Bunches of Books: Beasts & Daydreams
A round-up of books I've discovered so far in early 2025.
Hello, friends. Time for another digest of books I want to tell you about. These book posts have evolved and morphed over time from a monthly digest to bi-monthly, and may end up being more random timing-wise. In any case, I’m now calling it ‘Bunches of Books’ with a snazzy subtitle that ties together a common theme that resonates between them. In this case, these books are about dreams, daydreams and animals of various varieties.
MR. LEPRON’S MYSTERY SOUP by Giovanna Zoboli and Mariachiara Di Giorgio
What’s in the water in Italy that makes their picture books so brilliant? This masterpiece of a book is like THE TASTE OF THINGS mixed with WATERSHIP DOWN — and with bathing witches. Stunning and gorgeous with a story of deep truthiness.
A DAYDREAMY CHILD TAKES A WALK by Gianni Rodari & Beatrice Alemagna — case in point, Italian books are the greatest and weirdest things. This one is about a boy who goes for a walk and loses his body parts along the way, so his community returns all the parts to his mother.
A RAINY DRAGON DAY by Julie Völk (from Austria) asks the timeless question of what dragons do when they need to “go” like anyone else does. If you love dragons you need this one.
A HOME THAT MEANS THE WORLD by Victoria Turnbull (UK), who can always be counted on to create a picture book that looks like it’s made of velvet, soft and vibrant.
THE WOLF SUIT by Sid Sharp from Toronto — another hilarious romp in graphic-novel fashion about a sheep who dresses like a wolf so he can pick blackberries without fear of being eaten. But the wolves are not what they seem…
BY TROLLEY PAST THIMBLEDON BRIDGE is a book I discovered a couple years ago, but now I have my own copy and it’s a fantastic story. Ashley Bryan was the first African-American children’s book writer/illustrator who collaborated with an artist named Marvin Bileck (Caldecott Honor Winner for RAIN MAKES APPLESAUCE) on this particular picture book, published in 2015. Little is known about Bileck, but Bryan is a national treasure — and both are now deceased. Imagine my surprise and delight to find a SIGNED COPY at my local thrift store for only 50-cents (Canadian)!!! How does this happen? How did this book make it from Maine to a small Canadian village on the opposite coast? And why is it now mine? It’s a strange miracle.
…and from the sublime to the ridiculous, for another 50-cents I got this THREE BEARS Little Golden Book from 1948 illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.
IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES by Katherine Rundell — on the middle-grade novel front I finished this book which is starting to make Rundell a household name as an international bestseller. It’s a much more straight-forward fantasy adventure novel than ROOFTOPPERS which is smaller in scope, but I truly adored it. Gives a real lift of the heart by the end, and there is now a series unfolding so I’m paying attention.
Rundell is my new favorite author and I love how her mind works. Again, if you love dragons you need this, for here there be plenty.
