Since my picture book entry was a finalist for the PNWA conference this year, I decided to immerse myself into picture-book reading with a hefty stack checked out from the library.
What's a better way to deep dive the genre than to play a game of reading BINGO? A quick win is reading five-in-a-row, but why not go for the gold? Read all twenty-five for a solid blackout win and find your next favorite book, author, illustrator...or maybe even a new series!
Ready to read along? Print the BINGO card if you're able, otherwise the list below sums it up nicely. I will post Amazon or Powell's Book Store links for the recommended reads I want to share (regular links are a 4/5 star read, bold links are 5 stars). From left to right, here's the breakdown:
1.) Collage Pictures: Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer
2.) Award Winner: Watercress by Andrea Wang
3.) Retelling: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
4.) Two-Word Title: Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor
5.) Set in the Forest: Little Witch Hazel a Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wahl
6.) A classic: Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
7.) Non-Fiction: I Was Born a Baby by Meg Fleming
8.) Reptile on the Cover:
9.) Blackout Poetry by Stacia Leigh: Sounds Complicated by Stacia Leigh
10.) Hide & Seek: Where's the BaBOOn? by Michael Escoffier
11.) A Number in the Title: The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz
12.) Title Starts with Letter "F": Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
13.) Free Space: Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson
14.) Green Cover: Evergreen by Matthew Cordell
15.) Little Free Library Find: Georgia in Hawaii by Amy Novesky
16.) Book with Bugs: Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite by Ashley Spires
17.) Underwater Setting: Out to Sea by Helen Kellock
18.) Book with Robots: The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld
19.) A Holiday Story: Creepy Crayon! by Aaron Reynolds
20.) Sports Theme: H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers
21.) A Cultural Read: The New Rooster by Rilla Alexander
22.) Back in School: Sector 7 by David Wiesner
23.) Learn Something New: Share a Scare: Writing Your Own Scary Story by Nany Loewen
24.) Rhyme Time: Frog on a Log? by Kes Gray
25.) Based on Actual Events: Ida, Always by Caron Levis
_________________________________________________
“Reading one [picture] book is like eating one potato chip.” — Diane Duane
ON ART WALL: The artwork of Michele Bolton and Stacia Leigh is featured at the Saratoga Library this month. Bolton lives in the Santa Cruz mountains, and her work is bold and colorful, often depicting families.
Leigh is an illustrator/graphic designer whose company is Espial Design. She is writing and illustrating her first children's book for early readers. "I find inspiration through textures and words." Her technique includes paper and digital collage.
