by Matthew Burgess and Kris Di Giacomo (Enchanted Lion, 2015)
This book is the author’s debut picture book, and as a poet and creative writing teacher he found a perfect venue for these words. And here’s a great look at the illustrator’s work over at This Picture Book Life. (If you haven’t seen Brief Thief, RUN to the library. Now.)
Then there’s Enchanted Lion. Smart, beautiful, well-crafted books. This small Brooklyn publisher is fresh off a huge and deserved recognition in Bologna.
So. Let’s take a look.
Layers of letters and piles of words make up some of the best endpapers I’ve seen this year.
Before I flip another page, I’m keenly aware of this texture. What an exceptional way to visualize the poetry of E.E. Cummings. It makes perfect sense. A jumble of words and sounds and feelings are the foundation for E.E.’s work.
Words as art themselves.
Here’s a simple sentence, spare but lovely, stating facts and straightening out his family tree. Understated, but lively is for sure in that ensemble. Can you see rambunctious Uncle George there, turning a cartwheel or just plain standing on his hands?
The handwritten labels, the cattywampus text layout, the warm texture. All so inviting.
A happy home for spilling words.
A poet, catching words like a bunny through a hoop.
An author, echoing exactly what young E.E. loved.
Estlin looked around
as if his eyes were on tiptoes
and when his heart jumped,
he said another poem.
An illustrator, wrapping it all up in carefully crafted texture that smacks a bit of haphazard beauty.
It’s pretty. It’s intentional. It’s rich and wonder and a treat to take in.
A remarkable slew of back matter includes a timeline, additional poetry, a fascinating author’s note, and another really great elephant illustration.
Magic.
Lots to see and learn and celebrate here.
Out today.
I received a copy from the publisher, but opinions are my own.
My Dad Is Big and Strong, But…: A Bedtime Story
By Coralie Saudo
Illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
Translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick
Enchanted Lion Books
$16.95
ISBN: 978-1-59270-122-3
Ages 4-8
On shelves April 17, 2012
Few picture book titles come with qualifications. More often than not they are statements of strong purpose. I Can Do It Too or No, I Want Daddy. Declarative books with forthright ideas and messages for the preschool set. That’s all well and good, but sometimes you want a book that entices you to pick through its pages from the title onward. Now there is no doubt that My Dad Is Big and Strong, But… is a work of translation. From the minute you look at it it has all the signs. The drawings are fun and eclectic but they feel strangely . . . European, perhaps? And the art inside is a mix of mixed media photographs and graphite. Then there’s the story, which doesn’t end with that kooky twist we Americans almost require in books of this sort these days. Finally there’s that title that seems to float in mid-air without direction. Yes, there is no doubt left in your mind that this is a French translation, but there is also no doubt that it is one of the most charming and engaging picture books to hike down the pike in years. A story that upsets expectations but retains its heart, this is the perfect bedtime fare for any kiddo that rejects the very notion of going to sleep (and who has a sense of humor).
Our hero’s dad has many fine and outstanding qualities. He is big. He is strong. But he does have one significant flaw that’s hard to overlook. Every night it’s the same old story. When bedtime rolls around he just adamantly refuses to go. The only thing to do is to start out by reading him some stories. After two he’ll demand another but his son is having none of it. It’s straight to bed and a game of waiting until the dad’s asleep (if the son tries to go to bed early he’ll just have to contend with a wide awake dad barging into his room anyway). Finally he seems to be asleep but just as the son attempts to turn out the life he hears, “No, don’t do that! Leave the light on!” Because while his dad may be big and strong he’s also a bit afraid of the dark.
There’s an entire subgenre of picture books out there where expectations are upended to the delight of the child reader. I can think of four books off the top of my head where a character is scared about the first day of school and then turns out to be a teacher (Back to School Tortoise] by Lucy M. George was the latest). And Amy Krouse Rosenthal went to town with the idea in Little Pea (a pea refuses to eat his dinner of candy), Little Hoot (an owl wants to go to bed while his parents insist he stay up all night), and
