Go to book: A Pond Full of Ink | The Giantess | That’s Not Normal! | His Royal Majesty of Mushrooms | Selfie Awareness | The Smurf King | Where is the Cake Now? | Where Have You Gone, Davy? | Catherine Certitude | The Incredible Adventures of Dog Mendonca and Pizza Boy | Hansel and Gretal | A Thousand Things About Holland | Fifteen Rabbits | Astronauts and What They Do | Dragon Feathers
A Pond Full of Ink is a children’s book of poetry that was originally written in Dutch in 1978 and then translated into English by David Colmer and paired with illustrations by Sieb Posthuma in 2011. The poems and the illustrations are stunning works of art as they stand alone and create a true masterpiece when paired together. While some of the flow and lilt of words feels off beat in translation, overall the poems in English are very catchy, witty, and comically absurd. This book would be beloved by anyone who enjoys the work of Shel Silverstein.
Emmeline is a giantess who lives alone at the edge of the woods in isolation; she does not want to either scare people or suffer from their outcries because of her exceptional height. When she was young, her mother had erroneously told her that she would never be able to make friends as a giantess and that no man would love her because she would tower over him. One day, a woodsman started to build a cabin beside Emmeline’s house; he would wave at her through the window every day. When he went to invite her to a local carnival, she was sleeping; although he could see that she was a giantess, he was not afraid of her. The next day he called up through her window to invite her to come to the carnival.
That’s Not Normal! is written by a Spanish author and illustrated by a French artist. While the storyline is familiar, whereby differences are made fun of and finally come around to save the day, Pavón and Du Fäy’s take on the story is creative and catchy; through the use of recurrent phrases and illustrations for each scene presented in bold colors, they draw the reader in.
In the third book of the graphic novel series, Hotel Strange, the residents of Hotel Strange are making blackberry jam when Kiki goes out to pick more berries and discovers an abandoned crown and scepter. As soon as he picks these up and places the crown on his head, a village of Mushrooms swarms Kiki, proclaiming and praising him as their King.