Ode to the Picture Book: Vol. 1

Happy Picture Book Month!

I love love love picture books. I love art, I love words, and I LOVE the magical combination of the two found in exemplary picture books. I have an odd sense of humor, I'm drawn to the quirky and the odd and bow down to good design. Naturally, some of my favorite picture books are ones that don't work in storytime, but are ones that I look forward to sharing with my own (theoretical) children someday.

House Held up by Trees by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Jon Klassen.

Not everyone is going to understand this story. Many people are going to reach the end and feel like it is abrupt, and strange and..."I just don't get it."

That's ok: Every book its reader. 

I am a reader for this book.

There's something so sad to me when I see a yard with no trees. As a former woods-child, I can't imagine growing up in a yard without those quiet hidden places. This book is so evocative of those whispery green places and the subtle magic of the sun-dappled wild. There's a quiet sadness to the story--kids growing up, life changing, leaving things behind, abandonment. But the theme of nature threading through life and holding it together, it's so beautiful. It's like The Giving Tree without the syrupy moral*

And the art! Total Jon Klassen fangirl here, not going to lie. Have you seen the jacket he designed for the book The Watch that Ends the Night? GORGEOUS. This book lacks the humor of Extra Yarn or I Want my Hat Back, but that really allows readers to appreciate the gorgeous subtlety of Klassen's amazing artwork. He does wonderful things with texture, color, and perspective in this book, keeping each page turn fresh and interesting when the story is largely static (I mean, there's not a lot of action in a story about a house and trees over several decades).  The imagery Klassen uses adds so much depth to the story--the seeds floating through the sky (beginning on the endpapers!) representing the inexorable pull of nature in our lives, and the red folding chair providing an anchor to our eyes throughout the story. So good!

Also, this book is set in Mrs. Eaves, which is one of my favorite fonts. Perfect!

Give this lovely, thoughtful gem a try. Preferably sitting under a tree or, considering the weather, at least in a window seat. 


Video of Ted Kooser speaking about the writing of this book (Poor sound quality, but interesting)

*Sorry Giving Tree fans. Also, a tangent: The Diary of a Wimpy Kid bit about Shel Silverstein's scary author picture on the back of The Giving Tree? PURE GENIUS. Jeff Kinney, I salute you).

Seeing Stars

I just checked  School Library Journal's Starred reviews for April, and was ecstatic to see that two of the books I reviewed were given stars! I'm as happy as if I wrote/illustrated the books myself.  But wait, there's more: I'm super excited to see a new Traction Man adventure as well.

If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder, illustrated by Marc Brown.

Great for storytime, this book is really something special. Marc Brown who is, of course, most famous for the Arthur books, combines that classic cartooning style with the more recent collage work seen in books like "Dancing Feet!" (Craig) and really creates art that is above and beyond anything he's done before. The emotion and expression from his cartoon work is perfectly enhanced by the texture and liveliness of his college work. It's amazing to see such a well-established illustrator evolve in such dynamic way.  Truly top form! (There's even an Arthur cameo on the page showing the animals watching television).

I'll Save You Bobo! by Eileen and Marc Rosenthall

When I saw the first Bobo book at the bookstore, I fell in love. Poor Willy--his pesky cat Earl just won't leave his beloved monkey, Bobo, alone. In this adventure, Willy is annoyed both by his boring book and Earl's fascination with Bobo. Willy solves both problems by drawing his own stories--all of which pose a threat to Earl.

I just love love love the expressiveness of the art. So simple, but with such masterful use of line to convey the action and emotion of what's happening. You can practically feel that cat invading Willy's space and pestering him (but he's so charming, that Earl)

Look at the great composition of the image above. The curve of Willy's body makes a shallow arc, which is echoed both by Bobo's shape and the shape of Willy's imagination bubble. It's also reflected within the leaves of the imaginary jungle. Our eyes like this repetition of shape, and naturally bounce around the whole drawing, helping it appear lively and interesting. So good!

 Traction Man and the Beach by Mini Grey

  

And finally, a shout-out to Traction Man. Traction Man is an action figure who has many heroic and harrowing adventures. Those who pay attention will find that his adventures seem to take place in locations common to young children--the bath, the sink, the backyard--but are transformed into Exciting! Dangerous! Missions! by the the child's imagination. I love the Traction Man books because I find them hilarious, but I also think they do a particularly great job of capturing what it's like to get really lost in your imagination. They do a great job of showing how a child with an imaginary superhero toy sees the world. And did I mention hilarious?

Enjoy!

Reviewer's Choice--Chirchir is Singing

I am so delighted to see that one of the books I reviewed this year was chosen by ALSC for their 2011 Notables list. Not that I am in any way responsible for this book, but it was one of my favorites that came across my desk in the past year.

Chirchir is Singing by Kelly Cunnane & Jude Daly.

Oh man did I love this book. I was really hoping it would get a starred review, but SLJ reviewers can only suggest--the editorial staff makes the final decision on stars. I was happy to see that it got a starred review from Publisher's Weekly though. It's just the kind of multicultural story that we need more of, because it's not *about* multiculturalism. The story is universal. We don't need more picture books about Civil Rights. We need more picture books that portray the world as it is now--vibrant, diverse, and beautiful. Learning about history and other cultures and ways of life is very important, and we're doing well at publishing those kinds of books. We need more books that reflect diversity without being about diversity. No more, "This is how poor children in Africa live." More bedtime books, more friendship stories, more holiday books, more everything--that just happen to feature kids who aren't white. Just like the world we live in.

This soapbox of mine is part of why I became a School Library Journal reviewer--the chance to review multicultural books from this perspective.

So, Chirchir is Singing is wonderful. The text is lyrical, the story is charming, and Chirchir herself is simply darling. And the art. Oh, the art is wonderful. Daly uses a rather naive folkart style--that is to say things don't look realistic. Figures are stick-like, perspectives is stacked, and everything is simplified.  It's easy to look at this kind of art and think that it's not very good or that the artist isn't very skilled; however, that is not the case. By choosing this style of illustration, the artist conveys a different tone than she would by using hyper-realism. The word that comes to my mind over and over with this book is joy. There's so much love portrayed through the illustrations--love of the land, love of family, love of animals. The colors are warm, the shading is soft and beautiful, and because things are simplified, the details included become that much more noteworthy. This is a book I'm so happy to see recognized, and one that is definitely worth a closer look.
There are more photos of the illustration in this photo spread on Flickr.