Charles Santore (1935–2019)

Charles Santore is one of my favorite artists. Each and every book I've read with his illustrations, provides stress release and joy by simply examining the beauty of his works.

In this story a young princess notes a caccoon as it drops into her mother's tea. As Princess Hsi-Ling Chi tells her mother that she will place the string around her waist and will see how far it will take her. This leads to a magical journey of many miles, a dragon, a huge black spider, the discovery of the great show more palace and mountains.

Tired, exhausted, the little princess looks to see the thread that tethers her to her mother, alas the string is broken. Coming upon a small hatch, she finds a man at a loom. Happy to see her, he explains that he was waiting for her and her thread to complete a beautiful robe for the Emperor. Taking a nap, she awakens to find the thread still wrapped around her waist. She returns to her mother and tells her of her adventure. show less

The artistry of Charles Santore always leaves me wanting to find, and read more of his works. Lush, incredibly detailed, this is one of my favorites of Santore.

Written, as well as illustrated, the author writes a story of Noah's Ark and illustrates the building, and collection of two of every animal on the earth. This task must be completed before the Lord begins to flood the earth.

As Noah and his family work to accomplish this herculean task, a tiny mouse name Achbar joins the crowd of show more animals as they climb into the huge ark. In order to find safety, he hides behind the oscecones of the giraffes, the wool of the sheep, the feathers of the ostrich, behind the feet of the majestic elephants, and his life is spared.

Thus there are three, not two mice on the Ark. While the story is original and unique, it is the illustrations that held me captive. I find solace in art and in illustrations of children's books.

This book is at the top of my list of favorites. If you enjoy imagery, good writing, and like me, find peace in taking a lot of time studying each page, then this is a book you will enjoy! show less

This lavishly illustrated picture book is an abridged version of the original Wizard of Oz, first in the Oz series. The story bears similarities to the popular movie of the same name, but is quite different. Dorothy hitches a ride on a tornado, and flattens a witch beneath her house, but the magic shoes are silver. She lands in the land of the Munchkins and meets a good witch; not Glinda, this one is kindly and elderly and short. The Good Witch of the North kisses Dorothy on the forehead, show more giving her a charm that protects her against evil, although Dorothy is unaware of the kiss's power. She and Toto set off on the yellow brick road, in search of the Emerald City and the powerful Wizard of Oz.

En route, they meet the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion. These three new companions learn about the wizard from Dorothy, and decide they can use a little help, too. The Scarecrow wants a brain, the Woodsman wants a heart, and the Lion wants courage. Their journey has many obstacles, however, like the deep abyss in the road or the field of poppies that causes all people and animals to fall asleep. Once they finally reach the Emerald City, they are greeted with the city guard, who locks a pair of green spectacles on everyone's head, even Toto. While they are impressed by the lovely green tones of everything in the city, they are less happy with the wizard, who is vast floating head, and not too friendly. He demands that they kill the Wicked Witch of the West before he will grant anyone anything, and the group of friends sadly set out again. None of them wants to kill another person, even if she is a wicked witch.

Most of the events up to this point were reflected in the movie, albeit missing many details and with alterations. From this point, though, the novel brings in so much more that was abandoned by the film. The witch tries to stop the travelers from reaching her home through a variety of nasty methods, and when the yellow brick road folk thwart each of her efforts, she calls on the flying monkeys as a last resort. They destroy the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman, but leave Dorothy and the Lion intact; Dorothy because she is protected by a kiss, and the Lion because he is too fearsome. Dorothy is imprisoned for many days, until the Wicked Witch of the West tricks her to steal one of the silver slippers, and Dorothy throws a bucket of water over her in anger. Through chance, she has killed the witch. They return to the wizard in triumph, learn he is more a con man than a wizard, and watch him disappear in a hot air balloon, accidentally leaving Dorothy behind. The story doesn't end there, though. The friends go on yet another perilous journey, this time to find the Good Witch Glinda and ask her how Dorothy can return to Kansas.

While this book is abridged, it is a nice method of sharing a classic story with young readers. I imagine not many people have actually read the Wizard of Oz, as a matter of fact, but are familiar with the story from the famous movie that has become iconic in the film industry. I've never read it myself, but after reading this version as a bed time story to my girls, I am certainly eager to read the original. Personally, I am not fan of abridged books, but in the context of reading them to young children who won't sit through a reading of the full book, I see their appeal. (My family has also read an illustrated and abridged version of Peter Pan for one of our bed time books.) This abridgment is written with clear language that seamlessly pieces together parts of the original novel so that new readers won't feel confused or as if anything is missing. A note at the end of the book explains that the original story was condensed, not rewritten, and this book is meant to be a visual interpretation of Baum's work. Certainly the illustrations are gorgeous, and vividly express the world of Oz, allowing descriptive details to be omitted.

As I wrote earlier, I am very interested in reading the first book in the Oz series. Honestly, I have played with the idea of reading the series for years (they are fantasy classics, and referenced in so many other works), but now that we have read a picture book version I am feeling much more motivated. The world of Oz looks complex and amazing, and the characters are more interesting than I remembered. They have flaws and traits not captured in the film. The plot has intriguing developments, fun folk-tale inspired complications, and a brisk and suspenseful narrative pace, and I want to see the story unfold in its original words. Meanwhile, this picture book is an beautifully illustrated version, and an enticement to seek out the source material. show less

This is a beautifully illustrated telling of the story of Noah and the ark through the eyes of a little mouse who stows away on the ark. However instead of the voice God, Noah follows the instructions of a voice from the sky. Is this a bible story written for atheists?