Tuesday

Author/Illustrator: David Wiesner
Publisher:  Clarion Books
RRP: £5.99

  This is a picture book of very few words...twelve in fact.  The words in this book exist only to tell the time, the rest of the story is told through dazzling and humorous images.  The story itself begins before the inner title page, upon opening the book a sequence of images shows how frogs relaxing on their lily pads begin to levitate.  The rest of the story follows the frogs' journey as they fly around town on their lily pads.  Along the way they startle a man having a midnight snack, get caught in washing on a line and watch T.V in the house of a sleeping elderly lady.  As the night begins to fade and day breaks however their lily pads gentle fall back to land and the frogs hop off to the nearest rivers, lakes and ponds.  When the town awakes they are left wondering how on earth all these lily pads ended scattered around.  The following Tuesday night brings an even greater surprise...

The action is captured in hues of green and blue beautifully depicting not only the light at that time but also the mystery and magic of the story.  Every frog is unique and able to express a variety of facial expressions which greatly amplifies the humour of the tale.  It is easy to get sucked into the images with the amount of detail that Wiesner has included.  More notably what sets this book apart is the way images are laid out on the page.  Wiesner uses a range of comic book style boxes to sequence events and larger pictures are painted from a variety of interesting angles that help you see the action differently.


  This book won the 1992 Caldecott Medal and it is clear from it's uniqueness and imagination why that is the case.  The book has a lot of scope for exploration, it doesn't have to be read conventionally, children can study individual pictures, the book can even be read backwards.  I tend to prefer books with more text although I imagine if text were to be added to this book some, if not all, of the magic would be lost.  Having said that books to me contain words.  Without words it's art.  Art can tell stories, but art is never as great when it has been printed in a book.  It needs to be seen face-to-face to fully appreciate it.


Rating: 8/10

The Rabbit Problem

Author: Emily Gravett

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

RRP: £12.99 (Hardcover)

  Follow the journey of two rabbits throughout the course of a year as they do what rabbits do best...increase the population to almost breaking point.  The pair live in Fibonacci's field and each month their numbers multiply following the famous sequence and leave the with a range of seasonal dilemmas- from running out of food, to over-crowding witness how these clever bunnies deal with their daily battles.   

  The book is beautifully presented with astonishingly detailed illustrations and quirky little trinkets to explore on each page, including recipes, birth certificates and more!  Witticisms are hidden on every page and it had me chuckling more and more with every page turn. The dilemmas faced by the rabbits get more extreme until the final page which reveals a fabulous pop-up which had me in hysterics.  What is fantastic about this book is although the plot is simple it is not constructed in the "Once Upon A Time..." way, instead you explore the story from the evidence on the page, details in the calendar and from the actions of the rabbits in the drawings.  It is completely interactive and the reader is completely drawn into it.  I think this method of storytelling will really appeal to children as it enables them to get carried away and is more of a novelty than other 'normal' books.

  I bought the hardback version for a friend who is obsessed with bunnies and although I haven't seen the paperback version in real life the front cover at least is not as grabbing.  I'm also not sure how the pop up would work with paperback, or if it is in fact included, I can't see how it would withstand the obvious attraction and use it would receive.  I love the fact that this story is based on a mathematical sequence, how often does that happen?  A great tool for the classroom but also an enchanting book for children and adults of all ages.  I know my friend went all gooey when she saw it!

Rating: 9/10