Thirteen celebrated picture book creators reveal their favorite animals in this smartly designed volume that's a pleasure to pore over.
Each two-page spread uses a distinct type and design that serves the individual artwork and accompanying text. Eric Carle tells an amusing incident involving his cat Fiffi, a green bean and a shoe. Peter Sís recalls a tradition from his childhood in the Czech Republic centered on the tradition of eating carp at Christmas. Carle's is a realistic rendering that heightens the humor; Sís's fantastical image of a fish stresses his tale's magical, hopeful quality.
These two-page vignettes serve as both ideal introductions to author-artists children may not yet have encountered, as well as continuations of their works for youngsters already familiar with them. Lane Smith's elephant thematically and visually resonates with his Grandpa Green. "Duck" by Jon Klassen uses the deadpan humor associated with his Hat books: he likes ducks and "watching them walk around," yet shows his duck flat on its back. Lucy Cousins, ever mindful of her preschool audience, loves leopards "because yellow is my favorite color." Mo Willems, in a portrait that may remind Little Prince fans of the boa constrictor swallowing an elephant, depicts as his favorite an "Amazonian Neotropical Lower River Tink-Tink" making its way through a snake's digestive system. "(It is also this snake's favorite animal.)," he writes. Erin Stead identifies with penguins; Chris Raschka's snail, with its surreal accents to play up its shell, becomes a metaphor for all artists. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness