Picture Book Round-Up, Part Un

by Leslie Kimmelman
Illustrated by Sarah McMenemy
Knopf Books for Young Readers
April 2008
Ooh la la! If you happen to be a Francophile, here’s a book for you. Even if you’re not, well, if you like your more contemporary illustrations — bright spins on busy, urban settings — Sarah McMenemy may be just for you. This is one young girl’s trip to Paris with her parents, rendered in simple rhymes from Kimmelman: “When in Paris . . . everybody bonjours. From shores. In stores. On guided tours. Everybody bonjours!” And we’re talking a few words on each page or double page spread. The young girl, out and about in the city, hits all the major tourist hotspots: the Latin Quarter, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Tuileries Gardens, and much more, the book closing with a guide to each major landmark and a bit of enthused information about it, explained in terms the youngest of preschoolers will understand (“Notre Dame cathedral is a church that took 200 years to build!”). The endpages provide a compressed map of the landmarks the girl sees — and on a cool blue palette. Observant children will have fun spotting Monsieur LeMousie on each spread. McMenemy — whose work has been commissioned for such things as brochures for Toyota, installation pieces for the London Underground, and posters for the New York Hudson River Festival — debuted as a children’s book illustrator with 2003’s Waggle. Her mixed media illustrations are rendered in the boldest shades and convey the joy and wonder the young girl feels in this new city, doing things as mundane as chores to eating petits fours. In the end, she’s happy to be home in the arms of her grandmother at the airport. This would make an excellent read-aloud, particularly for units on Paris or travel, it goes without saying. McMenemy’s art resonates with a vibrancy and contagious energy. Très bien.
by Bonny Becker
Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Candlewick
February 2008
As I already mentioned over at Diane Chen’s Practically Paradise when Eisha and I guest-blogged over there last week, Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton’s A Visitor for Bear is one of my favorite picture book titles from this year. And I just have to share the beginning of Betsy Bird’s review of it over at A Fuse #8 Production, seeing as how I visibly shudder when people repeatedly refer to picture books as merely “cute” and stop there (which I’ve made clear here at 7-Imp before and, arguably, makes me a Big Snob, but so be it): Read the rest of this entry �