The Story of Paul Bunyan

PreS-Gr 3—Ed Emberley's style and media have changed over his six-decade-long career making picture books and how-to-draw instructional titles, but all of his work shares a distinctive artistry, compelling design, and child-friendly exuberance. With his more than 100 books, the Caldecott Award-winning artist continues to work with his daughter Rebecca; their most recent collaboration is Spare Parts (Roaring Brook, 2015). The early titles highlighted here are all classics in their own right—The Wing on a Flea: A Book About Shapes, originally published in 1961, features playful line drawings and judicious bits of color; The Story of Paul Bunyan, written by his wife Barbara, is illustrated with bold three-color woodcuts and came out in 1963; and the 1967 Caldecott Honor book One Wide River to Cross was also written by his wife. Emberley is a giant in the illustration field, and it's grand and exciting to see new editions of his early output sitting side by side on picture book shelves with his new titles.—Luann Toth, School Library Journal