I popped into the Richmond library the other day. I only had 6 minutes, thought I’d just check it out. But the front door walks right into the kids’ section. So I walked out with a handful of the kind of books you pick when you have 6 minutes: ones with art you like. … Continue reading
The monsters in Merced Mayer’s One Monster After Another are not scary. Even so, Mayer touches upon that tender nerve also tickled by shadows in the dark: what lurks just outside of the scope of our eyes? I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: couple the slightly dark or scary with the fanciful and fun and you get a balance that feels frivolous yet true to life. What happens to our world when we are not looking? It’s the very root of imagination. Continue reading
Palefsky holds court as a true artist, with a style that is a mix of surrealism and comic book art. Owls become a parade, shoes become a shoe critic, cats become dogs, and houses become butterflies. The idea and execution are immaculate and awe-inspiring. Continue reading
Aside from it’s title, The Other Side is without words. And not many words are needed. The pictures so perfectly speak for themselves… Continue reading
Nothing at All is Wanda Gag’s 1941 Caldecott Honor book about an invisible puppy. Invisibility suits him fine until the day that he needs to be seen. Before that day, though, his sweet tempered brothers give this very cool justification for believing he exists even though they can’t see him: “We can’t see the wind … Continue reading
One funny thing about The Funny Thing is that it is actually funny. And funny in exactly the way it means: funny weird. But it isn’t the actual Funny Thing, the “aminal,” who is all that weird. In fact, he’s vain, gluttonous, and selfish in a way we can all recognize as belonging to a … Continue reading
I just happened upon a book called Half of an Elephant. It’s a frank story, sincere without being sentimental. I like these things. And I like this book. It goes like this: one night, the world suddenly splits in half. An elephant awakens to find himself also split in two, and now the other half … Continue reading
Wanda Gag cuts a unique figure in the world of children’s books. Both successful and controversial, she made a mark on 1920s America that still rings out today. Children’s books, illustration, feminism, and realism-during-a-vogue-of-surrealism, Wanda Gag made waves. Continue reading
Mirette on the High Wire is a 1993 Caldecott Medal book. The water color is superb, yes, but what else calls for the number one (only one) award in the kids’ book world? Circus French girl written/conceived by an American woman? Well, I got a thought. Flash back to 1992 and the capital F of Feminism… Continue reading
It’s easy to unabashedly adore Mudkin. There’s few words. Typically exhilarating splashes of Gammel color images (he can squeeze tons of colors, even out of mud). The unpretentious queen, her little blobby and indecipherable friend, Mudkin, and all the mud people in their kingdom of mud. Continue reading
Little Book Review 