Friday, May 11, 2012

inspired by... children's books

i've always loved children's and YA books. for the longest time i was kind of embarrassed to admit it because i thought people would think that it was silly for an adult to read children's books. but with the introduction of books like harry potter and the hunger games, so many more people have come to realize how amazing children's literature can be so it's made me a bit braver :) 

lucky me, i work in a library at a college that focuses on children and families so i get to order tons of children's books! lately i've been paying closer attention to the amazing work of illustrators. there are some truly talented artist out there and i thought i'd share two of my current favorites. even if you're not into children's literature, i hope you'll find the artwork of these illustrators as inspiring as i do.


illustrated by carson ellis
i just finished wildwood and i loved the illustrations. she really brought the wild, beautiful forest to life through her artwork. for the entire first half, i kept thinking that i had seen a similar style of illustration somewhere... then it hit me! the mysterious benedict society! another excellent story about wonderfully extraordinary and quirky children.




illustrated by: jon klassen
i think that i want my hat back is absolutely hilarious and i chuckle whenever i get to the page where the bear and the rabbit eye each other. their facial expressions get me every time. these three stories are very different but jon klassen's charming illustrations work perfectly in all of them. 

can i just say that i'm loving this trend of children's book trailers! beats my bad lighting photos any day. and please click on all of the above links. clicking on the illustrator links will take you to their website filled with more of their great artwork and most of the title links will take you to lovely websites filled with author news and fun extras that take you further in to each story.

also, if you're interested in getting more recommendations for children's books (let's face it, my writing skills stink so my book reviews never get much farther than "it's so great!!"), a friend of mine recently started up a blog, auntie karen's book pile: raising books instead of kids to share her favorite children's books. she reads like a maniac and has great taste in books :)

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