It is a wonderfully evocative and engaging story with gorgeous art. It is a simple story, with admittedly very little suspense but it has an elegance and warmth to it. A great read-aloud book but also a good book for young readers.
Continue readingI loved this book from the moment I saw it in the book store. And I remember reading it to my daughter when she was a baby. It is a wonderful combination of illustrations and storytelling. The blurb above really doesn’t exaggerate about “creating with words and breathtaking watercolors a dazzling new collection destined to become a classic.”
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I used to check this book out of the library frequently when my son was younger. I think he liked the big pictures and the playful, dreamlike quality of the story. I have read it to him before bed dozens of times at least. So when I saw a copy at the library sale I knew I had to pick it up.
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Rather than a “review” I thought I would post a gallery that gives you some idea of the art this book contains. Not surprisingly I found it to be a wonderfully evocative presentation of this classic story.
Continue readingPerhaps the wistfulness and oddness feel different two decades later. In fact, I like how it is rather odd (with a comic book feel to the illustrations on some pages and more traditional illustrations on others). The story is meandering and messy rather than direct, neat and clean. Maybe the fact that it only cost me a dollar lowered my expectations. Who knows exactly, but I enjoyed reading it and found it worth owning.
Continue readingMy continuing obsession fascination with the illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger connected with my daughter’s interest in The Nutcracker and led to my doing something I hadn’t done before: buy one of her books new. I was tempted into buying this version of The Nutcracker which offers E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic story retold by Susanne Koppe and illustrated by… Continue reading
My continuing obsession fascination with the illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger connected with my daughter’s interest in The Nutcracker and led to my doing something I hadn’t done before: buy one of her books new. I was tempted into buying this version of The Nutcracker which offers E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic story retold by Susanne Koppe and illustrated by… Continue reading
Merry Christmas Everyone! I thought I might take a moment today to share a book I bought this year. I am a big fan of Jon J. Muth. We have a number of his books and my children particularly enjoy reading his zen stories featuring Stillwater the panda (Zen Shorts, Zen Ties & Zen Ghosts)…. Continue reading