Author/Illustrator: D. B. Johnson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Audience: Ages 4 and up
I love picture books that can be used with various ages groups and for various purposes. Magritte's Marvelous Hat is one of those books. I could use it with preschool and kinder students with one focus and then pick it up with high school students to represent a different focus. I was so inspired by this book that I want to use it for a Literacy Café. The Café would feature surrealist artists from the 1920's and 1930's. This book would be the center of the Café. Can't you tell I am excited? Aside from just being such a creative book (which you can see in the book trailer), I loved the addition of clear film pages to add an extra layer to the story.
Check out the book trailer for Magritte's Marvelous Hat.
Author/Illustrator: Géraldine Elschner
Publisher: Prestel Publisher (Random House)
Audience: Ages 5 and up
The theme for this week's new releases just may well be surrealist art inspired books. The beautifully bold and bright colors of this book simply made me happy. The story is one where a cat dreams of being free like the bird. With the bird's help, the cat does get a chance to escape and to play. The book finishes with a reproduction of Klee's Cat and Bird. Works well with Magritte's Marvelous Hat.
Author: Helen Frost
Photographer: Rick Lieder
Publisher: Candlewick
Audience: Ages 4 to 7
Yesterday, I posted a review of Nasty Bugs by Lee Bennett Hopkins. I then found this book. First, I love the novels in verse by Helen Frost. Think of Step Gently Out as a picture book in verse. Beautifully done with photographs of insects that are simply lovely. At the end, there is a reference section that explains each of the insects featured on the pages of this book. Where as there is a certain aspect of humor featured in Nasty Bugs, the opposite would be true of Step Gently Out. I think the two books would partner well as part of a science unit or to celebrate National Poetry Month.
