One By One...

There are no other books quite like her books.  Each year she and her signature artwork is the subject of a much-loved author study in elementary schools.  The younger students are fascinated with her illustrative techniques.  They love the rhythm, rhyme and pacing of her text specifically written for them.  Within moments of beginning to read aloud any of her titles, you can see the listeners caught up in the cadence of the story.

In her second book released this year, we are captivated by a charming family of waterfowl.  5 Little Ducks (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, November 8, 2016) written and illustrated by Denise Fleming is a lively trek from the pond, through the woods and around the farm.  It's an adventure filled with beings from the animal and human worlds.

5 little ducks went out Monday.

They leave the cozy comfort of their nest on the shore of the pond, moseying through tall trees.  A green frog, rabbit, flying squirrels and doe note their passing.  Their papa utters his

"Quack, quack, quack!"

and they all don't return.  One wanders.

Only four venture out on Tuesday.  Later four minus one head toward Papa Duck heeding his call.  On Wednesday the remaining ducklings set out for sights unseen.  What's that on the little duck's back?  Who is the little duck's new friend? Oh, oh only a duo listen to their daddy.

On Thursday and Friday explorations continue and the diminishing numbers dwindle.  On Friday when Papa Duck gives his cry, there is no answer.  No little ducks wiggle and wobble home.

On the sixth day of the week two mallards have an empty nest.  To bring their youngsters back, one male duck gives three mighty quacks.  Will one, two, three, four, five wayfarers wander back?  On Sunday if you happen to be quietly walking around the pond or slowly paddling by in your tiny boat, you'll have your answer.


A children's nursery song is given new wings and waddles in the masterful hands of Denise Fleming.  The little ducks walk their way through the days of the week inviting readers and listeners to participate.  More interest is supplied in having the little ducks explore new places each day.  By the time Wednesday is reached readers can anticipate the refrain while predicting their next point of interest.

The rhyming of quack and back and the repetition of far away after each day supply a catchy cadence.  The pacing and pause when no little ducks come to the nest and Saturday will have readers unfamiliar with the rhyme wondering what will happen next.  This is a wonderful way to build anticipation.  Having Papa Duck give the shout and Mama Duck having the final say shows the parents working together.


When you run your hands over the opened dust jacket the red title text is raised.  The scene of pond reeds and sandy shore extends on the other side of the spine with the ISBN nicely nestled in a stone.  The inquisitive body postures, eyes and open bills leave no doubt that these little ducks are going to be on the move.  Even though the text is not raised on the matching book case, you will find yourself reaching out to feel the imagined texture Denise Fleming makes in her illustrations.

On the matching opening and closing endpapers the reeds are sticking up through the water.  Lily pads float in a swirl of current.  Dragonflies hover, beetles scuttle and a green frog watches.  With a page turn the five little ducks swim into view.  The text on the verso page on the left is wavy like the surface of the pond.  The color of the title text shifts to golden yellow.

All of the following images stretch, edge to edge, across two pages.  Denise Fleming always tucks Papa Duck into the picture letting readers know he is keeping an eye on his family.  You are going to enjoy seeing each inquisitive little duck imitating the creatures they meet.

Although the colors are lively with hints of blue in many of the outlines, there is also a sense of peace and security in each spot the little ducks visit.  Careful readers will notice many other animals in each image other than those specifically greeted; sheep, a horse, crows, flies, cows, kittens and their mother, butterflies, a puppy, and red squirrels.  (In fact, Fleming asks you to find them at the close of the book.)  Each character is fully animated to the point you can almost hear them quack, buzz, croak, chew, gobble, caw, moo, meow, oink, chatter, bark or giggle.  If you are very, very quiet perhaps you can listen for a rabbit hop or a butterfly to glide nearby.

One of my favorite of many illustrations is when we are very close to three of the little ducks.  Two are walking away.  A third has a petal on his back trying to be like the box turtle trudging beside him.  Along the bottom of the page is a darker, rusty red path.  Above this is a row of colorful flowers acting as a background.  Perhaps it's a garden.


It seems to me the books written and illustrated by Denise Fleming, this book, 5 Little Ducks, is each equally engaging and spirited.  Her specialized work

pulp painting---a paper-making technique using colored cotton fiber poured through hand-cut stencils

accented by

pastel pencil

is perfect for the intended audience.  These books appeal to all the senses welcoming us into the extraordinary worlds found in each title.  You will want to add this to your personal and professional collections.  I did.  On the final two pages Denise Fleming includes seven paragraphs about certain aminals along with their pictures taken from the interior.

To learn more about Denise Fleming and her body of work please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  At her website she offers activities for this title and for her other books.  She has a page dedicated to pulp painting.  At the publisher's website you can view five interior images.  Be sure to visit author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for A Peek into Denise Fleming's Studio.  This September Denise Fleming was showcased at KIDLIT 411.  There is a series of video interviews at Reading Rockets.  Enjoy the book trailer.


I previously wrote about Sleepy, oh so Sleepy, underGround and Go, Shapes, Go! all by Denise Fleming.

Geometric Gymnastics

Some people look at a pumpkin and only see a pumpkin.  Other people look at ivy and see nothing more than a blur of green.  Still more people look at a pot and see an everyday container for plants.  Most people look at snow and simply see snow.

If you are author illustrator Denise Fleming you will see circles, ovals, stars, triangles, curves, rectangles and lines, lots of lines.  You will understand perhaps, the combination of these creates something where no two are ever alike.  When you look, you see balance and beauty.  Go, Shapes, Go! (Beach Lane Books, October 7, 2014), Denise Fleming's latest title, explores the world of shapes and what they can form.

SHAPES are in place
and ready to go!

Sixteen shapes, a square, a triangle, a small arc, an arc, a circle, an oval, two small ovals, two tiny circles, two thin rectangles, two big rectangles, and two half circles, are placed on a page.  A small mouse scooting on wheels shouts out maneuvers like a musical choreographer.  First getting in the groove, the square makes a move.

Smooth forms shimmy and shake.  I wonder what the circle, oval and arc will make.  Lines, angles, and rectangles to the front get ready for their part in this stunt.  All the tiny pieces scurry into position, the mouse's voice giving them permission.

Say! Hey! This newly created jolly, jaunty forest friend is eager to play. Oh! No! The mouse is in out-of-control motion.  Tallyho! Yikes!

Mouse gives a shout.  Fallen shapes, every single one, assemble.  What's that we see?  Mouse begins to tremble.  Is this the end? Let's hope Mouse finds his friend.


Denise Fleming is a rhyming wizard.  Each phrase begins with a single action word spoken by the mouse giving direction to the shapes.  The final word in each group ties to the next in rhyme.  She has created a catchy cadence in this narrative of shapes thinking for themselves when given the chance.  Here are two.

Bounce, OVAL,
up and down.
Roll, CIRCLE,
round and round.


Beautifully rendered in her unique style, Denise Fleming poured the backgrounds adding cut purchased handmade paper with pastel accents for her illustrations.  In looking at the matching dust jacket and book case, readers know they are in for an animated, textured treat.  To compliment the vibrant orange-red and lime green, the endpapers are soft plain purple.  The mouse is dashing across the title page as if coming down from the top of the front jacket and case.

With the first and last page of the story as the only exceptions, all of the pictures span two pages edge to edge.  No backgrounds are identical but all are rich and bold serving to highlight the shapes and the text.  Prior to the shapes leaving to make mouse's pal, they are identified in smaller print.

As the mouse's companion is made one of my favorite illustrations is after the small arc is added.  We get to see emotion, as well as the motion we have noted in the previous pages, in his smile as his eyes look down at his new feature.  Mouse's single eye is looking directly at the reader.


As a read aloud the rhythm and rhymes of Go, Shapes, Go! written and illustrated by Denise Fleming will have you singing and your listeners dancing within the first few pages.  Not only is this a lively presentation of shapes but a happily-ever-after story too.  Mouse makes a marvelous director.

If you have never visited Denise Fleming's website before, you will want to go there now by following the link embedded in her name.  There is much to be learned about her and her work.  She has numerous activities to accompany her books.  Here is a link to the page for Go, Shapes, Go!  This links to the printable PDF.  Enjoy the book trailer.

Look...See...Beneath...Below

When the Mock Caldecott election rolls around every year in school and public libraries, it's fun to to imagine the conversations taking place about the varied techniques employed by the illustrators in the rendering of their pictures.  Each year within my own building the discussions were lively about color, composition, detail, how skillful the particular artist was with their medium of choice and how the visuals contributed to and enhanced the storyline.  Once an explanation was offered about the means used by an illustrator to create their visuals, it was exciting to see the look of wonder on the students' faces.

One of the more popular, unusual illustrative styles is that of 1994 Caldecott Honor award winner, Denise Fleming.  With nineteen books to her credit including the newest title, underGround (Beach Lane Books, September 18, 2012), her work is easily recognizable and distinctive.  As described in the verso:

The illustrations were created by pulp painting---a papermaking technique using colored cotton fiber poured through hand-cut stencils.  Accents were added with pastel pencil and copy transfer.


Low down.
Way down.
Under ground.


High in the branches of a tree a robin watches rabbits on a garden plot.  He swoops down among the carrot tops spying a worm to tug up.  On the dirt beetles and ants are crawling as grubs nestle beneath the soil.

On top a rabbit munches as a mole meanders below.  A small child examines ants as readers see all the activity he cannot.  Chipmunks carry a feast of nuts to their tunnels as a groundhog snacks on a grassy treat.

As the story proceeds a mixture of animals above and below are highlighted busily going about their day.  The child's dog buries a bone among others deeper down.  A cherry tree is planted, carrots are picked and the two companions scamper away.


Denise Fleming's skill at using the least amount of words for the biggest impact is highly evident in this book.  Her crisp phrases relying on alliteration and rhyme convey constant motion.  It's like she's issued an invitation to everyone, "Come closer...look here, over there. Now, put on these special glasses.  Can you see beneath the above?  It's full of life, too."  When her three closing sentences match the first three, the circle is complete, but continuing.


The array of energetic greens and browns with touches of royal blue, orange and brilliant red shown on the jacket and cover are carried throughout the book.  Identical opening and closing endpapers are textured with marbled layers of dirt, lost treasures strewn about; a thimble, a bit of chain and a wrench.  A turn of page begins the story as the title, author and publishing information is shown underground with the rabbits in the garden greenery above, ants and bees joining them.

Another page turn shows a child and their dog running toward a red wheelbarrow carrying trees for planting; more publication informationis tucked on the far left side.  Page after page reveals lush portrayals beginning on the left spreading across to the right, bleeding out to the edges, for the entire book.  Perspective, detail and the texture of the pictures make you want to reach out and participate with more than your eyes.

At the story's completion Fleming takes readers on a short informative tour, Creature Identification.  Twenty-one small, captioned pictures set against a rusty, pebbled background feature additional facts about the critters found in this book.  It's the final jewel in a treasure chest filled to the brim.


Denise Fleming's gift is to draw our attention, to focus, on a specific aspect of our world.  In underGround we are able to view the activity of above and below at the same time with an uncommon closeness.  This title is another example of why most of her titles have found a place on my personal shelves.

Enjoy the book trailer.



I've used this video with great success, especially the part where she takes viewers into her studio
to demonstrate the pulp painting process.  It is nearly forty minutes in length.

Yawn......

For several years in January, the month when the Caldecott Medal is given by the American Library Association, our kindergarten students partake in an author study of Denise Fleming.  In the Small, Small Pond brought her a Caldecott Honor Award in 1994.  Throughout her career her books have repeatedly appeared on the annual American Library Association, Assocation for Library Service to Children Notable Lists.

Beginning with the title page illustration, Denise Fleming's unique technique of pulp painting softly lulls readers into her newest offering, Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy (Henry Holt and Company, August 3, 2010).  (Pulp painting is a papermaking technique using colored cotton fiber poured through hand-cut stencils.) Readers can not help but sit back, unwind and gently begin this tale when presented with the sleeping fledglings all cuddled in their cozy nest.  We are very close to them as if we are peeking through the leaves of the tree.

Fleming's choice of color for this theme evokes tranquility as does her selection of twelve animals which are perennial favorites of children.  Each two page spread features a small animal in the protective embrace of its parent as the words, Tiny baby panda, sleepy, oh so sleepy...Tiny baby ostrich, sleepy, oh so sleepy...tiny baby lion, sleepy, oh so sleepy.  Where's my sleepy baby? create a lullaby cadence.

Her artistic talent is prominent in the positioning  of the young babies and their parents.  In none of the illustrations is the full adult in view.  In some just the feet are showing, a mouth, a nose, back or stomach where the baby nestles in quiet repose.   As each animal is presented readers will long to reach out and stroke the page.

It is in the final pages that the question, Where's my sleepy baby?, is answered.  Closing with Sleep tight, sleepy babies, tiny sleepy babies curved around our blue planet Denise Fleming reminds us of our universal similarities and all that unites us.  For good reason she dedicates this book to her daughter, Indigo, who will be 32 this year.

Please check out Denise Fleming's web site by flowing the link attached to her name at this blog's beginning.  It is just as colorful and full of life as her books and loaded with activities to enhance each title as well as other information about her and her art.  To view some interior pages please follow this link to the publisher's website.