Children's Corner: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

 I adore William Joyce's picture books and this one is no different.  Although the deeper meaning may be a little beyond my daughter, it's still a fantastic concept with his beautiful trademark imagination and illustrations.

Moris Lessmore (more is less-more!) is so busy with his head in a book that he doesn't notice the world outside of his books until he is thrown into it by a catastrophic event after which he realizes that he can be a keeper of books and stories.  According to the jacket, this is inspired by Mr. Joyce's experiences with hurricane Katrina and though the symbolism may be lost on the younger crowd, the imagery and fantasy are marvelous in their own right.

Apparently, this story also inspired an Academy Award winning short film that I will now have to seek out as well as a story app.  This is well worth exploring on many levels. I look forward to progressing into some of William Joyce's works for older children as my daughter grows.