Runaway Pumpkins
by Teresa Bateman, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
Published 2020. The book has fantastic artwork with great texture and color. It utilizes a nice variety of page layouts and compositions that engage with the reader. The story has a lovely rhythm and poetic feel. The message is overcoming a problem by doing the best you can, which is fantastic. The book is nice but it felt like it was missing something. For example, once the conflict is addressed, it is immediately ‘solved’. There isn’t anything that shows other perspectives in this community. Everyone agreed to immediately just make the best of things.
The Cutest Critter
by Marion Dane Bauer, photography by Stan Tekiela
Published 2010. Nicely taken photos. The text/story is a simple structure that overall seems more for a parent than a child. There isn’t much to this book.
Papa’s Mark
by Gwendolyn Battle-Lavert, illustrated by Colin Bootman
Published 2003. The artwork was hit or miss at times with me. Some spreads and spot illustrations were fantastic and lovely to visually dissect. Other parts looked a bit unfinished when compared to other parts of the work. The story was very long. It could’ve been edited down, especially details that were already illustrated. The message was good. The story was very education-focused. But, I’m unsure I’d pick this one back up for another read.
Dinosaur Thunder
by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Published 2012. The artwork is incredible. I love the woodcut look of the illustrations. They have lovely colors and expressive compositions. They create a visual bounce as you read the book. The text was cut down to what we needed and I liked the repetition of that leads into the resolution. A very fun read with a good message in the end.
Job Wanted
by Teresa Bateman, illustrated by Chris Sheban
Published 2015. LOVE the artwork! It is exactly to my personal taste in artwork and has a Seurat quality. The story was thought-provoking. I felt it could’ve been a bit stronger with its ending and the message it was trying to tell. Honestly, I think that the slight fuzziness of the ending message is good. It allows me to take what I want from this book. It’s a story about how the presence of a dog and being a good dog are good enough for food and being on the farm, not the value of a job. I would pick this one up again and I think you should too!
If you liked this post, I hope you’ll consider becoming a free subscriber and joining our crew (discussions via Substack are always a delight!). That’s it for this edition of The Weekly Picture, I hope you have a wonderful day and as always, thank you for reading!
Caleb
