Take Me Out to the Yakyu

4 April 2013

{published 2013, by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, and imprint of Simon & Schuster}

When I first heard of this book at SCBWI LA last summer, it was some art on a slide at the front of the room. I was in the back row, and I was hooked. I’ve been waiting for it ever since, and I love that its release was in eager anticipation of baseball’s opening days.

{Sidenote: Cano + Jay-Z? Interesting collaboration. I’ll always be a Chipper Jones girl myself. Middle school scrapbooks and everything. Really.}

But this book. It’s a visual juxtaposition of baseball traditions in America and Japan. A global pastime.

On the left, a kiddo goes to the park with his Pop Pop, and on the right, he hangs out with his ji ji.

{Sidenote again: I had the world’s greatest Pop Pop – no offense to our bright eyed young’n in this book. He always called that Chipper Jones fella Skipper.}

The sweet story arc socked me in the gut a little, because of my own fondness for family trips to the baseball stadium. Aaron Meshon’s saturated colors that are full of life vibrate with the energy of a game. The American blues and the Japanese reds contrast beautifully on each spread, too.

One of the reasons I love baseball so much is its balance of sheer intensity and quiet, and the roar of a rallied-up crowd. The composition of the illustrations echo that rise and fall – some are fully rendered to the edge, color spilling off the page. Some are contained in a quieter space, bordered by white.

And I love this – a subtle repetition of a circle, the stitched up sphere of a baseball. It even shows up on the back of the title page. I’m blanking on my librarian vocabulary – the verso, is it? That part where all the important cataloging information lives.

It’s here, too. Those cheeks!

And this – baseball is exhausting.

So get this book. It’s a home run. (And a slam dunk, too – even though that’s the wrong sport.)

Penguin and Pinecone

18 March 2013

21 Comments

by Salina Yoon

{published 2012, by Walker & Company, an imprint of Bloomsbury}

And! Penguin has a very cute blog!

I’ve been meaning to write about this book ever since I met Salina at an event in December. December!

2013 has been a time warp, but at least I’ve been surrounded by lots of great books.

I love that tiny Penguin and his dapper orange scarf Salina drew for me. (She’s just as adorable, too.) And this might be one of my favorite title pages of all time. The bed of pine needles, the heart…sweet, sweet foreshadowing.

Salina’s compositions are all striking, with a calming sense of space and subtle mood-building color palettes.

Remember the Rule of Thirds? Salina’s ground to sky ratio is a beautiful example of it. And I love that she chose the cool and crystal clear sky to be the dominant feature. It’s a wide open space, but Penguin still feels chilly and at home.

Every shivering pinecone needs an orange scarf right? Which is certainly a lovely thing to use as clothing for a penguin, but doesn’t it also magnify how freezing Penguin’s world is? It makes sense, but it also plunges the reader into that arctic blast.But since pinecones don’t live in the frigid air, Penguin sets off with his friend on a sled to return him home.And this spread. So pretty, and so sweet. There’s that bed of cozy needles from the title page, see? The contrast in worlds here is magnified by the color. Penguin’s home was cool and blue, and Pinecone’s neighborhood is warm with yellows, browns, and greens. Later, Penguin returns in search of his friend, and this left hand side of the most perfect spread is a mashup of their two worlds’ color. And I can’t show you the right. Cause, spoiler alert! But it’s spectacular and you just have to see for yourself. Trust me.

It’s easy to fall in love with Penguin and Pinecone, and since you probably already have, be on the lookout for two more of their adventures! Penguin on Vacation is coming in April, and Penguin in Love is coming before the end of the year. So dear, so perfect, so chilly.

Color + Colors

28 February 2013

22 Comments

I have no children. I have board books. Is this weird? Maybe. But these in particular are little graphic design studies. I will not literally try to chew them, but they are definitely droolworthy.

Do you know Alexander Girard? He was a midcentury designer, specializing in color and textiles. I’m crazy about the Nativity set at that link. And while most people have heard of Herman Miller, Girard was the designer that sizzled up their furniture line with his palettes. He said this, which made me fall in love a little: “People got fainting fits if they saw bright, pure color.”

He did it anyway.

So this little book is a huge celebration of his style, color, and desire to make you faint and fall in it.

How about Charley Harper? He took a vibrant love of color from the natural world, and distilled that into his pictures. I adore that on first glance, whimsy and delight dances around, but a longer gaze reveals storytelling ingenuity. He said, “When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see feathers, fur, scapulars, or tail coverts—none of that. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior, and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures.”

And this tiny treasure explodes with his search for endless possibilities. And it’s lovely.

Was I right about that whole droolworthy thing? I know.

Sleep Like a Tiger

19 February 2013

16 Comments

written by Mary Logue; illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

{published 2012, by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}

So you have to do a couple things for me. First, dash off to the library for a copy of this book. Better yet – the bookstore, cause you probably won’t want to give it back.

And then visit the always delightful Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast’s post. She’s got final spreads and sketches and you’ll probably never claw your way out of that web of beauty.

When I got my hands on this book late last year, I fell in love. Why I was blindsided by its Caldecott Honor nod I have no idea! Of course it won. Can’t wait to see a version with that shiny silver sticker.

But while you’re gone or while you’re here, think about texture, and how it gives life to most anything we see. In design, texture represents on a flat plane what your fingers could touch were it three dimensional.

You’d eat a shiny red apple before you’d eat a furry, rotted one, right? We respond to texture.

But in art, texture adds a layered depth to whatever story is being told, and that’s why Sleep Like a Tiger is so beautiful to behold.

The battle for sleep is not as simple as mom and dad saying so + child + pillow. I’m not a parent and I know that much! It’s complicated, messy, and doesn’t always make sense. It’s dreamy. And so is the cast of characters that is larger than life and also snuggled up in this wee person’s bed.

I love the overlapping lines and patterns. And the scrapes and smudges and intricate detail. These pictures are warmth wrapped up in a blanket with a side of hot tea.

And side note: I adore the recurring circles in the pages. A wheel, a sun, a moon – all subtle reminders of the cycle of sleep.

Fish On A Walk

12 February 2013

8 Comments

by Eva Muggenthaler

{published 2012, by Enchanted Lion Books}

I’ve mentioned my bookshelf issues before, right? As in not nearly enough space to put all the books? In my head, picture books are so skinny! They’ll take up no space at all, right? But rather than on shelves, I have stacks. Everywhere.

Well, this book bowled me over when I first laid eyes on it. You’ll see. But the stack it was in? Covered by a throw pillow on the couch. Not anymore, I promise. Please send shelves.

Anyway. Let’s talk about this book, because I think you will adore it.

An intriguing title that gives away the delightful dichotomies to come – unusual instances, and a billion bitty details to love.

The cover hints at all of this, with its mossy greens and a muddy red – complementary colors on the good old color wheel. As far a part as they can get from one another, and a great use of contrast in design framing a book all about sometimes absurd differences.

I adore the way the green line of the cover dangles down along the stark red endpapers! Love.

Inside, each spread contains one glorious illustration holding all of those billion bitty details. And each spread holds only two contrasting words which can explain or guide or drive the pictures. You figure it out, you get into the story, you make sense of the contrasting duo.

It’s like Eva Muggenthaler gave your imagination a diving board and didn’t tell you that the pool was so deep that you’ll shoot out of the other side of the globe. Extreme? I don’t think so.

A hint! Such a tease.

Wonder and ooh and ahh with this one. This is one of those books that needs to stay out all the time, not ever stuck on a bookshelf. And definitely never ever ever under a throw pillow.

PS – Valentine’s Day is charging forward. Do you need a good book for your sweetie? Check out my Top Ten over at Design Mom!

The Island

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Wasn’t Monday morning a thrill? I tweeted this, which pretty much summed up my morning:

And I wrote (and squealed) a little more about it here, where there’s a really beautiful picture thanks to Caryn Schafer’s beautiful blog!

There’s a billion and one things to love about Jon Klassen, and one of them is his mastery of color. Even if you picture the covers to Extra Yarn and This Is Not My Hat, you get an insta-glimpse of what I mean. Color rules. It’s easy to read, easy to feel. And it’s what stands out to me about this book, The Island.

by Marije Tolman and Ronald Tolman

{published 2012, by Lemniscaat USA}

I bought this book based on its cover, before I even turned a single page. Look at it! It’s dreamy and sparkly and enchanting and soft and calm and it just speaks.

And the story is just as dreamy and sparkly and enchanting and all those other things. A polar bear climbs down from a ladder in the clouds. Wordlessly, he pokes from page to page, from thing to thing, from story to story, from island to island.

The landscapes are muted and quiet, and the living characters are saturated and strong. The color palette is transporting and calming and breathtaking.

I adore being able to read a different story every time I carefully thumb through it. I’m not sure if it means something small or something big, and I don’t really care. I just enjoy it and soak it in, and feel my imagination bursting at the seams.

And something else that is delightful and surprising: a father-daughter duo created this one. Something about that feels extra special.

Pepi Sings A New Song

21 January 2013

9 Comments

by Laura Ljungkvist

{published 2010 by Beach Lane Books}

I’m a huge fan of Laura Ljungkvist’s sophisticated and playful style. Remember Follow the Line?

Pepi Sings a New Song is a delightful romp through a world of words. Pepi meets and greets his neighbors, from Manuel at the bakery to Cynthia at the dog park, all in search of stanzas for a new song.

The vibrant color on each page adds life and zest to Pepi’s journey. It separates each pit stop, and subtly references the full circle journey Pepi makes in search of a song. And? It’s just darn beautiful.

That baker, Manuel, lives on pretty pastry pink pages.

Aurora’s art studio is framed by a cool, creative, blue.

Clive’s music studio is on a brassy, golden orange, which perfectly echoes his trumpet. (And his awesome plaid pants.)

Love this book, love Pepi, and once again — love Laura Ljungkvist.

Over and Under the Snow

24 December 2012

5 Comments

by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal

Settle in for a bit. This book will warm your soul.

Absolutely zero snow falls in southern California this time of year, or any time of year really, but this book makes me feel like I am deep in the middle of a winter wonderland.

Kate Messner’s words are hushed and poetic; she is such a beautiful writer. And we tweeted each other once about Ramona Quimby, so I’m an extra huge fan. I love this post by her editor on her words’ rhythms. And Christopher Silas Neal’s art is stunning. The tiny animals are vibrant against the stark snow, and page by page, this quiet walk bursts with life. This post by both Kate and Christopher is a great glimpse into the process of making this book. Go ahead.

You certainly don’t have to be a writer or artist to appreciate this book, but those bits in me make me crazy for this one.

I especially love the use of color in the illustrations. The cool grays and blues are balanced by our girl’s red knits, a pouncing fox, and a roaring bonfire back home.

White snowflakes scatter over the shadows.

And the sky — I love the sky — it changes from a warm blue, to a cloudy purple, to a deep midnight navy over the course of the book. A gorgeous transformation over the course of this jaunt through the snow.

Add this one to your winter collection! And this little blog wishes you a lovely holiday season. See you back here in 2013?

Red Sled

3 December 2012

9 Comments

by Lita Judge

First. You have to read the interview with Lita Judge over at Jules’ Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog. That studio! That giant cat! Doesn’t she sound like the kind of person you want to have poached eggs and lemongrass tea with? Yes.

Red Sled is a perfect book for a cold and cozy winter. (Even if you are in the land of perpetual seventy degree weather. Still perfect.)

It’s mostly wordless, but the words that do exist capture the sounds of the crispy, crunchy snow, and the wheees and whoops of a whimsical winter bunch.

The palette is quiet and bright; the winter whites are a highlight. But then! There’s a red sled. A peek of a red cap. Tiny bursts of color on an otherwise muted scene.

Also, I adore how Lita used a border to contain the scenes in the pages. Something about that feels extra cozy and warm. Instead of bleeding to the edge of the page, the pictures are all wrapped in a wintry white blanket. Perhaps a nice reminder of the snug-and-settled-in-ness of the season?