Everybody has a favorite animal. Some like little white dogs or big black cats or hoppy brown bunnies best. Others prefer squishy snails or tall giraffes or sleek black panthers. With beautiful illustrations and charming personal stories, 14 children's book artists share their favorite animals and why they love them.
- Eric Carle
- Nick Bruel
- Lucy Cousins
- Susan Jeffers
- Steven Kellogg
- Jon Klassen
- Tom Lichtenheld
- Peter McCarty
- Chris Raschka
- Peter Sís
- Lane Smith
- Erin Stead
- Rosemary Wells
- Mo Willems
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Anthology of excellent authors, brilliant texts and inspirational drawings
By Denis Vukosav
“What's Your Favorite Animal?” made by 14 well-known children's book artists is an entertaining anthology in which authors talk about and draw their favorite animals.Eric Carle has assembled an excellent team of worldwide known authors that includes names such as Jon Klassen, Steven Kellogg, Lane Smith, Nick Bruel and others including Carle himself, while all the royalties from book sale are planned to be donated to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.Each author started with the premise to show her/his favorite animal that resulted in the drawings each of them different and beautiful in its own way, together with great stories full of catchy rhymes and good humor. And although it is difficult to single out one or even several of authors, the illustrations they prepared for this book are quite outstanding, and Carle has also made a splendid decision that every author prepare her/his own work in a different technique which makes this book even more interesting.Therefore young reader will enjoy Eric Carle print-and-scratch painting technique, Rosemary Wells and Nick Bruel’s comic style presentation, Jon Klassen doing his trademark illustrations that goes all around fabulous text, Chris Raschka impressing with his usage of water colors, while other authors were using crayons, shadings and all other different styles and techniques you can imagine. And this book diversity is what in short can describe this brilliant anthology of fantastic authors gathered in one place. We can only regret that someone did not think of such idea before, or hope that after this book will become a big hit, there will be some other such initiatives with various topics in the future.“What's Your Favorite Animal?” is well-made picture book anthology of excellent authors, brilliant texts and inspirational drawings, a picture book that will be one day equally talked about as Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and this is the reason why it can certainly be recommended for all the children older than 3 years.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful."DELIGHTFUL, FUNNY, AND ENTERTAINING!"
By Geraldine Ahearn
Eric Carle delivers a fun-filled colorful children's book that will indeed keep any child entertained, while learning about certain animals, and discussing them with friends, and family. The author begins with a brief introduction of his favorite animals, some of them that he admired since childhood. In addition, he highlights why he loves animals, and artwork.The young reader will ask questions about the Cat, Giraffes, Mo Willems(the snake), and more. The Blue Carp is also introduced (Peter Si's), the Snail, and the Octopus. The Bunny is adorable, and so is the short story of 'A Dog On My Bed.' The Elephant is amazing, the Duck is cute, and the Penguins are showing-off. Eric Carle tells how long he has loved cows, and his story of a lifelong love for horses. The illustration of the Leopard is breathtaking, and the author tells why he loves Leopards.An added bonus to this fun book includes a brief history about 'The Eric Carle Museum Of Picture Book Art.' Some of the stories include rhyming verse, and some of the stories are funny. This book will encourage a child to learn about animals and the beautiful,colorful illustrations come to life. Interesting, fun-filled, and educational. Highly recommended to parents, teachers, and child-care providers!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.A FEAST FOR THE EYE AND THE IMAGINATION!
By The Literacy Advocate
This book is a visually striking, imaginative anthology in which fourteen beloved author/illustrators of children's picture books chose their favorite animals, explained why they love them, and drew them in their signature style. This picture book is a feast for the eye and the heart, as the love and joy each author has for his or her animal pops from each page. Beautiful colors, large illustrations and lovely captions, all in each author/illustrator's signature fonts, colors, and illustrative style create magic on each page.The authors include: Eric Carle (who developed the project and whose signature primary color brush strokes paint both the front and back inside covers), Nick Bruel, Lucy Cousins, Susan Jeffers, Steven Kellogg, Jon Klassen, Tom Lichtenheld, Peter McCarty, Chris Raschka, Peter Sis, Lane Smith, Erin Stead, Rosemary Wells, Mo Willems. Each author presents one animal in one large illustration or a series of smaller ones, accompanied by their words regarding the pictures. The interesting back matter includes a paragraph bio of each author/illustrator, the major books or series they have written, and includes a picture of each one from their childhood years (very cute!). The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, is also featured in the back matter.It would be marvelous if this creative effort could inspire other similar picture books! Perhaps other "favorite" topics will appeal to the many wonderful author/illustrators who produce such valuable visual literature for our children to learn from.
