If you're looking for in-depth and thoughtful reviews of children's books, you'll want to check out the blog 100 Scope Notes, the online home of Fiction Picture Books nominating panelist Travis Jonker. He's an elementary school librarian, and about his blog name, he says "Scope notes help to clarify the meaning of a term or instruct on its usage. 100 Scope Notes = a whole lot of clarifyin’."
Not too long ago, Travis did some clarifyin' on Fiction Picture Books finalist Wabi Sabi, written by Mark Reibstein and illustrated by Ed Young. This charming and gorgeously illustrated book tells the story of an ordinary cat named Wabi Sabi who yearns to discover the meaning of her name. According to Travis,
Wabi Sabi means finding beauty in the ordinary, and that is the theme here. From start to finish, the writing slips back and forth between poetic text and outright poetry in the form of Haiku.
Click here to read the full review.