The Farmer and the Clown, by Marla Frazee. Frazee's glorious illustrations jump off the page in this wordless wonder about a child clown who bounces off a circus train. Coming to the little one's aid is a caring farmer who gives the tyke a place to stay. Frazee's evocative art work always seems to be in motion--it has a windswept feel to it. And she masterfully uses shadows for dramatic effect. The tenderness of the story shines through as these two lonely people become unlikely friends. The ending feels both happy and bittersweet as the clown's family returns, and then Frazee delivers a hilarious punch line that will make young readers giggle. Gorgeous, one of her best!
The Book with No Pictures, by B.J. Novak. Oh my word this is silly fun! As promised, no illustrations appear in Novak's meta romp that ends up playing a wicked little trick on the grown-ups reading it to their little ones. The book starts off on a modest note, employing a simple black font and several blank pages, as Novak questions the whole notion of a book with no pictures. But then we find out: there are benefits. Silly benefits! The book can make the grown-up reading it out loud say ridiculous things. The font gets bigger and colorful as goofy words start taking over the book. It all leads to an amazing spread where the hilarious words such as OOOOOmph! EEEEEmph! and AHEE! AHEE! AHEE! fill the pages. This would make a good double feature with Antoinette Portis' celebration of goofy words,
Froodle.
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