Namely . . .

At our births we are given names for reasons our parents may or may not reveal.  We are named in honor of family members, friends, events, and all kinds of favorite things.  As we progress through our lives an assortment of nicknames follows us.  These, too, represent a wide range of reasons.  They might reference a physical characteristic, a personality trait or something we've done or are about to do. 

Sometimes these names and nicknames astonishingly fit us perfectly.  Other times, they definitely do not.  We have a choice how we will respond to our names and nicknames.  I'm A Baked Potato! (Chronicle Books, May 7, 2019) written by Elise Primavera with art by Juana Medina is about a dog adopted by a lady who has a taste for a very specific kind of food. 

There was a lady who love baked potatoes.
She ate one every day.

Concerned she might not have a potato in stock for baking, she had her own garden of potatoes in her backyard.  Dogs were also loved by this lady.  She brought one home with her.  Holding this dog in her arms, she realized this dog had all the characteristics of . . . a baked potato.  He was her very own special baked potato. 

He was called this multiple times during the day.  This lady and her dog were inseparable, sharing meals and her snuggly bed.  The lady knew she loved this dog more than she loved baked potatoes.

One day the lady left the house.  The dog left, too.  He looked and looked for her.  As he wandered through the community he came to a small house.  A grumpy big dog lived there.  When the lady's dog told him he was a baked potato, the cranky canine said he looked more like a groundhog. 

As he continued to search, it started to rain.  He needed to find his lady.  Two more animals met the dog.  The first was deceptive and hungry.  Apparently, the little dog was a bunny rabbit.  The second arrived in the nick of time offering explanations and wisdom.

Using one of his best assets, the little dog left the happier home, and ran through the rain past the first two houses.  He followed his nose and his heart, listening until he heard two familiar words.  Knowing who you are makes home a sanctuary to be savored.


Author Elise Primavera conversationally begins this story chatting about a woman with a love for baked potatoes and dogs but the humor is revealed when the woman equates her new pooch pal with her favorite food.  Elise Primavera fashions a rhythm by describing the three traits the dog has in common with baked potatoes, the three times during the day she calls him Baked Potato and how attached the two are to one another.  This cadence continues throughout the story. 

To accentuate pacing and provide readers with a more personal experience a combination of narrative and dialogue is used.  Descriptive verbs place emphasis on personalities and emotions of the characters.  Here is a passage.

The sky became dark.  The air became cold.
The dog became worried.

It began to rain.

The dog thought of how it felt to be held in the lady's arms.
He thought of how right now they'd be sharing a meal together by the fire.
He thought of the bed where she let him sleep under the covers.

"The lady!" he called.  "Where are you?"


On the open and matching dust jacket and book case the little dog's expression combined with the book's title will have readers speculating about the tale and eager to begin reading the book.  They will probably be laughing, too.  The blend of brush strokes and bold lines on Baked Potato ask you to reach out and hug him.  Placing him on a creamy canvas with red font is an excellent design decision.  The title text is varnished.  If the light catches the dust jacket you can see an addition.  A pattern of tiny varnished baked potatoes on plates is a part of the background.  Genius.

To the left, on the back, in the center is a smaller image of the fireplace in the lady's home.  The little dog is curled in contentment in front of the fire.  The opening and closing endpapers are eight rows, red on red, of elements to be found in other homes.  All kinds of dogs are mixed in with these items.  It will have readers wondering about those pets and their people.

The illustrations by Juana Medina rendered digitally using Procreate are brimming with details and textures.  The lady has a baked potato weathervane on the roof of her home, baked potatoes are on the fabric of her bedspread and the inside of each house has family photographs readers will find interesting. The artwork is full-page pictures, a group of smaller visuals on a single page and two-page images.  At the end of the book the dedication and publication information pages appear like a framed photograph.  The animals Baked Potato encounters are featured along with him in a setting with several trees and potato plants.  Will readers notice the other teeny tiny visitor that also appeared in the first image?

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the lady first brings the dog home.  It is on a single page.  The lady is cuddling the dog in her arms and looking at him as she notices how much he resembles her favorite food.  The look on the dog's face is serene but also a little bit curious. 


As soon as you show this book to listeners and readers, the smiles, giggles and grins will begin.  I'm A Baked Potato! written by Elise Primavera with art by Juana Medina is a humorous look at names, nicknames and home and how their definitions shift.  Readers will fall in love with this dog and his lady.  You will want to have this in your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Elise Primavera and Juana Medina and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Elise Primavera has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Juana Medina has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.

A Girl And Her Dog/Una Nina Y Su Perro

Navigating through life, even if you tend to be an optimist, is much better when shared with a friend.  If this friend should happen to be a dog, you could not ask for a better companion and confidant.  A dog's affection never wavers plus they probably understand every single thing you say.  They are the best secret keepers.  They dispense advice with a look, a nudge or a tail wag.

If you happen to be beginning another year of school, a dog can get you through any difficulties you encounter.  Juana & Lucas (Candlewick Press, September 27, 2016) written and illustrated by Juana Medina provides readers with an up-close and personal view on growing up in Bogota, Colombia through the eyes of a lovable, lively little girl.  She gives new meaning to the word energetic.

My name is Juana.
It's spelled
J-u-a-n-a
and it is pronounced
WHO-AH-NAH. 

Right away Juana lists her favorite things: drawing, Astroman, Brussels sprouts and Bogota, Colombia.  As she chats a bit about each thing, we learn a little bit more about Juana. When she explains more about why she loves Bogota our understanding of this city and Juana grows.

When she continues her favorite things' discussion including reading, even when she should be sleeping, we learn of her most favorite thing of all, her dog Lucas.  Her seven reasons for loving Lucas are truthful and hilarious.

His vision and hearing are so good that when Mami is making her way toward my room, Lucas gives me a little push with his snout, which gives me time to turn off the light. That always saves me from a talk or two about still being awake past bedtime.

In several chapters we follow Juana from one disaster to the next; a bubble blowing blow-up on the school bus, a ruined lunch box and the contents inside, a math problem fiasco, a toe-stomping dance class, the perils of school uniforms, a futbol game at recess with teammate problems and the worst possible news of all.  Mr. Tompkins is going to be teaching his students the English.  When Juana gets home and her Mami thinks learning English is good thing, there is only one solution to this problem.  She hugs Lucas.

Juana feels like the odds are stacked against her when her neighbor Mr. Sheldon, the local grocers, the Herrera brothers, and even her Tia Cris think the English language offers opportunities.  As she continues to struggle with the new words, a fresh worry starts to bother her. Parent-teacher conferences are coming.  On the day of the meeting her grandparents, Abue and Abuelita, arrive after school to take her to their home. Juana is very grateful to notice they also bring Lucas.

During her visit with them, her grandpa, Dr. Rosas, a neurosurgeon, explains the importance of English to him.  Juana is amazed. Then he reveals a plan, an epic plan.  Juana knows she must devote all her efforts to learning English.  If she succeeds, Mr. Shelden, the Herrera brothers and Tia Cris will share in her accomplishments.  If she succeeds her Mami and Abue and Abuelita will share an out-of-this-world adventure with her.  Lucas already knows what will happen because best furry friends are special.


Within these short eleven chapters the zest in which Juana greets every situation is made abundantly clear to readers. Juana Medina brings us into the everyday events with truth and humor.  We are made aware of those things Juana really loves and those things she distinctly dislikes.  Throughout the narrative Medina asks us to pause when she writes variations of

I love___________ 
LOVE. IT. 
And here's why: 

Spanish words are sprinkled in sentences. Given the context we can figure out their meaning.  It's a wonderful way for English-speaking readers to learn and for Spanish-speaking readers to connect.  Here is a passage from the beginning of chapter four.

Back inside, in Mr. Tompkins's clase, it feels like a sauna, and after that intense futbol game, this classroom is seriously stinky. Even stinkier than after dance class, and that's a lot of stinky!
We might have fallen asleep at our desks in the stuffy room if Mr. Tompkins hadn't anunciado, 
"Ladies and gentlemen!
Are you ready for a ton of fun?"
When a grown-up says something is going to be a ton of fun, it means there will be NO FUN AT ALL.  Not even a single bit of fun. Nada de fun.


Rendered in ink and watercolor (I am working with an F & G.  All the illustrations are in black and white but the final copy will be in full color.) the illustrations are full of animation.  The smile on Juana's face on the front of the book case hints at the fun to follow.  Lucas is a patient pal in everything she does and almost wherever she goes. Every page turn has a picture.

Juana Medina alters the image sizes and perspective to enhance her text, supplying us with the true emotional moods Juana experiences.  She has the ability to convey much with small lines and dots.  Another important feature of this title is the shifting size and placement of the text for emphasis.

One of my many favorite illustrations is in the first chapter.  Taking up the bottom half of two pages spreading from edge to edge is a scene in Juana's bedroom. From the right and crossing the gutter is her window giving readers a view of the city of Bogota.  Juana is reading with a flashlight under her covers on the left.  Lucas is sleeping with his head next to her.  The word contentment comes to mind.


The first in a series Juana & Lucas written and illustrated by Juana Medina is a charming, insightful look at the world of a girl growing up in Bogota, Colombia.  The intended audience will easily relate to the ups and downs in Juana's life. The underlying current of humor in the text and pictures will touch all readers.  I highly recommend this title especially as a read aloud.

To discover more about Juana Medina and her work please follow the links attached to her name to access her website and blog at Tumblr.  You can view an inside spread at the publisher's website.  Here is a publisher generated A Q & A with author-illustrator Juana Medina about this title which is wonderful.  Here is a link to a series of flash cards in Spanish and English featuring Juana and Lucas on the Spanish cards.  Make sure to read the article, A Girl and Her Furry Amigo | Up Close with Juana Medina in School Library Journal.  Juana Medina is featured with two other Latina illustrators here.

Drinking hot chocolate con queso. #JuanaandLucas #Colombia pic.twitter.com/mIQDF0JdWN

— Juana Medina (@juanamedina) May 12, 2016

UPDATE:  November 10, 2016 Juana Medina is interviewed at Latinxs in Kid Lit. 

Simply Fun

Have you ever noticed how the familiar things you walk by every single day may suddenly get your attention? When you stop and stare you wonder why you never fully appreciated what has currently grabbed your focus.  It may be the slope of snow sculpted by the wind, a tiny bird's nest comfortably resting in the bare branches of a tree, the way a folded blanket drapes across the back of a chair or the new grayness around your dog's face.  There is a special contentment in the simple.

For our youngest readers and listeners learning to appreciate the music of language, a few words can become a melody moving through their minds.  Taking commonplace things and putting them together can create pure playfulness.  Smick! (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), February 10, 2015) written by Doreen Cronin with illustrations by Juana Medina does this superbly.

Smick.

Having heard his name called, Smick, one ear cocked, is ready for action.  Tail wagging he easily follows the request of the unseen speaker.  He receives phrase with a doggy smile on his face.

One word, the next word, makes him sit up and take notice.  The word is stick.  For reasons unknown to me, dogs love sticks. (I have seen Xena drag sticks three times her size down roads, through fields and out of the water in total bliss.)

With one thought in his mind, he retrieves the thrown stick in mere seconds.  What he hears next is a tad bit unusual.  It sounds like a chicken.  It's a baby, a mere bundle of fluff.  Wow!

When seen side by side (Chick and Smick), it's easy to see Smick is a big dog, a big, big dog.  He's huge! Smick crouches down ready to play but he needs to proceed with care.  When you add Chick, chasing a stick and Smick together you get a rousing romp of goodness.


After I had read this book multiple times, I couldn't help but think about which word came to author Doreen Cronin first, Smick, Chick or stick?  Or what picture popped into her head before the others, was it the dog, the baby chicken or the stick?  Did she see something which sparked the idea for this story?

The most words read in combination are three.  Usually all that appears is a single word.  It's the use of punctuation, a comma, a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point, which determine the rhythm of the narrative.  It's spirited and catchy.


Rendered digitally in combination with alstroemeria petals and rosemary tree sticks the illustrations of Juana Medina are in lively synchronization with the narrative.  The royal blue background spanning the dust jacket and matching book case make Smick and Chick the perfect pals to bring on readers' grins.  On the back, left, we see the back portion of the duo in the same position. The opening and closing endpapers with the identical blue background are a series of nine new poses of Smick and Chick together; upside down, running, resting, walking away from and running toward us.  They are, in two words, utterly charming.  The picture for the title page spreads from left to right featuring the stick in Smick's mouth.  Chick is perched on the tip.

Crisp white pages make Smick, shaped with thicker black lines (and sometimes Chick), the real stick and Chick formed with flower petals seem like they could jump off the pages at any minute.  Medina alters her perspective of Smick, making him smaller or larger in response to the action of the story.  She crosses the gutter with energetic abandon just like Smick.

One of my favorite of many images is when Smick first encounters Chick.  The speaker cries out

No, Smick, no!

Smick is lying down, larger than life on the left spanning over the gutter to the right.  Wings sticking up in the air is Chick calmly walking right by Smick's nose going toward the left edge.  You can feel the gentle tension wondering what the page turn will bring next to readers.


It's easy to understand why the first three letters of the dog's name are the first three letters in smile. That's exactly what readers will be doing from beginning to end of Smick! written by Doreen Cronin with illustrations by Juana Medina.  My gaze was captured by the dog on the cover but the spare rhyming text masterfully combined with the pictures makes this a little treasure for the youngest listeners and readers (and those of us young at heart).  Make sure to read this aloud with zip and zing.

To learn more about Doreen Cronin and Juana Medina please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Julie Danielson, author and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, featured the artwork from this title.  Enjoy the book trailer.




Note to reader:  I am not sure of the gender of Smick so feel free to substitute female pronouns whenever you wish.