Thursday, June 2, 2011

Author/Illustrator: Serge Bloch

I discovered the books Butterflies in My Stomach and You Are What You Eat by Serge Bloch accidentally. I found the combination of simple sketches and photographs appealing, so I picked them up.

These books are full of idioms that adults use in conversation regularly but kids might take literally, such as "cool as a cucumber," "the world is your oyster," and "we're all in the same boat." Bloch uses photographs of items (such as a cucumber) and then sketches around them to indicate the idiom's meaning. The main character is puzzled when the people around him use these phrases.

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed these books and asked me to read them again and again. The pictures make her chuckle, and she requests that I explain some of them to her. She's now begun accurately using these confusing phrases in regular conversation.

I hope Bloch considers writing more of these books. To my knowledge, these are the only two books he has written and illustrated, although he has illustrated countless more books. Both titles would be great to pick up the next time you want to enjoy a humorous book with your child.