A Snow-tastic Spell

Earlier this week, a wild rain and windstorm raged through our entire state.  Along the Great Lakes in northern Michigan waves rose and trees bent from these forces.  This event heralded the arrival of much colder conditions.  Clouds spit snow earlier this morning.

Winter is nature's seasonal pause.  Now is the time to enjoy this yearly rest. Ten Ways To Hear Snow (KOKILA, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, October 13, 2020) written by Cathy Camper with illustrations by Kenard Pak follows a little girl as she walks to her grandmother's house after a nightly blizzard.  It is a sensory sensation.

When Lina woke up, everything was quiet.

Everything was coated in snow.  There were no sounds of vehicles on the move.  Despite the weather, today was the day she and her grandmother were making warak enab with grape leaves.  Dressed snuggly, her parents allowed her to go.

As she stood outside Lina wondered if this was how Sitti, her grandmother, sensed the world.  Were the sounds she heard gentler?  Were they sharper?

As she traveled to Sitti's home specific sounds were noted by Lina.  The music of a shovel on a sidewalk, of the bite of the bottoms of her boots in the snow, and of snow swept off car roofs and windshields were the first few she heard.  Activities of children made new sounds.  Lina listened to cross-country skiers and snowman makers.

Lina finally arrived at her grandmother's building.  She had heard eight snow sounds.  After greeting her grandmother, they cooked together, step by careful step.  They imagined what the rolled, grape leaf bundles might be other than food.  Eating their meal, Lina talked with Sitti about the blizzard.  She was surprised at an answer her grandmother gave to a question.  Then, side by side and outside wrapped in warmth and love, they heard the final sound of snow.  

Like Lina gathering sounds of snow, author Cathy Camper, piece by piece, creates a tapestry for readers of the world after a blizzard and of familial affection.  Her concise sentences, some with dialogue, are a realistic reflection of Lina, her parents and her Sitti.  Each sound Lina hears is accurately depicted with her meticulous use of language.  There is a soothing rhythm supplied by the introduction of the sound and Lina's response.  Here is a passage.

Lina cut across the park.

Scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.

Another snow sound?

Lina saw long, skinny tracks by her boots.  Ahead of her,

people were skiing.  Their skis made the fifth way to hear snow.

The silvery, white-coated world is eloquently portrayed, first to readers, on the open and matching dust jacket and book case.  On the dust jacket it extends flap edge to flap edge.  The frosty clarity is so real you can imagine yourself standing with Lina and Sitti.  They are shown on the front of the jacket and case as they appear together on the closing page.  On the back the community buildings and trees with branches reaching out and up like arms, continue.  Text nestled between boughs in the snow-filled sky read:

WHEN THE WORLD GROWS QUIET,

WE LEARN TO LISTEN.

A sage green color covers the opening and closing endpapers.  A darker green, complementary to the endpapers, is used to form a snowflake made of grape leaves on the title page.  This single, enlarged snowflake is placed beneath the text.

Rendered digitally Kenard Pak's artwork, on single and double pages, is delicate and intricate.  His details draw readers deeper into the story.  With care he uses darker colors on his characters and certain elements in each setting.  Other items are lighter and etched.

His perspectives, a scene viewed through an upstairs window with curtains acting as framing, a panoramic view of Lina's street, and a bird's eye view of her walking in the snow afford readers a genuine experience.  When Lina enters Sitti's home we are shown a view of the outside of her apartment and one inside with Lina in four different places.  For the making of warak enab, he provides us with a page showing the four stages of filling and folding the grape leaves.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is when Lina is walking, listening, and hearing her boot soles on the snow.  The crisp white background in broken by blue-shadowed footprints leading to Lina walking off the right side of this single-page picture.  Text appears above and below the footprints and Lina.  Of Lina, we see her hat, scarf, coat, legs, and boots from above.  A small portion of the bag with the grape leaves in her right hand is there.  This is a marvelous view.

Besides being an enchanting encounter within a wintry realm, Ten Ways To Hear Snow written by Cathy Camper with illustrations by Kenard Pak asks readers to take a respite in their normal, daily lives.  It challenges them to seek other sounds present in snow.  This title is pure perfection for a winter-themed storytime or perhaps one revolving around being more present in the moments of movements between awakening and sleep.  I highly recommend this book for your personal and professional collections.

By following the link attached to Cathy Camper's and Kenard Pak's names, you can access their websites to learn more about them and their other work.  Cathy Camper has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Kenard Pak has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view the title page.

The silence in the mornings as the sun rises is complete.  Many of our feathered friends have flown to more southern regions for winter.  Others that remain have distinctive times of the day when they make appearances.  Fortunate are those who see a flash of red, reminding us of the presence of cardinals.  Sometimes when the sun shines brightly, chick-a-dees will gather in the trees, singing.  Blue jays squawk and swoop, sometimes alone or in a pair.  At dark, the hooting of an owl signals their nightly rituals.  Snow Birds (Abrams Books for Young Readers, November 3, 2020) written by Kirsten Hall with pictures by Jenni Desmond is a poetic, pictorial ode to those birds who remain in winter or thrive in colder climates.  Eighteen poems about seventeen birds will have you seeking their presence every time you step outside.

Blue Jay

Look! In the tree! A blue jay feeder.

Carved with care from fine red cedar.

Hung with love, set facing east,

a call to all:  It's a peanut feast! . . .

A Carolina wren seeks a home.  Where will they find a cozy place to rest?  Snow buntings flock and fly painting a pattern in the sky.  In formation snow geese weather the snow, finding a place to sleep.

Black rosy-finches call and look for food before they head for shelter.  An Atlantic puffin dives, beak open, and feeds on fish.  A hawk sits statue still as a swarm of Bohemian waxwings tantalize it.  

Under the snow a hollowed house is filled with the feathered body of a ruffed grouse.  Do you hear them call?  A snowy owl hoots for all listening to hear.  

Many days their distinctive songs echo across the landscape.  If you are lucky, they will land near you, these black-capped chickadees.  Grateful American tree sparrows gather to feed on seed.  What is that drum-like beat?  It's a downy woodpecker finding a meal, making a hole for a nest, and hoping for a mate.  Winter is nearly over.  Spring is easing back.  There is a brief glimpse of red.  Northern cardinals welcome this change with their tunes.  And the blue jays find joy in a new nest.

With a passion for her subject, author Kirsten Hall writes her verses showcasing the characteristics and habits of each bird.  She highlights those specifics which separate them from other birds within the context of all of them surviving in harsher conditions.  She uses rhyming masterfully, blending the bird calls into her narrative.  Her words sing off the pages.  Here is an entire poem.

Snow Goose

Snowflakes whirling,

snow-flocks swirling,

streaks of white

twirl through

the night.  Then

lower,

slower,

home,

a good night. 

(This poem is presented with the words, across two pages, forming a v above and below a flock flying in formation.)

From a single goose we hear:

KREEY-A!!!!!

Ki-ki-ki-ki! Ki-ki-ki-ki!

Ki-ki-ki-ki! Ki-ki-ki-ki!

Luminescent illustrations by Jenni Desmond are presented on the open dust jacket, front and back.  The northern cardinals on the front form a striking contrast to the snowy setting in cool colors.  Held to the light, snowflakes shimmer as the jacket is moved back and forth.  To the left, on the back, a snowy owl sits on top of a nearly white dune.  Above it a dark sky presents a perfect canvas for the crescent moon.  On the black sky words read:

"A soulful, vivid look at the

hidden world at winter birds."

---New York City Audubon

On the book case the snow geese are featured in their V-shaped arrangement, one bird flying from the upper, left-hand corner to the front bird flying off the center, right-hand side.  The lower side of the v has the final two birds close to the spine. The birds' wings, some up and some down, and some back, indicate their beautiful movement.  They are presented on a gray streaked canvas with snow falling.  This picture is eloquent enough to have you believing you can hear them.

On the opening and closing endpapers is a stark winter landscape.  A thin ribbon of blue is spread across the top.  Beneath this is snow.  Along the bottom is a trail of bird tracks.  On the closing endpapers one element is added.  The bird who made the tracks.

On the title page all seventeen birds are shown around and among the text.  Each double-page picture rendered by Jenni Desmond using

watercolor, acrylic, pencil crayons, ink, drypoint printmaking, and Photoshop

displays a knowledge of setting, habitats, and the birds.  

The details are breathtaking.  The placement of text within the images reveals a superb sense of design. 

Sometimes we are close to the birds when they are feeding among branches.  Other times they are placed in a larger world.  A large snowy vista spans two pages with a dark gray sky, a line of trees, branches bare, and a single bird feeder standing in the snow in the foreground on the right.  A flock of American tree sparrows gladly gather.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for the black-capped chick-a-dee.  For this two-page image the canvas is black.  The poem is on the right side, text in white.  On the left enveloped by the black, as if cupped in hands, is a single small chick-a-dee.  This is a stunning depiction.

For a unit on winter, birds, or broadening your knowledge of our natural world, Snow Birds written by Kirsten Hall with artwork by Jenni Desmond is an excellent choice.  At the close of the book are seventeen additional paragraphs, one for each bird.  Kirsten Hall includes an author's note in the form of a letter to readers.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Jenni Desmond and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Kirsten Hall has an account on Twitter.  Jenni Desmond has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.

A Transformation

With the arrival and departure of each month differences are noted.  Some are subtle, only evident by keen observers.  Others are more obvious.  With each seasonal shift the length of daylight and darkness lessens and grows in proportion.  More darkness signals rest and more light announces rebirth.  Wild creatures carefully watched declare changes with their presence or absence. 

The newest of three titles (Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn August 16, 2016, Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter September 5, 2017) celebrating seasons, Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring (GodwinBooks, Henry Holt and Company, February 18, 2020 written and illustrated by Kenard Pak, follows a boy and his dog as they walk and send out greetings.  They move and mark aspects of these two seasons.  They do not go alone.

Hello, winter night.

Hello, snow.

Hello. From high up in the sky.

Snow continues the conversation with the boy and his pooch pal, telling of its actions and where its flakes fall.  Strolling past a pond covered in ice, the child bids the fish hello.  And they reply. 

An empty greenhouse draws attention to its own discoveries.  A winter brook, footprints left in the snow, trees and a nest acknowledge the young explorer and his dog.  A wild winter storm voices its own opinion.  And then it stops.  Silence.

Looking out his window in the morning, those places visited the previous night glow in the dawn's light rising behind neighboring hills.  A new day means a new walk is in the offing.  The effects of the previous night's weather diminish in the warmth of the sunlight.

Multiple salutations address all the changes.  Heat helps to melt.  Heat helps buds to unfurl.  Heat calls to sleeping animals.  All the welcome words bring forth responses.  The joy of a new time reverberates across the landscape.  A boy and his dog run to meet spring.


The technique of using greetings and responsive greetings in the narrative by Kenard Pak creates a personal experience for the reader.  We travel in faith and appreciation with the child and his canine companion.  The replies from what most would consider unable to speak enrich the dialogue and elevate the magic to be found in our world.  Here is a passage. 

Hello, glass house.

Hello.  I'm cold inside.
The swaying trees through my glass panels are like tall, slender ghosts.
The last logs are draped with snow. 


When you open the dust jacket the image spans from the edge of the left flap to the edge of the right flap.  The illustration on the book case matches that of the jacket.  From left to right we move through a chilly wintry scene in the country toward a small community as the snow falls.  As the scene crosses the spine a few new leaves appear on a tree as the landscape warms with the changing season, sun and clear sky.  Shades of gray turn to hues of green.  Clearly the two walkers are enjoying their adventure. 

On the opening and closing endpapers a steely blue gray provides the background.  On the title page a single sapling on top of a hill catches falling snowflakes.  Kenard Pak

used watercolor and pencil, digitally enhanced, to create the illustrations for this book.

Each picture graces two pages with the exception of four full-page pictures.  There is a stunning wordless visual deep in the night before sunrise.

The narrative begins in the evening with winter colors darker than during daylight which supplies a better contrast to the lightness of the new day after the storm and the coming of spring.  Each image presents a different perspective depending on who is the observer.  We view scenes from the boy's and dog's viewpoints, from snow's point of view, or from the fishes' sight.  Sometimes all we see of the boy and his dog are their feet and paws.

Each page turn asks readers to pause.  We look at each setting carefully noting the layers and what Kenard Pak chooses to place with bolder colors and those he chooses to fade.  Each element is placed in each picture with intention.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a bird's eye perspective of the boy's home and surrounding area.  From here we can see his house, the pond, the greenhouse, the brook, and plentiful trees.  On the left snow still covers portions of the grass, trees, and roof of the house.  Our eyes move to notice the brook, greenhouse and pond before crossing the gutter.  A blue jay and blackbirds soar in the sky on the right.  Beneath them the boy and his white dog race through a clearing.  You can feel the surge of joy at all the new beginnings visible in the change of colors.  There are shades of green everywhere you look.


Reading Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring written and illustrated by Kenard Pak is a soothing journey from season to season.  It invites readers to take their own walks and greet what they see.  It welcomes them to imagine responses.  It enhances the value of observation and appreciation for our natural world and its cycles.  This could be used successfully to promote discussions and enhance specific themes of study or storytimes.  You'll want to place a copy of this in your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Kenard Pak and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Kenard Pak has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Here is a link to an interview at Art Of The Picture Book.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.

Considering Questions

Curious children question . . . everything.  This is the very act which makes them so amazing. Being near their inquiry is invigorating.  It's wonderful to see curious children continue to be curious teens, curious young adults and curious adults.  I can still recall, as I have mentioned previously, sitting in church thirty years ago, listening to the first female minister in any church I attended utter the words, "When you're through learning, you're through."

There will never come a time when our fascinating minds are filled to capacity; there is simply too much wonder in the world.  Two publications in the final third of the year address this compelling need to know; this lively speculation about all sorts of things.  Just Because (Candlewick Press, September 10, 2019) written by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault follows a bedtime conversation between a child and their father.

Why is the ocean blue?

Surprisingly enough, the father elaborates with story instead of science.  According to him, the fish play guitars and sing sad songs once the child is asleep.  They then sob tears of blue.

Now accelerating the inquiries, the child asks about rain.  The father replies with a mixture of fact and fantasy.  His explanation as to why leaves change color makes perfect sense if you forget about the dryness of leaves and trees in general.  He attaches the next answer to the previous answer with astute cleverness.

When the child asks about the disappearance of dinosaurs and goes on to ask about black holes, her father gives two of my favorite interpretations tying them together.  When a barrage of questions fills the bedtime conversation, the father has a kindly request.  This, as you might expect, prompts another query.  With the special gift fathers are known to have, his response is loving, wise and truthful.


In the manner storytellers have of inviting listeners into their tale, Mac Barnett starts with one of the classic questions children are known to ask.  With the father's reply to this first question and the subsequent ones, he gives readers a gift every single time, the gift of thinking outside what is expected or accepted.  The cadence we have come to appreciate and respect in picture books of excellence is supplied when the answers to questions one and two, three and four and five and six become splendid pairs.  Here is a part of one of Mac Barnett's father's answers.

Millions of years ago,
thousands of asteroids
fell on the earth.

But the dinosaurs
had planned for this.
They fastened themselves . . .


In looking at the open dust jacket you initially notice a blend of geometric with whimsical.  This look is a pictorial representation of the verbal approach taken by the father in answering his child's questions.  The dots on the child's bedding are enlarged to hold text.  The text is placed within circles throughout the book.  The colors shown in the artwork above the text are depicted in question and answer sets.

To the left, on the back, the first question, is placed in a large circle.  Three smaller circles hold leaves, a seashell and an automobile.  In a fourth circle, white, is the ISBN.  The book case is a stunning contrast to the jacket.  On matte-finished paper is a light cream shade.  A pattern is fashioned from leaves and flowers found on land and below in the sea, and there are sea creatures.  Lavender, hues of blue and green, purple and a reddish orange are given to these elements.  It's a depiction of all the wonder waiting to be found.

On the black opening and closing endpapers are dots of various colors and sizes.  Isabelle Arsenault rendered these illustrations

in gouache, pencil, and watercolor and assembled digitally.

On the title page is the nightstand in the child's room with their jar of marbles and some of them scattered on the floor.  A two-page picture is devoted to the first question with the text in a large circle on the left and a picture of the child in her bed in her room with her father standing in the doorway on the right.  The colors are shades of black, gray, white, cream and blue for the circle.  For the answer we are taken under the sea, with a brighter focus in the play of light and shadow.  The blue is featured.  The father's answer is in white circles.

For each question and answer the father, child and the child's dog change their position and expressions.  Readers need to carefully watch.  Whatever color appears in the circle will become prevalent in the following image. For the illustration after the two pages depicting multiple questions in multiple circles, we see a larger perspective of the child's room.  Many of the items in the room are incorporated in the questions and answers.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the answer as to why birds fly south in the winter.  For the background on the right showcasing two flying swallows, each carrying leaves in their beaks, Isabelle Arsenault selects a pale mint green.  On the left is a collage of greenery, leaves and stems in all shapes and sizes in shades of black and gray with the same pale mint green.  It's a breathtaking array.  Tucked among this collection is a small insect with two arms raised in praise.

Just Because written by Mac Barnett with art by Isabelle Arsenault is a conversational masterpiece.  It allows us to see inside the bond between a loving parent and an inquisitive child.  This book was recently selected at one of The 2019 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books.  I can't imagine a professional or personal collection without this title on the shelves.

To learn more about Mac Barnett and Isabelle Arsenault and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Mac Barnett has an account on Instagram.  Isabelle Arsenault has accounts on Facebook and Instagram. At the publisher's website and at Penguin Random House you can view interior images.  At Art Of The Picture Book both Mac Barnett and Isabelle Arsenault are interviewed about this title.  At author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast this book and the artwork of Isabelle Arsenault are highlighted.  Enjoy the book trailer.





If you could take a few moments thinking extraordinary things about what we accept as true, you might find yourself reflecting as the children in this second title do.  I Wonder (Random House, October 1, 2019) with words by K. A. Holt and pictures by Kenard Pak is an exploration of the art and craft of questioning.  It's like having a list of inquiries you could spend a lifetime searching for answers.  Speculation has rarely been this . . . wonderful.

What if the sun is really a kite?

This first of a combination of twenty-six wondering and questioning phrases is the spark that ignites a fire of possibilities.  It also generates another series of questions.  If the sun is a kite, what are the planets?  Are they kites, too?  If they are all kites, who is holding the string? 

Children from all ethnic backgrounds ponder.  Our next focus is on food.  How does it feel to be consumed?  When you think of water bottles, how big can you go?  What realm could be found inside a bottle?

We are asked to wonder if inanimate objects get tired, lonely or sad?  Insects find a place in these musings. 

Does a grasshopper take hopping lessons?

If you believe in unicorns, it stands to reason you need to know where they are now.

Clocks and a question of time makes sense, but belly buttons and galaxies are a completely new pair.  Thoughts turn to how a form of air is created.  Have you ever studied your shadow and its expressions?  As one child of many is tucked into bed, one final thought is offered.  For this one, and this one alone, there is a reply.  And it is the truth!

In reading over this collection of contemplations, you become aware it might be difficult to definitively reply to most of them.  K. A. Holt inspires us to go beyond what is known and to brainstorm the potential for stories.  Each one of these twenty-six is the ticket to a new adventure.  Here are two more for you to celebrate and pour into your imagination.

Do bubbles tickle everything they touch?

I wonder if books read us, too.


One look at the open dust jacket and you know this book is no ordinary book.  Oh . . . no.  This book showcasing a whale carrying a house with a unicorn coming from the back with fish swimming nearby and a blue car floating along with a kite flying is the stuff of fantastic.  The subtle, muted shades of the main image stand in sharp contrast to the sun and the bright colors of the title text.  This initial image urges you in the best possible way to open this book. 

To the left, on the back, five colorful kites fly upward from the darker shades of green along the bottom.  A lone smaller kite of blue stretches from the center edge on the left.  These kites frame the words in a pastel setting.  The words read:

What do you wonder about
when you look at the world?

On the book case of pristine white three children from diverse backgrounds run beneath the title text.  On the back, to the left, a home in pencil with gray shading above it is beneath a full moon and a cluster of stars.  On the opening and closing endpapers is a repeating pattern of a tiny red car, a teddy bear, a sun, a kite, a ladybug, a faint blue planet and a bubble.  The title page is like a dream.  The text is in lower case, partially in pencil and partially erased from a pencil rubbing.  The pastoral scene beneath it is very faint, mystical.

On the jacket flap it states Kenard Pak

uses watercolor, pencil, collage, ink, and digital media

to create his art.  For this book he alternates between double-page pictures and full-page pictures.  Each one is a unique perspective.  We are outside looking inside, looking upward, up-close, from a bird's point of view or shown a combination of two on a single illustration.  By looking at the light and sky in the images, it appears as if Kenard Pak is taking us from sunrise to bedtime except for the final picture. 

He begins and ends with a form of the sun bringing his visuals full circle.  Careful readers will see items in one picture appear again.  Readers will also want to see if the same children are shown in more than one image.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the words

I wonder if books read us, too.

The floor and walls of the room are etched and lighter as is the staircase in the background, mostly in shadow.  In the center and filling more than half the space is a light tan rug.  Seated on the rug in her pajamas is a little girl.  With her a dog is calmly sitting and a kitten is seated next to her.  In front of this trio is an open book with the words

STORY TIME

on the front.  A talking yellow bird separates the two words.  Is the book reading the little girl and her furry friends?


Lighthearted, soulful and compassionate, I Wonder written by K. A. Holt with illustrations by Kenard Pak is a reflective selection of why we love what children think and have to say.  They are the reason as adults we strive to make the world better for them; so they can continue to wonder.  I highly recommend this title for your collections, professional and personal.

To discover more about K. A. Holt and Kenard Pak and their other work, please access their websites by following the links attached to their names.  K. A. Holt has an account on Twitter.  Kenard Pak has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. At the publisher's website you can view interior illustrations.  At author Cynthia Leitich Smith's website, Cynsations,  K. A. Holt is interviewed.

Dreaming Purr-fectly

Is there a single day which passes without making at least one wish?  Oh, the actual words, I wish, may not be thought or uttered but a desire might be felt, a longing might be expressed or a hunger for a special food or drink might be pursued.  We go through our lives filled with hopes, some tiny and others large.

There are those with the same dreams as us.  We may or may not realize this.  Cat Wishes (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, July 24, 2018) written by Calista Brill with illustrations by Kenard Pak is a special blend of practical and impossible.

Once in the windy wood, there was a hungry Cat.

This cat was not picky about what it ate.  Hearing a noise, it slowly moved toward a likely meal.  In a flash a snake was pinned beneath its paws.

It was not surprising the snake asked to be set free.  It was surprising when the snake said he would grant Cat wishes if allowed to leave.  Cat being Cat did not believe in wishes . . . but the snake slithered away.

Still not a believer Cat decided to experiment with one of his three wishes.  He desired fish.  Regardless of a meal of more than one fish and with a full belly, Cat still thought wishes were nonexistent. 

Cat's nap in the sun was cut short by a rain storm.  When the weather turned nasty who wouldn't want a house.  Did Cat, not for minute thinking wishes were real, think about a house?  (Let's continue thinking about a house.)  If Cat had a house, would Cat want to be alone inside it in the dark?  With a brilliant plot twist on wishes, readers along with Cat will know even the smallest sliver of hope can lead to miracles.


With a rhythmic beat supplied by a mix of rhyming words, alliteration, sound effects, narrative and dialogue, author Calista Brill takes us into the world of Cat.  Her use of language has us becoming a cat.  We, like Cat, are torn between not believing, wanting to believe and acceptance.  The repetition of a phrase ties everything together flawlessly.  Here are several passages.

"No such thing as a wish,"
Cat said.  His belly growled.
"But if there were, I'd wish for a fish."

Pad,
pad,
pad.

Cat walked on
whisper feet.


When you open the matching dust jacket and book case, the first two things you notice are the image spans left to right, back to front, and it stretches to the edge of both flaps on the jacket.  The muted, pleasing colors are a mix of reality and dreams.  Cat's wishes in the interior are shown in colorful, loosely formed shapes.  To the left, on the back of both the jacket and case, more cloud-like pastel swirls are shown amid the plants.  In the distance, along the top, we can faintly see the windy wood.

On the opening and closing endpapers a pattern of stars and paw prints in alternating vertical rows cover the two pages.  They are a dusty rose on a cream canvas.  The title page features Cat standing sideways looking into the windy wood.  Grass, leaves and plants border the bottom of the page.  Along the left side a large tree truck provides a frame.

Rendered in

watercolor and digital media

the pictures of Kenard Pak in this title span two pages and single pages.  On one of the double page images several elements are used to accentuate pacing.  The smooth, slightly matted paper is perfect for the limited color palette.  Pak may use browns and grays on cream with splashes of only green in the leaves.  This allows the highlighting of wishes, desires and hopes in light shades of blue, red and yellow and mixtures of these three.  Delicate fine lines and smooth brush strokes generate a sense of serenity.

One of my many favorite pictures is on a single page.  Along the bottom are simple lines of grass and weeds.  Cat has lifted up from his nap, looking forlorn on the bottom right.  Lines of rain fall from the darkened area in the upper right corner.  There is absolutely no doubt about the mood or emotional state of Cat.


Readers are going to enjoy this tale of wishes especially with the twist at the end.  Cat Wishes written by Calista Brill with pictures by Kenard Pak will have them ready to wish as often as possible.  It will also have them looking for a silver lining when it appears as if there is none to be found.  They need to remember (We all do.) Cat did let the snake go.  I would pair this title with I Wish You More, The Littlest Gardner, and You Don't Want a Unicorn!  Sure to promote discussions, I recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.

To discover more about Calista Brill and Kenard Pak and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Both Calista and Kenard have Twitter accounts. You can also find Kenard Pak on Instagram and Tumblr.  

Rescued

For those who know me personally and for those who only know me virtually my love of dogs is apparent to all.  When I say I love dogs, I mean there has never been a human being as wonderful as any of my four dogs.  If I should meet a human who surpasses the pure generosity, compassion, loyalty, love and joy of a dog, then surely there is reincarnation.  A dog must have been sent back in the form of a human to show us how to better live our lives.

Even before I read the first page of the first chapter of Patricia MacLachlan's new title, the book found a permanent place in my heart.  Here is what I read:

Dogs speak words
But only poets
And children
Hear
---P. M.

If I never went on to read the rest of The Poet's Dog (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, September 13, 2016), I would have been satisfied with those four lines.  But I did read the book...again and again.

I found the boy at dusk.

The individual speaking to us is a dog.  The boy he found is lost in a blizzard; so is his younger sister.  They were left in a car by their mother who sought help.  Someone else told them the car would be towed for the plows.  Frightened they venture out looking for their parent.

The dog goes on to tell us about Sylvan, a poet, who saved him from a shelter.  Sylvan read to him and talked to him until he understood words.  Now it's the dog's turn to save the children.

Teddy, an Irish wolfhound, leads them from the pond, past a large rock and along a path to a cabin sitting in a clearing in the woods.  A light, always lit, shows them the way.  Flora and Nicholas, Nickel, understand words too.  They understand the words Teddy utters.  Now my friends you have the perfect setting for a book you will never forget; a blizzard, two lost children, a lone cabin in the woods and a dog who talks.  But remember only poets and children can hear him.

Over the course of several days as the wind howls, snow falls and the power flickers off and on, through the conversations between Flora, Nickel and Teddy, we come to understand how the relationship grew between Sylvan and Teddy.  We are intimately aware of the special qualities of each child.  We follow along as the three work to navigate this thing we call life.  And what of the poet Sylvan you ask?  You simply must read this book.


Every time I read this book I can feel the sheer beauty of every single line fill my soul with hope, a hope that stays.  (I have always believed everything in our futures depends on children.)  Chapter by chapter you can sense love growing; love between a poet and his dog, love between a poet and one particular student and love between two children and a dog who finds them.  Every word written by Patricia MacLachlan provides an exquisite connection to the next.

Her descriptions of the storm raging outside and the quiet haven created by the children and the dog take you deep into this story.  After a particularly poignant portion (more than one) you will find yourself stopping and thinking about relationships and what makes them endure.  You will also realize if you have not already done so, a single individual, dog or human, can make a difference.  Here are some passages.

"Poets and children" said Sylvan.  "We are the same really.  When you can't find a poet, find a child.  Remember that."

Or was it four days?  Being alone confuses the truth about time.

In the night I got up once to push up the door lever with my nose and go outside into the wind.
Nickel raised his head.
"Where are you going?"
His voice sounded frightened.
"I'm going to pee," I said.
I heard Flora's sleepy, comforting voice in the dark.
"He's a dog," Flora said softly.
"Oh, right," said Nickel.  "I keep forgetting that."
I came back to my red rug next to Nickel.
His arm went around me again.
"Sometimes I forget, too," I said to Nickel.

There was no silence in the cabin, even at night.  The wind was like a wild song that pushed away the quiet.


The Poet's Dog written by Newbery Medalist Patricia MacLachlan with dust jacket artwork by Kenard Pak is one of my favorite books of 2016.  It is a book I will read over and over.  I will read it aloud to anyone who will listen.  It is distinguished.

To learn more about Patricia MacLachlan enjoy this video interview released by the publisher three years ago.


At the publisher's website you can read and listen to an excerpt from the book.

Focus On Folklore

A study of folklore reveals stories to be the lifeblood of a particular culture.   While recurring motifs and archetypes found in these tales may bind peoples around the globe together, the specifics are a direct reflection of their origin.  The belief system of the people is woven into their stories.

This is why I have been a diligent advocate of the use of folk and fairy tales in an educational setting.  They are a bridge to understanding people; with understanding compassion replaces fear.  In support of the We Need Diverse Books campaign my final 2014 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge (hosted by educator Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy) post will feature three titles.


Noted Native American, Debbie Reese, tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico, blogs at American Indians in Children's Literature.  One of the titles she reviewed and selected for her AICL's  Best Books of 2014 is Chukfi Rabbit's Big, Bad Bellyache: A Trickster Tale (Cinco Puntos Press, June 24, 2014) told by Greg Rodgers with illustrations by Leslie Stall Widener.  Rabbit's healthy appetite for good food makes him regret several choices.

Down here in Choctaw Country most folks'll tell you that Chukfi Rabbit is lay-zee. And then they'll say, "And watch your food when Chukfi Rabbit is around.  Blink once and it'll all be gone."

An everybody-work-together day has recently been announced.  Ms. Shukata Possum needs a new house.  Chula Fox, Nita Bear, Luksi Turtle and Kinta Beaver are all going to help.  When Ms. Shukata Possum asks Chukfi Rabbit if he can come, he first replies he will be busy on that day (even though the day has not been mentioned yet).  When she happens to comment on all the food she is making, especially the homemade butter, he suddenly remembers the day is open.

All day long the members of the helpful crew work together.  Each time Chukfi Rabbit is asked to join them, he calls out from behind a pile of rocks saying he is sick.  What he is really doing is discovering the pot of homemade butter left in the stream to cool.  Lick by lick, paw scoop by paw scoop, he consumes every last creamy bit of it.

When Chukfi Rabbit finally announces his wellness, the sun is nearly setting and the house is done.  Imagine that!  Settling down to the meal all are surprised to find the butter pot empty.  Everyone denies being the one to eat it.

In another act of trickery Chukfi Rabbit manages to draw attention to Nita Bear as being the butter-consuming thief.  In the end bodily functions reveal the truth.  You might say a roll and the river play a final part in this everybody-work-together day.  Did Chukfi Rabbit learn his lesson?  Another tale at another time will tell.


Greg Rodgers definitely brings his gift as a storyteller to this narrative.  He welcomes us to the story with the introduction, blending together cultures by using both the Choctaw and English names for his characters.  A mix of narration and dialogue expand our knowledge of individual personalities; especially of the trickster Chukfi Rabbit.

Using repetition of verbs he adds to the cadence he has already created.  A sense of humor is noticeable in the questions asked of Chukfi Rabbit and his replies.  Chula Fox is asking about his health; Chukfi Rabbit is replying in reference to the condition of the butter pot.  Here is another passage from the book.

When the working started, Kinta did the saw-saw-sawing.  Chula did the dig-dig-digging for the corner posts.  Ms. Shukata did the sweep-sweep-sweeping while Nita Bear and Luksi Turtle did the ham-ham-hammering. Since they didn't really have hammers back in those days, Luksi kindly agreed to be the hammer.  And Rabbit?  Well, as usual, Chukfi had disappeared.


Spread across the matching dust jacket and book case is an illustration taken from the interior of the book.  Rabbit is reaching for the butter pot as Fox, on the other side of the rocks, is calling out his name.  All of the double-page full color illustrations throughout done by Leslie Stall Widener wrap around the text.

These pictures look to be rendered in a medium she is said to use, ink, watercolor and pastels.  There is gentleness, softness, in the settings, facial features, and details.  Native cultural designs are mirrored in the animals' clothing.

One of my favorite pictures is when all the animals are gathered around the food table, after discovering the missing butter.  They have decided to eat all the food regardless of its absence.  Rabbit is looking less than eager to eat, his stomach full of butter.

A note at the beginning of this book further informs readers about the story.  Links are embedded in both the author's and illustrator's names allowing you to gather more information about each of them.  Sadly Greg Rodgers passed away this month at a young age.


My second selection, recommended in The Guardian The best children's books for Christmas, is based upon an old Chinese folktale.  The Dinner That Cooked Itself (Flying Eye Books, December 16, 2014) is written by debut picture book author, J. (Jennifer) C. Hsyu with illustrations by Kenard Pak.  Rewards for a life well-lived can come to one by mysterious means.

Long ago in China there lived an honest, respectful and hard-working man named Tuan.  As a child he had lost his parents and his kind neighbors Old Lin and Madame Lin had raised him instead.

In time Tuan left the couple to make a life for himself, living in another home, working in another field.  He found living alone to be lonely and longed for a wife.  Old Lin and Madame Lin sought the services of a matchmaker.

Three times the matchmaker tried to find him the right wife but either their birth animals, the characters contained in their names or their economic status were not compatible.  Tuan continued to work hard as a clerk in the magistrate's court during the day and in his field until dusk.  One evening as the moon was rising a large stone attracted his attention.

On closer inspection he discovered the stone was the biggest snail he had ever seen.  Believing this to be a sign of good fortune, he took it home placing it inside a large jar, feeding it cabbage leaves from his garden.  When he returned from work the next evening, Tuan is surprised by what he saw in his home.

A hot prepared meal was sitting on his table.  He thought Madame Linn must have done it.  She did not.  On two more nights increasingly delicious meals were prepared for him but no one claimed to have made them.  Tuan was determined to discover this kind person.  An altered schedule revealed an astonishing truth bestowed upon a man who had caught the attention of the Lord of Heaven.


The writing of author J. C. Hsyu makes us feel as though we have gone back in time to the source of the story, weaving customs and values into the telling. We learn of the importance of the Chinese zodiac, the basic elements such as earth, fire or wood, social hierarchy and beliefs in heavenly signs and beings.  In describing the meals set on his table for several of the evenings we are given insight into foods eaten in China.  Here is another sample passage.

First the matchmaker suggested the farmer's beautiful daughter.  But she had been born in the Year of the Tiger, and Tuan had been born in the Year of the Dog.  With a cat and a dog fighting for room under such a small roof there would never be peace.

A linen-like textured book case provides the background for Kenard Pak's signature artwork.  The front featuring one of the meals looks good enough to grace the cover of a cookbook.  On the back is a soft mountainous landscape with a tree, a tiger, a dog and a rabbit in the foreground.  The animals, all in a row, are looking to the right.  A lush landscape in greens, browns and black graces the opening and closing endpapers with Tuan's tiny home in the lower right hand corner. It appears to be done in watercolor.

Muted colors, in earth tones, enhance the narrative of J. C. Hsyu, as if we are reading some ancient scroll.  Shifts in perspective elevate the emotions felt by Tuan connecting readers further with his story.  Throughout the images, ranging in size from double to single page pictures, Pak has placed Chinese characters as if brushed by a calligrapher.

One of my favorite pictures is of the scholar's daughter kneeling on her home's porch practicing her calligraphy as Tuan walks to work in the distance.  Three characters have been added to the rabbit in a flame and the nearby dog, each a symbol of the compatibility of the two.  Wealth is the only barrier.  In this illustration, as in many others, readers will feel a sense of peace.

Two pages of explanatory information about Chinese characters are included at the end of the title.  For more information about Kenard Pak please follow the link embedded in his name.  It will take you to his website, offering links to his blog, Tumblr and Facebook pages.  This link is to the publisher's website.  There you can see many pages from this title.  Here is an informative interview of Kenard Pak at Fishink.





On December 3, 2014 Roger Sutton, editor in chief of The Horn Book magazine announced the 2014 Fanfare selections.  Included on the list is Little Roja Riding Hood (G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group, April 10, 2014) written by Susan Middleton Elya with illustrations by Susan Guevara.  This may be one of the snazziest versions of this fairy tale yet.

There once was a nina who lived near the woods.  She liked to wear colorful capas with hoods.  

Her mother, watching soap operas in the kitchen, calls to her.  She asks Roja to take some very hot soup to her Grandmother who has a bad cough.  She warns her of dangers in the woods.

Hopping on her ATV Roja travels through the forest hearing a voice calling to her.  A wolf, hidden in the hollow of a tree, reveals himself.  He craftily recommends she stop to pick flowers for her grandmother.

Putting down her basket with the pot of soup and taking off her cape, Roja begins to gather a bouquet.  In a blink the wolf dons Roja's cape and sets off through the woods to Grandmother's house.  Of course Grandmother realizes Roja is simply not herself.

Through a series of oh-so-familiar questions and answers Grandmother quickly assesses her situation looking for a way to protect herself.  At the same time Roja arrives peeking in the window and noticing the trouble.  Grandmother and granddaughter act together to foil the wolf's dinner plans.  The value of a good pot of soup is priceless.


Readers are going to relish the way the words in English and Spanish written by Susan Middleton Elya roll off their tongues.  Reading this aloud is a total joy.  At the end of every two lines Elya has placed a rhyming word bringing a musical beat to the narrative.

The addition of more modern elements, soap operas, ATV and a security system, bring this traditional tale into the here and now.  All three of the women, Roja, her mother and grandmother, are strong characters, ready to support and care for one another.  Here is another sample passage.


Then Roja walked up with her lovely bouquet.
Somewhere she'd misplaced her capa that day.

She peeked in the window and saw her red hood,
and inside it, Lobo.  !Caramba! Not good!


There is no doubt about the meaning of roja in the title of this book as Susan Guevara portrays illustrations on her matching dust jacket and book case framed in red scroll work.  Roja's wolf enemy is skulking through the woods on his way to see Grandmother on the front.  On the back in an oval the fearless Roja is riding her ATV to Grandmother's house.  The same bright color decorates the opening and closing endpapers.

Except for the title and final pages all of the illustrations cover two pages.  Rendered in watercolor, ink and gouache they vividly heighten the spirited story. Marvelous details will have readers lingering over every single page.  In Roja's bedroom books of fairy tales are stacked or placed in a basket.  The three blind mice follow her everywhere as does her cat.  Careful viewers will see symbols of love in the steam coming from the soup.

The forest discloses even more elements.  Magpies speak words of warning on ribbons coming from their beaks.  All of the flowers set among flora of the southwest have watchful eyes.  Who are those two little devilish beings who fly along with the wolf?  No page is without the touch of Susan Guevara's artwork.

One of my favorite illustrations is when we first see the wolf lurking in the tree hollow, skull hanging around his neck, kerchief tied on his head.  Roja is traveling on her ATV with her cat in front, the basket and the three blind mice passengers on the back.  Her head is turned listening.  The magpies are calling out care !Cuidado! in Spanish.


Prior to the beginning of the narrative a two-page glossary defines the Spanish words used in the story.  Please follow the links embedded in Susan Middleton Elya's and Susan Guevara's names to access their websites. At TeachingBooks.net you will find wonderful resources about both the author, illustrator and a guide for using folklore in the classroom including this title and others developed by Penguin Young Readers Group.


Each of these books, Chukfi Rabbit's Big, Bad Bellyache: A Trickster Tale, The Dinner That Cooked Itself and Little Roja Riding Hood are excellent titles which should find a home on all professional bookshelves in classrooms and libraries.  For parents I highly recommend them for use in the home to further expand children's understanding of other cultures.  I extend my gratitude to the authors, illustrators, and publishers for bringing them into the children's literature world.