Picture Book Month - Last but Not Least - Day 30!

Well I actually did it!  I highlighted 1 of my favorite picture book authors for every day of Picture Book Month.  I hope that readers have rediscovered some favorites or found a new author to read. 

I saved a very special picture book author for Day 30 - Easton's very own Leo Landry!  We are so lucky to have a wonderful children's author residing in our town.  Mr. Landry has visited the library on several occasions to talk about his books, read to the children, or teach them how to create an illustration.  He has written and illustrated picture books, as well as chapter books and early readers.  I want to highlight on of each in this blog.

Grin and Bear It is his most recently published work.  It is an early reader that tells a wonderful story about a bear who loves telling jokes, but has a bad case of stage fright.  We were lucky to have Leo Landry host an open-mic comedy event for children in October.  Children listened to the story and then got a chance to stand up and tell a joke of their own.  The book is a great early reader as the children will love the jokes and the story of a warm friendship while parent swill appreciate the visual puns in the illustrations. 

Space Boy is a wonderful picture book about a little boy who longs for quiet - so he builds a rocket and flies to the moon.  Leo Landry's pencil and watercolor illustrations add to the sense of quiet and adventure.  This is a perfect bedtime story.

Finally, I must spotlight Sea Surprise, a great chapter book that got my reluctant reader of a daughter hooked on books as a 2nd grader.  She just fell in love with this wonderful story about a group of friends - a mermaid, a shark and an eel - under the sea.  The vocabulary is just right for those moving beyond the early readers and the illustrations are beautiful and full of fun.

So, if you haven't yet discovered out very own children's author and illustrator - stop by the library and find a Leo Landry book today!

Thanks for reading!  I was so happy to be able to talk about 30 of my favorite picture books authors.  I know there are many more that I was unable to include and I know I'll be finding more favorites in the future. Picture books are such a wonderful genre for children.  I know that the future is bright. In honor of Picture Book Month, I'd like to include this list of favorites from Leo Landry's website (http://www.leolandry.com/index.html) :

"There are so many artists whose work I continue to be inspired by every day. Here are a few of my all-time favorites: Melissa Sweet, M.B. Goffstein, Helen Oxenbury, John Burningham, Kady MacDonald Denton, Erik Blegvad, Peter Sis, Lucy Cousins, Charlotte Voake, Satoshi Kitamura, Emma Chichester Clark, Olof and Lena Landstrom, Richard Scarry, Edward Ardizzone, Simon James, and William Steig."