Two Picture Books with Great Page Turns

Fact: The page turn is important. Librarians and story time readers select books that are engaging to their little listeners. Tired parents and grandparents often select books that don’t seem daunting and wordy, especially when they’ve promised three stories. And children and publishers select books they want to read over and over again. Key to everyone’s taste, cue the page turn: Did something happen on the page you’re reading that makes you excited to flip to the next page?

Two releases (one just a week old, and the other from 2016) that master the art of the page turn include WHOBERT WHOVER Owl Detective (Margaret K McElderry books  July 18, 2017) written by Jason Gallaher and illustrated by Jess Pauwels; and DEAR DRAGON (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2016)written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Rodolfo Montalvo.

WHOBERT WHOVER:  Whobert is a bumbling detective always on the search of his next case. And since he's searching for a clue, so is the picture book audience who is alerted (a-la Find Waldo) to figure out what's wrong starting on the very first page. Here, illustrator Jess Pauwels offers a lovely smorgasbord for the eyes. Throughout the story, she delivers colorful creatures with delightful expressions—art that truly inspires the reread. Book-lovers will want to comb the pages over and over again to search for what they might’ve missed—a worthwhile effort, especially when you find the spider and the crawdad!

Adding to the reread is the text, of course! Gallaher's mystery has page turns to guide readers through the necessary qualities of a good detective (find a clue, follow a trail, etc.), plus the fun play on colloquialisms make the story twice is fun to hear aloud (of course a fish says "Glurgle blurp").  Each page turn engages the child to be part of solving this mystery.

In short, it's sparse text, adorable illustrations, and the audience engagement factor makes WHOBERT WHOVER Owl Detective a winner!

DEAR DRAGON (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2016)written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Rodolfo Montalvo is another must-have for your personal library.

From the book jacket:

A sweet and clever friendship story in rhyme, about looking past physical differences to appreciate the person (or dragon) underneath.
"George and Blaise are pen pals, and they write letters to each other about everything: their pets, birthdays, favorite sports, and science fair projects. There’s just one thing that the two friends don’t know: George is a human, while Blaise is a dragon! What will happen when these pen pals finally meet face-to-face?"

"When I was a kid, my best friend was Josh Funk. Now he's becoming a friend to a whole new generation.”--B.J. Novak, author of The New York Times bestseller The Book With No Pictures

Dear Dragon may have more words than Whobert, still every single word matters. Furthermore, Dear Dragon's has an absorbing play between the words and the art; between what the pen pal reader assumes vs. what's really happening. The misunderstandings make the pages in the story flip faster and faster as excitement builds and readers wonder how this will resolve in the end.

Not only is Dear Dragon a fun read, but according to an Amazon reviewer, “The book is a good way to talk to children about finding similarities where we might otherwise only see differences.”

The Next John Green?

DIE YOUNG WITH ME by Rob Rufus
Clipped from the pages of Simon & Schuster (release date September 20, 2016):

In the tradition of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes the incredibly moving true story of a teenager diagnosed with cancer and how music was the one thing that helped him get through his darkest days.

Punk’s not dead in rural West Virginia. In fact, it blares constantly from the basement of Rob and Nat Rufus—identical twin brothers with spiked hair, black leather jackets, and the most kick-ass record collection in Appalachia. To them, school (and pretty much everything else) sucks. But what can you expect when you’re the only punks in town?

When the brothers start their own band, their lives begin to change: they meet friends, they attract girls, and they finally get invited to join a national tour and get out of their rat box little town.

But their plans are cut short when Rob is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that has already progressed to Stage Four. Not only are his dreams of punk rock stardom completely shredded, there is a very real threat that this is one battle that can’t be won.

While Rob suffers through nightmarish treatments and debilitating surgery, Nat continues on their band’s road to success alone. But as Rob’s life diverges from his brother’s, he learns to find strength within himself and through his music. Die Young With Me is a raw, honest account of a brave teen’s fight with cancer and the many ways music helped him cope through his recovery.

Pre-order Die Young With Me

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (September 20, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1501142615
• ISBN-13: 978-1501142611

Rob Rufus is represented by Shannon Hassan, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.