I just read two extraordinary picture books and had to share! I hope you love them too.
Make Meatballs Sing by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Kara Kramer (Nonfiction Picture Book)
This was my first time hearing about Corita Kent, and I was thrilled to read about her. She was such an imaginative, eccentric, and original artist. My favorite moment was when she had her students cut out and make ‘finders,’ which were cardboard pieces with windows, and pretend they were microscopes exploring the city. The art I’m most drawn to is all about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, and Kent was a champion of this. The illustrations in this book are dynamic, bold, super loud and bright, and really exceptional. Just like meatballs singing psalms, this book also sings, sometimes softly with powerful quotes tucked here and there and sometimes booming with her bold and vibrant ideas.
The Whole World Inside Nan's Soup by Hunter Liguore and illustrated by Vikki Zhang (Picture Book)
When a little girl asks her Nanni what's inside the soup pot, Nanni begins by telling her that there are seeds in the pot. The list of ingredients continue - gardeners, bees, and even a bus - as her Nanni explains all the effort, resources, time, and materials that go into the soup. It's really a simple and beautiful way to talk to kids about what goes into what we eat. The illustrations are some of the best I've ever seen, and I will continue absorbing them because there are so many details and they give me that same feeling a nice bowl of soup does - warmth, pleasure, and, comfort. There's a little bit of everything too - celestial humans, an adorable panda purse, food galore, vivid facial expressions, and an interesting depiction of time and memories, which I'm still exploring.
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