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juushikaBig delta in relative qualities here! Which mostly comes down to my preference for picture books to be numinous/wondrous and my desire for almost nothing ever to be funny. Anyway, interesting author; I don't expect to dig deeper but I'm glad I checked him out.
Title: Flotsam
Author: David Wiesner
Published: Clarion Books, 2006
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 553,745
Text Number: 2078
Read Because: saw this pop up a ton when looking at reviews of Tuesday, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: A wordless picture book about a boy who finds a camera on the beach and develops its wondrous photos. I bounced off of Wiesner's Tuesday, but this works for me. The art is more dynamic; there's more narrative than just a subversion of an image of American normalcy. This is wonder as a participant act: to inherit and pass it on through curiosity, discovery, and generosity. (Reading a library copy feels particularly appropriate.) It reminds me of Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, which isn't a comparison I make lightly; if I'd found it at the right age, I would probably have an even stronger reaction.
Title: Free Fall
Author: David Wiesner
Published: HarperCollins, 1991
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 553,775
Text Number: 2079
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Of course I'm an easy sell on "enter the book" as a flight of fancy, and Wiesner's typical wordlessness prevents this from reiterating the usual downfall of that premise, more pure wonder than didactic or smug. This lacks the throughline, intent, and therefore the effectiveness of Flotsam, and is objectively less successful. But the imagery is remarkable & I'm a sucker; this might be my favorite Wiesner.
Title: June 29, 1999
Author: David Wiesner
Published: Clarion Books, 1995
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 553,805
Text Number: 2080
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: I accused Wiesner of sterile visual repetition in Tuesday; here, it's back, and the orderly rows of flying vegetables are so pointedly improbable that the funny ending actually feels warranted, but also proves me right about Tuesday's vibes. This is fine, but creative in a way more silly and uncanny than numinous, which isn't my vibe.
Title: Sector 7
Author: David Wiesner
Published: Clarion Books, 1999
Rating: 1 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 553,855
Text Number: 2081
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: A boy meets a sentient cloud that sweeps him away to a cloud factory. A wordless, girthy picture book, far too silly for me, with two of my least favorite things in picture books: realistically rendered, uncanny valley children, and a fantasy premise rendered so silly and bureaucratized that it loses all wonder.
Title: Flotsam
Author: David Wiesner
Published: Clarion Books, 2006
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 553,745
Text Number: 2078
Read Because: saw this pop up a ton when looking at reviews of Tuesday, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: A wordless picture book about a boy who finds a camera on the beach and develops its wondrous photos. I bounced off of Wiesner's Tuesday, but this works for me. The art is more dynamic; there's more narrative than just a subversion of an image of American normalcy. This is wonder as a participant act: to inherit and pass it on through curiosity, discovery, and generosity. (Reading a library copy feels particularly appropriate.) It reminds me of Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, which isn't a comparison I make lightly; if I'd found it at the right age, I would probably have an even stronger reaction.
Title: Free Fall
Author: David Wiesner
Published: HarperCollins, 1991
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 553,775
Text Number: 2079
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Of course I'm an easy sell on "enter the book" as a flight of fancy, and Wiesner's typical wordlessness prevents this from reiterating the usual downfall of that premise, more pure wonder than didactic or smug. This lacks the throughline, intent, and therefore the effectiveness of Flotsam, and is objectively less successful. But the imagery is remarkable & I'm a sucker; this might be my favorite Wiesner.
Title: June 29, 1999
Author: David Wiesner
Published: Clarion Books, 1995
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 553,805
Text Number: 2080
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: I accused Wiesner of sterile visual repetition in Tuesday; here, it's back, and the orderly rows of flying vegetables are so pointedly improbable that the funny ending actually feels warranted, but also proves me right about Tuesday's vibes. This is fine, but creative in a way more silly and uncanny than numinous, which isn't my vibe.
Title: Sector 7
Author: David Wiesner
Published: Clarion Books, 1999
Rating: 1 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 553,855
Text Number: 2081
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: A boy meets a sentient cloud that sweeps him away to a cloud factory. A wordless, girthy picture book, far too silly for me, with two of my least favorite things in picture books: realistically rendered, uncanny valley children, and a fantasy premise rendered so silly and bureaucratized that it loses all wonder.
