On the Seventh Day of Christmas: More Animals!
On the Seventh Day of Christmas, we have cute furry animals, a T-Rex, and lots of Hueys!
Once Upon a Memory by Nina Laden, illustrated by Renata Liwska
Last week, we ran into this book at Porter Square books, and immediately recognized the illustrator from one of our favorite series of books (The Quiet Book, the Loud Book, The Christmas Quiet Book). Liwska's pencil and paper illustrations of small furry animals are truly wonderful, and if you check out her website/blog, you can even find photos of her sketchbooks and learn about her process- a real treat for people interested in children's book illustration. The words are beautiful as well:
Once Upon a Memory by Nina Laden, illustrated by Renata Liwska
"Does a book remember that it once was a word?"
We got to meet Molly Idle at a book signing at the American Library Conference in Chicago, and she was just as lovely as her colored pencil drawings of a T-Rex trying to behave at a tea party. This book is fantastic- it appears to be an etiquette primer for children learning how to be an excellent party host. Throughout the book she never refers to the fact that you might be hosting a dinosaur, which makes the illustrations even more funny.
"When everyone is settled, you may serve refreshments.
Be sure to offer several choices- and cater to the individual tastes of your guests"
I am not sure if Hueys count as animals, but as they are not quite human, I think they would feel OK being in an animal-themed post. This is the long-awaited sequel to Jeffers's The Hueys.
So... the main reason we went to the American Library Conference was to meet Oliver Jeffers and we did! My son and I were both overjoyed to get to meet our favorite author. Can't you tell?
Jeffers was there signing a wonderful YA novel
that he illustrated (The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas by David Almond) as well as a new picture book (The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt) but
we chatted for a while about the Hueys and he told me that there is a third
installment coming soon! In the second book, the Hueys learn how to work through one of their rare arguments. The Hueys books remind me of the Frog and Toad books in the unique way that conflicts are solved (or otherwise forgotten). Here's a peek at some of the illustrations:
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