INTRODUCING..."FEATHERDUSTER"

I have a new acquisition: an Ostrich named "Featherduster". My oldest son gave her to me for Mother's Day. Not to worry: she's not a real ostrich, but rather the star of one of David's many film projects.  My son attends CalArts and is majoring in experimental stop-motion animation.  Featherduster is very sweet and I think she feels quite at home, perched atop our piano.

What does this have to do with children's books?  Well, David hopes to do some children's book film adaptations in his future career. As a child, he was intrigued by John Clark Matthews' excellent FROG AND TOAD and THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE stop-motion films.  After watching the "Behind the Scenes" segment extras, David decided to try his hand at stop-motion.  Using our little old video camera, he created many humorous movies for us with his Star Wars figures, Legos, and clay.

At CalArts Showcase of Experimental Animation with David, our daughter, Mary,
 and one of David's recent stop motion puppet creations, a mad scientist.

You can view John Clark Matthews' stop-motion animated films (including those mentioned above) here on his website.  


Below I've embedded my son's film project, "Feather Duster", starring my new friend.


David Braun, Animal Locomotion Class, CalArts, Fall 2010 from animations by my students on Vimeo.

FUN MOUSE STORIES (THAT AREN'T ABOUT MICKEY!)

Living in Orange County, it's hard not to immediately think of Disney when questioned about popular mouse stories. But I was able to reach back into the deep recesses of my Mommy Memory and come up with some other "famouse" mice that were our favorites from the literary world...

MOUSE TALES by Arnold Lobel. Great transition into chapter books. (ages 4-8) Seven mouse brothers can't sleep and ask their "Papa" to tell them a story. He tells them seven stories, one for each boy! Another by Lobel: MOUSE SOUP - a mouse is caught by a weasel in order to become the main ingredient for the weasel's "mouse soup". But the mouse tells the weasel that the soup won't taste good unless he stirs some stories into it. You'll read four stories the mouse relates while he devises a plan to stay out of the soup pot. (Think Scheherazade with ears and a long tail!)
BRODERICK by Edward Ormondroyd, with illustrations by John Larrecq. (ages 4-8) I racked my brain and finally remembered this book! It's about a mouse who takes his tongue-depressor-surfboard out into the world. Out of print - you'll have to look at the library for this one, and it's worth it! Cute pen and ink drawings.
STUART LITTLE by E.B. White/Illustrated by Garth Williams. (ages 8 & up). Follow Stuart (a little, talking mouse born to a human family in New York city) on a journey of adventures as he proves himself to be a noble mouse - a humorous, melancholy, touching fantasy tale.
THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE (series) by Beverly Cleary. (published in 1965, ages 8 & up). Ralph Mouse has led an ordinary life in the knothole of a hotel room, until a family comes with their son, Keith, who has a toy motorcycle. Kids love what happens when curiosity overcomes caution and Ralph decides he must go for a ride!
BEN AND ME: AN ASTONISHING LIFE OF BENJMIN FRANKLIN BY HIS GOOD MOUSE AMOS, by Robert Lawson (ages 8 & up). The "biography" of Ben Franklin told with wit and wisdom by his mouse, Amos (a less-than-humble rodent).
REDWALL (series) by Brian Jacques. (see my entry "Books That Transport Us...", posted on 6/3/10).

PICTURE BOOKS (ages 4-8):SHY CHARLES By Rosemary Wells
MOUSE PAINT by Ellen Stoll Walsh
MOUSE MESS by Linnea Asplind Riley
NORMAN THE DOORMAN by Don Freeman
A MOUSE TOLD HIS MOTHER by Bethany Roberts
SEVEN BLIND MICE by Ed Young
THE GRUFFALO by Julia Donaldson
AMOS AND BORIS by William Steig
ANATOLE by Eve Titus
ALEXANDER AND THE WIND-UP MOUSE By Leo Lionni
WHOSE MOUSE ARE YOU? by Robert Kraus