A Review of Maja Säfström's Book, The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts

Maja Säfström, The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts, p.31 (image retrieved from mamamuseme.wordpress.com, 22 April 2016)

The above spread is my favorite image (and fact) from Maja Säfström's book, The Illustrated Compendium of Animal Facts.

Now, I wouldn't call this book so much a compendium, although, by strict definition, it is. I see it more as a random trivia book, accompanied by cute black and white illustrations. Other than being slightly grossed out by some of the facts (Mosquitoes pee on you when they bite (p.26), anyone?), I have no objections to this book - and actually I don't have an objection to that even, just a mild aversion. It is well laid out, with an assortment of facts across a variety of species, and great pictures. The facts are indeed interesting, and the animals quirky and fun. It's a quick read, and it inspires interaction, as you begin looking around for someone to share your new knowledge with. One frequently recurring tidbit that I quite enjoyed was what a group of particular animals is called, my favorite being frogs: a group of frogs is called an army. I can see it. Also literally, because Säfström's illustration includes a group of frogs in army helmets. I really don't have any negative criticism about this book, because it is exactly what it advertises itself to be, and it lives up to expectations. This book is meant to be perused, and joins my list of books I think would be a great addition to waiting rooms of physicians and dentists.

Want more info about Maja Säfström?

• @MajasBok Instagram
• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion about the book.

A Review of Ben Hatke's Book, Little Robot

Remember when I said I was obsessed with Ben Hatke's work? This is the little guy that started it all:

benhatke.com

Well, minus the star. I first became aware of Little Robot when it showed up as a lightning deal on Amazon.com. I have a daughter who loves robots, the artwork looked cool and I figured it was worth a go.

I love it. The artwork is fairly glorious. It's faintly reminiscent of Lilo & Stitch, but different enough that you don't feel like he's copying anybody's style. The story is fun. It's about friendship; making new friends, and being a good one. And about love. Loving your friends, and loving humankind...well, robot-kind. But there's an applicable message here! And there are almost no words.

Little Robot is a graphic novel. It is fun to sit down with your little ones and talk about the pictures, and see the story. Little Robot gave me a whole new respect for graphic novels, and art as a literary device. For the most part I've pretty much ignored graphic novels as books for kids who hate reading (I still think they're great for that, by the way), but as an avid and constant reader, I more than enjoyed this book, I adored it.

I immediately proceeded to my local library (well, sort of immediately...I impatiently sent my husband to the library, where he found one, but not both of the Hatke books available, and made him take me to the library a few days later so I could hunt down the other one.) to read more. I pored over his entire blog, inhaling his artwork. I preordered three of Ben Hatke's upcoming books. And I vowed that I will one day own the Zita trilogy (Also amazing...at least one and three are. I didn't notice three wasn't two until I was most of the way through with it...which kind of cleared up my criticism of his plot holes; turns out I had the wrong book! Sadly, my library doesn't have number two. Why?!?), which I'm a little bit obsessed with right now, and Julia's House for Lost Creatures.

If I have any criticism, it would be that you see a lot of the same characters repeated throughout Mr. Hatke's work, and it can make his world seem a little small. But it's actually something fun too, because it's a little bit like playing I Spy.

I was in no way compensated for this review, or my obsession with Mr. Hatke's artwork, but if his publishing company, First Second, ever wants a family-oriented advance copy reader, I would be more than happy to oblige.

A Review of Camilla d'Errico's Book, Pop Painting

I selected this book to read because I found the cover art riveting. I wanted to see more. Which was good, because this book has lots of examples of her work. And overall, I like her paintings. They can be downright fun. Some of her paintings creep me out a little bit...like the girl with a rainbow-leaking hole in her chest. But even when her works make me uncomfortable, they're well done, and not inappropriate. 

That's how I liked her artwork. How did I like her book?

I  enjoyed the author's sense of humor, like her dream of having a nut dispenser for the family of  squirrels living in her fantasy studio (p.36), and funny phrases like "artistic chili for the brain" (p. 35). She has a fun little ink splotch named "Zu" who adds commentary and demonstrates specific points.

 On pp. 43-44 she has some great stuff, i.e. 43 has a good discussion about what composition means, with follow-up advice on 44, such as: remember what part of your painting is going get covered up by the frame. She talks a lot about finding your own stride as an artist. My favorite line in the book is, "You are born an original, don't die a copy (p.13)." Which ironically is derived from a quote (and book) by John Mason, but point well taken.

Oddly enough, I didn't enjoy the second half of her book, where she demonstrates how she does several of her paintings by example. I found it mildly interesting to see how she went from point A to point B, but as an amateur artist, I'm very much about just doing whatever floats my boat. Which is why those of you who apply yourselves and take the time to learn these things are going to be much better artists than I am. I'll try not to be too jealous. My main complaint about the book is that she gets so very specific about her painting tools...I can see people liking this part, because here you're getting recommendations straight from a professional artist, but I'm probably never going to buy them, so finding out how to make those very specific items give the desired effect isn't crucial for me.

Who should be in the market for this book?

Doctors offices. People looking for new books for their end tables. Big fans of Camilla d'Errico. Artists who are really sincere about their craft and always trying to learn something new.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion about the book.