Wednesday, January 25, 2012

My Favorite Picture Books: Miss Rumphius

Miss Rumphius, written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney

I'm having a hard time motivating to post regularly to the blog and decided I needed to motivate myself with something near and dear to my heart. Welcome to what I hope to make a weekly post: my favorite picture books. It'll probably take a while for me to get to anything that's never been mentioned before, but this way there will be a nice little tag for anyone interested in such a list. Like me. I love lists like this.

Miss Rumphius may very well be my favorite book of all time.

Miss Alice Rumphius is adventurous, elegant, and intelligent. She fulfills all her dreams but knows she must do something more. She must make the world more beautiful. She does so by planting lupines, which are beautiful in an obvious way. The message, though, is more subtle, as we can make the world more beautiful in so many different ways.

The illustrations are simply lovely. Barbara Cooney is probably my favorite illustrator and this book is a perfect example of her style.

If you haven't read this book, race to your library or bookstore and find a copy.