I like the way the author, Ifeoma Onyefulu, used real photographs to illustrate her picture book Omer’s Favorite Place (2011, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books). The story is a simple one; the young boy, Omer, shows the reader all of the places he likes to play in and around the house and ultimately reveals his most favorite place of all. It may be a simple concept, but it is one that children everywhere can relate to. Do you remember your favorite places to play when you were a child? My siblings and I used to set card tables up in the living room and drape sheets and blankets over them to make little private “forts”. Inside, we had several toys to play with. The setting for Omer’s Favorite Place is his home in Ethiopia. Readers will learn about a few Ethiopian games and a popular Ethiopian food, as well as meet Omer’s happy family.

  If you’re looking for a terrific picture book about friendship, Jane & Mizmow (2011, Harper) by Matthew Armstrong is the perfect choice.  The text is short and sweet, allowing the wonderful, bright illustrations to do most of the “talking”. (My favorite illustration is of bath time for Mizmow.) The story is about best friends, Jane and Mizmow, who despite their little (and perhaps not-so-little, you be the judge) differences, and even despite an argument, remain the best of friends. These two know that life is more fun when you have a friend to share it with. Jane & Mizmow is a sweet book with two charming main characters who will delight children ages 3 to 5 and beyond.  

   Those who have been following my blog know that I often choose books to review that I find unique. Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman (2011, Viking) definitely qualifies as unique. The text is simple, moves the story along nicely, and neatly wraps it up at the end. You’re wondering, “what’s so unique about that?”. It’s how the story is told that’s unique. The story is about a little white chicken. What is special about this chicken and all of the characters in the story is that they are part of an illustration that comes to life. The illustration is unfinished and the little white chicken wants to help. What happens next is a complete disaster. Did the little white chicken fix things before the picture got ruined? You’ll have to read the book to find out. Blue Chicken is truly an enjoyable and unique picture book. Artists and art enthusiasts will appreciate the unusual perspectives in some of the illustrations. Kids will find this book to be just plain fun.

    This week, I have two outstanding picture books to share with you. That Pup! by Lindsay Barrett George (2011, Greenwillow Books) and Gibbus Moony Wants to Bite You! by Leslie Muir (2011, Atheneum Books for Young Readers), illustrated by Jen Corace. 

That Pup!  is perfect for the youngest picture book enthusiasts. The text is simple. The illustrations are big and bright (my favorite kind). And the main characters are a puppy and a squirrel. The story is fun. The darling puppy digs up all of the squirrel’s acorns, much to the squirrel’s dismay (he was storing them for the winter). After the squirrel tells the puppy that the acorns are his, the puppy and the squirrel play a new game-hide the acorns. This is a great book for fall or anytime of the year.

Gibbus Moony Wants to Bite You! is for children who are a little bit older, around four to eight years old. I like this one for Halloween. It’s about a vampire child and his vampire family. Don’t worry, it’s not at all scary. These vampires eat fruits and vegetables. This book would be a great tool if you have a biter in the family. It will help teach your little “vampire” that biting people (and household items) is not appropriate, but biting food sure is. The text and the colorful illustrations are humorous. This book is a lot of fun.   

  What child doesn’t like ponies? The Lost and Fond Pony by Tracy Dockray (2011, Feiwel and Friends) is a beautifully written, gorgeously illustrated (I especially like the picture of the pony jumping through the ring of fire.) story about the life of a pony, from birth to old age. The story goes full circle when the little girl who outgrew him comes back at the end to bring him home again. It’s an endearing story with a charming main character and it got me wondering about all the real ponies that have been “outgrown”. Where do they end up? An author’s note at the back of the book offers some insight into the question.   

 Another example of a concept book, Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray (Disney Hyperion, 2010) is a picture book that focuses on the alphabet. Here the author follows a determined dog from A to Z as he figures out how to get a piece of delicious apple pie. Children will love the cheerful illustrations and endearing main character and will have fun learning their ABC’s. Children will eagerly turn the pages to see what happens next-will the little dog get some pie?

  I believe all dogs have a little bit of wolf in them, or at least they think they do (my little lhasa apso included). Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby (2011, Disney Hyperion Books) is about a dachshund who longs for some excitement, so he leaves the comforts of home, sheds his sweater, and joins a wolf pack. He has the best time until he discovers that wolves must catch their own dinner. That’s a bit too wild for him. He realizes that he belongs at home with Granny. And Granny realizes that all her little dog needs is friends. This book is filled with beautiful, realistic illustrations, humor, and drama. I especially like the scenes with the wolves, though the youngest readers may find them a tad scary. Overall, a very enjoyable picture book.

  If Rocks Could Sing: a discovered alphabet by Leslie McGuirk (Tricycle Press, 2011) is perhaps more of a concept book than a picture book as it focuses on the basic alphabet. However, it showcases the alphabet in a very unique way. All of the letters and characters that go with them are portrayed by real rocks. As it says in the back of the book, the author spent more than ten years searching along the Florida shore lines for rocks shaped like the letters of the alphabet. And I’m glad she did because the result is this highly imaginative and thoughtfully done children’s book. I personally take pleasure in seeing shapes and patterns in nature and in everyday objects, so I feel a special connection with this book. My favorites are letter D for Dog and letter G for Ghosts. This book is for all people, children or adults, who like to use their imaginations.

  Great textures and colors in this book by Kurt Cyrus! How did he get the sand to look so real? I thoroughly enjoyed the rhythm and flow of The Voyage of Turtle Rex (2011, Harcourt), a picture book written in rhyme. Any child who is interested in turtles or dinosaurs will like the large illustrations, which in combination with the clever text, make up an interesting, informative, and distinctive children’s book. An author’s note in the back briefly gives more information about sea turtles past and present. This picture book offers the total package. I highly recommend it.

  Ollie & Moon (Random House, 2011) by Diane Kredensor and Sandra Kress, is a beautifully done picture book that seamlessly combines cartoon-style illustrations with real photographs. (I love the vivid photos! The cover is eye-catching.) The story follows best friends, Ollie and Moon, as they explore the city of Paris while playing a guessing game along the way. Young readers will enjoy exploring and playing right along with them. See if you can guess the surprise that Ollie has for Moon at the end of the book. No peeking!

Woo Hoo!! I’ve got an incredible new interview for you today. Author/Illustrator Jef Czekaj has given us some super interesting insight into his background, his workspace, and his inspiration. I especially like his timeless advice to aspiring artists at the end of the interview. And did I see libraries mentioned three times? Awesome!  I guarantee you will enjoy this interview.

Interview With Author and Illustrator Jef Czekaj (5/1/2011)

Q. How did you get your start in children’s books? Were you an author or an illustrator first, or both? 

JC. I loved to draw as a kid. I was shy, and I remember drawing all the time and coming up with crazy little books and comics. I loved Mad Magazine and I drew a superhero parody comic called StupidMan that I thought was the funniest thing ever. I’m fairly confident that it still is. 

Once I went to college for some reason I totally stopped drawing. I guess music became my main creative outlet, but also I was somewhat intimidated by the idea of drawing critiques. I took ZERO studio art classes in college. 

And then after graduation I had a degree in Linguistics and absolutely zero job prospects, so I just started drawing again. It kind of just bubbled up out of my subconscious. Not as some sort of career prospect, just because I was bored. I drew a mini-comic/zine about R2-D2 playing in a rock band (called R2-D2 IS AN INDIE ROCKER). Eventually an issue of it found its way to then-editor of Nickelodeon Magazine, Chris Duffy, who encouraged me to work on kid-friendly material. He’s a great guy who really went out of his way to get underground cartoonists into Nick Mag.  

I drew a comic for them called GRAMPA AND JULIE: SHARK HUNTERS for more than 10 years (there’s an out-of-print collection of some of the strips that you can probably find on Amazon)! Eventually that led to illustrating children’s books and now writing and illustrating them. 

Q. What is your workspace like and what tools do you use to create your art?

JC. My workspace is a mess! I have two drawing desks pushed together that, honestly, is mostly a dumping ground for stuff I don’t have time to put away. At this point I do almost all of my work away from my studio space. Coffee shops and libraries are where I do most of my drawing, specifically Diesel Cafe in Somerville.

As far as tools, my set-up is really basic: I draw the line art with a #2-sized brush with ink on bristol. I try not to get too attached to any particular brand of brush or paper because I get too sad and freaked out if I can’t find that particular product. Then I scan the art and color it in Photoshop on my Mac.

I used to have a very specific regimen, but these days I draw wherever I can with whatever I have.

Q. What authors and illustrators have been inspirations to you?

JC. As a kid I LOVED Ed Emberley, specifically this pretty hard-to-find book called THE WIZARD OF OP. It was very different from his other books; it’s a black and white comic that had all of these trippy op-art effects in it. It’s soooooooo good! I would just check it out from the library over and over again.

I was also obsessed with THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK by Jon Stone and illustrated by Mike Smollin. Right off the bat, that is the best title for a book ever. It’s a Sesame Street book about Grover begging you not to turn the pages of the book, so, of course, you do. My book, CAT SECRETS, is a direct descendant of that book.

Q. You have written and illustrated several picture books. Any favorites?

JC. I guess the diplomatic answer is I love all of my babies equally. As far as reading aloud to kids, HIP AND HOP, DON’T STOP! is my favorite because it allows me to really ham it up. I’ve made loops of popular rap songs (Salt N Pepa, Jay Z, Lil Wayne, etc) that I play and rap over (poorly, but enthusiastically).

Q. What projects are you working on right now?

JC. Right now I am working on a sequel to HIP AND HOP, DON’T STOP! called YES, YES YAUL! And a top-secret book called OINK A DOODLE MOO.

Q. How can fans learn more about you and your work?

JC. www.czekaj.com

www.facebook.com/jefczekajdraws

Q. Any closing thoughts or words of wisdom for fans?

JC. When I do presentations at schools and libraries, my main message to kids is that you just need to dive into whatever it is you love doing. Whether it is music, art, animated gifs, or whatever, you just need to do it and not worry about if it’s good or not. I think a lot of kids (and grown-ups too) get really hung up before they even begin a project, worried that somehow they’re not talented enough. 

The great thing about drawing is that you don’t need anything fancy. I just draw in junky notebooks that I buy at CVS, just like I did when I was 8-years-old. If I draw a picture I don’t like, who cares? I just draw a new one!

  Done in a colorful cartoon style, A Call For A New Alphabet (2011, Charlesbridge) by Jef Czekaj is engaging and lively. The author/illustrator managed to create a book that kids will enjoy, and at the same time, they will learn a lot about the alphabet. They will learn about “i before e except after c”. They will learn about consonants and vowels. They will learn about silent letters and how p and h together sound like the letter f and how sometimes the letter y acts more like a vowel than a consonant and they will learn a lot of new words. PHEW! Yes, he managed to cram all of that and more into one picture book and he did it in a super fun way. A Call For A New Alphabet is well worth a read.

  Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj (2011, Balzer+Bray) is a great pick for the youngest book lovers. The illustrations are cartoon or comic style, colorful, and lively. Kids will have a great time proving they are “cats” by meowing, purring, and stretching. This book would prove popular in a group setting, perhaps in school or in a library story-time session. See if the kids notice the little mouse sneaking onto the pages.

  Can you say “adorable elephant”? Quick, Slow, Mango by Anik McGrory (Bloomsbury, 2011) is a story about friendship. But it also conveys a message to young readers about when it’s appropriate to be quick and when it’s better to be slow. Fantastic pencil and watercolor illustrations adorn this action-filled story. The littlest picture book fans will fall in love with Kidogo the elephant and PolePole the monkey. Along the way, readers will learn some new words. A note in the front of the book says: “The word kidogo means little in Kiswahili. Pole, pole means slowly, slowly and is often used to remind people to take their time.”