The poet Rich Michelson several years ago was kind of enough to send me a stack of some of his finest books. His picture books for children in particular are mesmerizing. I love his work with the artist Leonard Baskin. Their A Book of Flies Real or Otherwise has become a household favorite. Baskin and Michelson really pushed each other creatively. They were quite a team.
I first met Rich at the National Jewish Book Awards in 2007. I served as a Judge for the NJBA. I later sought him out as a speaker. He presented his talk No and I Can't Dance Either: Writing Across Racial Lines. Rich is a captivating personality. His talk was well worth the price of admission. Check out his website at: http://www.rmichelson.com/rmichelson_galleries.html
Rich's A is for Abraham is one of those rare picture books about Judaism that escapes the usual trappings. Some of the amazing illustrations from Rich's books can be seen up close and personal at my exhibition Monsters and Miracles: A Journey Through Jewish Picture Books at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles through August 1, 2010. The show then transfers to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.
Apart from Rich's poetry picture books, some recent worthwhile picture books worth pursuing include United States Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's Bag in the Wind, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet C.K. William's How the Nobble was Finally Found, Nobel prize-winning poet Joseph Brodsky's Discovery, and Caldecott Medalist Mordecai Gerstein's interpretation of French poet Jacques Prévert's How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird.
