It’s no secret that we love a good children’s picture book around here. The key word being good, which is very hard to find in the children’s book arena. There’s a lot of mediocre out there. We have found one author/illustrator who seems to knock it out of the park. Every. Single. Time. That is Oliver Jeffers. I’ve included his books on my post about our favorite books HERE and HERE. The thing that really differentiates him as an author and illustrator in my opinion is his subtlety as well as his fearlessness with his themes. He doesn’t avoid broaching sadness or loneliness, which in a children’s book is rare. He is also hilarious without trying too hard. Jeffers is an accomplished fine artist as well, which I think is the reason his books don’t fit the typical mold.
Don’t even get me started on his illustrations. They are deceptively simple and complex at once. Jeffers adds these “extras” that sometimes you don’t even notice until you have read the book several times. Max is constantly pointing out these details to me as we read. Oliver Jeffers has added so much to this genre and has set the bar very high for what we consider a good children’s picture book.
With all that being said, I could not have been any more happy the other day when I heard the sequel to The Day the Crayons Quit, which he illustrated but was written with Drew Daywalt was coming out next month. That book was so creative and in my opinion should be owned by every Kindergarten and first grade teacher to share with their students. In fact, that might be a good back to school gift idea. Hmmm…
But I digress. The new book is called: The Day the Crayons Came Home, again co-written with Drew Daywalt. I cannot wait to get it here so we can all pile up on the bed to read it together. From what I have garnered, this time Duncan, instead of getting letters from the different color crayons complaining that they are being used too much or too little, is getting postcards from forgotten, escaped or misplaced crayons all over the place.
Our current Jeffers favorite is Once Upon an Alphabet. It is like an alphabet book, but not really. It’s actually 26 short stories (that is the number of letters in the alphabet, right?) that revolve around something that starts with the letter in question. And he manages to weave the separate stories together in such a quirky way, I promise your child will ask to read it again and again.
The Heart and the Bottle is a tender and poignant book about a girl who loses her grandfather. The girl has such a special connection with her grandfather, that when he passes, she tries to protect her heart by putting it in a bottle so she doesn’t have to feel the pain. And by the time she realizes she has done this, she finds that she can’t take it out. This is a beautiful story that shows how we as humans try to protect ourselves from uncomfortable feelings. Sounds pretty heavy for a children’s book, but he does it in a very tender way. Kids really do pick up on this message despite it’s whimsical illustrations. I know because I asked Max what he thought was happening throughout the story.
If you have never checked out or purchased an Oliver Jeffers book, I encourage you to read a few or scope them out when you are looking for a gift idea. Although he has about dozen titles or so out, I put together our top 5 favorites below. Try some of these and let me know what you think!
