"What if nobody has a problem?" feels almost radical when it comes to the idea of story structure. But it's kind of welcome these days, and also a satisfying entry to the rhythms of story for the youngest "readers" who will encounter these books.
"Reassuring about potentially inconstant things" feels like the most important gift we could give our children right now. Thank you, Jon. I love these conversations so much... and I'm grateful for the dive into board books which are so seldom explored from a craft perspective. Curious to know if the 22 pages was a limit you were working with while writing, or whether the story dictated the page count? I know board books can be shorter, but maybe not longer...
I'm mad at myself for somehow, I don't know how, missing this post before I wrote my own review. But what's interesting is that in reading these with my own little one, I didn't think of it as my voice giving these places to my kid; I thought of it as the books orienting the scene around my child. My not-reading child is still the reader, and the book's concept and and text and art centres my child, and my arm is around them both. It's a lovely experience. Absolute kudos!
You guys are magic, really. Magic kid mind whisperers. We started reading these new books to our almost 2yo and it is just the sweetest to hear her say, "MY sun? Rory's sun?" and point at herself.
I love the amount of discourse these seemingly simple board books create. Picture books really are literature’s great unsung art form. I wish all adults would read this newsletter!
Really enjoyed your chat as always. Loved the idea of the rhythm of narrative but no plot, and I’m eager to go searching in my library other books that fit in that category.
So brilliant really how “everyone gets to scratch an itch”.. almost teared up thinking about that. Thank you guys. A huge fan from Argentina!
"What if nobody has a problem?" feels almost radical when it comes to the idea of story structure. But it's kind of welcome these days, and also a satisfying entry to the rhythms of story for the youngest "readers" who will encounter these books.
"Reassuring about potentially inconstant things" feels like the most important gift we could give our children right now. Thank you, Jon. I love these conversations so much... and I'm grateful for the dive into board books which are so seldom explored from a craft perspective. Curious to know if the 22 pages was a limit you were working with while writing, or whether the story dictated the page count? I know board books can be shorter, but maybe not longer...
I'm mad at myself for somehow, I don't know how, missing this post before I wrote my own review. But what's interesting is that in reading these with my own little one, I didn't think of it as my voice giving these places to my kid; I thought of it as the books orienting the scene around my child. My not-reading child is still the reader, and the book's concept and and text and art centres my child, and my arm is around them both. It's a lovely experience. Absolute kudos!
You guys are magic, really. Magic kid mind whisperers. We started reading these new books to our almost 2yo and it is just the sweetest to hear her say, "MY sun? Rory's sun?" and point at herself.
So grateful to read these chats. Looking forward to the books!
I love the amount of discourse these seemingly simple board books create. Picture books really are literature’s great unsung art form. I wish all adults would read this newsletter!
Really enjoyed your chat as always. Loved the idea of the rhythm of narrative but no plot, and I’m eager to go searching in my library other books that fit in that category.
So brilliant really how “everyone gets to scratch an itch”.. almost teared up thinking about that. Thank you guys. A huge fan from Argentina!
So excited to read the news that you are the New LOC National Ambassador for
Young People's Literature!
CONGRATULATIONS, MAC!!!!
Well deserved!
The Ghost. 😄 That right there is perfection. These will be another must-add to our family library.
Pre-ordered these for our library and now I’m even MORE excited to receive them. Thank you!!!
I can't wait to get my copies! Thanks for this thought-provoking chat.