Chapter Picturebooks

There are a handful of picturebooks out there that serve as a go-between for picturebooks and early readers. Let's call them Chapter Picturebooks--they look and feel like picturebooks (same size, layout, etc.), but they have multiple chapters that break up the narrative like early readers. It's fun because you get more of the story, and the early reader appearance helps child readers feel more accomplished by the end of the book (a whole chapter book!).

First on today's list is Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator by the ever popular Mo Willems. The book features 6 1/2 chapters about Amanda and her stuffed animal bestie Alligator. But when Amanda brings home another stuffed animal, jealousy colors their friendship. I believe it's one of Willems' better books, with textual and visual whimsy that makes the book an excellent read aloud.

Fragmented Narratives

Within four months of each other, two beautiful books were published recently that have made me rethink the importance of cohesion in narrative and illustration. Blexbolex's Ballad and Magali Bardos' 100 Bears both strongly recall one another: both have non-traditional narratives with eye-catching, silk-screened illustrations, and both tell multiple stories over the course of their narratives that inevitably weave together by the end of the book. I say non-traditional narratives because every new page features a fragmented sentence (sometimes only one word) that builds on the last sentence or word. Every page builds on last, and the textual and visual narratives each book creates are absolutely stunning.

Ballad is written and illustrated by the amazingly talented French comics illustrator Blexbolex. He has a smattering of children's books, but Ballad definitely stands out as a work of beauty. Ballad tells the story of a boy who walks home the same way every day from school, but one day his world expands rapidly, growing into a fantasy with witches, princesses, and reluctant heroes.

Seek-and-Find

We all know Where's Waldo, I Spy, and Magic Eye by now, but there are some beautiful (and more modern) seek-and-find books out there.

If you follow this blog even a little bit, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that a Germano Zullo-Albertine collaboration is at the top of the list. At the Seaside is a fun, quirky, and wordless seek-and-find boardbook with seven huge spreads that are chock full of crazy scenarios and characters, including a trio of aliens, a movie star and her stalker, and a couple who didn't know they'd be finding love by the end of the book. Although there's a ton going on in each illustration, the back cover showcases the main characters of the story so readers can better follow the main story lines. My personal favorite? The mermaid who goes from a mermaid to a towel to a blow up doll to...well you'll just have to read to find out!

Animal Information

Today's topic is a little less cohesive. I found a few great books containing information on animals that have fantastic illustrations, not to mention an engaging way to learn about animals, numbers, and letters. I'm just going to dive right in.

First we have Marije Tolman's Jumping Penguins. Just from the cover it's a fascinating book: it's an over-sized book with no title or author listed. No information on the cover indicates what kind of book this is, except for the giant pile of animals:

Moons

So as these posts often start, this one began with me purchasing two books about moons in the same week, Emma Yarlett's Sidney, Stella and the Moon and Larry Phifer and Danny Popovici's World on a String. There are a few others out there I'll mention in this post, but not surprisingly the art of these books is very rounded rather than angular and each of the books heavily features circles and rounded objects. These curves, of course, are reminiscent of the moon itself and serve to draw attention to the titular character, the moon.

Yarlett's book features two siblings, Sidney and Stella, who do everything together except share. One day they're fighting over a ball, and they lose control as it bounces out the window...and smashes the moon! Together, they have to find a way to replace what they broke. Take a look:

Messy Picturebooks

So there are some picturebooks out there that almost look like journals or scrapbooks created by kids. They look less finished than most picturebooks, almost like someone cut and glued the images and then scanned them really quickly. I'm writing about these books because I've had been collecting them over time, and they're beautiful...but I had no idea what category to put them in until now. After scanning my collection I realized I'd collected enough of them to finally write a post about them, so here it is!

Let's begin with the first one I purchased, The Sun Is Yellow by Kveta Pacovská. An Alice in Wonderland-esque adventure, the book follows a frog and the eclectic friends he meets. I totally found this book by accident, and I have to say it's one of the best purchases I've made. Take a look!

Illustrator Spotlight: Albertine

Have you guys heard of Albertine? She's one of the most fantastic artists EVER (here's the link to her site). She and Germano Zullo (author) are an amazing team and they have come out with some of the most innovative and beautiful picturebooks I've ever seen, and I'm so happy to be talking about them today!

First, a little information on both. Albertine regularly illustrates many French newspapers in Switzerland and teaches at the School of Visual Arts in Geneva. Zullo is a writer and poet who lives in Geneva and writes for children and adults alike. Together, this duo has written several amazing picturebooks that really engage readers and push them to think beyond the limits of the picturebook's borders. Allow me to demonstrate.

Starting with my absolute favorite, Sky High is by far one of my top picturebooks. It details the story of two rivals who insist on building their houses higher than the other person's, causing all sorts of craziness. The two homeowners go to great lengths to outdo each other, bringing in the most expensive architects, furniture, Bengal tigers (oh yes), buttresses, and anything else you can think of. Here's the cover: