Week-end reading. Reading this before I hand it off to my bookwormy Avery. Book Uncle owns a free lending library on the street corner in Yasmin’s neighborhood. His motto? To provide the “right book for the right person for the right day.” Wholeheartedly looking forward to this.
Book Uncle and Me is by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Julianna Swaney and published by Groundwood Books.
For today’s #classicchapterbooks, we’re sharing something from the prolific pen of Astrid Lindgren: Emil’s Clever Pig. The more works we read of Astrid Lindgren’s, the more we love her. Lindgren's work truly embodies childhood—its curiosity, freedom, caprices and probably most importantly, its honesty. For who speaks with more candor than a child?
“There was never a boy in the whole of Lönneberga and in the whole of Småland and in the whole of Sweden and—who knows—perhaps in the whole world who got into more mischief than Emil. He lived at Katthult farm in Lönneberga in Småland in Sweden a long time ago. No one would have believed that when he grew up he would become the president of the local council and the finest man the whole of Lönneberga, but he did.”
Mischievous Emil can’t seem to escape trouble and shenanigans wherever he goes. In this installment of the series, he starts off his adventures with buying a horse, lame hen and mad cow at an auction.
Visit @the.book.report to see what she's sharing today.
Nate’s proclamation after his first time listening to The Cookie Fiasco — “Read it again!” It’s a hilarious start to the new Elephant and Piggie Like Reading! series. The Cookie Fiasco is about a serious quandary, a hippo with a nervous habit and how things sometimes work out in the end on their own. The dialogue, layout, play with type—all genius. It’s easily one of the most engaging early readers we’ve read this year.
We Are Growing is also very enjoyable. Blades of grass vie for bragging rights and claim one superlative after another until the ironic ending. Wow, is all I have to say. Both are really, really well done. We’re eagerly awaiting the rest of this series.
The Cookie Fiasco is by Dan Santat and We Are Growing is by Laurie Keller. Published by Disney Hyperion.
A sweet book to celebrate the big and small moments of the second year of a child’s life—walking (more like running) everywhere, making plans, learning words—so many words. Toddlers become their own selves. Their hands learn to do so much and their little eyes see many new things and experiences, so many of them wonders. As in many of her books, Sara O’Leary knows how to speak to the hearts of parents and children alike with her delicate words. Her writing is sentimental, but with a light touch and never overwrought.
The qualities of Karen Klassen’s textured illustrations—a mix of patterns, brush strokes and ink—almost resemble memories in our mind’s eye—the fleeting, moving pictures that parents see of what life has been like in the past two years of their babies’ lives, when they have a moment to stop and think.
You Are Two is by Sara O’Leary, Karen Klassen and published by Owl Kids.
The ever thoughtful Marc Martin stops by to chat with us about his work and influences in this week’s Five Questions. His stunning books include Silent Observer, A River, Max, The Curious Explorer’s Illustrated Guide to Exotic Animals A to Z, A Forest and the forthcoming Lots.
What was your childhood like and did you have any creative endeavors as a kid?
I had a really happy childhood, but I’m an only child, which meant I had to find creative ways of playing and using my imagination without other kids around. I played with Lego a lot, and it enabled me to create worlds in which to exist and dream. I also rode my bicycle quite a bit - I spent many afternoons after school riding around the neighbourhood and exploring my surroundings.
Who―or what―have been the major influences on your work?
This is always changing for me. I used to be influenced by a lot of illustrators and designers, but now I’m probably more interested in fine art than anything else. If I had to name some early inspiration, I’d say all of Miroslav Sasek’s This is series were very influential, as was Jennie Baker’s Where the forest meets the sea. Studying graphic design also gave me an appreciation for modernist art and design, so Ray and Charles Eames, Bruno Munari, Saul Bass and Charley Harper are some of my favourites.
What inspired A River and A Silent Observer?
Silent Observer came about at a time when I was still doing a lot of graphic design work and I needed a creative outlet for other ideas I’d been playing around with. Silent Observer still feels like more of an outline for a story rather than a finished book, but at the time I just needed to make something and get it out in the world.
A River was very different in terms of planning and execution. It was an idea I’d had for a long time, but I think the initial inspiration came from a desire to tell a story about connectedness to landscape and the power of imagination. I also wanted to develop my illustration away from the computer, so A River was a good vehicle challenge myself technically.
Can you tell us how you became an illustrator?
Essentially I became an illustrator because I was growing frustrated as a graphic designer. Being a designer can be challenging if you’re trying to do creative work and constantly being reigned in by a client. With my illustration, I feel like I’ve got more creative control, especially with my books. My ultimate goal is to make work that I like, and let the people who understand that work come to me – if they understand what I do, then they’re more likely to trust my creative decisions.
How do you think your work has changed over the years?
My style and confidence as an illustrator has definitely evolved. I used to do a lot more ‘vector’ work (that’s illustrating with a computer and programs like Adobe Illustrator), but now I’m a lot more comfortable working with paints and pencil.
I think I used to hide behind the computer a bit. I was afraid to make mistakes, and a computer easily gets rid of imperfections, so it was a tempting medium to use. But I also think it limited the kind of illustration I was making – it’s difficult for people to really connect with computer based work, because they can’t see the process behind it, and it often has a cold, clean-edged look to it all. Ultimately I wanted the kind of illustrations I made (and the stories I told with them) to feel more human, so I consciously started stepping away from the computer and doing things by hand. I still use the computer for some things, but it’s a tool amongst many, and not a driver of my illustrative style anymore.
Thanks for stopping by, Marc. We are very much looking forward to your next book, Lots (due out on October 3rd). You can find Marc sharing his gorgeous work on his site, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr.
Image courtesy of Marc Martin.