Flaps, Layers, and Movable Parts

How was everyone's weekend?? It's pretty crazy that we're almost done with July...it feels like the months are going by so fast!

Today's oh-so-fun motif is [drumroll, please...] flaps! So many books utilize flaps, layered pages, and movable parts to enhance the reading experience and further engage readers: in order to get the most out of the narrative, the reader must lift flaps, peel apart layers, and move pieces of the illustrations. Let's dive in with a definite Caldecott contender (and a book everyone has been talking about since it came out in February), Flora and the Flamingo. Molly Idle takes the idea of showing movement through illustration to a whole new level, utilizing layers rather than multiple illustrations on one page. Here's a perfect example:

Before the flaps are folded down

And after the flaps are folded

Exceptional Pets

I can safely say that this post is going to be one of that hardest to narrow down. There are so many picturebooks out there these days about exceptional pets. My stack of books is so large even Toothless is at a loss:

Non-Traditional Families

So I had heard wonderful things about both the narrative and the illustrations in Justin Richardson's and Peter Parnell's And Tango Makes Three. Although it's been around a while, I finally got my hands on it a few days ago, and it definitely didn't disappoint. Based on the true story of two male penguins who partner with each other instead of finding female mates, And Tango Makes Three is the story of Roy and Silo, two male penguins who end up raising a baby penguin together. A zookeeper notices that two of the male penguins are acting as though they are a couple--they sleep together, cuddle, and spend most of their time with each other. When other penguin couples' eggs start hatching the two male penguins "adopt" a rock with the hope of it hatching a baby for them. The zookeeper notes Roy and Silo's dedication to the rock, and ends up giving the couple an egg to nurture. And thus a non-traditional family is born. It's a wonderful and heartwarming story, and the illustrations are just as touching:

The ABC's of the Alphabet

Hi everyone! I'm going to admit right off the bat that this post is probably a bit less cohesive than the rest--I'm in the midst of traveling up and down the east coast trying to get things done, and I'm writing this post a little later than usual. But fear not, blogosphere, it'll still rock your world...

So originally I was going to do a combo alphabet/counting post, but when I started pulling out all of my alphabet books I realized that was the craziest idea I’ve ever had. There are just too many! Therefore, this post will be exclusively alphabet books. And (like always) there are sooooo many good ones out there!

When I was a wee one my mom bought me Anita Lobel’s Alison’s Zinnia, and I immediately fell in love with it. Each spread features a girl who gives a flower to another girl, but the catch is that the giver always gives a flower to a girl whose name begins with the next letter of the alphabet, and the flowers go alphabetically, too. For example, Alison gives an amaryllis to Beryl (lovely name, no?) and Beryl passes on the love by giving a Begonia to Crystal until eventually it makes it down the alphabet and Zena brings it full circle by giving Alison a zinnia. At the time, it really made me think about the alphabet not letter-by-letter, but as a concept that can be taught in a creative, colorful, and floral way. 

Venice Beach

So today I’m going to break away from tradition and talk about a group of books that don’t really have a common theme. These are the books I bought in Venice Beach when I was in LA a couple of weeks ago, and I think they’re all so lovely and unique that I couldn’t wait to write about them later. The store, Small World Books (and I even got to meet the cat pictured there--so sweet!), had a fabulous children’s department that was filled with lots of surprises and books I’d never heard of before. It’s a great store to visit if you’re ever in LA (especially because it's right on the beach!).

First let's chat about Stephen and the Beetle by Jorge Luján and Chiara Carrer. From the moment I picked up the book I knew it was special. The book tells the story of Stephen, a young boy who comes across a beetle and decides that he should kill it. But as he raises his shoe he studies the beetle, who is going about its day, completely unaware of what is about to happen, and a major question pops into his mind: where is the beetle going and why? This prompts young Stephen to contemplate the meaning of life, realizing that if he kills the beetle it won't really affect his own day-to-day life, but he still will have taken a life away from the world. Stephen ultimately puts the shoe away and watches the beetle go about its routine. A seemingly innocuous story, it's a wonderful tale that begs the question how much is a life worth? It also makes me feel terrible for killing that gross spider the other day...

The Royal Treatment

Hello blogosphere! So the book that sparked this post is King Hugo's Ego by Chris Van Dusen. Hugo tells the story of a very tiny but very egotistical king who mistreats the wrong person, a sorceress in disguise. The consequence for his behavior? A swollen head to match his swollen ego, of course. And the more egotistical he acts, the bigger his head gets until it finally falls off his body and rolls out of the castle. Eventually the king sees the error of his ways, and, after a long discussion with the sorceress, he lives happily ever after with her.

Illustrator Spotlight: Emily Gravett

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! I just got back from LA so it's been very whirlwindy for me...

Having been a fan of Emily Gravett for many years, I've decided to spotlight her here! Have you seen her work? It’s incredible. The texture, the funny storylines, the unique book designs…she’s fabulous. No joke, I own eleven of her books. Eleven. And I'm waiting for a twelfth in the mail. How many illustrators can you say that about?