Thursday, August 25, 2016

Picture Book: What to Do With a Box, Jane Yolen, illustrated by Chris Sheban

What to Do With a Box
Jane Yolen, illustrated by Chris Sheban
ISBN: 9781568462899
Read August 2016

New arrival!  This one is awfully cute.  There are a good few "box" books out there, and I think this one adds nicely to the collection.  It's a little on the sepia/bland side, so I don't know if it will work for storytime, but I'm thinking about giving it a whirl, just so I can say I did an entire storytime theme around cardboard boxes.  The things that give a librarian joy.

So I said earlier that it's a bit sepia/bland - what I should have said is that it's box-colored.  Most of the illustrations are of slightly hazy sepia-toned children playing in various quite-lifelike boxes, with their imaginations or drawings fading off the box into a sort of dreamy realm.  It's a lovely way to envision the imagination that kids use when they're playing in a box or crate like that.

There isn't much of a story - it basically just asks what a box can be, and then each spread answers it with a different imagined playscape and a different set of children or single child with their own box or boxes.  Still, it's sweet and fun and the language is easy and beautiful.

I think I've just convinced myself to do it.  :)

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