The Joy of Discovering Delightful Books

Three picture books I've fallen for recently

For a children’s book author, reading children’s books is an essential part of the job, one that’s almost always enjoyable. And then there are times when it goes beyond enjoyable and into the realm of absolute delight. I’ve experienced that delight a few times with picture books recently, and thought I would tell you a little about these delightful books so that they can delight you too.

Don’t you love it when you love a book as much as you hope you will? That’s how it was for me when I read Nothing Ever Happens on a Gray Day by

Grant Snider

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Nothing Ever Happens on a Gray Day is absolutely lovely. The lyrical text and soft, wispy illustrations work really well together to tell a story that is calm and dreamy, but at the same time hints at adventure. This book will encourage young readers to be open to possibility even in the most seemingly mundane of circumstances. I borrowed this book from my public library, but will be adding it to my own picture book collection very soon.

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Next up is Most of the Better Natural Things in the World by Dave Eggers and Angel Chang. This book has very spare text. As in one word on each page. Each word introduces a different kind of landscape found throughout the natural world. But there is a story here too, as suggested by the white tiger with the rope and chair on the cover.

In this book, the reader follows the tiger on a journey through “most of the better natural things in the world” with a chair tied to her back. One can’t help but wonder where she is going, but I won’t spoil the surprise. This book is not only a joy to read and explore, but it introduces the reader to parts of the world that he or she may never have known about before. It includes back-matter describing those places in greater detail.

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The next book is Trucks on Trucks by Sorche Fairbank, illustrated by Nik Henderson. I read it to my 2 year-old grandson after he requested my book Two Tough Trucks for the 100th time, just to mix things up a bit. He loved it so much that I’ll probably get it for him for his birthday.

Trucks on Trucks is such a fun read. It’s all about trucks on trucks! Small trucks on big trucks, old trucks on new trucks. The book introduces different types of trucks as well as size, color, and opposites like old/new and dirty/clean. The pictures are vibrant and playful and the text is simple, yet engaging. It’s ideal for any toddler, especially a truck-loving one.

Have you discovered any delightful picture books recently? I’d love to hear about them.

Sketch of the week:

Another one from Inktober, probably my favorite so far. The prompt for this one was “fortune.”