This has been a wonderful fall for new books from some of my favorite picture book authors. As a bookseller who is also a lover of the picture book, it’s always a fraught moment when I see the latest book by my favorites. I want each book to succeed and meet all my expectations and surpass the previous book. I nervously open the pages and hope for the best. In these two instances, I was thrilled.
Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion is the third and final book in the Knuffle Bunny series by Mo Willems. This time Trixie and Knuffle Bunny go to Holland to visit her Oma and Opa. The adventure starts well enough, with going to the airport. There’s a funny image of Knuffle Bunny going through the x-ray screener and all seems well.  Until Trixie and family arrive in Holland and realize that Knuffle Bunny has been left on the plane.  Again, the combination of art and photographs works really well. Trixie’s Dad calls the airline and finds out that the plane was headed to China! The distance makes the loss of Knuffle Bunny seem all the more great.  Oma and Opa do their best to cheer Trixie up by getting her “a brand-new, top-of-the-line Funny-Bunny-Wunny-Doll Extreme!” Close but no cigar. A foreshadowing with Trixie’s dad sharing a story about outgrowing his “Special Lamby” sets the stage for a very moving ending. I have to confess the first time I read this book was out loud to 18 kindergarteners. I suggest that people read books once through before they are read aloud; I found it hard to not tear up a tiny bit at the ending. The book works as a very satisfying finale to the series.
David Wiesner is one of my all-time favorite author/illustrators. His wordless books are modern classics. So it was of great interest to me when his newest book, Art and Max, had words. The words work in this very playful exploration of art. Max and Art are good friends. Art is a practiced painter who thinks he knows everything about art, but it’s his friend Max who teaches him about real art. Max sets out to paint Max, literally. And this is where David Wiesner is so gifted: he really works with color, or lack thereof, on the page to dramatic effect. As Max tries and tries again to capture Art, the pages fill with color against the pale desert backdrop. Gentle humor between the friends made me laugh with the words and the art. The different media are as educational as they are beautiful; what a fun and clever way to introduce art to children.  I tend to pore over books by David Wiesner and this one is no different.
Both of these men have two things in common: they produce great books and between them they’ve won three Caldecott Medals and five Honors. I suspect this year they’ll both be adding to their medal count.