Numbering The Clever

Hardly a day goes by without seeing a group of small birds chasing, diving and madly chirping at a crow.  While they may be a pest in the avian world with less than desirable eating habits, they are known for their intelligent adaptability.  After my parents retired (or probably before but I did not notice) they were daily entertained by a group of crows who congregated in their backyard.  They placed a large basin of water on a backless bench so their feathered friends could drink and jump in to cool themselves.  It was like watching a comedy routine.  I wouldn't be a bit surprised to discover they named some of the repeat performers.

Counting Crows (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, March 3, 2015) written by Kathi Appelt with illustrations by Rob Dunlavey is a concept book with a surprise as cunning as the cawing characters.  Due to their residency in nearly every corner of the world, readers will feel connected to and will easily identify with the featured flock.  There's merriment in the wind.

One,
two,
three
crows in a tree.

As you can plainly see by the dust jacket these are no common crows; these birds fly with finesse and a sense of style.  One of them even has a stylish polka-dot scarf.  From the tree the trio spots insects and mangoes three.  They each enjoy the delectable discovery.

There's a nest in the branches made

of straws and sticks

a perfect resting place for more plumed pals now up to six.  These creative connoisseurs locate peanuts and plums; precisely plentiful for the eager sextet.  Flying from their tree to the lines stretched between poles, their number grows to a nifty nine.  Still needing another snack they scavenge creeping crawlies and crispy crackers.

As the three groups of three, in a tree, on a nest and sitting on a line, digest these delicacies, the chatter begins.  Another voice joins the chorus.  Now there are three, six, nine and ten.  These lucky birds find ten more treats times two.

Guard your gardens, these avian adventurers are on the prowl.  Goodies are gathered for eleven.  Away they travel together to a previously peaceful park.  How many are there?  Twelve crooners in a row collect leisurely escargot and crunchy chips.  Someone else is quietly counting.  A watcher warns the counted crows.  Beating wings herald a new fashion statement.


Most times when hearing one, two in quick succession, your mind will leap to buckle my shoe.  Decades later the age old rhyme learned as a child is firmly planted in your memory.  For a new audience Kathi Appelt puts her own masterful spin on counting by grouping the numbers by three, having the crows feast on their found food and turning it into a story.

She places the trios in easily remembered places but playfully continues by mentioning roly-poly bugs, mangoes, peanuts and peas.  Each food is introduced with a descriptive adjective; salty peanuts, spicy ants and crunchy crickets.  After the second meal is mentioned she concludes the rhyme with a fun exclamation.  Here is a sample passage.

...nine round crackers.
Nine for the counting crows.
Nine, by smackers!


The limited color palette of black, white, gray and red on the matching dust jacket and book case demands you stop and look at this book.  Well, that and the collection of six humorous striped sweater-garbed crows sitting, hanging, talking, peering and peeking from the branches of a tree extending across the opened jacket and case will definitely do the trick.  To the left, on the back, the rhyme for six of the group is an open invitation.  A more rusty shade of the red covers both the opening and closing endpapers.  The threesome from the front are busy on the title page while two others sit on the verso and two more fly from the dedications on their special page.

Rendered in pencil and digital color the illustrations of Rob Dunlavey capture the essence of crow.  Their long black bills, large eyes (How can a dot show so much emotion?) and spindly legs are hilarious.  During the rhyme readers are treated to a double-page image.  As they seek a particular cuisine, the pictures are smaller, grouped together over two pages, showing the crows engaged in a variety of activities; counting on their feathers, head inside a bag, stacking crackers or opening a garden gate.

When we give attention to these drawings the little details offer us laughter and hints. The unfortunate ants are seeking the crackers too, even assisting in the stacking.  I wonder how much longer the crow will read the newspaper on the park bench.  One observant crow's eye directs careful readers to a shift in the story.

One of my several favorite illustrations is when ten crows find the crickets and peppers.  On the left five of them are eyeing the doomed crickets.  One cricket is perched on the bent form of a crow.  A sixth crow lounging on its back, beak open, has thrown a cricket into the air, soon to be a snack.  To the right two crows are trying to carry peppers which have tumbled from a basket.  Crickets are crawling on some of them.  Another crow is balancing a pepper on its beak.  The final crow looks curiously at a cricket on its hand.  Friend or food?


Read Counting Crows written by Kathi Appelt with illustrations by Rob Dunlavey aloud or sing it as a song.  Whatever you do, do it often.  The language used by Appelt welcomes participation and the artwork of Dunlavey generates giggles and grins.  Your listeners (and readers) will be unable to sit still once the rhythmic rhymes begin.

Please take a moment to visit the websites of Kathi Appelt and Rob Dunlavey by following the links attached to their names.  This title was featured at Jama's Alphabet Soup with a review and a recipe.  Here's a link to several pages of activities. Enjoy the book trailer.

Foe...Friend...Family

When you've been a teacher librarian for years, sometimes within the same district or building, you have the privilege of working with and watching all the guys and gals grow from kindergarten through graduation.  You come to understand each individual personality.  You can easily spot when one of your students has had a rough start to their morning.

If this shift in behavior should last more than a day, it's usually because something has changed in their home life.  A stable and loving family unit, no matter the makeup of its members, is essential.  There's no doubt about it, change is hard.  Distinguished author Kathi Appelt and well-known illustrator Jill McElmurry have combined their significant talents to bring readers, When Otis Courted Mama (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 6, 2015).  It's looking like a new wind is blowing through the cactus for one small coyote.

Before Otis, Cardell had a mostly wonderful life.

His mama and daddy were everything he needed.  They loved him beyond measure.  With every fiber of his being he returned their love.  This was an unbreakable trio of affection.

No one could cook the specialty pancakes with specialty syrup like Cardell's daddy.  No one could run like a ghost across the sand like Cardell's daddy.  When Cardell's daddy tipped his nose skyward and sang; the very stars and moon seemed to reply.  It was a bit of an inconvenience that his daddy lived with his stepmama and stepbrother in another part of the desert, but Cardell still had his mama all to himself.

No one could seek out desert delicacies like Cardell's mama.  No one could capture the beauty of morning and evening skies on canvas like Cardell's mama.  When Cardell's mama smiled; the very stars, moon and yes, the planets, seemed to shine brighter.  It was more than a bit worrisome when a new neighbor began to call on Cardell's mama.  Cardell did not like this at all.

When Otis brought flowers, Cardell felt a growl grow.  There had been other gentleman callers but Mama and Cardell had decided they were not a good fit.  Otis was an entirely different breed of coyote.  Cardell sent out a challenge from deep in his throat.

Now Cardell's mama had not taken a fancy to Otis without good reason.  Cardell is about to meet his match.  A sweet treat, sky-high leaping and a night around the campfire might just seal the deal for a new family to form.


Before you've even finished the first page you will be reading this book aloud; unable to help yourself.  Kathi Appelt has a way of picking and choosing words which sing right off the page.  Her use of repetition creates an irresistible beat.  She uses the storyteller's technique of three masterfully.  By telling us how wonderful Cardell's life is with supporting examples, she builds toward the uh-oh moment when Otis arrives.  Here is a sample, a continuation of the first page passage.

He had a perfectly good mama and a perfectly good daddy.  Both his perfectly good mama and his perfectly good daddy adored him.  And Cardell adored them, too.  With good reason.


All I can say, looking at the matching dust jacket and book case front, is a certain coyote is not very happy.  Not happy at all.  Disgusted, disgruntled and grouchy.  The placement of the single eyebrow tells a tale.  On the back we can easily see the reason for his apparent unease.  Set in a background of blue is a picture frame hanging from a nail.  Cardell and his mama are nose to nose in contentment.  A traditional red, black and white bandanna print covers the opening and closing endpapers.  A peaceful adobe home sits beneath the title.

Page by page Jill McElmurry matches the narrative enhancing the setting and character's personalities with her illustrations rendered in gouache on watercolor paper.  Moving from a double-page image to two smaller paintings on a single page followed by several full page pictures before the next two-page illustration she creates a visual flow for us to follow.  Extra details like the scarf around the stepmama's neck, the bolo tie on daddy, the desert flowers in front of mama's ears and the cowboy hat Otis is never without add to the southwestern flavor of the story.  The ears, eyes and mouths on all the coyotes are fully animated with emotion.

One of my best loved illustrations is of Cardell and his mama at night lying beneath the stars and a full moon.  It spans across two pages.  They are placed among desert plants in hues of golden yellow, deep greens and deep blues.  Mama is curled around Cardell.  His head is lifted toward her head turned toward him.  They are nose to nose.  It's a given Cardell feels like his life is mostly wonderful.

When Otis Courted Mama written by Kathi Applet with illustrations by Jill McElmurry may be one of my favorite books about stepparents and blended families.  Magic happens when stellar storytelling and glowing illustrations meet.  If you are looking for a fantastic read aloud look no further.  Put on your cowboy boots, hat and scarf and get ready for a howling good time.

To explore the websites of Kathi Applet and Jill McElmurry please follow the links attached to their names.  Eleven blogs were a part of a tour promoting this title.  You can follow the links for all of them beginning with Cracking The Cover.  Here is a link to an activity page found at Kathi Applet's website.  If you are interested in a curriculum guide, the link is here.

How Do They Know?

Any belief I may have harbored about comprehending any dog's, my dog's, keen sense of smell, hearing, sight and the innate ability to determine the needs of humans no longer exists.  Personal experience has taught me their skills at living life best far exceed mine now or in the future.  When you stop to consider their life span at its best is one-fifth (or one-sixth if we're lucky) of ours, their accomplishments are incredible.

How is it they are in a heartbeat able to discern friend or foe?  How is it they can sense a person's mood without a single conversational exchange? Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Underneath and illustrator Marc Rosenthal, I Must Have Bobo!, I'll Save You Bobo! and Bobo the Sailor Man!, combine their significant talents in a newly released title, Mogie: The Heart of the House (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division).  Prepare to be filled with pure joyful love.

Right smack in the heart of the Big City
is a very special house.

This house is home to many families offering them comfort in style and furnishings, a library filled with books, a very large kitchen, an inside tree house and a gigantic fireplace.  All the families, who call this place theirs, come with their children; children from every corner of the world.  Once a boy named Gage came there.  This boy who people said

"He's got mojo!

is too sick to do the things he loves, to do the things that make him who he is.

Like most homes, this very special house has rules.  One guideline, to be noted above all others and of importance to this story, is

No puppies!

With that being said, let's go to another remarkable house.  In this comfy residence there are not one but ten puppies. Some are meant to be service dogs.  Others are to be trained for Search-and-Rescue.  Four are destined to be paraded in shows.  One...and you know who I mean...Mogie is all play and no work.

This pup has a mind of his own.  You know what he does?  He walks into the

very special house right smack in the heart of the Big City.

Everything and everyone in that home means nothing to him but Gage.  It is like the two are tied together with unbreakable string.

Mogie tries all his doggie tricks to lift Gage's spirits but he realizes what Gage really needs.  The two can be seen sitting side by side looking outside the window.  For Gage's eyes only Mogie's antics one day stir memories of a healthy boy with mojo.  

You won't believe who gets better.  You won't believe who gets to stay at the very special house with the No puppies! rule.  You won't believe who still looks outside the window but is now tied with unbreakable string to sweet Antonia whose cha-cha-cha is missing.  I'm here to tell you to believe because all this is the truth.  You can bet your sweet paws on it.


The next best thing to being there is having Kathi Appelt tell the tale. Her word combinations are like hot chocolate with marshmallows, a cozy blanket on a cold night and snuggling with your favorite stuffed animal; soothing, smooth and comforting.  Expertly weaving a spell with her storyteller's gift she creates a sense of place and purpose in her characters.  Using language like a composer she fashions rhythmic melodies sometimes repeating a cadence to further bind readers to her story.  Here is a single excerpt.

Give Gage a tune and he'd make up silly rhymes for it.
Give Gage a windy day and he'd fly a kite. Give Gage a beach
and he'd build a sand castle that scraped the sky.


Upon opening the matching dust jacket and book case readers are greeted with Marc Rosenthal's uplifting, charming picture of Mogie in front of the very special house with sick children on either side of him.  The cooler colors in the background blend beautifully with the bright red of the title, Mogie's collar and the fuzzy warmth of Mogie's coat.  On the back readers are treated to a real life portrait of Mogie, spirited pooch living at the Ronald McDonald House Houston.  Opening and closing endpapers in shades of blue feature a pattern of miniature Mogie in various poses.

Rendered in pencil, charcoal and digitally the illustrations wrap around the text, enhance the narrative with single and double page pictures, and depict a range of emotions.  The selection of colors lends itself to a natural feel for each portrayal.  You want to reach out and touch them; they are full of life.

One of my favorite visuals is of Mogie dreaming, lying on his back, four paws in the air. (This is a sure sign of contentment.)  He sees himself running alongside a healthy Gage.  This particular page follows Gage lying in bed remembering himself as a boy who liked to throw balls, do back flips and build skyscraper sand castles.


If you want a heartwarming title based upon a true story, look no further than Mogie: The Heart of the House written by Kathi Appelt with illustrations by Marc Rosenthal.  Destined to be a favorite, Mogie and his role at the Ronald McDonald House Houston will be a story requested over and over as a read aloud anytime, anywhere. The last line of the book says it all.

Who wouldn't love a dog like that?

An author's note at the back explains how Kathi Appelt met Mogie and the book evolved.  Don't forget to follow the links to the author's and illustrator's websites by following those embedded in their names.  Here is a link to an article about Kathi Appelt and Mogie in the LaunchPad.  This link to the publisher's website contains four short video interviews with Kathi Appelt.