Quote of the Day: "An ordinary man can...surround himself with two thousand books...and thenceforth have at least one place in the world in which it is possible to be happy."
~Augustine Birrell
Title: I Hate Picture Books
Author and Illustrator: Timothy Young
I hate people who are so talented that I want to take their books and hide them so I can keep them all to myself and not share them with anyone. I hate books that make me wish that I was the author/illustrator and not that stupid Timothy Young. I hate how this picture book makes me feel....full of envy for not having the talent to write such a winner, shame because I love the book so much that I coveted it for so long, and depressed because I could not have begun to have written such an amazing book that works so ingeniously on so many levels. The truth is I love this book soooooo much! I admire the talent and brilliant execution, both of the illustrations and the text, that Timothy Young portrayed. I am now ready to tell the whole world of its existence and I will buy copious copies for gifts to distribute to everyone I know. This gem of a book should be in every library and home in the planet. There ..... I said it... and I feel a whole lot better now.
Max is ranting about his hatred of picture books that have accumulated in his life over the years. He decides he wants to toss them out because they have caused him nothing but trouble. He documents the classics that he has read and informs the reader of how ridiculous and stupid these books are. He talks about the kid with the purple crayon book that his mother read to him. When he tried to decorate the walls with his crayons (just like the kid in the book) he got into big trouble and was sent to his room for the night. Max literally inserts himself into the pages of his favourite books and always finds he gets in trouble or sick when trying to simulate the characters buried within.
The illustrations amazingly resemble the original picture books and you, as the reader, find yourself travelling down memory lane, having flashbacks and remembering how you felt when those books were read to you. The worst book he points out was about the lost little bird who could not find his mom - why that book actually made him cry - oh the feelings rush in and Max finds himself frantically trying to dig that book out of the throw away box to read once again. While he is digging to find it he discovers that all of the books are his favourite and he cannot possibly part with a single one of them.
This is an endearing and loveable story about how our picture books are not only ordinary books but can become extraordinary friends as we absorb them into our hearts. Max realizes that even though those books have disappointed him in the past he truly does loves them and they are really important to him. The book is a tribute, a celebration to the best of the best children's picture books that are out there and we should never, ever discard them but treat them with love and respect as a valuable, timeless treasure that we are fortunate enough to own.
About the author/illustrator:
Creatures & Characters has been creating illustrations, toy and character designs for over 25 years. Timothy Young, owner of Creatures & Characters, has worked in the Toy, Animation, Television and Publishing Industries and is an Author-Illustrator of children's books including I'm Looking For A Monster (Random House 2008), Shadows On My Wall and They're Coming!(Schiffer Publishing 2014
His newest book, I Hate Picture Books! was released by Schiffer Publishing in early 2013. He is also the creator of the iPhone App Creatures & Characters Mix-Em-Ups and has a character-based toy line called HEDZZ™ coming out in 2014.
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Book Review Rating: 9 (Close to perfection!) Read on and read always! Have a great day. Review copy compliments of NetGalley. Thanks to them. Ideas and thoughts my own. | |
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