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Category Archives: picture books for pairing
10 unforgettable pairs in picture books
Children’s Book Week is coming up, so in honor of that, I give you 10 picture book duos that really stand out:
Amos & Boris by William Steig (1971).
Amos the mouse and Boris the whale. These two mammals from totally different places each get the chance to save the other.
“They knew they would never forget each other.”
George and Martha by James Marshall (1972).
Maurice Sendak had this to say about the pair: “These dear, ditzy, down-to-earth hippos bring serious pleasure to everybody.”
In the first installment of the series, there’s a split pea soup dilemma. The image of split pea soup in George’s shoes amuses.
Ernest and Celestine by Gabrielle Vincent (1981).
I love the first of these books. Celestine, the mouse. Ernest, the bear. Gideon, Celestine’s stuffed bird who gets ruined. Oh the sweetness of these two!
(Now an animated film I have yet to see!)
Toot & Puddle by Holly Hobbie (1997).
A set of roommates, these two pigs are so different but love each other so much. (The names alone, right?!)
Puddle prefers to stay put. Toot prefers to travel the world. We follow each one’s adventures until they meet again. At home.
Chicken and Cat by Sara Varon (2006).
This one’s wordless and that country cat, city chicken pair is sweet sweet sweet!
Duck and Goose by Tad Hills (2006).
Fighting over an egg/ball sometimes comes before true friendship. Together, these birds are a hoot and a quack!
Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary by Beverly Donofrio & Barbara McClintock (2007).
A title that has the look and feel of a much older book, in a good way. A girl and a mouse whose lives mirror one another, in childhood and grownup life. And then, when they each have a daughter, parallel lives meet.
Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora (2009).
I love this fairy tale and I especially love this version of it for the artwork: bold, cut shapes and color. And the setting: an African Jungle.
Fairy tales are destined to be adapted and this one does a fabulous job.
Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon (2012).
A recent favorite pair is made up of these two. Herman the crocodile and Rosie the deer. Music-loving New Yorkers who finally, finally, finally through jazz music meet.
Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (2012).
One last recent addition to unforgettable picture book pairs? Affirmative!
YOUR TURN. ANY PAIRS IN PICTURE BOOKS YOU WON’T FORGET?
For a related post, here are my picks on love and friendship picture books.
picture books on animal ABCs 123s
Guys, these two books by Katie Viggers! They’re imaginative and charming and all about animals. How perfect to be paired.
THE PAIR:
&
“A whimsical A to Z” indeed!
From anteater to zebra, Katie Viggers incorporates elements of soft and hard, beautiful and raw, humor with factual animal identification.
What other ABC book includes the real (and one made up—spectacled) types of bears, the drawing-anatomy of two kinds of elephants, and a Yeti?! And those jellyfish are shimmeringly gorgeous.
From Almost an Animal Alphabet by Katie Viggers, published by POW!
“A counting book with animals.” We’ve heard that before, but not like this! 1 to 20 has the trifecta of children’s literature winners: animals, numbers, AND rhymes!
And I love it. Where else are you going to get “10 kangaroos in their favorite shoes?” Oh those different shoes to spot! Birks, ballet slippers, Converse, Uggs, and Crocs look-alikes are all included.
These books are sure to delight anyone and everyone who gets their paws or claws or tentacles on them.
From 1 to 20, Animals Aplenty by Katie Viggers, published by POW!
Thanks to powerHouse Books for the images!
I received a review copy from POW; opinions are my own.
See three other alphabet books that sweep me off my feet here.
picture books on moving libraries
Guys, it’s National Library Week! Both these books are inspired by real people who carried books to children; both celebrate the power of books; both honor librarians who bring stories to kids, wherever they may be.
THE PAIR:
Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston, illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb
&
Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown, illustrations by John Parra
Miss Dorothy wanted to be a librarian. But in the mountains of North Carolina, there wasn’t a library. Until the town thought of a Bookmobile!
Ana in Columbia had just one book she’d read so often she knew it by heart. Then, the Biblioburro (inspired by Luis Soriano) arrived in her village. He carried many more than just one book packed on his two burros. (Aptly named Alfa and Beto!)
Here are some other picture books on library (of the stand still kind) love:
1.) Library Lion; 2.) The Library; 3.) Miss Moore Thought Otherwise; 4.) Alfred Zector, Book Collector; 5.) Bats at the Library; 6.) The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians.
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And now, I give you BOOKMOBILES and other vehicles for transporting books.
The biblioburro, Luis Soriano himself. (image: Carlos Réndon Zipagauta.)
1950s Brooklyn traveling library and this article about bookmobiles at Book Riot.
Enoch Pratt Free Library Wagon, 1943.
Camel library in Mongolia, via Sci/Why and the author of My Librarian is a Camel, Margriet Ruurs.
Mobile Library in my hometown of Hong Kong.
Street Books in Portland caters to people who live on the street.
Libibliomotocarro in Italy.
Love my local Library Store on wheels that was at last weekend’s LA Times Festival of Books.
To libraries, moving or otherwise!
picture books on rain
The pair:
RAIN! by Linda Ashman, pictures by Christian Robinson (2013)
&
Umbrella by Taro Yashima (1958)
April showers and all, at least in some parts. Both of these picture books are about rain and one’s reaction to rain. Irritation, joy, anticipation. And in both the artwork really shines through.
In RAIN! a grumpy old guy is not a fan of rain. A young boy dressed in his frog rain coat revels in it. You can tell by their speech, their actions, and even by their tones of voice and faces when they say the same thing—genius!
I love how a young person’s joie de vivre can turn someone else’s grumpity grump into a ribbity hippity-hop. It’s a wonderful book with happy, striking, and modern collage illustrations by Robinson, 2014 winner of the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award.
Thanks to Christian Robinson for the images!
In UMBRELLA, Momo (a sweet name that means “peach” in Japanese) receives an umbrella and rain boots for her third birthday. She wants badly to use them, but New York refuses to rain. Momo must wait and wait and wait and wait.
The illustrations are bright, colorful, and moody.
And what I like most about this book is perhaps that it’s not about an umbrella so much after all. It’s about waiting and growing up. Because the first time it rains and Momo uses her umbrella, she holds its handle instead of her parents’ hands. It’s her first step of independence. It was worth the wait.
Umbrella images via The Art of Children’s Picture Books
Come on, Rain (a summer rainstorm); Mud (in all its gloppiness); Who Likes the Rain? (rain explained).
/ / / / / / /
You know what gets me in a good mood? Not rain necessarily, though we need it badly here in Los Angeles, but umbrellas. Rain gear. There’s something inherently happy about the choicest of those. So here goes.
1.) hunter umbrella; 2.) ROSES coat; 3.) chooka dot rain boots.
1.) yellow rain jacket; 2.) frog rain coat; 3.) bubble dots umbrella; 4.) silver rain boots.
1.) striped umbrella; 2.) nightfall rain boots; 3.) packed lunch rain coat.
1.) bulldog umbrella; 2.) Swedish fisherman’s rain coat; 3.) men’s Tretorn olive boots.
Happy April showers, guys!
five picture books about trees + cherry blossom tree crafts
It’s April. It’s spring! It’s Earth Month. Let’s talk about naturey picture books!
Let’s talk about an array of them featuring TREES to start.
We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow, illustrated by Bob Staake.
One family plants a tree. And so does the other. A tribute to the good things trees do for everybody, across the world.
And I love the dedication to Wangari Maathai, aka Mama Miti.
images via Tiny Reads
The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins, illustrated by Jill McElmurry.
A biobook of Kate Sessions who grew up in the 1860s, when most girls didn’t study science. But Kate did.
Kate was distinct. Kate did a lot of surprising things. One special one was planting trees in San Diego when it was dusty brown. That’s how she became known as the Mother of Balboa Park.
image via Art Julz
Jack Pine by Christopher Patton, illustrations by Cybele Young.
“Come meet Jack Pine. You’ll never see,
with luck, a tree less lovely than—
a tree more bent, more squat, more grim
more weird and ugly than—Jack Pine.”
This one opens with an invitation. It’s full of poem and collaged drawings. It guides us to Jack Pine’s true purpose.
image via House of Anansi
House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Jon Klassen.
Just thinking about the beauty of this book can bring tears. A house. A lawn. A boy and girl and their father. Wild trees on either side of their shadeless, seedless plot.
Until the house and lawn are left alone.
Hypnotic. Quiet. Beautiful. Magical. Magical trees.
image via Gallery Nucleus
A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry, pictures by Marc Simont.
Indeed, a tree is nice, isn’t it? Good for so many things. So many simple, old-fashioned, useful things (e.g. climbing, swinging, napping, filling up the sky).
image via Turtle and Robot
Your turn! Favorite tree-related books to share?
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Now for the tree crafts. And cherry blossoms in particular because they’re so iconic of spring (and because I’m longing to visit Japan!).
Black paint, a straw, and pink tissue paper make a 3D cherry blossom tree from Meet the Dubiens.
These cherry blossom cupcakes by The Baking Sheet!
Amazing, intricate paper kit by Terada Mokei.
This origami cherry blossom ball would be quite a project!
Did I save the best for last? Incredible (no longer edible) painted marshmallows using markers and food coloring pens from The Decorated Cookie. Squishy, gorgeous, so much fun.
