Compare, Contrast, and Celebrate Imagination!

 I enjoy sharing more than one title in a post, even though that means providing a slightly less detailed examination of each. In the prior post, HERE, I offered a quick look at three picture books that came home with me from the NCTE 2023 Conference. Each offered distinct appeal and each would be shelved in different sections of a library or book store. 

Please note the following word of warning from this committed picture book reader/writer/cheerleader:

I enjoy taking a deeper dive into titles that provide valuable and appealing reads in their own standing, but might be elevated even further when read together. I'll repeat something I often advise when mentoring young teachers/parents or providing workshops or professional development:  ALWAYS share a picture book on its own merits before beginning any lesson or analysis or other  exploration. Some kinds of intentionally instructive books can be used in parts or sections, but a quality picture book offers that glorious opportunity that few other whole "books" can do. They provide COMPLETE, COMPACT, and COMPELLING art and literature in a single sitting. They are meant to be read through, to be experienced as a whole. That is the intention of  both the author and the illustrator. Honor that. Share it as a whole. Of course a single spread in isolation or a breathtakingly beautiful line of text can be isolated and shared, but it will mean so much if that happens after the entirety of the book has been experienced. 

After that side note, I'm eager to share with you two books that each deserve the tag, "quality picture book." 

NEAL PORTER BOOKS, 
Holiday House 2023

The first is SOMETIMES IT'S NICE TO BE ALONE, written by Amy Hest and illustrated by the Philip Stead. This spectacle-wearing girl presents a thesis: "Sometimes it is nice to be alone...."  repeated on multiple-spread sequences that reveal a pattern. Doing everyday things (eating a cookie, reading, tumbling, even trailing after-bath footprints), she restates the premise and then adds a "what if a friend..." consideration. After the initial comparison of solo versus shared activity, it is clear that the "sometimes" qualifier matters. Even the most independent and "loner" personalities will sometimes find great pleasure in sharing the activity with a friend. 

In this case, the remarkably talented, Caldecott Award winning illustrator depicts each set-up scene with visual clues that allow readers to soon anticipate who each surprise friend might be as the page turns. Light-hearted and heart-warming humor arrive in each revelation, allowing audiences to nod approval as familiar stuffed characters achieve "real life" size and traits as they join in a paired/shared activity. They are all animals, wild animals at that, but ones that convey the safe and sentimental personalities of the ZOO animals in A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE, also illustrated by Philip Stead.

I noted the effect of the spectacles throughout, always reflecting so that we never see the actual eyes of this girl. Her gaze/glasses are always aimed at her own pursuits, not at the reader, underscoring her comfort in being on her own. I couldn't help but notice, though, that even as her stuffed animals joined in the engaging pastimes she chooses, none are actual friends or humans. In repeated readings I believe young audiences might note the poignancy of that, wondering if she is masking a longing for actual friendship and companionship, at least at times.

ENCHANTED LION BOOKS, 2023

The second picture book that extends this "What if..." line of thinking into a more conceptual level is WHAT IF ONE DAY... , written by Bruce Handy and illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin. This book uses a similar pattern of proposing a potential situation ("What if one day all the birds flew away?) followed by several double-page spreads that propose consequences.No labels or clear indicators of the relative merits or losses of those consequences is imposed, inviting discussion. So, the skies would be quieter, worms would worry less, etc. 

This picture book is oversized on sturdy paper stock with vibrant illustrations that splash across the pages and drip off the edges. The character posing this question appears to be similar in age to the prior main character, in this case a child of color without clear indicators if it is boy or girl. 

The minimal but thought-provoking text invites audiences to imagine other potential results if such a thing would happen one day. A celebratory double spread concludes each "what if" sequence, declaring, joyously, that "THERE ARE BIRDS!" and other such exuberances for each cycle. That format means this is picture book longer than the usual 32 of 40 pages, with color and font and considerations leading to the ultimate "What if...". What if things are missing from this world because someone has not yet dreamed it? What might the reader dream that could lead to filling the world with wonders as a result. 

Both books invite imagination, empathy, and connections to the natural world. Both, obviously, use repeating patterns to assure young readers that the stories offer secure and safe places to consider such remarkable "what if..." questions. The first asks the same WHAT if each time- regarding the potential of sharing with a friend. The latter looks around and sees what is taken for granted then erases it to explore potential consequences.

So, WHAT IF you get your hands on both of these books and compare them yourself, then find others to share them with. Invite yourself and others to ponder that final question: WHAT WOULD YOU DREAM OF? And what could that lead to?