Sturdy for Common Things

3 Magical New Pictures Books

As with most children (and adult children), magic is pretty much the best thing in the world. Picture books featuring mermaids, unicorns, dragons, or fairies are an automatic win. This fall, there’s a surge of unique stories with magical creatures so full of imagination and wonder that really go above and beyond. Notably, Julia’s House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke, Uni the Unicorn: A Story About Believing by Amy Krouse Rosenthal illustrated by Brigette Barrager, and Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination by Emily Winfield Martin.

 

Julia’s House for Lost Creatures

by Ben Hatke

Ben Hatke, author of graphic novel awesomeness Zita the Space Girl series, has a much anticipated picture book out early September,  Julia’s House for Lost Creatures! It all starts when Julia moves to town (her house rests on a giant turtle!?!?!). Once she settles in, she feels it’s a little too quiet for her liking, so she decides to transform her house into an inn for lost creatures. All too soon her house is flooded with a troll, folletti, goblins, ghosts, a mermaid… You name it and it was living at Julia’s house causing a ruckus.

To tame the wild rumpus, Julia devices a clever plan to add a little order to her fairyland woes. I’m such a fan of Ben Hatke and am just thrilled with Julia’s House for Lost Creatures. I 100%  plan on using it as a tool to discuss chores with my own kids. It;d also be a phenomenal book for preschool or early elementary grades to talk about classroom jobs. Highly recommend!

 

Uni the Unicorn: A Story About Believing

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Brigette Barrager

I grew up loving unicorns, and regardless of what anyone said a little part of me did, and always will,  believe they exist. Uni the Unicorn is a darling tale by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and about just that same faith in the impossible. In a lot of ways, Uni is just like other unicorns, a swirly horn, the power to heal, and the ability make wishes come true. But despite what her friends and parents said, she believes with her whole unicorn heart that little girls are real. And so the reader follows Uni’s dream of all the fun things she and her best friend, this very real little girl, would do together if someday they happened to meet.

The illustrations by Brigette Barrager are like sliding down rainbows, whimsical and vibrant, and the story is a sweet as pink rock candy. It’s anything a child (or grownup child) could ask for in a unicorn story.

 

Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination

by Emily Winfield Martin

“They say there are no dragons left / And that’s the way it seems. / To find them you must visit / The land of waking dreams.” The open line of Emily Winfield Martin‘s Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination invites the reader to revel in the extraordinary. You never know where you mind can take you or what magical animals you might meet while on seemingly ordinary daytime occurrences. Watching the clouds go by, visiting the beach or the museum, or even reading a book can reveal fantastical possibilities.

Curiosity of the imagination is a beautiful thing, and this story’s lyrical prose and otherworldly illustrations will surely captivate daydreaming readers young and old.

 

Source of books reviewed: Review copies provided by the lovely people over at First Second Books and Random House Kids