Title: The Nighttime Adventures of Calvin and Ollie
Author: Krista Brock | Illustrator: YOU!
Publisher: Independently Published | Published: November 5, 2019
Theme: Imagination and Do-It-Yourself
Character Origin: Human and Animal
Book Type: Picture Book | Pages: 34
Ages: 4-8 | Book Level: — | Lexile Measure: —
Book Synopsis…
Children are invited to enjoy the journey of reading with the joy of creating. The Nighttime Adventures of Calvin and Ollie is a bedtime story that follows the main character, Calvin, on an adventure into the night with his favorite stuffed animal, Ollie, the owl. They play hide and seek, climb trees, count stars, and have a couple encounters with other animals in the night forest. This picture book comes with a bit of a twist though. The story has been written, but the illustrations are incomplete. Young readers are presented with a backdrop for their own visual imagination. They get to draw Calvin and Ollie (and other nocturnal critters) themselves.
My overall thoughts…
This is a one-of-a-kind book that piqued my interest. When I received it in the mail from the author, color me curious. I hadn’t encountered anything like it before. And I LIKED it! I would never have thought of the reader being the illustrator. It allows for a truly immersive experience for the reader. The illustrations are open to the interpretation of the reader. They get to make the book their own–literally. Imagine the possibilities.
The illustrations and text…
The font type and size work well here. My only critique would be that on several pages, the text gets lost by the image or color beneath it; this makes the words hard to read. The story is easy to follow and, once illustrated, will be a complete masterpiece of the reader’s own making. The uniqueness here is that it’s all open to interpretation. The reader is not tied down by the constraints of someone else’s vision artistically. I can see this book being used as a resource in an art class over a few weeks with the finished product being gifted to parents. As a homeschooling mom, I’m learning that there is synergy between art, reading, and writing. Brock has done a great job thinking outside of the box, and I am confident that kids will connect with Calvin and Ollie.
I’ll give it…
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