Thundermaestro
by Annemarie Riley Guertin, Maria Brzozowska (Illustrations)

3 out of 5 stars

A little girl uses a stick as a baton to conduct the symphony of rain and thunder in a summer storm.

Maybe because I’m a musician, I had high expectations for this book. I expected a lot more descriptions of sounds and musical phrases, rather than the constant repetition of the same words. Since the premise of the book is about using your imagination, I guess I expected it to be more imaginative and less repetitive.

Pippin paints a portrait
by Charlotte Mei

3 out of 5 stars

Pippin is a little dog trying to find his own artistic style. He decides to do a self-portrait, but he doesn’t want to just copy other artist’s styles. He has to figure out his own medium and his own artistic energy. His friends are all doing self-portrait’s too. They are all doing different styles like Picasso, Degas, Van Gogh, and Matisse. Can Pippin find his own way to make art even if his friends are all doing something else?

The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky
by Kim Jihyun

5 out of 5 stars

A boy visits his family in the country, and follows a path through the trees. He discovers a lake and swims in the clear water. He soaks up the sun from the boat dock, and finally goes back home to have a happy supper with his family.

There are no words in this book. No text. Just beautiful black and white art work that says everything. This is such an emotional book. The illustrations are so simple, yet powerful to bring up strong feelings. Peace and adventure and comfort and warmth. The curiosity of what could be around the next bend in the path, behind the next tree. The bright sunlight sifting through the cool of the water. I can almost hear the birds in the forest. This book is poetry.

Stop the Clock
by Pippa Goodhart

5 out of 5 stars

Joe has to rush all day long. His mother rushes him out the door. They rush down the street to school. Joe’s teacher rushes the class through their art time. Joe yells out, “Stop the Clock!” and time stands still. Joe finally has time to notice the little details about people and nature and the city that he never had the space to see before.