Picture Books!

I've always been a visual kinda girl. I just got through browsing a blog whose author doesn't use any pictures at all, just blocks (and blocks, and more blocks) of text. Don't get me wrong, typography can be pretty interesting in terms of design. But if I'm supposed to be reading your life story on the internet, Imma need some pics please. Reading that wordy blog got me to thinking about how, even though I'm 23 and pretty well-read (after all, I was an English major), I still enjoy picture books.

One of my favorites has always been Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies. One writer described his work as "cutely disturbing," and I love it. The copy I received in elementary school is still sitting on my bookshelf.

Another favorite of mine is Ezra Jack Keats. I remember reading his books when I was in preschool (!). I love his illustration style and the fact that the children in his stories looked like me and were growing up in urban areas, just like me. Even though the stories he wrote could have been happening to any child in America, it was refreshing--now as well as back then--to see myself reflected in the books I read.Peter wakes up to snow in A Snowy Day

Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears was also a favorite. Leo and Diane Dillon are great artists, and their visuals in the book really compliment the African folktale at hand.


And we can't forget about Where the Wild Things Are (it's also being made into a movie this year, which I will be first in line to see).

Max plays King of the Wild Things

I had an extremely vivid imagination just like the boy in the book, so I could totally relate.

What are some of your childhood classics?