Book picks similar to
The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Nancy Willard


picture-books
fantasy
children-s-books
children

The Velveteen Rabbit


Margery Williams Bianco - 1922
    This reissue of a favorite classic, with the original story and illustrations as they first appeared in 1922, will work its magic for all who read it.

Jazz


Walter Dean Myers - 2000
    From bebop to New Orleans, from ragtime to boogie, and every style in between, Jazz takes readers on a musical journey from jazz's beginnings to the present day. Created by a celebrated father-son team, Jazz is a Coretta Scott King Honor Book and a Kirkus Best Children's Books Editor's Choice.In addition to its colorful and lyrical celebration, the book includes a brief introductory essay about the history and form of jazz, as well as a timeline and glossary of jazz terms.Coretta Scott King Award Honor for illustrationALA Notable Children's BookLee Bennett Hopkins Poetry AwardPublishers Weekly's 100 Best Books of the YearKirkus Reviews Editor's ChoiceBooklist Editor's ChoiceBooklist Top Ten in Black HistoryBook Link's Best New Books for the ClassroomGolden Kite Award: Picture Book Text

Three Samurai Cats: A Story from Japan


Eric A. Kimmel - 2004
    Humorous, finely detailed pen-and-ink illustrations bring this timeless tale to life.

The Sleeping Beauty


Trina Schart Hyman - 1971
    How could everyone in a castle - even the flies on the walls - sleep for a century and then wake up? This magical, beautifully illustrated tale begins when the king excludes the most difficult fairy of the kingdom from a feast celebrating the birth of his beautiful daughter Briar Rose. Furious, the fairy storms in and curses the baby, pronouncing that on her fifteenth birthday she will be pricked by a distaff (from a spinning wheel) and fall down dead. The youngest fairy softens the curse to a century-long sleep. Despite the fact that the king burns all the spinning wheels in the kingdom, 15-year-old Briar Rose finds herself in the tower where the evil fairy and her fate await her. The drama of the spell unfurls as she and the other inhabitants of the castle fall instantly asleep, from courtiers to kitchen maids. Thorny briars - moodily captured by Trina Schart Hyman's masterful paintbrush - grow up around the castle. Hyman depicts those who died attempting to break through the maze of thorns to reach the legendary sleeping beauty in a nightmarish illustration. But goodness and true love prevail when the perfect prince does finally find his way through the thick vines.Hyman won a Caldecott Medal for her work in Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, and her version of The Sleeping Beauty makes us believe in the magic of the spell. The scenes inside the castle are alive with color and movement and rich with details that children will devour eagerly. Moods and expressions are rendered exquisitely, especially those of the wild, red-haired beauty Briar Rose. This wonderful read-aloud classic is one of Hyman's best.

Sleeping Beauty


Mahlon F. Craft - 2002
    Now brought luminously to life by K. Y. Craft's lavish paintings, this new edition of a timeless favorite is sure to enchant readers both young and old. Fairy tale lovers have been eagerly awaiting Craft's next magical romance since the release of her Cinderella. With illustrations inspired by the magnificent style of Baroque painters, the sumptuous color and exquisite detail of this breathtaking interpretation make it a dream come true.

People


Blexbolex - 2008
    . . . All sorts of people appear in People, linked together in ways that begin to emerge page after page. Real, mythic, and imaginary types inhabit this extraordinary, gorgeously rendered world, referring to each other through form and function. Like Blexbolex's earlier book Seasons, this is a conceptual book, where the connections between the images are both clear and subtle.Stunningly illustrated with retro-looking silkscreened images, People is a sumptuously produced volume, with a lavishly illustrated jacket that folds out into a poster. The manner of the realization and the quality of the book are so strong that People (as did Seasons) serves to reminds us once again what a book can be at its very best.Seasons was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2010 and a Best Book of the Year for School Library Journal.

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories


Dr. Seuss - 2011
    Seuss stories were published in magazines in the early 1950s and are finally available in book form. They include “The Bippolo Seed” (in which a scheming feline leads a duck toward a bad decision), “The Rabbit, the Bear, and the Zinniga-Zanniga” (about a rabbit who is saved from a bear by a single eyelash), “Gustav, the Goldfish” (an early rhymed version of the Beginner Book A Fish Out of Water), “Tadd and Todd” (about a twin who is striving to be an individual), “Steak for Supper” (in which fantastic creatures follow a boy home in anticipation of a steak dinner), “The Strange Shirt Spot” (the inspiration for the bathtub-ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back), and “The Great Henry McBride” (about a boy whose far-flung career fantasies are bested only by those of Dr. Seuss himself). An introduction by Seuss scholar Charles D. Cohen traces the history of the stories, which demonstrate an intentional move toward the writing style we now associate with Dr. Seuss. Cohen also explores the themes that recur in well-known Seuss stories (like the importance of the imagination or the perils of greed). With a color palette enhanced beyond the limitations of the original magazines, this is a collection that no Seuss fan (whether scholar or second grader) will want to miss.From the Hardcover edition.

Imelda & the Goblin King


Briony May Smith - 2015
    Every day she ventures into the forest to play with her fairy friends. But within the deepest, darkest depths of the trees lives the worst creature of all—the Goblin King! When he kidnaps the Fairy Queen, the fairies call upon Imelda to help. Soon she has a cunning plan to turn the Goblin King into a worm and rid the forest of him for good!Briony May Smith studied illustration at Falmouth College, where she caught the eye of Flying Eye Books and her first picture book, Imelda and the Goblin King, was snapped up straight away! She currently works and lives in Sandhurst, England.

Little Red Riding Hood


Gennady Spirin - 2010
    Gennady Spirin, in his adaptation of the Brother Grimms' earliest version of "Little Red Cap," tells the story of a young girl in a red hood who takes a cake to her sick grandmother. Along the way, she meets a wicked wolf who tricks her into thinking he's her granny. Sumptuous illustrations, inspired by the golden age of Dutch painting in the 17th century and Renaissance, capture the charm and spirit of a tale that has remained steadfast in oral and written versions throughout the centuries. An Author's note about the tale's history is included.

The Snow Queen


Hans Christian Andersen - 1844
    Pym make the classic Andersen fairy tale even more magical. One of Andersen's best-beloved tales, The Snow Queen is a story about the strength and endurance of childhood friendship. Gerda's search for her playmate Kay–who was abducted by the Snow Queen and taken to her frozen palace–is brought to life in delicate and evocative illustrations.

The Little Mermaid


Jerry Pinkney - 2020
    She is an explorer who wonders about what lies above the water's surface . . . especially the young girl she has spied from a distance. To meet her requires a terrible sacrifice: she trades her beautiful voice for a potion that gives her legs, so that she may live on land instead. It seems like a dream come true at first. But when trouble stirs beneath the ocean, Melody faces another impossible choice -- stay with her friend, or reclaim her true identity and save her family.Legendary artist Jerry Pinkney's singular reinvention of this tale about love and sacrifice empowers young, twenty-first century girls with the strong message that "you should never give up your voice . . . for anyone."

Swan Lake


Mark Helprin - 1989
    The two-time Caldecott medalist illustrates Mark Helprin's enchanting story of the characters in Tchaikovsky's famous ballet.

The Princess and the Pea


Lauren Child - 2005
    Full color.

The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum


Kate Bernheimer - 2008
    The castle was inside a museum. When children visited, they’d press against the glass globe in which the castle sat, to glimpse the tiny girl. But when they went home, the girl was lonely. Then one day, she had an idea! What if you hung a picture of yourself inside the castle inside the museum, inside this book? Then you’d able to keep the girl company. Reminiscent of “The Lady of Shalot,” here is an original fairy tale that feels like a dream—haunting, beautiful, and completely unforgettable.

Cupid and Psyche


M. Charlotte Craft - 1996
    Soon she falls in love with this man she has never seen, but in a moment of doubt she betrays his trust. To win back his love, Psyche must show that she is as brave as she is beautiful by performing three impossible tasks.Perhaps the greatest love story of all, Cupid and Psyche is unsurpassed in its richness and drama. Marie Craft's lively, suspenseful retelling of this classic Greek myth will appeal to young and old alike. And these legendary lovers have inspired forty lush luminous paintings by award-winning artist Kinuko Craft.Lavishly illustrated and thrillingly told, here is a book to be treasured forever.