One Wide River to Cross

PreS-Gr 3--Ed Emberley's style and media have changed over his six-decade-long career making picture books and how-to-draw instructional titles, but all of his work shares a distinctive artistry, compelling design, and child-friendly exuberance. With his more than 100 books, the Caldecott Award-winning artist continues to work with his daughter Rebecca; their most recent collaboration is Spare Parts (Roaring Brook, 2015). The early titles highlighted here are all classics in their own right--The Wing on a Flea: A Book About Shapes, originally published in 1961, features playful line drawings and judicious bits of color; The Story of Paul Bunyan, written by his wife Barbara, is illustrated with bold three-color woodcuts and came out in 1963; and the 1967 Caldecott Honor book One Wide River to Cross was also written by his wife. Emberley is a giant in the illustration field, and it's grand and exciting to see new editions of his early output sitting side by side on picture book shelves with his new titles.--Luann Toth, School Library Journal