Oh, give me a home where the wild things roam....

"You guys look like you have a wild rumpus all the time!": just another reason why the Hut loves Barack Obama. If you haven't seen the video yet, check out the Huffington Post's account of Easter Egg Roll Monday, when our President, exhibiting excellent taste, read Where the Wild Things Are to a crowd of thousands of thrilled children and their families. (Make sure you roar along at the appropriate places.)

Nobody got video of the First Lady and the First Grandma reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?

A few words on a variety of subjects...

...starting with "Nitwit! Oddment! Blubber! Tweak!" (with apologies to JKR). It's Friday, but there's still some bloggy business from this week which remains unfinished, and so for expedience's sake I thought we'd get it wrapped up in one catch-all catch-up post.

The Harry Potter reference is (relatively) relevant; we recently received Melissa Anelli's Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Those of you who have progressed from fans to Potter scholars can check it out alongside Mapping the World of the Sorcerer's Apprentice and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in the chapter book room.

Speaking of great fantasy series, we also just received Garth Nix's amazing Abhorsen trilogy as a ginormous paperback omnibus. Now Sabriel, Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr, and Abhorsen can sit on your shelf in their single-volumed glory, next to the complete His Dark Materials trilogy by Pullman and the entire Chronicles of Narnia by Lewis. (We carry those, too, just in case you need to get them to, you know, sit next to your brand-new Abhorsen omnibus -- or the collected Lord of the Rings you got from us last week.) One of these days I'll decide my constant Abhorsen-plugging on the blog just isn't proactive enough and do a staff pick for this underappreciated series as well.

In the meantime, I can plug the NYT Best Illustrated picture book A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, which is back in stock! Williams's own poems blend with Jen Bryant's biographical text and Melissa Sweet's mixed media/watercolor illustrations to create a collaboration that is essentially a collage of collages. Typography features heavily in Sweet's images, giving words power on every page, even those without conventional "text." In her excellent backmatter, Bryant provides readers with plenty of historical context for Williams's life. This unusual book has something to offer aspiring poet, aspiring artist, picture book critic, literary history buff, and biography fan alike.

Another awesome bio just arrived this morning: Michelle Obama: An American Story by David Colbert. We're especially excited about this one -- you've seen our adoration for the newly-inaugurated Mr. President in our ongoing Obama lovefest, but everybody at Curious George is equally awed by our new First Lady. My own heart is already all melty over Mrs. Obama, but I still can't wait to read nine chapters' worth of information on her childhood and young adulthood, her political career and activism, the Obamas' romance, and the campaign up through the election. Even better, there are two sections of color pictures to "awww" over! The Obamas get my vote for most adorable Presidential family ever.

On that note... I think we can consider ourselves caught up. Rest up for next week, though, since it will be a big week for blogging: not only do we have plans for a snow book/toy post and a favorite fairy tale post, but the ALA/YALSA awards (including the Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz awards) will be announced at long last on Monday morning. I've come to terms with the fact that I have no idea whatsoever what could win. Anybody out there have a hunch?

Barack Your World

Oh, pinch me. It has finally happened: He is Mr. President. Our incredible book buyer, Donna, sent us staffers over to Cardullo's and Harvard Book Store to peek over shoulders and cheer alongside our neighbors during the oaths and speeches. (This image of three little monkeys is also on the front page of the Cambridge Chronicle!) I can't say enough how lovely this community is.

If you still haven't gotten your Barack Obama books or paper dolls for your inauguration party (or general home decoration...), please come on over! We have a particularly festive window displaying some of our favorite titles about Obama, Lincoln, and the history of the Presidency, and, as you may have seen in Rachel's great post, presidential books for all ages in the front of the store on the new titles spinner. We had a little run on Kadir Nelson's Change Has Come this afternoon, and rightly so, it is such a beautiful, spare book.

Speaking of windows....can you spot Curious George in the New York Times' album of reader photos from this historic weekend? (Hint: it was added Tuesday at about 1 pm.) If only they had also taken a picture of our red, white, and blue-bunting-festooned panda!

You may be asking yourself the same question we CG folks are all asking now...why doesn't Karen Tack's Hello Cupcake have instructions for Barack-cakes? If anyone has attempted any, please do send us photos! Or actual cupcakes, those are acceptable, too.

Coming soon to a George blog near you: our favorite picks for snow books!

Obama Round-Up

Inauguration Day is fast approaching -- are you ready for it? Here at the store, we'll be playing the radio broadcast as it happens -- and here's a round-up for all ages to help you ring in the new presidency.

Pairing powerful sketches and drawings by award-winner Kadir Nelson with some of Barack Obama's most inspiring words, this book is sure to put you in the mood for change. Change Has Come is accessible to all ages, and it's our favorite Barack book here at the store!

For readers in the middle school range and older, Garen Thomas's biography Yes We Can is an informative hit. Obama's life becomes even more compelling with this detailed treatment.

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by children's poet Nikki Grimes renders the soon-to-be-President's life in picturebook form. Accompanied by Bryan Collier's sweeping illustrations, this title is great for the 3-5 crowd.

Relive Election Day with these fabulous Obama Paper Dolls by Tom Tierney! Dress the 44th President and his family for every government occasion, because change has come--to the First Family's wardrobe!

For those who've just mastered reading on their own, Barack Obama: United States President by Roberta Edwards is full of photographs and info about to prep you for Inauguration Day. From his beginnings to his new position, this book's got it all for the newly independent reader.

Start off your year right with this Presidential calendar, pairing Obama's own words with vibrant photos. Those first 100 days of a new presidency are the most important--and with this great calendar you can keep track of them all. Remember, calendars are half off here at the store!

Here's an indestructible book for the youngest readers--Barack Obama 101: My Very First Presidential Board Book by Brad Epstein. With appealing photos and simple text, this book is great for readers 3 and under.

Barack by Jonah Winter captures Obama's history wonderfully, enhanced by A.G. Ford's compelling illustrations. Embracing the prospect of hope that Obama's campaign promoted, this picturebook is a great choice for readers 3-5.