It’s a blast when your favorite picture book creators receive recognition and earn prestigious accolades! And recently two artists (great illustrators as well as writers) whom I hold in high regard did just that.
Cozbi A. Cabrera Is a 2024 Sendak Fellow
The fabulous 2 time Coretta Scott King honoree, Caldecott honoree and Sibert honoree Cozbi A. Cabrera is a 2024 Sendak Fellow. You can read about this honor here. Also a brilliant doll maker, graphic artist, and quilter, Cozbi has illustrated a terrific list of children’s books over the years, including such works as Patricia McKissack’s Stitchin’ and Pullin’, Sandra Belton’s Beauty, Her Basket and Melvina Noel’s Chef Edna. She also wrote and illustrated the lovely My Hair Is a Garden. Here are excerpts from two reviews I wrote for this blog:
Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera, written by Suzanne Slade, published by ABRAMS, ISBN: 978-1419734113.
A book about a great poet should offer strong writing, and Slade truly delivers with her concise, poetic text. Meanwhile, the fabulous illustrator Cozbi A. Cabrera fills each of her acrylic paintings with beautiful sights and memorable emotion. Cabrera often adds a surreal spin to the words. Swirling pinks, blues, and whites fill the sky. And for those concerned with made-up dialogue in non-fiction picture book biographies, the back matter assures us that every quote can be traced back to an original source. Winner of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor and a Sibert Honor. I wrote at great length about Exquisite on Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott site.
Me & Mama, illustrated and written by Cozbi A. Cabrera, published by Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, ISBN: 978-1534454217.
Illustrator Cabrera is on a roll with Exquisite above and this terrific, loving book that shows a mother and child enjoying a simple yet special day. The story zeroes in on the little moments that happen during a short period of time. Meanwhile, Cabrera quietly throws in colors and concepts that deepen the experience. Winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor and a Caldecott Honor.
Cozbi is also one of the coolest and kindest kidlit people I have met.
Sydney Smith wins the Hans Christian Anderson Award
Over the years, I have praised the cinematic quality of Sydney Smith’s moody illustrations. Book after book, image after image, Smith creates unforgettable visual moments. He is, as my co-worker Betsy Bird says, inconveniently Canadian, which means he is not eligible for the United States’ big prize, the Caldecott. But he has won many others, including Canada’s coveted Governor General’s Literary Award, and now the biennial Hans Christian Anderson Award. This award is described here. Smith’s many great works include My Baba’s Garden (written by Jordan Scott) and Do You Remember? And here are excerpts from two books I reviewed on this blog:
I Talk Like a River, illustrated by Sydney Smith, written by Jordan Scott, published by Neal Porter Books (an imprint of Holiday House), ISBN: 978-0823445592.
Some of the very best picture books employ art to reflect what is happening inside a character’s mind. Their emotions, feelings, inner-struggles. As a result, the reader steps inside the protagonist’s head and sees the world from their point-of-view. The poignant I Talk Like a River emerges as a potent example of this thanks to Sydney Smith’s rich, evocative watercolor, ink, and gouache illustrations. His work perfectly captures the moods and nuances of Jordan Scott’s dynamic highly personal text.
Town Is by the Sea, illustrated by Sydney Smith, written by Joanne Schwartz, published by Groundwood Books, ISBN: 978-1554988716.
Sydney Smith’s compositions remind me of images you would see on the silver screen–those created by the very finest of cinematographers, rendered with care and a masterful eye. He clearly studies cinema. Just look at the way the sun reflects off the sea on the cover of the haunting Town Is by the Sea–the image looks as if it has come from a classic international film from the 1950s (when the story is set). Throughout Smith gives you evocative double page spreads that give you widescreen views of the interior of the boy’s house, the landscape as the father walks to work, and, most claustrophobically, the view underground as mine workers labor (the earth seems to be crushing their hunched bodies).
Congratulations Sydney!
Dog Vs. Strawberry is Silly Fun
Dog Vs. Strawberry, art by Andrea Zuill, story by Nelly Buchet, published by Random House Studio, ISBN: 9780593643129.
And now a quick look at one of the funnier new picture books of 2024. This goofy slapstick comedy stars a dog who decides to challenge and race, well, a piece of immobile fruit. Kids love it when they know something the lead character does not. And this competitive canine truly believes that they are outrunning and outjumping and outmaneuvering that delicious strawberry, that just merely sits stationary on the floor. Buchet’s bouncy text captures the manic absurdity of the situation. And Zuill, a gifted artist who knows how to stage a joke and a punchline, clearly loves showing this pooch in motion. Great doggy facial expressions throughout. And whoa, that startling moment at the climax will have young storytime attendees gasping and giggling at the same time.
Mr. Brian's Picture Book Picks 