Happy Summer, Eerdlings!
August is officially here, which means our fabulous/beautiful/spectacular fall books will be hitting the shelves soon! Here’s Part One of our Fall 2017 Preview, with my own thoughts about each book shamelessly interjected.
This week we’re celebrating the book birthday of When a Wolf Is Hungry (watch the trailer). This is one of my personal favorites. (I am a sucker for a smartly-dressed-yet-otherwise-hapless wolf, see A Well-Mannered Young Wolf.)
So you’ve got Edmond Bigsnout, a lone wolf who leaves his solitary cabin in the woods and heads into the city to catch a rabbit (he has a very refined palate—forest bunnies just won’t do).
He quickly finds a rabbit who lives in a large apartment building, but actually hunting him turns out to be surprisingly difficult—because the rabbit’s neighbors keep asking to borrow his murder tools. Don’t you hate it when that happens? In addition to a dapper wolf, this book also has lots of humor, sound effects, and a delightful twist ending.
Next on the list is Plume.
This is by Isabelle Simler, who also created the unquestionably gorgeous book The Blue Hour. But whereas The Blue Hour is stunning and elegant, Plume leans more toward cute and playful.
This book is, at its heart, an introduction to different bird species.
But it’s way more fun than that. Because on every page, you get a hint of a mysterious (adorable) cat lurking in the background. Why is the cat so interested in the birds? (You probably think you know, but you’re wrong.)
While the birds are all drawn stylistically for maximum cuteness, the feathers on each page are realistic, making this the perfect gift for both animal lovers and budding scientists.
Also coming out this fall we have the conclusion to our Trade Winds educational series.
It’s called The Warli People, and it follows an ancient civilization (as you might expect, it’s the Warli people) through a calendar year and shows readers what it’s like to live in an agricultural society. There’s lots of stuff I love about this book.
First of all, the text in this book is more lyrical than the other Trade Winds titles, which tend to be more narrative. I think the poetic style works really well for the subject matter, which focuses on nature and how it shapes people’s lives. I also really like that the artist used traditional Warli artwork as inspiration for the book’s illustrations; it gives the story a more authentic feel. And I love that The Warli People comes with plenty of supplementary materials, including a timeline of early farming and a map of ancient civilizations. It’s perfect for classroom use, or for a curious reader who wants to learn more.
If you loved Roger and Emily from Roger Is Reading a Book as much as I did, I have big news for you: there is a sequel, and it is awesome.
This one is called Roger Is Going Fishing. Roger, Emily, and Roger’s dog (whose name, we discover, is Bob) are biking down to the lake to do some fishing. Roger is pedaling the bike, Bob is sitting in the basket like a very good boy, and Emily’s holding onto the fishing pole. Except once again, where Emily goes, (delightful) mayhem follows.
As they pedal past innocent pedestrians, Emily’s fishing pole accidentally snags on some of their possessions, and she suddenly finds herself the owner of a saxophone, an umbrella, and a skateboard. You can’t rein a fabulous girl in. Will they be able to return everything to its rightful owner and catch a fish before dinner time? You’ll have to read to find out.
Stay tuned for Part Two of our Fall 2017 Preview. Until then, happy reading!
