Dad's Bookshelf: May 2022
Every month we narrow down our big pile of picture books to only 3. Most of the time the big pile of picture books is full of new releases, and sometimes even books that haven’t come out yet. This task is more easily accomplished in some months compared to others, but, generally speaking, it’s not too difficult to figure out the picture books that really stand out to us.
I’m heavily influenced by beautiful cover art, and I also have a long list of authors and illustrators we love. Best of all is when both of these things come together at once, and then the book is a shoe-in for Dad’s Bookshelf.
This month features two such books in The Boy with Flowers in His Hair and Lizzy and the Cloud. Creators Jarvis and The Fan Brothers are good examples of artists who we enjoy the work of, and were excited to see what they’ve made next.
The third book on this month’s Dad’s Bookshelf is called The Curiosities, and it’s one of those standout books from publisher Greystone that combines beautiful and engaging art with a thoughtful and meaningful topic. The topic in this case happens to be neurodiversity, and it’s presented with a very beautiful allegory of a boy being followed by “curiosities.”
If I had to rank the difficulty of narrowing down this month’s books to 3, I’d have to give it a mere 2 out of 10 - with 10 being the hardest. These 3 books leapt out at me as something that needed to be talked about and shown off quickly. We think they’re spectacular, and I hope you end up enjoying them as much as we do!
Dad’s Bookshelf is a continuing, monthly series featuring the kids books we are most excited about each month. The series is named after the real life bookshelf we have in our home, where I keep all of my favorite picture books of all time. While the books we share on Dad’s Bookshelf are often new releases, it’s also not uncommon for us to be excited about an older book we just discovered.
Disclosure: Some of the books in this month’s Dad’s Bookshelf were provided to us by their publishers, with no expectation of inclusion on this monthly article of the books we’re most excited about. All thoughts and opinions are our own. Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that will lead you to view the books on Bookshop.org and Amazon.
The Boy with Flowers in His Hair
Written and Illustrated by Jarvis
We mainly knew the name Jarvis from his work on Pick a Pine Tree and Pick a Pumpkin, and we’ve been pulling out both of those books for many holiday seasons in a row. But, quite honestly, even if we didn’t recognize the name, The Boy with Flowers in His Hair would have grabbed our attention with the cover immediately. Sometimes the combination of title and cover art are quite enough to tell me I’m going to love a book, and this is absolutely one of those times.
Surprisingly, the book takes a different direction than I anticipated. This is not merely a boy with flowers in his hair. This is actually a boy with flowers for hair. That’s quite a big difference, and it’s quite important for the plot of the story that he actually has flowers growing on his head. But I suppose I agree that the title sounds better as it is.
This is actually a beautiful story about many important topics: friendship, being different, acceptance, empathy, self-confidence, and being yourself. It’s also about the ups and downs of life, slightly and gently touching upon the concept of being depressed or not feeling like yourself, and being pulled out of it by friends. Place it on the shelf next to other beautiful books about empathy like The Rabbit Listened and The Invisible Boy.
Lizzy and the Cloud
Written and Illustrated by The Fan Brothers
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, The Fan Brothers have done it again with Lizzy and the Cloud. It’s become a remarkable demonstration of consistency that they release one picture book a year that’s an absolute shoe-in for the Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards. And, trust me, Lizzy and the Cloud is on the list already!
This one made my wife cry (thanks a lot Eric and Terry!), probably because it’s a metaphor for being a parent. Lizzy buys a simple cloud from a cloud salesman, and she takes very good care of it. They have a lot of good times together, and they also go through some tantrums. And soon the cloud is too big to hold onto, and she has to let it go.
It’s aesthetically beautiful, and just the right amount of whimsical to be perfectly endearing. Can we take a moment to appreciate how clever a concept the cloud salesman is? Little kids everywhere are going to want a cloud for a pet, and parents might be surprised by a sneaky little tear in their eye by the end.
The Curiosities
Written by Zana Fraillon and Illustrated by Phil Lesnie
In the back of The Curiosities, author Zana Fraillon writes that her child was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome at age 5. She also states that people are not disabled by their disability or differences, but by the barriers created by society. This background is useful for reading and interpreting The Curiosities, but not entirely necessary, because the story can also be interpreted as talking about any neurodiversity or difference.
The backdrop for the story is inspired by illustrator Phil Lesnie’s Filipino heritage - and the spirits are based on the folklore of shape-shifting viscera-sucking ghouls and monsters from the Philippines. I knew I liked this book for a reason! The “curiosities” that follow the little boy Miro in this book are so incredibly engaging - just the perfect balance of creepy and quirky to make us fall in love. And I’m personally a big fan of the horse-headed creature that looks like he’s at a rave in the water.
And it all comes together in a fantastic way when you realize the curiosities that talk to Miro are a brilliant metaphor for neurodiversity. His relationship with them make him different in several ways, but sometimes they whisper too loudly in his ears and everything disappears into cold noise and confusion. And there’s a beautiful conceptualized metaphor for how important the threads that bind us to society are as well.
Have you read any of these wonderful picture books on Dad’s Bookshelf yet? What books have you been enjoying in your home lately?
