mr. tiger goes wild. peter brown. (178)

i picked up mr. tiger goes wild after reading about in that npr article about children's books that makes us wish we were kids again.  i mean that cover alone lets you know you are in for a treat. also my friend fabian gave it his stamp of approval.  

mr. tiger goes wild is not only had beautiful illustrations (as you will see in this post) but it had a wonderful message about being who you are.  i also appreciated how mr. tiger went into the wild to discover his true self and then came back to the city and made adjustments to his life.  its almost like an into the wild for kids (i am assuming, i haven't read the book or seen the movie). 

here is how the story goes.  first, first mr. tiger is over being proper.

as the text shared, he wanted to be wild!

so he starts off my walking on all fours.

then he gets crazy and loses his clothes!

and ultimately runs off to be in the wild.

but then mr. tiger became lonely.

so he returns to the city and discovers that . . .

he can be back home and be himself.  hooray!!!

a wonderful story for kids of all ages and really great illustrations.  i just bought a copy for myself because it definitely needs to be in my book collection.

i will also add that i read it with my favorite little pdc brother lucas and he loved it.  so it really is great for kids of all ages, he is two and was excited each time he was able to roar like the tiger.  he also pointed out different animals i mentioned.  it has his stamp of approval, and he is the cutest kid ever so be sure to check it out!

brush of the gods. lenore look. meilo so. (172)

my friend chrissie posted on my facebook wall, an npr article, 8 picture books that make us wish we were a kid again. lenore look and meilo so's the brush of the gods was listed as one of the eight.

the brush of the gods is a truly beautiful book.  it is the story of wu daozi, a great chinese painter.  as a child, he took a calligraphy class but was unable to make characters because they always turned into beautiful creatures like fish or horses.  he then began painting murals and was called flying sleeves because that is what his sleeves looked like when he painted.

then one day his paintings start to become alive.  the monks called him a liar and people stopped following him, but the children were still in awe of his paintings.  it is then discovered that he had the brush of the gods.  the emperor then commissioned him for a great masterpiece. he worked until he became an old man.  he revealed his masterpiece, a painting of paradise, and then walked into it.  as the epilogue explained the mystery behind the year he died only adds to the myth that he walked into his painting.

a truly beautiful tale that is matched by even beautiful pictures.  here are my favorite but you should check it out to see it for yourself!