Mini-Me Reads (1)

Mini-Me Reads, exclusively titled for Alluring Reads, is a bi-weekly meme that features reviews of childrens books.

Hello lovelies! Welcome to my very first Mini-Me Reads post.  I decided to create this feature for the blog because I am constantly reading children's books to my kids and there are so many fantastic ones out there.  I feel that children's books don't necessarily get the love that they deserve from bloggers. I'm going to start this feature off with a bang and include three reviews of books I recently discovered and that my kids and I loved very much.  So here we go...

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

 Written by William Joyce | Illustrated by Joe Bluh

published June 19th 2012 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Morris Lessmore loved words.

He loved stories.

He loved books.

But every story has its upsets.

Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.

But the power of story will save the day.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morries Lessmore caught my eye at the book store because of it's wonderful drawings.  It boasts on the cover that it is "the story that inspired the Academy Award-winning short film" having never heard of the short, I was definitely intrigued to take this little story in.  What I got was an uplifting tale about the power of the written word that shines through with stunning imagery.

After a an upset in Morris's life, in the form of a devastating storm, he is lost and depressed, constantly looking down.  When he looks up he sees an uplifting site in the form of a woman drifting through the sky, pulled by her favourite books.  She drops a book down to Morris and the book leads him to a magical place full of novels where Morris begins to piece himself (and his books) back together again.

This is a touching tale about how much a good book can do for someone.  My children loved the illustrations and immediately wanted to go to "the place with all the flying books." This is one that we will be reading over and over again because I think it captures the allure of reading, and how good it can be for a person perfectly.  No matter how old a person grows and what may come in their life, a good bookshelf of books can always make you feel young again, such a great message.

Upon finishing, I immediately went to YouTube to watch the short film and I can safely say that it is just as touching as the book.

Watch the short!

The Man in the Moon

The Man in the Moon (The Guardians of Childhood #1)

Written & Illustrated by William Joyce

published  September 6th 2011 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Up there in the sky.

Don’t you see him?

No, not the moon.

The Man in the Moon.

He wasn’t always a man.

Nor was he always on the moon.

He was once a child.

Like you.

Until a battle,

a shooting star,

and a lost balloon

sent him on a quest.

Meet the very first guardian of childhood.

MiM, the Man in the Moon.

The Man in the Moon is the first book in The Guardians of Childhood series and tells a beautiful story that is sad at times and incredibly beautiful in its entirety. I always find Joyce's books to have the most stunning imagery and I love the out of this world tone of the illustrations in this one.  This is the tale of how a little boy, a child aboard the ship the Moon Clipper surrounded by family and friends, became the Man in the Moon (MiM) and gathered up all the Guardians of Childhood.

This tale starts off perfectly happy but once Pitch, the King of Nightmares, finds out that this boy has never had a nightmare he vows to make the boy his own and deem him the Prince of Nightmares.  In the outcome of the battle the boy is left alone on the moon to be raised by the Moonbots, Moonmice and giant Glowworms who were also left behind.  As he grows, he discovers the planet Earth through his father's telescope & realises that there are children on the far away planet that are much like him. As the children's lost balloons float up to him he finds that  he can hear their hopes and dreams if he held them to his ear.

Once MiM sets about his mission of making the children of Earth happy I got really lost in the story.  The tale brings together Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and many other familiar childhood figures.  It even tells how MiM set about lighting up the moon so the children of Earth never had to be afraid of the night again.  My children absolutely loved the appearance of all the figures and it definitely got them asking questions about each of them.  We all hope that there will be a book for each Guardian and will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of more books!

The Sandman

 The Sandman (The Guardians of Childhood #2)

Written & Illustrated by William Joyce

published October 2nd 2012 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

One foggy night, the Man in the Moon has a startling thought: When the moon is less than full and bright, who will keep children safe at night? He needs a backup plan! Or a backup Guardian, as it were. His keen eye falls upon a sleepy little fellow living on a sleepy little island who is a sweet-dreamer extraordinaire. Since good dreams always trump bad ones, this means Pitch, the Nightmare King, will be further thwarted in his nefarious quest to terrorize children. So Sanderson Mansnoozie seems the perfect choice. But there are two problems. Firstly, given that Sandy has never had a bad dream, how can MiM convince him how important this new role is to the happy-being of children everywhere? And secondly, how can MiM keep this snoozy ally awake long enough to help?

This follow-up to The Man in the Moon, a New York Times bestseller called “dazzlingly inventive,” by Publishers Weekly, introduces us to the sleepy little fellow to whom we owe many a good nights’ rest, the second Guardian of Childhood, the Sandman.

I have to admit here that this was my first William Joyce book, yes, I read the first two books in The Guardians of Childhood series backwards.  My kids found this one at the grocery store and were so excited because they had seen the Sandman in the movie trailer for The Guardians so I was told we had to get the book.  I read it to them that night and finished with a tear in my eye.  This is a beautiful story about protecting our children from the darkness & all the things they are afraid of.

My favorite thing about this series is the rich illustrations, they are absolutely gorgeous and I could flip through the book just to look at them and it still be a worthwhile book.  They have a vintage looking quality to them and remind me of the epic fairy tales of my childhood.  Reading it to my children they were constantly pointing out little details in the drawings that they loved and my daughter sat flipping through the book long after we finished reading it.

Not only is this chalk full of stunning imagery, it also has a beautiful tale to go along with the pictures.  I love the idea behind these books and the way that they put a fresh spin on the origin of beloved childhood figures. This one was very special and led to a conversation between my children and I about where the morning sleep crusts in your eyes come from.  I couldn't believe that I had never gone into the childhood lore about that with them and it was definitely fun to go into it now.  I hope there will be more Guardian tales to come, my children are definitely pining for more!

Don't forget that The Rise of the Guardians comes out TOMORROW and looks AWESOME!

Check out the trailer