Library Lady: Jon Klassen

If you're new to this blog, or maybe even if you aren't, you might not know about my day job. I work in an elementary school library, and I love it! I don't call myself a librarian because I don't have a Library Science degree, but most of the time I am the only person there and I take care of everything, so I guess I'm kind of like a librarian. But I just call myself a library lady. Which brings me to this new feature, Library Lady, where I will be sharing a bit about some of the children's books I love. Now, I definitely don't think you have to be a kid, or have kids, to love these books. I am obsessed with children's picture books! My secret (not anymore, I guess) ambition is to write and illustrate one of my own, but for now I'm just admiring the work of others. This first installment is all about one of my absolute favorite author/illustrators, Jon Klassen.

Klassen started out in animation studios (he worked on Coraline!) and began illustrating books only a few years ago. His work first appeared in Cats' Night Out and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. His work really is some of the most exciting in children's books today. It has something about it that evokes that feeling of nostalgia for the books we used to read as kids, but at the same time, it's so different. His writing is definitely unlike anything else out there today.

With I Want My Hat Back, Klassen finally got to show that he is not just a master artist, but a fantastic storyteller as well. The story is simple enough; a bear cannot find his beloved hat, and as he searches for it, he meets a variety of animals and asks them if they've seen his hat. The characters are deadpan, the delivery is so straightforward, and then something happens that is totally unpredictable for a children's book. Apparently, some parents aren't too happy with the ending. Well, I read the book to my kindergarten and first grade classes, and though I did have to check that they understood exactly what happened, they weren't freaked out at all. They were fans! The pictures are so wonderful in this book; the expressions on the animals are too perfect! Even the insides of the covers are beautifully detailed.

Though it may be about hat theft as well, This Is Not My Hat tells a bit of a different tale. This time, a little fish has stolen a hat belonging to a much bigger fish, and the story is told from his perspective. He knows he's done something wrong, but he thinks he can get away with it. Well, you'll just have to see how that turns out for him. This book actually just won the Caldecott Medal a few days ago, and it's easy to see why. It's a great story and a visual masterpiece. Somehow, he manages to make even seaweed look particularly marvelous. I read this one to my classes last week, and they were so excited about it.

Extra Yarn, written by Mac Barnett, is a sweet story expertly illustrated by Klassen. It's about a girl living in a dreary town, who finds a box filled with colorful yarn. She knits scarf after scarf for herself, her dog, her classmates, and everyone else in town. She even knits coverings for trucks and houses, yet the box never runs out of yarn. When an archduke offers her a fortune for the box and she refuses, he formulates an evil plan to steal the box. You'll have to read this wonderful book to find out what happens in the end. This one was granted a much-deserved Caldecott Honor, so that's two Caldecotts for Klassen in one year!

I can't wait to see what's next from Jon Klassen! He has an upcoming collaboration with Lemony Snicket, which I'm sure is going to be fantastic. I know he will continue to impress me time after time!

(The links to purchase the books above are Amazon affiliate links, but I genuinely love and recommend these books wholeheartedly!)