Red Again

Red Again. Barbara Lehman. 2017. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Premise/plot: Does a book need words to tell a story? Red Again is a companion picture book to Barbara Lehman's The Red Book. Both, I believe, are wordless picture books. I have read Red Again. I have not--so far as I recall--read the Red Book.

In the book, a boy finds a red book in an unexpected place. The book--as it is read--leads him to the unexpected. It leads him to another reader--of the same book. The magic continues as the red book is lost and found yet again.

My thoughts: Typically my answer is "Yes, a book needs words to tell a story." But there are always exceptions to the rule. And to be clear the question does not have a 'right' or 'wrong' answer.

I think Red Again works for me because it is about the wonder and magic of books, of the reading experience. It is all about the act of reading and the delight it can bring you.

Text: 0 out of 0
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 3 out of 5

© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Pancakes for Breakfast

Pancakes for Breakfast. Tomie dePaola. 1978. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

Premise/plot: Pancakes for Breakfast is a wordless picture book by Tomie dPaola. (Technically, there are a few words hidden within the illustrations. The recipe for the pancakes. The embroidered phrase on the wall hanging.) A woman wakes up thinking of pancakes. But. It isn't all that simple. She's lacking a few ingredients in her kitchen. Will she get the big stack of pancakes she's been dreaming of?

My thoughts: I really like this one. I like it more than Eric Carle's Pancakes, Pancakes! She has a cat and a dog. And these two add something to the story. It's a cute, fun, "easy to read" story. The illustrations are very straight-forward.

Text: 0 out of 0
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 5

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Only Child

The Only Child. Guojing. 2015. Random House. 112 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence from the author's note: The story in this book is fantasy, but it reflects the very real feelings of isolation and loneliness I experienced growing up in the 1980s under the one-child policy in China.

Premise/plot: This is a wordless picture book. I'm tempted to call this one a picture book for older readers. Though I'm not sure that's entirely fair to the book. It may depend more on your child's attention span and interests. The art is without a doubt captivating and beautiful. The premise is simple: a young girl's loneliness ultimately leads to her getting lost. At some point, reality blends with fantasy. Where is that point exactly??? I'm not sure I can answer that!

My thoughts: Loved, loved, loved the art. It does a great job in conveying emotion, for the most part. I tend to struggle with finding the story in wordless picture books at times. The more complex a book is, the more I struggle. Ultimately I found The Only Child to be worth the effort it took to find and follow the story. But that being said, I'm not sure I fully got every page of the story. Still it's easy to recommend for the art alone.

Text 0 out of 0
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 5

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews