Catalina Echeverri’s debut picture Lion and Mouse was published earlier this month (see my review here) and I am delighted to welcome her to a Library Mice for our latest Fabulous Five feature.
Catalina is originally from Bogota, Colombia, and she speaks English, Spanish and Italian. She studied graphic design in Milan, Italy and completed an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Arts (ARU). She loves to draw all of the time, and takes her sketchbook everywhere she goes. She lives in London.
Five Fabulous Picture Books about Animals
by Catalina Echeverri
Why?
Nikolai Popov
Nikolai Popov
I really like this book because it addresses the subject of war and why conflict starts in such a simple and yet very powerful and accessible way for children and adults alike.
The Great Paper Caper
Oliver Jeffers
I love Oliver’s characters in this book – they are full of life and bursting with creativity. The storytelling will keep children engaged and entertained until the last page. Plus you can learn how to make paper planes : ) how cool is that!
Olivia
Ian Falconer
This little pig makes me smile every time I read this book. I especially like the way Ian is able to convert so much warmth and vibrancy with such a restricted colour palette.
I Want My Hat Back
Jon Klassen
My teacher at uni always used to say “less is more.” And this is definitely the case in this book. I think its strength lies in the simple yet very clever way the story is narrated. I think children would find this book highly amusing as the author allows them to be the ones able to spot who stole the bear’s hat even before he does. I love it!
The Tree House
Marije Tolman & Ronald Tolman
A book bursting with magnificent use of colour such as this one is such a feast to the eyes. You cannot get tired of it. I think it’s also the fact that it has no words so it helps children learn to be more observant as they will need to engage with the images in order to understand the narrative of the story.
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Many thanks Catalina, what a lovely selection. I had never heard of “The Tree House”, but it looks beautiful.
We have The Tree House (it’s a Dutch book originally) and it’s certainly interesting, but it may turn out to be the second time this week we’ve disagreed over picture books, Melanie!
I have never seen it so can’t make a judgement but what I find fascinating is that the book is called The Tree House but shows a polar bear and a whale on its cover :0)