Both Are Needed

My best friend has four legs with four paws, shiny chocolate brown fur and a sense of hearing that can differentiate between the sound of the opening of the refrigerator fruit, vegetable, or cheese drawers.  When expressing joy she zooms like a roadrunner in the house or yard, leaps like a gazelle through snow drifts, and jumps straight up in the air off her four paws.  She is not much of a conversationalist, but she knows I know what every sigh, whimper, bark, and pointed look means.

In moments of quiet and aloneness, I have witnessed some remarkable occurrences, but nothing is as welcome as the sound of her claws clicking on tile or wood floors to find me or the jingle of her collar tags as she walks or runs next to me. In Sometimes It's Nice To Be Alone (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, February 14, 2023) written by Amy Hest with illustrations by Philip Stead readers are soothed by the contentment of being alone and awakened to the joy of shared experiences.  Rhythmic text presents the solace found in ordinary activities but also elevates those through imagination coupled with exquisite artwork.

Sometimes it's nice to 

be alone.

Just you, eating your

cookie, alone.

On the other hand if unexpectedly a friend appears, eating a cookie with them is really quite nice.  What if you happen to be reading a book alone and suddenly you are not alone?  It is a different feeling to be reading a book with a friend there.  It is as if you both have stepped into the pages of the story.

Do you remember days when it is just you outside tumbling on the grass, somersaulting to your heart's content?  Then a voice asks to tumble with you.  You and your friend are now a team of tumblers.

Head down and legs and feet pumping, you might be bicycling up, up and up hills all alone. With arms stretched out and feet kicking, you might be dancing among a whirlwind of colorful leaves in the autumn all alone.  When a friend is with you, the downward slope is more thrilling and the fall frolic is more exhilarating.

Doing something alone is one kind of special.  Doing the same thing with a friend is another kind of wonderful.  What will you do alone next?

The writing in this book by Amy Hest is marvelous.  The title text begins each lyrical portion.  This is followed by a description each time of what the child is doing.  We then read the question about the appearance of a friend.  Each reply to this question begins with the same seven words.  This establishes a cadence and participatory invitation to readers.

The mastery of this writing is that certain words are altered as the narrative progresses.  The descriptions become more vivid and sensory.  Here is a passage.

Just you, alone, on a 

seaside walk, making

big footprints, and heel

and toe prints, at the 

edge of the choppy sea.

The pictorial interpretation of the text by artist Philip Stead is superb.  We are introduced to his limited color palette on the open dust jacket.  His use of  primary colors here is at once strikingly ordinary and remarkable in their depictions. (The sky, sea, and sand continue on the other side of the spine.)   

The presentation of the sky in blue and white gives the perception of the white being either clouds or sea birds.  The added elements of the footprints leading from left to right and the handprints on the sand castle create an air of innocence and sheer happiness in spending a day at the beach.  On the left side a red and yellow and blue and white beach ball rests in the sand.  The title text is varnished.

The book case is identical to the dust jacket without any text on the front or the back.  The opening and closing endpapers are the golden color of the sand.  Beneath the text on the title page, a golden butterfly tinged with purple has been placed.

These two-page visuals by Philip Stead were rendered 

entirely by hand using monoprinting techniques.

As the story progresses, we can see by the clothing worn by the girl that the seasons are shifting.  We begin in spring and end in winter.  Hints are featured in the first picture about the form the friend will assume in the second picture.  These second illustrations are highly and delightfully ingenious.

Philip Stead also initially puts his own signature spin on 

pushing and panting

to the top of each hill.

and in the sea scenario.

He does this, too, when showcasing the friend with the girl in the autumn leaves.  I love what the friend is holding in their mouth.  I think readers will gasp at the one vertical image.  And I believe readers will sigh and perhaps shout aloud knowingly at the final illustration.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the girl is somersaulting in the grass in the morning.  Mid tumble on the right side, we see her wearing her red and white striped short-sleeved shirt.  Her bare feet are kicking her over as her hands brace the roll.  Bluebells decorate the grass.  Above her on a white canvas is the butterfly we saw on the title page.  Her feet do cross the gutter to the left.  Under the text and in the grass on the left side is a stuffed toy whale.  The girl's red and white striped socks are laying across the whale.

With every reading you will be more endeared to the book, Sometimes It's Nice To Be Alone written by Amy Hest with illustrations by Philip Stead.  This is a magical pairing of writing and artwork.  Listeners will request this to be read again and again.  There will be discussions about what we enjoy doing alone and who might appear to share it with us.  I highly recommend you include this title in all your collections.

To learn more about Amy Hest and Philip Stead and their other work, please visit their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Amy Hest has an account on Instagram.  Philip Stead shares an account with his wife, Erin Stead, on Instagram.  At the publisher's website are activity sheets to download. 

For The Very First Time, Again

People with puppy pals have first-hand experience in knowing the emotional ups and downs of their friends.  Those people without this understanding might not be sure what to do in the presence of a dog; they're not sure how they feel or how the dog is feeling about them.  On the other paw...hand... canines are particularly astute at reading people's emotions and responding accordingly to them.

When readers are first introduced to Henry's new puppy in Charley's First Night (Candlewick Press, 2012), it is impossible not to fall in love with Charley and Henry.  As the boy's affection for his friend continues to grow, he can hardly wait to share his joy with others he loves.  Author Amy Hest and illustrator Helen Oxenbury continue the story of the two in When Charley Met Grampa (Candlewick Press).

Dear Grampa,
We got a dog.  His name is Charley.

So begins the correspondence between Henry and his grandfather.  Henry describes Charley and wants his grandfather to bring a big suitcase so he can stay for more than a short visit.  Grampa replies with his arrival day at the train station and closes with his uncertainty about the dog.

On a snowy Sunday the duo leave the house to meet Grampa pulling a sled for his suitcase.  Charley is happily leaping through the snow, tail up.  Henry is pretty sure Charley knows the way to the depot.

To pass the time while waiting on the bench outside for Grampa, Henry talks to Charley about his grandfather's unique personality.  Charley seems to wilt a little when Henry mentions Grampa does not know how to make friends with a dog.  After what seems like forever the train's whistle is heard in the distance.

Before Henry and Charley know it, there's Grampa waving his hand as promised wearing his green cap.  Introductions are made.  The silence stretches.  Charley smiles but Grampa does not.

Even though the snow is falling faster with a fierce wind blowing, Charley knows the way home.  Whoosh! Oh no! There goes Grampa's cap.  There goes Charley.

Charley and the cap have disappeared into the swirling whiteness.  Frantic Henry and Grampa shout Charley's name over and over.  Will the puppy's persistence prevail?


To begin by using the exchange of the two letters between Henry and Grampa,  Amy Hest introduces readers to the loving relationship between the two as well as the visit to come.  Blending Henry's narrative with his and Grampa's conversations with Charley makes us intimate observers in this day of their lives.  Henry's interpretation of Charley's intentions lets us know how strong the bond is between this boy and his dog.  Of note, as Charley's vanishes into the snow, Hest is especially skillful at increasing the tension we feel by quickly shifting her sentence structure. Here is a single example from the book.

Charley barked at the train for a while,
and when it was gone, he held his
head tall, which is code for Follow me,
gentlemen! I know the way home! 


Helen Oxenbury treats readers to a double page spread across the jacket and cover, presenting the three characters, Charley, Henry and Grampa on their snowy walk from the train station with the village tucked in the background on the left.  A different color, soft steel blue instead of a dusty brown, the opening and closing endpapers feature the same small, endearing  caricatures of Charley in various poses as did the first book.  All of the illustrations, including the title page and verso, are framed either in a warm light tan or a pale blue-gray with a narrower brown and white line on the inside next to the illustrations.  The first four pages in the beginning and at the end are done in the tan.

Oxenbury has masterfully conveyed, using watercolor and pencil, all of Charley's puppy playfulness, Henry's love for both he and his grandfather and the wisdom that comes with age.  Her details of the landscape, village and Henry's home, the clothing each is wearing (how it blows in the wind), and all the facial expressions are simply lovely. As she did in the first book, each text page, opposite the full-page pictures, includes a small picture of Charley.  Although I adore all the illustrations in this book, the one of Henry and Charley sitting on the bench outside the train depot waiting for Grampa, snowflakes falling, is probably my favorite.


Whether you share this story one on one or with an entire group, when the final sentence is read and the final illustration is shown, I know there will be a collective silence before you are asked to read it again.  When Charley Met Grampa written by Amy Hest with illustrations by Helen Oxenbury is as beautiful as the first title.  This books has staying power, a timeless quality.  I certainly hope the adventures of these two continue within the pages of many more books.

To learn more about author Amy Hest visit her website by following the link embedded in her name.  Enjoy the video below where Helen Oxenbury speaks about her work.






Interestingly enough a study was released recently by Gregory Berns, professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University and author of How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain, demonstrating dog's emotional capacity along with their sensitivity to our emotions. (Here is a link to a great video included in a post today titled Do Animals Have Feelings Like Humans?)

For The Very First Time

There are memories with emotional attachments so strong they will never fade, being permanently as vivid as the day they were created.  On the day a new puppy chooses you, for most children (and adults), this is a moment firmly planted and nurtured by our minds.  Even though the bond is fresh and new, its strength is assured.

Despite their desire to be with you, puppies are used to being with their other brothers and sisters, a pack, gathering around and needing their mother.  Being freshly separated from what is comfortable, natural, to them is not easy.  In Charley's First Night (Candlewick Press) written by Amy Hest with illustrations by Helen Oxenbury, we are given an intimate, insider view of a boy's budding love, his understanding, of his new canine companion.

It was snowing that night, and Charley wanted me to carry him home.

Henry is out walking with his new puppy when it's clear the little guy is totally tuckered out.  With a gentle tenderness the puppy is wrapped in an old baby blanket, cradled in his new human friend's arms, who is ever so careful not to slip in the snow on the way home.  Once inside Henry introduces Charley to all the unique nooks and crannies in his house, reminding him that this is home.

His parents are very specific about who will be walking and feeding Charley.  Henry can hardly wait to 

walk Charley every day forever and feed Charley every day forever.

Mr. and Mrs. Korn also remind Henry that Charley will be sleeping in the kitchen even though Henry is sure he would rather sleep in his bedroom.  He can not imagine how his puppy will like being there at night...forever.  They fix up a large, soft, cozy bed for Charley under the table next to the heat register complete with Henry's old stuffed bear, Bobo, and a ticking clock.

Even though Henry waits for his pal to fall asleep before heading upstairs to bed, a crying awakens him in the middle of the night.  Quickly he runs to Charley, picking him up, comforting him and giving him another tour of the house.  It isn't until the puppy's soft snoring is heard that Henry leaves him in the kitchen once more.

When the whimpering starts much later, Henry runs to his friend showing him the moonlight, holding him close as they walk through the house ending up in his bedroom.  Amazingly enough Charley wants Henry to put him on his bed.  In the morning when a mother peeks her head in the bedroom door, guess what she sees?


With every turn of page it becomes abundantly clear that Amy Hest knows how a young boy thinks and feels about a new puppy under his care.  Through Henry's voice we walk in the snow, tour his home, listen to his parents and his unspoken thoughts in response, kneel down with him next to Charley's bed and run with him as he goes to comfort Charley.  Sentence by sentence, word by word,  Hest draws us into Henry's and Charley's first night together.  Here is but one example.

Charley curled up in a ball and I put my 
face next to his and I waited for Charley
to fall asleep, and I thought about how my
mother and father sometimes used to wait
for me to fall asleep and soon Charley fell asleep.


Setting the tone for the entire book is the jacket and cover picture of Henry carrying Charley through their first snowy evening walk together.  Soft, warm brown on brown smaller versions of Charley in various poses are placed across the opening and closing endpapers.  Pale gray arching lines create a series of interlocking scallops acting as larger frames against the narrow gray lines around the text boxes on the left side and the illustrations on the right.

Helen Oxenbury's watercolor and pencil pictures paint a world as dear and charming as does Hest's text.  Within each of the text boxes she places a small significant visual enhancing the narrative.  She has captured with a sure, practiced hand the essence of a puppy and his human pal.  Every single one of her illustrations are worthy of framing.  My two favorite pictures are of Henry kneeling under the kitchen table to place his red wind-up clock next to Charley who is laying on his back, four paws extending in the air, with the stuffed teddy bear next to him.  The other is of Henry holding Charley in the darkened kitchen both of them looking out the window at the moon.


With the feel of a classic Charley's First Night with words by Amy Hest and illustrations by Helen Oxenbury is in every way a perfect picture book.  Every single reader who has every had a puppy or longed for one, will see themselves in this story.  The second most beautiful three words, coming after I love you, Read it again will be heard more than once...without a doubt.

To gain access to Amy Hest's website follow the link embedded in her name.  By following the link within Helen Oxenbury's name you are taken to a Reading Rockets video interview.  This link takes you to the publisher's website for a peek at a two page spread and a story hour kit with some possible follow-up activities.