Two debut books took awards recently for excellent children’s literature from the American Library Association.
“A Sick Day for Amos McGee” (for ages 3 to 6, $16.99), illustrated by Erin Stead and written by her husband, Philip Stead, is a delightful picture book about zoo animals heading out to their beloved zookeeper’s home.
Erin Stead’s illustrations, done in woodblock and pencil, clearly convey the affection between zookeeper Amos and the animals. There’s lots of humor here, too, as the animals board a bus to travel to Amos’ house, and then spend the afternoon playing games and having tea with the zookeeper.
The illustrations, mostly done in muted colors, contrast sharply with the brilliant hues found in most picture books today, giving “A Sick Day for Amos McGee” something of a classic, retro look that matches perfectly with Philip Stead’s story.
“Moon Over Manifest” by Clare Vanderpool (for ages 8 to 12, $16.99) is an intriguing Depression-era mystery about a girl trying to uncover her father’s past.
In “Moon,” 12-year-old Abilene Tucker is sent by her itinerant father to spend the summer of 1936 with an old friend of his in the fictionalized small town of Manifest, Kan.
Abilene and her father have never set down roots and, instead, moved around from place to place — wherever Abilene’s father could find work — and so Abilene finds herself intensely curious about the place her father has talked about for so many years.
Vanderpool seamlessly moves back and forth in time as Abilene, an independent, self-reliant child, combs old newspapers and letters and talks with current Manifest residents in an attempt to learn more about her father’s past. As she does, Abilene uncovers secrets about the town and about her father, gaining insights into herself in the process.
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