Dad's Bookshelf: October 2022
We’re just about to celebrate the best and spookiest night of the year, because Halloween is just barely around the corner. But I hope you don’t mind taking a tiny break from the haunting festivities to celebrate some amazing picture books that have come out recently.
None of the books on October’s edition of Dad’s Bookshelf are Halloween books. One of them is perhaps a bit mysterious, but none of them are spooky or scary. I suppose this is probably because we just highlighted all of our very favorite new Halloween books in their very own article, and it was too soon to talk about them again! So instead it’s business as usual on Dad’s Bookshelf, talking about the picture books our family is recently enjoying a lot.
As is often the case, the books on Dad’s Bookshelf this month are serious candidates for the Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards at the end of the year. It’s one of those months that features several of our favorite authors and illustrators, and the books have honestly been shoo-ins since the moment they were announced.
Eric Fan, Matt de la Peña, and Oliver Jeffers are the 3 names that belong to our list of all-time favorite artists, and that’s what made us anticipate these books so much. And the art of Corinna Luyken and Dena Seiferling made their respective books incredibly special with beautiful and memorable illustrations. I’m certain you’ll be quite impressed.
Not only are these three books beautiful and entertaining, but I truly get the sense that they have the potential to make their readers better people. They don’t bonk you over the head with a moral, but they each have important messages inside that I think kids especially will benefit from. And all of the artists deserve to feel very proud about that fact.
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 links in this article are affiliate links that will lead you to view the books on Bookshop.org and Amazon.
Night Lunch
Written by Eric Fan and Illustrated by Dena Seiferling
I really never expected to see the day where Eric Fan would not be illustrating his own picture book, because the illustration work he does as part of The Fan Brothers is certainly incredible. But don’t sleep on the art in Night Lunch because Dena Seiferling has created some spectacular mysterious images - perhaps even a bit eerie.
You know how much I love dark and creepy art, and Night Lunch has a handful of very memorable pages for me - often consisting of ominous eyes glowing in the darkness. The entire story is magical and dreamlike and mysterious, so the tone is perfect for us. A night lunch cart comes rolling into town in the dark, and feeds all of the animals. And it’s not entirely clear if this is a world run by animals, or if they’re only coming out at night - but they’re both fun possibilities.
We know very little about the owner of the cart, or any of the animals for that matter, and it’s certainly better that way. But we know just enough, because we do see a beautiful moment of kindness and empathy as the owl treats a mouse who can’t afford anything to its very own feast. The rhythmic text and the art are both incredibly soothing, and I encourage you not to miss this one.
Patchwork
Written by Matt de la Peña and Illustrated by Corinna Luyken
Matt de la Peña has created a story that speaks directly to children who have been pigeon-holed into an identity that defines them. And the overarching message is that you do not have to be defined by one thing, and you can always and will always change. You are a patchwork of talents and interests and feelings, and what you do and what you love is up for you to decide.
I’m not going to lie, I got worried early in this book when a little girl liked to dance and her rhythm ended up helping her in her coding career. I thought to myself, “whoa boy, where is this book going?” I really didn’t like that specific example, because talking kids out of the arts to focus on math and science is what schools try to do all day long. But to my immense relief every other example in the book soothed my concerns. One line sums it up the best:
You are more than a beautiful note played again and again. You are a symphony.
The message of the book became quite clear, and I love it. I especially love the example of the class clown who gets in trouble all of the time - and how important it is for him to realize that getting in trouble doesn’t define him. One day his humor might make him an amazing teacher, and he’ll see the clown in the back of the room and love him.
Meanwhile Back on Earth…
Written and Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Jeffers has decided to tackle a pretty deep and serious subject in his latest book, and I am here for it. His books are always thoughtful and meaningful, but Meanwhile Back on Earth… is serious in a distinctly different way, because Jeffers is making a commentary on war. The subtitle of the book is A Cosmic View on Conflict, and indeed we are taken on a trip to outer space to reflect on the battles fought on planet earth.
Of course the book is still beautiful and whimsical in Jeffers’ unique style, and there are moments of much-needed levity that deliver the message in an extremely palatable way. I particularly appreciate the framing of a family on a car trip (a car trip that eventually takes off into the cosmos), and the use of two children fighting in the backseat as an example of how humans are always fighting over space.
The story goes back and forth between teaching the reader about the distances between various locations in our solar system (assuming you were driving there in a car) and returning to earth to talk about another famous war. It’s a very smart framing device for displaying the stupidity of war - not unlike what astronauts claim to feel about the stupidity of our wars and politics once they saw earth from the outside.
Have you read any of these wonderful books yet? What picture books have you been enjoying recently?
