Thankfully I’ve been falling into many new picture books this autumn. Emphasis was placed on Halloween-ish titles, with diversions built around talented imaginators such as Helen Ketteman, Ethan Long, Gabby Dawnay, and Kes Gray.
In this assortment of books, the following receive the coveted 5-star treatment:
One hundred books read in 2020 is just not enough. This year, I aim to truly immerse myself within the wonderful pages of never-before-read picture books FOUR HUNDRED TIMES. Here are the first fifty books I was fortunate enough to encounter. Each one offered something special, and the following books were my personal favorites:
Here’s the next set of twenty five books I was fortunate enough to read in 2019:
Every year I set out to enjoy a minimum of 100 never-before-seen movies. Below is the first quarter of film viewed in 2019. Astonishingly, five films have earned the coveted five stars: Force Majeure, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Repo Man, Five Feet Apart, and The Myth of the American Sleepover.
…when you leave your busy, your worry, and your hurry behind. There are things you notice when you look forward. Free of expectation, life has a way of lifting secret curtains.
A thousand times. I must have stepped out of my dwelling a thousand times. Yet tonight, for a brief miniature walk, I noticed things. New things.
I noticed a castle across the way. A drawbridge. A moat. And in that moat was a bonsai tree with a most peculiar branch extending like an eager hand reaching for land.
I noticed a boutique. And in this boutique, was either the smartest or the laziest mannequin I have ever known. For this mannequin did not stand on her two feet. Oh no, this mannequin sat its plaster keister on a chair. That’s right, a sitting mannequin. Genius. Who knew?
I didn’t. But I do now.
What do you notice?
Since last year, in order to stay current and immerse myself in the world of imaginative visual storytelling, I set out to read a minimum of 100 never-before-read picture books. Here is the first quarter of books read in 2019:
A writer loves (or should?) to read, so birthdays become another excuse to add more books to one’s never ending book pile.
Thank you to my wife for supporting my dust collecting hobby and to Eslite in Taipei for supplying a delicious buffet of English books. And to my dearest wife, please forgive me for ordering some (TONS!) more online through BookDepository. #readtowin
While fall is cooling our bodies as winter prepares to visit, allow Tara Lazar’s Picture Book Idea Month to warm your creative soul!
CraveWriting has participated for the past three years and looks forward to awakening from a dormant period of children’s book writing hibernation. We strongly encourage all imaginators to participate by visiting TaraLazar.com and creating 30 original picture book ideas during the month of November.
Happy imagining everyone!
Crave Writing 