How to Find an Elephant
written by Kate Banks and illustrations by Boris Kulikov
Published 2017. The illustrations in this book are stunning, with lovely colors, and every animal and object is oozing with character and charm. I also really enjoyed the artist’s use of illusions to hark to the text and give me that feeling of being right on the verge of seeing this elephant. The story was sweet, and I liked where it was going, but the ending could have been more impactful and had something to say.
I want a dog!
by Helga Bansch
Published 2009. The artwork gives me Edward Hopper vibes, and I love it. There is a pretty decent variety of types of illustrations used of spots, half and full spreads that nicely lead us through the book. The text is simple and quick. The story is the same. The message is clever, and I like the ending and how it solves the problem.
Re-Zoom
by Istvan Banyai
Published 1995. I enjoyed the style of these illustrations; they are highly detailed and exciting. The book is a wordless picture book and starts with one image as the next continually zooms out to reveal new information about what is happening (also keep a keen eye out for plenty of easter eggs and references). This zooming and recontextualizing can be thought-provoking on reality, time, and perspective, but the book has nothing to say about these themes.
Looking for a Jumbie
written by Tracey Baptiste and illustrations by Amber Ren
Published 2021. The artwork is different from my taste, but it is nicely done. I don’t know what this story was about or even trying to do. A girl at night is looking through the dark forest for something… ‘scary’? She meets a bunch of strangers and continues, then at the end, we can’t believe everything we hear. I enjoyed the folklore element, but the story wasn’t for me.
Hiding Phil
written by Eric Barclay
Published 2013. It is cute and sweet artwork with lovely pastel colors and illustrations. The story was nice, but I wish the resolution were more satisfying as it was a bit of a cop-out to have the parent randomly decide to keep Phil suddenly. I did love the parts leading up to the parent’s arrival; they were silly and fun. It’s a decent story that I wish had a better resolution.
Thank you,
Caleb
