Martha Alexander (1920–2006)

While Blackboard Bear is s chalk drawing who comes down from a blackboard, when he and Anthony run away from home, he does all the things a real bear would do, like eating honey from a hive and still-wiggling trout and sleeping in a dark cave with bats. Blackboard Bear leaves Anthony outside the windowsill they climbed out of; no, I don't know what happened to him after that.
Nicely drawn and told, mostly as Anthony's part of a dialog with his teddy bear and Blackboard Bear.

I wanted this book to be so much better than it is. It deals with some very important ideas, but too simplistically and unrealistically. Max rebels against the safe rules for making pictures that his teacher, Miss Tilley, insists upon. The pictures are for Mother's Day and she believes that having each child color in a flower will provide an acceptable gift. In fact, Max knows that his mother will not like this; he chooses to make his mother happy rather than his teacher. Of course he does show more this by running away, hiding and creating his own picture. Miss Tilley calls the police and then things get strange. When Max is found, no one yells at him, they are just happy that he is safe. The children not only love Max's original artwork, they are all inspired to create their own pictures. Miss Tilley and the mothers are delighted by all the different pictures. Miss Tilley is not threatened by a student who defies her. Perhaps the real target audience of this book is the teachers and parents who want their children to follow the rules and stay within the lines, in lots of ways, not just artistically. Max is a revolutionary, not because he wants to change society, but because he must follow his own heart.
The book was published after Ms. Alexander died. James Rumford finished her sketches. There are also many beautiful, unique sketches at the beginning and end of the book by family, friends, and colleagues, many of them famous in the world of children's literature. show less

First sentence: I wake in the morning early
And always, the very first thing,
I poke out my head and I sit up in bed
And I sing and I sing and I sing.

I enjoy collecting vintage picture books. This one has a slightly Christian theme. I would say ninety percent celebrate nature and common joys in life and ten percent give a nod to God. It does include the Lord's Prayer and a few other familiar poem-prayers that you might have heard depending on your background.

I think it is a lovely-enough show more collection of poems. The poems aren't so religious and "Christian" that you are in any way teaching your children theology. But the poems are pleasant enough and not anti-Christian either.

I definitely liked the soft, soothing illustrations. show less

Summary: This is a board book that has a short sentence on each page. The story starts out with Lily reading a bedtime story, then Willy takes over and continues on the story. At the end of the story, both of them fall asleep and the teddy bear is silently reading the story to himself.
Comments: This book has a warm hearted and loving vibe. I enjoyed the simplicity of it and how it ends in a sweet and peaceful way. I think this book would be beneficial for young children ranging from the show more ages of 1-3. The illustrations were detailed and endearing. This story would be good to have in a infant/toddler classroom. show less