The Painted Circus by Wallace Edwards.

What could be better than a picture book filled with all sorts of optical illusions?  Not much in the eyes of my two sons!  This was one that I almost had to sneak out of the house under dark of night to return it to the library.  It spent many days as the book of choice for both boys (ages 6 and 10). 

Author Wallace has created a spectacle of a circus in his picture book where the circus is used as the framing tool for each optical illusion.  There is no real story in the book, just one act after the other, each showcasing an illusion.  It is great fun!  You will see optical illusions that you are already familiar with, but several of them were new to me.  What is best about the book is that some of the illusions are easy to see and understand while others take a bit of time, some eye crossing and a bit of neck twisting to see. 

Highly recommended for public libraries, this is rather like a book with movable parts without the hassle of flaps and pop-ups which break and tear.  It will be happily browsed through by anyone in elementary school and calls out to be shared with everyone in the room or in one’s class. 

Toy Boat by Randall de Seve and Loren Long.

A boy had a boat he loved, every day they would sail together down at the lake.  The boy held the boat by a string and sometimes the toy boat would long to be free and out on the lake with the larger boats.  Then one afternoon, the boy dropped the string and the little boat floated out onto the lake.  The tiny boat found itself out with the huge boats, who zoom past him, each warning him to “Move along!”  The toy boat was left almost sunken floating alone in the night on the lake.  It wasn’t until a slow-moving fishing boat circles the toy boat that his sails fill with wind and he really starts to sail.

The illustrations here are wonderful, deep and dramatic paintings filled with water, movement and weather.  They range from close ups of the boy with his boat to wide panoramic views of the lake and the sky.  All done with  an attention to small details.  The prose is invitingly simple, yet obviously speaking of wider things.  It is a book that children can enjoy as a sweet story of a boat but also can be enjoyed by older children and adults about letting loose of strings and allowing freedom.

Highly recommended as a read-aloud for elementary age children who may understand the real depth of the story.