Wednesday, May 20, 2015

MISTER H



Spanish author Daniel Nesquens has written a goofy short chapter book about a talking hippo's quest to return home to his jungle in Africa. Mr. H, the hippopotamus, asks a young zoo visitor to open his cage so he can leave his unfulfilling life in captivity.  

The path to the jungle is an urban one filled with traffic, a mysteriously acquired suit and tie, fun in the park, and dining in a fancy pizza restaurant. The hippo and the plot meander (in a good, Syd Hoff kind of way) and the story comes to an open-ended/existential ending.  

The confident, airy and stylish paintings by Luciano Lozano are reminiscent of Roger Duvoisin and Miroslav Šašek, with a little James Marshall in there too, and add to the breezy feel of the story. 





jpeg of illustration from MR. H from Mr. Lozano's  wonderful blog

  • ISBN-13: 9780802854407
  • Publisher: Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
  • Publication date: 2/1/2015
  • Pages: 61
  • Age range: 7 - 10 Years
Thank you to Eerdmans for the review copy.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Sunday, May 03, 2015

Sidewalk Flowers

A most gorgeous, wordless picture book about living in the present, 'Sidewalk Flowers', conceived by Jon Arno Lawson,  illustrated by Sidney Smith and published by House of Anansi/ Groundwoood Press, who describe the book as "an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures"