Your books are quite simplistic. And sometimes strange. And always fun to look at. For that, I love you. You first won the hearts of my children when one of them found the book The Incredible Book Eating Boy. They were horrified that the child who'd checked the book out previously from the library had taken a bite out of it and then had the audacity to return the book-- unpaid!Still, though the book was a fun little diversion, we didn't bother noticing the author's name on the cover. Your artwork wasn't the classically beautiful Robert McCloskey or Jan Brett type after all. It takes a quirky heart to appreciate both the figures and the humor you play with. It wasn't until we chanced across the video of you reading Stuck, that we finally woke up, recovered from our giggles and went searching for more of your titles (having a soft spot for author/illustrators, see). And then, we feasted. The kids enjoyed The New Sweater, likening it to Max Lucado's If Only I Had a Green Nose in chronicling the perils of peer pressure. I especially loved the page of the Huey who had the word "Want" written above him when he first saw the sweater. After this, we delved into the adventures of the Boy and agreed that we liked him best in How to Catch a Star.
But in his haste, and miles from anywhere, he tripped over his string and got tangled up. And there he lay. Wilfred was beginning to get a little bit worried. It was getting late and the monsters would be out soon. He had just ruled out the last of his options... when along came the moose...Just like that. In passing. In an extraordinary sense of the perfect understanding that monsters are a real phenomenon (as any child knows of course) and could be brought up casually in a story that had nothing whatsoever to do with monsters. For that, and for this super excellent video on how you make your books, I will forever count you among my favorites.
Love, etc.
A Fan
How do you find these gems?! They look so fun, can't wait to check them out. On my list of things to do: practice library browsing skills.
ReplyDeleteLauren, how do I find these gems? Well, normal people waste time online with Facebook or reading the Drudge headlines, etc. When I waste time online, it's because I go on binges of reading good book websites/articles. I source from about 4-5 different places. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't usually go into the library and just pick random books off the shelf anymore. I find titles or authors I want to investigate and then I start putting books on hold like a madwoman.
You need a blog post on devoting time to reading with children! Especially for the non-reader parents who wish for their children to love reading! Ahem. I wouldn't know anything about that. ;)
ReplyDeleteReally, I find that I have so many things I could be doing in my day... We're non-stop around here, it seems. Grabbing a few books and snuggling on the couch mid afternoon is not as second nature as I wish it were. I parents did this with me exactly zero times. I grew up not enjoying reading at all. There are so many factors at play but I think that's one of them. I just can't seem to want to carve out the time bad enough. I was a lot better at it when we had 1-2 kids. We read much more frequently than we do now. The house is filled with so much chaos. Constantly, it seams... I'm struggling to just through the end of the day.tragically, book/reading time falls way at the bottom of the totem pole. :(