Thanks everyone for all the comments and awesome book recommendations!
I’ve been eyeing this book for a while.
By eyeing, I mean seeing it in my local bookstores,
and checking all the time at the library website if one is free.
Yes, I know I can be put on a waitlist, but it’s just more exciting to get it by checking back 🙂
Anyway, here we go!
Title: Blackout
Published by: Disney, Hyperion Books, 2011
Written by: John Rocco
Illustrated by: John Rocco
In one word: Nostalgic
In one sentence: When lights and devices that we all spend time on go out, will we remember where to find the fun and the lights without them?
Favorite pages:
Likes:
- the voice really sounds like a child relating the story
- funny illustrations (look for Edison!)
- illustrated like a graphic novel picture book
- the stars in the pictures
- how short the story is, but that it feels like a big deal
- the font (I’m kind of in love with fonts if you couldn’t tell…)
- the narration and the speech bubbles are separate but compliment each other.
Learns:
- you can illustrate anyway you want. The graphic novel-ish approach works SOO well here.
- a simple story about an event can still work.
- Isn’t it nice when there’s an amazingly universal theme? Who hasn’t had the lights go out on them? If you haven’t, just turn them off right now and get a candle!
Woo-hoo!
Like children that are five, we are a whole hand of posts so far!
And look at the bookshelf!
So, have you read this book?
What did you read today?
And share a lights out story if you have one 🙂
Enthusiastically yours,
KE and SS
Ahhhhh BLACKOUT! Love that book! The colors are amazing. I especially love the street party and roof scenes you mentioned. So beautiful. I lived in NYC during the big blackout of 2003. I can totally relate…and I am sure this was the inspiration.
I met John Rocco last year at the SCBWI WInter Conference in NYC. He signed my copy (as did his daughter who was with him. She did a little doodle on a post-it. So cute!)
I also bumped into him on the train a few months back. <3 Brooklyn!
The book I read today was VAMPIRINA BALLERINA written by Ann Marie Pace and illustrated by LeUyen Pham.
The illustrations are delightful. The little vampire ballerina is so adorable. I especially liked how the text hardly ever mentioned vampires. It was a "how to become a ballerina" kinda tutorial…but the illustrations added all of the vampire humor. Very clever.
Unfortunately this technique is broken in just a few places where "trip on your cape", "turn into a bat" and "sight of fangs" is mentioned. I would have liked it better if the words had stayed completely straight and left all of the humor and sarcasm to the art. Then without the art the story would be just about a normal "how to" book.
Definitely worth a read. A good example of how art brings another level to a story.
Hey Marcie,
JEALOUS that you got to meet John Rocco…I think he was in the Bay Area last year but I was away for work.
I think I’ve heard of Vampirina Ballerina…I agree with you that art can bring another level to a story.
Interesting how the illustrations added the vampire humor, and I think I agree…it would be great to let the illustrations do that throughout.
I’ll have to check that one out!
I’ve never read BLACK OUT but would like to. Thanks for the peek, Kathy.
Today I read MORE by IC Springman and illustrated by Brian Lies. This book has 44 words in it and many of them are repeated. The illos carry the story. I like the realistic style–however the animals are aren’t confined to doing ‘realistic’ things in the story. It’s about when more becomes too much and you need to get back to enough. As I read it, I asked myself a lot of questions about the illos: did the writer dictate the action on the illos? Did the illustrator use reference material? I found out those things and more and you can too—here’s a link to a great post all about it:
http://forum.teachingbooks.net/?p=8503
I’m behind by a book but I think I’ll catch up later today 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation, Dana! I love books that rely on illustrations….as a writer, sometimes it’s hard to convey that in a manuscript though! I’ll have to check that book out 🙂
And I have no doubt that you can catch up!
Hey, Kathy Ellen…and yet another book that is on my holds’ shelf at the library!!!! They do say that great minds think alike. 🙂 I’m looking forward to picking up my copy and reading it…thanks for sharing what looks like a great book!
I did a review of my 31 in 31 choice today…and linked my post to Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday and gave your 31 in 31 challenge a shout-out…hope it brings some more lovers of picture books over here to join your challenge. 🙂
http://viviankirkfield.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/ppbf-hooway-for-wodney-wat-believe-in-yourself/
Today I read “Hooway for Wodney Wat”…it’s National Bullying Prevention Month…and I’m trying to highlight some books and resources that can help parents and teachers and kids with this issue. It’s all about believing in yourself and being comfortable in your own skin…a great message for all of us, I guess.
Thanks for the shout out Vivian!
I absolutely adore Hooway for Wodney Wat!
I think there’s another one out that featurs Wodney…
But yes, that’s a great one for being comfortable in your own skin 🙂
Today Kalena was in a real reading mood- she brought me almost all of the books we got at the library yesterday to read one after the other! I’ll just report on one, though!
The Bravest Ever Bear by Allan Ahlberg and Paul Howard. This one is super cute and funny! The characters all keep commenting on the story and then take over the book to write their OWN story! The pictures are great, and I was able to play a lot of “I Spy” with them, which is one of my favorite things to do when reading to Kalena!
This one sounds great, Jasmine! I tend to write a lot of stories where characters do that…talk to the readers, take over the story, you know, the whole nine yards!
I love your comment about “I Spy” too…when picture books have the same character on every page or something like that, it’s really fun. I can’t wait until one of my stories is sent off for illustrations and I see it come back as a whole new book!
Lastly, hooray for a “real reading mood!”
You would really love this one, then! All of the characters talk back!
I also like to make reading with Kalena interactive- there is a page in this book with all of these princes coming on all different types of transportation, so I would ask Kalena to find the prince on the ostrich, or on a flying carpet, or the hot air balloon! I love when books can take on another life aside from what is written on the page (and I bet the illustrator is somewhere smiling at that fact too!)
I haven’t heard of Blackout, and I loved your story about stalking the library website! Sounds like a good one, and I will be in the lookout for it!
We read NIGHT DRIVING by John Coy. Funny thing about this book is that if I would have picked it up from a stack of books I would thought my children would not have been interested in it at all — B&W illustrations, lots of text. However, they listened intently not once, but twice to this book. It is a story about a boy and father driving at night to the mountains. There is no “action” what so ever. One of the big events is stopping at the diner for breakfast. However, the descriptions of everything — thoughts, the way the air felt, bright moon light, etc. — create mental images beyond what is provided in the illustrations.
It is very fascinating to me that my kids enjoyed this book.
Erik, this is so interesting!
You’re making me want to go out and get it right now!
I’m curious as to what your kids liked about it….I think, just from your description, that I would like the adventure of driving in the night (because, who gets to do that, really, as a kid?) and the black and white illustrations sound great too.
And diner for breakfast sounds REALLY great right now 🙂
I remember reading a fantastic review of “Blackout” on the blog “This Kid Reviews Books” and I’m pretty sure I then read the book for myself — wonderful book!
Today I followed up yesterday’s “A Closer Look” with “What in the Wild? Mysteries of nature concealed … and revealed.” Very cool premise for a book, with a large photo on each right hand page of some odd thing in nature, with a poem hint about the photo on the left hand page. Once the reader has guessed what the photo might be, one lifts the flap (the entire right page folds out to reveal more photos and a detailed explanation of such things as earthworm castings or owl pellets.
I can well imagine many kids would find this book fascinating, and it is very well done — I think kids have a better grossness tolerance than I have, however!
Beth, this sounds great….I love that there is some interaction on the reader’s part, and some guessing, and some poems…
I agree. Kids love gross things more than adults, I think 🙂
Hi Kathy!
I read The Dragon Snatcher by M P Robertson today. I loved the illustrations and usually love dragon stories but this one seemed to be missing a little bit for me. I think young boys would love the story however. George and his pet dragon go off on a grand adventure to help save the last dragon egg from the icy wizard planning on destroying all the dragons in the world.
Donna L Martin
http://www.donnalmartin.com
http://www.donasdays.blogspot.com
This one sounds fun, Donna!
Thanks for an honest review…and I love dragons too 🙂
I read Big Red Lollipop, by Rukhsana Khan. The title alone captures you. I enjoyed the plot and the sweet ending. The sibling rivalry is spot on, but I didn’t quite like how mom handled the problem. (sending little siblings along with the child who’s invited to a party) I’m not sure if that’s etiquette-wise.
Tina,
I actually heard the author talk about this book, and it’s based on something that really happened! She mentioned that they didn’t really know how birthday parties usually went, so her mom thought it was ok to send along the little sibling….I agree it could be tricky to do!
Yes, the sibling rivalry is awesome in that book, and Sophie Blackall is one of my favorite illustrators too.
Today I read “The Great Expedition” a book based on the Burke and Wills Expedition exploring Australia – http://melissawrites.com.au/2012/10/31-picture-books-the-great-expedition/
Today I read my favorite picture book in the history of the world: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. If I was told I could only read one book over and over for the rest of my life, it would be this one.
(And I think I’m finally ALL CAUGHT UP on my 31 in 31 posts! Hooray!)