Today's picture book review is Max's Words, written by Kate Banks and illustrated by Boris Kulikov. This particular title has been on my shelf for most of the term. I enjoyed the story and loved the almost fanciful illustrations, but was not sure I could do the book justice with a short review for the resource center review blog. I do know that I needed to clean off my shelf since I was beginning to get library overdue notices via email. No one is exempt from over due books!
Max is part of a collecting family, his brother Benjamin collects stamps and his other brother Karl collects coins. Neither brother wants to share, so Max decides to begin his own hobby; he is going to collect words. As the collection takes form and substance, the words soon overflow Max’s desk to the floor and beyond, becoming a story. Text of each word chosen is highlighted with a bold, dark font, and the matching cutouts strewn gleefully across the page with the word baseball in the shape of a baseball bat, ice cream beginning with an ice cream cone, and hungry shown with a strategically placed bite. Illustrations enhance the developing story; at the beginning a forlorn Max is separated from the richly colored scenes of his brother’s collections. On subsequent pages, Max is a focal point, cleverly placed with his scissors and small words around him. Individual words become sentences and each sentence part of the story; illustrations are more vibrant, filling the page. A story about collecting becomes a story in itself, something children will thoroughly enjoy. This book would be a great introduction to creative writing in the classroom. Grades K-3.
Tags: Kate Banks, Boris Kulikov, Max's Words, Juvenile fiction, Picture books, Juvenile books
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