Michael Hall – illustratör

A heart can be hopeful, or silly, or happy. A heart can be rugged, or snappy, or lonely. A heart holds every different feeling, and debut author-artist Michael Hall captures each one with a delicate touch. For each feeling, the bold, graphic artwork creates an animal out of heart shapes, from "eager as a beaver" to "angry as a bear" to "thoughtful as an owl." An accessible and beautiful debut, My Heart Is Like a Zoo is everything a classic picture book should be: honest, sincere, and speaking directly to even the very youngest child. Ages: 0 - 5

The New York Times bestseller My Heart Is Like a Zoo features bright colors, simple sentences, playful animals, and more than 300 hearts for children to count and enjoy. Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick says, "Starting with one simple shape, Michael Hall shows us a nearly infinite number of ways to make a menagerie of love." This board book edition of the award-winning picture book is perfect for little hands and the very youngest readers, who will learn that a heart can be hopeful, silly, happy, rugged, snappy, or lonely. A heart holds every different feeling, and author-artist Michael Hall captures each one with his bold, graphic artwork. An ideal springboard for conversations about emotions, and for introducing concepts, math, and art projects in the classroom and at home. School Library Journal called it an "outstanding choice for one-on-one sharing."

A perfect square is transformed in this adventure story that will transport you far beyond the four equal sides of this square book.

A blue crayon mistakenly labeled as "red" suffers an identity crisis in this picture book by the New York Times-bestselling creator of My Heart Is Like a Zoo and It's an Orange Aardvark! Funny, insightful, and colorful, Red: A Crayon's Story, by Michael Hall, is about being true to your inner self and following your own path despite obstacles that may come your way. Red will appeal to fans of Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, and The Day the Crayons Quit, and makes a great gift for readers of any age! Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let's draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can't be red, no matter how hard he tries! Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He's blue!This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone.

Ingenuity and surprise rule in this funny and colorful companion to Red: A Crayon's Story written and illustrated by Michael Hall, the New York Times-bestselling creator of My Heart Is Like a Zoo. The crayons are ready to tell the thrilling tale of Frankencrayon. The costumes are made, the roles are cast, the pages are all set-but then disaster strikes. Someone has scribbled on the page! Hideous! Horrifying! The story can't go on! Try as they might, the crayons can't erase the scribble, and this picture book must be canceled. Until the crayons playing the title role of Frankencrayon think of a solution, that is. Michael Hall breaks borders and invites readers behind the scenes with his irresistible, clever style and bold artwork. A book about seeing beauty in unexpected places and the magic of storytelling.

Recess. A swing set. An argument. A resolution! Michael Hall’s transformative Swing is a celebration of friendship, joy, and kindness. Readers of all ages will look forward to seeing how four unlikely friends navigate their differences. A surprising and standout picture book from the acclaimed and bestselling creator of Red: A Crayon’s Story and Perfect Square.It’s recess! Four letters (O, V, E, and L) race to the playground to claim the swings. In several pages of recess banter and bullying, one letter is told it’s too round, one is from the wrong end of the alphabet, and one is a vowel and therefore not welcome.What does it take to save the day? Kindness . . . and a heavenly and joyful swing. And what do the letters—friends now because of their shared experience—spell when they finally come back to Earth? LOVE.A story about sharing, acceptance, and kindness, this transcendent and colorful picture book will keep readers guessing while also introducing the letters of the alphabet. Swing is for anyone who loves to hop on a swing and fly to the sky.

In a world where it's easy to punch back, Badger's friends choose to patch things up. Perfect for kids navigating big emotions! When Badger bullies his friends Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear, they teach him an unforgettable lesson about empathy, kindness, and forgiveness in this funny and thematically rich social and emotional read-aloud from the acclaimed creator of Red: A Crayon's Story.Badger, Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear are best friends. But when Badger experiences a personal loss and his emotions are too big to contain, he goes looking for trouble and takes his sadness out on his friends. He trips Frog, shoves Moose, kicks Elephant, and pokes Bear with a shovel. So Bear gathers the others, and they come up with a plan to teach Badger a lesson. Only that lesson is not what Badger—or readers—expect. In fact, Badger’s friends treat Badger with kindness, offering him what he needs the most to sooth his raw emotions—a surprising turn of events that Badger takes to heart when Bear needs a little comfort in return.Illustrated in Michael Hall’s signature cut-paper collages, Punch! sparkles with inventive wordplay, rhythm, repetition, homonyms, and plenty of suspense and action. Rich with social and emotional hooks, this picture book is a terrific choice for story time and family sharing.