Picture Books from August
My monthly digest of children's picture book discoveries. This month was PACKED!
Okay, strap yourselves in and get ready for lightspeed. I went a bit bonkers with books this past month, and discovered a plentiful amount of treasure.
As always, clicking the images below will open them up in Instagram, where you can see a selection of pages & more images.
Let’s begin, shall we?
John Ruskin’s THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER, illustrated by Krystyna Turska, 1978. I found a beautiful copy of this book at MacLeod’s Used Books in Vancouver, and fell in love with the images despite knowing nothing about the author or the story, so I snatched it. The mid-1960s all the way through the 1970s is my favorite era of picture book making, especially for its illustration, but also for the bizarre subversive storytelling. This story dates back to the 1800s, and is truly delightful, even more so with these lush illustrations. More samples can be found on a picture book illustration Facebook page I co-founded called Where the Wild Things Art.
LIZZY AND THE CLOUD by The Fan Brothers. I am a fan of The Fan Brothers and their many books they’ve done over the years. But they’ve really outdone themselves with this one — it’s a masterpiece. It made me cry. Like, for real. And it takes a lot to make me cry (my anti-anxiety meds won’t let me). Something about the story hit a nerve and made me an emotional mess, and the artwork is indescribable. The atmosphere, the color palette, the intricate detail — it makes you just look at the pages and wonder “how did they do this?” Pick it up today, and have tissues handy.
AMOS McGEE MISSES THE BUS by Philip and Erin Stead. One of my favorite book-making power couples made a sequel to their delightful SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE, and it’s full of charm, humor, and whimsy as usual. The best drawing is of a giraffe on a bus with a sign on the back that simply says “FOOD!”
…and speaking of all-things-Steadish, Philip Stead himself surprised me by releasing another picture book of his own: I’D LIKE TO BE THE WINDOW FOR A WISE OLD DOG. Another masterpiece that needs to be read aloud, for the rhythm and musicality of the words bounce from page to page like a song, with a touch of absurdity, sweetness and surrealist glee. Once again, everything Philip Stead touches turns to gold.
FROM ED’S TO NED’S by Gideon Sterer, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. This one is a hoot-and-a-half — a group of friends who bound over to each other’s houses in crazy ways; reminds me of THE GOONIES. Great rhyming picture-book fun, and a beautiful picture of childhood and community.
STOP THAT YAWN! by Caron Levis, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Sweet merciful crap, THE ARTWORK IN THIS BOOK! It has to be seen to be believed. It’s lush, detailed, and almost animated. Its classic comic book quality, color schemes, speech bubbles and cityscapes remind me of Sendak’s IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN. One of the best picture books I’ve discovered this year.
I had the privilege a few years ago of animating a few scenes in this animated adaptation of another book illustrated by Pham, GRACE FOR PRESIDENT. I really love her style and the way she draws her characters.
ONCE UPON A UNICORN’S HORN by Beatrice Blue. Who doesn’t love a book about cute baby unicorns? This one is great — a sweet story with charming vibrant illustrations.
JUST TO SEE by Morgane de Cadier, illustrated by Florian Pigé. This book from France - translated to English - is an absurdist delight. A girl discovers a deer whose antlers reach high over the treetops and she climbs up “just to see” how far they go. Turns out there’s a bunch of mice who live there, and other surprises. Brilliant.
WILD BEINGS by Dorien Brouwers. Beautiful poetry about animals and children, both wild things in their own right. Stunning illustrations grace these pages - beautiful stuff!
SMALL THINGS by the late Mel Tregonning. An endorsement by Shaun Tan would be enough to tell you that any book is special — but this one is exceptionally special: a posthumous passion project by Australian author/illustrator Mel Tregonning, who took her own life due to mental health struggles. This book is a wordless graphic novel that gives a habitation and a name to lived experience with anxiety from the eyes of a child — and it resonates with the promise that none of us are alone, we are all struggling with something, and that the way forward is to open up to each other, listen and see each other. Truly a remarkable work of art.
LITTLE OWL LOST by Chris Haughton is a perfect read-aloud bedtime story for the little ones in your life. Stark and vibrant illustrations and a sweet, hilarious story.
ARTHUR AND THE GOLDEN ROPE and MARCY AND THE RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX by Joe Todd-Stanton, part of the Brownstone’s Mythical Collection series. You may remember I discovered another picture book by Todd-Stanton last month called THE COMET. I’m going down the Todd-Stanton rabbit hole to see what else this guy has done, and I am flabbergasted. Flying Eye Books publishes books of exceptional quality, whimsy, adventure, and wonder, including Luke Pearson’s masterful HILDA books. These ones are in the same vein, combining mythical beasts & child adventurer protagonists with fantastic artwork. Full of laughs, danger, ancient gods, and adventure. Check them out — but read Arthur before Marcy, which is essentially a sequel of sorts. Some of the illustrations invoke not only HILDA but conceptual artwork from Cartoon Saloon’s animated gem SONG OF THE SEA.
PETER PAN illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman, 1980. And finally, I’ve been going down another rabbit hole of seeking out more work by the late Trina Schart Hyman, and particularly fascinated and gobsmacked by her work in this book. I love the way she draws faces and water. I’m thinking I’d like to try and make the illustrations in the next book I’m writing (a middle grade novel in progress) look something like this.
You can see more at Where the Wild Things Art.
Whew! Okay, that’s all folks.
Happy Reading!