A young boy with an odd name!

1949 Caldecott Honor: Fish in the Air

By Kurt Wiese

This is the second time we are looking at work by Kurt Wiese.  He previously won a Caldecott Honor for his book You Can Write Chinese in 1946.  If you would like to see his bio please refer to this post.

Book Summary

A young boy, whose name is Fish, enjoys collecting items that are fish related.  Young Fish ends up setting his sights on a large kite in the shape of a fish.  Once he acquires his kite his adventure (and lesson) begins!   In the end Fish learns that bigger is not always better!

Illustrations

Bright colorful images fill each page.  I have no clue as to what medium Mr. Wiese used, I would love to know what it is called.  Here is how I would describe it.  There are moments of solid color, no shading, just simple color!  Then there are images in the background that are “spotted”.  For example the sky is not solid color rather it is like a crayon rubbing.  Do you know what I mean?   There are spots of color and spots that remain white.  Then there are times when the floor is yellow with red “spots” thru it.  I really like the effect just don’t know what to call it officially.  If you do please let me know!

The images portray realistic life, yet in a cartoon manner.  Not the funny cartoons just the bright color way.  I like the simple manner of color used.  No stress on shading, no worry about getting the light and shadows just right!  This is my type of art!

Final Thoughts:

1. Would this be a book I would pick up again? perhaps

2. Would I recommend it to others to search out and take a look at? yup

3. Would I spend my hard earned money on the book? Perhaps

4. Where did I get the book? Southern Oregon State College

More Info:

 http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/birthbios/brthpage/04apr/4-21wiese.html