Picture Books: V is for Visionary

 For "V," Van Allsburg seemed a given. 

Truth is, among picture book writers/illustrators, Van Allsburg is not one of my favorites. The text is a little too ponderous.

However, I do greatly enjoy his floating sailboats. They are so evocative, they transcend, like Nefertiti's bust, their context.

"V" also provides the Ernest and Celestine books by Gabrielle Vincent, and these books, I absolutely adore. They are so gentle in tone, so sweeping in outlook, so lacking in any preachiness. The illustrations are gorgeous. 

This time around, I determined to figure out how Ernest and Celestine met. But the impressive aspect of the books is that I still have no idea (I have a few more books to go)! There is a sui generis presentation to the pair--here are Ernest and Celestine. They manage quite well, don't they? (There is a post-WWII aura to the books, implying that Celestine is a child refugee taken in by the sweet-natured Ernest--but there are other possibilities.)

There is an animated series that provides background. But I prefer the non-history, slice-of-life approach of the books. 

This book might solve the mystery.