Three That Embrace the Wild Side

Flashlight, illustrated by Lizi Boyd.  The talented Boyd follows her exquisite Inside, Outside up with another wordless wonder about a child who dares to take a nocturnal journey.  Beautifully designed and sporting clever die cuts, the book shows our brave young wanderer camping out in a tent under a full moon.  The child decides to take a walk and discovers all the creatures (bats, skunks, a fox) also enjoying this beautiful night thanks to a trusty flashlight.  Boyd's inventive illustrations give us a nighttime world of blacks and grays, and this makes seeing what the flashlight reveals all the more dramatic and effective.  Some playful slapstick enters the picture when the child falls asleep and wakes to see that some creatures have borrowed the flashlight, resulting in a lovely final image that brings all the creatures together.  A masterful charmer.

I Am a Witch's Cat, written and illustrated by Harriet Muncaster.  Wow, all the Halloween books are rolling in; this year has been soaring!  So far, this is my favorite new book for the holiday.  Using a cool-looking 3D-like collage effect, the story tells of a girl dressed as a cat telling how she loves being her witch mom's familiar.  However, the funny joke is the wannabe feline describes witchy things, but in reality, the mother is just doing mundane chores.  So a trip to the grocery store shows mom buying olives and pickles, but in the girl's imagination she purchases "jars of eyeballs and green fingers" instead.  Chores like gardening become magical, and when mother's friends visit (they all look very tame and classy) for a book discussion group, the girl claims "they sit in a circle and cackle."  And in the girl's dreams, her mother takes flight, flying on a broom under a full moon.

Wild, written and illustrated by Emily Hughes.  My vote for most subversive recent picture book has to be this idiosyncratic, witty, and surprisingly haunting tale of a young feral child who loves living in the wild and rebels when taken into so-called civilized society.  Bursting with vibrant illustrations as crazy as the girl's out-of-control hair, Hughes' story shows the girl learning how to speak from Bird, hunt from Bear, and play from Fox.  Suddenly a bunch of new creatures, humans, discover her and take her away from this ideal paradise.  I love how she resists their attempts to civilize her because, after all, humans Ate Wrong, Spoke Wrong, and Played Wrong.  It all climaxes in a major act of rebellion that may raise some eyebrows, but feels right.  Pair this with Peter Brown's Mr. Tiger Goes Wild and Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.

Cats and Dogs: 2 Fun Furry Picture Books

Cats Are Cats, written and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev.  This silly delight introduces Miss Bell, a cat lover first seen purchasing a brand new orange and black striped kitten from Pet Land.  She names this "little" and impossibly cute feline Tiger.  They enjoy playing games together and watching TV.  With one surprising turn of the page, suddenly the tiny kitty has become, well, an enormous tiger.  Gorbachev's hilarious timing with that moment even startles Miss Bell, who responds to Tiger's growth spurt and ginormous Tiger roar by hiding in the closet.   Her fear subsides and her love becomes unconditional even as he makes horrible messes.  The story offers a lovely twist (and a bit of suspense) when our bespectacled heroine picks up some fish at the pet store for the delighted-looking tiger (I love the concerned looks on the onlookers' faces).  Are these fish playmates or tonight's meal?  And what's up with that funny-looking gray and white fish that looks different from the other goldfish in the bags?  Bound to become a storytime favorite.

I'm My Own Dog, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein.  I had the pleasure of getting a first-hand look at Stein's latest at a conference.  I couldn't stop laughing in a hysterical way that reminded me how hard I laughed when I first read Stein's Caldecott Honor book Interrupting Chicken.  In this sly book, the average dog/owner relationship is wittily switched:  our very confident canine hero tells how it meets a rather hapless human adult male.  The guy begs the dog for companionship and our titular character acquiesces, letting the mustached dude hang out with him.  However, the dog has to put up with a  lot of problems:  the guy makes horrible messes and craves constant attention.  Stein's distinct humorous drawings playfully capture a memorable and topsy turvy pet relationship.  I love how the dog is drawn--when it says "I'm my own dog" you believe it.  But the furry fellow also has a gruff warmth and charm that wins you over as well.  Hey, I would ask this pooch to adapt me too!