Butterfly Butterfly by Petr Horáček

Petr Horáček's illustration style is bright, engaging and full of life and movement. So when you sit down to read a book about colours set in the garden, you know you're in for a treat!


When Lucy finds a butterfly in the garden and chases it around, we are introduced to lots of different colours visually, just by her garden setting. When she returns the following day, she can't find the butterfly, but she does find a pink earthworm, a brown spider, a green beetle and some spotty red ladybirds.


By this point in the story, we have been introduced to some cut outs that add an extra level of enjoyment to the pictures. It continues with other insects, colours and cutouts until the finale which sees the beautiful butterfly springing from the page in a fantastic simple pop-up.

I've heard people say that Petr's illustrations are "like Eric Carle's" but I wouldn't really say that. It's true there is a feeling of collage and a bright use of colour, but other than The Very Hungry Caterpillar his illustrations really haven't done much for me. Petr Horáček, on the other hand, I engage with each of his books immediately. I think you will too. This is a fantastic colours book because there's more to it than just colours.

 

4 Silver Stars

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The Heart And The Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

Once there was a girl, much like any other

She delighted in everything, in discovering new things, and questioning and thinking and exploring 

... until the day she found an empty chair.

So, to avoid the unpleasant and painful thoughts and feelings, she put her heart in a safe place: A bottle that she hung around her neck. 

She didn't notice, question or dream any more, but at least her heart was safe. 

Then one day, she couldn't answer a question a child asked her and she discovered with out her heart, she couldn't answer it, nor could she remember how to get her heart back out of the bottle. 

Luckily she meets a girl who knew what to do and she put her heart back where it belonged.

Awww. This is one of those books that just feels good. You might have noticed that my picture book reviews tend to keep coming back to this sort of theme. I love stories about being in touch with your emotions/creativity/imagination. It's a better way of being, in my opinion. And this is such a lovely book for that collection.

Find it, read it, enjoy it.

 

4.5 Gold Stars

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Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

 

Peter H. Reynolds captures particular ideas in such a beautifully simple way, his straight forward books can be life changing. In the way that the slightest of redirections can lead you to a very different destination. As in: If you always look at things the same way, you'll never see them differently, turn your head just a bit, and the view is delightfully varied and diverse. 

I feel I'm not making any sense, let's just say this is a review-ish...

Ramon loved to draw.

Any time.

Anything.

Anywhere.

One day, Ramon was drawing a vase of flowers.

His brother, Leon, leaned over his shoulder.

Leon burst out laughing.

"WHAT is THAT?" he asked.

I think we've all been there at some point in our lives, even if it's not with drawing, or anything particularly creative. Sometimes people laugh at, or don't understand things that we have worked very hard on. And that can really throw us off. 

Ramon has trouble finishing drawings, he just can't make them look "right" until he finally gives up. 

Then he sees his sister has taken a scrunched up piece of paper and he chases her back to her room where he is met by a veritable gallery of smoothed out discarded drawings. Including the vase that started it all.

This is one of my favourites,"

Marisol said, pointing.

"That was SUPPOSED to be a vase of flowers,"

Ramon said,

"But it doesn't look like one."

"Well it looks vase-ISH!" 

she exclaimed. 

Enter the slight change in seeing things. With the freedom of 'ish' Ramon launches back into his drawing knowing that things don't have to be "right" or "perfect" but can be an expression and still be considered valid and good. 

It's this type of book that alleviates the weight of the world from your shoulders.

 

4.5 Gold Stars

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What's In The Witch's Kitchen by Nick Sharratt

I'll start with this: my nieces love this book. I gave it to them a year or so back and they still laugh each time it is read to them, or when they read it to themselves (because they know it so well).

I move on to this: I love this book.

I know that Nick Sharratt's illustrations aren't for everyone. Some people find them too cartoony and over simplified. But I say, hey! if it works, it works. And Between this and 'The Foggy Foggy Forest' I think his style works pretty well!

"What's in the fridge in the Witch's kitchen?

Open it left or open it right,
Will you like what you see?
Will it give you a fright?"

We then open the fridge (a lift the flap kind of thing) and we see that the fridge has Tasty Cheese in it (much like my own fridge... mmm cheese). Then we see that the flap can open the other way too, and inside we find Bats with Fleas!

And so on it goes, each container in the Witch's Kitchen holding something yummy and something disgusting. You know, the types of things are are sure to illicit giggles from children (and the occasional adult). Things like "Pooh! Lizard's Fart!" and "Nasty! Goblin's Wee!" and "Rabbit Plops!".

Then on the last page, as we try to escape the strange goings-on, there is a scary pop up surprise. Boo! Out jumps the witch herself!

He he he... I'm still chuckling as I write this. 

Do you know what this book is? It's fun!

 

4.5 Silver Stars

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Moving!

I thought I should write a quick post just apologising for the recent lack of posts and to warn you that it may be a bit light on for the next month or so also...

Rather suddenly an opportunity at work came up which involved relocating to Melbourne! Awfully exciting, but rather time consuming. Put that on top of I'm supposed to be starting back at uni this week (external due to the move) I've been a little busy.

But I promise you this is a phase.

Once I've settled in to a new place in Melbourne, gotten on top of all the uni work and Work work that is building up, I'll try and get back to it.

You won't have nothing from me, I've scheduled picture book reviews every Thursday for the next 5 weeks, so there's a little bit of something for you.

But, until the dust settles, you'll have to make do with meager rations of my opinions of books... I know! It will be hard times for all, but I believe we'll make it through, together.

:)

Thanks for stopping by!

Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat by Stephen Michael King

Milli dreams of making wonderful and out of the ordinary things, but she has to spend her time making plain brown and black shoes and boots for the people in the town who don't like anything unusual.

That is until two wandering vagabond minstrels wander into town and offer to give her dancing lessons in exchange for some new shoes.

The dancing makes Milli brave, and she discovers she has the courage to follow her dreams and make extraordinary things.

This is such a sweet book which encourages following your dreams and unleashing your creativity. Stephen Michael King just has a brilliance about him that shines out from his deceptively simple stories.

 

4 Gold Stars

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Pure by Julianna Baggott

I kept getting told how fantastic this book was, but how off-putting and gross it was because of all the malformed bodies etc that it contains (post nuclear holocaust). Some even said it was hard going because of this. So, I thought to myself, let's see what all the fuss is about.

I found that because I knew that it would have deformities left, right and center, I wasn't grossed out at all. In fact, putting aside the fact that I really think that most of these afflicted people would be dead (which is explained briefly with chemical and nanotechnology which was designed to create this grotesque fusing), I wouldn't have expected any less for the world which was being created.

So, did it all work?

Yes, absoultely! Julianna Baggott has given us a world so vivid and alive and filled with the horror and hope of survival it's almost palpable. You nearly feel gritty, yourself, as you read about the soot and ash and dust that permanently grays they sky and every thing else. All of which is perfectly contrasted with the pure 'Dome' that is so clean and spotless, it's ripe for conspiracy.

I really enjoyed the journey this book took me on. My only criticism is that it felt a little long and perhaps could have been pared back in places to create a slightly more fast pace story. But, even as it stands, it was a great read!

 

4 Gold Stars

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