I’ve decided to try something new here on Frog on a Blog. My plan is to do a review everyday for a week. Lately, I’ve been coming across a lot of awesome new picture books and I want to share as many of them as possible with all of you. So, my Week of Reviews starts right now.

   If I gave out letter grades for picture book illustration, More by I. C. Springman (2012, Houghton Mifflin) would receive an O for outstanding. Using mainly acrylic paints, the illustrator, Brian Lies, depicts with amazing detail a beautiful magpie bird and its found treasures. Kids will have a grand time discovering the numerous individual items that appear on each page. Some examples include: a marble, a coin, keys, an earring, a Lego, a watch, a toothbrush, and the list goes on and on. The story is simple, told in very few words, it conveys the message that “less is more” or perhaps that less is just the right amount. For the magpie, less equaled more friends and more space in its nest. The story brings to mind, a silly poem I wrote about a boy with too much stuff, entitled, aptly enough, Too Much Stuff. I think I’ll post it later today.