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Stuff I'm Reading

 To me, the greatest of all picture books is "The Snowy Day": It tells a complete story, it uses very few words, it has memorable characters, and it's visually striking.


I'm thrilled that the new Caldecott winner is in the tradition of Ezra Jack Keats; its author is Doug Salati, an "EJ Keats Illustrator Honor" recipient. The book, called "Hot Dog," re-tells "The Snowy Day," with key details altered.

Our protagonist (an unnamed dog) is moved not by cold, but by heat; an unbearable city day becomes an excuse to travel to the beach. There, the dog has adventures, collecting pebbles, bartering with a seal, racing against a tiny crab. Both "Snow Day" and "Hot Dog" end in a reassuring way. Peter--concerned that he'll never see more snow--discovers that yesterday's white mounds still exist today. Salati's "hot dog" finds that he can immediately revisit the beach, and the seals--at least in his dreams.

It's easy enough to see why Salati now has a Caldecott; his illustrations are "alive" and idiosyncratic and playful and impassioned. You can tell this guy is having fun. I'm including some examples here; I look forward to more books from Salati.































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