Leaping Lizards

I have not seen the movie Rango, but Matt and Isaac have. They liked it, and I had wanted to see it, but never found the time. Typical.

But, when I saw the book Art and Max by David Wiesner come in this spring, I thought of Rango. I am sure that the plots are not at all similar, but they both feature southwestern themes and lizards as their main characters.

Wiesner is a multiple-award winning author/illustrator. One of the few, in fact, that when you see his name on the book, you can pretty much count on it being a good read. Many of his books are wordless or have very sparse text. He lets his pictures tell the story.

Art and Max brings in the ideas of individuality, friendship and it celebrates creativity. It is a great read, but if you have a budding artist, this is especially a great book to read to encourage exploration and courage in the creative process.

Wiesner's other books are also well worth checking out. If you are going on a beach trip this summer, Flotsam is a wonderful book to introduce the magic of the deep-blue sea.