Picture Book News

Very happy to report that there is a new book on the way from the wondrous Sophie Blackall. It's called The Mighty Lalouche and is written by Matthew Olshan.



Read about her process here and flip through a slideshow of images.  Also click on her name above to browse around her website.  Or find her on facebook.



Also there is a new book coming from Gabi Swiatkowska this spring.  It's called Please, Papa and is a companion to Thank You, Mama.  Both books are written by Kate Banks.  Follow the links to see previews of both books.  I'm a big fan of Gabi Swiatokska's distinctive style.  


There's an article in The Atlantic on picture books about where babies come from, including books on surrogacy and alternative methods.  One of my favourite reviews of Where You Came From berated me for not including a single fact in the book.

I've been banging on a lot about empathy lately.  Wrote about it here and talked about it on CBC here then wrote about it again here where I started a reading list for promoting empathy in teens.  I've just remembered a great picture book that I would recommend for the 3-5 pre-reader set.  It's called That's Not Funny and is by Adrian Johnson.  It's all about the concept of schadenfreude (seriously) and while being joyfully non-didactic is a great teaching tool for that age group. And it's very funny.

Nothing whatsoever to do with picture books, but I wrote a review of Kate Atkinson's Life After Life for the Globe and Mail and you can read it here, if you are so inclined.  Perhaps, like me you love picture books but also love being able to immerse yourself in a good doorstopper once in awhile.

Finally, I've been thinking about Julie Morstad's beautiful board book of the Robert Louis Stevenson poem The Swing.  What other classic poem for children might we like to see her take a swing at?  Leave suggestions in the comments and I will pass along.



Comments

m said…
Morstad's version of The Swing is one of my favourite books to read my youngest. As the third, she has a lot of books for her reading pleasure and we haven't bought a lot of new ones for her, but I am so glad I got this one. It's perfect.

There are so many great Stevenson poems that she could do, but especially "My Shaddow" and "Windy Nights." Outside of Stevenson, I'd love her version of Browning's Pied Piper or ee cumming's "maggie and milly and molly and may" or dip into the Grimm tales.

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