Circus: 08/29/10

My children are fans of Lois Ehlert. They discovered her books independently of each other. My son found her through Eating the Alphabet (1996) and Planting a Rainbow (1988). My daughter found her through her illustrations of the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom series by Bill Martin Jr.

Harriet's latest pick from the library is Circus. Ehlert's usual bold and geometric illustrations are taken to a new extreme. They are so saturated that they are almost hard on the eyes. All the pictures are set against a black background which intensifies the affect.

Although she liked sitting through the story to see all the different circus acts she decided not to re-read it. That makes a first for an Ehlert book. Typically we'll read it once together, then she'll look at the illustrations by herself and then ask me to re-read, all in close succession.

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Monday, August, 30, 2010 at 10:15:54

Emidy (Une Parole)

Those illustrations look really cool, actually! I can see how they would get hard on the eyes though. But I love the vivid colours.

COmment #2: Saturday, September 4, 2010 at 19:20:01

Pussreboots

I normally like her illustrations but the bold colors against the black background were just too much for me.