Higher and Higher Picture Books of Distinction in 2009 Part 2

In my last post I shared some of the books that were on a list of picture books of distinction for 2009 that I received at the Eric Carle Museum on December 12.  Here are more titles from the list.

Jeremy Draws a Monster  by Peter McCarty.  When I first saw this book I couldn't wait to read it and instantly loved the story about a little boy who after longingly looking at the kids outside playing draws himself a friend in the shape of a monster.  Unfortunately this monster immediately wants Jeremy to draw him more and more and more and Jeremy finally comes up with a solution.  This book is a modern take on the classic stories of Harold and the Purple Crayon and the story of the Magic Paintbrush. 

Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Polly Dunbar.  What do you do when your baby brother is caught in a bubble that has gotten away from you?  Follow it of course along with your mother and the rest of the townspeople to help get him down.  Bright colors give the illustrations in the book a sense of fun including one page where you see what the baby is seeing when he looks down at everyone else.

Bear Flies High by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Adrian Reynolds.  Michael Rosen who is best known for his telling of the children's rhyme Going on a Bear Hunt has a new series of books involving a bear.  In this book Bear wants to fly and tries to figure out how to make his dream come true.  A group of children help Bear make his dream come true when they take him to an amusement park.  Take a look for Michael Rosen's other book about Bear in Bear's Day Out.  This book is great for fans of Jez Alborough or Karma Wilson.

Birds by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek.  Henkes who is known for his various books including Kitten's First Full Moon, Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse has now added a book with various observations about birds to his substantial title list.  This book is punctuated by illustrations by Dronzek who's thickly outlined birds and primary paintbox colors add to each pages thoughts about birds.

How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham  This book simply tells the story of a bird, the boy who sees him fall in a city where no one else does, and the supportive family who helps the boy take of the bird while he heals.  The illustrations reveal the story as it conveys a feeling of hope that this little boy and his family have that this injured pigeon that no one else saw fall out of the sky will once again be able to fly. 

Mission Control, This is Apollo: The Story of the First Voyages to the Moon by Andrew Chaikin and Victoria Kohl, illustrations by Alan Bean.  This year when we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 two books bring their own unique point of view to the story of the space program that we have watched for so many years.  This book looks not only at the July moon landing of Apollo 11 but the missions that came before and after that historical day.  The illustrator of this book has a special perspective of the space program.  Alan Bean was a part of the Apollo 12 mission and walked on the moon as a part of that mission. 

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca.  This book focuses specifically on the Apollo 11 mission that happened in July of 1969 that led to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin being the first men to walk on the moon.  This book begins with the preprerations for their trip as well as their trip into outer space.  The illustrations are done in watercolors, ink and acrylics and the writing brings science and descriptive language together that will have young and old enjoying this book.

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.  What I have seen and heard about this book (and unfortunately I have not read it from cover to cover) reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg's book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.  I am looking forward to getting my hands on this book and talking more about it in a later post.

There are still 6 titles to go in the list and I will let you know what they are soon.  As always let me know what you're reading and any comments you have about the books I've mentioned in any of my posts.

Keep Reading!
Melinda