PICTURE BOOK REVIEWS : The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer & My Red Hat by Rachel Stubbs

THE MIDNIGHT FAIR

by Gideon Sterer, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio

Candlewick Press, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5362-1115-3

Source: publisher for review

Ages 4-8

All opinions expressed are solely my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Far from the city, but not quite the countryside, lies a fairground. When night comes and the fair is empty, something unexpected happens. Wild animals emerge from the forest, a brave raccoon pulls a lever, and the roller coasters and rides explode back into bright, neon life. It’s time for the woodland creatures to head to the fair! In a gorgeous wordless picture book, author Gideon Sterer and illustrator Mariachiara Di Giorgio offer an exuberant take on what animals are up to when humans are asleep. Suffused with color and light, the panel illustrations celebrate the inherent humor and joy in deer flying by on chair-swings, a bear winning a stuffed bear, three weasels carrying a soft pretzel, and a badger driving a bumper car. With thrills both spectacular and subtle, Midnight Fair will have readers punching their tickets again and again to revel in this fantastic nocturnal world.

REVIEW

Di Giorgio's gorgeous illustrations highlight this wordless tale of a group of animals sneaking in to enjoy a  fair after the humans have left.  After watching the fair getting set up and the humans experiencing the rides and games and food, the animals want to do the same.  Unsurprisingly, it's the sneaky raccoons who find a way through the fence and switch on the lights.  The rest of the animals follow and spend the night on the rides, playing the games, and eating the food.  It's the details that make this book stand out.  A baby bear carrying huge pink stuffed bear, a wolf winning a goldfish, and other details make this book shine.  An imaginative take on a thrilling childhood experience.

MY RED HAT

by Rachel Stubbs

Candlewick Press, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5362-1271-6

Source: publisher for review

Ages 4-8

All opinions expressed are solely my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A hat can do many things. It can keep you warm and dry. It can help you stand out in a crowd, or it can help you blend in. It can hold your dreams or your secrets, and it can hide your fears. In a debut picture book, Rachel Stubbs pairs winsomely expressive artwork with a gentle meditation on family connection and memory, as a grandfather offers his grandchild the anticipation of a life lived with wonder and openness…and a very special hat.

REVIEW

A grandfather gives his granddaughter his red hat and explains to her all the things the hat can help her with.  The hat can keep her warm or cool, it can do silly things or serious things, or necessary things, it can hold dreams, hide secrets and cover fears; this hat can do many things.  As I read this book though it seemed to me that the hat is a symbol.  For me it symbolized the relationship between the grandfather and granddaughter.  It's their relationship that provides the support and love needed to help her dream, and face her fears, and in the end come home safely.  The way the illustrations are drawn support the idea that the hat is representative of love, especially when the hat enlarges to release the dream birds, and cover the fears and secrets of the girl.  The illustrations show the grandfather doing things with the girl until finally she steps out on her own, but the hat is there with her.  A beautiful homage to a close relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter and how love can help us fly.