A bunny-eat-bunny world
PUSSSYKATT
NY POST...BY SAMME CHITTUM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's a bunny-eat-bunny world in children's entertainment. Blockbuster movies
dictate the toy of the moment and interactive gadgets cater to the under-5 set.
That is why, say parenting experts, reading to your child from books that tweak
funny bones and search for quiet places in the soul is all that more important.
And now is the time to pick out those picture books for your tot's bookshelf.
This fall is when 60 percent of children's books are sold, says Rick Richter,
president of children's publishing for Simon & Schuster.
Richard Paul Evans, a former advertising executive who wrote his first
best-selling book for adults about a busy father who learns the value of
spending time with his children, says he has "a sense of mission for my books."
Now he is unveiling his first book for kids, "The Christmas Candle," (Simon &
Schuster) a tender tale about a little boy who uses a magic candle to gain
insight into the meaning of charity.
"It was really written with my two daughters in mind," says Evans.
Charity isn't just a sweet sentiment to Evans. He's donating all of the
proceeds from his new book, including a $500,000 advance, to help build a
shelter for abused children.
Actress and mother Jamie Lee Curtis is also putting in an appearance via her
third, fetching picture book for kids.
Curtis' "Today I Feel Silly" (HarperCollins) is all about letting children
explore their emotions.
This book about silliness isn't another silly-celebrity book. Her previous
efforts have been well-received by critics. Curtis, a mother of two, cares
about kids and says her books are straight from the heart.
"My books say more about me than all the films I've ever done," says Curtis.
"They are the purest form of expression that I've ever had."
What makes for a great read-aloud book?
"Words are important to kids for their sound and silliness,' says Robyn Stein,
mother of Ann Intraub, 5, to whom she read nightly. "And I think that's the
beginning of poetry."
"A great picture book is like a great song," agrees Richter. "It has pacing; it
has rhythm and it has humor. There's a cadence that lets you know exactly when
to turn the page."
Jeffrey Cole, an architect who reads to children as a volunteer at Bellevue
Hospital, says he thinks the best books are the ones that teach, "whether it's
just the joy of language or about not being mean."
Sometimes kids books are just about having fun.
Consider the lively "Five Wacky Witches," (Carnegie Hill Press) illustrated by
Ora Ayal and translated from its original Hebrew by Naomi Low Nakao, a
Manhattan gastroenterologist.
The book is a best seller in Israel where kids revel in the antics of the
disorderly gang of five witches.
Nakao fell in love with the witches drawn by Ayal, an award-winning illustrator
and a best friend since childhood. The two first collaborated in kindergarten,
with Nakao telling stories and Ayal drawing the pictures.
Nakao has given the raucous tale a bold, original rendering in English, with
witches who wreak havoc in a place a lot like Manhattan while chanting,
"Pradeep, pradeep, Pradeep, pradoo, Slugs and bugs, and how do you do."
By the way, she plans to donate half the proceeds to a fund named for Israel's
consul for the arts, Raffi Ganzoo, with the goal of bringing art into the lives
of underprivileged children.
"Art and imagination are common to all kids," says Nakao. "If this helps
children get art into their lives, it will uplift them and make them believe
they can do anything."