Julia's House for Lost Creatures!
Even though I write middle grade and young adult, I spend most of my reading hours with hardcover books with 32 pages in between. Sure, we read plenty of middle grade books together, but for every Mary Poppins or Tale of Despereaux, there are about twenty picture books thrown onto my lap by the three-year-old, five-year-old, seven-year-old and occasionally my husband. :) I don't review them as often, for the poor excuse of a reason that I haven't yet tinkered that time machine into submission, nor have I mastered bilocation. But I'll make a special excuse for a very special book.
You may have noticed that we're big Ben Hatke fans around here. Lu can outline the entire plot of the Zita the Spacegirl trilogy for you if you'd like, and she also recently informed me that she'd rather meet Ben Hatke than any other famous person alive. Zoe regularly runs around in boots and a green cape, which Ginny has been known to snatch away when she's tired of being a robot. (Poor third child. At least the baby doesn't mind being a robot, so far.)
But they've given up the space play today, in favor of kerchiefs and skirts; also, Ginny gets to be a mermaid and Maddie gets to be the "little rag cat." Because this beautiful book came in the mail, and we're pretty in love:
Here's a little synopsis for you: Julia's house is a little lonely when it comes to town on the back of a giant turtle, but Julia soon fixes that. She sets out a sign to welcome "lost creatures" and soon the cozy comfort of her home is inundated everything from a patchwork cat to a homeless troll (he was evicted from his home under the bridge) to a mermaid. But resourceful Julia knows how to turn a whole lot of craziness into a happy home...
The story is simple, funny and charming. And the illustrations are so, so gorgeous. (You can see some on Ben Hatke's website, here.) So, um, why haven't you pre-ordered it yet? If you don't have kids, you can always read it to your husband. Or the neighbors. Or your cat. But I'd recommend finding some kids for best results.
You may have noticed that we're big Ben Hatke fans around here. Lu can outline the entire plot of the Zita the Spacegirl trilogy for you if you'd like, and she also recently informed me that she'd rather meet Ben Hatke than any other famous person alive. Zoe regularly runs around in boots and a green cape, which Ginny has been known to snatch away when she's tired of being a robot. (Poor third child. At least the baby doesn't mind being a robot, so far.)
But they've given up the space play today, in favor of kerchiefs and skirts; also, Ginny gets to be a mermaid and Maddie gets to be the "little rag cat." Because this beautiful book came in the mail, and we're pretty in love:
Here's a little synopsis for you: Julia's house is a little lonely when it comes to town on the back of a giant turtle, but Julia soon fixes that. She sets out a sign to welcome "lost creatures" and soon the cozy comfort of her home is inundated everything from a patchwork cat to a homeless troll (he was evicted from his home under the bridge) to a mermaid. But resourceful Julia knows how to turn a whole lot of craziness into a happy home...
The story is simple, funny and charming. And the illustrations are so, so gorgeous. (You can see some on Ben Hatke's website, here.) So, um, why haven't you pre-ordered it yet? If you don't have kids, you can always read it to your husband. Or the neighbors. Or your cat. But I'd recommend finding some kids for best results.
Yay, this is a new pb writer to me! And I'm always on the lookout for good ones. This sounds and looks adorable! I mean, a house on the back of a giant turtle? Yes, please!
ReplyDeleteI'm cracking up about the baby not minding being a robot :) You've mentioned Ben Hatke's books before and I've still not checked them out, but you sold me with a house on the back of a turtle.
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