Oh the Hilarity!

~posted by Jenny C.

It’s been a while since I shared my favorite silly picture books with you, and I have a whole new crop of ridiculous and delightful picks!

McToad Mows Tiny Island
by Tom Angleberger
This book is both completely ludicrous in plot and remarkably satisfying. McToad loves Thursdays, because on Thursdays he mows tiny island. It speaks to me as someone who inevitably does things the hard way, because it’s more fun. McToad’s appealing, warty face really adds to the experience of this excellent collection of Things That Go.

October Takeover: Oh, the Trebuchets of Fall!

~posted by Jenny C. 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, dear readers, but generally speaking the Shelftalk blog is a pretty diverse place. On any given day, you might find a post about Banned Books, or Seattle History, or even Bananas. It’s a veritable cornucopia of themes, and that’s lovely, but some of our staff writers got excited recently, and we have an announcement to make:

We’re taking over October, and we have a Theme.

Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Mythopoeia

Mythopoeia: The creation of a myth or myths. –Oxford English Dictionary

How do you decide if it’s a mythopoetic book? I’m not entirely sure, but to me these books display a deep and believable magical system, drawn from old gods and stories. They create myths that I want to believe in. Possibly one of the best examples of this, The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, changed my understanding of the desert, art and poetry. It’s a mesmerizing combination of entrancing language, compelling characters, and deep mysteries. 

Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Fairy Tale Retellings

~posted by Jenny C.

I love a good fairy tale; both the originals and all the myriad sorts of retelling. My very favorites, though, are the ones that keep that darkness that’s inherent in many fairy tales, and add infinite embroideries onto a familiar cloth. One of the best examples of the sheer variety possible is in the wonderful series brought together by visionary editor Terri Windling in the 1990s. While we don’t have all the books in the series, the ones we do are worth enjoying.

Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Dragons

~Posted by Jenny C.

Oh, Dragons! How do I even begin?

I mean, we’ve recently had a post that featured the Mother of Dragons — and by that I mean Anne McCaffrey (sorry Khaleesi).

And my friend Misha’s post captured three of my all time favorite dragon fantasies: Temeraire, (Master and Commander with dragons), Tooth and Claw, (Dickensian succession drama) and A Natural History of Dragons. The good news there is that Voyage of the Basilisk has just come out, and continues Lady’s Trent’s captivating alt-Victorian memoirs in high style, this time studying sea serpents.