Eric Rohmann: Day 5

This post is a day late. I was having difficulty with blogger last night. It wouldn't let me post at all. So today, you get the last two installments of Eric Rohmann.


My Friend Rabbit
Written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Roaring Brook Press, 2002

This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2003. I remember buying this book and thinking: WOW. The illustrations are so bold and so toddler-minded. The text is simple and has a wonderful cadence to it. Rabbit’s toy airplane is stuck in the tree. He tries to come up with an inventive way to get it out, so he gathers, pushes, and shoves his animal friends on top of one another until they form a tall tower. This of course comes crashing down!

I love his use of perspective in the illustrations. On one spread rabbit is in the far corner of the page pulling on an elephant’s tale. Everything looks so small and the spread is rather bare. Then the next page explodes with a giant elephant taking over the entire spread. When all of the animals are piled on top of one another, you must turn the book vertically to view it correctly. Then they all come crashing down and we see wild animal eyes of every sort as they looked surprised, shocked, and flabbergasted. Then we see those same animal eyes all glaring at rabbit. Every spread is full of surprises and delight. The illustrations are appealing to a very young audience. In fact, a non-reader could figure out what is going on in the story even without the text.

A romping fun read and so well-deserving of the Caldecott Award.

ALA Awards

I was so excited this morning about the ALA awards. I'm truly a book nerd. People roll their eyes at me. It's okay, I'm proud to be a book nerd.

Here of some of the award and honor winners that I have previously reviewed:

Caldecott Honor Books:
Henry's Freedom Box (and I'm very excited--I'll get to see Kadir Nelson at the Virginia State Reading Association Conference in March)

First the Egg (also received a Geisel honor award)

I'm not sure how I managed not to review Knuffle Bunny Too, but I really did like the book. It made the Cybils fiction picture book shortlist.

Caldecott Winner:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Winner:
Let it Shine

Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grades Category:
Reaching for the Sun (my review is in The Edge of the Forest)

Pura Bulpre Award, Author Recipient
The Poet Slave of Cuba: A biography of Juan Francisco Manzano

I'm pretty pleased that I had reviews in many categories. While I read a lot of middle grade fiction, I don't always review it (I don't know why...). It was one of my New Year's Resolutions to review more middle grade fiction. I read the Newbery winner and two of the three honor books. I really liked the ones I read, but I didn't review them this year.

Drumroll please....

And the winners are:

Caldecott Honor books:
Henry's Freedom Box
First the Egg
The Wall
Knuffle Bunny Too

Caldecott Winner:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Newbery Honor:
Elijah of Buxton
Wednesday Wars
Feathers

Newbery Medal:
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Many thanks to Goddess of YA Literature for her live blogging! You can see all of the winners at her site. I was watching the live webcast with my kids at school and right after Wednesday Wars, it stopped! Stopped I tell you!!!! And I couldn't get it back. I don't know why! I don't know if it was my end or ALA's. I was going crazy! Then I jumped to the Goddess's website and she put me out of my anxiety ridden moment.

What I'm excited about...I've read ALL of these books except for Feathers. This is the first time ever for me that has happened. And you know who I credit? Why the kidlitosphere of course! The kid lit bloggers are out there posting on all of these good books all year.

What else I'm excited about...The Invention of Hugo Cabret!!! All year long I have been bragging about this book to everyone I know. It is one of the best books ever. And all of the naysayers were saying that this book wouldn't get any big awards because what category is it in? Well, yippee ka yay! It won! Congratulations Mr. Selznick!