Beatrix Potter and her books were a meaningful part of my childhood. As a child, I loved all things tiny - and what's not to love about a tidy little pile of green books with white trim? Especially when the illustrations inside carry you away to a magical world that exists behind hedges, under piles of oily-tasting mown grass and near the damp edges of a pond dotted with lily pads? As a parent reading her books to my children, it was harder to make sense of her strange world, although the illustrations and curious ways of the animals remained transportive enough to make me very excited to get my hands on A Celebration of Beatrix Potter: Art and Letters by More than 30 of Today's Favorite Children's Book Illustrators.
Beyond the obvious attributes that keep Potter's books on the shelves 100 plus years after her debut, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which was originally self-published, are the facts of the woman herself. Born in 1866 and growing up in the Victorian era, Potter was fiercely independent and "unwavering curiosity led her to become a cryptographer, an amateur scientist, an award-winning farmer, a political activist, a revolutionary conservationist and a forward thinking business woman." Pretty spectacular accomplishments for a woman of wealth in an era when women were expected to follow rigid social structures. This celebration of Potter and her 150th birthday is a delight for anyone who is a fan of contemporary children's book illustrators.
From favorites of mine like David Wiesner, Chris Haughton, Jen Corace, Renata Liwska Brendan Wenzel, Dan Santat and Tony DiTerlizzi, to greats like Rosemary Wells, Peggy Rathmann, Wendell Minor, Brian Pinkney and Tomie de Paola, fans of Potter will absolutely delight at their renderings of favorite characters. Nine of Potter's books are featured here, with portions reprinted, along with a brief paragraph about the origins of each book and remembrances from contributors. I completely enjoyed flipping through the pages, seeing Potter's originals next to new interpretations and being transported one more time to that world behind the hedgerow. Such a treat!
Source: Review Copy
I love everything about The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects, collected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka, from the title to the concept to the fantastic introduction to the amazing collection of poems and the brilliant title, taken from the Billy Collins poem near the end of the book. The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects
As Elizabeth Hammill says in her introduction to Over the Hills and Far Away, nursery rhymes are "borderless - migrating with ease, begetting intriguing cultural variants along the way." With Over the Hills and Far Away, Hammill has collected 150 nursery rhymes from all over the world and invited 77 contemporary, award-winning illustrators like Eric Carle, Jerry Pinkney, Jon Klassen, Mo
The Explorer series, edited by Kazu Kibuishi, just keeps getting better. Mystery boxes then lost islands provided the themes of the graphic shorts in he first two books. Now, with hidden doors setting the theme for the third book in the series, imaginations soar even higher, if possible. As always, Kibuishi kicks off the book with a short of his own. "Asteria Crane" will remind you of his
Comics Squad: Recess! is a very promising sign of the times. Graphic novels for kids are finally a strong enough presence with their creators and characters on the verge of being household names that a book like Comics Squad: Recess! can be conceived and created. And it's sure to be a huge seller, especially at the very reasonable price of $7.99! As you may have guessed, the theme of each
Published in 1995, the year I started working as a bookseller, A Child's Anthology of Poetry remains the foremost collection of poetry for children, including many works by poets who have not traditionally written for children and a great combination of classic and contemporary verse. With the help of an advisory board that includes the likes of poetic greats such as
The D'Aulaires, Edgar and Ingri, met at art school in Munich in 1921 and published their first children's book ten years later and, up until 1980 when Ingri died, contributed a number of distinguished children's books, most of them non-fiction. Their book of Greek Mythology remains the biggest selling collection for children and is often used as a textbook. The collection is thorough and
If you have read my reviews of Kazu Kibuishi's previous works,Copper and the fantastic Amulet series, which is now up to book 4, then you may know that Kibuishi is also the editor of Flight series of graphic novels for adults that bring together amazing writers and artists in what can only be called a "short story collection" of comics, now up to volume 8. In 2008 Random House put out Flight
Talking Like the Rain: A Read-to-me Book of Poems, newly in paperback, is selected by longtime poets and anthologists of poetry, XJ and Dorothy M Kennedy and illustrated by the heir to Tasha Tudor and Beatrix Potter's delicate watercolor tradition, Jane Dyer. If you can only buy (or make room on your shelves for) three poetry books for children, this should be the first one you buy as soon as
Published in 1995, the year I started working as a bookseller, A Child's Anthology of Poetry remains the foremost collection of poetry for children, including many works by poets who have not traditionally written for children and a great combination of classic and contemporary verse. With the help of an advisory board that includes the likes of poetic greats such as Louise Glück and Mark Strand
The D'Aulaires, Edgar and Ingri, met at art school in Munich in 1921 and published their first children's book ten years later and, up until 1980 when Ingri died, contributed a number of distinguished children's books, most of them non-fiction. Their book of Greek Mythology remains the biggest selling collection for children and is often used as a textbook. The collection is thorough and
I wonder if I have ever loved anything more than I loved D'Aulaire's Book Of Greek Myths as a child