The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
2010 Caldecott Medal Winner
The Lion & the Mouse is the title of a 2009 book written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
Book Review: by Mary Kate - A Visual Feast
Pencil, watercolor and colored pencils on paper...
That's all that was used to create the new children's book, The Lion & The Mouse. But those simple tools were being wielded in the hands of Jerry Pinkney and that, apparently, was enough. The magical combination of the artist and his skill, of tool and medium has resulted in a masterpiece of beauty and creativity.
Because this retelling of Aesop's fable is presented here with almost no words, it will challenge parents, teachers and others doing the "reading" to find words worthy of doing justice to Pinkney's art. It's just that gorgeous.
I've never encountered Pinkney's work previously and am now looking forward to discovering what other wonders have come from his hands and to collecting and sharing them.
And though it goes against all my beliefs as to how a book should be treated, I'm considering purchasing an additional copy solely to snag the dust jacket and have the cover art matted and framed. I simply can't take my eyes off it!
Highly recommended!
The House in the Night
2009 Caldecott Medal Winner
The House in the Night is the title of a 2008 book by Susan Marie Swanson. Beth Krommes won the 2009 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the book.
Review by M. Hart:
The illustrations are fabulously rich and textured; the story is simple and comforting. Highly original and effective use of color -- only black, white, and golden yellow.
We checked this out from the library, and my 5-year-old loves it. Truth be told, I probably love it even more. I'll be buying a copy for our family and several more as gifts.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
2008 Caldecott Medal Recipient
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a historical-fiction book written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and published by Scholastic Press. The hardcover edition was released on January 30, 2007, and the paperback edition was released on June 2, 2008. With 284 pictures between the book's 533 pages, the book depends equally on its pictures as it does the actual words. Selznick himself has described the book as "not exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things." The book won the 2008 Caldecott Medal, the first novel to do so, as the Caldecott Medal is for illustrations. The book's primary inspiration is the true story of turn-of-the-century pioneer film-maker Georges Méliès, his surviving films, and his collection of mechanical, wind-up figures called automata. Selznick decided to add automatons to the storyline after reading Edison's Eve by Gaby Wood, which tells the story of Edison who wanted to create a talking wind up doll. Melies actually had a set of automaton which were either sold or lost. At the end of his life Melies was broke as films went to wide screen in the US. He did work in a toy booth in a Paris railstation, hence the setting. Selznick drew Melies real door in the book. It is reported that Melies did sell some of his films to a company where they ultimately made heels on shoes.
Book Review by John D. Bartone - Objet D'art
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET is art of a high order. To start with, this book is a beautiful object. The right dust jacket can definitely sell a book. The graphite rendering of Hugo in extreme close-up gracing the book's spine and wrapping around the back cover is what drew me to the bookshelf in the first place. And upon discovering the book's unusual format, I was hooked. The artwork here does not illustrate the text. Rather it advances the plot. It's a little like watching a silent movie and reading title cards...completely appropriate in a story dealing with the origins of cinema.
The story lives up to the promise of the packaging. It is immediately engaging and ultimately touching. Hugo is the orphaned son of a clock-maker, living in the walls behind a Parisian train station, maintaining the station's clocks, stealing bread and milk to survive, stealing nuts, bolts, and gears to complete a project his father was working on when he died. His secret existence is threatened as his life becomes entwined with a bitter, old man and a bookish young girl. It's part graphic novel, part mystery, part coming-of-age. There are echoes of Pinocchio but with a twist as here it is a lonely boy building an automaton father figure.
This is a timeless book about, among other things, time. This is a book for the ages, and a book for all ages. The story, the artwork, the writing style, the overall design, all first rate parts of a greater whole, like the precisely crafted mechanism of a fine Swiss clock.
Flotsam by David Wiesner
2007 Winner of Caldecott Medal
Flotsam is a children's book written and illustrated by David Wiesner. Published by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin in 2006, it was the 2007 winner of the Caldecott Medal.[1] Flotsam is the recipient of David Wiesner's 3rd Caldecott Medal. The book contains illustrations of underwater life with no text to accompany them.
Plot
This book has no words, but is told in pictures. A boy is at the beach and finds an old camera. He takes the film to get it developed, and sees photos of fantastical undersea cities and inventions. The last picture is the most interesting, though: it's of a girl, who is holding a photo of a child, who is holding a photo of a child, who is holding a photo of a child, and so on. The boy figures out that he should take a picture of himself holding this photo. So he takes the picture, and tosses the camera back into the ocean; it is carried across the ocean by a variety of fish and sea life, until it again washes ashore and another child finds it.
Book Review by J. Lee - A Gem of a Book
This book is really a treasure. It will make you and your kids think about the ocean, the past, the future, photography, optics, conservation, and the list goes on! Believe it or not, it isn't really for the very young even though there are no words. The ideas the pictures are trying to convey are fairly complex. Even toddlers who can read would benefit from an adult explaining what is going on and how the story is progressing. Still, babies might enjoy just looking at some of the beautiful art. I think you will love "reading" it to your children.
The Hello, Goodbye Window
2006 Caldecott Medal Winner
The Hello, Goodbye Window is the name of the 2005 book and the window in the book. It was written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Raschka and won the 2006 Caldecott Medal. It tells, from a little girl's point of view, how she has so much fun seeing and playing with her grandparents through this specific window.
Book Review by Tee C. Royal
Narrated by a young girl, THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW is an endearing story that details the importance of a very special window and the grandparents who live on the other side of it. The little girl uses the window to greet her grandparents, play games, look out at the world, and wave goodbye at the end of her trip.
I enjoyed THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW and its view of the relationship between children and their grandparents. The drawings are almost kid-like scribbles that give the story a more child-like appeal, complementing the narration. The colors are bright and craftily tell the story of those passing the windows, Poppy's harmonica playing, the dark blue/black sky and the stars that inhabit it. Juster does a wonderful job of showing the world through the eyes of a child and her connection of all things important to the kitchen window. Additionally, teaching children about interracial families (depicted in the drawings, not the words) is a good way to introduce those children of mixed heritage.
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
2005 Caldecott Medal Recipient
Kitten's First Full Moon is a 2004 book by Kevin Henkes that won the 2005 Caldecott Medal. It talks about a small kitten who has never seen the moon before, and mistakes it for milk, bringing about a number of mishaps for Kitten, including eating a bug and drinking lots of water.
The book is in black and white and typeset in sans-serif. The idea came from a line in another book by Henkes, "The cat thought the moon was a bowl of milk." Henkes gradually expanded on that for Kitten's First Full Moon.
Review by Soaring Heart - Great Book for Beginning Readers
This cute story of a kitten thinking the full moon is a big bowl of milk and her wriggling, tumbling, chasing, climbing, and leaping after it reminds me of childhood imagination, curiousity, exploration and discovery. Kitten's First Full Moon has a fun underlying message of encouragement to go after our dreams! Usually children love colorfully illustrated books. Kitten's First Full Moon, done in black and white with variations of gray shades, grants it to stand out in memory as being different and enables it to receive greater attention, as it is a story that occurs at night. (So black and white makes sense.)
The bold, thick black lettering on starch white paper makes it easy for a child to read with confidence. The sentences are of varying length and the story is written so that it keeps children turning pages to find out what the kitten will do next. The many changes of illustrations from one on a full page, to five long ones, to a two page spread with only one small picture on each and more, adds to the visual interest of KFFM. The Caldecott Medal Winner of 2005. Enjoy it! Soar!
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein - 2004 Caldecott Medal Recipient
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a 2003 children's book by Mordicai Gerstein that won the 2004 Caldecott Medal. It tells the true story of Philippe Petit, a man who walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on August 7, 1974 on a tightrope.
It was adapted into an animated short film with the same name in 2005 for Weston Woods Studios by Michael Sporn, narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal. The film received the Audience Choice Award for best short film at the 2005 Heartland Film Festival, [3] and the award for Best Short Animation Made for Children at the 2006 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It is included as an extra on the DVD of the Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire.
My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
2003 Caldecott Medal Recipient
My Friend Rabbit is a 2002 book by Eric Rohmann. Released by Roaring Brook Press and Millbrook Press, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 2003.
Eric Rohmann's book, "My Friend Rabbit," is about a mouse and a rabbit that are very good friends. Rabbit is the friend that is always getting into trouble, and mouse is the friend that always stands by Rabbit's side. In this story, Mouse lets Rabbit play with his new airplane, to which Rabbit gets the airplane stuck in a tree. Rabbit thinks he has the solution as he drags all the animals over to the tree and has them stand head to toe to reach the airplane. However, when the animals plunge to the ground, they are very unhappy with Rabbit. But, Mouse still loves Rabbit, and lets him fly away with him on his airplane.
Book Review by Crazyaboutchildrenslit:
In the book, "My Friend Rabbit," Eric Rohmann uses hand colored relief prints for the illustrations. I love the bold colors Rohmann uses in the illustrations to portray a joyful and energetic plot. Beyond coloring, I love Eric Rohmann's use of line in this story. He uses dotted and loopy lines to let the reader follow the airplanes path. I think children will love following the lines of the airplane's path.
I really enjoyed the use of line on the page with all the animals stacked up to reach the airplane. I think kids will enjoy turning the book to see how high the animals stretched up towards the tree.
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
2002 Caldecott Medal Winner
The Three Pigs is a book by David Wiesner. Released by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 2002, Wiesner's second of three honors.
The plot begins to follow the traditional story of the Three Little Pigs, but soon the three pigs are blown from the pages of the storybook. Wiesner said, on the backflap of the book, that this book was inspired by the pigs at the end of his previous Caldecott book, Tuesday.
So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George
2001 Caldecott Medal Recipient
So You Want to Be President? is the title of a 2000 book by Judith St. George. It featured a comprehensive guide to the Presidents of the United States. David Small won the 2001 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations of the book.
This book lists many facts about presidents, and some vice presidents including their occupation before office, education, and family.
2010 Caldecott Medal Winner
The Lion & the Mouse is the title of a 2009 book written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
Book Review: by Mary Kate - A Visual Feast
Pencil, watercolor and colored pencils on paper...
That's all that was used to create the new children's book, The Lion & The Mouse. But those simple tools were being wielded in the hands of Jerry Pinkney and that, apparently, was enough. The magical combination of the artist and his skill, of tool and medium has resulted in a masterpiece of beauty and creativity.
Because this retelling of Aesop's fable is presented here with almost no words, it will challenge parents, teachers and others doing the "reading" to find words worthy of doing justice to Pinkney's art. It's just that gorgeous.
I've never encountered Pinkney's work previously and am now looking forward to discovering what other wonders have come from his hands and to collecting and sharing them.
And though it goes against all my beliefs as to how a book should be treated, I'm considering purchasing an additional copy solely to snag the dust jacket and have the cover art matted and framed. I simply can't take my eyes off it!
Highly recommended!
The House in the Night
2009 Caldecott Medal Winner
The House in the Night is the title of a 2008 book by Susan Marie Swanson. Beth Krommes won the 2009 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the book.
Review by M. Hart:
The illustrations are fabulously rich and textured; the story is simple and comforting. Highly original and effective use of color -- only black, white, and golden yellow.
We checked this out from the library, and my 5-year-old loves it. Truth be told, I probably love it even more. I'll be buying a copy for our family and several more as gifts.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
2008 Caldecott Medal Recipient
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a historical-fiction book written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and published by Scholastic Press. The hardcover edition was released on January 30, 2007, and the paperback edition was released on June 2, 2008. With 284 pictures between the book's 533 pages, the book depends equally on its pictures as it does the actual words. Selznick himself has described the book as "not exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things." The book won the 2008 Caldecott Medal, the first novel to do so, as the Caldecott Medal is for illustrations. The book's primary inspiration is the true story of turn-of-the-century pioneer film-maker Georges Méliès, his surviving films, and his collection of mechanical, wind-up figures called automata. Selznick decided to add automatons to the storyline after reading Edison's Eve by Gaby Wood, which tells the story of Edison who wanted to create a talking wind up doll. Melies actually had a set of automaton which were either sold or lost. At the end of his life Melies was broke as films went to wide screen in the US. He did work in a toy booth in a Paris railstation, hence the setting. Selznick drew Melies real door in the book. It is reported that Melies did sell some of his films to a company where they ultimately made heels on shoes.
Book Review by John D. Bartone - Objet D'art
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET is art of a high order. To start with, this book is a beautiful object. The right dust jacket can definitely sell a book. The graphite rendering of Hugo in extreme close-up gracing the book's spine and wrapping around the back cover is what drew me to the bookshelf in the first place. And upon discovering the book's unusual format, I was hooked. The artwork here does not illustrate the text. Rather it advances the plot. It's a little like watching a silent movie and reading title cards...completely appropriate in a story dealing with the origins of cinema.
The story lives up to the promise of the packaging. It is immediately engaging and ultimately touching. Hugo is the orphaned son of a clock-maker, living in the walls behind a Parisian train station, maintaining the station's clocks, stealing bread and milk to survive, stealing nuts, bolts, and gears to complete a project his father was working on when he died. His secret existence is threatened as his life becomes entwined with a bitter, old man and a bookish young girl. It's part graphic novel, part mystery, part coming-of-age. There are echoes of Pinocchio but with a twist as here it is a lonely boy building an automaton father figure.
This is a timeless book about, among other things, time. This is a book for the ages, and a book for all ages. The story, the artwork, the writing style, the overall design, all first rate parts of a greater whole, like the precisely crafted mechanism of a fine Swiss clock.
Flotsam by David Wiesner
2007 Winner of Caldecott Medal
Flotsam is a children's book written and illustrated by David Wiesner. Published by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin in 2006, it was the 2007 winner of the Caldecott Medal.[1] Flotsam is the recipient of David Wiesner's 3rd Caldecott Medal. The book contains illustrations of underwater life with no text to accompany them.
Plot
This book has no words, but is told in pictures. A boy is at the beach and finds an old camera. He takes the film to get it developed, and sees photos of fantastical undersea cities and inventions. The last picture is the most interesting, though: it's of a girl, who is holding a photo of a child, who is holding a photo of a child, who is holding a photo of a child, and so on. The boy figures out that he should take a picture of himself holding this photo. So he takes the picture, and tosses the camera back into the ocean; it is carried across the ocean by a variety of fish and sea life, until it again washes ashore and another child finds it.
Book Review by J. Lee - A Gem of a Book
This book is really a treasure. It will make you and your kids think about the ocean, the past, the future, photography, optics, conservation, and the list goes on! Believe it or not, it isn't really for the very young even though there are no words. The ideas the pictures are trying to convey are fairly complex. Even toddlers who can read would benefit from an adult explaining what is going on and how the story is progressing. Still, babies might enjoy just looking at some of the beautiful art. I think you will love "reading" it to your children.
The Hello, Goodbye Window
2006 Caldecott Medal Winner
The Hello, Goodbye Window is the name of the 2005 book and the window in the book. It was written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Raschka and won the 2006 Caldecott Medal. It tells, from a little girl's point of view, how she has so much fun seeing and playing with her grandparents through this specific window.
Book Review by Tee C. Royal
Narrated by a young girl, THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW is an endearing story that details the importance of a very special window and the grandparents who live on the other side of it. The little girl uses the window to greet her grandparents, play games, look out at the world, and wave goodbye at the end of her trip.
I enjoyed THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW and its view of the relationship between children and their grandparents. The drawings are almost kid-like scribbles that give the story a more child-like appeal, complementing the narration. The colors are bright and craftily tell the story of those passing the windows, Poppy's harmonica playing, the dark blue/black sky and the stars that inhabit it. Juster does a wonderful job of showing the world through the eyes of a child and her connection of all things important to the kitchen window. Additionally, teaching children about interracial families (depicted in the drawings, not the words) is a good way to introduce those children of mixed heritage.
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
2005 Caldecott Medal Recipient
The book is in black and white and typeset in sans-serif. The idea came from a line in another book by Henkes, "The cat thought the moon was a bowl of milk." Henkes gradually expanded on that for Kitten's First Full Moon.
Review by Soaring Heart - Great Book for Beginning Readers
This cute story of a kitten thinking the full moon is a big bowl of milk and her wriggling, tumbling, chasing, climbing, and leaping after it reminds me of childhood imagination, curiousity, exploration and discovery. Kitten's First Full Moon has a fun underlying message of encouragement to go after our dreams! Usually children love colorfully illustrated books. Kitten's First Full Moon, done in black and white with variations of gray shades, grants it to stand out in memory as being different and enables it to receive greater attention, as it is a story that occurs at night. (So black and white makes sense.)
The bold, thick black lettering on starch white paper makes it easy for a child to read with confidence. The sentences are of varying length and the story is written so that it keeps children turning pages to find out what the kitten will do next. The many changes of illustrations from one on a full page, to five long ones, to a two page spread with only one small picture on each and more, adds to the visual interest of KFFM. The Caldecott Medal Winner of 2005. Enjoy it! Soar!
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein - 2004 Caldecott Medal Recipient
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a 2003 children's book by Mordicai Gerstein that won the 2004 Caldecott Medal. It tells the true story of Philippe Petit, a man who walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on August 7, 1974 on a tightrope.
It was adapted into an animated short film with the same name in 2005 for Weston Woods Studios by Michael Sporn, narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal. The film received the Audience Choice Award for best short film at the 2005 Heartland Film Festival, [3] and the award for Best Short Animation Made for Children at the 2006 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It is included as an extra on the DVD of the Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire.
My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
2003 Caldecott Medal Recipient
My Friend Rabbit is a 2002 book by Eric Rohmann. Released by Roaring Brook Press and Millbrook Press, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 2003.
Eric Rohmann's book, "My Friend Rabbit," is about a mouse and a rabbit that are very good friends. Rabbit is the friend that is always getting into trouble, and mouse is the friend that always stands by Rabbit's side. In this story, Mouse lets Rabbit play with his new airplane, to which Rabbit gets the airplane stuck in a tree. Rabbit thinks he has the solution as he drags all the animals over to the tree and has them stand head to toe to reach the airplane. However, when the animals plunge to the ground, they are very unhappy with Rabbit. But, Mouse still loves Rabbit, and lets him fly away with him on his airplane.
Book Review by Crazyaboutchildrenslit:
In the book, "My Friend Rabbit," Eric Rohmann uses hand colored relief prints for the illustrations. I love the bold colors Rohmann uses in the illustrations to portray a joyful and energetic plot. Beyond coloring, I love Eric Rohmann's use of line in this story. He uses dotted and loopy lines to let the reader follow the airplanes path. I think children will love following the lines of the airplane's path.
I really enjoyed the use of line on the page with all the animals stacked up to reach the airplane. I think kids will enjoy turning the book to see how high the animals stretched up towards the tree.
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
2002 Caldecott Medal Winner
The Three Pigs is a book by David Wiesner. Released by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 2002, Wiesner's second of three honors.
The plot begins to follow the traditional story of the Three Little Pigs, but soon the three pigs are blown from the pages of the storybook. Wiesner said, on the backflap of the book, that this book was inspired by the pigs at the end of his previous Caldecott book, Tuesday.
So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George
2001 Caldecott Medal Recipient
So You Want to Be President? is the title of a 2000 book by Judith St. George. It featured a comprehensive guide to the Presidents of the United States. David Small won the 2001 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations of the book.
This book lists many facts about presidents, and some vice presidents including their occupation before office, education, and family.
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