Picture Book Preview: New and Noteworthy
We bring the best and brightest books to our library collections. Here are some new books that we are really excited about, which will be hitting shelves soon, or have just arrived.
Goldfish Ghost by Lemony Snicket, illustrated By Lisa Brown
Goldfish Ghost is "born" belly up in a fishbowl. He floats (up that is), still upside down, into the air and out the window in search of someone to talk to or play with. Lemony Snicket's ability to find macabre humour in a sorrowful subject matter has not left him, and Lisa Brown's playful and detailed illustrations do justice to the flying fish eye view of the world below.
Splotch by Gianna Marino
Another recent picture book dealing with the somewhat specialized topic of goldfish demise is Splotch, in which a boy discovers that his goldfish – named "Splotch" for the distinctive white blob on his side – has gone missing. The obvious conclusion of course is that Splotch has run away. When Splotch reappears soon after, with a slight, but noticeably different white mark, the boy will have to come up with a theory to explain this too.
Prince And Pirate by Charlotte Gunnufson, illustrated by Mike Lowery
If perchance, you would prefer a picture book in which our piscine protagonist pets don't perish, you might find Prince and Pirate more to your liking. Each of these two fish, one a prince and one a pirate, ruled over their own respective small and spherical worlds, until one day they are brought together in a much larger rectangular world. But who is the rightful ruler of this new domain?
Shark Dog by Ged Adamson
By way of a gradual segue, consider Shark Dog, narrated by a child who accompanies an explorer dad all over the world on fascinating expeditions. It is on one such occasion that they encounter an affectionate dorsal-finned doggie who wants to be their friend. They adopt this unusual pet, and take him home where he seems equally at ease on land or underwater. Naturally this strange creature will have to adjust to the new world it finds itself in, and the people in this new world will also need to get used to Shark Dog!
Percy Dog Of Destiny by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann
Leaving our fishy friends behind completely, in Percy Dog of Destiny, we get to experience a trip to the dog park as seen through the eyes of Percy, a relatively normal dog who does relatively normal things with the extraordinary enthusiasm that only an energetic dog can muster. You will never see retrieving a ball, digging a hole or watering a tree in the same way again. This was written by well known illustrator, Alison McGhee and another illustrator, Jennifer K. Mann, has brought a distinctly different and humorous style to this book.
Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Divya Srinivasan
Not to neglect our feline friends, we'll round off our companion animals theme with the story of a blind princess who won't speak. Her distraught paren'ts, the Rajah and Rani, offer the reward of a room in the palace, a field of stunted mango trees, a portrait of the Rani's aunt and a parrot to anyone who can get her to speak. These odd incentives do persuade a few people to try, and one of these intrepid souls is a man-eating tiger who can also talk. The colourful and dreamy illustrations by Divya Srinivasan give an effect of paper-cut tableaux and create a very unique look.
Picture book Preview New & Noteworthy May 10th
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One thought on “Picture Book Preview: New and Noteworthy”
Fantastic choices and I love the “Fish to Feline (with Dogs in-between)” theme of the post. 🙂