Why am I passionate about this?
I am the Illustrator of 45 books for kids, 9 of which I authored as well. I have always been attracted to joyful nonsense. I am drawn to books and writings that turn norms on their heads. From the time I was super young, my favorite poem has been Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” with its delightful slithy toves gyring and gimbling in the wabe. In fact, of the books I’ve written to date, every one has had some kind of nonsensical element to it.
Aaron's book list on nonsense in children’s books
Why did Aaron love this book?
This gorgeous book is set like a stage and populated with a variety of bugs who speak a language invented by the author. Within the short space between the covers, our cast experiences the full gamut of life, death, villainy, victory, nature, building, community, beauty, growth, decay, loss, hope, and transformation – an amazing feat! While the invented language is full of delightfully silly words, every sentence can be accurately decoded by tracking how individual words and phrases are reused and by looking for context clues. A sampling of the nonsense you’ll find: “Du kimma plonk?” “Iz unk gladenboot.” “Booby voobeck!”
2 authors picked Du Iz Tak? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.
The creator of Home explores the astonishing changes in a garden, where insects talk their own mysterious language.
In her follow-up to the internationally acclaimed Home, Carson Ellis invites readers to imagine the dramatic possibilities to be found in the natural world ... even the humblest back garden! With gorgeous, exquisitely-detailed illustration that will appear to children and art-lovers alike, and a wonderfully playful invented language, we soon find ourselves speaking "Bug" ... Du iz tak? What is that?