Early Reader Extravaganza

Do you remember when the ability to read first happened to you?  Have you seen that realization dawn on the face of a child? The feeling of knowing you can read is nearly indescribable. In that moment for you and others, the world shifts.  It is brimming with endless possibilities and discoveries. 

Some of the best books for early readers have engaging characters, characters who connect with us and charm their way into our collective hearts.  Their everyday lives are akin to adventures.  What they say and do is liberally enlivened with humor.

Author Jonathan Stutzman and artist Heather Fox have created an early reader series with sibling ghosts who are the best of friends.  We were introduced to the duo in Fitz And Cleo (Henry Holt and Company, May 25, 2021) and earlier this year their second book, Fitz And Cleo Get Creative (Henry Holt and Company, March 8, 2022) was released.  The exuberance of these characters will have you grinning from ear to ear and wishing to join them.

Something 

in the 

Attic

THUMP

Was that you?  No, I'm right next to you.

What do 

you think

it is?

I don't know.

It sounds

angry.

In this first of eleven delightful stories, Fitz and Cleo, finally explore the attic.  They find a stray kitty.  Cleo is thrilled and names the cat, Mister Boo.  Fitz is not so thrilled, especially when  Mister Boo's favorite place to sleep is on his head.  

Mister Boo stars in the next three tales as Cleo proclaims the cat's virtues, Fitz babysits Mister Boo, and subsequently discloses the lack of Mister Boo's desirable characteristics.  The trio next share a day at the beach and ice cream.  Star wishing and brain freezing might be involved. 

Fitz and Cleo try to beat the previous record of loop-de-loops via paper airplanes.  Mister Boo is not happy with the results.  Fitz questions the outcomes of a scientific theory and Mister Boo's baseball skills with conclusions not to his liking.  Who knew how cat tails were so useful?  Speaking of science, why can't Mister Boo be an astronaut and get shot to the moon on a rocket?

As the final hours at a day's end are presented, readers find Fitz and Cleo, brother and sister, peering through a telescope at the stars.  After one of Fitz's remarks, Cleo declares this planet the best planet.  Fitz does not understand how she could possibly know that.  Cleo's replies are entirely heartwarming and true.

Head

in the 

Clouds

Grr.

Sigh.

Don't you like the book?

NO!

I LOVE

the book.

That's the 

problem!

In this next series of lively narratives, they begin with Cleo's dissatisfaction with her life compared to what she reads in books.  Ever supportive, Fitz points out the wonderful imagination of Cleo per her love of the "cloud game."  That evening during a roller-coaster kind of movie viewing, Cleo has her best idea yet.  She and Fitz (and Mister Boo) are going to make a movie!

The successive episodes revolve around their creative endeavors.  The value of getting an idea in writing before it vanishes will resonate with a lot of readers as will the practice of writing versus procrastination to accomplish your goals.  Readers will find themselves laughing at an exercise in painting and the importance of winning rock-paper-scissors.  

When Cleo and Fitz look for cast members for the movie, we meet their friends who closely resemble a vampire, a werewolf, and a creature from the Black Lagoon.  The siblings shine in the next two stories, each doing what they do best.  Colorful creativity bursts forth, but does not last due to another type of burst. If only powerful spells and Rube Goldberg Machines really worked as they desire.

In one of the two final stories, readers are treated to an extraordinary movie production.  All the participants reveal their best talents.  We learn the finest gift they have is the gift of friendship.  Faithful to her sweet and wise nature, Cleo utters the final sentence.  And, that's the truth.

Author Jonathan Stutzman has written dialogue between these ghostly siblings certain to echo in readers' minds and hearts.  The personalities of both Fitz and Cleo are found in what they say and think.  Their honesty with each other and their shared love stands out.  Sometimes these disclosures will have you laughing out loud.  Here are passages from the first story in each book.

YAY! Spooky

attic!

Shhh . . .

We want the

element of

surprise.

Spooky attic.

Spooky spooks!

Might be a monster,

might be some kooks.

What are you singing?

It's called

"The Spooky Attic Song"!

It's my favorite.

You just made

it up, didn't you?

Yes, I did.

RUSTLE

SCRATCH

SCRATCH

SCRATCH

Some terrible beast is up

here with us!  It's coming

from over there---shine

your light at it!

GULP

You know that

game you like,

where you

find shapes in

the clouds?

You don't 

like that

game!

Yes! Because cumulus clouds

are not bunnies or dragons,

they're ---

I mean . . .well . . .

do you maybe 

want to play now?

You want to play 

the cloud game?

*sigh* . . .Yes.

What do you see?

OKAY!

Hmm.

That one . . .

. . .looks like me!

Personally, I think it looks like someone

who has exciting adventures inside

her head every day.  Someone who will be

more than ready when real adventures

come her way.

You cannot look at the front of the book cases of these books without smiling.  What Heather Fox has done with her black lines is fashion two ghosts we want as our friends.  The glasses and hat for Fitz and the big purple bow for Cleo are the finishing touches.  On the back of both books is information you would normally find on the front and back flaps of a dust jacket.  Fitz, Cleo and the title text are varnished.

The pattern on both the opening and closing endpapers in the books is a reflection of some of the stories.  On the first set, white outlines on lavender feature ice cream cones, balls of string, rockets, and paper airplanes.  On the second set, white outlines on turquoise spotlight paintbrushes, juice boxes, pencils, and microphones.  With a page turn, in both books, a pictorial interpretation, wordless, starts with the siblings engaged in an activity.  

A series of panels, bordered in fine black lines or wide white borders, full-page images, page edge to page edge and two double-page pictures, edge to edge, for dramatic effect created by Heather Fox invite readers to be participants in each narrative.  We want to jump into the images with Fitz and Cleo and Mister Boo and the other characters.  

Sometimes, you will stop to fully appreciate the extra details included in each image.  Is that an octopus as the ice cream vendor?  The similarity between Cleo's chalk art and Fitz's body as the Rube Goldberg Machine completes its task will not be lost on many readers.

One of my many favorite illustrations from Fitz And Cleo is three wordless vertical panels on a single page.  They are close-ups of the eyes of Cleo, Fitz, and Mister Boo.  It is after they have consumed too much ice cream too quickly.  Brain Freeze has attacked them.  We all know how that feels and their eyes replicate that feeling perfectly.

One of my many favorite illustrations from Fitz And Cleo Get Creative is a double-page picture.  It is a stage setting with shades of purple for the background and speakers.  The stage lights are turquoise.  On a raised light blue platform is Mister Boo on red drums.  On one of the drums is the group's name, Boo Fighters.  To the left of the gutter is Cleo looking gothic but still wearing her big purple bow.  On the right is Fitz wearing his glasses, playing an olive green guitar, sporting a chain around his neck, and instead of his hat, he has a yellow and orange spiked Mohawk. 

These books, Fitz And Cleo and Fitz And Cleo Get Creative, written by Jonathan Stutzman with artwork by Heather Fox, are pure happiness.  Readers will find themselves smiling, giggling, laughing, and sighing at the shared antics and inventiveness of these two ghosts and their Mister Boo.  They are wonderful for silent reading or as read aloud titles.  I highly recommend them for both your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox and their other work, please visit their websites by following the link attached to their names.  They have a joint website for these titles linked here.  There are activities to download. At the publisher's website, you can view interior images for Fitz And Cleo and Fitz And Cleo Get Creative.  Jonathan Stutzman has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Heather Fox has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  To introduce their series, Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox wrote a post at librarian and writer John Schu's site, Watch. Connect. Read.

There are several explanatory tales in folklore about why dogs chase cats.  You have to wonder if there is some veracity in these stories because it seems canines and felines struggle with compatibility even today.  If one or the other of them has been the sole companion of humans, they are wary of the introduction of the other into the family dynamics.  Frank and the Bad Surprise (an Arthur A. Levine Book, Levine Querido, April 5, 2022) written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Jon Lau is about a cat that fails to understand what his humans were thinking.  Are they crazy?

CHAPTER 1

The Bad Surprise

Frank the cat had it good.

He had a nice house, lots of toys,

all the Whiskies he could eat, and a 

window that looked out at the world.

One beautiful morning Frank was looking out that window and saw his humans returning to the house.  He was excited to see them carrying a box, but the box was not good.  The box was bad.  Inside that box was a puppy.  Frank immediately went to the computer keyboard composing a letter to his humans. (Are you laughing yet?)

After mailing that letter, Frank fell asleep in the sun knowing his humans would comply.  His nap was disturbed by that rambunctious puppy.  This unruly canine did not understand basic rules.  Frank retaliated.  He found himself in his crate, but still able to type away on the computer keyboard writing a letter.

His humans forgot he was in "jail" until he meowed at the sight of the puppy eating his beloved Whiskies.  He did not forgive his humans and wrote another letter.  The next morning Frank did the only thing he could think to do, he ran away.  He felt sorry for his humans, but what else could a cat do when a puppy enters their domain?

Frank thought he knew the world from his window watching.  He did not.  It was too much of everything that was not good, loud yappy dogs, mean people, rain, thunder and lightning, and smelly garbage.  Soon he found himself sitting in the rain on the sidewalk outside his home.  The storm woke up the puppy.  It started barking.  Frank imagined it was laughing.  It was not.  Frank wrote one new letter.  (Yes, his humans noticed him and he was back inside.)

Using a blend of narrative, Frank's thoughts, his comedic letter writing and human commentary, Martha Brockenbrough, in seven short chapters, acquaints readers with Frank and the puppy, who he names at the book's end.  The letters written by Frank are full of hilarity.  You can tell his mood with each writing by his signature line.

As a human who shares her life with both cats and dogs, Martha Brockenbrough writes with the sure knowledge of their interactions. Through her words she deftly depicts the regality of this cat and joyful abandon of the puppy.  Here is a passage.

Chapter 2

The Rules of Naps

There is nothing bad about a nap.

A nap in a warm spot is cozy.  A nap

feels the way warm bread and butter

taste.

Frank loved naps more than any

other thing.

Frank's humans knew not to 

wake him from a nap.

They knew that was against the

rules of naps.

The puppy did not care about

the rules of naps.

As soon as you look at the front cover of the book case, you can see the contrast between Frank and the puppy.  Frank is moving with uncertainty, or perhaps total disbelief. The puppy could not be happier.  This is grim versus grin.  The sign hanging from the mailbox designating this as book one is a nice design touch. On the back of the case is text normally supplied on the front and back flaps of a dust jacket.  There are two small pictures of Frank doing his favorite thing and discovering the "bad surprise."

On the opening and closing endpapers with dark turquoise on lighter turquoise are rows alternating between a dog bone and a cat ball with a bell.  On the title page are Frank and his two humans sitting on the front porch of the house before the arrival of the "bad surprise."  The puppy and Frank sit in opposite corners on the verso and dedication pages.

These illustrations were rendered by Jon Lau

by painting the characters, objects, and backgrounds using poster color paints on sheets of BFK Rives printmaking paper.  He then scanned the paintings and assembled the illustrations in Adobe Photoshop, much like a digital collage.

The size of the images vary in accordance with the pacing and presentation of the narrative.  There are full-page pictures, edge to edge, and smaller pictures on a single page, sometimes several grouped together.  There is one atmospheric scene on two pages when Frank learns a valuable life lesson.  Toward the end of the book are more double-page visuals when the best lesson of all is understood.  Readers will readily be able to discern the mood of Frank, the puppy, and the humans by their facial expressions.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the puppy is breaking the rules of naps.  Frank is still mostly asleep, curled in coziness.  The puppy has leaped on top of him, paws on his chest.  The puppy is licking Frank's nose.  This is a smaller image on a single page with a light spring green background, focusing solely on the puppy and the cat.

That Frank and the Bad Surprise written by Martha Brockenbrough with artwork by Jon Lau is the first book in this series is a GOOD surprise for all readers.  We can hardly wait to see what new adventures Frank and the puppy will celebrate together with their loving humans.  Who knows what surprises await this twosome?  You'll want to have a copy of this funny and fun title on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To discover more about Martha Brockenbrough and Jon Lau and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Martha Brockenbrough has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  Jon Lau has accounts on Instagram and Tumblr.  At the publisher's website, you can view some interior pages with art and text.

In Dog's Time

If you have the love of a dog, you are the recipient of the purest form of love, unconditional love.  Each day spent with them is a lesson in living in the moment immersing yourself in a total sensory experience.  They raise their noses to capture every single scent.  Their eyebrows and eyes convey an emotional depth rarely seen in humans.  How is it they can wake from a deep sleep rooms away, when you open the cheese drawer in the refrigerator?  They eat with abandon and the word treat fills them with glee.  Their hugs, standing, sitting, or lying as close as possible to you, are the best hugs in the world.  Let's not forget their special sense, the ability to know when you need them the most.  My dog Xena, who I loved and lived with for fifteen years, was a master at this, but so is my sweet four-year old Mulan.

Recently I experienced the worst case of food poisoning I've ever had.  After hours of misery, suffering from the chills of a fever, I finally wrapped myself in blankets, in the heat of summer, and collapsed on the sofa. Within a few moments, Mulan wedged her body between the back of the sofa and my body, stretched out head to head, toe to paw, with me.  The comfort she provided with her presence for hours was priceless. This is dogs doing what they do best.  Nothing escapes them, regardless of their age.  They are true to their essence until their final breath.

There is no denying the attraction of dogs and children.  They connect on a level without the use of a shared spoken language.  In a new picture book release the bond between a young child and an elder dog is beautifully portrayed.  This Old Dog (Levine Querido, September 1, 2020) written by Martha Brockenbrough with pictures by Gabriel Alborozo is a tale of kindred spirits who know the real value of a life well-lived. 

As the sun fills the sky with light,

old dog wakes.

His bones are sore

but his heart is strong.

His heart and tail thump in a timeless rhythm. Each day for old dog is a good day.  His routine is unwavering.  He loves to walk but his people have altered the pace of the walks since the birth of the little girl.  He savors each second in his slower style.  They rush, rush, and rush some more.

He wanders home as best as he can.  He naps and dreams of other days, days of chasing, swimming, and a potpourri of odors.  He rises after his nap and hopes for a companion who relishes slow walks, rolls in grass, jumps in leaves, and understands the bliss of finding

a just-right rock.

He is sad thinking of this absence until for the first time bare feet walk near old dog's bed.

The next walk is epic.  An old dog and the little girl, at the same speed, stroll through the day.  There is grass to smell, a hill to roll down, and 

a just-right rock

to find.

A heart and a tail and new-walking feet thump together.  And at night two heads rest on soft beds.  Of what adventures do they dream?

It takes a keen observer of the human and canine condition to pen a book with profound insight about both.  Martha Brockenbrough is one of those authors.  Her word choices fashion specific moments in place and time.  There is a deep, eloquent depiction of the old dog's musings, and of his joy.  The repetition of the words thump-thump are a reassuring communication throughout the story. Here is another passage.

Walk?

Old dog knows that word.

He finds his girl.

She stands on two strong feet.

She takes one slow step,

and then one more. 

Thump-thump, thump, thump,

all the way to him.

Oh, the unbridled joy you see and feel when looking at the front, right, of the opened dust jacket.  Two like souls, a young girl and an old dog, are enjoying the simple pleasure found in a box, flying away in their imaginations.  What will they see?  What will they do?  To the left, on the back, on a canvas of washed shades of green a loosely formed circle holds another image.  The child is standing on her feet, arms outstretched.  The old dog is seated with his paws outstretched.  Hands to paws, they hold to each other.  

On the book case a bright blue background and wide red spine match colors shown in another loosely framed circular illustration.  In this one the child sleeps in a crib with a colorful mobile of dog shapes overhead.  Next to the crib, sleeping, is the old dog.  Nearby is his blue ball.

On the opening endpapers, across both pages, is a visual depicting the pregnant parents setting up the crib.  In the doorway stands the old dog, his red leash in his mouth.  In this picture, in all the pictures, only portions of the adults are shown.  This is a book about a dog's and a toddler's point of view.  On the closing endpapers is a peaceful scene of the home in a county setting.  The trees, meadows and landscaping around the home are painted in hues of green.  Soft, pale yellow light glows in all the windows.

On the title page, the old dog is peeking into the empty crib.  

Gabriel Alborozo began his creation of the artwork for this book using pen and ink drawings.

Then he combined scans of these drawings with further sketches, and layers of watercolor.

The final artwork was then refined using a round of digital design and digital drawing to finish.

Fine lines delineating elements, supplying shading, and texture figure prominently in each illustration.  Once readers' eyes have focused on the central figures in a scene, they easily move to the added details, like family photographs, children's toys, and the red dog leash.  Gabriel Alborozo moves from large two-page pictures, to smaller vignettes, and full-page visuals to enhance and extend the narrative's pacing.  The facial expressions on the old dog and the little girl are gloriously inspirational.  To great effect several smaller illustrations show only feet or paws.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is on a single page.  The old dog is filled with so much happiness at something the child does to him, he jumps straight in the air with all four of his paws off the ground at the same time.  (Mulan is my first dog to do this, and you cannot see it without laughing out loud.)  Gabriel Alborozo includes the wagging tail and uplifted ears.  The old dog's eyes are closed. and he is smiling. This is exultation in motion.

You'll be reading This Old Dog written by Martha Brockenbrough with pictures by Gabriel Alborozo over and over again.  It is a tale of generational bridging, and the bond between a dog and his human child.  It uplifts aging.  It uplifts the ability of children, like dogs, to seek and find contentment in the smallest, easiest things.  Whether you read this alone, share it one-on-one, or with a group, there will be a sigh at the conclusion, every single time.  This is a huggable book. You'll want to have a copy on your personal bookshelves and as part of your professional collection.

To discover more about Martha Brockenbrough and Gabriel Alborozo, and their other work, please access their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Martha Brockenbrough has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  Gabriel Alborozo has an account on Twitter.  This book was showcased with other titles published by Levine Querido by Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Martha Brockenbrough was interviewed at author Annemarie O'Brien's blog, Best Dog Books.  This title is showcased at author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  You can get other sneak peeks at the publisher's website.  I know you'll enjoy this video as much as I do.

Taking The Lead

Some individuals from the moment of their first breath are destined to be different.  They have sunshine in their souls, desiring to shout it out.  Happiness is not a momentary mood for them but a way of life.

In their efforts to encourage others to choose an optimistic outlook, they do everything in their power to be their personal best.  Cheerful Chick (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., January 1, 2019) written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Brian Won is not only about pursuing your passion but inviting those around you to become part of a hopeful community.  It's all about shared joy.

Once inside a chicken's nest
A dozen eggs, all Grade-A best,
Lay still and warm, their contents sleeping,
All but one . . . 

This chick cheered every waking moment.  Her noisy vocal chants gave the older chickens cranky attitudes.  Did this deter this youngster?  It did not.

She practiced every move until it was perfected.  It was time to make her dream a reality.  It was time to get the entire barnyard buzzing with boisterous you're-the-greatest shouts.

This buoyant bundle of downy fluff tried to engage four other farm friends praising their abilities, but the results were negative.  With sagging spirits this sweet chick discarded her pom-poms and her cheerleading attire.  She admitted it's hard to have a team of one.

That night though, in still contemplation, she realized there is absolutely nothing wrong with being true to yourself, despite the response of nearby neighbors.  Again, this perky positive gal got her program polished.  When she greeted the morning, there were surprisingly multiple reasons to clap, jump and whoop with peppy precision.


Author Martha Brockenbrough has written an upbeat ode to enthusiasm.  Through her rhyming phrases we find ourselves cheering for this cheerful chick who devotes her mind and actions toward her heart's desire.  A blend of narrative, dialogue and cheers supply a fun-filled flow from one point to the next.  Here is a passage.

Ms. Cow knows all

the wildest moves.

Just watch her stand

on two front hooves! 

Ms. Cow just stood and blinked and chewed
And said, "I'm so not in the moooood."

And so, without another peep,
Chick went in search of Mr. Sheep.


The hues and color palette shown on the open dust jacket cast a rosy, warm glow here and throughout the title.  This combination of colors is guaranteed to have readers smiling.  The other chick peeking from the flowers in the lower left-hand corner is a hint of events to come.  To the left, on the back, nine cheer positions by Chick, three per row, are shown on the same sky-blue background.  These identical stances are repeated on the front and back of the book case.

A slightly darker shade of the color of Chick's sweater covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page an upside-down Chick holding her floral pom-poms looks right at readers above the text at the top of the page.  On the verso and first page a double-page image of a field filled with flowers crosses the gutter to highlight the cluster of dozen eggs, on the right, with one open.  Chick is popping out from the broken pink egg.

Rendered

digitally, mixed with scanned in paint textures and pencil drawings

Brian Won tells a merry visual tale enhancing the story line.  Careful readers will notice the additions in each illustration building toward the surprising conclusion.  Some of Brian Won's pictures span two pages, single pages or several smaller illustrations on a single page.

Humor is infused in each one.  The characters are fully animated through their facial features and body postures.  Readers can determine the passage of time and setting through the color of the background sky, from dawn, to daylight, (inside the barn), sunset and a full moon night.

One of my many favorite illustrations is at night.  Chick is quietly reflecting her current state of being.  No one wants to cheer with her.  Shades of deep purple color the sky, tree branches, leaves and grasses.  Portions are dabbled and outlined in a glowing shade due to the full moon on the right.  Chick is resting on a large leaf on the left, looking at the moon.  Our point of view is close to Chick.  The narrative says nothing about the eleven other elements silently watching.


For the endearing character found in Chick, her discovery of self, the found friendships and pure bliss, Cheerful Chick written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Brian Won is one of those huggable books.  Every single one of us needs people who are cheering for us.  Every single one of us needs to be cheering for one or more individuals.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal book collections.

To learn more about Martha Brockenbrough and Brian Won and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Both Martha Brockenbrough and Brian Won have accounts on Instagram.  On Twitter you can find Martha here and Brian here.

A Christmas Truth

Christmas celebrations around the world are indeed a time to honor the holiday but they are also a reflection of the country in which they are observed.  They are steeped in traditions born from history going back hundreds of years. One constant in many of them is the Christmas Eve evening appearance of a generous being, an individual known by many names.

One of the names given to this visitor is Santa Claus.  He is said to fill stockings with gifts hung from fireplace mantels, door knobs, bedposts or other designated places.  He may leave presents under a Christmas tree.  In return a beverage and sweet treats, milk and cookies, are left for him.  Some people even leave bunches of carrots for the reindeer said to pull his sleigh around the world in a single night.  Children may write him letters sending them to the North Pole or left next to the milk, cookies and carrots.  As children our belief in Santa Claus is strong, so strong that as adults we do not relinquish the habit of hanging up stockings.  We know they are still filled on Christmas Eve but the gifts last a lifetime.  Love, Santa (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., September 26, 2017) written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Lee White is a story to cherish, leaving a print on your heart to carry for the rest of your life.

When Lucy was five, she wrote Santa a letter.

In this letter to Santa, Lucy did not ask for any gift but she voiced her concern for Santa. She wondered how he was able to keep warm at the North Pole.  That year for Christmas she got a red coat from Santa.  It was the perfect present for a growing girl.  He also left her a letter enclosed in a red envelope with her name on the outside.  It answered her question.

The next year Lucy wrote Santa another letter.  As a six-year-old she was a bit braver.  This year she asked for an elf.  She also gave Santa two other options; one regarding her gift and the other with respect to his preference for cookies.  Wisely, Santa responded to the offered options.  She received another note tucked inside a red envelope.

By the time she was seven Lucy had a lot more questions for Santa.  She wrote two letters that year.  She only left the second one next to his plate of cookies.  She was not quite ready for the possible answers to her queries.

As an eight-year-old, Lucy wrote her final letter.  It had a single sentence, a question.  On Christmas Eve she placed it in a different spot.  Very early on Christmas morning Lucy found the familiar red envelope addressed to her, waiting to be opened.  The words penned to her changed Lucy and they will change you too.  They sing of the miracle of Christmas.


On the back of the book case Martha Brockenbrough writes a letter to readers.  She explains the personal experiences leading to this book.  The lens through which Martha views life is clearly present in all her books but never more sharply in focus than in this title.  Her gift is to find the essence of a situation (and of the people within it) portraying it (them) with beauty and truth. 

By first presenting the written correspondence between Lucy and Santa, we understand how the relationship unfolds and leads to the final two letters.  Lucy's letters to Santa are exactly as you would expect for a girl her age for each year.  Particularly heartwarming are the responses provided to Lucy in Santa's letters and the gifts left for her.  Lucy is well-known and deeply loved.


Upon opening the white book case you can see the faint green words spanning from the back to the front, left to right.  They are taken from the letters Lucy writes to Santa.  The wide green foil along the bottom is like the ribbon on a precious package.  The gold on the ornament, on the front, is also done in foil.  In the lower right-hand corner of the back, Lucy is shown reaching into the mailbox to place one of her letters to Santa.  The red flag is up, waiting for the mail person to send the letter to the North Pole.

The opening and closing endpapers are in the same hue as the ornament.  On the title page beneath the text, a pajama-attired Lucy with her cat is seated at her desk writing her first letter.  Rendered in watercolor and mixed media by Lee White the illustrations depict in single and double page visuals each year of the written conversation.

Delicate details and soft brush strokes portray an intent Lucy writing a letter and then move to a larger scene of a wintry landscape with Lucy mailing the letter.  Flawlessly Lee White moves from one perspective to another enhancing the words of the story.  He artfully places six actual envelopes within his images.

They can be opened and contain letters to be unfolded and read.  From Santa the envelopes are always red.  Lucy's letters are in envelopes with differing patterns over the course of the years.  For the final letter to Lucy it is slowly revealed over the course of five page turns.  Each of Lee's pictures supplies readers with a loving look at what the words are telling Lucy and us.

One of my favorite of many illustrations is one of the two-page images when Lucy is reading the final letter.  On the left Lucy holds the letter.  Above her on top of the red envelope is an enlarged portion of the letter.  Above this and extending over the gutter to the edge of the right page is a single evergreen bough.  Hanging from the branch is a sepia-toned ornament, filling up the entire right page.  A possible Christmas scene in Lucy's future is presented inside the ornament.


I can't imagine a personal collection not having a copy of Love, Santa written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Lee White.  I will be recommending it to every parent I can.  I read it over the phone last night to a colleague and good friend.  There was stunned silence when I finished it. We both might have been in tears.  Thank you Martha Brockenbrough.  Thank you Lee White.  This is a treasure to hold in a hug and in our hearts.

To learn more about Martha Brockenbrough and Lee White and their other work please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  On Lee White's blog you can view several of the interior images.  At the Vermont College of Fine Arts' website Martha talks about this title.

UPDATE:  Martha was a guest on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday talking about this title, December 23, 2017.

Colossal Quandaries

The year is 1973.  I am one of seven first year teachers sitting in a conference room ready to listen to a principal new to the district and our building housing grades seven, eight and nine. (In retrospect I can't help but think, how did he do it?)  The first thing he says (and the only thing I remember) is

without the children, you wouldn't be here.

While noting the obvious, to him this meant every decision we made in our classrooms needed to put the children, all the children, first.  That statement and my personal pledge to treat every child as if they were my own have guided my career.

As educators we are not privy to all the individual hopes and fears of our students at the beginning of the year but we can do our best to intentionally create an atmosphere where each one is equally honored, feels safe and knows we sincerely care.  One of the best ways to connect with students is to share laughter, lots of laughter.  Back To School With Bigfoot (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., June 27 2017) written by Samantha Berger and Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Dave Pressler presents one hilarious situation after another.

If you think YOU'VE got BIG back-to-school problems, let me tell you, mine are BIGGER!

This begins the first person...er...cryptid narrative by the one and only Bigfoot.  Yes, he is real and living in a huge three story home in a local neighborhood.  Believe it or not he is going to be a student in an elementary classroom.

With the start of school only days away, the quest for new clothing begins.  Mom Sasquatch has to drag her son to the store where even the largest sizes are a tad bit too small.  Getting rid of those shaggy summer curls demands a trip to the barbershop.  Now that's a lot of hair!  The hunt for shoes is a first-rate disaster.

Now the real worries occupy Bigfoot's every waking moment.  He envisions the school bus driving past him, ruining the class picture and causing a huge ruckus in the cafeteria at lunch.  This guy, regardless of his size, is afraid.  There's too much pressure.  He's simply not going back to school.

In the middle of this panic-induced mind muddle other thoughts start to wiggle their way into his thinking.  This year Miss Sierra Nevada is his teacher.  This year a favorite subject will be studied.  Then the most important thing about school any year takes over his musings.  And the big guy does what he does best.  OOPS!


If you are readers of books written by Samantha Berger and Martha Brockenbrough you know you are in for a rare treat.  These two authors have the innate ability to portray the essence of whatever story they are telling.  First and foremost, they understand children.

Secondly, they find a way to present truth through humor.  The situations depicted in this title, school clothes, haircuts, missing the bus, school picture day and the lunchroom are all real to us but having those issues exaggerated with Bigfoot as a narrator allows us to see the lighter side of each one.  It is also an excellent technique in leading us to the flip side of the coin.  Here is another sample passage.

A back-to-school haircut takes
ALL DAY,
because I am 
ALL HAIR!

Good golly!  How can you look at the front of the dust jacket without giggling? Look at the size of that guy.  Look at the expressions on those students' faces.  Look at the broken benches.  (The title text is raised.)  To the left, on the back, on a canvas of yellow taken from the same shade in the title, Bigfoot is leaning out from the spine, grinning and waving at readers.  This image is used again on the right side of the bright yellow book case.  Purple covers the opening endpapers and the closing endpapers are yellow, complementary colors.

Prior to the title page an image appears guaranteed to cause mass quantities of laughter.  Bigfoot is seated at a desk, a regular-sized desk.  On the double-page picture for the title page all we see are two big hairy feet stretching from edge to edge, ankles and the bottom of blue pant legs.  The comedy increases with the dedication and publication information pages.  It's a snapshot of a portion of the black-topped playground.  Three gigantic footprints are imprinted in the surface.  The other elements are sure to make you smile.

The artwork for the planning stages and final color art was created on a Wacom Cintiq using Adobe Photoshop CC 2017.  The finished line art was drawn exclusively with Staedtler Mars Lumograph 3B Pencils on Strathmore Bristol Paper by Dave Pressler.  The illustrations shift their size depending on the narrative from double-page pictures to single page visuals.  The color palette is bright and cheerful with details which heighten the comedy.

On the first page of the story, the snapshots of students in frightful moments are funny; a child is covered in paint in art class, some green goo food at lunch with the face of a monster has a student terrified and piles of books surround another student with titles like Confusing Continents and Grammar Ain't Easy.  At the barbershop two of the magazine titles are Zombie Bobs and Wolfman Hair Don'ts!  One of the patrons is drowning in Bigfoot's cut hair.  Ultimately, it's the comparisons between sizes which will have you grinning from beginning to end.

One of my favorite of many illustrations is the first one of him sitting at the desk.  The background is mostly white.  Bigfoot's body fills the entire page.  In fact his feet don't fit at the bottom and his head runs off the top of the page.  He literally dwarfs the desk with his knees raised and his elbows resting on those knees.  He looks so disappointed.  You have to wonder if he's wondering if the desk will hold his weight.


You will want to add this new title, Back To School With Bigfoot written by Samantha Berger and Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Dave Pressler, to your school-themed collections.  It's an ideal way to build community in your classrooms through common experiences.  There's nothing better than the laughter of children, when all are enjoying the same moment of comedy.  It's contagious.  It's uplifting.  It's perfection.

To visit the websites of Samantha Berger, Martha Brockenbrough and Dave Pressler and learn more about them and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names.  Dave Pressler also maintains a blog here.  You can view interior images at this publisher's website.  Back on October 23, 2016 the laughter began with the cover reveal and a conversation between Samantha Berger and Martha Brockenbrough at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Samantha Berger, Martha Brockenbrough, and Dave Pressler stop by All The Wonders, Episode 376 to chat with teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner.

High Stakes

It all started in June of 2012.  I read debut author Martha Brockenbrough's Devine Intervention.  To this day, moments from those pages are as real to me now as they were then.  When Martha Brockenbrough writes, I want to read it.

On April 28, 2015 her newest title, The Game of Love and Death (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.) was released.  I could hardly wait for the weekend to begin reading it.  In fact, I didn't quite make it to Saturday.

In a moment of weakness I read the first page of The Game of Love and Death @mbrockenbrough before work was done. See no sleep in my future.

— Margie Myers-Culver (@Loveofxena) May 1, 2015

It was followed by these tweets.

Dear @mbrockenbrough I am up to chapter 35 in The Game of Love and Death. The story is mesmerizing. The writing is exquisite.

— Margie Myers-Culver (@Loveofxena) May 3, 2015

My eyes are filled with tears. I have finished the remarkable book The Game of Love and Death by @mbrockenbrough Oh my goodness Martha!

— Margie Myers-Culver (@Loveofxena) May 4, 2015

Chapter 1
Friday, February 13, 1920
The figure in the fine gray suit materialized in the nursery and stood over the sleeping infant, inhaling the sweet, milky night air.  He could have taken any form, really:  a sparrow, a snowy owl, even a common housefly.  Although he often traveled the world on wings, for this work he always preferred a human guise.  

With this first paragraph we readers step into a world we will not easily be able to leave.  The being standing over the sleeping boy is Love.  With a drop of his blood, he strengthens the heart of Henry Bishop.  Two words softly spoken to the child as he leaves will be needed.  Henry is now a player.

The following evening, in another part of Seattle nearby, Death, Love's opponent, bends to pick up a sleeping baby girl.  She awakens but Death holds her until she rests comfortably again.  With a single black tear from her eye, Death writes a word on the child's forehead.  This word will direct every facet of Flora Saudade's life. Death utters five prophetic sentences. Flora is now a player.

Seventeen years pass before the players are deemed ready, before the game commences.  Love and Death meet an ocean away, sealing the fate of Henry and Flora by writing their names on a paper. The rules are determined as is the length of the game with a roll of dice.  So much will happen between the 27th of March, 1937 and the 7th of July, 1937.  For Love to win

"They must choose courage," he said.
"They must choose each other at the cost of everything else. ..."

At seventeen Flora Saudade, an African American, has a single life passion, fixing, improving and flying airplanes.  At night she is a jazz singer of exceptional talent in a nightclub, The Domino.  The Domino belonged to her parents before they were killed in a tragic accident.  Now Flora and her Uncle Sherman are co-owners.  She no longer attends school dividing her time between caring for her Grandmother, working at the airfield for Captain Girard and singing.  Her dream is to find a sponsor so she can buy a plane, fly around the world and surpass her heroines, Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart.

Through the curse of influenza and the stock market crash, Henry Bishop, a white boy, with no family of his own, has been living with his best friend, Ethan Thorne, at their mansion.  His father and Ethan's father were best friends.  Bernard Thorne owns The Inquirer newspaper in Seattle.  The Thornes have plans for Henry and Ethan; school, college and working at the newspaper. Henry has secrets.  Ethan has secrets; some Henry does not even realize.  All Henry longs to do is play bass; practicing, playing, and writing music makes his heart sing.

Through an assignment as cub reporters, Ethan and Henry cross paths with Flora.  The drop of blood given by Love, the word written with a black tear by Death and the competition provide an almost otherworldly attraction of the two, Henry and Flora.  Little do they know the clock is ticking.  There is slightly more than two months left.

Do Love and Death sit idly by?  A sparrow may soar near and sing when least expected.  The familiar black cat around the small green house or the club appears and disappears as if by magic.  A Thorne family relative having created a scandal in the east arrives for an extended visit.  There is a new "mayor" in the Hooverville city in Seattle, residence of men without jobs during the Depression.

The layers of story between Flora and Henry, Death and Love, the mix of the four, family and friends build toward a conclusion which will leave you gasping for breath.  Twists and turns you do not see coming heighten the tension to the point where you wonder what sort of resolution will be presented.  This game, this race against time, between Love and Death has been played for hundreds of years.  Love has never won.  Never.


For me excellence is in the details.  In Martha Brockenbrough's mind words are used like a pencil- thin brush.  Her portraits of places, people and events, regardless of the historical time period, are painted so intricately you are transported by the beauty and realism.

The use of dates with some of the chapter headings supplies an additional immediacy.  There are shifts from scene to scene within chapters delineated by a line depicting the passage of time.  Death and Love move with ease to various spots on the globe.  Each of these is flawless, flowing like a film upon a screen.

Whether it's the narrative, thoughts of the characters or the dialogue between them, Brockenbrough gets to the truth of human and immortal natures.  All aspects of what makes us who we are find a place in this story.  She examines with careful thought the roles of Love and Death not just in this game but in the course of human existence.   My copy of this book is peppered with sticky note markers.  Here are some lines and passages.


People are funny about things they couldn't see.  If they couldn't see it, it wasn't there.  Or at the least, it didn't affect them.  But the world didn't work that way, did it?  There were things all around that you couldn't see, and these things had power.

Flora opened her mouth to sing and Henry swallowed hard.  He'd never heard anything like her voice, which made him wish he had his bass in his hands, just so he could return the sounds, a mix of chocolate and cream, something he wanted to drink through his skin. 

The sky flashed white and thunder boomed, and the rain fell once more, like letters tipped out of a liquid book.

To be written into story.  That was how even the lost lived on.


Haunting, heartbreaking, heartwarming, powerful, stunning and eloquent are only a few of the words to describe The Game of Love and Death written by Martha Brockenbrough.  Roles of gender, race and class are adeptly blended within a historical setting which is in turn all part of the game of the two eternal beings.  This is a book you will want to read, recommend and then read again.  This is one of those titles when you finish, you look around and can't believe it is May 2015.  A large part of you remains in 1937.

To discover more about Martha Brockenbrough and her other work, visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Please enjoy Martha's guest post, Friend Friday, at author Kirby Larson's site in which she speaks about The Game of Love and Death.  Martha was recently interviewed at Kirkus about this new title.  UPDATE:  Martha Brockenbrough wrote a guest post on author Gae Polisner's blog, that wee bit heap on July 10, 2015.
  
Update: Martha Brockenbrough writes an essay about book ideas at NW Book Lovers. She did win a position on the 2016 Pacific Northwest Book Awards list.

This tweet in reply to mine is a treasure.  Thank you Martha for this and your books.

I have been waiting for this woman's response to my book for months. It was worth it.:-) https://t.co/N9r8pgGvqM

— Martha Brockenbrough (@mbrockenbrough) May 4, 201

PLIK! PLIK! PLIK!

One of the most anticipated events with elementary students is the loss of a tooth.  Many a lesson, storytelling circle and book browsing session has been interrupted by a young, eager and happy voice shouting out, "My tooth fell out!"  Students gather around the lucky soul as if they have discovered gold.  A plastic tooth on a string necklace, a small hinged box, perfect for holding the treasure, is a favorite piece of "jewelry", a point of pride.

The next morning they are regaling their best buddies with a story of the tooth fairy's visit.  Never having thought about it, but granting it makes perfect sense, other creatures with teeth probably have their own tooth fairies.  With a blast from the prehistoric past The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.) written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Israel Sanchez tells a tale of teeth, longing and finding the one thing which bridges across the ages.


Inside the museum of truly old things, past the food court, the woolly mammoths, and the wheel exhibit, the last Dinosaur Tooth Fairy polishes her collection of fangs.

As you can imagine it has been quite some time since the Dinosaur Tooth Fairy has gathered in any new pearly whites.  You can only dust and shine your current cache for so many millenia before the urge, the urge for another tooth, is overwhelming.  Being the final one of your kind is mighty, mighty lonely, too.

With the practiced eye of one at the top of her profession, the Dinosaur Tooth Fairy spies a very loose tooth, so loose it falls out of the mouth of a young visitor at the museum. Lickety split she leaves her world behind to see the little girl gulped up by a noisy, yellow behemoth; she grabs on for all she's worth.  When it stops, with relief she notes, the child escapes only to enter another challenging menace.

As darkness descends, finally finding an opening, she continues her pursuit looking in the most unusual nooks and crannies (to her) with next to no help from the other irritating inhabitants.  As the sun begins it's climb into a new day, the Dinosaur Tooth Fairy's goal is at last within her grasp.  She reaches... getting more than she bargained for in the beginning.


As evidenced by her young adult title debut (Devine Intervention reviewed here) author Martha Brockenbrough knows how to spin a story that is heartwarming, thoughtful and surprising.  Her love of language, playing with word combinations, to create the correct atmosphere for the tale and meaningful moods for her characters, will call out to you, welcoming you to join in the toothy quest.  Choosing to focus on a single word, repeating it three times in a row, increases tension, further binding the reader to the plight of the desperate dino.  Here are a couple of examples.

She has a spiky beauty from a Spinosaurus,
a mighty molar from the Gigantosaurus,
and a splendid side tooth she snagged from a yawning duck-billed Hadrosaur.

It's definitely not with the parrot,
who is rude, rude, rude and that is ALL there is to say.


How can readers not be drawn to the green, grinning, crowned, flying dinosaur in a frilly skirt, purple purse loaded with large teeth, on the cover of this book?  The truth is, they can't.  Using gouache to color the world of The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy, illustrator Israel Sanchez, putting paint to paper, begins to add his special ingredients to the story as soon as the cover is opened.

His visuals tell a tale all their own complimenting and completing Brockenbrough's words.  Readers will immediately note and continue to look for the mysterious being in disguise.  Most of the the bold, bright pictures extend from edge to edge across two pages; a few single pages are opposite a large oval illustration.  The humorous delight is in the details, facial expressions and body language, dinosaur tails, dog drool, dentures in a glass, a hairy hamster and a cranky, tattle-tale parrot.  I think one of the funniest pictures is of the Dinosaur Tooth Fairy squeezing through the doggy door trying to placate the household pet with dog bones.


A first picture book for both author Martha Brockenbrough and illustrator Israel Sanchez, The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy will fly right into your heart filling it with laughter and friendship...and you won't even have to loose a tooth to get these gems.

By following the link embedded in the title you will find lots of extra goodies at a special website for the book.  There are links embedded in the author and illustrator names to their official websites.  Martha Brockenbrough is donating ten percent of her royalties to Kids International Dental Services, which provides pro bono dental care to impoverished children in developing countries.

Heaven Sent

Something, a blog interview, a comment on Twitter or a review, a reason I can rarely remember, will cause me to seek out a title by a debut author.  Whatever the reason I have never been more happy or sad than when I read the final pages of Martha Brockenbrough's Devine Intervention (Arthur A. Levine Books, June 1, 2012).  For the witty, brilliant writing style, the storyline offering a unique and rich view of life and death and characters so real they could be your next door neighbors, I am so glad I read, no devoured, this book.  The sadness comes, as it does with all remarkable books, because the story has ended.

The thing about Devine Intervention is I can not stop thinking about it; the story and the people within the story are memorable.  The first two pages are from The Guardian Angel's Handbook:  Soul Rehab Edition; the first a basic introduction for those unlucky (or perhaps very lucky) enough to warrant a copy of said handbook and the second page containing the first of The Ten Commandments for the Dead---

I.  THOU SHALT NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING DEAD.

These two pages are followed by the first sentence in Chapter One:

One Monday morning, a couple years before my cousin Mike shot me in the forehead with an arrow, my eighth-grade homeroom teacher brought two cartons of raw eggs to school.

Readers are first introduced to Jerome, killed instantly by his best friend, when another of their haywire schemes backfires with deadly consequences.  Jerome has landed in Soul Rehab, due to his misdeeds when alive, with a chance to avoid one of the nine layers of Hell and move to Heaven by taking care of a infant soul.  His que sera, sera attitude coupled with hiding the handbook prior to reading it have not been in Heidi's best interests in the sixteen years he has been her guardian angel.

All her life, for as long as she can remember, Heidi has had a "voice" in her head, Jerome.  When younger this "voice" was dismissed as an imaginary friend.  Now she keeps silent about his commentary believing herself to be suffering some form of hallucinations.

Navigating the choppy waters of high school is never easy but for Heidi, taller than most, it has been particularly trying.  Pressured to join the basketball team due to her size and participate in Talentpalooza!! to make her friend, Megan, happy, Heidi has a day better left forgotten; not making the winning point before the buzzer sounds and having her knowledge confirmed her costume was indeed too tight.  To pursue her passion, her gift, as an artist drawing architectural panoramas, is what she wants to do most.

To clear her head the next day Heidi and Jiminy, her longtime canine companion, take a stroll to the pond.  The pond always brings her a sort of peace not found in her everyday life.  Jiminy romps right out to the middle of the frozen expanse.  Heidi walks out too, calling him back; changing everything.

Continuing with the voices of Jerome and Heidi told in alternating chapters, Brockenbrough takes readers into the workings of her version of the heavenly hosts, group therapy, angelic counselors, Gabe and Xavier, doorways to Heaven in the mall, shooping from place to place, heavenly electric zaps in your head for swearing, as the two teens try to figure out what has happened, what to do. Complicating a desperate situation even more is the discovery of a twenty-four hour time limit and the unsavory plan of a less than stellar inhabitant in Soul Rehab.  Never is the importance of life with all its varying nuances so clear as when we are faced with the thought, the knowledge, of loosing what we know to be true; of loosing who and what we love.

Nearly all the chapters begin with pages from The Guardian Angel Handbook: Soul Rehab Edition.  These pages are Brockenbrough's technique for offering insight, as a prelude of events or conversations to come.  As a wordsmith with a distinctive voice Martha Brockenbrough can bring a reader into the moment with intention and intensity.  Her revelations done in detailed descriptions of our world, our lives, the value of the simple and the importance of our place are marvelous.

To be sure there is much humor in this title but also a depth of emotion pulling on the strings in the center of your heart.  As the storyline unfolds each of the characters exhibit strengths and flaws so much like all of us it's impossible not to identify with them.  With an ending deftly weaving all possibilities together it surprises.

Here are a few examples of Martha Brockenbrough's writing taken from this title.

Tell her you want to wear your conductor overalls.
"I want to wear my conductor overalls."
"Those again?" Her mother wiped the countertops.
Say "damn straight."
"Damn straight."
"Heidi, I don't know where you learned that language, but it's not okay."
Holy smokes, that hurt.  But it was worth it.
"What are holy smokes?" Heidi asked.
Her mother marched over and clicked off the TV.  "Enough of this," she said. "It's time to get you dressed."

"I'm going to revise my earlier statement," Megan said, turning Heidi away from her audience.  "The bright side is that winter vacation starts tomorrow morning.  By the time we get back to school, no one's going to remember this.  And on the other bright side, it just proves the point I was making earlier about high school and Hell.  Welcome to the nightmare."

She willed herself to press the ball toward the basket, bringing it closer to her face so she could give it everything she had.  Then came the buzzer.  She'd frozen, failed, wasted her chance.  The crowd groaned; the air rushed from the room.  Heidi looked up at the lights, bright stars surrounded by cages.  They swam with watery rainbows.

Martha Brockenbrough's title, Devine Intervention, is a slice of life...and death filled with unforeseen twists and turns, laughter, tears and truths not to be ignored.  It will send your soul soaring exactly where it needs to go. This is one of my favorite young adult reads of 2012.