Picture Book Tuesday: Donald Crews

STARTED & FINISHED:

Crews, Donald. (1984). School bus. New York: Greenwillow.

[Overall, before commenting on each specifically, I just ADORE this man. His books are pure graphic design, and I find it so exciting to expose kids to this kind of illustration. So, School Bus: This one is pretty darn satisfying. Fantastic illustrations, and sparse, easy to follow and understand text. I love that the buses are parked facing us on the opening page, and then parked facing away on the last. Great introduction to the concepts of movement in space, and a school bus is something that every kids (hopefully) can recognize (although, I suppose some might not have the best associations...). Kids intrigued by vehicles should LOVE this one. Perfect for a vehicle storytime?]



Crews, Donald. (1978). Freight train. New York: Greenwillow.

[Probably my favorite of his - and I'm likely not alone. I'd even venture a guess that this one is his most popular. Again, wonderfully sparse language which complements a tale of a colorful train. A good "color concept" book, which follows a logical progression: here's a track that a train rides on, here are each of the cars/parts of the train (each in its own color), and here is where it goes. Perfect simplicity.]



Crews, Donald. (1982). Carousel. New York: Greenwillow.

[Not one of my favorites, but even at his "worst" Crews can pretty much do no wrong. One of my favorite parts is the colorful, "music words" text - to me, it's VERY 4AD. The movement of the carousel gets a bit old (it's most of the book...) and, frankly, is a bit nauseating. Still, enjoyable, graphic, and great use of minimal, easy language.]

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