The Right Word

The Right Word
Roget and His Thesaurus

Jen Bryant
Melissa Sweet
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2014

From the back of the book, “If only all the ideas in the world could be found in one place, then everyone would have one book were they could find the best word, the one that really fit. Peter carried this idea with him like a secret treasure.

“The story of Peter Mark Roget, creator of Roget’s Thesaurus, one of the most widely used reference books ever published, is presented in this delightful picture book biography…”

So the reason we picked up this book (at a library sale – for a $1.00! Score!) was because of the illustrations. We came for the art and stayed for the story!!

The story of Peter Roget is fascinating – he collected words in long lists for most of his life. When he was 8 he wrote his first book filled with lists of words! Words and their meanings became his passion which ultimately ended up in a one-of-a-kind book categorizing words according to their meaning, not their spelling.

The illustrations are something else altogether. The artist created collages out of mostly watercolor (I think) as well as other mediums (acrylic, gouache, etc). These collages are so intricate and stunning, you have to read the book first, then go back and linger over every page to make sure you see everything. If you’re familiar with author/artist Graeme Base and how detailed his illustrations are, then you’ll have an idea of what M. Sweet’s pictures look like. Gorgeous! Fascinating! Amazing!

If you see this book at the library, check it out!!

Rating 5 of 5 paws for fabulousness!!

Reviewer: Simon

The Imaginary Garden

The Imaginary Garden

Andrew Larsen
Illustrations by Irene Luxbacher
Kids Can Press, 2009

A little girl named Theo loved to visit her grandfather, Poppa, in his old house and sit in his old garden and talk about flowers. But when Poppa moves to an apartment, Theo is sad that they no longer have a garden to share. Poppa comes up with an idea to make an imaginary garden. So, together they paint the beginnings of a garden on a giant canvas Poppa sets up on the balcony. They have fun painting in the grass, soil and even a robin. But when it comes time to make the garden ‘bloom’, its’ also time for Poppa to go on holiday and Theo worries about what will happen to their garden. He tells her she will know what to do and she does figure it out on her own.

This is a charming story about using your imagination to create something you want but are unable to have; it celebrates the joy of art and the fun of creating something with someone you love. The illustrations are simple pen and ink drawings colored in with air brushing, watercolors, paper and fabric.

Rating 3 out of 5 paws

Reviewer: Simon

  Andrew Larsen (photo from his website)

Other books by the author:

 

 

Paper Cat

So Toby is still reading his book – he hopes to finish it today so he can review it. But in the meantime, here is another little tidbit involving cats and books!

Nap Time by Charles Wysocki

And now mom’s version she made for our aunt. It is made entirely of paper with a high gloss finish.