Travis Jonker, Cybils veteran and elementary school librarian, knows his way around picture books. Of nominated fiction picture book Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton, Travis writes:
Admission: I’ve edited books on the fly. In a school library setting, the clock is king, and I’ve had to trim a sentence or paragraph when running out of time with a class. It’s rare when I have to do it, but most of the time, the story stays relatively intact. This would not be the case with Shh! We Have a Plan, a book where each and every word is essential. Chris Haughton brings his striking style to a crew of bumbling bird thieves. It’s efficient. It’s beautiful. It’s one of the best picture books of the year.
Read the rest of the review here.