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Fantasy Picture Book Poster Pick #1 ~ Sonia Sanchez, "The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits"

1/24/2017

     When you're reading through a picture book, do you ever think, Wow! This is gorgeous. I wish I could tear this illustration out of the book, frame it, and hang it on my wall!
     I do!
     So I'm inaugurating the Fantasy Picture Book Poster Pick.

For my first ever FPBPP, I choose the cute and captivating rabbits of Sonia Sanchez, from "The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits," written by Douglas Florian. They're all so...individual, and bursting with personality. These fun bunnies are sketchy and soft, cartoonish and realistic, contemplative and curious--all at once. It's so hard to choose just one image for my fantasy poster, but I think I'll go with the end papers...

     Can everyone say, "Awwwwwwwww."
     Wasn't that CUTE?
     Now...it's your turn. What is YOUR Fantasy Picture Book Poster Pick? Post it in the comments.

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"It's my own fault..."

1/13/2017

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Can I just say--what a great way to start a book!

"Its my own fault...
I wanted a little brother."

That's the genius that is "Big Little Brother", by Kevin Kling and illustrator Chris Monroe--a story about a kid with a little brother who grows and grows and eventually looms over him.

These are such thoughtful characterizations! The kid narrator really earns our respect as he struggles, in all seriousness and against the odds, to cook a toy Thanksgiving turkey in a play kitchen. Also, there's this lovely, resonating detail that just plucks at your heartstrings. It turns the whole story into a charmer.

"He grabs the first donut he sees and holds it all day.
When he falls asleep at night...
his hands unfold and
donut crumbs fall out."

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Inspiration from Mordicai Gerstein

1/8/2017

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"I think of a picture book as a hand-held theater, entered by opening it, and operated by
turning its pages –
no batteries, you don’t have to plug it in."

These quotes come from the 2004 Caldecott acceptance speech of Mordicai Gerstein, the author and illustrator of "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers."

The full transcript of the speech is available at MordicaiGerstein.com.

"My intention in all my books is to give children
just what I want to give everyone:
something beautiful, magical, funny, and soulful:
something that provokes good questions:
questions about what an incomprehensible,
beautiful and seemingly impossible thing it is
to be a human being
in this incomprehensible, beautiful
and seemingly impossible world.
What could be more difficult
and more wonderful?"

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