A picture book whose language even I enjoyed.....

[8filltheheart]

I have been reading picture books as bedtime stories for so many yrs now that I can't say I have found one inspiring in an incredibly long time. However, I went to a book fair this weekend and picked up a stack of new ones. Tonight I read one to my 6 yod and she enjoyed it b/c she was trying to decipher what was being described and I enjoyed it b/c the language was beautifully poetic and beyond normal picture books.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Sings-Treetops-Colors-Sidman/dp/0547014945

 

Does anyone have other titles they would like to recommend? I plan on looking for more by Sidman.

Edited November 29, 2011 by 8FillTheHeart

[Jay3fer]

Thanks! This is now on reserve from the library...

As for similar books, no idea what this particular book is like, but Amazon recommends the following:

- All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon

- The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney (I don't love him, though...)

- First the Egg, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

 

One we enjoy very much that might be similar is Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney. Oh - and also Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, which I found through Five in a Row.

 

Though we have no time to take on a full curriculum like FIAR, I desperately wanted to read all the books with my kids... so I put together a free PDF "summer reading list" that is available to download, if you'd like to make your way through some great classics. The list has everything you need, including "stickers" of the countries' flags where the stories are set (mostly in the USA) and a sticker chart for filling in the books once you read them. More information and download link here.

 

My son's favourite from the FIAR list was A Pair of Red Clogs (he adores the beautiful "clog" sound effects). I think my daughter had many favourites, though she claimed to HATE "Stopping by Woods" - the first time she's ever said this about a book. I personally did not enjoy a couple of the books, including Cranberry Thanksgiving and Papa Piccolo, but it was nice to have a list telling me what to read so we could discover new books together.

 

Hope this helps!

[lorrainejmc]

Grandfathers Prayers Of The Earth

Who Is The World For?

Snow Comes To The Farm

 

And many FIAR titles.

[Chris in VA]

All Those Secrets of The World is my favorite picture book. :001_smile: Lovely language, beautiful watercolor (I think) illustrations. It's about a little girl who dad goes off to war and then returns. (WWII, I think.) Really lovely.

[leann_in_tx]

Last week we found a version of Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky that had the most beautiful illustrations I've ever seen in a picture book, all done in the style of the italian renaissance (or something like that. I don't know much about art history.)

 

We liked this Little Red Riding Hood, http://www.amazon.com/Little-Red-Riding-Hood-Brothers/dp/0823406539/ref=pd_sim_b_5 , which has similar illustrations to St. George in the Dragon. (I just realized it's the same illustrator -) This might be scary for some.

 

I also really liked a book by Jane Yolen called Elsie's Bird about a girl who travels with her father from Boston to the midwest.

 

And I still love a House is A House For Me. And the Story of Ferdinand.

 

I know there have been others but I can't think of them right now. I have gotten really tired of reading picture books, and I've only been reading them for a couple of years, but some of them I have thoroughly enjoyed and am grateful to have found them.

Edited November 29, 2011 by leann_in_tx

[momto2Cs]

The Quiltmaker's Gift. It is a very beautiful book, with a lovely story.

[Susie in MS]

Although I would recommend most of the FIAR books we are finding Grass Sandals to be above and beyond beautiful. The art is fantastic and done on grass paper with color ink and Oriental paint brushes. This short bio of Basho has haiku throughout. Very lovely.

http://www.amazon.com/Grass-Sandals-Travels-Dawnine-Spivak/dp/1442409363/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

 

I am glad FIAR has so many full lessons to go with this book so we will be revisiting it several times over the next few weeks.

 

The same person that illustrated Grass Sandals (Demi) wrote and illustrated Empty Pot. A lovely story. You can actually see the book pages while listening to it being read on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emt08NorRU8

 

ETA: The art work in these books is far greater in real life than viewed on the net. Something is lost in cyberspace.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Susie in MS

[leann_in_tx]

I forgot about Alphaboat, by Michael Chesworth. It's full of all kinds of terrible puns on grammar, language, sailing, and so on. The kids liked the story and the pictures:)

[OrdinaryTime]

Last week we found a version of Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky that had the most beautiful illustrations I've ever seen in a picture book, all done in the style of the italian renaissance (or something like that. I don't know much about art history.)

 

 

We really enjoyed the art work in this Rapunzel as well! Thankfully I have an amazing children's librarian who pointed it out to me. I can just go in, ask her for the best versions of "insert fairytell/legend/topic", and she never fails to deliver.

[Guest]

We really enjoyed the art work in this Rapunzel as well! Thankfully I have an amazing children's librarian who pointed it out to me. I can just go in, ask her for the best versions of "insert fairytell/legend/topic", and she never fails to deliver.

 

Check out the fairy tales illustrated by K.Y. Craft - gorgeous!

[LMD]

I love Alison Jay's stuff, my favourite is I took the moon for a walk, we also love Listen, Listen, definitely beautiful language.

[Farrar]

The first book that occurred to me was Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Weatherford just because it's so lyrical.

 

But the world of picture books is so vast. There are so, so many picture books where the language is amazing. (There are also a lot of really bad ones too, of course). Agreed with those saying that a lot of the FIAR books are good ones too.