Chris Van Dusen, author AND illustrator of Circus Ship, is a REALLY talented fella. I have come to this conclusion because his children's picture book is so well written that my children and I read it easily... no fumbles or difficulty with his rhyme. ON TOP OF THAT, he is also the illustrator and these pictures are awesome!
The five of my six children who are interested in books are relatively picky. They are, at least in part, products of our very visual culture. So when I tell you they LOVE this book's art... their love really means something. Read: high compliment to the artist!
I love it, too! When I was studying art at the very beginning of my college years, I yearned to paint like this guy... or similarly. Now I acknowledge that my style is totally different and way more abstract... but a part of me wishes I could paint such wonderful pieces as this book has on every page.
The formatting is terrific, too. The words do not distract from the art. They are not difficult to find, either... which is sometimes a trouble in picture books I've tried to read to my children before.
This is a book I want for my children's book library. I rarely buy books for our library, but I hope to buy this one. I even more rarely read a book twice these days (even children's books) because we have so many to choose from. But I asked to read this one to my children again before we returned it to the library. It really is that good!
I hope you'll tell me what you think if you take time to see if my words hold any water! (pun intended ^_^)
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