Monday, July 13, 2009

July Book Reviews and other things that make summer great..

How does one celebrate a step in the right direction towards getting a children's book published? - Go shopping at the bookstore !! There's a whole new summer crop of PB's out there just waiting to be picked- and I picked the ones I found most juicy!



"Let's do nothing!"- by Tony Fucile - Candlewick Press
Mr. Fucile- how I luv thee. He's responsible for much of the design of my favorite Pixar movie- "The Incredibles". I have long admired his way with a pencil- his "je ne sais quoi" -with the curve and the line and the way he can completely capture KIDS.
Watch the Incredibles -ignore everything but Violet- Dash - Jack Jack and the babysitter(my favorite). Look at the Art of the Incredible books- and WOW! The drawings of the kids. The boy on the tricycle. Tony Fucile is a genius with character. It's no wonder he has entered the world of children's books with such a book.
"Lets do nothing" is simply about two kids - 2 characters Frankie and Sal sitting... trying to do nothing- and the inability to keep Frankie's imagination doing nothing. The simple gorgeous drawings allow those 2 personalities to shine. These 2 boys- are as real as my own little 9 yr old neighbor Frankie- who too- can't sit quietly for long. - I really- really hope we see more books from Tony Fucile. 'Cause I'm hooked.



"If I were a jungle animal" -Tom and Amanda Ellery - Simon & Schuster
2 books by animators?- Hmmmmmmm.... someone noticing a trend!? yes.....
This book has a great classic printing look. Flat- bold great color combinations inside of thick black scratchy line. Is it china marker? Black prismacolor? hm.mmm.. I wonder. It has a loose drawing style that is pitch perfect that can only come when a hand knows.. Yes the hand can know. I think hands have sense memory- how a pencil drags across a surface- an inked brush glides around a curve. Tom Ellery has a smart hand that communicates his wife Amanda's ability to think as a kid. It's an adorable book. Like Tony Fucile's it's real - authentically 100% all KID.



"Wave" by Suzy Lee -Chronicle books

Suzy Lee is not an animator- but she could be. Animators are just people who can breathe life into drawings- that she can do.
I saw these illos on the Society of Illustrator's call for entries for their children's book show this fall.- She was the reason I went shopping. When I cracked this baby open @ B&N - I put my whole stack down to sit- and go thru it over and over.

There are no words. You turn the pages and you hear this book. You hear the seagulls - you hear the ocean coming and going. You feel the little girls- joy and wonder. (remember what the beach was like when you didn't care about sand in your butt?- it was magical) The page of the aftermath of the crashing wave is my favorite- the pause - the anticipation- will she cry?- NO!- She finds a shell! - (I still think shells are magical- nature's jewelry) - This quiet book makes a lot of noise! The water is painted amazingly... blue white and black, 3 colors and you're at the beach. Incredible. Suzy Lee- magical.


Back to work. Hope Summer's shaping up for you to be hazy, lazy and crazy!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oooh, "Wave" looks right up my alley. I'll have to check that one out for sure!

Cynthia Narcisi said...

Great suggestion:)

Brian said...

As The Incredibles is one of my favorite movies of all time I'll have to check out the Fucile book. I picked up Varmints on your recommendation. Loved the art.

Brian said...

Just hit me... did Fucile use baby Jimmy C and Steve P as inspiration for the character designs? Perhaps he too is wise, and likes the BNL.

Mac McCool said...

Thanks for the reviews, Kelly! Wave had caught my eye at some store, but I never got to leaf through it, so thanks for refreshing my memory (and making me realize I really waaaaant it! -- Man, the cover alone is as attractive as the call of the ocean!). Cheers!!

Courtney Pippin-Mathur said...

I love fucile's book-lovely comic genius~!