Hello Dear Readers, last year I decided I wanted to develop some picture books… and I was well on my way until I was rudely interrupted by breast cancer. Before my diagnosis I had been following Ann Whitford Paul’s advice in Writing Picture Books by reading 100 picture books.
Actually, last year I read 180. This year I’m up to nearly 120. Reading that many books has introduced me to some real winners and I wanted to start sharing some that I’ve added to our personal library. (Caveat: this is what I like. Our daughter is pretty young and is still largely reading board books.)
This time the theme is characters with great expressions.
It’s Raining Bats & Frogs by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Steven Henry
This is a sweet little story of a witch whose spells to change the rain into something else end up not working out the way she intended. The story is good, but the illustrations really shine. This book is a perfect example of how to draw a lot of one subject and make each individual look interesting. The witches all have dark clothes and green skin, but each one still is an individual with different noses, hats, and dress details. Although my favorite page is the one where it starts raining bats and frogs, specifically because of all the expressions the frogs have. They are hilarious! The end pages of the hardback also have many bats and frogs. Steven Henry is a genius.
Lone Wolf Goes To School by Kiah Thomas, illustrated by K-Fai Steele
This book is made up of several short chapters that act as vignettes to an overarching storyline. Each vignette shows us ways that the curmudgeonly lone wolf is being tortured by having any interaction with the world. If ever you’ve just wanted to be left alone, you will feel what lone wolf experiences in your soul. My favorite chapter is where he goes to the beach and tries to work out a compromise with the gulls. It doesn’t work out. The character expressions are where this books shines. The friendly people look obnoxious and the grumpy wolf is perfectly sympathetic, even if he is frowning.
Spider in the Well by Jess Hannigan
The boy in the book goes to fix a wishing well and in the process becomes a blackmailer. Who is good? Who is bad? This book does an amazing job flipping your perceptions of all the characters in the entire story! My favorite moment watching the spider hugging his gold. The spider has no mouth or nose, but you know exactly how he feels in his eyes and posture.
Have a favorite picture book (or two)? I’d love to hear any recommendations you all might have.
Anny Chen has a really helpful article on planning pages of a picture book. She talks about pacing and how that might inform the way you approach a page.
I may have shared this before, but it’s so good I’ll share it again. I love John Hendrix’s illustration of the Pit of Despair. I have a copy hanging over my desk to remind me that nothing you do will ever be as good as it was in your head, and that’s ok.
Ready to read more comics? Check out audrywithoutane.com
Interested in what other projects Audry is involved with? Go to audrynicklin.com
Enjoy knitting? Visit Audry’s knitting pattern site at bear-ears.com
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