#extrayarn

As a follow-up to my last post, I thought I'd share a few of our favorite books. These have brought a lot of laughs, tons of "again"s with just enough awe thrown in. I can see the gears of imagination turning as my boy's eyes grow wider, a smile sneaking up on his lips - as though a lovely secret had just been imparted to him.  I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen

I first read I Want My Hat Back at my son's 3rd birthday party. It was a gift from one of the guests and man, the kids all laughed out loud every step of the way. The premise is super simple - a bear is looking for his hat. Along his journey he meets different animals and asks if they've seen his hat. Each responds in his own way but with Klassen's deadpan expressions - the straight-forward lines all carry plenty of humor. The book resolves itself in a slightly irreverent (read: slightly twisted) and unexpected way. And even though we know what the ending is, as all great books are, it's still a great read every time.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett illustrated by Jon Klassen.

Following the success of I Want My Hat Back we looked for other Jon Klassen books and discovered  Extra Yarn. Klassen's illustrations, again, are uncluttered and beautiful, full of texture with lovely color combinations. His characters are funny, simple and innocent. Paired with Mac Barnett's imaginative storyline this book is pretty perfect. Again, this one doesn't need too much explanation - it's about a girl who finds a box of yarn...and she knits things with it, and discovers its awesome never-ending quality. It's definitely  one of those books that he can still enjoy a few years down the line. In fact, it will grow with him and the meaning will become apparent as he gets older.

The Other Side by Istvan Banyai

I actually bought this book for myself many moons ago, pre-kid, when I happened upon it at a bookstore in NYC. I’ve always loved children’s book illustrations and the whimsical notion of seeing things, namely situations, from the other side (in unsual and unxpected ways the way Banyai tells it), felt at once child-like and very adult - putting ourselves in others’ shoes, empathy, etc. And because it’s just pure images it made its way onto the boy’s bookshelf very early on. He couldn’t get enough of it. It truly was his favorite book for a couple of weeks. I’m sure he saw it a little differently from myself, but he really understood the idea of the reverse perspective – he would turn the pages back and forth, back and forth, giddy with delight. It was pretty darn cool. (We also have Zoom another great visual journey by Istvan Banyai - also a made the rounds for couple weeks. Love it.)

Press Here by Herve Tullet

Press Here is a sweet and playful relief ipdads and iphones. It takes the basic idea of the touch screen and gives it an analog twist. Consisting only of blue, red and yellow hand-drawn dots, each page of the book instructs the reader to tap the red dot 5 times, shake the book, tilt the page to the left, and so on. And on the following page the dots react accordingly.  You really have to try it for yourself. Super fun and  dare I say, even slightly magical. It will definitely bring a smile to everyone’s face. (We also have The Game of Mix-up Art by Tullet, but that one hasn't gone over too well. Will give it another try at some point). 

My entry into this year's Edible Book Festival! Not a prize winner, but definitely fun to make and see what other people came up with. Check out the stiff competition here! 

Illustration from Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen