Waiting for Wings

Waiting for Wings. written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert. 40p. 2001. New York: Harcourt Publishing. (0152026088).

Medium: cut paper

Author/Illustrator Website: none

Awards and Honors: School Librarians Book Award, 2001, ABC Children's Booksellers Choice, 2002

Annotation:
A beautifully illustrated tale of metamorphosis by Lois Ehlert.

Personal Reaction:
With rhyming couplets and beautiful cut-paper illustrations, Ehlert tells the story of metamorphosis- a caterpillar's miraculous transformation into a butterfly.

This gorgeous, oversized book depicts the action with a series of half sized pages that line up with the larger spread to show the caterpillar's transformation. After the butterfly hatches, the readers is treated to pages of butterflies flitting between bright and vibrant flowers. It's the perfect subject matter for Ehlert's bold and colorful cut-paper illustration technique.

The back material includes butterfly and flower identification pages, instructions on growing a butterfly garden, and additional information about the lives of butterflies.

Metamorphosis is a natural process that never fails to captivate children's attention. Of the many, many books on the topic, Waiting for Wings is likely the most beautiful, as well as the best for young children.

Actual Size

Actual Size. Written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins. 2004. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 28 p. (0618375945).

Author/Illustrator Website: www.stevejenkinsbooks.com

Media: cut and torn paper collage
  
Awards and Honors: BCBB Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book, Orbis Pictus Honor Book, International Reading Association 'Children's Choice 2005', CHILD Magazine 'Best Book of the Year', A Booklist Editor's Choice, A New York Public Library's '100 Titles for Reading and Sharing', Natural History 'Best Books for Young Readers' 2004, Chicago Public Library 'Best of the Best', Children's Liteature Choice List 2004

Audience: Preschoolers and Up

Annotation:
Jenkins displays the beauty and variation of the animal kingdom in actual size. 

Personal Reaction:
Steve Jenkins is known for his beautiful and detailed torn paper collages. While most illustrators working in this medium illustrate picture book stories, Jenkins employs his distinctive style to illustrate non-fiction books. 

Actual Size is an exploration of some of the biggest, heaviest and longest animals on earth- all shown true to size. Jenkin's meticulous attention to detail and rich textures create images that almost leap from the page. Some animals like the Goliath beetle (length: 6 inches, weight: 3.5 ounces) are shown in their entirety, while others like the giant squid (length: up to 59 feet) are only partially shown. (The giant squid's 12 inch eye takes up an entire two page spread!)

Each animal is accompanied by only a line or two of descriptive text, but Jenkins includes back matter that shows the whole animal and includes additional facts. 

This is a great pick for young animal lovers and science classrooms.

The Great Big Book of Families

The Great Big Book of Families
by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Ros Asquith. 2010. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. Unpaged. (9780803735163)

Author Website: www.maryhoffman.co.uk/

Illustrator Website: www.rosasquith.co.uk/

Media: pen and watercolor

Awards and Honors: none

Audience: Preschoolers

Annotation:
A sweet little book that celebrates the diversity among (and within) families.

Personal Reaction:
Families come in all shapes, sizes and forms. Mary Hoffman's book provides a sweet introduction to families and all their iterations for pre-school to second grade children. Hoffman describes all types of families in a gentle, non-judgmental way. She takes pains to be inclusive, but the book steers clear of preaching. It's a nice way to start a conversation with children about all the different ways to be a family. Ros Asquith's busy and colorful cartoon-like illustrations will grab children's attention and allow the book to stand up to repeated readings as kids seek out new details on each page.