Picture Book Barcode Bonanza

Last month on 100 Scope Notes, Travis Jonker shared a wonderful post called “The Art of the Picture Book Barcode.” Now I have always loved spotting a well-placed barcode on the back of a picture book. Seeing a collection of that kind of awesomeness? What more could I want?! I thought it would be …

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Just Right Endpapers

Endpapers are the first pages and the final pages of a picture book. They work much like the curtains at the open and close of a play. While many books’ endpapers are a solid color, others give the reader so much more. For instance, endpapers can create a mood. Number One …

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Mimi and Bear in the Snow

JANEE TRASLER is the author and illustrator of many books including the wildly popular Chickies board book series. Each one of these books is fun, adorable, and totally chickified. Evidence: But today I wanted to focus on Janee’s latest picture book, Mimi and Bear in the Snow (FSG, 2014). This is one …

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PiBoIdMo, Anybody?

November is PiBoIdMo Month! PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) is a come-up-with-30-picture-book-ideas-in-30-days challenge. Tara Lazar is the mastermind behind PiBoIdMo.  She invites writers, illustrators, and industry professionals to share inspiring posts on her blog all month long. See? I have been a contributor to PiBoIdMo since the beginning. What an honor! …

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I Have No Words…

As a picture book author, I, of course, am a big fan of well-written text. Some of my favorite picture book spreads are filled with sentence after beautiful/funny/wild/unexpected sentence. Some of my favorite picture book spreads give us one perfect line that is so good it makes me pause and wish-wish-wish I had thought of it first. Yet other favorites have only one word, but you better believe each of those spreads has the absolute right word.

Oftentimes, though, a two-page picture book spread is even better without a single word.

Extraordinary Jane, written and illustrated by Hannah Harrison, contains one of my Favorite Worldless Spreads of 2014.

PBB.cover.extraordinaryjane

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poor Jane! Everyone else in her circus troupe can do extraordinary things…horse-riding tricks, acts of strength, death-defying stunts! But Jane just can’t find her special talent. In a desperate attempt, she tries to tackle an impressive balancing ball routine only to have it end in disaster.

Behold!

extraordinaryjanespread

But does Hannah Harrison tell us all about the outcome of this disaster? Does she broadcast every detail of the suffering? Nooooo. She gives us this gorgeous and hilarious two-page wordless spread (aside from the words on the cover of the bear’s magazine) that shows us the aftermath of Jane’s latest attempt at uncovering a talent.

Extraordinary!

Another 2014 release that has a doozy of a wordless two-page spread is Pardon Me! by Daniel Miyares. This book actrually has NINE wordless two-page spreads, but my favorite one–the doozy–is the final one.

pardonmecover

A grumpy yellow bird just wants some peace and quiet. Much to his increasing annoyance, however, one animal after another joins him. Finally, he can’t take it anymore and throws a tantrum. Everyone leaves. Well, almost everyone.

I really, really, really want to share this wordless two-page spread from Pardon Me! so we can collectively ooh and ah over it, but I can’t. It’s for your own good. Honest. I’m doing you a favor. To see that delicious spread, you need to read the book. It will make you appreciate the spread all the more. I promise!

I will, however, share some other Pardon Me! goodies.

To view the trailer for Pardon Me! as well as to check out the “the story behind the story,” click here:

Pardon Me! Goodies

Do YOU have a favorite wordless two-page spread? If so, please tell us about the book in the comments.

—Tammi  Sauer