Picture Books

Talking of CKG…  Our YLG branch had our nominations session and we were blown away by some of the potential Greenaway titles.  I shall try to say something about this, but it’s hard without the books to wave around.  (The best way to explain how wonderful a picture book is to open it up and say “Look at that!”)  Even off the short selection we had, there were some great books, so you'll have to forgive this post being a little long.

We loved Bob Graham’s How to Heal A Broken Wing – a story that (literally) illustrates how one small act of kindness can make a difference.  The use of perspective, colour and layout is excellent.  In fact, the only criticism we could make was that we don’t think it’s always (if ever) a good idea to pick up an injured pigeon and take it home, and that’s missing the point of this quiet gem of a book.  (The story is very simple – a young girl in a big city spots an injured bird as everyone else passes on, takes it home and nurses it back to health).

We were also enchanted by Emily Gravett’s Spells, which has as much fascinating detail as the fine print she advises us to read with much humour – and particularly good use of shadow in places.  (This is a tale of a frog determined to become a prince, but who should definitely take more care about his reading.  With cut pages that leave a mixture of funny outcomes for the spells.)

Rob Scotton’s Splat the Cat won our hearts instantly.  (We all want to know how he does the edges of the cat.)  We loved the expressive illustrations and the little touches (the cat’s face being as visible under the blankets as out of them) and couldn’t talk about it without enthusiasm and a smile.  (The typical storyline of ‘first day at school’ is enlivened no end by the illustrations).

The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers was another we felt was outstanding.  (We all left with the resolution to make our own nominations for the titles that weren’t the NE choices).  Colour, use of space – and those cartoon series as the alien and child communicate – won us over.  (In this exploration of imagination, a child takes a plane to the moon, but crash lands, along with an alien and the two have to work out a plan to get them both back home.  The touches of humour are great).

Then we also were impressed by Marc Craste’s illustrations for Varmints by Helen Ward.  These are something quite different and absolutely stunning.  The text itself needs some work – it’s a case of look at the pictures or strain to read the text and in this book, the pictures win out every time. (For the Kate Greenaway medal, the two should complement each other.)   Another one we liked was The Bog Baby by Gwen Millward with its detailed, almost old-fashioned illustrations – perfect for this quirky little fairy tale & proving that not everything has to be the visual equivalent of shouting at you to work.

There were some other good examples we looked at, but nothing that didn’t get instantly put in the shade by the titles above.  You know, we children’s librarians are lucky – we’ve been let into that well-kept secret of just how brilliant picture books are.