In Their Footsteps

Without them, what would we have overlooked or not pursued?  Without them, what are we losing?  Without them, what kind of future is there?  Throughout history, there have been those who would discount, obstruct, and overlook their ideas, endeavors, and accomplishments.  They made choices no one else dared to make.  They continue, regardless of their age, to do what is best for the largest number of individuals and our planet.  We should never doubt the capacity of any committed woman.  They serve, protect, and seek.

  

There are creators, authors and illustrators, of children's nonfiction who are bringing the achievements of those committed women to readers.  In two weeks, Women's History Month 2022 begins at the national level and the international level in a few other countries.  It is hoped these three titles will motivate others to follow their own positive pursuits.  

In the summer of 1776 the United States Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed by fifty-six delegates.  After reading Her Name Was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman Whose Name Is On The Declaration Of Independence (Christy Ottaviano Books, Little, Brown And Company, January 25, 2022) written by Ella Schwartz with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk, you will marvel at the tenacity and courage of this woman.  Given the time and place in which she lived, her accomplishments are bold and brilliant.

Before America was even a country, a young girl lived in the colony of Connecticut in a busy port town with her parents and younger brother. 

Mary Katharine, her mother, and younger brother stayed in this community until the early death of her father.  The siblings were in their teens and both were being educated by their mother.  In Rhode Island where Mary Katharine and her mother relocated, William, having completed his apprenticeship as a printer, opened the first newspaper there. 

Eventually, William left Providence to start another paper in Philadelphia.  Mary Katharine continued to run the paper in Rhode Island until William decided to sell it and asked her and her mother to come to Philadelphia.  There she ran his paper, the Pennsylvania Chronicle.  It should be noted that in both papers, the Goddard family (Mary Katharine) had no issues with speaking their minds about the hardships of being under British rule.  When William opened a third newspaper, the Maryland Journal, and the Baltimore Advertiser, Mary Katharine moved to Baltimore.  

Regardless of her brother's activities, including time spent in jail, Mary Katharine ran the newspaper in Maryland.  When she was thirty-seven, she did a courageous thing adding her initials to the paper, M. K. Goddard, in reference to ownership.  After a postal system outside of the British system was devised, Mary Katharine was the first woman postmaster in the colonies in 1775.  When the first Declaration of Independence was printed, the signatures of only a few were shown.  What they declared was grounds for treason.  When the Continental Congress asked Mary Katharine to print a new version, the first version with all the signatures, she added her name at the bottom as the printer.  Her allegiance was aligned with delegates.  

The painstaking research by author Ella Schwartz is evident in the facts presented within the narrative of Mary Katharine Goddard's life and work.  Tying each portion together is the repetition of the main title phrase with additional words changing to reflect an important time in her life.  There are quotes attributed to her as seen in the newspaper on several pages within the text to reinforce her political stance. Here is a passage.

Mary Katharine had been handed a great honor and a big

responsibility.  Her printed version of the Declaration of 

Independence would announce the birth of a new nation and

was intended to be preserved forever for future generations.

The people named on the document pledged their honor,

fortunes, and lives in the formation of the United States of 

America.  If the war was lost, every person named on that

document would be sentenced to death.

Her name was Mary Katharine

and she had an important job to do. 

The image you see on the front of the dust jacket contines on the other side of the spine for about a fourth of the space.  The words of the hand-written Declaration of Independence and those same words on the printed document shine through the flag and blue background on the bottom of the front of the jacket and the entire back of the jacket.  Mary Katharine proudly stands holding the results of her work on the front.  On the back, in a small square-framed image, we see her at work.  She is setting the type for her initials and last name to appear on the next newspaper.  On the front of the dust jacket, Mary Katharine, the Declaration of Indepence, and the title text are varnished.

On the book case, on either side of the spine, are two different illustrations.  On the left, we see Mary Katharine standing in the doorway of the Providence Gazette as a group of men on the street comment on the newspaper.  In the background citizens are gathering and holding signs in protest.  On the right, Mary Katharine is close to us.  She is holding the printed Declaration of Independence as she stands outside the newspaper shop doorway.  Again in the background there are supporters of independence, moving to the right on a brick street with a building in the background.

On the opening endpapers are tiny elements representing the life and times of Mary Katharine Goddard.  On a pale blue background are single letters used in printing, her name printed twice with and without her full name, books, American flags of that time period, the Declaration of Independence, candles, quill pens, bundles of letters awaiting delivery and other printer tools.  On the closing endpapers are framed blocks holding letters ready to be set for printing.  The colors here are black, gray, and hues of gold.

On the title page we are inside the newspaper shop near the printing press shown on the left.  The dedication and publication information is placed with intention here.  On the right stands Mary Katharine, hands folded in front of her and wearing an apron.  A stack of paper is placed on the table to the right of her.

Artist Dow Phumiruk rendered these illustrations 

digitally in Adobe Photoshop with scans of watercolors and textures.

In each double-page picture several perspectives are shown as well as different times and places.  The blending of the times and places is superb.  The double-page picture of the delegates at work is shown as if we are looking down on them.  In another two-page visual, across the top the two armies are meeting at Lexington and Concord.  The main image shows the American troops gathering on the left and on the right Mary Katharine is working at her press to continue printing during the war.

One of my favorite illustrations is a blend of the inside of a building on the far left and far right with the outside of buildings in the middle.  On the left, the Continental Congress is in session.  In the middle people are reading Mary Katharine's newspaper.  On the right, she is standing inside her building looking outside.  Where there would normally be sky, we see in gray tones a collage of American soldiers during battle.

After reading Her Name Was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman Whose Name Is On The Declaration Of Indepence written by Ella Schwartz with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk, when you think of people representative of the word courage, Mary Katharine Goddard will come to your mind.  At the close of the book is a two-page author's note, a page of important terms, and selected sources.  You will want to place this book in the who-knew-but-grateful-to-know-now category of titles to be read and shared widely.  You will want to have a copy in both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Ella Schwartz and Dow Phumiruk and their other work, please access their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Ella Schwartz has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Dow Phumiruk has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  The cover reveal for this book with conversations with the creators was hosted by librarian, lecturer, and writer John Schumacher on his site, Watch. Connect. Read.

There are those who relish fairytales.  There are those who are fans of animation.  There are those who will watch movies hour after hour.  For those who enjoy all three of these pastimes, they need to read Out Of The Shadows: How Lotte Reiniger Made the First Animated Fairytale Movie (Abrams Books For Young Readers, February 8, 2022) written and illustrated by Fiona Robinson.  When things we love become our life's work, the world reaps the benefits.

Once upon a time

in Berlin . . .

. . . there was a little girl who

loved fairytales.

Lotte Reiniger had grandparents and parents who supported her love of fairytales, reading to her for hours, day in and day out.  When she learned to read, she could finally enter the world of fairytales on her own.  Although Lotte liked nothing better than the books holding those stories, she was equally fascinated with a new technology, movies.

Her grandmother often took her to the movies, silent at the time with an orchestra creating music.  Once after Lotte received Chinese puppets as a gift, she began to perform her fairytales.  She also learned the fine art of Scherenschnitte, papercutting.  Lotte started to design her own characters for presentation based on the movable parts of the Chinese puppets and her papercut figures.  

Her interest in films and filmmaking grew.  Lotte studied at a school where she could observe the work of Paul Wegener.  One day he noticed all the papercuts she had made of him as she watched his troupe work.  Lotte was now working on his film crew!

In defining moments for her, Lotte used stop motion animation to make a memorable scene in the Paul Wegener movie, The Pied Piper of Hamelin.  Then, Wegener had her meet Hans Curliss and Carl Koch, directors at an animation studio.  Here Lotte thrived.  She and Carl worked together creating her short film, The Ornament of the Loving Heart.  Their relationship blossomed into love and marriage.  Lotte's making of short animations blossomed, too.

In 1923, Lotte was asked by a wealthy patron to make a full-length silhouette animated movie. She, Carl, and a team of animators moved to work in a space at the patron's home.  In order to get the effect she wanted, Lotte invented the 

first multiplane camera, 

consisting of a series of glass plates in a Tricktisch.  She wrote her own story weaving together components from other fairy tales.  Three long, work-filled years later The Adventures Of Prince Achmed premiered on May 2, 1926 in Berlin, Germany.  The details of this feat, including the 8,000 handwritten invitations, were wondrous.  So was the audience's response.  

The manner in which author Fiona Robinson reveals the facts of Lotte Reiniger's life is as if we have stepped into a fairytale.  Her word selections are rich in their descriptions of the people, places, and time periods.  The narrative is divided into three parts, each labeled with a span of dates.  Within those parts, we are awed by Lotte's choices, her work, and the insertion of process methods which are a part of her story.  Here are two passages.

One day, Lotte was given a gift that would transform her from a reader and

viewer of stories into a teller of stories.  Chinese puppets allowed Lotte to

physically perform her beloved fairytales.

Like a fairy casting a spell with her wand, Lotte flicked her wrist and brought

the sleeping puppets to life.  Swooping down low, stretching up high, she led

them in a dance around the room.

She created a plot.  She drew a storyboard showing sketches

of key moments in her five-minute-long animation.  She

cut and hinged characters.  And she sat at the Tricktisch

for hours on end, making incremental movements as Carl

shot each frame from above.  The film was then dyed with 

special ink to make the animation colorful.

When you open the book case, to the left, on the back, is information you might see on a dust jacket's flaps.  The canvas is black.  The only other colors are lavender and white.  On the outside of an intricately framed oval, in white letters, is information about Fiona Robinson and the book's publication.  Dancing on top of the ISBN are three tiny lavender creatures.  Inside the oval in black is Lotte Reiniger's name in a large font.  Under and to the right of her name is text about the book.  To the left, a hand holds a pair of scissors.  

On the right of the book case, the color palette used frequently throughout the book and exquisite elements are shown to readers.  Lotte is shown making one of her papercut figures.  This is bordered in frames of film.  Every detail is placed with a purpose.

On the opening endpapers we are inside a darkened theater.  Along the bottom of the page are papercut figures in black against a gray background.  They are waiting.  On the closing endpapers the background is glowing and golden.  The members of the audience are displaying jubilation.  The title page is a stunning depiction of cut-paper art.  Two peacocks on either side of a double-page picture hold film in their beaks.  Frames of the film hold the words of the secondary portion of the title.  This illustration is in golden yellow and black.

The images in this book were rendered by Fiona Robinson 

using scissor-cut silhouette, watercolors, and felt pen.

Each page turn will have you gasping in amazement at the layout, design, and artwork.  Each of the three parts begins as a frame in a silent movie with white on black.  Lotte steps into the pages of a fairytale story with a wolf peeking over the top corner.  She dances with her Chinese puppets.  When she is learning Scherenschnitte, a younger cutout of Lotte in white, scissors in one hand and a character in the other hand, dances as cut paper falls like snowflakes.  On the left side of this scene a large hand holding scissors cuts into the paper holding the text.  There are several single pages with enlarged frames of film holding the text.

Single pages hold the passage of time with a variety of smaller illustrations changing as your eyes move from left to right.  Perspectives change, drawing us deeper into the story.  We are given an overview and then brought directly into a particular moment.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture asking readers to view it vertically.  The text, in white, is placed outside the roof of the garage in a deep blue night sky.  Under the roof, Lotte, Carl, and other animators are working with the multiplane camera.  Lotte is in color but the others are shadows and a silhouette.  To the right of them are five frames portraying the results of their work.

As soon as you finish reading Out Of The Shadows: How Lotte Reiniger Made the First Animated Fairytale Movie written and illustrated by Fiona Robinson, you will immediately read it again.  You will study the narrative and the artwork, not wanting to miss a single feature.  At the close of the book are two pages containing an author's note, a note about The Adventures Of Prince Achmed, Lotte Reiniger Movies Suitable For Children, a bibliography, a recommended film about Lotte Reiniger, and institutions housing her work.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Fiona Robinson and her other work, please visit her accounts on Facebook and  Instagram.  At the publisher's website, you can scroll through pages showing the other acclaimed books by Fiona Robinson.  

When you've spent nearly your entire life living in a state that is the only place in the world where a certain stone is found, you find yourself in search of that stone whenever you can.  There is no better place to find that unique piece of rock than along the beaches of northern Michigan. The beauty of searching for one thing is that it leads you to other discoveries.  Dragon Bones: The Fantastic Fossil Discoveries of Mary Anning (Roaring Brook Press, February 15, 2022) written by Sarah Glenn Marsh with illustrations by Maris Wicks is about a family of seekers and a girl in that family who loved nothing more than roaming along the seacoast, especially after a storm.

Little Mary Anning loved to treasure hunt.

There were plenty of storms in her community of Lyme Regis, England.  After those storms, Mary, her father, and brother would grab their tools and dig in the newly washed sand and rocks.  Mary would venture inside caves hoping to find something special.  After their hunts, the family would sell the found fossils to help pay for food.  Mary would much rather study the fossils, but she understood.

She sold 

snakestones, devil's fingers, and verteberries.

The family was successful, working together, until one autumn, Mary's father died.  It was now up to Mary to lead the hunts regardless of the weather.  Each time she and her brother went on a hunt, she dreamed of finding something no one else had ever unearthed.  And one day, her brother did find something.

He found a fossil of a giant head with a long nose and rows of sharp teeth.  He gave up digging, but Mary wanted to find the entire body.  She did it!  A collector of fossils bought it and someone at the museum named it Ichthyosaur.  Mary did not believe it looked like a lizard.  To her it looked like a dragon!

Over the years, Mary found other Ichthyosaur fossils.  She studied the insides of fish to understand them better.  Mary continued hunting without her brother Joseph, but her canine Tray was good company.  Mary, one winter, unearthed another different and entire skeleton.  A man named it plesiosaur.  He wrote about it, never giving Mary any credit.  At twenty-seven years old, Mary opened the Anning's Fossil Depot displaying her discoveries.  Mary kept digging, especially after the wildest of storms, constantly seeking a new treasure.

When you read this book, author Sarah Glenn Marsh has written in clear, concise sentences as if we are sitting across from one another in conversation about this remarkable woman.  She reminds us, through the repetition of certain words, what guided Mary Anning throughout her life.  By mentioning Mary imagining her father with her, we understand her on a more intimate level.  The narrative reinforces Mary's consistent curiosity, her desire to study and expand on what she knew, and her documentation of her findings.  We are also well aware of the lack of credit given to Mary during her lifetime for her contributions to the field of paleontology.  Here is a passage.

Through wind and rain,

she carefully unearthed the

mysterious creature that would

become her next major discovery.

A man bought the skeleton and named

it "plesiosaur," which meant "near-lizard."

He wrote papers about it that lots of scientists

read with amazement.  He never mentioned Mary.

When looking at the matching and open dust jacket and book case, there are several things you immediately notice.  A single illustration spans left to right crossing the spine.  On the left is one of the cliffs along the seacoast in Mary Anning's community.  We are looking through the rock where an assortment of fossils are embedded.  To the right of the cliff, Mary is holding up a tooth.  Her stance and facial expression suggest her determination to keep searching for something new and different.  In a clever design technique fossils are used in the title text.  Mary and the text are varnished.

On the opening endpapers in two tones of brown we are shown an underwater scene from prehistory.  All the creatures, in various stages of movement, are frozen as fossils.  When we look at the closing endpapers, the scene has changed.  It is now in full color as it was when all those beings were alive and moving through the water.  Above them creatures fly between the water's surface and sky.  A double-page picture is used for the dedication, verso, and title pages.  It is a close-up of Mary working near the head of one of her dinosaurs.  In addition to the fossil, all we see are her hands and her pickaxe resting nearby.

Artist Maris Wicks made these illustrations 

with HB pencil on plain printer paper, scanned, and colored in Photoshop.

The size of the pictures vary to complement and enhance the text.  There are two-page pictures of seascapes and vast expanses.  We are brought closer when the sea starts to flood the Anning home and Mary and her brother are being placed in a boat outside the home's window.

When Mary is dreaming about the creatures associated with the fossils, they are drawn as if they are ghosts, dreamy imaginings.  Several times single-page visuals blend together as if they are one.  As a reader we are never in doubt as to Mary's devotion to her passion.  Her exuberance is apparent in every line and perspective.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  Mary and her father are seated and working together at a table exhibiting newly uncovered fossils.  Many are coated in dirt which they are working to wipe and brush clean.  Mary's father is on the left.  We see most of his body except for the top portion of his head.  Mary is on the right wiping a fossil.  Her tongue is partially out of her mouth as she concentrates.  To the right of her are "fossil ghosts" from her mind.

This book, Dragon Bones: The Fantastic Fossil Discoveries of Mary Anning written by Sarah Glenn Marsh with illustrations by Maris Wicks, is an admirable blend of writing and artwork showcasing the determination and dedication of one woman who faced poverty, danger, and bias against women her entire life.  Her successes have stood the test of time and are to be commended.  At the close of the book are four pages highlighting Mary, the creatures whose bones she unearthed, how to become a paleontologist and a selected bibliography.  This book is sure to inspire others who seek a similar vocation.  Your personal and professional collections won't be complete without a copy of this title.

To learn more about Sarah Glenn Marsh and Maris Wicks and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Sarah Glenn Marsh has accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  Maris Wicks has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website, you can view interior images.  The Lyme Regis Museum has a page featuring Mary Anning with helpful resources.

To Start Again

It seems as though autumn has stalled.  Mother Nature does not want to replace milder temperatures with bitter cold.  There have been the typical wild winds and torrents of rain, but the trees are clinging to their green and their leaves. The annual burst of oranges, reds, and yellows have only recently been on display.  In the last two days, finally, the leaves have blanketed yards, sidewalks, and streets.  The familiar swish and crunch now follow you when walking through neighborhoods.

The majestic trees lining roads and populating nearby forests are getting ready to rest.  It is in times like this gratitude for trees is, or should be, foremost in our minds.  With respect to those trees lost this year in wildfires, we must not forget the impact on us and the fauna and flora in those woodlands.  Hello, Tree (Little, Brown and Company, September 14, 2021) written by Ana Crespo with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk, inspired by the 2013 Black Forest fire, speaks through the voice of a tree about tragedy and hope.

I met the girl when

she was a baby . . .

and I was just a sapling.

As both grew, they shared moments together.  The child sought the tree for steadiness, play, comfort and companionship.  The tree did have other friends living in the forest.

One summer night, the lives of the tree and the girl were interrupted.  The animal alarm spread through the forest.  Fire!  Many animals, of all sizes and shapes, left along with the girl and her family.  The tree had no such choice.

Smoke like the blackest of clouds filled the sky.  Fortunately, for the tree, help came as firefighters fought back the flames on the land and in the air.  The battle against the blaze finally ended after many days and nights.

In the wake of the devastation was silence.  Gradually, the silence was filled with the return of people, the girl, clean-up crews, and some animals.  Seasons passed.  Renewal was slow in the forest, but the girl, becoming a young woman, went away.  The tree did have other friends living in the forest but . . .

Hello, tree.

With simple, truthful and eloquent sentences, author Ana Crespo tells a universal story of the relationship between humans and nature, and of hardship and healing.  Through the tree we sense the world in togetherness and aloneness and in sensory descriptions of color and sound.  There are only a few phrases of dialogue, but a recurring mention of wishes and stars ties portions of the narrative together beautifully.  Here is a passage.

Wait as roaring flames breathed smoke into the sky.

And left only a single star to wish upon.

The depiction shown on the front, right, of the open dust jacket continues on the other side of the spine.  The smoky orange of the sky suggests the recent fire.  The girl is as glad to see her tree as the tree is to see the girl.  The visible remnants of the flames are shown in the blackened tree trunks and the destroyed house with the chimney remaining.  On the back, left, two deer stand close to portions of the forest not in the path of the flames.  In front and around them are burned tree trunks.

On the book case, we are presented with an elevated view of the forest.  A spring green meadow is framed by trees in back and in front of it.  A stream winds along the back edge of the meadow.  Several trees stand apart and to the right of the meadow.  Deer graze on either side of the stream.  Two birds glide in the pale blue sky.  This forest is pristine.

On the opening endpapers, on a background of marbled tan, is a pattern composed of birds, butterflies, moths, pinecones, pine branches, flowers (wild and in garden containers), rabbits, squirrels, beetles, a bee, a feather, red ribbons, a mouse, a mailbox, a birdfeeder and three blue eggs in a nest.  Can you notice them inside the book?  On the closing endpapers among a tranquil forest setting is About This Book (publication information), References, and an Author's Note.

Artist Dow Phumiruk begins her pictorial interpretation on the dedication and title pages with a double-page picture.  It's a view of the girl's house in a grove surrounded by the forest.  Her illustrations, two-page images, smaller illustrations grouped on a single page, and single-page visuals were rendered

with Photoshop and include scanned watercolor and pencil textures.

They heighten the text through her adept use of light and shadow and shifting perspectives.  During the fire she carefully portrays the scenes of displaced people amid the scenes of the fire and the firefighters.  The bird's eye view, a two-page image, of the destruction after the fire is deeply moving.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a close-up view of the animals fleeing the fire.  In this two-page picture on the left, the tree with its signature red ribbon still tied from dress-up with the girl is seen.  A chick-a-dee flies overhead as a bear, rabbit, and mouse race rapidly to the right.  On the right side a buck and raccoon are nearly off the page.  Several tree trunks and piney branches are behind them as a larger bird soars in the distance.  You get a real sense of urgency.  You want to tell them to run, run, run.

Every year our knowledge of trees and their abilities increases.  To have this book, Hello, Tree written by Ana Crespo with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk, told through the tree's point of view brings us into the heart of this event.  Two pages at the close of the book provide additional information and smaller framed illustrations under the headings of Fire Begins, Firefighters To The Rescue, Shortly After The Fire, The First Spring And The Benefits Of Fire, Some Springs Later, and Many Springs Later.  Numerous themes are woven into this title making it an excellent addition to your personal and professional collections.

To discover more about Ana Crespo and Dow Phumiruk and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Ana Crespo has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  Dow Phumiruk has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Ana Crespo is interviewed at Cynsations, the site of Cynthia Leitich Smith.  On December 2, 2021 Ana Crespo and Dow Phumiruk will be in an event hosted by John Schumacher at the Bookelicious site.  It is a free, but you are requested to register.

Ana Crespo Presents HELLO, TREE from LB School on Vimeo.

Equal Under The Law

There was a time in schools and colleges when girls and young women did not participate in varsity or intercollegiate sports.  For most of us there was only the Girls Athletic Association and intermural athletics.  In educational institutions, girls and young women were blatantly denied equality.  In fact, there was a rise in feminism in the 1960s and 1970s as women on a larger scale sought equality in all aspects of their lives. 

Fortunately, opportunities for women have improved in the United States of America.  This is due to a law signed on June 23, 1972.  An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America (Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company, February 23, 2021) written by Helaine Becker with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk chronicles the obstacles faced by girls and women and how this congressional legislation removed roadblocks based on gender.

It takes just three words to say, "It isn't fair."

If you count four words, they will form a willingness to champion equality for women of all ages.  When you count thirty-seven words, you have words which alter women's rights for generations.  These thirty-seven words are a part of American history for the past forty-nine years. Only 49 years.

They are not a part of any of the documents written by the first leaders of this country.  They are not a part of any political speeches during the Civil War.  They are a federal law called Title IX.

Before Title IX is gender discrimination.  You were fired if found to be pregnant or married.  Sometimes, you were denied admittance in studies for certain professional occupations.  With Title IX, there is a sizeable shift in balance.

Title IX did open new doors for women, but it did so for men as well.  Men were able to pursue careers normally considered for women alone.  In the final sentences of this book, we are reminded of the power of words to promote change for the benefit of everyone.  We are asked a single, thought-provoking question.

The presentation of this momentous law is unique by author Helaine Becker.  She focuses on the potential built on words, written or spoken, beginning and ending this narrative with their triumphs.  Through declarative, descriptive sentences, she draws our attention to the lack of equality in our defining democratic documents and contrasts them with the accomplishments afforded everyone in the Title IX law. Here is a passage.

Girls could even be prevented from becoming

doctors, professors, or scientists.

Simply for being girls.

A vibrant, sky blue, textured with speckles, supplies the canvas for a double-page image on the open and matching dust jacket and book case.  Title IX refers specifically to educational institutions receiving federal funding.  For this reason, artist Dow Phumiruk places large books stacked vertically and horizontally left to right across this image.  The spine is designed to be the open edge of a book.  On and among these books are girls and young women participating in different sports and attending classes.  On the right you can see the scales of justice level.  The girls and young women on the dust jacket as well as the title text are varnished.

On a background of muted grass green is a pattern of girls and women participating in sports on the opening endpapers.  These same girls and women appear on the closing endpapers on a background of pale blue. There are thirty-two different active images.

These illustrations rendered

in Adobe Photoshop with scans of watercolors and textures 

span two pages.  Within those two pages are differing perspectives, smaller vignettes, layered items and symbolic backgrounds.  Three girls, young women, we see on the first picture, travel through most of the following pages.  This invites us to join them.

Most readers will see themselves reflected in the characters Dow Phumiruk portrays.  She carefully showcases a diverse collection of girls and women. They are animated in her signature style.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations brings us into a pastoral scene.  It is filled with a grassy meadow and full, green-leaved trees on the left and right sides.  On the left portion is a large stone monument for IX with a roof and a base.  In the peak of the roof is the word Title.  The shape of this mirrors that of the United States Supreme Court building.  In the upper "v" of the "x" is a nest with two white doves in it.  Vines are stretching up from the base.  On the left side, girls and young women are making their way to the scale hanging from the beam balanced on either side of the center of the roof peak.  One is climbing a ladder.  Another two are using a rope.  On the right side five boys are standing in that scale.  Girl by girl the scales are becoming balanced.

This book, An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America written by Helaine Becker with artwork by Dow Phumiruk, is one you will want to have in your personal and professional collections.  There is extensive backmatter with illustrations.  Two pages are dedicated to Title IX and You supplying formation about Patsy Mink, Bernice Sandler, Edith Green, and Shirley Chisholm.  The next two pages have extended facts about What the Law Did, Title IX Today, Progress, More Work to Do, and Further Exploration. 

To learn more about Helaine Becker and Dow Phumiruk and their other work, please visit their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Helaine Becker has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Dow Phumiruk has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the Macmillan website, you can view interior illustrations.  

UPDATE:  Please take a few moments to read the interview with Helaine Becker and Dow Phumiruk hosted by Elizabeth Bird, Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system, at School Library Journal, A Fuse #8 Production.  It is fabulous!

For The Girls

For centuries, for generations, women have struggled for equality.  For them to construct the best possible lives for their families, friends, and themselves, certain elements are valuable for success.  A solid, basic education with appropriate materials, qualified educators, and the opportunity to pursue a desired goal or dream gives all women, regardless of their age, a firm footing on a good future.  The support of a parent, guardian, or trusted mentor can be priceless in helping to form a foundation of beliefs or in supplying strength in the face of adversity.

Earlier this month, two children's literature publications address both elements.  The first, One Girl (Abrams Books for Young Readers, October 6, 2020) written by Andrea Beaty with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk, vividly portrays the power of a single young girl acquiring a single book.  Through lilting, rhyming words and luminous images, we see the power of both. 

One Girl.

One spark.

Faint and fading in the dark.

This spark is a book which cascades from the sky to appear glowing at the girl's feet as she sits on the steps of her front porch.  When she opens the book, the spark though faint continues to glow.  It burns without going out.  It is fire!

It grows brighter and brighter, inspiring her to follow a dream, a dream of being educated.  The more she knows, the more she grows.  She shares what she knows so others can grow.

The brightness spreads from girl to girl, girl to boy, and boy to boy, and boy to girl.  Each child is learning.  With their increase in knowledge, they can embrace the wonder our world holds for them.  What they read and what they write spreads farther and farther, up and out into all corners of the planet.

With this accomplishment sparks are traveling where they are most needed.  They, like falling stars, make wishes come true.  They land one book at a time at the feet of one girl.

Beginning this narrative with these two words has readers asking many questions.  Andrea Beaty immediately kindles our interest.  Her simple but profound word choices fashion a flawless flow, almost a melody, with repetition of specific words inviting reader participation.  Here are two more word combinations.

Flicker . . .

     Flicker . . .

          Flicker . . .

Glow.

Tiny ember.

Burning low.

When you look at the little girl on the front of the dust jacket, you feel the hope and awe shown in her face.  She has discovered the endless possibilities found in a book.  They grow up and out, blooming and flying.  The warm background of rich red, orange, and yellow hues extends over the spine to a home on a hill with the girl seated on the steps of her porch.  The book glimmering with potential is on the ground in front of her.  Words from the narrative invite us to open the book.

On the book case is a large interior image.  It shows the girl, now in school.  A star barrette holds part of her hair in place.  She is on the left, her hands crossing the gutter to rest on her desk.  One hand holds a pencil as she writes.  Stary sparks drift upward from her paper in a pale rainbow of color.  The canvas for this illustration is a shade of cream.

On the opening and closing endpapers on a variegated purple background is a pattern of delicate white flowers, vines, books, pencils, pieces of paper, rockets, stars, crescent moons, and white birds.  Some of the leaves are in several colors of green and blue.  With a page turn we are treated to a double-page picture of a community on a hill at night.  Some of the windows in the homes glow with lamplight.  A sliver of moon sits in the upper, right-hand corner.  A comet like object arcs over the title text.

These illustrations by Dow Phumiruk are rendered using 

pencil and Photoshop.

Some of the illustrations span two pages, single pages, or others are smaller with loose framing.  They are atmospheric, displaying not only the time of day, but the mood of the little girl and the other children.  The use of light and shadow are beautiful to see.  When the words of the book are released as wonder, the delicate designs are intricate, portraying a world of potential.  Just looking at the little girl and the other children will fill your heart with joy.  

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a two-page image.  The background from bottom to top begins as cream moving to a muted orange.  There are eight children spanning both pages, wearing their uniforms in white and navy.  They represent a diverse group of children.  They are gazing upward.  The main little girl, to the left of the gutter, has her right arm up and holding a pencil.  From this pencil scrolls of white lines and stars move above the children and around to the lower, right-hand corner.  Within this design are elements representing hopes and dreams.  The words read:

Shares her song.

The collaboration between author Andrea Beaty and artist Dow Phumiruk on One Girl gifts readers with a book to treasure.  It's a pleasure to read aloud, in fact it would make a marvelous reader's theater.  I highly recommend this book for your personal and professional collections to promote the true power of a book and education.  An author's note offers further explanation about books, knowledge, education, and the lack of education for too many girls globally.

To discover more about Andrea Beaty and Dow Phumiruk and their other work, please access their respective websites by following the link attached to their names.  Andrea Beaty has accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  In addition to her website Dow Phumiruk has another site here, as well as accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view multiple interior images.

The second book is a promise from a father to his daughter, a love letter explaining how they can shape their world, her world.  What We'll Build: Plans For Our Together Future (Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, October 6, 2020) written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is a journey of discovery and of finding one's capabilities, and a guide to accomplish what is true and good in our lives.  It shows readers how an adult can be one who endeavors to be an enduring bedrock or fortress if needed.

What shall we build, you

and I?

Let's gather all our tools for a start. 

In a row, all the tools represent a father and his daughter, a green crayon near a paintbrush, and a toy pig next to a wrench.  This is how they will make things, and if necessary, restart.  Perhaps they should build a door and a house around it.

They will work together building each other's future.  They will create love for when it is needed most.  They know a hole might be necessary so they can hide.  Sometimes it will be necessary to construct a mighty abode with a wall around it, but also a gate to allow entrance of former enemies.

From that fortress, together they will raise a tower from which to gaze upward at the world beyond ours.  No mountain will hinder their progress.  They will build a tunnel.  Whatever is necessary for them to build to enjoy endless opportunities, they will use their tools to make it.

They will rest.  They will travel in a seaworthy vessel.  And then when a low is reached, they will recover in a special place where loved objects reside.  Those with the earlier-made affection will remain until the lowest of the lows calls to them.  This father and his daughter have been busy planning, so as the narrative concludes they are warm and asleep by one of the oldest forms of comfort which they build together.

There is a childlike quality to the rhyming narrative written by Oliver Jeffers.  He moves freely from one thought to the other, like children do when their imaginations are set free, unhindered.  The narrative changes from building a tunnel through a mountain to constructing a road to the moon or from resting cozily in a hammock to a wild ride at sea.  The words let's, we'll, and I'll precede build multiple times to supply a soothing and comforting cadence.  Here is a single sentence which I could read over and over.

We'll put these favorite things beside

the earlier love we set aside.

When you open the dust jacket you see that the background on the front spans over the spine, flap edge to flap edge.  The stary sky and mountain range continue.  I love the complementary colors of purple, yellow and orange with the spot of red in the toolbox.  What a wonderful choice to have the title text be a sign built by the duo.  To the left of them, on the back, sitting alone is a fox.  This fox appears later in the narrative.  Words there, from the book, welcome you to the plans.

The book case is a pale lavender.  There are five tools in a row on the front.  They are embossed in red and silver foil, as is the text on the spine.  The tools shown, left to right, are a screwdriver, a saw, a hammer, a pencil, and a lightning bolt.

On a dark purple canvas elements from the story, looking like they were drawn in crayon, appear in hot pink on the opening and closing endpapers.  You have to smile when seeing these pages.  Father and daughter, hand in hand, are placed beneath the dedication on the verso. (Remember to read this wonderful dedication and a short note from Oliver and Mari, his daughter, also on this page.)  On the title page is the red toolbox, opened.

These illustrations by Oliver Jeffers are a blend of realism and whimsy with his signature style prevalent throughout the title.  They shift from double-page pictures to single-page images and in point of view for emphasis.  Several times careful readers will notice how one illustration connects to the other.  

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  Father and daughter are stretched feet to feet on a hammock they built between two small trees with pink leaves.  The trees are growing from what appears to be the surface of our moon, sandy in color.  Both are wearing glass helmets.  The father, arms behind his head, is sleeping.  The daughter with one arm raised is speaking.  Her toy pig rests on her stomach.  Her other arm is behind her head.  Two birds, wearing clear helmets are present.  In the distance in a pink and purple sky with stars is planet Earth.  This picture is one of contented and affectionate happiness, pure perfection.

This book, What We'll Build: Plans For Our Together Future written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, is a joyful, truthful exploration of what fathers and daughters can accomplish.  It resonated with this daughter, who to this day is far better for having a father who taught her to build and who she sorely misses every single day.  Hand this book to daughters, fathers, or anyone who is looking to form relationships founded in love.

To learn more about Oliver Jeffers and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  You can see a few interior images from this book there.  Oliver Jeffers has another website titled Oliver Jeffers' World.  Oliver Jeffers has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  I hope you enjoy these videos and are able to follow the VancouverWritersFest coming in a few days.

Out Of Darkness

We are captivated by events in our communities, cities, states and country, some more than others as a result of personal connections.  We have, along with many others, felt much joy and deep sadness, laughed until we cry and wept uncontrollably and known unbearable loss. As citizens of the world, we find ourselves missing a lot of happenings but some capture not only our attention but the attention of people around the globe.  We watch and feel with a collective consciousness.

One event, lasting eighteen days, kept the world riveted to any available access to the news.  Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, May 7, 2019) written by Susan Hood and Pathana Sornhiran with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk is a moving, memorable and accurate account of those eighteen days.  Once you begin this reading the words and pictures will hold you fast until the final page. 

Like his friends in Mae Sai and many kids in Thailand, eleven-year-old Chanin grew up obsessed with soccer.  He started playing at age six and joined the Wild Boars team a couple of years later.

Nicknamed Titan by his family, Chanin is a fierce competitor despite his small size.  His commitment to the sport is obvious in his training and in his saving for his own new shoes.  On June 23, 2018 after a Saturday soccer practice, Titan's life and the lives of eleven other players and their coach change drastically.  They decide to hike inside a cave six miles from the practice field.  Monsoon season has not started, so they believe they are safe.

Unbeknownst to the thirteen, the rains start in earnest while they are exploring.  Upon turning around to go back to the entrance, they find the tunnel flooding with water.  Coach Ek leads them to a ledge farther into the cave.  The boys pray.  Their coach offers assurances.  He asks them to turn off their flashlights.  It is completely dark.

The news of the missing boys and their coach being trapped within the cave sends shock waves around the world.  Helpers and experts in diving and rescue, numbering in the thousands, come from many countries.  Pumps are put in place to try to lower the water levels. People search for other possible entrances and exits to the cave with no luck.  Inside the cave, Coach Ek teaches the boys meditation to help calm them.  They try to sleep on the rocky spot, drink water dripping from the ceiling, dig through the cave walls and try not to think of their constant hunger.  Day five comes and goes.

Divers are trying to locate the boys and their coach.  The water current is swift and dark with stirred-up silt.  The temperature is bone-chilling.  Dangers lurk in the form of mudslides, huge boulders (house size) and narrow passages.   They set up guidelines along a pathway and leave spare air tanks at selected positions.  After ten day . . . ten days . . .Titan and his teammates hear something.  It's two divers!

In each of the succeeding days, divers make the arduous journey to the boys.  Communications are exchanged between the trapped and their waiting families.  More supplies and equipment arrive to assist in the rescue but on day fourteen tragedy strikes. 

Petty Officer First Class Saman Kunan, a thirty-eight-year-old former Thai Navy SEAL diver and volunteer

dies on his way back to the entrance.

Time is running out for the boys; more rain is coming, and their air supply is diminishing.  Did you know four divers stayed with them until all the boys were rescued?  Did you know how the boys are prepared to be rescued?    Did you know only four were rescued each day?  This factual narrative reads like an action-packed thriller regardless of the facts we know about the outcome. 


Written with meticulous care by Susan Hood and Pathana Sornhiran, a journalist born and raised in Thailand who reported outside the cave last summer, readers are given a sensory and intimate perspective of the trapped boys and their coach and the efforts of all those gathered to save them.  In telling this nonfiction narrative by focusing on the youngest member, Titan, we become keenly aware of each portion of the event as it unfolds.  Through a blend of prose and poetry we feel as though we are in the cave with the boys and the divers. 

Tension builds as the days are divided into sections divulging what occurs inside and outside the cave.  What becomes abundantly clear is the courage and determination of everyone involved.  Including letters from the boys and correspondence from their families heightens our involvement.  Quotes from The Buddha are included.  (Coach Ek was a novice at a monastery for ten years.)  Here is a poetic passage in part and some narrative text.

TRAPPED!
Stone-cold water
whirling, swirling
sounds of falls
echoed off the walls
smells of mud, sweat, fear
dank humid air
closed in like the jagged rocks
above and below
hunger pains
endless rains
poured
down 
 down
  down 
   underground.

Narrow passages in the rock (one only fifteen inches high) obstructed
progress; the divers could not fit through with their air tanks.  Hours went by,
and each time the tanks ran low, the divers couldn't just surface to breathe.
They were forced to turn back.
Where could the boys be? the divers wondered.  How would they find
them?  And after so many days without food, could they still be alive?


It is with a sense of growing anticipation that we look at the matching dust jacket and book case rendered using pencil, charcoal, and ink sketches and Photoshop to create the digital illustrations by artist Dow Phumiruk.  We are led into the cave through the glow of flashlights (torches) by the boys.  We can see the excitement and curiosity reflected on their faces.  To the left, on the back, on a green canvas a large circle frames the faces of the boys lying in a circle, head to head, with a soccer ball in the center.  Colorful folded cranes sent by well-wishers flutter from left to right and bottom to top.

On the opening and closing endpapers using orange on a paler orange Dow Phumiruk has drawn a map of the cave entrance to the place where the boys are found.  It gives us a visual perspective of the distance between points, stations and pertinent notes as well as a list of the divers and their locations.  Distances are in meters.  On the title page we see the boys riding their bikes to the entrance of the cave.  Our point of view is as if we are inside looking out.  The verso and dedication pages are a vast landscape view of the area; mountains, fields, roadways and, in the scheme, the small entrance to the cave are shown.  The placement of clouds hint at the humidity.

With each illustration, whether a double-page picture, full-page image or several visuals gathered together on one or two pages, Dow Phumiruk brings us deeply into the emotional moments of this story.  We sense the urgency of the rescuers' endeavors and the stress faced by the boys and their coach.  She shifts perspective to accentuate each portion of the story.  Every element is placed in her illustrations with intention.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  Darker colors are used here as we are inside the cave.  On the right two divers each carry a single boy with them to safety.  Along the bottom, on the left and right, almost in silhouette, are a series of divers and rescue workers assisting in helping the boys.  Above this on the right sits Titan and his coach, wondering if they will be saved.  Behind them are the other three boys waiting to leave the cave.  They are the last to leave.  The only light is supplied by head lamps and a large lamp on solid ground above the water.  It's important to note that Dow Phumiruk uses the color in the boys' soccer shirts to add, in my opinion, hope.


Without hesitation I highly recommend Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team written by Susan Hood and Pathana Sornhiran with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk for your professional and personal collections.  You will find yourself moved to tears more than once at the bravery and teamwork exhibited by these humans.  I am grateful for the collaborative efforts of Susan Hood, Pathana Sornhiran and Dow Phumiruk to bring this story to us.  At the close of the book is More About the Cave Rescue, Fascinating Facts, The Wild Boars, Stateless No More, Legend of the Tham Luang Nang Non Caves, a Timeline: June to July 2018, an Interview with British Divers Chris Jewell and Jason Mallinson, words about Saman Kunan and Sources and Interesting Websites.

To learn more about Susan Hood and Dow Phumiruk and their other work, please access their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Susan Hood has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Dow Phumiruk has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  The book trailer premiere along with interviews is found on Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's site, Watch. Connect. Read.  At Mile High Reading the site of Dylan Teut, director of the Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival in Seward, Nebraska, there is an interview with Susan Hood and Dow Phumiruk.  Pathana Sornhiran was traveling in Asia for her work at the time.  You can read portions of the beginning of the book at the publisher's website.


To view the other titles selected this week by participants in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, please visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher.

Numbered Among The Most Notable

With the reading of each picture book biography, our lives are enriched.  For now, even if we had heard of the selected individual previously, we know more.  We understand their youth.  We understand those who supported them in following their passions and goals.  We understand the obstacles they overcame.  We understand the power of a single dedicated and determined individual.

On November 24, 2015 President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Freedom to Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who worked at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) during the historical time period when Americans first went to space.  Her contributions are immeasurable.  Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 (Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt And Company, June 19, 2018) written by Helaine Becker with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk is an informative and moving tribute to an extraordinary woman.

Katherine loved to count.

Wherever she looked and whatever she did, numbers were a part of it.  Fascinated by the stars and beyond, this little girl wanted to learn as much as possible about everything in our world.  She excelled in school moving ahead by three grades!

When most students her age were entering junior high school, Katherine could go to high school.  Segregation tried to stop her.  Her father refused to accept those barriers.

In high school her love of mathematics grew stronger.  After college she became an elementary teacher.  (Choices were limited for women.)  Her dream of being a research mathematician simmered in her soul, though.  In the 1950s NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics) was looking for women, all women, to hire as mathematicians.  In their second year of hiring Katherine was selected.

As a computer, a human calculator of numbers, Katherine rose to the top.  Her computations of the arc a rocket ship would take from takeoff to landing were lauded.  She was promoted to participate in one project after the other.  It was her re-calculations in the face of the blast Apollo 13 suffered in space which lead to the successful landing. Katherine lived (is living) her dream.


With simple phrases in the beginning of the narrative author Helaine Becker supplies readers with an inviting rhythm.  We willingly step into the life of Katherine Johnson.  How many of us have looked to the stars?  This is an instant connection.

 With each noted instance in the chronicle of Katherine Johnson's life, we find ourselves inwardly cheering her successes.  In the telling of these the research conducted by Helaine Becker is clearly evident.  She also ties multiple scenarios together with the words

count on me.

Additionally in offering an explanation of how the trajectory of a rocket ship works, we have a greater comprehension of the value of Katherine's work.  Here is a passage.

Mercury's missions were going
to be dangerous.  So dangerous that
even the project's star astronaut,
John Glenn, refused to fly unless
Katherine okayed the numbers.

"You can count on me," she said.

Glenn's spacecraft, Friendship 7, 
orbited Earth three times and
returned home safely.  Glenn became
a national hero. 


Great care in design and layout was given by illustrator (and author) Dow Phumiruk as initially seen on the front of the dust jacket.  Faint lines of graph paper are discernible beneath the hues of blue.  Tiny orbits (look at the details there) circle the large moon brimming with calculations.  Everything about young Katherine speaks to the woman she will become.  Look at her stance and the expression on her face, knowledgeable, curious and full of grace.

To the left, on the back, an interior image fills the page.  We gaze down at Katherine looking out a window in her home at night, imagining all the wonders held in the universe.  Look at the delicate images placed among the stars.  On the book case pale blue graph paper on either side of a red spine displays intricate calculations.  Careful observers will note the repetition of this on the opening and closing endpapers.  In the first young Katherine is shown standing on the stool seen on the front of the dust jacket.  Her back is to us as she performs one of numerous calculations on a chalkboard.

Beneath the text on the title page, an older Katherine works as a computer.  Each of the images, rendered

digitally in Adobe Photoshop with scans of watercolors and textures

spans either one or two pages.  Within those illustrations, Dow Phumiruk may insert other small pictures to place emphasis on pacing and a particular point in the narrative.  Each visual follows into the next seamlessly.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It is during the time after the Apollo 13 explosion.  Katherine received a call for help.  The elements in this image have a geometric layout.  Across the top triangular shaped ceiling tile is the backdrop for Katherine, working with determination etched on her face, at a drafting table and calculating the changes.  The base of the desk is white providing a place for the text.  To the left, in a second shape, space is depicted with several orbital paths around the moon, to and from Earth. The damaged ship is part of this scenario.


It's a guarantee individuals will find their souls swelling with respect after reading Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 written by Helaine Becker with illustrations by Dow Phumiruk.  This title honors a true American hero.  I can't imagine a professional or personal bookshelf without a copy of this book.  At the close of the book the author includes More About Katherine and Sources.  One of the sources is from The Makers Project.

To learn more about Helaine Becker and Dow Phumiruk please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Helaine maintains a blog here. Both Helaine and Dow have accounts on Twitter.  Dow has an account on Instagram.  Debbie Ridpath Ohi, author and illustrator, interviews both Helaine and Dow about this book on her site, Inkygirl.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Please enjoy the book trailer.




I know you will enjoy visiting Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected this week by those participating in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

In Kindness Found

It cannot be sold or purchased for any sum.  It's free.  It starts in an individual's heart, is nourished by attitude and grows stronger daily.  Many times when given the opportunity, even though it costs nothing to acquire, it is not given.  It is refused.

These individuals who chose to withhold kindness sometimes find they are denied compassion from others when it is desperately needed.  Mela and the Elephant (Sleeping Bear Press, March 15, 2018) written by Dow Phumiruk with illustrations by Ziyue Chen is a folktale set in a jungle in Thailand.  It is an adventure with unexpected results.  It is a journey of self-discovery.

Mela set out to explore the banks of the Ping River near her home. Her little brother followed to the edge of the yard, hoping she'd take him along.

Mela told him to return home because he had nothing to give her in exchange for accompanying her.  When Mela reached the edge of the river near the dock, she saw a large fish swimming. She jumped in her uncle's boat determined to catch it for dinner.  She netted the fish but the swift river current took her into the jungle.

Fortunately the boat got stuck in tree roots but unfortunately Mela could not see her village.  When she asked a crocodile to tow her home, he agreed accepting the fish as payment.  As soon as he had the fish, he quickly left her.  Moving from the rock to shore, she started to walk.

When a leopard softly approached, Mela requested help.  She was lost.  The large cat knew the way to her village.  Offering up her sweater to keep the animal warm at night, he stole it and ran.

A trio of monkeys tricked the girl too.  Darkness falls and sitting on the ground Mela cried.  Suddenly noises signaled something large was coming toward her.  An elephant came into view.  Mela had nothing left to give if help was extended.  On this day a generous heart needed nothing.  

Without realizing it readers are immediately introduced to a behavior in need of help when Mela refuses her brother.  Dow Phumiruk quickly places the main protagonist in peril.  The storytelling technique of three is splendidly used bringing us to the point when the elephant comes to Mela.  The integration of dialogue with the narrative text engages us in Mela's every movement during her day.  Here is a passage.

Mela looked around her.  Tall trees blocked out most of

the sun's light.  Leaves stirred overhead and the river rushed at

her side.  She pointed herself upstream and started to walk.

A leopard slinked into sight.

"Leopard, I am lost.

Do you know a way back to the village?"

On the opened and matching dust jacket and book case the use of white as an element accentuates Mela and the elephant.  Using leaves around the title text takes us into the Thailand jungle before we even begin the story.  To the left, on the back, in a smaller image Mela is trying without luck to paddle in the splashing water back to her village.  Jungle is on both sides of the river. 

In shades of green on the opening and closing endpapers illustrator Ziyue Chen has placed darker leaves on a light canvas.  The full two-page picture on the verso and title pages is a view of the jungle, shore and river from the heights of a tree.  Throughout the title, illustration sizes vary between two-page pictures, single pages and several smaller visuals on a single page to promote pacing.  

By the expressions on the faces of Mela, her little brother and the animals we are well aware of their moods.  If we are careful observers we might see hints of their inner personalities.  Whenever we catch glimpses of the sky we can tell the time of day; noting the passage of the hours.

Each illustration is a like a framed moment enhancing the story's text.  One of my favorite illustrations is when Mela has removed her sweater.  She is happily standing in the jungle holding it up in front of her.  Her backpack is next to her in the grass.  The seated leopard has its back to us in the foreground.  It's a hopeful moment but also one filled with tension.  What will the leopard do?

Set in Thailand this tender tale is sure to resonate with readers of all ages.  Mela and the Elephant written by Dow Phumiruk with illustrations by Ziyue Chen reminds us kindness from a pure heart is freely given.  For a thematic story time on kindness this is an excellent choice.  In an author's note Dow talks about Thailand and how gratitude is portrayed there.  You could pair this book with Be Kind (Roaring Brook Press, February 6, 2018) written by Pat Zietlow Miller with illustrations by Jen Hill.  At the post for that title other books on kindness are listed.

To learn more about Dow Phumiruk and Ziyue Chen and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Both Dow and Ziyue are on Twitter.  You can find Dow on Instagram as well as Ziyue.  Ziyue has an account on Tumblr. Ziyue is featured at Miss Marple's Musings.  At the publisher's website you can view interior portions of the book.  I hope you enjoy the trailer.