To Be or Not to Be- a Picture Book?

UNION SQUARE KIDS, 2025

THE SHINDIG IS COMING, written and illustrated by Charise Mericle Harper presents a bit of a dilemma. I enjoyed it so much and was sure to share that delight in some way. But did it fit here, as a post on a blog about picture books? Although not numbered, I'd estimate the page count at about 64, double the typical picture book. The word count also far exceeds the  typical recommendation for picture books of about 500 words. Some pages are only, or nearly only, text. There's no reason I would "object" to it being an early reader or easy chapter book. Early chapter books are delightful and essential in young reading lives. Still...

The humor and storytelling in this new book is unsurprisingly superb, well-paced, and rich with nuance and humor. Despite its physical appearance of an early chapter book, I'm convinced that this certainly qualifies as a picture book. That's based on the essential role of the mostly-silhouette illustrations to achieve full meaning and much the humor. The images and text invite rereading as picture books do, and more so than an early reader or chapter book does. The ample white space on each page, the text size and line spacing, too, make this easy on the eyes and satisfying to the heart. Mostly, though, as a text-only book I would not be singing its praises in this way nor have fully grasped the tension, humor, or the depth of the characters.

This clever little tale is a sort of Chicken Little account. But in this case the coming disaster is a SHINDIG! The various animals each provide  character insights, making the story into an ensemble cast rather than focusing on a single protagonist. I strongly recommend this for use with young audiences to explore ways in which book formats should be chosen to best suit their purpose.

I doubt that using a basic/traditional picture book format, even in the hands of a skilled writer like Harper, could do justice to the complexity and pacing of this evening woodland gathering. I particularly appreciated the many subtleties of nature that are blended into an otherwise  anthropomorphized situation. Animals that naturally prey upon and avoid each other are shown to come together for their common good. Their animal natures are respected (as in a grumbly, hungry bear, or that lovable opossum whose instinctive survival mechanism of fainting/playing dead makes him the most vulnerable of all). The charm of their shared concerns, competitive natures, individual differences, and that ominous SHINGDIG  (fear of the unknown) make for a modern day classic with strong potential for frequent re-readings and discussions. 

And I intend to recommend it often. When I do, I have no qualms about calling it a picture book. It is both whimsical and profound, a good reason for celebrating with a shindig!

A Few More Favorites... Funny and Fabulous

CAMERON KIDS, 2023

Here's another post with brief notes about three recently-read books you will not want to miss. All feature humor and memorable characters, but are otherwise quite distinct from each other. What they share in common is that all are smile-inducing delights for  readers and those who share them with kids. 

First up is a poetry collection with a delightful theme: What if animals wore pants? No, not the way pet owners often make such choices for their animal-family members. These are wild/natural habitat animals and the assumptions is that they would choose what suits them best. 

Animals In Pants is written by Suzy Levinson and illustrated by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell. This poetry collection offers many takes on an absurd premise- what if animals wear pants? Or other clothing. The delightful concept invites close consideration of the text (outstanding poems in a variety of formats by the very talented poet, Suzy Levinson) and examination of the colorful and interpretive illustrations in each case. The forms range from haiku to limericks to parodies of song lyrics to Shakespearean lines and many more. Many offer rhymes but all present suitable and superb language. 

In each case the selection of animal subjects and poetry forms is intentional and well-suited (pardon that pun). Each also reveals solid information about the subject animal, as with the squirrel, whose darting, sprinting, climbing habits require what else-- a track suit!

Get this one into the hands of young readers, and be prepared to laugh along!

G.P.Putnam's Sons,
2023

Another animal character wins hearts in FENWAY AND THE GREAT ESCAPE, written by Victoria J. Coe and illustrated by Joanne Lew Vriethoff. Fenway is a truly appealing dog (speaking as a dog-lover) and that is true whether you enjoy dog stories or not. Told through Fenway's voice and perspective, he is devoted to his "short human" but also is a curious, adventurous character by nature. The humor emerges from this distinct point of view and mitigates some of the anxious worry that might emerge when his opportunity to run free results in his getting separated from his "short human". In his case, he not only attempts to make that connection again but to prevent his human from "wandering off" and getting lost again. This is a beginning chapter book series kids will really enjoy across many ages, with enough plot and character complexity to lay the groundwork for longer/older novels.

Simon Spotlight, 2023

Here's a pre-level-one, earliest independent reader that captures attention, maximizes the humor, and launches the "Critter-Cam" series. KITTY-CAM is written my Margi Palatine and illustrated by award-winning Dan Yaccarino. This earliest introduction to reading independently is a delightful way to empower those beginners with the joys of books and reading. That creative team of Palatini and Yaccarino provides tons of personality and pacing with their page-turning choices of words, perspectives, and fun emotional reactions captured in the assumed "go-pro" style head-cam worn by Kitty. This has everything going for it, including re-read-ability and appeal even after more complex skills develop. Each spread merits close looks, since the images are CLOSE-UP and offering some valuable subtext to this very simple story:

First sentences:

Jump, Kitty. Jump. 

Jump. Jump. 

Dunk, Kitty. Dunk. 

Dunk. Dunk. Dunk. 

The fact that this launches a simple series of "critter cam" titles invites those eager little readers to move forward with laughter and a love of books.