Arthur Geisert (an Author Illustrator) and a Few Family Stories

These were the authors I reviewed* last week.

Faye Gibbons

Paul Geraghty

Diane Goode

Taro Gomi,

Libba Moore Gray

Sally Grindley

Susana Gretz

Arthur Geisert

Valeri Gorbachev

Libba Moore Gray's books in the library's stacks seemed to be largely about families or they were musically-based, and Is There Room in the Feather Bed couldn't be more like our current nightly challenge of kids climbing into beds with us!

The author/illustrator Valeri Gorbachev was new to me, and I loved both his illustrations and his tales. I love the clever mother in Nicky and the Big Bad Wolves, and the last illustration of The Big Trip is a perfect ending/beginning.

My kids asked me to read Mucky Duck and No Trouble at All by Sally Grindley over and over again. I didn't ask them if it had to do with the bad behavior highlighted in its illustrations.

I love Mountain Wedding by Faye Gibbons, the story of the wedding day for two large families. Think Yours, Mine, and Ours (the movie) but a snapshot focusing on ten minutes of action. It starts with family tension and ends with laughing and family love.

Arthur Geisert's books are interesting at every level. I don't think any of his books would disappoint, but our favorites were Lights Out and The Giant Ball of String. Older readers will love the details and the problems and the contraptions. Younger children's pre-reading and early reading skills will be strengthened with all the illustration searching to be done.


*This school year I'm going on a Big (Picture) Book Tour. It's not a book tour to show off a book I've written. It's a trip through the children's section of our library. Here's how it works:

• Each week I give myself about ten minutes at the library to choose over a dozen books from one alphabetic section of the children's picture books, usually several of the same author. 
• This is not a comprehensive review of each artist. I limit myself to what is in the library that day.
• The objective is to share these with my kids and then I'll briefly review the authors here. 
• I don't give equal attention to the artists because the books aren't categorized that way, but I'll try to do that, too. 
• I'll highlight my favorites in case you're looking for recommendations.