tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post2248647596744545971..comments2023-09-23T04:53:23.472-03:00Comments on Under the Mad Hat: How to know when a book is superb: pictures edition, part 1Madhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-77602491315762901922008-11-18T22:39:00.000-04:002008-11-18T22:39:00.000-04:00My favourites are of course too numerous to list, ...My favourites are of course too numerous to list, but I was thinking about the book Hey, Al with the frames, and hwo the characters bust out of them at times. I love that. There are so many different illustrators that I love for different reasons that I am totally copping out on listing any becuase I'd just carry on all night like the book geek I am.kittenpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05215443551546036909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-61138753421542857582008-11-12T09:57:00.000-04:002008-11-12T09:57:00.000-04:00Wiesner will come up. Never fear. He's a favourite...Wiesner will come up. Never fear. He's a favourite of ours. I'm afraid I don't know Janet Stephenson.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-87643382968240795422008-11-12T02:19:00.000-04:002008-11-12T02:19:00.000-04:00What about Wiesner? We love him above all others...What about Wiesner? We love him above all others.... Janet Stephenson is another favourite - Cook-a-doodle Doo gets a lot of play around here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-62973586109633674972008-11-08T13:25:00.000-04:002008-11-08T13:25:00.000-04:00i've never read officer buckle and gloria, but MQ ...i've never read officer buckle and gloria, but MQ came home from school one day talking ALL about it. will have to check it out.<BR/><BR/>I love Kevin Henkes books like Chrysanthumum, where the pictures are very clever and add fun little things for the parents (like the titles of the books the dad reads), and the illustrations in Graeme Base's Animalia, where you could just get lost in the picures.<BR/><BR/>there are also the books where the illustrations ARE the story, like Goodnight, Gorilla<BR/><BR/>this post will definately make me look at pictures a bit more.painted maypolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06446625015003854710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-42123328634768557612008-11-08T03:59:00.000-04:002008-11-08T03:59:00.000-04:00Wow! Impressive review of picture books - I really...Wow! Impressive review of picture books - I really enjoyed it. <BR/><BR/>We have 100s of picture books - and even though my babes are now teens, we add a few more every year. Picking a favourite is impossible - but in addition to many already mentioned (Sendak, Crockett Johnson, Kevin Henkes, Barbara Reid, Jan Brett et al...) I admire Alan Say (Grandfather's Journey), Kim Lewis (Just Like Floss), and Janell Cannon (Stellaluna) - their illustrations are beautiful. The Jon Scieszka/Lane Smith duo are much loved here. Oh, and Janet and Allan Ahlberg, Margaret Wise Brown/Clement Hurd, Marie Louise Gay, and the grandaddy of them all, Dr. Suess!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-73400868320926428062008-11-07T01:05:00.000-04:002008-11-07T01:05:00.000-04:00You are awesome. We love Officer Buckle a lot tha...You are awesome. We love Officer Buckle a lot thanks to you. (we always play 'where's Claire?') Last Christmas our gift to give was the Day the babies crawled away those are quite nice.<BR/><BR/>I also found we adored the Guido Von Genecten series of large format board books for their early 'readablity' and their WONDERFUL illustrations. I often recommend them to grandparents who rail on about books their grandkids have that are too busy. (mostly the grandfolks are right that very small kids are offered nothing but highly illustrated DK alphabet books or diorama Dora stuff.<BR/><BR/>But when you ask I want to say The White Cat. A book from my childhood not my parenthood. I remember my school library had an absolutely luscious edition of the White Cat. Errol Le Cain.<BR/><BR/>I loved it and I think I read it at least once a year all the way to Grade 7. It was many things but I think if pressed I would say I liked it because the illustrations were not just edible but delicious.mo-wohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10934156423936866994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-66158252539268607732008-11-06T16:25:00.000-04:002008-11-06T16:25:00.000-04:00Awesome, thank you for the recommendation. I'll ha...Awesome, thank you for the recommendation. I'll have to put it on my amazon list before I forget.<BR/><BR/>I forgot about Mo Willems--I love him too. Edwina the Dinosaur who Didn't Know She was Extinct and teh Piggie and Elephant books are so charming and adorable, and Frances loves them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-24235266852700237712008-11-05T22:20:00.000-04:002008-11-05T22:20:00.000-04:00Marvellous, Mad! Marvellous Mad.I like watercolou...Marvellous, Mad! Marvellous Mad.<BR/><BR/>I like watercolour wash, stylized to realistic. I've just purchased Gordon Morrison's 'Oak Tree' for Little Stuff. Having said that, illustrations that I also love include those of 'The Gruffalo', WTWTA, and Phoebe Gillman's 'Jillian Jiggs'. As a child I remember loving the art deco pen and inks in my versions of the Wizard of Oz books, the insert plates in 'The Princess and Curdy'... eclectic, no question. Have you run across Sierra and Brown, 'Wild about Books'.<BR/><BR/>Disney leaves me cold. Sadly, Little Stuff loves the princesses.MARY Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178370815712313585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-68774323720270185152008-11-05T15:08:00.000-04:002008-11-05T15:08:00.000-04:00Love this! We are huge fans of Kevin Henkes and He...Love this! We are huge fans of Kevin Henkes and Helen Oxenbury. I have a lovely illustrated copy of Alice in Wonderland by Oxenbury. We've read it several times, I suspect because the girls' love the illustrations so much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-91026970102795891732008-11-05T14:37:00.000-04:002008-11-05T14:37:00.000-04:00Mad, this is a totally great post. The way you'...Mad, this is a totally great post. The way you've pulled this together is terrific. Thanks all around. <BR/><BR/>(And I love love love Harold and the Purple Crayon.)Magpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15460136246441367993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-4197893070203403862008-11-05T11:57:00.000-04:002008-11-05T11:57:00.000-04:00We have many of the books you mentioned, and I'll ...We have many of the books you mentioned, and I'll check out the others. We love Jan Brett and Sandra Boynton. (I'm required to act out Barnyard Dance - be careful what you start.) Rosie's Walk and books like it are a bit of a challenge, because Mommy and Daddy don't read it exactly the same way and for my OCD daughter, that doesn't work. oy.<BR/>I love this series. You make these topics so interesting and it's helpful to me to learn more about this.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02190489990653412687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-70001946173549006422008-11-05T11:39:00.000-04:002008-11-05T11:39:00.000-04:00Wow! That's a lot of information... and you've on...Wow! That's a lot of information... and you've only just begun?! <BR/><BR/>I'm going to have to find the purple line book... looks quite interesting.<BR/><BR/>Both my boys were/are drawn to the Maisy books (Lucy Cousins)... big, bright pictures.ewe are herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13339650361453626546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-48061872572532416512008-11-05T10:42:00.000-04:002008-11-05T10:42:00.000-04:00Wonderful, Mad. You're knowledge is impressive and...Wonderful, Mad. You're knowledge is impressive and you share it in such a well thought out, intelligent and interesting way. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-61881635701721781052008-11-05T09:06:00.000-04:002008-11-05T09:06:00.000-04:00As a child some of my favorite books were the Litt...As a child some of my favorite books were the Little Bear books with Maurice Sendak illustrations - the bears in their Victorian clothes - and I'm happy to see my own daughter asking for those often. My other favorite was a book called Donkey Donkey, which has a very different style from the Little Bear books. <BR/><BR/>I remember in third grade doing a long art project where we found Caldecott medal books in the library, learned about different illustration styles, mimicked them, and then got to choose a couple artists to mimick as well (I chose Matisse and Monet, continuing my wildly divergent allegiances in art appreciation). It was a cool project and I still remember doing it, and still have the book I made!mekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17917552705258680396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-18352553473125775502008-11-05T00:55:00.000-04:002008-11-05T00:55:00.000-04:00Wow -- this was fantastic! Thank you for the grea...Wow -- this was fantastic! Thank you for the great tutorial!Cold Spaghettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12669806898733425815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-80630457597168309982008-11-04T23:34:00.000-04:002008-11-04T23:34:00.000-04:00I have always loved Shel Silverstein. But now I wa...I have always loved Shel Silverstein. But now I want to grab all of these books. Children lit is so coolflutterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11828689769747130419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-68595600658343284572008-11-04T22:18:00.000-04:002008-11-04T22:18:00.000-04:00Bea: in our house, the MadDad (being theatre orien...Bea: in our house, the MadDad (being theatre oriented) is all about the illustrations and observational reading. For him the words and text are objects to be observed in space. <BR/><BR/>I'm like you: very text oriented. I love reading poetry, nursery rhymes, books with a galloping cadence, anything that lets me revel in the sound of the story. I have to make a conscious effort to relax into illustrations but then when I do I feel so keen about it all.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-14765016717283028572008-11-04T21:50:00.000-04:002008-11-04T21:50:00.000-04:00I always feel insanely smart when I teach picture ...I always feel insanely smart when I teach picture books, just because I'm so word-focused that anything I come up with to say about the illustrations seems SO insightful to me. I used <I>When the Wolves Come Out of the Walls</I> for group work day again this year and my students were beside themselves they loved it so much - in stark contrast to last year's students who were deeply, deeply offended by the horror-flick-style illustrations and looked very much askance at me for letting my children anywhere near that book.<BR/><BR/>I think my kids are pretty text-oriented too (like me) - their enjoyment always seems to me to be related to the words, though as often to their sound as to their sense. The other day I read a book to my friend's two-year-old daughter and I was shocked when she spent the whole time <I>staring at my face</I>. She was riveted by the story, but she only glanced at the pictures, looking raptly up at me instead. It was unnerving.Beahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15957626443087438904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-17935975384184675992008-11-04T21:05:00.000-04:002008-11-04T21:05:00.000-04:00Mimi: I haven't read Arnie but po-mo picture books...Mimi: I haven't read Arnie but po-mo picture books are everywhere these days. Sims Tabak, Lane Smith, David Wiesner, Mo Willems... So far, Miss M LOVES all those guys.<BR/><BR/>Bon, I love Scarry and, more's the point, so does Miss M. If Oscar likes Scarry you might want to find Peggy Rathmann's 10 Minutes 'Til Bedtime. I think it owes a lot to Scarry. <BR/><BR/>Andrea, I am besotted with Roslyn Scwartz (Mole sisters, etc...) BTW, I think you would really like the environmental picture books of Australian Jeannie Baker. <BR/><BR/>Beck: Potter and Williams are both hits with me too. Ditto Helen Ward, Veronica.<BR/><BR/>De: When I do part whatever (4?) of the series, I'll provide a list of a # of wordless and near-wordless picture books. I love em.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-54154424358219822052008-11-04T20:56:00.000-04:002008-11-04T20:56:00.000-04:00We have a Barbara Reid book translated into French...We have a Barbara Reid book translated into French, and there are very few words, but Munchkin loves finding new things in the detail of the illustrations.<BR/><BR/>I like Ian Falconer's Olivia a lot. Whimsical but spare. Very controlled visual vocabulary. Um ... What do you make of Laurie Keller's 'Arnie the Doughnut'--it's a postmodern collage multimedia riot with extraneous text and illustration all over the place. But the two year old loves it.<BR/><BR/>You haven't really touch on it, but I like the tone of gentleness and harmony in 'Guess How Much I love You'--it's detailed, but restful all at once.Mimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10812707312289852258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-12018135334499679092008-11-04T19:57:00.000-04:002008-11-04T19:57:00.000-04:00Now I'm wishing Greg was here, because I know he u...Now I'm wishing Greg was here, because I know he uses kids' books as visual reference libraries. All I can say, really, is "I like stuff."<BR/><BR/>There was a book called Schadenfreude that Marla gave me that has very charming retro illustrations, and I like the Mole Sisters pictures. If I Were a Lion has some nice illustrations in it, and I like Neil Gaiman's Dangerous Alphabet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-27262787055887486472008-11-04T18:58:00.000-04:002008-11-04T18:58:00.000-04:00lol @ sober briquette...i have that same problem. ...lol @ sober briquette...i have that same problem. then i wonder if we read bad books with terrible illustrations and so i hesitate to share. sigh. the junior high colonization of the mind never ends.<BR/><BR/>lately, Oscar's begun wanting to find and name everything on the page, so we're on a big Richard Scarry-a-thon, especially the encyclopaediac ones with little visual hidden surprises. i love them too, especially the smorgasbord of items lucky Kenny Bear has for breakfast.Bonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14403701620708365171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-80654904066380161422008-11-04T18:31:00.001-04:002008-11-04T18:31:00.001-04:00Um, I panic when asked a question, so all of our f...Um, I panic when asked a question, so all of our favorites have fled my mind. However, I very much enjoyed learning why I love some of the books I do...I confess to never selecting a book for my children that has artwork which does not appeal to me.<BR/><BR/>Your mention of "Rosie's Walk" reminded me that it and other books with outstanding illustrations and few words make good first foreign language books.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-41186251309310252242008-11-04T18:31:00.000-04:002008-11-04T18:31:00.000-04:00Oh! Also Peter Sis.Oh! Also Peter Sis.Sharon L. Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06387774344892567897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23740018.post-87894127699358731192008-11-04T18:30:00.000-04:002008-11-04T18:30:00.000-04:00I am an absolute fan of Helen Ward's illustrations...I am an absolute fan of Helen Ward's illustrations. Just this minute I finished reading King of the Birds to two of my girls. I am not always a big fan of her prose when she writes her own, but I will buy her books every time anyway for the illustrations.Sharon L. Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06387774344892567897noreply@blogger.com