This book is new to me, authored by Lois Ehlert, and it is beautiful! I know you know Lois Ehlert's work, because it's everywhere. Leaf Man, Chicka Chicka Boom Bom, and Eating the Alphabet are some of her most well-known books, followed closely by many others (and they're all excellent!) but this book, Scraps, is very different from the rest of her work in that it isn't a picture-book story, but a picture-book autobiography of Ehlert from the time she was a little girl and using all sorts of bits and bobs to create art, to present day as a children's author.
This book is filled with Ehlert's recognizable collage art, and the 'notions' spill across each page followed by words and sentences all over the place. Since this book is still written for children, the autobiographical part is finely tuned to snippets, much like her pieces of cut paper.
I thought this book was just lovely, and so interesting, since I didn't know much about one of my children's favorite author/illustrators. I find her collage illustrations to be very inspirational, and I might even buy this book for my kids to use to get their imaginations rolling. It's no secret collage illustration might be my favorite, so I am potentially biased, but I found my kids to be just as interested. Often while reading it aloud, Ani would touch the pieces on the page (from photography, natural and found items, cut or torn paper, etc.) to see if they had an actual texture. Scraps is a great book to introduce to young children who want to know a bit more of the artist behind some of their favorite childhood books!
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