Jacques Duquennoy

This almost wordless, comic-style, oversized picturebook is a magical tale of a snowman with dreams. Just like the superheroes he reads about in his comics, he dreams of flying....and finally his dream comes true on Christmas Eve.

But this is more than a wish-fulfillment/Christmas story. Each panel is an exquisite gem of art, with sly humor and perfect timing. Again and again, Duquennoy turns human habits upside down or gently pokes fun at things familiar to all of us - having a bad day, or show more even just tidying up in the morning.

The artwork is too detailed and lengthy for storytime, but perfect for hours of perusing on your own!

Verdict: I love this book, but it's out of print. Sigh. Worth looking for used!

ISBN: 978-1551923536; Published June 2000 by Raincoast; Borrowed from the library; Added to my personal wishlist show less

Zoe, a lanky zebra, and Zack, a sometimes colorful chamelon, demonstrate opposites in this die-cut board book.

The cover has a cut-out, with a clear plastic insert, that reveals Zack jumping excitedly. The first spread shows Zoe and Zack dancing down their own sets of stairs. On the second page is a cut-out, revealing Zack. When this page is turned, it changes the images into Zoe and Zack going up the stairs. This pattern is repeated, with the two watching a bird in the cage, then setting the show more bird free, Zoe fighting off a biting mosquito and Zack slurping it down, Zack fixes Zoe's broken castle, and Zoe cheering up Zack by sharing her ice cream.

The opposites are more abstract than usual, focusing on emotions rather than concrete examples of direction or size. Zack changes colors to match the pastel backgrounds, from beige to blue, and simple illustrations decorate the pages with flowers, birds, blocks, and ice cream.

This is part of a series; the pages are thick and sturdy and children who have met the characters before will recognize their cute appearance.

Verdict: This is cute but a little abstract for my taste. An additional purchase for large board book collections.

ISBN: 9782747087001; This edition published 2018 by Tourbillion Editions; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

29 months - This is a cute and funny story, I love how the ghosts change color to match what they're eating. Very creative idea and O loves to tell us what they do to turn back to white.

My favorite of the author's ghost series. Very fun to read with cute, clever illustrations. Four ghost friends travel to Scotland to see if they can find the Loch Ness monster. They don't- or do they??? For extra fun, see where MacGhost's tam ends up!