My Pictures after the Storm by Eric Veille
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Children, adults that like puns and clever jokes
My pictures: Pail. Slide. Ice cream cone.
My pictures after the storm: Puddle. ǝpᴉlS. Ice cream gone!
My Pictures after the Storm, written and illustrated by Eric Veille, is one of the cleverest children’s books I’ve read in a log time. To put that statement in context, I am a professional children’s librarian and reading children’s books and being aware of what children’s books are coming out is a significant portion of my job. There is very little that comes out that I don’t at least offer a cursory thumb through and this book has impressed me with some of its downright ingenious use of wordplay and visual humor.
My pictures: Mother. Child. Father.
My pictures after the baby: High Chair. Rattle. Bassinet. Nightlight. Baby Food. Formula. Bib. Bottle. Teddy bear. Crying little sister. Scared big brother.
The way that Veille is able to arrange the images in such a way as to hit the joke home is one of his strongest qualities. In the above example, not only is it funny because with a new baby comes a deluge of stuff for that baby, but the images are arranged in a big circle around the baby with the older brother siting nearby with look of agitation on his face. This further illustrates how life can feel as if it literally revolves around a new baby, as well as depict how a first born may feel when they have a baby brother or sister.
My pictures: Apple. Bread. Boiled Spinach.
My pictures after lunch: Core. Crumbs. Boiled Spinach.
Maybe it’s the dad in me, but I’m always down for a good pun. In terms of wordplay and visual humor My Pictures after the Storm is an example of this style of humor at its very best. Find it in the catalog.