Book Review Wednesday - Journey

In this wonderful wordless tale a young  and lonely girl escapes her boring world through a magic door that she draws with a red marker. Immediately the dull brown tones of her world are left behind and vibrant colors and rich scenes fill the pages. Her new world is full of fantasy and adventure as she navigates the foreign territory by boat, balloon, and magic carpet. Her journey is marked by courage and kindness which will ultimately lead to a new kind of adventure. The final pages of this gem demand the reader to turn back to the beginning for a subtle but powerful appreciation of the whole book. Reminiscent of Crockett Johnson’s beloved Harold and the Purple Crayon with plenty of originality to stand out Aaron Becker's Journey is a book for every age.

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Book Review Wednesday - The Tortoise & The Hare

Aesop’s classic tale of an egotistical and speedy hare racing against a slow but determined tortoise has never been as vivid and well paced as it is now in Jerry Pinkney’s version of The Tortoise & The Hare. Pinkney, who won the Caldecott Medal for an earlier ode to Aesop in his masterful rendition of The Lion & The Mouse, brings the race alive with sparse text and wonderful watercolor, colored pencil, and pastel paintings.  Set in the American Southwest, the colors are largely made up of subtle tints of brown and tan. The cast of animal characters on the other hand  stand out as they are dressed in bright colored bandanas and hats, adding a vibrant energy to the setting. While the moral of this well loved fable stays the same, Pinkney has found a new way to teach that moral  by progressively building it one word at a time through slow and steady repetition. In the end Hare stands out not for his speed nor his over confidence, but for his sportsmanship as he ties the victory flag around a Tortoise who wears a modest but triumphant smile.  Highly recommended for all ages, in particular for those who love to take it slow, this version of an old favorite is undoubtedly a new classic.