5 picture books and graphic novels read in January 2016

Whenever I read picture books or graphic novels there is warmth that travels through the entire being and reaches the heart. It is the most satisfying feeling for which I have no words. I really don’t. Picture books make me feel hopeful again. Every single time and it is as easy as that – pick up a picture book with words or without words and see the magic unfold. You’d be surprised. So over the past couple of days, these are some of the picture books and graphic novels I have read and thoroughly enjoyed them.

V is for Vulnerable by Seth Godin:

This is a must-read for all grownups. It is the alphabet for grownups who are too scared to take chances. It is about life-situations and how we get when faced by them and what it really means to live life outside the comfort zone.

Seth Godin is brutally honest and says it the way he sees it and it is a book that I cannot stop recommending it to everyone. The illustrations by Hugh Macleod are something else. A must read.

Once upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers:

Another brilliant book of the alphabet, once again seen differently by the brilliant Oliver Jeffers. These are short stories (at times interconnected) for every letter, so you get 26 short stories in all.

Why did I like this book? It is quirky, it is funny and more than anything else it leaves a smile on your face. The stories are also dark which I think is alright, because it is okay to be read by children as well. It is more in the vein of Lemony Snicket and a treat for all ages.

Madame Eiffel by Alice Briere-Haquet & CSIL

There is no way that you will not enjoy this book. Everyone will. Everyone who reads it will and that is just my guarantee on this one.

It is a love story of how the Eiffel tower was made. I don’t know if it is a true story or not but it is something you must read just for the illustrations and the story. I read it thrice and I know I will read it some more times.

The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg

A graphic novel of epic proportions, I would say. Why? Because it is all about early earth – mmythological, a love story and more so a story of finding your roots and your missing self.

This is a must graphic novel read in my opinion. The kind you will not regret at all.

All Quiet in Vikaspuri by Sarnath Banerjee

The pioneer of the graphic novel in India is back after a hiatus of four years and it is worth it every single day and minute that he was away. “All Quiet in Vikaspuri” is a treat for the mind and the eyes.

It is almost the near-future. There are water wars in Delhi and a man is sent to find the mythical Saraswati. There is so much more happening in this graphic novel that it deserves its own review, which I will post soon.For now this is it.

Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers

Title: Up and Down
Author: Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Book
ISBN: 978-0007263851
Genre: Picture Book, Children’s Book
Pages: 40
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Nothing like a good children’s book to make the blues go away. Trust me when I say that. They are very comforting and help you also look at things differently and actually make you more empathetic than you normally are or would have been. At least that has been my experience.

Once again Oliver Jeffers came to my rescue with the book “Up and Down” and might I add that I was again taken in heavily by this one as well. Though this was a reread, it still seemed like I was reading it for the first time.

“Up and Down” is yet again about the boy and this time with his friend, the penguin. They spend all time together and are with each other, till one fine day things change. It is about the penguin that has wings and wants to fly and explore more than just spending time with the boy and how one turn of event makes the penguin and the boy see things differently.

I loved this book. It is about friendship and how easy it is to get back with friends. It is also about wanting to do what you always have thought and dreamed of.

“Up and Down” by Oliver Jeffers is a comfort read. It will for sure make you want to call your best friend and let him or her know how much they mean to you.

The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers

Title: The Way Back Home
Author: Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780007182329
Genre: Children’s Books
Pages: 32
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Reading an Oliver Jeffers book is a treat, for both children and adults. I love them. His stories comfort me. The illustrations make me happy and mostly if any sort of art form can do that, then it is meant for you.

A boy like any other boy finds an airplane and decides to fly. He flies higher and higher and higher till he is space and runs out of fuel. What happens then? He lands on the moon and it is dark and lonely on the moon and he cannot think of a way of getting back home.

In all of this he meets another one who is lost on the moon just like him – it turns out to be a Young Martian. The Martian is apprehensive of the boy initially and so is the boy of the Martian.

The story unfolds as they trust each other and eventually find a way back home.

The book is a children’s book – that’s for sure, but at the same time, it is quite an insight into us when faced with a stranger. It is about our fears and how perhaps as a child it is easier to accept everyone than as an adult.

“The Way Back Home” is a book which will be cherished by all. It is simple and it makes you think about the world we live in which is full of racism, xenophobia, and fear. I write this review while listening to “Imagine” by John Lennon and I hope that the world is different for generations to come. For now, we will read books like these by Oliver Jeffers.

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The World of Oliver Jeffers

I just discovered the world of Oliver Jeffers and I can tell you with assurance that this is a world you would not want to get out of, once you get in that is. I have read eight books in the past two days – I agree that they are picture books, but they are books nonetheless and they have this immense power to transport you to another world or perhaps more than world – with their simple storytelling and illustrations.

Oliver Jeffers’ books have this touch of fantasy and reality attached to them. It is almost like he makes you see what he wants to, without letting go of the innocence element. And according to me, perhaps adults have a lot more to learn from his books – about the nature of being a child again than children themselves do.

The book I started with was, “How to Catch a Star” – an endearing tale of a boy who wants his own star by his side and guess what! He actually manages to get one. How does he do that? Well, you have to find that out for yourself. I could not stop smiling at the end of this book. This is what Jeffers’ books do to you – they make you smile and that is enough, sometimes more than enough.

The second one which I lapped right after this was, “Lost and Found” – a story of an unlikely friendship between a boy and a penguin. This is about how friendships are forged in the most unlikely places and how sometimes you just have to do what you have to, to make them work. Another picture book (well with text as well) to warm the soul.

“The Incredible Book Eating Boy” is for all readers and the non-readers as well. It is delightful. It is adorable and it is about books and a boy who eats them and what eventually happens to him. This for the most obvious reasons has to be my favourite of all the eight books.

The fourth and the fifth then were, “The Heart and the Bottle” and “This Moose Belongs to Me” – both uncannily about letting go and finding love in places, one did not expect to. These books mind you are for kids and that is just fantastic about them – they teach without being preachy and at the same time, your child and you (hopefully) will appreciate the illustrations and stories that Oliver has to tell.

The sixth book which I read was, “Stuck” – a story about a boy and his kite which is stuck in the tree and what he does to get it back. It is hilarious, fantastical and almost a laugh-out loud book. Oliver Jeffers has this quality to him – his books can make a dull day all bright and happy and that should be reason enough to read them.

The seventh book which was a treat was, “The Way Back Home” – self-reflective of the title, a friendship on the moon between a boy and an alien and the need to go back home for both of them and how they manage that. The universal theme of home made me yearn for my own. It was simply beautiful.

Last but not the least (he has for sure written more and I cannot wait to get my hands on all of them) was “Up and Down” – the continuation of the story of the boy and the penguin in “Lost and Found” another adorable story, well told.

Oliver Jeffers’ books can be read anytime – over and over again. I most certainly will. Like I said, it just warms the soul. The illustrations are just perfect and so are the stories – meant for all. It just makes you see the child within you which is so needed in times such as these.

And what I found is even better: A trailer for the movie Lost and Found. Can’t wait to watch the movie now.

Books Source: Publisher