books » and another thought

Welcome to a weekly post in support of fantastic writers and illustrators of children’s stories and the wonderful books they produce.

Children have amazing imaginations. It’s not an uncommon tale to hear about a toy being discarded for the box it came in. Meeow is a black cat who, like children, loves to use imagination to create things from a box or a simple set of chairs.

Meeow and the little chairs (age 2-4) is a wonderful new picture book illustrated and written by Sebastien Braun (published by Sterling Children’s Books).

The story is simple, like a parent describing events in a children’s book. The type is large and uncluttered making it easy for children to focus. The illustrations are simple but full of personality and warmth, even with the use of primary colours. And the primary colours are used in the dialog too: Woof carries a blue chair instead of just a chair. The visual reinforces this.

In Meeow and the Little Chairs, Meeow is playing with his friends Baa, Moo, Quack and Woof. The friends start to move their colourful chairs in line. As new elements are added, a green flag, a yellow whistle, the kids reading are encouraged to try and guess what the friends are building. It’s not until the very last page that the final creation is revealed. Your kids may or may not have guessed, but they will have fun trying to figure it out with the turn of each page; my kids did. And the very last page illustrates what the friends imagine their creation actually is; that it has changed from chairs into a real vehicle.

Meeow and his friends

I love that Meeow, in both Meeow and the Little Chairs and Meeow and the Big Box, behaves just as children do and encourages them to use their imagination. My kids love to use their pillows and chairs and blankets to create all sorts of things, maybe even a train.

You can read my review on Meeow and the Big Box on my main blog Another day. Another thought…or two. If you’re looking for other book suggestions, read some of the past Write a Review Wednesday posts.

I have to thank Derry at Sterling Publishing for my review copy of Meeow and the Little Chairs.