Picture Book Portals
All books can transport us from our lives to another time and place. The picture books below take that idea to another level with portals and magical transformations.
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson (1955)
Harold uses the titular crayon to draw what he needs, traveling and exploring as he goes. The blank page comes alive with Harold’s drawings, and I love how this book puts the power to create in a kid’s hand.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963)
Max’s room turns from a punishment into a portal in this classic. He takes a boat to the land of the wild things, has a grand adventure, and still has a warm dinner waiting when he returns. Bliss.
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers (2007)
What do you do when you find an unfamiliar plane in your closet? Get in it and fly away, of course! The youngster meets an alien friend on the moon and they discover how to help each other out of their troubles.
Lift by Minh Le and Dan Santat (2020)
An older sister finds magical elevator button that allows her to travel anywhere, letting her escape from the family that is frustrating her. In the end, she learns that sharing the magic with her little brother makes it sweeter.
Journey, Quest, and Return by Aaron Becker (2013, 2014, 2016)
Becker’s characters use magical crayons in what has to be a tribute to Crockett’s Harold, creating transport and escape in this wordless trilogy. In Journey, a girl is bored in her monochromatic life. She draws a door in her room with a red crayon and enters a magical world, taking the crayon with her. She continues her travels on a red boat, balloon, and carpet of her own creation until she finds a purple door. Through that door she discovers a friend with a crayon of his own.
Door by JiHyeon Lee (2018)
An odd flying creature leads a curious kid to a key and a door. Beyond the door, the kid finds a curious world in this wordless picture book. The world is scary at first, but eventually the child finds kindred spirits and lots of fun, including a picnic and a wedding.
Once Upon a Book by Grace Lin and Kate Messner (2023)
Alice (named in what I assume is a nod to Lewis Carroll) is bored with her world, so she escapes into a book, literally. When one location proves less than ideal, she tries another, traveling through destinations until she settles on the comforts of home.
Through the Fairy Door by Gabby Dawnay, Giulia Tomai, and Lars van de Goor (2023)
The star of this picture book is the blended drawings and photographs that make up the illustrations. Creating fairy worlds amid natural settings, the images transport the reader as well as the character into a magical world.