Best of 2009

Here are the best picture books of 2009 according to Publishers Weekly:

The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors
Chris Barton, illus. by Tony Persiani (Charlesbridge)
The unlikely subjects of this fascinating picture book biography exemplify ingenuity and dedication to chasing one's dreams.

The Curious Garden
Peter Brown (Little, Brown)
With humor and some showstopping spreads, Brown offers a green fable about the rebirth of a city, without a hint of preachiness.

Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales
Lucy Cousins (Candlewick)
Moving beyond the geniality of Maisy, Cousins expertly draws out the primitive emotions at the core of Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and six other beloved stories.

Dinotrux
Chris Gall (Little, Brown)
Few things are more kid-pleasing than trucks and dinosaurs—put them together in a raucous, prehistoric hybrid and you have picture-book gold.

John Brown: His Fight for Freedom
John Hendrix (Abrams)
Hendrix's powerful, exaggerated imagery in this picture book biography is ideally suited to the life of this controversial American abolitionist.

Stagecoach Sal
Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Carson Ellis (Disney-Hyperion)
Blithe storytelling and slyly humorous art give this story of an utterly confident, quick-thinking 19th-century heroine plenty of pioneer spirit.

The Lion & the Mouse
Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown)
Not a single word from Aesop's fable of friendship appears in Pinkney's version, set in the Serengeti. This isn't a problem since the lovingly detailed interplay between the protagonists say it all.

Otis
Loren Long (Philomel)
Long's story of the friendship between a tractor and a young calf exudes a comforting sense of nostalgia and a gentleness of spirit.

Crow Call
Lois Lowry, illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline (Scholastic Press)
Newbery Medalist Lowry's first picture book, drawn from a childhood story about her father's return from war, is poignant and quietly moving, with a timely resonance.

Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World
Marilyn Nelson, illus. by Jerry Pinkney (Dial)
Gloriously evocative poetry and paintings create a stirring tribute to an all-female swing band that made spirits soar during an era of war and prejudice.

Duck! Rabbit!
Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illus. by Tom Lichtenheld (Chronicle)
A simple, fixed design and two combative, off-screen voices make this book and its central optical illusion—is that animal a duck or a rabbit?— a delight.

All the World
Liz Garton Scanlon, illus. by Marla Frazee (S&S/Beach Lane)
A subtle undercurrent of interconnectedness and a spare elegance make this picture book more than just a gentle ode to families of all shapes, sizes and kinds (which it assuredly is).

Birthday Card

Today is my father's 60th birthday. My three siblings and I got him a gift, and I drew this birthday card to go with it.

When we were little kids, we played a game where he would lie on the floor and we would all pile on top of him. We called it "Dead Dog and Flies."

Happy birthday, Pa.

Wild Review

I have not yet seen the movie Where the Wild Things Are, but I thought this was an interesting review.

I too like it in the book when his room slowly changes into a forest.

The Defiant Ones

From The New Yorker, a good article about parents and discipline in children's books:

...the stern disciplinarians of the past—in Robert McCloskey books, parents instruct children not to cry—have largely vanished. The parents in today’s stories suffer the same diminution in authority felt by the parents reading them aloud...

The typical adult in a contemporary picture book is harried and befuddled, scurrying to fulfill a child’s wishes and then hesitantly drawing the line. And the default temperament of the child is bratty, though often in a way so zesty and creative that the behavioral transgressions take on the quality of art.

...

One of the best writers of contemporary picture books is Kevin Henkes, a Wisconsin artist, whose Midwestern good sense is paired with a cheery pastel palette. For the past two decades, he has been depicting families as amiable, orderly mice. Henkes’s clean lines give his dot-eyed creatures a machined, Hello Kitty cuteness, but their emotions are palpably human.

I met Kevin Henkes this weekend at an opening reception for an exhibit of children's book art. A very nice man.

Wild Envelope

Cool!

The Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration

I plan to attend this on Sunday. It should be interesting. I've spoken with Kevin Henkes over the phone, and am looking to meet him in person.

A New Portrait

This one is of a couple whose 1-year wedding anniversary is coming up this October (mine is, too!). I work with the father of the groom, who asked me to do this.

Writing with Pictures

Thanks to a Barnes & Noble coupon, today I got a new book in the mail: Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books by Uri Shulevitz. I've been looking forward to this for a while - it is one of the best resources on children's book illustration.

Sketch of the Day

Tomie dePaola

Today is Tomie dePaola's 75th birthday.

Tomie is a great and prolific illustrator who came from a loving, supportive family. I too had a very good childhood, and am encouraged to know that that isn't a hindrance to being a successful illustrator!

From Elizabeth Kennedy:

Tomie came from a loving family of Irish and Italian background. He had an older brother and two younger sisters. His grandmothers were an important part of his life. Tomie's parents supported his desire to be an artist and to perform on stage. When he expressed an interest in taking dance lessons, he was immediately enrolled, even though it was unusual for a young boy to take dance lessons at that time. (See Oliver Button is a Sissy.) The emphasis in Tomie's family was on enjoying home, school, family and friends, and embracing personal interests and talents.

dePaola received a BFA from Pratt Institute and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts. Between college and graduate school he spent a brief time in a Benedictine monastery. DePaola taught art and/or theater design at the college level from 1962 through 1978 before devoting himself fulltime to children's literature.

DePaola's picture books cover a number of themes/topics. Some of these include: his own life, Christmas and other holidays (religious and secular), folktales, Bible stories, Mother Goose rhymes, and books about Strega Nona. He has also written a number of informational books like Charlie Needs a Cloak, which is the story of the creation of a wool cloak, from shearing a sheep to spinning the wool, weaving the cloth, and sewing the garment. His collections include Mother Goose stories, scary stories, seasonal stories, and nursery tales. His books are characterized by humor and light hearted illustrations, many in a folkart style. DePaola creates his artwork in a combination of watercolor, tempera, and acrylic.