Books to occupy the kids while traveling or just fun anytime - a rhyming book and a fantastic Quentin Blake book

Quentin Blake's Fantastic Journeys by Quentin Blake (Author, Illustrator)

ISBN: 9781536245080
Candlewick Studio $19.99 US

My thoughts:  What's not to love about a Quentin Blake book. His sketch type illustrations are so much fun and packed with such whimsy that they draw children and adults into imaginative persual and fantasy of their own as they explore the minute details.

In Fantastic Journeys Quentin Blake uses pen and washes of black, grey, and browns to ink out his illustrations that tenderly and with much fun jolt the imagination.

About the book: Savor the work of the well-loved and lauded illustrator Quentin Blake in this keepsake collection of fun, quirky drawings that will delight both longtime devotees and emerging young fans.

A chef in mid-fall, balancing a towering, toppling cake. A bespectacled gentleman riding a multi-wheeled bike, with a man on his back juggling eggs. Known for their whimsy and wit and uncanny ability to convey worlds of expression with only the scantest of line, Quentin Blake’s illustrations have long been linked to the work of storytellers such as Roald Dahl, but in this book they shine on their own. Originally self-published in a series of slim titles dubbed the QB Papers—collections of drawings, varied in tone and approach, evoking journeys both real and imaginary—the images in Quentin Blake’s Fantastic Journeys fall under titles such as “Trip Hazards,” “Feet in the Water,” and “Ten Things You Cannot Really Manage Without.” Curated both for maximum child-friendliness and for the shelves of art-book collectors, this beauty of a gift book is a sheer pleasure, guaranteed to invite many a revisit.

Five Little Friends: A Collection of Finger Rhymes by Sean Taylor & illustrated by Fiona Woodcock 

ISBN: 9781536242911
Candlewick Press $19.99 US

My thoughts:  This is a sweet, cheerfully illustrated collection of actions and rhymes for little ones. I can see it with teachers or parents leading little ones in the action rhymes using their fingers, hands, and arms to act out the rhyme. 

A well done accumulation of sweet words and fun activities.

About the book: "This inspired offering will ensure hours of enlightening fun...A fresh, wonderfully creative, and visually engaging array of rhymes to get kids moving." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Playful, interactive, and full of whimsy, Sean Taylor’s collection of poems invites little ones to get their fingers, hands, and wiggles ready.

One little friend

in the playground . . . sliding.

Two little friends

playing chase and . . . hiding.

What better way to get little ones excited about poems than to make them part of the delivery? In the hallowed tradition of nursery rhymes and songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” this imaginative collection entices children to use their fingers, hands, and sometimes whole bodies to bring a variety of verses to life. Whether the subject is sailing ships or stomping dinosaurs, falling snow or popping bubbles, jumping onto waterslides or riding a crowded elevator, Sean Taylor’s rhythmic read-aloud verses pair with Fiona Woodcock’s fresh, colorful illustrations, offering clues to the finger actions kids can follow—unless they’re happily acting things out already, using shapes and movements all their own.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.