What's Your Favorite Animal?

Starred review from October 21, 2013
Answers to this classic kid question arrive courtesy of 14 top illustrators including Lucy Cousins, Jon Klassen, Chris Raschka, and Lane Smith; the contributions range from meticulously rendered artwork to quick, funny sketches, along with commentaries that can be elegiac, nostalgic, silly, and even meta. Carle creates one of his signature collages to evoke Fiffi, a black cat who shared his apartment in Greenwich Village. Mo Willems asserts that his favorite animal is “an Amazonian Neotropical Lower River Tink-Tink” (drawn as a bump inside a big, hungry snake), while Rosemary Wells muses on the five positions favored by the white terrier who shares her bed. Nick Bruel breaks down the fourth wall—and probably a fifth and sixth wall, as well—as he argues with his narcissistic antihero Bad Kitty over his animal choice (“Okay then Kitty. What’s YOUR favorite animal? MEATLOAF?”) and then tries to flatter Carle into giving him an octopus. A varied and engaging omnibus that offers real insight into the lives and personalities of these artists. Royalties benefit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Ages 4–8.

December 1, 2013
Cause-related anthologies are challenging to do well, but this one (benefiting the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art) succeeds admirably--on multiple levels. The investment of 13 popular illustrators allows Carle to present a portable gallery of animals and a marvelous array of approaches, media and layouts that even the youngest viewers can access. The only thing missing is ethnic diversity among the artists. Accompanying the assemblage are brief poems, captions or anecdotes conveying why these are favored choices. Peter Sis relays the Czech ritual of watching the Christmas Eve carp swimming in the bathtub and the tearful parade of neighborhood children releasing their dinners into the river; his flying fish transports three feline kings bearing gifts. Chris Raschka's hand-lettered, existential musings are paired with his portrait of a lowly snail building a dazzling shell. Older children with a book background will have fun recognizing the work of familiar illustrators: Lane Smith's textured, green pachyderm; Lucy Cousins' heavily spotted leopard rendered in searing yellow; Erin Stead's understated penguins. They will also enjoy Bad Kitty's antics as he jealously breaks into Nick Bruel's octopus story and the duo's "shameless flattery" of the volume's compiler. The book opens with Carle's collaged string-bean-loving cat and concludes with photographs of his museum. This menagerie offers picture-book lovers of all ages a glimpse into each creator's style, personality and brand of humor. (biographies, photographs, websites) (Picture book. 4-8)

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Starred review from February 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Carle and a number of noteworthy picture-book artists (Nick Bruel, Lucy Cousins, Susan Jeffers, Steven Kellogg, Jon Klassen, Tom Lichtenheld, Peter McCarty, Chris Raschka, Peter Sis, Lane Smith, Erin Stead, Rosemary Wells, and Mo Willems) write about their favorite animals. The text takes the form of poems, stories, and narrative descriptions, and each entry is illustrated in a variety of styles, materials, and techniques. The back matter contains a biographical sketch of each contributor and information about the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (the benefactor of the sales of this book) in Amherst, Massachusetts. This successful collaboration of old favorites and newer names in illustration is sure to keep youngsters engaged and may inspire them to write about and draw their favorite animals or to take a closer look at other works by Carle and his friends.-Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2013
Preschool-G Showcasing 14 contemporary (mainly American) picture-book illustrators, this handsome volume asks the title question and devotes a double-page spread to each artist's answer. Carle leads off with a lovable memory of Fiffi, his green beanchasing cat, illustrated in his signature style. Mo Willems amuses viewers by drawing a snake that has swallowed his favorite, leaving readers to imagine what the Amazonian Neotropical Lower River Tink-Tink actually looks like. A spotted, yellow leopard leaps across a brilliant red background, while Lucy Cousins explains why she loves the animal. Each page brings a different visual style and verbal accompaniment, which might be reflective, fanciful, and/or amusing. The back matter includes biographical paragraphs and photos (often childhood snapshots) of the contributors, including Nick Bruel, Susan Jeffers, Steven Kellogg, Jon Klassen, Tom Lichtenheld, Peter McCarty, Chris Raschka, Peter S-s, Lane Smith, Erin Stead, and Rosemary Wells. Pair this enjoyable collection with Patricia Aldana's Under the Spell of the Moon (2004), which introduces illustrators from around the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)