Red: A Crayon's Story, written and illustrated by Michael Hall. It's really impressive how much emotion Hall brings to this story (narrated by a pencil) about a crayon defying expectations...and the label slapped on him. The crayons have no faces but the emphatic text and the crayon's evocative child-like drawings help give the book a poignant immediacy. The titular character has been labeled "red" but its attempts to draw, say, a fire truck or strawberries, go wrong because in fact inside he is actually the color "blue." The other crayons of various colors, representing other students and the crayon's patient yet concerned parents, try to help to no avail. Soon the crayons become downright gossipy, and Hall has a ball with the spreads showing them exchange comments about our misunderstood hero. A real sense of melancholy enters the tale when a pair of scissors, masking tape, and crayon sharpener try to fix what might be 'broken inside." Just when all seems lost, Red meets a new Berry-colored crayon friend who sees him for who he is and it all leads to an ending that soars, quite literally. This beautiful book about self-discovery resonates, and has already emerged as one of the strongest picture books of the new year.
Wolfie the Bunny, written by Ame Dyckman, and illustrated by Zachariah Ohora. This nervous charmer of a book also stars a character, a wolf, who rises above stereotypes and defies societal expectations. The story begins when a rabbit family (loves Mom's cool glasses and Dad's hip hat) discovers an adorable baby wolf in a basket on their doorstep. Horrified, their daughter Dot warns about taking the abandoned cub in, shouting that he will eat them all up, but her parental units ignore her and adopt the furry creature with big teeth. This new addition scares Dot's friends, follows her around, and makes her life rather miserable. But of course a sweet resolution allows Dot to not only accept her new sibling, but protect him as well (helping her defy some societal expectations as well). Dyckman's lively concise text pairs beautifully with Ohara's bold acrylic paintings, creating a memorable tale of newly found friendship that begs to be read again and again. The many fun touches in the art (I love the sloth with a broom in one drawing, the smiling carrot on the Carrot Patch store window, the rather scary shadow on the wall behind Wolfie's head accenting Dot's fear of him, and so on) invite playful investigation and provide a satisfying emotional arc. A winner!
No comments:
Post a Comment