Monday, December 1, 2008

Leslie Patricelli: BIG Little

Hello all parents and grandparents of toddlers, as well as teachers, and librarians!

Joan Holub and I are psyched to begin readertotz together. We each will be posting every other week about an infant-toddler book in board, novelty, and interactive formats. We'll also throw a few extra blogs in occasionally. Watch for author and illustrator interviews and the highlighted book of the month entry for the older sibling.

We hope you enjoy the monthly community service project in the sidebar, and the playlist which will be updated periodically. Hats off to our sister site readergirlz. Nobody does it better!

So here's a warm welcome to readertotz and let the blogging begin!

Our first feature is Leslie Patricelli's board book:

http://www.psychobabyonline.com/site/scpics/tmb/2022/big_little.jpg

I'm so proud that this is our first book review at readertotz. Leslie's bald baby character, clad only in a diaper, is a spirited, endearing figure. Join baby as he demonstrates opposites in BIG Little with humor and enthusiasm.

Leslie's graphic, bold colors and thick black lines combine to create an energetic delight. Her layers of colors build rich depth in her flat paintings. I especially appreciate her hand lettering which brings a cohesiveness to the entire layout.

Leslie's humor will be appreciated by totz and adults.

"Ladies are BIG.
Ladybugs are little."

Each comparison she has chosen to illustrate big and little are things dear to a toddler's life: dandelions, puddles, trikes, and of course babies themselves.
Be prepared to be charmed from the first spread:

"Heads are BIG.
Toes are little."

to the last:

"The moon is BIG.
My night-light is little."

Who can resist smiling at baby's square nose, wiggling toes, and pursed lips as he blows out his cupcake candle?

Insider Info:

I can share that Leslie and I first took an amazing picture book class together about ten years ago under Keith Baker and Laura Kvasnosky. Leslie and I sat next to each other as she wrote dandelion poems, and I wrote a book about squirrels. As critique partners a few years later, I had the pleasure of seeing her baby board books in dummy form. Margaret Chodos Irvine and I knew these would bring joy to many. Needless to say, we were right! Woohoo! Here's a recent photo of me and Leslie.


As a side note, Joan and I are author/illustrators, and we will review and celebrate books of authors we don't know and of those we do, dare I even say, our friends? The industry is not that large, and we refuse to overlook the best of the best, because of a relationship. Our aim is to bring great infant-toddler books to you. So enjoy!

Here's to Leslie Patricelli's board book BIG Little.
Candlewick, 2003
* Click on the cover to purchase from Powells.

Lorie Ann Grover ~author/illustrator

19 comments:

Jaime Temairik said...

Hooray! I just bought Binky and Blankie for a baby shower. They're the best!

Jen Robinson said...

Hey, I love your new blog!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your new blog! I'm sure it will be as great as readergirlz!
Ruth Fleet
Creekview High School

Little Willow said...

Three cheers for things which are little! :)

holly cupala said...

I love readertotz! So exciting to see the launch, especially as we have recently been big board book readers in our house. Binky and Yummy Yucky are two of our faves! BIG Little is super cute.

Your Librarian said...

I'm so excited to find your new blog. I love board books, especially the good ones. My favorite Leslie Patricelli is Yummy Yucky. It's hilarious!

Lorie Ann Grover said...

Ooooh, thank you, everyone! What a wonderful, warm welcome!

I, too, love Leslie's work!

Here's to a wonderful beginning among new friends and old! BIG and Little. :~)

Z-Kids said...

Great new blog! Wonderful choice for post #1. Looking eagerly for all that is to come...
Z-Dad

Karen said...

Oh, thank you for promoting board books! I would love to see an award developed for them. Looking forward to seeing more entries!

Unknown said...

I'm so excited to see a blog dedicated to board books. I know I'll be coming back often to get recommendations for my toddler. We are big Leslie Patricelli fans in our house, "No No Yes Yes" being our current favorite.

Cathy said...

Kudos on your new blog! Look for a welcoming review on December 22nd on my blog, Bookmaking With Kids.

Cheers,

Cathy

Magpie said...

Yummy Yucky was a big hit in our house.

Laurie Thompson said...

I'm so excited to see readertotz! We don't have many board books left in our house now that the kids are in school, but I've always wanted to see them get more recognition for the critical role they play in early literacy. Congratulations, girlz, and best of luck with this wonderful new endeavor!

Corey Schwartz said...

This is a very cute book. We liked Quiet Loud and Yummy Yucky even better!

Lorie Ann Grover said...

We will be reviewing more of Leslie's works! Who could overlook Yummy Yucky? Inconceivable!

Thanks again for the welcome, everyone!

EM said...

We ADORE these books. My son (almost 2) insists on having YUMMY YUCKY in his crib every night. He calls it "Bluck," and uses that appellation for every Patricelli book (i.e., NO NO YES YES is "Bluck No"). They are AWESOME.

Laurina said...

It's great having a blog devoted to BB and other books for the youngest book people.

Joan Holub said...

Thank you everyone! Lorie Ann and I really appreciate the welcomes and comments.

It's so nice to see old friends (Laura! Holly!) and to meet new ones here.

How fun!

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