The Unexpected

Have you ever come across a book that tickles your funny bone, gives you pause, or teaches you about life in an unexpected way? Four recent library picks did this for me. Check out these gems!


Stories from Bug Garden
By Lisa Moser
Illustrated by Gwen Millward
Candlewick Press, 2016

I love the format of this book. It is the story of an abandoned garden and its quirky inhabitants, told through poems that build on each other, growing the story.



The Ladybug is my favorite. She doesn't want to act like a lady:

"But when no one was looking,
Ladybug ran barefoot,
made mud angels,
and whistled through a blade of grass."


Wabi Sabi
By Mark Reibstein
Illustrated by Ed Young
Little, Brown and Company, 2008

This book also has a unique format, but in a completely different way. Inspired by Japanese writing, this picture book is designed to be read vertically. Each page has three layers: the narrative, a haiku that gets at the heart of the page, and a traditional haiku written in Japanese characters and translated at the end of the book. Ed Young's beautiful illustrations teach the reader as much about Wabi Sabi as the story.



Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova
By Laurel Snyder
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Chronicle Books, 2015

In this gorgeous biography, Snyder uses a sparse, lyrical text to convey the passion that Anna Pavlova had for dance and for sharing her art with the world: The world is a hungry place, and Anna will feed it beauty." Dance - the perfect metaphor for life.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies
By Jan Thomas
Beach Lane Books, 2009

In vibrant colors that pop off the page, Jan Thomas makes you love dust bunnies. Ed, Ned, and Ted delight in rhyme, but Bob is preoccupied by a looming danger. Pull the child in your life onto your lap and prepare to laugh at the ridiculous antics of the Rhyming Dust Bunnies.