A really successful, wordless, picture book is so incredibly difficult to create. I don’t think it’s hard to make one that is entertaining to read— once. But to make a wordless book that leaves enough room for the viewer/reader to return to it again and again is extremely tough. And… …
Don’t Forget, written by Jane Godwin and illustrated by Anna Walker feels like a hug. The illustrations are so endearing and the thoughtful “Don’t forget to…” reminders move us through the story in a warm and comfortable way. In order to work as a picture book, the narrative needs to …
Wild Blue, written by Dashka Slater and brilliantly illustrated by Laura Hughes. Just look at this jacket— The shadows? The bike’s shadow is a horse! The little girl’s shadow is wearing a cowgirl hat! How clever! How true! How nostalgic! And zappo— I was whipped back to my childhood. Chester, …
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! A day full of love and I’m excited to celebrate a picture book with which I am quite enamored ❤️ The Big Bath House, written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Gracey Zhang. The story is narrated by a little girl going to visit her Baachan which, …
A Day for Sandcastles is a wordless picture book by JonArno Lawson and illustrated by Qin Leng. And I absolutely love every single grain of sand about it. I read several comments about the book wondering how, or why, it lists an author when there are no words. And I …
Maybe it’s the holidays? Waxing nostalgic? But this well-written, beautifully illustrated picture book brought me to tears. Dadaji’s Paintbrush written by Rashmi Sirdeshpande and illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane is a heart-touching, heartwarming, heart-felt, tug-at-my-heartstrings, picture book. Dadaji’s grandfather teaches him to paint. They use their fingers and flowers to create …
I keep seeking out character books because these days I find them few and far between. Here’s one for everyone’s bookshelf, Knight Owl, by Christopher Denise. We are all probably familiar with Christopher Denise’s glorious artwork from the Redwall series, Bunny in the Middle, Firefly Hollow, just to name a …
This book, was an easy YES, PLEASE! for me. I’m an Andrea Zuill fan and was excited to get my hands on this one. Written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Andrea Zuill, Donut, The Unicorn Who Wants to Fly, doesn’t hit you over the head with layers of moral …
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that my woman-owned, local, independent, kids’ bookstore owner thrust a copy of Good Night Little Bookstore, written by Amy Cherrix and illustrated by E.B. Goodale, into my hands saying, ‘I love this book, of course I would because I own a bookstore, but I …
Owl T. Fencepost just wants quiet. So he writes a letter to B. Squirrel at the bookshop asking for various (funny) ‘how to’ books to make his world a more peaceful place. But the bookshop is out of each of Owl’s requests and so B. Squirrel begins to send him …