Sergio Ruzzier's Blog, page 18

David Gavril's Picture Book List

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David Gavril is a picture book writer and illustrator. His books include, Hector and the Noisy Neighbor,  Penelope Nuthatch and The Big Surprise, and Chicken Soup, a collaboration with author Jean Van Leeuwen. He lives with his wife and daughter in Brooklyn, New York.


I'm pretty heartbroken to not have any books on here by the Provensens or Richard Scarry but thought a few of these lesser known books might be deserving of some attention. 

The Tomten and The Fox by Astrid Lindgren illustrated by Harold Wiberg
Wiberg's beautiful watercolor illustrations of the winter night really make this one shine. There's another book by them called simply 'The Tomten' that is its equal, but this is the one I fell in love with first. 

Possum's Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter
Anne Hunter's illustrations are wonderful and she has a real gift for portraying the natural world. This contemporary book is very underrated. 

Yummers by James Marshall
Most James Marshall books are masterpieces, even the more obscure books (of which there are many, he was as prolific as he was brilliant). This one was created in 1972, about the same time as the first George and Martha. If you are lucky enough to find a hardcover copy with dust jacket there is a wonderful picture of James leaning over his drawing board. George and Martha are pretty cool too. 

Who Needs Donuts by Mark Allen Stamaty
When I was a kid this book really blew my mind and it still does.  It main messages/themes: run away from home, talk to strangers and eat a lot of junk food probably won't win over too many parents, but the richness of Stamaty's imagination just might. My mom, children's writer Jean Van Leeuwen, actually edited this book (it was difficult).  She remembers Mark at the time as being very poor and often hanging around the office hoping someone would buy him lunch. Small in the Saddle, a picture book from around the same time period is also pretty great. 

Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel 
I love anything by Arnold Lobel. Of course Grasshopper, Uncle Elephant, and Mouse Tales are all terrific but I think Owl equals the Frog and Toad books in terms of flat out undeniably classic stories. Read Tear-water Tea, Strange Bumps, Upstairs Downstairs, The Guest and see if you don't agree. 

The Bear and the Fly by Paula Winter
 Some years back when I worked in a second hand children's book store I discovered this wordless gem. The dark humor and (most likely) small sales history will probably guarantee that it is never reprinted but it deserves to be rediscovered. 












Snow by Uri Shulevitz
I love the mood of this book. The illustration of the woman on the television saying "No Snow" is probably one of my favorite all time illustrations.  No two Shulevitz books are alike and I continue to admire his versatility. Best snow book ever! (Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser is also a winner in the snow book category.) 

Amos and Boris by William Steig 
William Steig was a childhood favorite. His original book Shrek (long before the movie) actually inspired me to try my hand at children's books. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble might be the more popular pick but Amos and Boris is still the one I like best. 

The Shrinking of Treehorn by Florence Pairre Heide illustrated by Edward Gorey
I'm a huge fan of Edward Gorey's drawings, but I often find I like his work best when he is working as an illustrator. The Treehorn books are all wonderful; I find them unbelievably sad and maybe just a little wordy. Abrams did a great anthology collecting them all in one volume. When I was first starting out I saw some of the original art for Treehorn and was struck by the large amount of white out used. "There is hope!" I said to myself. 

On My Beach There Are Many Pebbles by Leo Leonni 
Here Leonni is like Philippe Petit walking the high wire and he pulls off something miraculous. I don't think we have to worry about any of our celebrity author friends attempting a children's book like this (come on Madonna, try it!). This book is more like Mozart or Picasso, great art by a master.

Julie Fortenberry's Picture Book List

Julie Fortenberry is the illustrator of Pippa at the Parade by Karen Roosa (2009), Sadie's Sukkah Breakfast by Jamie Korngold, and Pirate Boy by Eve Bunting (both to be released in 2011). You can see Julie's work on her website. She also has a very inspiring blog on picture books.

This is a list of ten of her favorite picture books:
1. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig -- An emotionally moving fairy tale with funny animals.
2. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
3. Cottonball Colin by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross
4. I Am A Bunny by Ole Risom, illustrated by Richard Scarry -- Simple, poetic text with illustrations to match.
5. The Stray Dog by Marc Simont
6. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
7. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
8. It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish Folk Tale illustrated by Margot Zemach
9. The Animal Fair, a Giant Golden Book by Alice and Martin Provensen -- A big collection of animal stories illustrated in colorful midcentury style.















10. How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

The Learned Owl Book Shop

This Friday, November 26th from 3 to 4 p.m., I will read and sign copies of my books at the charming independent bookstore The Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N Main St. Hudson, Ohio).
If you are in the Cleveland or Akron area, and getting annoyed by your relatives, please come by!

A Picture Book Is Worth One Thousand Words

An interesting conversation on picture books on North Carolina Public Radio, in which, among other things, they talk about the book Franklin's Big Dreams, illustrated by my friend Boris Kulikov.

Jennifer Laughran's Picture Book List

Jennifer Laughran started her career in children's books with her first bookstore job, at age 12, and in later years went on to be a buyer and events coordinator for indie bookstores across the country. She is now an agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, focusing on books for children and young adults. Her clients include Daniel Pinkwater, Calef Brown, Matt Faulkner and Kate Messner among others.  You can follow Jennifer's thoughts on her blog and on Twitter (@literaticat).
Here's what she writes:
This list is only people who are NOT clients and whom I don't know personally, and in no particular order:

LILLY'S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE by Kevin Henkes:  I love all of Kevin Henkes' Mouse books a lot, but this one was the first one I read, and it never fails to make me feel a bit choked up. I love the teacher Mr. Slinger. And I LOVE LILLY and her red boots and movie star sunglasses!

SEVEN SILLY EATERS by Mary Ann Hoberman & Marla Frazee: This is a modern classic about a huge family in which every kid is ridiculously picky about what they will eat, and the frazzled mom who has to keep up with it all. The rhyme is catchy and just perfect - and Marla's illustrations are so, so gorgeous, always.

LITTLE FUR FAMILY by Margaret Wise Brown & Garth Williams: I thought Goodnight Moon was ok, but I LOVED Little Fur Family. "There was a little fur family. Warm as toast, smaller than most, in little fur coats, and they lived in a warm wooden tree." Could anything be cozier and more adorable? OH YES!  Because the little fur child finds "a little tiny tiny fur animal, the littlest fur animal in the world. It had warm silky fur and even a little fur nose."  AHHH SO CUTE!  You can get this in a fake-fur covered "deluxe" edition, which mimics the rabbit-fur bound first edition. Mine was just a falling-apart paperback.

PIERRE by Maurice Sendak: I love pretty much all Maurice Sendak books of course, but I always had a special fondness for Pierre. He is a wretched little misanthrope who doesn't care about anything, much to his parents dismay, and then he gets eaten by a lion. Ha!

MAX MAKES A MILLION / OOH LA LA MAX IN LOVE / MAX IN HOLLYWOOD, BABY / SWAMI ON RYE by Maira Kalman. Max is a poet. Max is a dreamer. Max is a dog. This is 4 books, but it really constitutes a saga: in the first book, New York dog Max sells some poems and gets rich. Then he goes to Paris to find the love of his life and be a real bohemian. Then he gets a film deal and goes out to LA, but with all the money and fame, he gets a big head, so in the final installment, he goes to India to find enlightenment with a guru, and becomes a father. Genius, and truly just as much for grownups as kids.

FABLES by Arthur Lobel.  I loved this book when I was a kid because the fables are quite weird and subversive. And there are a bunch of them, which each constitute their own complete story, so it is like having 20 oddball picture books in one. And there is a bear on the cover wearing a pan for a hat and brown paper bags for shoes.

EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON by Mercer Mayer: My father gave me this storybook when I was probably six or seven, and I found it completely mesmerizing. It is a long, complicated, sad and scary fairy tale, beautifully illustrated. Though the length of the text and painterly quality of the illustrations make this slightly old-fashioned for publishing tastes today, wow, do I wish this style of book would come back into fashion.

TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO by Arlene Mosel & Blair Lent: Apparently this book is considered not "politically correct" nowadays. I still think it is awesome. I remember it as being a favorite for librarian read-aloud time when I was a little one, and our entire classroom delighting in chanting (say it with me): TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO-NO SAH REMBO-CHARI BARI RUCHI-PIP PERI PEMBO (gasp) HAS FALLEN DOWN THE WELL!

MISS NELSON IS MISSING by Harry Allard & James Marshall:  The students in room 207 are terrible and their lovely young teacher can't get them to pay attention. When she vanishes and awful witch Viola Swamp comes in as a substitute, they wish Miss Nelson would come back... But Miss Nelson has a secret of her own (and a creepy black dress in her closet!). This book is so funny, I must have read it a thousand times as a kid.

OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA by Peggy Rathmann: Officer Buckle knows more about safety than anyone else in Napville, and he loves to give presentations about his safety tips to local schools. But nobody else loves his presentations... until his dog Gloria gets into the act, upstaging him in hilarious ways. A sweet story about friendship and sharing the spotlight, as well as totally off-the-wall funny, with hidden gems in every image. And (after learning it the hard way) I will never forget Safety Tip #77: NEVER stand on a swivel chair!

Another nice blogger's review of Broom, Zoom!

The former librarian Susan M.'s blog From Tots to Teens recently posted a wonderful review of Broom, Zoom! in which she points out, among other things, that while this book is about a witch and a monster and the moon, it is definitely not a Halloween book.  They do not reference the holiday at all, making it a wonderful book for sharing and reading at any time during the year.

Thank you!

P.S.: only one note: while it is true that the color was done digitally, the line was my usual good old pen & ink on paper!

Aaron Zenz's Picture Book List

Aaron Zenz has illustrated 12 books to date, two of which I also wrote: The Hiccupotamus and the forthcoming Chuckling Ducklings.  He runs a family book review blog with his kids called Bookie Woogie: his family has around 3000 children's titles in their personal collection. Take a look at his website.
These are ten of Aaron's favorite picture books:
10.  LEONARDO THE TERRIBLE MONSTER by Mo Willems
A main character with great personality.  The use of space in the compositions is bold and brilliant.  Flawless story beats and perfectly placed page turns.

9.  THE SPOOKY OLD TREE by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Regardless of how a person feels about the direction the "Bears" books eventually took (whether good or bad), I dare you to revisit this title and evaluate it on its own merits.  It does indeed rock.

8.  THE THREE PIGS by David Wiesner
I love metafiction, and this book is perhaps - perhaps - the only example to surpass Grover's classic "Monster at the End of this Book."  Leave it to David Wiesner...

7.  WHO NEEDS DONUTS? by Mark Alan Stamaty
The art is a shock to the system.  Stunning.  Overwhelming.  Crazy.  You could spend a lifetime combing the pictures.  And the story is equally absurd and delightful with great themes and text-echoes.

6.  SHARK AND LOBSTER'S AMAZING UNDERSEA ADVENTURE by Viviane Schwarz
So.  Much.  Fun.  This is how you tell a story.

5.  THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO AND POLO by Dieter Wiesmuller
My favorite illustrations in any book.  Crisp cools, rich warms.  Lush and lavish.

4.  THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan
No other book like it.  It's epic.  It doesn't just "tell" an immigrant's story, it magically (or I suppose, skillfully) brings us INTO the very experience.

3.   THE CINDER-EYED CATS by Eric Rohmann
The images are so powerful, it would have been a great wordless book.  It's the picture book that captured my heart, compelling me to create my own worlds.  For that I will always be thankful.
2.  SHADOW by Suzy Lee
This book JUST came out, but already it rocketed high up my list of favorite books of all time, and will stay there for all foreseeable future.  Wow, wow, wow.  Full of drama, beauty, emotion, enchantment, play...  How did she achieve all this in 32 pages???   It is so perfect, I've wanted to cry while reading it. 

1.  BLACK AND WHITE by David Macaulay
After the Bible, it's my favorite book of any kind.  Four stories?  One story?  Who knows.  The number of interconnecting details from story to story seems limitless.  I've discovered some new hidden surprise literally every time I've revisited the book.  The sheer number of playful components that tie this book together, then pull it apart, only to tie it back together, always keeps it at the top of my list.

Annie Beth Ericsson's Picture Book List

Annie Beth Ericsson is a design assistant at G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin Young Readers Group), a recent graduate of Pratt Institute, and the illustrator of board books What's In My Garden? and What's In My Toybox?.  She chronicles her experiences in becoming a children's book illustrator and designer on her blog, Walking In Public.  Annie lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she spends a lot of time painting watercolors of sea turtles (and other creatures). You can view her illustration work on her website.




These are Annie Beth's top 10 favorite picture books:
 RECHENKA'S EGGS by Patricia Polacco - This is my favorite picture book of all time.  While Polacco's more familiar Chicken Sunday never fails to make me sniffle, I prefer this equally heartwarming story of the old babushka finding an unlikely companion in a wounded goose and her miraculously-painted Ukranian eggs.

THE YEAR OF THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE by Barbara Cooney - The one I have to read every Christmas Eve. I always insisted on finding a Balsam fir, just like Ruthie and her Mama brought to the village from high on the rocky crags.  I still cry every time Mama makes Ruthie an angel costume from her wedding dress "the color of cream, all trimmed with ribbons and lace", and again, when Ruthie's father comes home from the war just in time to see her in it.

ELOISE by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight - Of all classic children's books, to me, this is the best-best-best. Her language is uniquely hilarious, and Knight's illustrations literally scamper across the page with gusto. She's the ultimate exciting, mischevious bad-girl. Oooooo I absolutely love her!

MIRETTE ON THE HIGH WIRE by Emily Arnold McCully - I wrote my college admissions essay on how much this book inspired me to dream big.  Mirette's intrepid balancing act, her fear of falling, and her ultimate conquering of the tightrope and stepping into the sky? It's all a metaphor, baby.

THE PAPER BAG PRINCE by Colin Thompson - Nestled in an endless world of trash is the bittersweet story of recycling and rebirth for both discarded people and things. The illustrations are easily the most complex I've ever seen, and I always discover something new and beautiful in the piles of junk.
THE STORY OF MAY by Mordecai Gerstein - Forget Hop On Pop... this was the first book I read on my own. Something about the soothing, cyclical journey of little May traveling through her family of months was the perfect bedtime story.  I used to go through the year over and over again... 'til I actually started reading!

CHRYSANTHEMUM by Kevin Henkes - Of the many, many Henkes books that I adore, it was tough to choose between mice like Lilly and Owen. But something just kept saying in my head, "Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum!" What can I say... she's one of a kind.

ISH - by Peter H. Reynolds - Artists are often their own worst critics, and sometimes they need a little encouragement from others.  When I feel like my work isn't measuring up, all I have to do is take a look at Reynolds' whimsical illustrations and remember that it's okay to be "ish"!

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KID IN THE WORLD by Jennifer A. Ericsson, illustrated by Susan Meddaugh - I'd be crazy if I didn't mention the picture book about me, written by my mother (a children's book author). As the story goes, I loved to dress up in weird outfits, and busted them out at some inopportune moments, like fancy dinner parties. I may have outgrown the tutu, but this book captured my individuality in print for the rest of my childhood!
MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS by Robert McCloskey - Since Boston is the closest city to my hometown, I not only grew up with this story, but I experienced it annually by making the trek during the city's Duckling Day Parade. McCloskey's sensitive sepia drawings are nothing short of perfect, and I'll be cheering on the little homeward-bound ducks for generations.

Library of the Early Mind

The other night I went to the New York Public Library for the screening of the interesting documentary Library of the Early Mind . a collection of interviews with children's book writers, illustrators, editors and historians.
Here's a brief note on the pleasant evening.

Stephen Savage's Picture Book List

Stephen Savage has illustrated 3 picture books so far: the bestselling Polar Bear Night (written by Lauren Thompson), The Fathers Are Coming Home (written by Margaret Wise Brown), and the forthcoming Where's Walrus (written by no one -- it's wordless!): here's a video preview.  

His editorial illustration has appeared in dozens of major newspapers and magazines including the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly and The Wall Street Journal. In 2008, he was the recipient of a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their daughter. 




Here are his top 10 picture books: 


1. THE WHALES GO BY - by Fred Phleger, pictures by Paul Galdone. 

This is the first picture book I ever fell in love with. It's very simple...  just a story of whales migrating to their winter home in Baja, California. In some ways, though, I feel like I look at the world through the lens of this book. I always wondered how/why the artist put my sister and I on the cover.                        
















2. THE SNOWY DAY - by Ezra Jack Keats. 

Keats is just brilliant in this book (and in all of his books). He 
really knew how to make words and pictures dance together without 
making them step on each other's toes. From the text: "And he found something sticking out of the snow that made a new track."[next page]: "It was a stick".  Talk about activating the imagination. 

3. THE STORY OF BABAR - by Jean de Brunhoff. 

I am forever traumatized by some of the imagery in this book, namely the old king eating mushrooms and falling ill AND the brutal shooting of Babar's mother. And though you'd never get away with that sort of storytelling these days, those low moments help you experience (and buy into) Babar's transformation later on in the story. It's one of the seminal stories from childhood... almost like "The Wizard of Oz". 

4. ARROW TO THE SUN - by Gerald McDermott. 

I've always been interested in stylized and minimal forms and had a 
thing for Navajo Sand painting when my 3rd grade teacher showed us the animated film version of this Pueblo Indian tale. I'm still amazed that something so 'abstract' and stylized can tell a story. 

5. THE GIVING TREE - by Shel Silverstein. 

I first worked in children's books 20 years ago and illustrated my 
first picture book 6 years ago and only read this book for the first 
time last year (probably because my 15-month-old daughter handed it to me). I dunno... something about those bare line drawings never 
attracted me. By the end of the reading, my daughter was looking at me like, "daddy... why are you crying?". It's crazy how those line 
drawings bring the tears. 

6. GO DOG GO - by P.D. Eastman. 

My older brother told me recently, "You used to squeal with delight 
when the little poodle dog would ask, "do you like my hat? No, I do not!" This is a book that has so much happy energy. I still love the dog party at the end. What a blast. And Eastman's deceptively simple drawings move in space. 

7. THE ORANGE BOOK - by Richard McGuire. 

This book came out while I was a MFA Illustration student at the 
School of Visual Arts. I took one look at it and said, "I will also try to illustrate a kid's book when I get out of school." Nice that it's BARELY narrative. Richard told me later: "the book is really just a list of things".                                                                                                    
8. EMILY'S BALLOON - by Komako Sakai. 

My daughter was obsessed with balloons earlier this year, so during 
one of her visits to her auntie's house, she received this book as a 
gift. "Oh no", we thought, "not another balloon book!". But as I got 
to the end as I was reading it the first time, my throat got tight and 
my eyes got watery. It's just beautiful. There's a sadness and a 
longing there, just like in Miyazaki's animated classic "Spirited Away". The Japanese storytellers really know how to do melancholy. 

9. LEAVES - by David Ezra Stein. 

My wife discovered this gem at a local bookstore and it's become our new fave. The text is perfect. Not a word out of place. I've been 
reading it a lot at bedtime lately and I can't believe how quickly the 
story goes by. You miss it when it ends. And Stein's drawings speak in the same voice as the words. A reviewer used the word "seamless". Amen. 

10. HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON - by Crockett Johnson. 

This book is totally / completely / absolutely original. I read 
recently that Spike Jonze had intended to film the story (before he 
started Where the Wild Things Are), but dropped his plans halfway into development when he discovered it was un-filmable. Uh... duh.