This year's Caldecott medal went to Chris Raschka's A Ball for Daisy. I just picked up a copy from my library and love it. It is a wordless picture book that tells the story of a dog, Daisy, and her red ball. Daisy loves her ball: she plays with it, naps with it and takes it to the park. One day at the park Daisy and another dog are playing when the other dog pops Daisy's ball. The illustrations depict a dejected Daisy mourning the loss of her ball. Daisy's owner is seen dragging her back to the park and both are in for a surprise when they get there.
The illustrations are done in water color and ink with mostly neutral colors but splashes of bright mixed in. The illustrations seem simple at first glance but a lot of detail and emotion are drawn into each page. This is a wordless picture book, but as I read the illustrations, I felt like I was reading the text right along with them. There is a definite arc and plot to the story and I think children of all ages, but especially those who can not read yet, will love sitting down to "read" this story. Raschka's illustrations tell of loss and friendship in a very visual way.
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