Here Is a Book by Elisha Cooper (Henry N. Abrams, 40 pages, ages 4-8). An artist is inspired by the nature around her and creates a book. She pedals her bicycle into town to deliver her work to her publisher. From there it goes to a printer, where it is turned into books. The books travel to the city, where one of them ends up in a school library. A child borrows the book and brings it home, where she is inspired by the illustrations to make a book of her own.

I was expecting this to be more of a “how a book is made” story, but I really loved the exploration of how one artist inspires another. Each step of the way includes a list of what is in that location: the artist’s garden has sun, rain, dirt, shovels, seeds, and love; the printer makes the book using paper, ink, printing presses, binding machines, glue, thread, and time; and the child’s room has paper, pencils, a desk,, a chair, stuffed bears, hot chocolate, days, nights, art, and wonder. The watercolor illustrations beautifully capture all of these things on each two page spread.

Let’s Be Bees by Shawn Harris (Neal Porter Books, 40 pages, ages 3-7). A man and a child are sharing a book; when the man says “Let’s be bees. Let’s buzz,” the two of them turn into bees, buzzing and popping right out of their human clothing. Similarly, they turn into birds, trees, a storm, and more, making the appropriate sounds and shape shifting into all sorts of things. Their final transformation is into the Earth, where they make every sound. The reader says, “Now let’s be me and say,” and the cartoon bubbles show both of them saying “The End,” each one sporting long hair and a beard like the reader. On the last page, they both turn into the child and say, “Again!!”

This simple but clever book celebrates the power of reading together and letting books unlock the imagination. The illustrations look like they were drawn by a child, and kids could use this book as a starting place for creating their own pictures based on its theme. Either one of these books could be considered for another Caldecott for their artists.