Mind Wandering on a Rainy Afternoon

On a rainy day, I wish . . .

I had been a children's book writer/illustrator 

like Brian Selznick whose Invention of Hugo Cabret thrills me each time I read it

or Eric Carle whose tissue-paper paintings arc like rainbows on paper

or Chris Raschka whose books bebop

or William Joyce whose imagination flies

or Shaun Tan whose books celebrate our basic humanity

or NO! David Shannon

or anyone else with the talent to make beautiful words and images for small hearts.

What's a Good Book?

The answer to that question depends upon who's answering.

For me, a good book takes me somewhere unfamiliar and makes me believe it. Puts me in another's shoes so convincingly that I forget myself. Thrills me with language and imagery and meaning. Challenges something about the way I see or think about the world. Rewards me at the end by leaving me thinking for hours, days, weeks, years. Invites me to re-read it. Makes me want to own it, so that passing the shelf where it waits, the book beckons and reminds me of its multiple pleasures.

Based on my criteria, Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a work of children's literature and winner of the prestigious Caldecott Award in 2008, is a good book. A complicated story combining silent film and images and text, Hugo Cabret touches on such subjects as abandonment, being orphaned, art and mechanics, fantasy and reality. Written for children, it dumbs nothing down and in the process makes demands and rewards the reader who sticks with meeting them.

Almost as engaging as the novel is Brian Selznick's website. Visit it, and then read the book. I have no doubt that you'll agree it's a good one.