

Not at all.

Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All 

words by Maya Angelou 

pictures by Jean-Michel Basquiat
compilation © 1993 Sara Jane Boyers

published by Stewart Tabori and Chang 

Pulelehua and Mamaki

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday marks the end of a long week and is the day to relax, take it easy, and embrace the promised leisure of the weekend. As fun as it is to hit the waves at the beach, sometimes curling up with a nice book can be just as pleasurable, if not an easier way, to fill up a lazy afternoon, especially when you have one or more toddlers in tow.

Surprisingly, in Honolulu alone, there are more than a dozen or so locally owned publishing houses that produce everything from tourist publications to local fiction. To acknowledge these brave efforts of regional publishing, Little Paper Hen will feature a Hawaii children's book every week.

Our first Aloha Friday book comes from an imprint of Bishop Museum Press, the publisher that is indeed linked to that famous museum. True to their mission, they specialize in books about Hawaiian culture, literature, history, and all things Hawaiiana.

Pulelehua and Mamaki is at once many things: a story, a lesson, a gentle message that mother nature is intertwined harmoniously and perfectly.

Though it tells the familiar tale of a caterpillar who turns into a butterfly, this book goes deeper by starring the Kamehameha Butterfly and the Mamaki tree, two species that are endemic to Hawaii. Because they are found nowhere else on earth, the account of Pulelehua the caterpillar's journey from egg to butterfly, and the role Mamaki the tree takes as his protector, is all the more metaphorical of the larger story about mother nature's challenge to thrive.

Janice Crowl, local writer and resident, who shares her passion for gardening and botany with children through her story books, captures the sentimentality we should all feel towards nature and her kingdom. It is marvelous and complex, but also very fragile. Books like hers inspire us to take a mindful look at the natural world that surrounds us.

The illustrations are beautifully done by local native Hawaiian artist, Harinani Orme, whose signature style has always been her portraiture of Hawaiian aumakua (family gods) and folklore characters. Here, she creates a microcosmic world that seems magical but is indeed very real, and can continue to survive, if we as humans do our part to be good stewards of mother nature.

This wonderful book offers a little bit of fable, culture, and natural science, making it a very valuable addition to your child's collection. At the end, there is a short section that presents a Hawaiian glossary, a gardening tutorial, botanical facts as well as an exquisite diagram of the Kamehameha Butterfly's life cycle.

Pulelehua and Mamaki rightly won the 2010 Hawai'i Book Publishers Association Award for Excellence in Children's Literature at the Ka Palapala Po'okela Awards, which means many others love this book too.

Pelelehua and Mamaki
words by Janice Crowl
pictures by Harinani Orme
© 2009 Kamahoi Press

Miffy at the Zoo

Dick Bruna is quickly becoming one of our household's favorite author/illustrator. He was set to inherit a family publishing business but instead decided to branch out on his own as a graphic designer and maker of children's books. Bruna defined his own style through his Miffy series, a repertoire of eponymous stories about a little bunny. His drawings are so distinctive that Miffy has become a brand of her own, especially embraced by a large Japanese following.

A design aficionado myself, I love Miffy's aesthetic nod to Hello Kitty and other assorted kawaii (cute) characters. In fact, over the past year, I have made a concerted effort to collect as many Bruna books as possible, finding a few at bookstores and the rest at random sources such as library sales, thrift shops, and even the Punahou Carnival.

From our modest stash of Miffy books, Wa-wa's favorite is Miffy at the Zoo.

While it is a pretty straightforward story, the prose has a nice rhyming pattern like a poem. Miffy's father takes her to the zoo and they visit all kinds of fun animals. They even hop on a train to get to the zoo, and while it is not the plot's highlight, any book with a train is a winner with Wa-wa. Miffy is such an adorable little bunny that she is sure to win over many hearts, little boys included. 

Miffy at the Zoo
words & pictures by Dick Bruna
© 1963 by Mercis Publishing, Amsterdam, Netherlands
© 2003 English translation by Mercis Publishing

A Long Piece of String

One of the most fun types of children's books are ABC books. They can be as common as a basic primer or as special as sought-after collectibles. While getting your hands on vintage alphabet books can be difficult and expensive, fortunately, there are plenty of wonderful contemporary editions around.

A Long Piece of String is a stunning example of making the old new again. Thanks to a recent reprinting of this 1963 classic, this wordless picture book will have you and your little one eagerly turning the page in anticipation of the next letter's surprise.

William Wondriska expresses his graphic designer's touch through bold, playful icons of an animal, place, or thing, that are all connected by a continous string (hence the book's title). The string gets longer and longer then tangled, twisted, and tied up as each symbolic letter of the alphabet are successively threaded together.

Remember how pictures are worth a thousand words? This book is an exceptional example. The deliberate absence of words only adds to its literary delight as it will peak curiosity and opportunity for interactive reading. I have found this book a great way for teaching new words to my Wa-wa because of Mr. Wondriska's eclectic choice of objects in representing each letter of the alphabet.

  

















A Long Piece of String is definitely one of the most unique, creative, and beautiful alphabet books around and is a definite must-have for any personal collection or shelf. More over, despite being sans words, this book is far from silent. Mr. Wondriska makes the alphabet sing off the pages and I love the way he added a new twist to the ABC song's ending: A B C D E F G . . . W X Y and Z. Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you guess with me?

A Long Piece of String

pictures by William Wondriska 

© 1963 by William Wondriska, reprinted © 2010 by Chronicle Books

I am a Bunny

Many fields and forests away from the world of busy town, on the outskirts of a nearby countryside, lives a little bunny named Nicholas.

Nicholas is the child in all of us. He likes to chase butterflies, watch the frogs, and blow dandelion seeds into the sky.

The theme of seasons and the beautiful changes that mother nature cycles through are vibrantly illustrated by veteran children's book illustrator Richard Scarry. And here's a sweet (but unverified) tidbit: Author Ole Risom must have written the story for his son, who is named none other than Nicholas.

The details in the illustrations—from the splash of rain drops and fiery autumn leaves to the intricate patterns on butterfly wings—are so vivid yet dreamy enough to capture the gentle tone of Nicholas's world. There is also an innocence about Nicholas and his days playing outside and interacting with the natural world around him that I appreciate.

Last year, I had the privilege of meeting a Portland filmmaker named Meg Merrill who screened her latest film PLAY AGAIN in Honolulu last year. She shared that since the onset of the digital "revolution," today's kids spend most of their time indoors, behind screens (tv, computer, video games, cell phone) than they do playing outside, unplugged. Statistics average it to a boggling 7 daily hours per child, which is almost a work day! I know as adults, most of us are engaged in important, world-saving tasks when behind a screen (ahem), but these are children! How productive and healthy can their virtual habits—in some cases, addiction—be?

Perhaps it's time to go back to the basics. 

Play outside, go bare feet, feel a ladybug crawl on your arm.

Simplicity is sublime.

And don't forget to read a real book, the kind with pages where you feel its weight in your hands. Even that book with the old musty smell. Sometimes, those books have the best stories inside.

I am a Bunny
words by Ole Risom
pictures by Richard Scarry
© 1963, renewed 1991 by Random House/Little Golden Books

The Longest Journey in the World

This book was one of those accidental finds in a pile of used books at a resale section of a baby store. While this book is certainly not considered an antique yet, I love how the title page credits a Ray Barber for doing the "handlettering," which means the words were actually drawn (rather than printed or typeset by mechanical means) on to each page along with the illustration.

In our modern day when cursive writing is considered an elective and practically on its way out of schools, I am so amazed at Mr. Barber's skill. I looked up hand lettering on the web and there is relatively sparse information about it—it's sad to see that hand lettering is practically an obsolete art form, though I did encounter two distinctive sources on hand lettering here and here.

In this simple story, a little caterpillar begins his day by going on a long journey. He crawls and crawls and crawls, encountering all sorts of interesting landmarks along the way.

Such as a high mountain

and a deep valley

Some parts of his journey are arduous, like when he has to go across a wide river or a high wall.

While other times he coasts past a castle or a sleeping dragon.

At the end of the day the little caterpillar marvels at his accomplishment of having traveled his many steps as he enjoys the sun set.

It is in this story's simplicity that a child's imagination will be sparked to see the world for more than it always is. This book is a perfect beginning to transition toddlers from board books. The words are minimal but laden with poetic meaning. And of course, the gorgeous illustrations! There are also important themes to explore with your young reader here: perseverance as well as recognizing one's accomplishments, even for small creatures as a caterpillar (or children).

All in all, a beautiful and sophisticated children's book, one that does not insult the intelligence of budding readers and is engaging for the parent too. There are days when Wa-wa wants this book read to him over and over again in one sitting!

The Longest Journey in the World

words by William Barret Morris

pictures by Betty Fraser

handlettering by Ray Barber

© 1970 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.

A Day on the Farm

With the exception of that initiation period into parenthood when we couldn't manage anything beyond the diaper changes and feedings, I am happy to realize that my husband and I have made reading together with our little boy a household tradition since he was two months old!

A Day on the Farm is a favorite read that started since Wa-wa was in fact, in utero. Our copy is a bona fide vintage Little Golden Book as it belonged to my husband since he was a little boy. This book has been so loved and well-read that the cover is long gone and the title page had to be taped back in place.

Follow Farmer Brown around his farm as he feeds the animals in the morning.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!" says the old red hen.

This happens to be Wa-wa and Baba's favorite page: The pig likes to have his back scratched with a stick. "Oink, oink," he grunts. He is very pleased.

While Farmer Brown works outside, his family gets ready for a full day ahead too. Sally and Sam go to school while Mrs. Brown bakes a chocolate cake because Aunt Alice and Uncle Tom are coming over to supper. 

The cake is so delicious that Uncle Tom eats three pieces!

After everyone goes home it's time to go to bed. Tomorrow is another busy day.

This book is a gem in our collection for its sentimental value more than anything else. After all, there are lots of farm and country living tales out there to choose from. I do admit, however, to an almost obsessive penchant for Little Golden Books, especially the ones that depict wholesome stories from the days of yesteryear. I would love for my little Wa-wa to enjoy such an idyllic childhood as Sally and Sam, and we try in our own way here in sunny urban paradise (beach, anyone?)

A Day on the Farm

words by Nancy Fielding Hulick

pictures by John P. Miller

© 1960 by Western Publishing Company, Inc.

Preface

When I was growing up during the analog era -- a decade or so before the digital age started to seep into the daily fabric of life, my sister and I spent hours playing together the old-fashioned way: outside on see-saws, swings, and jungle gyms or endlessly roller-skating around our neighborhood. Inside, we liked to play with board games, or "pretend" with our dolls and kitchen sets: Pretend we are at a fancy ball; pretend we are cooking dinner; pretend we are in an airplane flying to Japan.

Our childhood was filled with whatever our imaginations could conjure up for us. Of course, we didn't really have a choice either. There were no such thing as DVDs, VCRs, CDs, DS's, Wii's or any of the other acronyms that have come to represent our modern forms of entertainment.

Then there were our books.

We not only read them but also wrote our own stories and "made" books with tape, paper, and colored pencils. Our shelves overflowed with books and then there were the boxes next to the shelves filled with books. Some of my fondest childhood memories centered around books, such as sitting with my mother while she read us Little Women in Japanese, her native language. Or going to the bookstore with my father when he came home from work on Sunday afternoons. And of course, eagerly awaiting our monthly surprise in the mail from the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club. The books from those subscription years are still sitting on a shelf at my parents' home, now waiting to be enjoyed by my son and my sister's four children.

Books have always had a special place in my life. And I'm sure for many others as well. Books are truly enduring relics laden with as much personal meaning as they are with historical, political, social, creative, artistic, or cultural significance.

Little Paper Hen is my homage to the tradition of books. In this blog, we will explore pages from the past that are vibrant examples of good old-fashioned storytelling with ink and paper, books that are the vessels of timeless stories and gorgeous illustrations.  

Currently in conception is The Little Paper Hen Book Club, fashioned in a similar spirit of the former Weekly Reader Children's Book Club. Being part of a book club was a fountain of many beloved childhood book memories, and my hope is to create a contemporary book club that will help families build a beautiful and distinctive personal library while inspiring joyful book memories of their own. I wholeheartedly believe that reading together is one of the greatest pastimes a parent and child can share.

There will also be a LPH etsy shop where you will be able to purchase "vintage book bundles," adding wonderful stories from yesteryear to your collection as well. This and more, all in the works to be available very soon, I promise!

As e-books continue to rise and carve a place for themselves in our present and future, my hope through Little Paper Hen is to do my part to ensuring that bound books hold their place alongside the digital revolution. May the tactile joy of turning pages never lose its novelty for my child and his generation who are at the cusp of this inevitable literary transition.