Review Friday, and a coloring page...

An old rubberstamp reworked, still working the kinks out. If you download would you let me know how it looks either here (working on the comments problem) or Facebook. I won't post anything too risque, but I will mix up my coloring page with content not only for children, but this kind of thing as well (when I was a kid, I loved doing "fashion" drawings and made a lot of paper dolls to that end. Anyhow, please let me know if you like the coloring pages and feel free to share your results with me! Now to the reviews:

Kite Flying
Grace Lin
Alfred A. Knopf , 2002

Mei-mei and Jie-Jie make a dragon kite with their mom and dad. On a windy day a family enjoys the art of Chinese kite making, with that special added touch! This is a quickly told tale, the pieces of it rapidly coming together as fast as the hands and efforts of the family and the telling of the book itself. Lin is a master of making  illustrations of bright primary colored shapes with multi-layered patterns. The illustrations beam through the page.

Other books by Grace Lin:  Dumpling Days (a Pacy Lin novel); Ugly Vegetables; Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same; Dim Sum for Everyone; The Year of the Rat (a Pacy Lin novel); The Year of the Dog (a Pacy Lin novel); Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Newberry Honor, medal)

Stripes of all Types

Susan Stockdale

Peachtree Publications, 2013

Susan Stockdale also works in big graphics, though her colors are more muted, and the patterning exuberant in a different kind of way. The illustrations do nothing to tamp the beauty of the highly designed quality of the book. The characters whiz through in a simple rhyme, but there are slower activities and explanations at the end of the book that will continue to engage the curious reader. 

Other books by Susan Stockdale: Bring on the Birds; Fabulous Fishes; Carry Me, Animal Babies on the Move; Nature's Paintbrush, the Patterns and Colors Around You; Some Sleep Standing Up.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy
Oliver Jeffers
Philomel Books, 2006


This is a wry book with creative use of text that I don't mind at all (more often than not, books will sometimes sacrifice legibility for creativity, and that doesn't happen at all in this book). Jeffers book feels a bit like a sequential art(comic), graphic novel with great layering of textures and paint, pages, collaged into a wonderful book that for me is a bit reminiscent of Melissa Sweet or Lisa Kopelke's work-- very freeflowing painterly quality.  Henry decides to overeat his way to becoming the smartest boy in the world, which eventually backfires, but he eventually finds a  better solution.

Other books by Oliver Jeffers: The Day the Crayons Quit; Stuck; This Moose Belongs to Me; How to Catch a Star; The Heart and The Bottle; Lost and Found.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
William Joyce  and Joe Bluhm
Antheneum Books for Young Children,
Simon and Schuster, 2012

A must have for Joyce lovers, or those who loved the Oscar winning short. The warm sometimes glowing illustrations settle into the heart. Joyce is a genius at setting and character and color. The story of a lonely man who dedicates himself to the books which set him free, inspired the film, but the book's inception is no less inspirational and miraculous.  For any and all bibliophiles.

Other books by William Joyce: The Sandman (the Guardians of Childhood); The Man in the Moon(The Guardians of Childhood); A Day with Wilbur Robinson; George Shrinks (Reading Rainbow selection);  Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo (Reading Rainbow); Rolie Polie Olie;  Santa Calls.


There seems to be a real retro thing going on. So the coloring page for today was one of the old-timey rubberstamps I  had designed. Let me know how it prints out and what you think-- hope you like it!