Picture Book Saturday

Rufus Goes to School
By Kim Griswell, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Published 2013 by Sterling Children's Books
Rufus really just wants to go to school. Unfortunately, he's a pig, and the principal has a problem with pigs in school. I really loved the vocabulary in this book. It's got a nice repetitive nature but uses different vocabulary every time to change the scenes a bit. It's just a really cute, heartwarming story that would be a great addition to the getting ready for school/going back to school book list. The illustrations are quite charming as well.

Mr. Wuffles!
By David Wiesner
Published 2013 by Clarion Books
In general, I'd say I'm a fan of Wiesner - his art is always lovely to look at and the stories he tells with it are generally unusual and interesting. I knew his newest book would get a lot of awards buzz and I wasn't wrong - this won a Caldecott Honor in January. I read it back in the fall when it arrived at our library and I'm sad to say that I didn't like it. While the art is on par with anything else Wiesner has done, I just didn't enjoy the story here. However, I like that it's basically wordless and I can see the kid appeal. Just not my personal cup of tea.


Mo's Mustache
By Ben Clanton
Published 2013 by Tundra Books
Mustaches are very in right now and I'm not terribly surprised to see picture book authors capitalizing on this trend, though it's a bit strange if you think about it. Maybe not, though, as there seems to be something inherently amusing about a mustache. I guess it's pretty clear that my personal tastes lean toward the downright silly as I really enjoyed this one. Mo gets a mustache and it isn't long before everyone he knows has one of their own. Why is everyone copying him? I really like how simple and expressive the illustrations are. A very fun story.