An odd little wordless book that celebrates the first day of May. Originally published in Portugal in 2022, it is now available for the American publiAn odd little wordless book that celebrates the first day of May. Originally published in Portugal in 2022, it is now available for the American public.
A young girl is bored while inside her home on a beautiful day. Before she can go out, she must put on her shoes. When the doors open, life becomes a magical fantasy. The wind blows her to a forest far away. She stops to look and listen to the things in the forest, chases after butterflies, then lays down to take a nap. My favorite part is the raised letters on the cover (tactile treat!).
The "storyline" is very European in nature, charming, but quirky. Moreira's digital artwork is very clean and simple, with images often shown as frames. My quibble about this one is the colors used by Moreira are so dark that many actions and items are lost in the saturated green of the ground and blue of the sky. The outline of the tree and the slide on the opening page are difficult to see. Things with red, white, or "sand" color offer a high contrast that works.
There is a discernable error. On the page with the 4 bored children looking outside, the one in red has blue curtains in the window. When you turn the pag, her curtains appear to be brown.
Regardless, this will be useful for non-verbal children to read and practice their storytelling. It will be a great tool to encourage vocabulary building for all chilren.
**spoiler alert** Olive is the third wordless book in the Fairy-Tale Color Collection, joining Red and Gold. Thanks to Creston Books for the review co**spoiler alert** Olive is the third wordless book in the Fairy-Tale Color Collection, joining Red and Gold. Thanks to Creston Books for the review copy.
When a bird drops a tiny olive pit in the ground, a giant olive tree springs forth overnight. When a young girl goes outside to play the next day, she climbs the tree and discovers a giant woman standing on the clouds above the tree. She picks up the girl and offers her an olive to eat. The duo set off to do some cloud-hopping until the girl is swept off her shoulder. The giantess comes up with a safe solution for the girl as they cloud dance away the rest of the day. The next morning, the giantess bids her friend goodbye and the girl returns home to smell the irises growing at the base of the tree. There, she spies a tiny mouse and they go off dancing in the countryside.
Alexander literally turns this fractured fairy tale on its side, as the reader will want to turn the book 45 degrees to view the story. The use of multiple visual perspectives/points of view is so strong and flow well throughout the tale. The B&W illustrations are filled with shades of olive green to give depth and add life.
This fresh take on the "Jack & the Beanstalk" story is welcomed for its creativity, positive message, and sheer joy. This book offers an excellent writing exercise for kids to retell the story using their words to tell it.
Revisiting classic picture books that were listed in a recent article about wordless children's picture books that have influenced recent children's gRevisiting classic picture books that were listed in a recent article about wordless children's picture books that have influenced recent children's graphic novels.
Ward was a strong influence on early graphic novels, writing/illustrating some of his own. The Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize (named in his honor) has been given annually since 2011, given in recognition of the best graphic novel or comic book, fiction or nonfiction, published in the previous calendar year by a living US or Canadian citizen or resident.
Told in seven segments, this is a fantasy tale of a boy growing up on a farm who is visited by a winged dapple horse. Together, the two travel beyond the farm to help others around the world...or was it all a dream?
Ward, winner of a Caldecott Medal for The Biggest Bear (Houghton 1952), was a master storyteller using his artwork to provide much of the detail for each story. The Silver Pony is usually listed as one of his more enduring and endearing titles. That said, this is a good example of why classic titles should be revisited periodically to see how it stands up with the passage of time. In this case, the boy is spanked on his bum by his father for telling lies. It is cringe-worthy watching him as he helps children of color in what could be construed as "white savior" moments (tossing an apple to an Eskimo boy who is ice-fishing, tows a small skiff to a Black boy who is perched on top of his flooded house, tosses some sunflowers with seeds to a Black girl to use to feed her pigeons in the city, a sunflower to a girl on top of a lighthouse feeding the seagulls, and rescues a Native American boy's lost lamb who is about to become food for a cougar).
This has many fond memories with older readers (read: Baby Boomers), however has not really stood the test of time. While I enjoyed the story, I cannot say that it is one that I would recommend....more
Revisiting this c1932 classic wordless book published by Macmillan, listed as an influence on graphic novels for children today. Dedicated to "Hilda KRevisiting this c1932 classic wordless book published by Macmillan, listed as an influence on graphic novels for children today. Dedicated to "Hilda K. Limper and the children of the Clifton School in Cincinnati, Ohio", this book has great child appeal.
The adventures of Whiskers, a poodle puppy, who breaks free from his owner while being walked near the woods on a snowy day.
Printed in two colors (black and brown), Carroll's rough sketches are fleshed out just enough that they are like watching stills from a silent movie. They have a feeling of old-fashionedness to them. Words are not needed, as the images tell the story well. It starts as a realistic story about a puppy. Once he goes underground after the rabbit, it becomes animal fantasy - with all animals behaving like people (in a home lit by a candle, sitting in chairs at table eating dinner, playing a game of "blind man's bluff", and the bunnies bawling as their new friend leaves to go home.
This would be charming to share one-on-one with a younger child to build vocabulary (as you explore each image and the actions shown) and learn how to tell a story in chronological order.
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