Wolves Beneath the Covers
We couldn’t get through October without mentioning wolves, and herewith are two tales that celebrate the oft-maligned and misunderstood canis lupus.
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The New York Review Children’s Collection recently reissued Catherine Storr’s (1913-2001) collection of modern-day fables called The Complete Polly and the Wolf. Originally published in the U.K. in 1955, Storr’s stories of little Polly outwitting the doltish Wolf are not terribly familiar to American audiences; the last publication of a Polly book in the U.S. was in 2007, and it didn’t make the international splash that it should have. Here’s hoping the New York Review’s incarnation encourages a new generation to discover the plucky, mid-century heroine who relies on her own cunning and resourcefulness not to become the Wolf’s dinner. Original black-and-white drawings by Marjorie Ann Watts and Jill Bennett are as delightful and whimsical as the tales they illustrate. Anglophiles and collectors of children’s literature will want to add this one to their collections. (The Complete Polly and the Wolf, by Catherine Storr, illustrated by Marjorie Ann Watts and Jill Bennett; The New York Review Children’s Collection, $17.95 304 pages, ages 6-9.)
Meanwhile, in Jean Leroy’s recent picture book entitled A Well-Mannered Young Wolf, the hungry protagonist sets out on his first hunting excursion. Wolf law decrees that before enjoying a meal, a predator must honor his prey’s final wishes. Though the well-mannered young wolf accommodates various last requests, they’re at the expense of his empty stomach. Will courtesy prevail in the wild? Young readers will adore this wry unexpected examination of manners (especially with a kindly wolf as the nice guy). Illustrator Matthieu Maudet’s latest collaboration with Leroy proves the combination is a winning match; deceptively simple pen-and-ink illustrations rendered in a trio of tints are bold and reminiscent of comic-book art. Originally published in 2013 in French as Un jeune loup bien éduqué, the story retains its wit and charm in translation. (A Well-Mannered Young Wolf, by Jean Leroy, illustrated by Matthieu Maudet; Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, $16.00, 30 pages, ages 3-7.)
Fall into Good Books
For many of us, October heralds a change in temperature and the arrival of Halloween. Below are two selections that celebrate this distinctive season.
Anne Sibley O’Brien invokes magical incantations to toast autumn in Hocus Pocus, It’s Fall! Shazam! A gust of wind encourages youngsters to pull a leaf-filled flap to find a forest carpet of foliage, while other rites of the season–picking apples, donning heavier clothes, scanning the skies for migrating flocks–are enchanting when infused with the youthful sense of wonderment that permeates the book. Susan Gal’s mixed-media illustrations of chubby-cheeked chipmunks and cherubic children reveling in the natural world are bathed in tones of gold, orange, and russet. Warm and inviting, this charming tale will put a spell on you. (Abrams Appleseed; $12.95, 24 pages, ages 2-5)
Meanwhile, for those of you who eagerly await the arrival of Halloween might enjoy Disney Villains: Delightfully Evil by Jen Darcy (Hyperion; $40.00, 192 pages, all ages). This update on the 1993 publication by Frank Thomas celebrates Disney’s darkest characters, from Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmations to Tangled’s Mother Gothel to the duplicitous Hans of Frozen. Sheathed in a dust-jacket highlighting a blood-red illustration of the Evil Queen, this coffee-table book includes concept art, photographs,and movie stills, while the text explains the origins of evildoers and their influence on popular culture. Organized thematically, those moviegoers who find themselves rooting for the bad guys will happily revel in all this book has to offer.
Jon Klassen is having something of a moment now–the WSJ ran a Q&A with the Caldecott winner today: https://lnkd.in/dGHd7vV I had the pleasure of speaking with him this summer for my story in this month’s issue of Fine Books & Collections (print only, alas). You can, however, check out my profile on Klassen from way back in 2014, when “Sam and Dave Dig a Hole” was just released. This guy’s going places– https://lnkd.in/dEewb3q
My fall story for Fine Books & Collections explores a multi-venue exhibit on manuscript culture in Boston.
(via Illuminated Manuscripts on Exhibit – Fine Books and Collections)
Brains Over Beauty: A Look at Two New Picture Books
Books about smart girls are sweeping the picture-book industry, and rightly so; saccharine stories about ditzy dumbos are a dime a dozen, and girls need industrious, adventurous role-models to admire. Merryn’s Journey (Brian Hastings, illustrated by Tony Mora and Alexis Seabrook; Sterling Children’s Books, $14.95, 40 pages, ages 4-7, October 4, 2016) hopes to join the girl power pantheon, but it doesn’t quite make the cut. In video game developer Brian Hasting’s first children’s book, Merryn is a faithful, hardworking young girl whose fisherman father goes missing. A vivid dream convinces her to craft a submersible and retrieve him. Along the way, the intrepid Merryn meets a giant sea spider, baby sea serpent, mermaids, and other creatures. Though well-intentioned, the story falls flat–it should sing, but rather, it focuses too much on providing a female character who is admired for her skill instead of her beauty. Admirable for its goals, this narrative feels forced and formulaic. Sometimes, stories can be saved by great art, but Tony Mora and Alexis Seabrook’s illustrations are proasic, surprising given that the book is a companion to the Song of the Deep video game starring Merryn and her subaquatic consorts–the illustrations should be dynamic.
Images used with permission from Sterling Books. Text
© 2016 Brian Hastings Images
© Tony Mora and Alexis Seabrook
Parents looking for a truly superb picture book celebrating young girls and their talents would do well with the recently published Cleonardo: The Little Inventor (Arthur A. Levine Books, 48 pages, $18.99, ages 4-8, August 2016), by Caldecott Honor winner Mary Grandpré. Here too, is a celebration of brains over beauty–little Cleonardo is the granddaughter of master inventor Leonardo da Vinci (here charmingly referred to as “Grandpa Leo”). Cleonardo’s dad Geonardo is a tinkerer, with plans to enter the town’s Grand Festival of Inventions. Cleo wants to help, but Geonardo pushes her away. Determined to impress her father and show that she’s equally capable of inventing, Cleonardo enlists the help of Grandpa Leo to enter her own creation in the fair. Will father and daughter realize that two heads are better than one? An outstanding ode to the value of collaboration, determination, and ingenuity,
Grandpré’s paper collages and acrylics bathe the characters in that famous Italian luminescence, each page richly in textured and full of nuance, just like family dynamics.
Images from Cleonardo, The Little Inventor written and illustrated by Mary GrandPré. Used with permission from Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic.
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