Herbert
by Robyn Belton
Published 2008. Apparantly a true story of a brave dog, the choice to put newspaper clippings and photos of the actual source on the end papers was a phenomenal choice and left me looking at those pages far longer than the average book. The artwork for the rest of the book is stunnning and full of energy and gesture with the perfect touch of color. The story is inspirational but it’s titled Herbert but we don’t follow Herbert long in the story, Herbert gets lost and then we follow the humans as they try to find Herbert, I hoped the story would maybe stay with Herbert and show me what happened (obviously this part would be ficitious, but would add a charm and heart to the story, a struggle to overcome that we follow and see.)
Jack’s House
by Karen Magnuson Beil, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
Published 2008. The cover is eye-catching, I was excited to get to this book. The typeface choices were also nicely done. The artwork from the cover continues and is phenomenal, bright and vibrant with impactful compositions that move the reader around the spreads. The text begins with a big focus on constructions and things that go into building a house and then around the middle and end there is a twist I won’t spoil. It’s fantastic, cute and silly.
The Zoo is Closed Today!
by Evelyn Beilenson, illustrated by Anne Kennedy
Published 2014. I liked the artwork and how silly it was next to the funny text, some spreads even showed things that weren’t in the text which was a great surprise every time. The text was funny and enjoyable, the ending was a bit swift and wasn’t impactful or earned in my opinion as the animals visited the sick kids which didn’t make sense from the earlier premise of the kids being unable to see the animals because they are sick.
I Yam a Donkey!
by Cece Bell
Published 2015. Unique style, it reminds me of Pete the Cat. The story is one joke that goes on a bit long that plays on grammer and words, which I think is a fun and unique concept, but I wished it had a bit more to it overall.
Under the Love Umbrella
by Darna Bell, illustrations by Allison Colpoys
Published 2017. Interesteing choices for the artwork that worked for me, the color palette was weird and great and the drawins all captures a lovely texture and emotion throughout. The story beginning doesn’t fully setup the premise well, and the rest of the book kind of suffers for it. I think it had the potential to be a book reminescent of ‘The Kissing Hand’ but it fails to setup it’s story in the first act so the rest of the story is a bit flat.
Thank you,
Caleb
