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The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups: The Second File |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
 Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0060590173 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
"Don't jump on your bed!" "Don't bite your nails!" Parents sure seem to have a lot of rules. To make matters worse, the reasons behind the rules often don't seem to make any sense. Could there be other, secret purposes behind these perpetual parental pleadings? Such is the premise of David Wisniewski's The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups, which has the look of a top secret, classified folder. A radical departure from his Caldecott Award-winning Golem, this book is pure wackiness. Inside, kids will find the "real" reasons behind their parents' rules. And, as Wisniewski reveals, grown-ups have more information than they let on--information pertaining to national security--that makes these admonitions essential. Wisniewski's illustrations are bright paper cut-outs, featuring crumpled, torn... |
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The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0064437531 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
"Don't jump on your bed!" "Don't bite your nails!" Parents sure seem to have a lot of rules. To make matters worse, the reasons behind the rules often don't seem to make any sense. Could there be other, secret purposes behind these perpetual parental pleadings? Such is the premise of David Wisniewski's The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups, which has the look of a top secret, classified folder. A radical departure from his Caldecott Award-winning Golem, this book is pure wackiness. Inside, kids will find the "real" reasons behind their parents' rules. And, as Wisniewski reveals, grown-ups have more information than they let on--information pertaining to national security--that makes these admonitions essential. Wisniewski's illustrations are bright paper cut-outs, featuring crumpled, torn... |
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Golem |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Library Binding |
| ISBN: |
0395726182 |
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Book Review
Golem is the Hebrew word for shapeless man. According to Jewish legend, the renowned scholar and teacher Rabbi Loew used his powers to create a Golem from clay in order to protect his people from persecution in the ghettos of 16th-century Prague. (This was the time of the Blood Lie, when hostile gentiles claimed that Jews were mixing the blood of Christian children with the flour and water of matzo.) David Wisniewski's cut-paper collage illustrations--which earned him the Caldecott Medal in 1997--are the ideal medium for portraying the stark black-and-white forces of good and evil, pride and prejudice, as well as the gray area that emerges when the tormented clay giant loses control of his anger. Echoing the tension and mood of Frankenstein, Wisniewski sends the tragic giant back to the blood red earth that birthed him. The... |
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Sundiata: Lion King of Mali |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0395764815 |
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From Publishers Weekly
A 13th-century prince overcomes physical infirmities and exile to rule Mali; of the artist's "stunning" cut-paper collages, PW said, "Historically accurate images are sharp without starkness, expressive of raw power and delicate fragility by turns." Ages 5-9. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-- An appealing biography of Sundiata, credited as the founder of the Mali empire. A lengthy author's note informs readers as to how little firsthand information on the topic is available, and that what is known has been handed down orally by griots , or African storytellers. Therefore, the narrative has the distinctive, if somewhat mystical, flow of an oral history. Sundiata neither walks nor speaks for the first seven years of his... |
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Sundiata |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0395613027 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From Publishers Weekly
In the oral tradition of the griots (minister-like functionaries "with the wisdom of history"), Wisniewski brings to life a story of courage from the African country of Mali. Sundiata, born to the King and his second wife, "proved unable to speak or walk," and despite glowing predictions for his future he is hounded from his country. After years of exile, he is invited back to oust a tyrant and return his land to prosperity and peace. This retelling, though imbued with dignity and intelligence, proves somewhat confusing. Children may not be able to follow the convoluted series of events, while the multiplicity of characters--most with strange, hard-to-pronounce names--could well befuddle even the most assiduous reader. Wisniewski's stunning cut-paper illustrations, however, introduce to the text a striking... |
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Ducky |
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| Author: |
Eve Bunting |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
061843240X |
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From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2. In 1992, a large crate of bathtub toys traveling from Hong Kong to Tacoma, Washington, was lost at sea. Since then, hundreds of the toys have washed ashore, with scientists recording their positions, plotting their courses, and using the information to further their study of currents, winds, and tides. Ducky is the first-person account of one yellow plastic duck that survived the journey to fulfill his destiny in a little boy's tub. In the throes of the adventure, Ducky wishes he could do more than just float, that he could swim, or fly. But, by journey's end, safe and with a child of his own, the contented toy concludes, "How wondrous it is to be able to float!" Bunting's narrative opens with the choppy rhythms and abbreviated sentences of an easy reader, but grows more lyrical as events... |
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The Wave of the Sea-Wolf |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0395664780 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 3-5 weeks. We cannot guarantee availability of special order titles because publishers may run out of stock. We will notify you in 3-4 weeks if we are unable to get this title for you. |
From Publishers Weekly
Drawing on myths of the Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest, Wisniewski's (Sundiata: Lion King of Mali) dramatic tale combines folklore with history, describing the Tlingit respect for the earth and the people's first encounters with European explorers. After Kchokeen, a princess, is blessed with a vision of the mighty Sea-Wolf, she has the ability to predict the terrible ocean storms that have claimed so many lives in the past. For a time, her village lives safely, trading with newly arrived foreigners, but war breaks out when the outsiders turn greedy. Kchokeen must turn the power of Sea-Wolf against them in order to save her own people. Vivid storytelling is complemented by textured cut-paper illustrations that paint the forest landscape in lacy layers. Their intricacy captures the strength and dangerous... |
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Rain Player |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0395720834 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From Publishers Weekly
Wisniewski's ( Elfwyn's Saga ) latest, inspired by ancient Mayan culture, takes full advantage of his penchant for original folktales rooted firmly in well-researched fact. This interest, together with his instantly recognizable cut-paper artwork (vibrantly colored, its dramatic lighting and photography result in sharply three-dimensional images), have helped him carve a niche in the picture book realm. Here, a boy named Pik challenges Chac, the god of rain, to a game of "pok-a-tok"--a cross between soccer and basketball--in order to avert a foretold drought that would devastate his people. Pik's father gives him three talismans to help in the play-off against the fierce sky god, and with their aid the boy is victorious. It's a satisfying tale, and Pik--a sort of Magic Johnson of the Yucatan--is the kind of... |
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The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups: The Second File |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0688178545 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
Caldecott Medal winner David Wisniewski is back, with a second helping of secret information about the real reasons behind parental rules and commands. Brush your teeth because it prevents cavities? Naaaw. By breaking into the National Dental Association (disguised as the Tooth Fairy), Wisniewski has discovered that kids should brush their teeth because not doing so causes... unrest: "Reckless incisors cavort with Ginger Vitus... Pulp Rocker Tommy Rot sings inflammatory lyrics...." Yes, Wisniewski crams in every possible pun, and his inimitable style of paper cut-out illustrations is the visually punning equivalent. The underlying idea here is fun, but it remains a mystery as to why adults would have a global conspiracy to conceal explanations that are, in the end, just more imaginative versions of the ones they do... |
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Tough Cookie |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0688153372 |
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From Publishers Weekly
Film noir informs Wisniewski's narrative and artwork in this hard-boiled crime story, which details life in "the Jar," where cookies prosper or perish "based on freshness and quality." The Bogart-like narrator, whose chocolate chip-pocked face is half-hidden by his yellow trench coat and fedora, has been around long enough to lose his soft spots. "They call me a tough cookie," he begins. "I guess I am. Came from a regular batch. Lots of dough." Now he's at the bottom of the Jar with a bunch of crumbs. To make matters worse, a blonde bombshell named Pecan Sandy has some bad news about his ex-partner, Chips. Seems Chips has tussled with Fingers, a giant human hand that occasionally reaches into the Jar. The tough cookie knows he must someday fight Fingers himself; luckily, Pecan Sandy mobilizes hundreds of... |
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Worlds of Shadow: Teaching with Shadow Puppetry |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
1563084503 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Description
The Wisniewskis, codirectors of the acclaimed Clarion Shadow Theatre, have modernized and simplified the techniques of the ancient art of shadow puppetry and created this easy step-by-step guide. After a brief overview of light and screen options, the authors show you how to introduce concepts of light and shadow to students. Stage directions, puppet patterns, scripts, projected scenery ideas, and a full range of astounding but readily achieved special effects help you quickly master any performance-from simple songs and rhymes to full-blown stories and plays. The special effects use such common materials as wax paper and colored plastic, and no art skills are needed. Suitable for the novice as well as the specialist, the guide has chapters on intermediate and advanced techniques for those who desire a more varied and... |
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Ducky |
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| Author: |
Eve Bunting |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0395751853 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2. In 1992, a large crate of bathtub toys traveling from Hong Kong to Tacoma, Washington, was lost at sea. Since then, hundreds of the toys have washed ashore, with scientists recording their positions, plotting their courses, and using the information to further their study of currents, winds, and tides. Ducky is the first-person account of one yellow plastic duck that survived the journey to fulfill his destiny in a little boy's tub. In the throes of the adventure, Ducky wishes he could do more than just float, that he could swim, or fly. But, by journey's end, safe and with a child of his own, the contented toy concludes, "How wondrous it is to be able to float!" Bunting's narrative opens with the choppy rhythms and abbreviated sentences of an easy reader, but grows more lyrical as events... |
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Rain Player |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Library Binding |
| ISBN: |
0395551129 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
Wisniewski's ( Elfwyn's Saga ) latest, inspired by ancient Mayan culture, takes full advantage of his penchant for original folktales rooted firmly in well-researched fact. This interest, together with his instantly recognizable cut-paper artwork (vibrantly colored, its dramatic lighting and photography result in sharply three-dimensional images), have helped him carve a niche in the picture book realm. Here, a boy named Pik challenges Chac, the god of rain, to a game of "pok-a-tok"--a cross between soccer and basketball--in order to avert a foretold drought that would devastate his people. Pik's father gives him three talismans to help in the play-off against the fierce sky god, and with their aid the boy is victorious. It's a satisfying tale, and Pik--a sort of Magic Johnson of the Yucatan--is the kind of... |
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Workshop |
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| Author: |
Andrew Clements |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0395855799 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From Publishers Weekly
Precision and poetry characterize this singular volume, which introduces the hand tools in a wood- and metal-working shop as the builders construct a carousel. Each spread presents one implement, from Ruler to Chisel to Saw, along with a haiku-like description: "Hammer is a hitter, a beater, a pounder, a nailer./ Hammer moves, whack by thump by thud./ Hammer keeps swinging." Clements (Temple Cat) distills the sentences to their essence. His active verbs ("Drill spins in") and declaratives ("Screwdriver is a partner") mimic the confident movement of a person at one with a tool. Wisniewski (Golem) supplements this steady, controlled text with fastidious cut-paper images of a boy assisting master craftsmen as they create the hand-built wooden merry-go-round. The illustrations frame the definitions in time and space:... |
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Warrior and the Wise Man |
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| Author: |
David Wisniewski |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0688161596 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
This "entertaining and instructive parable," an original folktale about an emperor and his twin sons in ancient Japan, is "brought to life skillfully with dramatic cut-paper illustrations," said PW. Ages 5-up. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- An original tale based on the warrior/wise man theme. Wisniewski's research into Japanese art, culture, and religious history is revealed in the details of the illustrations. And what illustrations they are! The exquisite fine lines and perception of depth truly add new dimension to the art of paper cutting. Bold black silhouettes and multiple tones of basic earth hues accentuate these qualities and create the sense of looking into a panoramic box. The tactile quality... |
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