Under Earth , Under Water by Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński is their fourth book I have reviewed here and their fourth book with the marvelous Big Picture Press , a publisher of oversized, highly illustrated, gorgeous books who believe that books should be "visually intelligent, surprising, and accessible to readers of all ages, abilities and nationalities." BPP definitely achieves this with every book they publish and, if you are a book lover, you will want to seek out all their titles. Under Earth , Under Water will appeal to anyone who likes to look inside things and understand how things work. With Under Earth, Under Water , the Mizielińskis, who have an illustration style that is filled with tiny details and a unique palette, take readers on a detailed journey, from the top of the page to the bottom, over and under land and then sea. The endpapers serve as the introduction and table of contents, with images scattered across the spread, page nu
Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala Review Copy from Abrams Kids I picture-walked Be a Tree! three times before I actually read the words. Felicita Sala's illustrations for Maria Gianferrari's poetic text are mesmerizingly immersive and richly colorful within a palette of earth tones. Throughout the text, Gianferrari, who shares her inspiration for this book in the author's note ( Peter Wohleben's The Hidden Life of Trees ), gently maintains the human connection to trees and the connections (and communications) trees share with each other. Be a Tree! begins exuberantly, inviting the reader to "Be a tree! Stand tall. Stretch your branches to the sun. Let your roots curl, coil in the soil to ground you." From your spine/trunk to your skin/bark and your heart/pith, the words carry you inward and then zoom outward and up to the canopy and ultimately, the forest. "You are one of many trees," and our roots "twine with fung
Waffles and Pancakes: Planetary-Yum A CatStronauts Kitten Adventure by Drew Brockington Review Copy Drew Brockington launched his fantastic CatStronauts series in 2017, and in 2018 I reviewed the first four books in the series, which were hugely popular with kids at the elementary school where I was the librarian. Brockington's hilarious graphic novels stand out for the portrayal of space travel, the preparation that goes into a launch from Earth into orbit and even a bit of NASA history. To all this, Brockington adds sassy (and hungry) cats and fantastic cat puns administered in just the right doses. This first Kitten Adventure travels back in time to features everyone's favorite, Waffles, along with sister Pancake, in their youth. As with CatStronauts , Brockington's blend of science and humor, along with a dash of smart safety protocols for kittens (and kids) pairs perfectly with his chunky illustrations style and exaggerated, exuberant and humorous expressions on