February Reads Part 2

Here is the next chunk of awesome books I read in February:

Spots in a Box by Helen Ward (picture book)

If you're thinking I love this book because of the sparkly shiny pages, you are correct. However, I also love the message at the end, about how we can make others happy with our happiness. So if sparkly shiny stuff makes us happy, that same happiness is going to give sparkle and shine to someone's day. Plus, shiny and sparkly stuff aside, the illustrations are gorgeous! I've never seen such expressive, lovable guinea fowls in all my life.

Lost and Found by Barbara McClintock (picture book)

The illustrations are jam-packed full of detail, people, colors, and beauty. I thought the story was decent. I really enjoyed the postcard aspect of it - how each adventure depicted a postcard Adele wrote to her mother. I really didn't care too much for her brother losing things in every adventure but I think kids will think it's fun to search for him and find out what he's lost. Really, the brilliant illustrations are the reason I adore this book. The canal pages are my favorite. 



King Baby by Kate Beaton (picture book)

This is one of those books that is humorous to both children and their adults. And quite frankly, it leans more towards a parent's sense of humor than a child's. I love when the baby points and says "ehh bpp," which is baby talk for "bring me the thing." The parents try to bring the right 'thing,' but of course the baby wants the 'other thing.' I also thought the illustrations were hilarious, for example the illustrations of the baby when he tries to crawl to 'the thing,' and will make most anyone laugh, no matter their age.

A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (picture book)

The idea of a pig parade is pretty ludicrous; therefore just the thought of it is absolutely hilarious. Before you open this book to read it and look at the pictures you should imagine what a pig parade would look like. After you've thought about it for a few minutes that's when you should open the book. Why, you ask? Both Michael Ian Black and Kevin Hawkes perfectly capture the absurdity of a pig parade in all its glory. This book looks exactly like what you've imagined a pig parade to be. The writing is both funny and enjoyable to read aloud. I read this during storytime recently and when we got to the part about snuffling, we said the word aloud and also pretended to snuffle, because we simply had to try it out for ourselves. The illustrations are crazy fantastic and amazingly realistic. I feel like Hawkes must have been a pig in a past life and I feel confident he's attempted to lead a few pig parades in his current life. The expressions on the pig's faces are so appropriate. It's as if they're all saying, "Really, a pig parade?"

Jinx and the Doom Fight Crime! by Lisa Mantchev and illustrated by Samantha Cotterill (picture book)

I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the illustrations in this book. The copyright page describes the illustrations as "hand drawn, paper cut, and digitally colored, then set in a 3-D environment and photographed." The shadow illustrations are particularly exciting. I read this during a recent storytime and the toddlers were excited about every shadow. I paused the book each time and we speculated together. I didn't realize how engaging the illustrations would be so I was delightfully surprised by this. The story is also pretty great - a brother and sister fighting everyday crime together. My favorite line from the book is such a great message, "They used to fight each other. But then they realized they could use their powers for GOOD and not EVIL." Before I conclude my gushing, I must point two more awesome things about this book - the dinosaur endpapers (gorgeous) and the flashlight at the end (very clever).