Today, a few page spreads from picture books to surprise, delight, and amuse:

From I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen: This wordless spread captures the moment when the Bear confronts the rabbit who stole his hat. It’s a moment of tension and uncertainty, though the readers – and the rabbit – have a good guess what’s coming next.

Next up is Mina by Matthew Forsythe, and if you haven’t read it yet, please stop reading this and go find a copy; or at least request a copy from your library, close your eyes, and scroll down a bit, because I don’t want to be responsible for ruining perhaps the single greatest page turn ever:

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” said the doctor. “But let me take a look at these squirrels.”

“Oh, I see the problem,” said the doctor. “The problem is that these squirrels are definitely cats.”

This is the part in Snail Crossing by Corey Tabor where the snail realizes it has journeyed back to its starting place instead of making it across the road to where the delicious cabbages are. “Well, shoot.” I love the understatement of this, and the slime trail showing the snail’s path.

“Tommy closed his eyes. If he were a pterodactyl, he wouldn’t have to put up with this.” This gem is from You Can’t Be A Pterodactyl! by James Breakwell & Sophie Corrigan. Haven’t we all had moments like this? Kids, especially, often find their imaginative flights of fancy reined in and pulled back down to earth by adults (or even other kids).

This “final” page from Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat reminds readers “that every day…you choose.” The simple message is emphasized and made even more powerful by the 96-page book’s “pick your path” structure. In my experience, kids will want to read this one over and over again until they’ve made all the possible choices. And then they’ll want to read it again.

Do you have a favorite page turn or page spread from a picture book?