Dictionary.com defines "meta" as: "pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features, often in the form of parody."

See also: breaking the fourth wall -- in other words, when something such as a play, movie, or book acts as if conscious of its status as a play, movie, or book, by means of referencing the audience, alluding to itself as fictional, etc. Here are some picture books that, in one way or another, seem conscious of their audience, or of themselves as books.

While I'm generally not a fan of picture books based on TV characters, The Monster at the End of This Book is a clear exception. Since it's been around for 45 years now, this is probably one of the more obvious meta picture books for people from my generation. Grover is quite emphatic throughout the book that the reader must not turn any more pages, because that will only get them closer to the monster at the end of the book, and he devises all kinds of ways to make them/us stop. Even though I didn't grow up with this book, I've really enjoyed it, and my children have too -- especially once they realized it wasn't as scary as it sounded.

A Book, by Mordicai Gerstein, is almost entirely meta, because the characters know they live in a book, and the main character is a girl in search of her story. She lives with family members who go off to their "character jobs" in the morning, while she has to find out what hers is, searching through pages of fairy tale characters, mysterious characters, pirates, and even a historical novel. By the end, she finds a way to take ownership of her distinct story. I thought this book was pretty clever, and I like how the scenes are drawn at something of an angle, with shadows that make it feel as though you're looking down into a three-dimensional world rather than the flat pages of a typical book.

All of us here enjoy the "Elephant & Piggie" series by Mo Willems, but We Are in a Book! is definitely my favorite. These books are written in "graphic novel" style, with colored speech bubbles to make it easier for young readers to see who is talking, though these can be enjoyed by pre-readers as well. In this book, Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie become aware that they are being read by a reader. This is very exciting to them -- until Piggie informs Gerald that the book is eventually going to end, which causes a bit of a freak-out. 

The Hole, by Norwegian artist Oyvind Torseter, was an interesting library find for us -- the book simply has a hole punched all the way through it, and the mostly wordless story involves someone moving into his new apartment and encountering "the hole," which moves about until he is finally able to capture it for analysis. Though of course, since the hole goes right through the book, it can never really go away...

The Red Book, by Barbara Lehman, is a short, wordless story about a boy who finds a magic book, which functions something like a mirror that allows him to make a connection with someone far away. 

Artist Dahlov Ipcar died this past February, but today would have been her 100th birthday. In addition to a long career as an artist, she spent most of her life farming in the state of Maine (my home state).

Since I lack any familiarity with the "art world" in general, I probably would not have known much about her work if it had not been for her delightfully illustrated board books published by Islandport Press, which we first discovered when my oldest child was a baby.

After reading one, it became easier to spot her distinctive style when I saw it elsewhere, since her work is celebrated in many places in the state.

I love her use of color and joyful depictions of animals (both wild and domestic). Here are some of her books we've enjoyed the most:

1. Farmyard Numbers was our introduction to Ipcar's art. It's a simple one-to-ten counting board book featuring favorite farm animals, and gentle rhyming text. Several of the illustrations in this book are cropped from larger scenes in Ipcar's earlier, longer book about the trials and joys of farm life called Hardscrabble Harvest.

2. Farmyard Alphabet continues with the farming theme (which Ipcar had quite a lot of experience with). Short rhyming lines show us a different aspect of farm life for each letter -- Q for quilt, T for tractor ("that does everything"), E for eggs, J "is for jars, of jellies and jams," etc.

3. The Cat at Night is a wonderful look at the difference between what a cat can see at night and what a person can see. The pages alternate between dark silhouetted scenes and brighter versions of the same scene, showing how the cat knows where to go even when it's dark to us. My children enjoyed trying to find the cat on the silhouetted pages.

4. Dahlov Ipcar's Maine Alphabet board book is a beautiful celebration of the state that was her home for most of her life. From the coast to the woods (L for lobster and M for moose, of course), this is a lovely rhyming romp through the great state of Maine.

5. I love the different color combinations in Wild Animal Alphabet -- so many earth tones and golds paired with vibrant blues and greens. Once again, the illustrations are accompanied with rhyming text that's "short and sweet" enough to hold the attention of toddlers. From ibex to quail to "zebra, who always comes last," this is a lovely and fun look at wild animals (including a few doing nontypical things like the kangaroo beating on drums).

Probably most of us grew up with Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat, in which we meet a very bold and unique animal, though still cat-like as far as wreaking havoc and making a big mess goes. Whatever your opinion of that one now, here are five more picture books in which felines feature prominently.

1. This Caldecott Honor book by Brendan Wenzel is deceptively simple in its portrayal of a cat as it "walks through the world." They All Saw a Cat is a visual depiction of the way the cat appears to numerous different animals. When the goldfish sees the cat, it's blurry and bug-eyed as reflected through its tank glass. When the mouse sees a cat, it's a terrifying animals with an emphasis on teeth and claws. For the flea it's a forest of hair, while the bat and the worm "see" it in ways even more unique. This is a lovely introduction to the idea of multiple perspectives.

2. The Mousehole Cat (written by Antonia Barber) is a charming story about a brave English cat named Mowzer whose "pet" is a fisherman named Tom. When a long storm rages against their harbor, Mowzer envisions it as The Great Storm-Cat, and decides to see if she can help Tom calm it. This story is probably too wordy for preschoolers -- see my full review here.

3. English veterinarian James Herriot wrote many wonderful stories for children, brimming with warmth, wonder, and respect for animals' individuality. Oscar, Cat-About-Town is one such story of a unique cat who has a strong desire to always be in the middle of the action, wherever it happens to be occurring! Herriot's stories do tend to have some big words in them, so they may be more appropriate for the older end of the picture book age range. For another Herriot story about a unique cat, see Moses the Kitten, or, if you feel like bawling your eyes out, The Christmas Day Kitten. 

4. The Tale of Tom Kitten is a classic by Beatrix Potter, and tells the story of three kittens whose mother dresses them all up in clothes, sends them outside, and tells them to behave themselves, which works about as well as dressing up kittens would in the real world. Their mother is a cat too, but she acts more like a human, especially in her unrealistic expectations of kittens. It's so delightfully British when she exclaims "I am affronted!" at the end.

5. The monochromatic illustrations in Kitten's First Full Moon, a Caldecott winner by Kevin Henkes, portray lovely nighttime scenes that illuminate the moon -- which a certain kitten is convinced is actually a big bowl of milk. She spends most of the book trying to figure out how to attain it without success, but manages to have a happy ending anyway. This is a simple, repetitive story that young children would enjoy.

There are many wonderful picture books that are set in one of the four seasons individually, but here are some of my favorites that encompass all four of the seasons in one book, contrasting their different characteristics and possibilities.

1. Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson is one of my favorites of the "interactive" books we've looked at lately. The illustrations are simple and lovely, and tell the gentle story of the changes an apple tree experiences through all four seasons, though the season names are not explicitly referenced. Children are invited to touch each bud as it blossoms, and blow a gentle breeze over the page to help the colorful leaves fall down. And then at the very end, the cycle starts all over again...

2. Speaking of apple trees, The Story Orchestra: Four Seasons in One Day by Jessica Courtney-Tickle includes a small apple tree carried by a girl named Isabelle, who journeys through all four seasons in one day with her tree and her puppy, Pickle. This is a wonderful book which includes not only beautiful, busy illustrations, but also some musical snippets of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. This one is a favorite at our house, and you can read my full review here.

3. Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad All Year is the third installment in his beloved Frog and Toad series. This volume contains five stories that take place at different times of the year, including a crazy winter sledding adventure, a crazy summer ice cream mishap, and a final Christmas celebration together in front of a warm fire. Although these books are written in an "I can read" style for early readers, they are suitable for any age.

4. The Year at Maple Hill Farm, by Alice and Martin Provensen, is a companion book to Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm. Though this book is less personal in the sense that you don't learn all the names and personalities of the animals, it contains the same warmth and charm of the original, and focuses on the different things that are happening on a farm during each month of the year. From hatching eggs and haircuts to haying, harvest, and worm medicine, this book shows us how the animals experience all the different things each season brings.

5. Tasha Tudor's lovely artwork makes this book a warm and nostalgic look at special times of the year. A Time to Keep shows us how some holidays were "kept" over the course of a year in this farming community many decades ago. There are some holidays you would expect: Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, etc., but also some that most of us are unlikely to have celebrated before: Twelfth Night, May Day, St. Nicholas's Birthday, and others. Annual traditions are shown in the framework of seasonal changes, though the focus is on the ways that each particular holiday was made special.

Bonus: For a more scientific look at the different characteristics of each season, The Berenstain Bears' Almanac (one of three books included in The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature) is a great choice. Written in rhyme, this book explores many of the different changes that we and the world around us experience in each season, as well as different holidays and weather phenomena that we encounter over the course of a year.