Author Focus: Oliver Jeffers
Rebecca from Thirteen Red Shoes is with us today to share some inspiring insights and book recommendations from the great author, Oliver Jeffers.
I consider Oliver Jeffers to be a modern day classic author/illustrator. Both his writing and illustrative styles are unique and each and every new release is welcomed into our home with huge smiles and the need for the story to be read over and over again.
Oliver has the very clever ability to masterfully create a book that extends beyond the pages. His writing encourages individuals to think, reflect and analyze not only the words, but the illustrations as well, which is a true reflection of a great multimodal text.
Oliver is originally from Belfast, however, now resides in Brooklyn where he creates not only picture books, but also art.
I often use Oliver’s books as a morning provocation or a starting point when teaching, which in turn leads to in-depth discussions, the need to create, and delightful opportunities for learning.
Below is a quick synopsis of a few of my favorite titles:
- The Heart and the Bottle is about love and loss and the ability to, when ready, love again.
- None the Number explains the significance of the number zero on a very basic level.
- The Hueys focuses on the importance of being an individual.
- This Moose Belongs to Me discusses the concept of ownership of another living thing.
- The Great Paper Caper can begin an entire unit about paper, cutting down trees and even flight!
- The Incredible Book Eating Boy, is an adorable book with amazing graphic design and layout focusing on the notion of reading and its importance to a developing mind, is cleverly told.
- Lost and Found offers the opportunity to compare a picture book to a film. Both of these mediums are simply beautiful and a wonderful starting point for young children to delve into the area of film critique and analysis.
- The Day the Crayons Quit, is a title which has been illustrated by Oliver, yet written by Drew Daywalt is magical. A delightful tale about color with a twist, the possibilities with this book are endless and the wonderful trigger for a unit on color and what colors might mean, as well as the history behind color and its uses.
More Oliver Jeffers books can be found here.
Below is a preview of This Moose Belongs to Me.
