Lost Worlds
By John Howe
Kingfisher; $22.99; all ages
Alan Phillips, a Jacksonville (and nationally known) artist, saw a bunch of new books on my desk, but, not surprisingly, he gravitated to this one. He commented on how expensive it is to produce a book such as Lost Worlds. It is filled with wondrous stories of times long gone. The lost worlds of Knossos, Mount Olympus, Timbuktu, Atlantis — 25 worlds in all are written and illustrated in such a way that they transport the reader to those times so long gone. The romance herein begins with the extraordinary cover. Howe was the concept artist for The Lord of the Rings. He makes me believe in unicorns.
Nanook & Pryce Gone Fishing
By Ned Crowley; Pictures by Larry Day
HarperCollins; $16.99; ages 3 - 8
You don’t have to like to fish to love this book. The rhymed story shows Nanook and Pryce as they spend their day at sea as fishermen?
The two Eskimos are amusingly drawn with huge fur head coverings, as they fish. Whales loom under the sea, schools of fish race along: "Breakfast break/Puffins pass/Giant wake/bye-bye bass." The poetry is spot on, and words do not exist here merely to rhyme but to give depth to the story. Larry Day has worked for Disney and Hallmark. Crowley has written more than 200 commercials and is the author of Ugh! A Bug. Which is more impressive? The vibrant pictures or the clever story? That is the question.
Sloppy Joe
By Dave Keane; illustrated by Denise Brunkus
HarperCollins; $16.99; ages 4 - 8
Sloppy and boys don’t always go together, but in this book Joe is as sloppy as anyone can be and Denise Brunkus, the artist of Junie B. Jones — 60 books in all, has done a masterful job in bringing messy but lovable Joe to life. As for the author, Dave Keane, he grew up with six brothers, so he knows sloppy.
Joe would prefer to be raised by alligators. His own family is constantly telling him to stop the sloppiness. Newspapers must be spread all around the dining room table in case Joe wants to roll a meatball to see how far it can go. One day even Joe decides enough is enough, so he decides to be Neat Joe and discovers his parents think "He’s a very special kid."
