Flora's Very Windy Day by Matt Phelan

I can hardly describe my excitement when I saw that Jeanne Birdsall (of The Penderwicks
) was teamed up with Matt Phelan, one of my all time favorite illustrators. I mean, just look at this--every page is delicious:

Reading this reminded me of Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak, and Labyrinth, and other tales wherein the rescue of a sibling or significant other takes one into fairy land or some other strange place. Although that's not a "fairy tale" per se, it did get me thinking. It has the same kind of thread through mythology and literature as so many of the fairy tales that are told over and over. It seems to fit here, anyway.

In any case! Check out Flora's Very Windy Day--it's glorious!

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

Matt Phelan is one of my favorite illustrators, so when he announced the publication of his first graphic novel, The Storm in the Barn, I was, to say the least, very excited to see it.

Set in the Kansas Dust Bowl years, this story weaves together history and mythology, borrowing from tall tales as well as straightforward historical accounts of the time and place. 11-year-old Jack has grown up in a world without rain, and is struggling with his family and classmates as much as the weather. His sister Dorothy is ill, but finds moments to comfort him with tales of "the other Dorothy," as the children read through the Oz books. In the end, Jack must find a way to save his family and their land before they lose hope entirely.

You can get a good idea of the set up of the story, the mood, and the artwork of the book from this book trailer (book trailer yay!):