One book I am afraid to say probably won't be a best-seller but is stunningly illustrated is:
Owls See Clearly at Night (Lii Yiiboo Miyo-Waapamik Iii Swer): A Michif Alphabet (L'alfabet di Michif) illustrated by Julie Flett
9781897476284, $16.95, Pub. Date: April 2010
Illustrated by a Metis artist from Vancouver, this book is an alphabet book for the Michif language, an endangered language of the Metis people who are geographically from Northern United States and Canada. The illustrations are a beautiful mix of bold silhouettes against soft-hued backgrounds.
Mirrorby Suzy Lee
9781934734391, $15.95, Pub. Date: May 2010
From the creator of the wordless picturebook Wave, comes another wordless picturebook, Mirror. The book is undeniably beautiful, showcasing Lee's signature illustration style - charcoal or dark pencil drawings with washes of bright water colors; half-concrete, half-abstract. While I highly recommend this book for its elegant artwork, the subject of the illustrations is one that is not appropriate for all storytime contexts. Mirror is the story of a little girl who makes friends with her reflection in the mirror. When there is tension between the reflection and the little girl, the little girl pushes the mirror over and it breaks. Then she has no friend to play with. The book is useful for starting conversations about cause and effect, consequences of actions, etc., but is really intended as an exploration of the self and the reflected, or "mirrored" self - quite an adult concept. Yet, please don't let that scare you off, as this picturebook is truly a delight to look through.
More Life-Size Zooby Teruyuki Komiya
9781934734193, $18.95, Pub. Date: May 2010
The sequel to Life-Size Zoo, on every page is a near life-size photograph of the head of an animal along with fun facts and general information. A great non-fiction page-turner. The oversize format is perfect for sharing with many kids at the same time.
Two new board books by Kate Endle that feature collage-style illustrations are: What is Green?
9781570616488, $8.95, Pub. Date: June 2010
and
Who Hoo Are You?9781570616471, $8.95, Pub. Date: June 2010
For more on books with collage-style illustrations, check out my earlier post.
I'm very excited to see a new book by Suzy Lee as I really enjoyed wave. And the Kate Endle books look charming. As a linguist I'm of course most drawn to Owls see clearly at night - I imagine the illustrations tell many stories about the cultural setting.
ReplyDelete