Bear Hunt, by Anthony Browne

This is another great picture book by Browne. The story, as said in its title is about a bear hunt. The only actual characters are Bear and two hunters. The hunters try to get the bear using increasingly violent methods, but the bear counters the attacks by drawing his way out of trouble. Yep, that's right! Drawing. Bear takes out his pencil and draws a rhino to scare the hunter, or draws a string to trip the hunter...

I just kept thinking about one of my all time favorite books from childhood: Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crocket Johnson. Much like Harold and the Purple Crayon, the story builds upon the idea of a magical writing tool. In this case it is a pencil. It's a good thing Bear has that pencil!

The story NEEDS the illustrations to be understood. Without the pictures, the text would have little meaning. AND... THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE WACKY!! There's a lot of really strange detail added into the brightly colored forest scenery of the book. For instance: fingers pop out from behind a fern, green lips form the leaves of a flower, some plants wear top hats, and other plants wear shoes, a bird is shaped like a teapot, etc.

There are so many opportunities to get lost in the illustrations, which is likely ONE MAJOR reason why I seem to enjoy Browne's work so much!

Piggybook, by Anthony Browne

What a little jewel! I just discovered this author, his books are bizarre and AWESOME! This book by Browne shows how Mom must work harder than everyone. After reading the book, I feel bad for all of the years I yelled, "Mom! Can you _____."

Mom gets up earlier than the rest of the family, she makes breakfast, wakes up the kids, and keeps everyone on time. After Dad goes to work and the kids go to school, Mom must do the breakfast dishes, make the beds, and vacuum the carpets. She keeps the order. After that, she goes to her own job! POOR MOM!

I think it is EXTREMELY interesting how the author creates the mother in totally different light than the other members of the family. The author makes a clear divide in the beginning, Mom's work is much less important than the work/school of the other family members. She is basically faceless in the book, chin down as she goes about her motherly roles in which the family expects of her. Mom wears all grey, a frumpy and careworn look - the illustrations that contain her are gloomy, sad. It makes a reader really feel bad for Mom, her entire life is dedicated to service.

There are really cool effects in the illustrations, which one must look very closely to find. Small details such as stained clothing and crumpled newsprint make the illustrations unique and engaging. What's more, is that many of the illustrations have some sort of a "mistake" (perhaps for foreshadowing purposes: an example can be seen on the page where Dad shouts at Mom, "Hurry up with the meal, old girl," (because he's too lazy to get out of the big comfy chair). What's interesting about this illustration in particular is that Dad's shadow on the wall, is a fat pig!!! FUNNY! The author plays around with ideas of stereotypes in a new and humorous way.

In the end the reader is presented with an unlikely role reversal! Good stuff!