How Does It Grow

When your childhood is spent with gardeners, it is easy to become a gardener yourself.  You find yourself scanning perennial, annual, and seed catalogs in the winter.  You plot out your gardens.  You dig, rake, hoe, and plant.  They know you by name at the local nurseries.  You wait, watch, weed, and water, working in partnership with the weather.  After decades, you still marvel at the yield.  You are astonished at the colors and smells of the flowers. You savor the scents and tastes of the vegetables and herbs.

As a gardener, it is easy to believe in miracles because even though you work hard, the results are a beautiful, sometimes unexpected, bounty.  Uncle John's City Garden (Holiday House, May 3, 2022) written by Bernette G. Ford with illustrations by Frank Morrison celebrates the connections created between gardens, family, and food.  This book is based upon truth and wishes.

Everyone called me Li'l Sissy.

She was smaller than her older sister and her older brother.  They were individually shorter than their Uncle John, but if they stretched themselves out head to toe, they were taller than this giant of a man.  This story started with nothing but dirt.  A great area of dirt between tall brick city buildings called the projects.

Each of the siblings picked their own packets of seeds.  Each of the children were assigned their own rows for planting, labeled by their Uncle John.  There were rows for okra, tomatoes, onions, corn, and lima beans.  Uncle John had the rest of the rows.  

Li'l Sissy had a small shovel.  Her sister had a bigger shovel and her brother's shovel was the biggest of the three.  Uncle John made hills with his long-handled shovel and the children dug holes for their seeds in those hills.

Day by day the plants grew, were watered and weeded.  One day a huge thunderstorm raged.  Would the garden survive? It did and the vegetables seemed to have grown overnight.  Each day the children and their uncle harvested their vegetables.  A huge family barbeque showcased the garden treasures.  What do you think happened to all the rest of the vegetables?

As stated in her author's note, Bernette G. Ford based this narrative on visiting her Uncle John's urban garden in Brooklyn, New York during her summers.  This book answers her dream of spending an entire summer working in her uncle's garden.  Readers will appreciate the rhythm established by Bernette G. Ford using the technique of comparing the siblings by height, the seeds they select, the number of rows they plant, the size of their shovel handles, and the size of the garden plants.  As these comparisons unfold, it's almost like they mirror the growth of the garden, inch by inch, and foot by foot.  Here is a passage.

Uncle John showed us how to pick our crops.

He gave us bags to put our vegetables in.  Brother

had a big one for his corn and lima beans.  Sister's

bag was not as big as his.  My bag was little, like me.

We picked a lot of vegetables.  But every day when

we came back, the garden had grown some more.

For gardeners and those who enjoy the "fruits of gardeners' labors", the front, right side, of the matching dust jacket and book case is a sight to behold.  All those vegetables are radiating from the siblings and their uncle like the rays of sun are around Li'l Sissy.  The buildings behind them indicate the urban setting of this remarkable garden.  It is also here we are aware that Li'l Sissy will be the narrator of this story.  

To the left of the spine, on the back, set in a canvas of the rustic red color of the tomatoes is an oval image.  It is taken from the interior of the book.  It is a portion of the picture when Li'l Sissy and her mother are inspecting her okra plants.

The opening and closing endpapers are a rich garden green.  On the title page is a double-page picture of sky, buildings and rows of okra.  We are brought close to the seed packet label with the plants, building and sky as part of the background.  On the publication information page and dedication page, a child is skipping rope on the patch of dirt between the buildings.

Each of the two-page images (and two single-page pictures) by artist Frank Morrison were

created with oil paint and spray paint on illustration board.

There is a strength in the portrayals of all his characters, especially in their faces.  Sometimes Frank Morrison brings us close to a scene or gives us a more panoramic view as when the siblings first visit the garden between the buildings.  The children, even the child passing on a homemade scooter, are small compared to the land spread before them.  He brings us close to the children and their Uncle John several times.  During the storm Li'l Sissy's fear for the garden is depicted realistically as she looks out a window.  Her joy at holding a tomato with two hands because of its size will warm you from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  We are very close to Li'l Sissy, her brother and sister and their Uncle John.  They have just completed the planting of all their seeds.  Uncle John stands behind the children as if enveloping them in a hug.  We see a portion of his face and upper body.  On the left is the brother and on the right is the sister.  Li'l Sissy is in the middle.  Her figure, because she is shorter, only shows the upper portion of her face.  She is wearing her huge straw hat.  Her face is to the left of the gutter but the hat spans on either side of the gutter.  They are all looking toward their accomplishment in anticipation.

This title, Uncle John's City Garden written by Bernette G. Ford with artwork by Frank Morrison, is an ode to a childhood memory and the act of gardening to grow your own food.  It certainly will inspire others to do the same thing.  At the close of the book is a recipe for succotash.  I highly recommend you place a copy of this book on both your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Bernette G. Ford and her work, you might want to read this article in The Horn Book where she and her husband were interviewed by Roger Sutton two years ago.  One year ago an obituary for Bernette G. Ford was written for Publishers Weekly.  It speaks about her many accomplishments.  To learn more about Frank Morrison and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Frank Morrison has an account on Instagram.  At the publisher's website, you can download some activity sheets found in an event kit. 

For many gardeners, their creativity has more than one outlet, but they still desire to add color to their world through the planting of flowers.  Celia Planted A Garden: The Story Of Celia Thaxter And Her Island Garden (Candlewick Press, May 17, 2022) written by Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt with illustrations by Melissa Sweet highlights the life of writer, painter, and gardener Celia Thaxter.  Her passion for the sea, her island homes, her gardens, and the natural world are beautifully showcased.

When Celia Laighton was very young, she lived on White Island, where the rocks were gray and white, and the waves that broke on the rocks were gray and white, and the seagulls that rode the sea were gray and white.

Celia planted marigolds among those rocks in the spring and observed the native plants in the summer.  In the autumn, she watched a variety of birds leave to fly south for the winter.  Sometimes at night she could see them flying in the beam of the lighthouse light.  In the harsh winters, Celia, her  two brothers, and parents survived some terrible storms.  In the spring Celia planted again.

At the age of twelve, Celia and her family moved to the island of Appledore, near White Island.  There her father built a hotel.  Celia planted a garden.  She gathered rain water to keep the plants healthy.  Celia was constantly at work in either her garden or at the hotel.  When she got older, Celia met and married Levi Thaxter.  He did not like Appledore Island.  They set up residence on the mainland.

Celia missed her islands, even their winters.  She missed her garden.  To fill her sadness, Celia wrote about the sea and her gardens.  They were published and received by those who longed for the sea and island life.  Celia filled her indoor space with flowers and grew many from seeds.  She began to paint about the sea, her islands, and flowers.

In the spring after winters on the mainland, Celia would sail to Appledore Island taking flowers with her and expanding her garden.  Birds loved her gardens (and the inside of her home).  One day a harsh summer storm pelted freezing rains on Appledore Island.  What Celia found the next day and what eventually happened is a testament to Celia and her garden.  Miracle?

The devotion Celia Thaxter had for the sea, her island homes, her gardens, and birds grows inside readers with every word written by authors Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt.  Each revelation about the life of Celia Thaxter unfolds like the blossoms she loved so well.  The names of flowers and birds she adored are woven into the narrative.

As the seasons of the year and of Celia's life pass, we are presented with specific events to mark each one.  There is a repetition of certain words and phrases fashioning a rhythm.  We come to understand that these rhythms are kin to the rhythms of the seasons and they are the rhythms of Celiz Thaxter's life and her work.  Here is a passage.

Still, Celia planted a bigger garden than before, even though she had so much to do 

at the new hotel.  Artists and writers were coming to stay, and each summer day she

greeted the new guests and went out to plant.  She served in the hotel's dining room

and went out to weed.  She made up the guests' beds and went out to clip blossoms

for the vases on their dressers.

And on that rocky and waterless island, Celia's garden bloomed gloriously.

The highly intricate signature artwork of Melissa Sweet is evident on the open and matching dust jacket and book case.  Her blend of complementary hues and layers invites us to step into Celia Thaxter's world.  On the front, right side, she frames Celia at work in her island garden with intimate views of her flowers.  The presence of a hummingbird is a hint of wonder to come in this astonishing woman's life.  To the left of the spine, on the back, on the palest of peach backgrounds (almost cream) are two vignettes separated by clipping shears and a cut flower.  These images are paired with the above-noted words in the interior of the book.  The artwork on the left is of Celia chatting with a guest in her garden as other visitors at the hotel are silhouetted behind them.  On the right are a collection of vases in white and black filled with colorful flowers.

On the opening endpapers is an outline, a plan, fifty feet by fifteen feet of a garden.  It is drawn as if we are looking down at the garden.  On the closing endpapers, in a collage of memorabilia and artwork, is a postcard or photograph of Appledore, Isles Of Shoals.

At the first page turn after the opening endpapers on the left are two maps.  One in the left-hand corner shows the position of the Isles of Shoals in relation to New Hampshire and Maine.  The larger map shows the Isles of Shoals.  Vivid strips indicate the two islands where Celia planted gardens.  The islands are labeled and readers can see how some of the islands belong to New Hampshire and others are a part of Maine.  On the title page is a postcard with a seagull filling most of the space.  To the left of the card are a set of watercolors and a paintbrush.

Melissa Sweet rendered these images

in watercolor, gouache, and mixed media.

They are a mix of two-page pictures, single-page pictures and pictures within pictures.  Columns are made within these illustrations.  In the columns are quotations by Celia Thaxter relevant to the narrative.  For every two pages, there is a quote with two exceptions.  Two single pages each have a quote and the following two pages have none.  All of these eloquent visuals bring us deeply into the story, not as observers but as if we were there.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a single-page visual.  On the left side we see a portion of the lighthouse where Celia's father initially worked on White Island.  The windows are glowing.  It is so cold outside that Celia and her brothers breathe on pennies and place them on the frozen windows so they can see outside.  On the right, Melissa Sweet has displayed a dark, angry and icy sea with howling winds.  Embedded in the waves are the words:

The sea is black and white

as death, with horrible long

billows that break and roar

aloud.

In a word, Celia Planted A Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter And Her Island Garden written by Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt with artwork by Melissa Sweet, is fascinating, especially when the time in which it took place is considered.  At the close of the book are two pages titled A Note On Celia Laighton Thaxter.  These are followed by two pages of a detailed timeline with forty-seven significant years.  There is an extensive one and one-half page bibliography.  I highly recommend this title for both your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Phyllis Root and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  She has an account on Facebook.  You can find out more about Gary D. Schmidt at these two links, his Calvin University page and an article in the university's publication, Spark.  By following the link attached to Melissa Sweet's name, you can access her website.  There you can learn about her work.  She has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  At the publisher's website, you can download a four-page teacher's guide.  At Penguin Random House, you can view interior images.

A Marvelous Manual

For thousands of years people have been leaving memories of accomplishments, dreams, discoveries, musings, mysteries, everyday occurrences and unusual events on cave walls, bone, clay, bark, metal, stone, papyrus, palm leaves, string, parchment, paper or anything else they deemed as lasting or appropriate in less than ideal circumstances.  To be able to communicate in the absence of face to face opportunities connects us to others, then and now.  To do so languages, an understanding of languages and the writing of languages continues to be vital.

When we combine words and pictures to express an idea, it is intensified; sometimes luminous.  How To Read A Book (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, June 18, 2019) written by Kwame Alexander with art by Melissa Sweet is a superb, original representation of an idea that does indeed radiate and resonate.  It invites, no, it captures our attention and holds us close even after the end.

FIRST, FIND A TREE-A
BLACK TUPELO OR
DAWN REDWOOD WILL DO-
AND PLANT YOURSELF.

The poem continues by advising us that a stoop is fine, too.  After all, this is what Langston Hughes favored.  Once we are snuggled in a perfect place, we take our book, and open it carefully.

It shines like the sun.  It smells like a brand-new day.  It softly tickles us.  Little by little, page turn by page turn, we enjoy what is offered.  Something is building inside us. 

Before we know it, we become one with the book.  We celebrate through the words with every living thing, their portrayal and their story.  We are entertained.  We are informed. 

We are told to savor every magical moment with unbridled exuberance but to do so with intention.  For in using care, we are able to let the words soak into hearts and minds.  The final nine words are a mantra to cherish.


Food is to be relished with all our senses; seeing, hearing smelling, touching and tasting.  When Kwame Alexander likens opening a book to the peeling of a clementine, he is welcoming us into a total sensation.  He continues to reference actions of reading with the consumption of a clementine until we are deeply committed.  With elegance he allows us to appreciate each portion of this encounter in this book and in all other books.  Here is another passage.

NEXT,
DIG YOUR THUMB
AT THE BOTTOM
OF EACH JUICY SECTION
AND 
POP
THE WORDS OUT


The neon pinks and oranges with the lighter greens and blues on the open and matching dust jacket and book case certainly energize readers with anticipation before they look inside.  Melissa Sweet's meticulous and signature collage implores us to proceed.  To the left, on the back, a superhero with HERO on her shirt, flies down from the upper, left-hand corner, her bold, glowing cape flowing behind her.

On the opening and closing endpapers, four shelves stacked with books stretch from left to right.  Pointing fingers and several spirals urge us to keep going.  These spirals appear throughout the book.  The endpapers are done in various shades of fluorescent pink. With a page turn we arrive at the title page.  It is here we are introduced to the first appearance of deer (an explanation follows in the illustrator's note) and an asterisk-like star shape.  A hand is reaching for an orange book.

The next two-page image is a three-dimensional collage composed of fifteen stripes.  Careful readers will see a clue regarding the presence of deer in the illustrations.  The verso page follows with the publication information in the shape and color of a clementine with a stem and leaf.

The illustrations rendered using

watercolor, gouache, mixed media, handmade and vintage papers, found objects, including old book covers, and a paint can lid

are full-page and double-page pictures.  They not only enhance the narrative but extend it in new and exciting directions.  Cut-out letters spell once upon a time.  They are popping out of an orange toaster plugged into a purple outlet.  The toaster happens to be a book. 

Readers will be pleasantly surprised with a horizontal gatefold which again takes the orange book and turns it into another object entirely.  It gives us windows into possibilities.  Following this are smaller pages within pages revealing joyful words and employing a die-cut splendidly.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for a phrase speaking of morning air and butterfly kisses.  This visual extends over two pages.  In the upper, left-hand corner a portion of a neon pink spiral is in place.  Underneath this is a vertical strip of paper of a green forest and rolling hills.  From this, left to right, are what might be parts of old books.  The text is on the left with a neon pink asterisk-shaped star following the period.  Extending from the right and crossing the gutter slightly is a young girl with eyes closed in contentment, her left hand raised.  Butterflies flutter about her and one lands on the text. 


You might want to have a bag of clementines, a bunch of neon markers, all sorts of paper pieces and glue handy after reading this treasure one-on-one or to a group. How To Read A Book, a poetic narrative penned by Kwame Alexander with artwork asking readers to pause by Melissa Sweet, is food for everyone's souls, readers and non-readers.  It's an experience to be shared, repeatedly.  There is an author's note and an illustrator's note at the end.  You'll want to have a copy in your professional and personal collections.  You might enjoy pairing this title with How To Read A Story by Kate Messner with illustrations by Mark Siegel.

To learn more about Kwame Alexander and Melissa Sweet and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Kwame Alexander has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Melissa Sweet has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can listen to a portion of the book being read by Kwame Alexander.  The cover is revealed at Publishers Weekly with interviews of both creators.  There is an interview of Melissa Sweet by Jennifer Jacobson at Highlights Foundation.

Small But Mighty

You may not be able to see them all the time, but you can certainly hear them.  Their buzzing, chirping and whining announce their arrival and residence.  Others who live in relative silence leave behind their handiwork in the shape of silken webs or sandy hills.  It can be said that several of them are the ultimate survivors, their existence noted before the dinosaurs.

Some take wing and fly as soon as we approach.  Others, as still as stone, blend in with their surroundings. If we are fortunate enough to see them, it's like a gift.  Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs (Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt And Company, May 9, 2017) written by Carol Murray with illustrations by Melissa Sweet is a lighthearted, informative approach to acquainting readers with members of the insect community; twenty-nine poems take us on a journey through their buggy realm.

Cricket's Alarm

Cricket in the thicket, cricket.
Cricket in the house, cricket.
Cricket in the bedroom, not as quiet as a mouse, cricket.
Cricket in the closet in a pocket or a shoe, cricket. ...

As the male cricket chirps we are reminded other cultures keep them in their homes as pets.  Can you guess which insects number the highest in the world?  Delicate to touch, as light as a feather, a cicada leaves behind a layer.  No weaver but a wanderer, the jumping spider uses silk to enhance travel toward prey.

The next time you see an inchworm carefully watch how they move before they become moths.  Bumblebees keep our flower population thriving sharing the task as pollinators with honey bees.  Dung beetles were sacred in ancient times?  Who knew? They have a secret which makes them able to swim underwater; water beetles do more than skate along the surface.  Is it a stick that looks like a bug or a bug that looks like a stick?

If you are a feathered friend, beware the milkweed muncher, they are poisonous and so are their majestic butterflies, monarchs.  Do you know the other name for harvestman?  Who has ears near their knees?  If their web is no longer useful, spiny-back spiders eat them.

When the dreaded mosquito is near, she had better look before she bites if an ebony jewelwing is close.  If we only saw life through a microscope (sometimes not always), these creepy crawlies, fruit fly, tick and mite, would be given more attention earlier.  In truth some bugs bug us but these poetic and visual tributes tell and show us, they are indeed mighty.


You will want to run outside as soon as possible after reading these lively verses penned by Carol Murray.  She has created an excitement for bugs!  Her focus is on the essential quality of each insect.  Her rhyming, rhythmic lines replicate those characteristics.  In small paragraphs at the bottom of the page she elaborates on something mentioned in the poem.  Here is one of her poems in its entirety.

Dragons Fly the Sky                         S
A lovely wisp,                                       R
awash in blue,                                  A
with light and lacy wings,          O
a mini-glider in the sky, who S
but never stings.


Woven in, around and under the title text Melissa Sweet places many of the bugs highlighted in the narrative.  She gives them personality with a plus!  The varnished red on cricket and green on thicket add to the pizzazz of her design.  To the left, on the back, the poem noted above is placed on a light background with a group of dragonflies flying around a naturalist's collection envelope.  The opening and closing endpapers are the same shade of red as the title text.

These illustrations rendered in watercolor and mixed media are as fascinating as the subjects they feature.  On the title page a grasshopper is leaping over an array of flowers beneath the text.  On the dedication page a close-up of a leaf shows a grasshopper munching out a large hole.  He is looking right at the reader through the gap in the leaf.

For each poem a distinctive, individualistic image has been created, many of them bringing the insect world closer to readers. Most of them are on single pages but for three Sweet spans two pages.  Her unique details will have you stopping at every page turn; a cricket poised on the edge of a red tennis shoe, ants crawling over a single stalk as a night scene unfolds, inchworms and measuring tape for a garden plot, the B in buzz becoming bumblebee wings, six circles showing a roly-poly rolling...up and unrolling and June bugs blasting against a light bulb.  Her style and color combinations take you into the moment.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the inchworms.  The background is a dark sage green.  A root vegetable (radish) is magnified.  On three sides a blue-green measuring tape frames it.  Pieces of tape are strategically placed off the top, bottom and left sides.  Inchworms are crawling along the top and left sides.


Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs written by Carol Murray with illustrations by Melissa Sweet is one of those wonderful books with multiple appeal.  You can use it in an insect unit or an exploration of poetry.  There is a contents section at the beginning and Cricket Notes at the end.  These provide even more information about each bug.  You really need a copy of this title on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Carol Murray and Melissa Sweet please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Carol Murray has a book trailer for this title on her site.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.

A Place To Rest

When the leaves fell from the trees, there it was.  It's no bigger than the size of a golf ball.  Through the cold, rain, thunder, lightning, sleet, snow and wind, it has endured.  It's so secure; you can almost imagine it as a part of the branches which hold it.

Out of habit, I look every single day to make sure it's still there, wondering about the parents who crafted it so well.  I think of other questions.  What kind of birds lived there?  Did all the babies fly away?  Will any of the birds come back?  You Nest Here With Me (Boyd Mills Press, an imprint of Highlights, March 3, 2015) written by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple with illustrations by Melissa Sweet is a soothing lullaby of birds and their homes.

My little nestling, time for bed.
Climb inside, you sleepyhead.

A mother snuggles next to her daughter, telling her their nest is wherever

there's you and me.

She reads to her the same story we hold in our hands.  She speaks of pigeons and catbirds living in the city, finding a space to rest on buildings or in shrubs.  Near the edge of water, small wrens weave a refuge.

In the tip-top of firs in a forest or among towering cliffs along the sea, birds safeguard their young.  Tree trunk hollows and below ground burrows are homes.  Even telephone poles provide a place to reside.

Hidden among the cattails, coots are secure.  Nestled among branches, sparrows prefer to be high and dry.  Attached to human structures, swallows shape shelters.  Sunken in sand near the water's edge, plovers place their eggs.

Eagles soar, cowbirds give up and killdeer pretend to protect.  As surely as nests are made up or down, on, in or around the best location by those winged wonders, this mother assures her child of a secure sanctuary.  This nest is her place to grow and rest.


If you seek slumber, the words of Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple are certain to supply peace.  When read aloud, they create a form of music, light and gentle.  The rhymes glide like feathers on the wind.

After each bird and their nesting place are introduced, the same refrain follows.

But you nest here with me.  

Those words hug us, surrounding the reader and listener with affection.  Here is a sample passage.

Some owls nest in oak tree boles,
Some down in abandoned holes,
Hawks may nest on telephone poles,
But you nest here with me.


As soon as I saw the front of the matching dust jacket and book case, without reading the fine print, I knew whose name I would see as illustrator.  The attention given to the smallest detail, the layering of mixed media, the use of authentic and appropriate materials, watercolor and gouache all point to the skill of Melissa Sweet.  The letters of the title made of wood pieces, a nest woven of branches, grass, and leaves framing the sleeping child holding her toy owl and the mother watching her nestlings in their nest placed on a night-sky blue background are her signature style.  To the left, on the back, a single enlarged leaf is placed on the same canvas.  On the opening and closing endpapers, the predominant green on that leaf covers them both.

A two page illustration, worthy of framing, holds the title page information.  On the left a hole in a birch tree holds a tiny bird.  Watching, the mother, a nuthatch, is perched on a branch which extends from the right edge almost to the tree.  Between this branch and a cluster of leaves at the top of the right page is the title text made with twigs.

Although our eyes are initially drawn to the focus of the image, when we look a second time all the smallest elements blend to make a superb picture.  In the child's room drawings of birds hang on the walls.  Outside her window we see birds flying, and a variety of them eating at a feeder.

All the birds and their nests are portrayed realistically.  Each habitat features other flora and fauna appropriate to the area.  Sweet chooses to alter her illustration size from single pages to double pages to enhance the pacing.  To tie the jacket and case to the interior, the central items, the large leaf and nest, are used to splendid effect in the final pages.

One of my favorite of several illustrations is a single page featuring swallows.  The mother has adhered the nest to a beam in a barn.  Five babies are peeking over the top as she looks inside at them.  Beneath this piece of wood is a window.  Outside we see a dog at rest gazing toward a flock of sheep in a pasture.  A garden is growing in front of the field near the home.  These perspectives by Sweet are tranquil and true.

I can't think of a better bedtime story which flawlessly illuminates readers and listeners about birds and their nests than You Nest Here With Me written by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple with illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Reading this book is like wrapping yourself in a cozy comforter.  You will want to add this title to your personal and professional collections.  At the close of the book is a column on the left side of two pages for an Author's Note.  Further details about the fourteen birds highlighted in the narrative appear to the right.  There are four extra pieces of information about each.

Please visit the websites of the authors and illustrator by following the links attached to their names.  They are as individual and interesting as the people themselves.  Author illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi featured Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple on her blog Inkygirl.com with lengthy three question interviews.

What's That You Say

It's easy to see the importance of quotations, phrases and words when entering my home as they hold places of prominence on my walls.  When reading or writing on my laptop several synonym tabs are always open as is an online dictionary.  Words are powerful and permanent.

Though many can have similar meanings, each one depicts a slightly different slant depending on the context in which it is used.  Collaborators, author Jen Bryant and illustrator Melissa Sweet, whose previous titles, A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (Caldecott Honor winner, 2009) and A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin (2014 Schneider Family Book Award, 2014 Robert F. Sibert Honor winner, 2014 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award) have returned to depict the life of Peter Mark Roget in The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus (Eerdmans Books For Young Readers). Their collected letters and images provide a stunning portrait of a man whose accomplishments will continue to assist others for generations and generations to come.

Peter snuggled deeper into Uncle's lap as the carriage clattered through the valleys of Switzerland.

The death of Peter's father was the beginning of many moves for him, his younger sister Annette, their mother and uncle.  By the age of eight he was beginning his first book, a book of lists.  His mother worried about him constantly especially all his scribbling as she called his writing.  His lists gave him a feeling of contentment and security.

Drawn to the field of science in his teens Peter's favorite book was by another list maker, Linnaeus.  At the age of fourteen Peter entered medical school when his family relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland.  Within five years of dedicated studying, his education was complete.  (I know readers are going to find this nugget of information as astonishing as I did.)

On the advice of his uncle, Peter tutored and toured in France with two teenage sons of a wealthy gentleman prior to beginning his medical practice in Manchester, England.  He was a doctor by day and a creator of lists by night.  Several years later Peter continued as a medical doctor enlarging his practice in London, England.  Always rather shy he began to share his wealth of knowledge through lectures.

From a first draft of a book of word lists in 1805 to the publication of the first Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition in 1852 at the age of seventy-three, Roget married at forty-two and had two children, a daughter and a son.  Although a highly respected member of prestigious societies affiliated with fields of science, Peter Mark Roget continued to maintain his focus on his word collecting.  For his commitment, perseverance and devotion we will always be grateful, appreciative and glad.

Before the narrative begins Jen Bryant includes a quote from Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, illustrating an entire page, making reference to the importance of a thesaurus in Captain Hook's cabin.  Opposite this is a list beginning with Peter Mark Roget's birth date and the word BORN.  A series of words, twenty-one in number, depicting the growth and aging of a man ends with DIED and his death date.  These two introductions to this biography and this man, displayed as if he had written them himself, are clever and utterly perfect.  

Into essential portions of Roget's life, written with intimate details gleaned from research, Bryant places repeated references to his love of books and learning.  She ties these events together with his continuous search for the right word.  Conversations appearing in speech bubbles in addition to the story line contribute to the authenticity and sense of bearing witness to this man's greatness.  Here is a single sample.

The lists helped him remember his lessons.  They also gave him something to do when Mother peppered him with questions.

PETER, YOU'RE PALE! DO YOU NEED SOME AIR?

MON CHER, DO YOU NEED A NAP?

OH, PETER, WON'T YOU EAT SOMETHING?

MAMA, I'M FINE.

Although, to be honest, Peter thought fine wasn't quite the right word.

(Readers are treated to a list of all the words which could be used instead of fine and several meaning a little less than fine.)

On the book case the open volume pictured on the front is extended to the back in a solid color with a blurb centered in the back.  Melissa Sweet's technique of using watercolor, collage and mixed media fans out from the open pages, objects symbolizing all the many words collected by Peter Mark Roget.  The opening endpapers are vertical strips of text, pages and spines from books.  A list of Roget's one thousand words with a shortened plan of classification covers the closing endpapers.

With every single page turn we see Sweet's mastery displayed.  Each item in her illustrations is carefully chosen to compliment the author's text and the focus of Roget's life.  The title page is covered in blocks stacked one on top of the other, displaying letters and chosen subjects, replicating the building of the lists.  Everywhere you look the detail is exquisite. 

One of my favorite illustrations is that highlighting the text quoted above.  Roget is pictured in silhouette thinking fine encased in a bubble.  His other fourteen words are included in distinctive fonts on various papers and even leaves.  Melissa Sweet literally pieces together people's lives with her visuals.  To see these in their original form would be grand, spectacular, marvelous and breathtaking.

I highly recommend, endorse and suggest everyone read and obtain a personal copy of The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant with illustrations by Melissa Sweet.  Classrooms and libraries will want more than one.  A two page List of Events mingles dates of Roget's life with world events giving us a broader viewpoint.  Informative and interesting one page author's note and illustrator's note follow.  A selected bibliography, a list for further reading and sources are listed.  

Be sure to visit Jen Bryant's and Melissa Sweet's websites by following the links embedded in their names.  At Jen Bryant's page for this title you will find extra resource links and a discussion guide.  Here is a link to a post at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by Julie Danielson where Melissa Sweet talks about her process for illustrating this title.  UPDATE:  This book is part of a trifecta on September 16, 2014. Visit the Nerdy Book Club for a review by Donalyn Miller, Watch. Connect. Read. for an interview of Jen Bryant by John Schumacher and sharpread for an interview of Melissa Sweet by Colby Sharp.  UPDATE:  Here is a five question interview of Melissa Sweet at Eerdlings, Official Blog of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.  Here are two brand new videos with Melissa Sweet and Jen Bryant speaking with students about this title. (February 24, 2015)

Don't forget to stop by Alyson Beecher's blog Kid Lit Frenzy for see what other great books have been listed this week for the 2014 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Seasons Of Poetic Bliss

Every living thing notices the changes each season brings.  Careful human observers can pretty much rely on the signals sent by birds, insects, creatures inhabiting yards, fields and forests, trees, flowers and weeds.  They know much more long before we do; perfectly in tune with their world.

Poets take the time to pause, to record, these subtle shifts.  They capture moments with words like a photographer does with a camera.  Author Paul B. Janeczko has selected thirty-six sterling examples in Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems (Candlewick Press, March 11, 2014) with illustrations by Caldecott Honor winner, Melissa Sweet.

The work of thirty-two prominent poets spanning decades is divided into four sections; spring, summer, fall and winter with eight to ten poems in each.  A single poem introduces the transformation from one to the other.  The volume begins with spring.

Daybreak reminds us---
the hills have arrived just in
time to celebrate
                  ---Cid Corman

Rain, a blossoming flower, a vividly-colored wheelbarrow, a contrasting chicken, a stone resembling an animal giant acting as a pathway for birches, and a hearse for dead floor fans depict tiny portions of life awakening from winter's slumber.  A water lily and a water bird color the landscape with their particular sights and sounds.  Travelers gaze outward from the windows of a speeding train as the night flashes by in segments.

Daisies and buttercups declare the advent of summer as a furry beast roams among their stems. A crowded subway, a union of rain and dust, flashing stars skimming the night yard and spindly-legged critters making patterns on a beach take us to places and points we might otherwise miss.  Stored treasures emit odors of days long past.  What are the sun, moon and stars? Flowers?  Faces?

Wild wind, rain and falling leaves boldly broadcast autumn.  Misty mornings, dying slender stalks, crunching and bareness stretch across the wild and populated areas.  There are no moons like those moons shining in the months of September, October and November.

A truck like the surrounding vista is ready for rest; winter is coming.  As a prelude to snow the fog forms in and around city structures.  Fence lines lead and slice.  And the moonlit nights usher in much-needed sleep.


Only a master of poetry could glean such expressive beauty from the vast array of verses found in human literature.  Paul B. Janeczko has never been more skillful in his choices than in this collection.  What each poem brings to the reader's mind's eye are brief seconds, here and gone in a flash, but remembered always in the written word.


The illustration on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case is so full of life it breathes.  The layout and design on this, on all the pictures, are exquisite.  Each conveys the essence of the text presented.

Using watercolor, gouache and mixed media Melissa Sweet alternates between single page and double page pictures one flowing into the other, colorful hues blending.  Delicate flower petals, panoramic sea scenes, bulging frog eyes following a fly, striped boots stomping through mud, a party of insects among fall weeds, and squirrels nestled in a wintertime nest are all made with infinite care.  Each visual radiates refreshing warmth.

For the signature poem, Firefly July, a jar filled with fireflies is superimposed over children and their dog on a summer's night outside.  Their home and yard are sketched in the background.  It's stunning.


It's no wonder this book has received five starred reviews, The Horn Book, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and School Library Journal. Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko with illustrations by Melissa Sweet is a poetry book everyone should own and share with others.  It's destined to be a classic.  It will definitely be among those titles listed in my Mock Caldecott for 2015.

To learn more about Paul B. Janeczko and Melissa Sweet please follow the links embedded in their names to their official websites.  Make sure to visit this interview at Book Page.

Soothing Slumber

If we trust our instincts, follow a hunch, the results are frequently surprising in the best possible way.  It's almost as if some unseen hand is guiding our way.  Untold treasures await us.

Twenty years ago, Amy Gary, editor of the Margaret Wise Brown Estate, on a whim asked Brown's sister, Roberta Rauch, if she knew of any unpublished works.  Can you imagine hearing an affirmative reply? Stacked in a trunk kept in the attic of the barn on her Vermont farm were pages and pages of poems, stories and musical scores.  Last week some of those gems were released into the world, collected in a title, Goodnight Songs: Illustrated by Twelve Award-Winning Picture Book Artists (Sterling Children's Books, March 4, 2014).  The words of Margaret Wise Brown have been visualized by Jonathan Bean, Carin Berger, Sophie Blackall, Linda Bleck, Renata Liwska, Christopher Silas Neal, Zachariah OHora, Eric Puybaret, Sean Qualls, Isabel Roxas, Melissa Sweet and Dan Yaccarino.

Appealing to the inherent musical nature of children these twelve lyrical poems cast a gossamer net pulsing with a gentle cadence around all who read them.  They encourage dreams of playful fantasy uninterrupted by nothing until the morning dawns.  Any cares of the daytime will float away as evening falls through the text and pictures.  Margaret Wise Brown's simple repetitive phrases float and dance off the pages.

Readers find themselves traveling by balloon in the company of a bear, baboon, monkey, troll and mole.  They are lulled to sleep by a very particular melody or in following the nighttime rituals of a goat, or a rabbit and a bear.  I'll wager most readers are unaware of the man in the moon's youth.

Safety on the seas is found in the arms of another.  They learn of those who see what others do not.  Roads travel vertically through an abandoned town constructed entirely of wood.  One by one a donkey, a monkey, a sheep, a pig, birds, a black cat and a child are asked to close their eyes.

What do you see when you close your eyes?  What do you hear in the night?  What might a mouse ask for in a prayer?  Blissful peace is assured.

Two pages are dedicated to each song; illustrations extending edge to edge on heavy matte finished paper.  While the color of the font may vary the same is used in all the text.  The text is tucked within each picture, noticeable but not a distraction.  Tiny white stars seen on the dust jacket and matching book case pattern the opening and closing endpapers.

Renata Liwska captures the soft slumbering characters of The Noon Balloon nestled in fluffy clouds suspended in a pale blue sky.  Intricate lines, exquisite architectural details and a boat riding the waves beneath a full moon ease a child into dreamland drawn by Sophie Blackall in Mambian Melody.  Goats with teddy bears and stuffed toy rabbits and drinking from large pink tea cups populate mountains and hills where skunks carry lanterns and hedgehogs huddle in Goat on the Mountain visualized by Linda Bleck.

Sleep like a Rabbit illustrated by Isabel Roxas pictures a pig-tailed girl in a red dress sleeping near a bear and a rabbit adrift in a sea of stars.  This is also the jacket and case illustration.  Unique, painted, collage-like clouds and stars float around a mustached man in the moon as his younger self runs across his surface when Sean Qualls pictures When the Man in the Moon Was a Little Boy. As if surrounded in a wispy fog Song to Estyn, illustrated by Eric Puybaret, shows a man in a long golden all-weather coat, captain's hat on his head holding a child in a sailor suit on board a ship.

Melissa Sweet's signature style, of pastel collage with splashes of red, pieces together The Secret Song.  White block-like houses, one on top of the other, are strung together by a ribbon road of red among green tulips on a midnight blue background by Christoper Silas Neal for Wooden Town.  An orange, blue, black and white palette feature creatures looking upon and living in a town as a child gazes out his window in Little Donkey Close Your Eyes portrayed by Zachariah OHora.

Blue and white striped curtains billow around the stage set with green birds, blue clouds and rows of cut-out houses in Carin Berger's interpretation of When I Close My Eyes. Bold, bright orange-yellow, orange, green, purple and shades of dark blue mesh perfectly to create the quiet found in Sounds in the Night pictured by Dan Yaccarino.  It's a windy, winter night, leaves and snow swirling about under a full moon as a child sleeps beneath a large leaf and a mouse stands in the doorway of his cozy home in The Mouse's Prayer depicted by Jonathan Bean.

Stunning pictures lift the words of Margaret Wise Brown toward dreamland in Goodnight Songs: Illustrated by Twelve Award-Winning Picture Book Artists.  As if the text and visuals are not enough to hold readers spellbound, a CD with the words set to music by Tom Proutt and Emily Gary is included.  I have listened to it twice as of this writing.  It is truly lovely.  You could not ask for a better book for closing out your day or bringing a small measure of calm into an afternoon.

Two pages at the book's conclusion include thumbnails of the illustrations along with comments about or by the illustrators.  A note from the musicians and credits are inserted on the closing endpapers.  An introduction by Amy Gary begins this title.

I hope you enjoy these videos.  I was made aware of some of them through tweets by the illustrators.



Goodnight Songs: Chris Neal, contributing illustrator from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.



Goodnight Songs: Sean Qualls, contributing illustrator from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.



Goodnight Songs: Sophie Blackall, contributing illustrator from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.



Goodnight Songs: Carin Berger, contributing illustrator from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.



Goodnight Songs: Isabel Roxas, contributing illustrator from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.


Goodnight Songs: DanYacarino, contributing illustrator from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.



Goodnight Songs: Amy Gary, editor of Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.

Once Upon A Pencil

Before I could read, as soon as I could read and to this day, fairy tales are favorites.  Traditional, variants and fractured, I enjoy them all.  My bookshelves are a testament to this preference.

It's such fun to see the spin authors and illustrators put on traditional tales.  Their inventiveness has never seen an entire cast of pencils though.  Little Red Writing (Chronicle Books, September 24, 2013) written by Joan Holub with illustrations by Melissa Sweet leads readers down the perilous path of authorship fraught with danger where bravery and a noun might save the day.

(Not only do I open the jacket and cover of a book before reading it, as well as examine the opening and closing endpapers, but I like to peruse the title page, dedication and verso.  A single sentence in the verso is intriguing.  It says: This book does not condone the use of explosives for any purpose other than the purely fictional.  Hmmmm...)

Once upon a time in pencil school, a teacher named Mrs. 2 told her class, "Today we're going to write a story!"

Each student wishes to write about what they know best. So you can imagine what type of tale the birthday pencil, the basketball pencil, the state pencil or the dinosaur pencil might compose.  Without a second thought, Little Red, knowing her color means courage, wants to write about a brave pencil.

Carrying a basket of fifteen red words given to her by Mrs. 2 and her notebook, Little Red sets off to find her story. Down the hall, the gym is a beehive of verbal motion pushing her out the door into a worrisome woods of adjective overload.  Needing to get out of there Little Red uses one of her red words, only to land next to the supply closest.

Oh, no...now she's stuck in a run-on rut.  In the nick of time a delivery truck speedily arrives, but wait...what's that sound? Whatever it is, it's chasing her.  She's running throwing out words from her basket, willy-nilly.

GRRRRRR....


Using language to create perfect pun-tastic prose, Joan Holub gives readers a fairy tale fractured with fun.  Not only are you turning the pages to see what part-of-speech trouble Little Red might encounter but you are wondering how or when the other key players of the original story will appear.  By combining those elements with places found in a school, Holub delivers a first-class, action-packed adventure; puns aside, points on the story path are brimming with brilliant word choices. Here is an example.

She went to the gym and was quickly 
drawn into the action.
She bounced! She boogied. Then she cartwheeled right off the page and into ...
a deep, dark, descriptive forest. ...

...AHA! Scissors!
I need to cut through 
all this description
and stick to the
story path.

There is no mistaking the illustrative techniques, the skillful use of watercolor, pencil and collage, of Melissa Sweet.  The front jacket and cover allude to the spirit of the main character hinting at possible danger and the parallels to the original fairy tale.  Puns and pencils are featured on the opening and closing endpapers with white backgrounds.  Sweet uses these, as well as the title page and verso, to extend the storyline.

Incredible detail, facial and body language, alternating size and perspective in the illustrations contribute to the overall effect of liveliness with just the right amount of humor appearing here and there.  Her design and layout of the collage using paper found in school settings and the every-changing typography will have readers coming back over and over to look at the pages.  Sweet begins the story with a blackboard, letters A-J showing above, but ends with a blackboard, letters Q-Z on the top.  Mrs. 2 has a I ♥ Mrs. 2 cup on her desk.  The instructions on the back of the WOLF 3000 are laugh-out-loud funny.

Little Red Writing written by Joan Holub with illustrations by Melissa Sweet is not only a playful take on the familiar but will spice up any writing classroom.  This is one fairy tale to be enjoyed by guys and gals, parents and teachers alike.  It's also a tribute to the power of the written word.  Read it.  You'll see exactly what I mean.

Please follow the links embedded above in Joan Holub's and Melissa Sweet's names to access their personal websites.  Please follow this link to a discussion guide.

Little Red Writing by ChronicleBooks

A Single Voice Raised For Right

There are many influences to peek your anticipation of reading a new book; the professional reviews, bloggers' insightful articles, recommendations from your online professional learning network, and being familiar with the work of either the author or the illustrator or both from previous publications.  Yet somehow they can never fully prepare you for the effect the first read will have.  Every individual will read a book for the first time with some similar or different reactions depending on their past reading and life experiences.

Knowing all this, yesterday I opened the cover of Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 (Balzer + Bray) written by Michelle Markel with illustrations by Melissa Sweet and found myself instantly transported back in time.  At one point I felt a thrill of excitement, a surge of  "you-go-girl" encouragement, well up inside of me.  At the story's end I experienced a wave of gratitude for my country and women like Clara Lemlich.


A steamship pulls into the harbor, carrying hundreds of immigrants---and a surprise for New York City.

That surprise is Clara Lemlich.  She's a girl who knows her own mind and the difference between right and wrong.  What does not seem right to her is that her father can't get a job but young girls coming to America are being hired by the thousands to work making women's clothing.

It doesn't take long for Clara to discover, to conclude, (in everyone's opinion but the bosses) that the conditions under which she and these women work are deplorable.  From sunup to sundown, hauling their own sewing machines to the factories, locked inside, they stitch, stitch, stitch hour after hour.  There are penalties for the slightest infraction and unhealthy sanitary conditions.

But nothing is going to stop this gal from realizing her goals; reading library books into the night.  Making friends with the other workers gives Clara the fuel she needs to start her own special brand of fire.  Male employees believing woman are not strong enough to strike further fans the flames.

Clara's cries of Strike! are joined with the voices of the other girls.  And you know what?  They go on strike.  Clara keeps at it despite being beaten, arrested and having her ribs broken.

It's at one of the union meetings when no one else will, Clara burns brightest.  History is made the next day and in the weeks that follow.  Thousands of wrongs are made right thanks to a single young woman knowing her mind and having the courage to give it a voice.


Through the structure of her narrative Michelle Markel adds layers to the personality of Clara Lemlich at the same time she is building the foundation for the largest walkout of women workers in U.S. history. Beneath her matter-of-fact retelling the tension mounts.  It's in the details the careful research of Market is revealed; the number of toilets, sink and towels for three hundred girls, Lemlich drinking a single glass of milk for her meals at day's end and the exact words she utters at the fateful union meeting.  Readers crave the type of details offered here in their nonfiction making an intrinsic connection with the subject.


As in previous works reviewed here (Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade and A Splash of Red:  The Life and Art of Horace Pippin) Melissa Sweet continues to demonstrate not only her masterful use of her particular medium but the fact-finding necessary to recreate the time and place for readers.  Her two page spread for the jacket and cover picture a New York City from the 1900s with an authentic wages chart and time card overlaid on the back, Clara front and center leading the women workers in the famous strike.  The plain deep pinkish-rose color of the front and back endpapers is used as an accent color throughout the book.

In the illustrations of Sweet each item is selected as a reflection of the volume's focus; in the center of the title page is a dress form, one side showing a finished blouse half with the STRIKE banner draped across. Using watercolor, gouache, and mixed media, a combination of fabric scraps, memorabilia and paintings, her pictures bring the past into the presence of the reader.  It's as if we are on the ship arriving in the harbor of New York City with Clara on board, walking with her as she carries her sewing machine to work, enduring the endless days of work in the shop, and championing for the rights of the women workers.  All of the visuals with the exception of the first two-page spread feature stitching around or on part of the edges.  For interest and emphasis the size of each is altered from the larger two-page expanses to several smaller insets on a page.


The pairing of Michelle Markel's writing with the distinctive artwork of Melissa Sweet in Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 fashions for readers a vivid, lively recreation of Clara Lemlich and her importance in American history; a woman with the mind and spirit to stand up for her beliefs despite the odds.  I can guarantee this is the type of nonfiction picture book which will expand readers' appreciation for the past and will peak their interest in wanting to know more.  That, to me, is perfection.  A two page note at the end explains more about the garment industry.  A bibliography of general and primary sources is included also.

Please visit the author and illustrator web sites by following the links embedded in their names above.  To browse inside this title visit the HarperCollinsPublishers page linked here.  Access to a four-page teaching guide is linked here.

To Catch Your Eye

Rarely when we are living life do we pause enough to think about the importance of  connections made based upon choices; choices made personally or those thrust upon us.  Of the picture book biographies I've read of late, the value of choosing to pursue one's passion regardless of any obstacles has been increasingly apparent.  You have to ask yourself how you would cope with life's detours big and small (some which were handed to them at birth) faced by the people whose life stories are being told.

Then too, I continue to be amazed by the knowledge presented within the pages of this form of children's literature; the power not only to inform but to spark further learning is undeniable.  I have met people I never knew before as well as having my understanding of others strengthened.  Author Jen Bryant and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Melissa Sweet (A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2008) have collaborated again in the brilliant biography, A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin (Alfred A. Knopf, January 2013).


On February 22, 1888, the town of West Chester, Pennsylvania, celebrated a holiday.  That day, in that same town, Daniel and Christine Pippin celebrated the birth of their son, Horace.

Early on it was obvious Horace would grow to be a big man; being long of leg and having large hands.  He used his size and strength to help as much as he could with the work involved in raising a growing family.  In the evenings, chores done, he would gather paper and charcoal, recreating his world.

Horace found he loved to draw and people wanted him to draw for them; whether at school, later when earning money to support his family or in the trenches during World War I.  It wasn't just his family or friends who appreciated his drawing.  Before he left school in the eighth grade. he entered and won a contest for his artwork; the prize was two brushes, a box of paints and colored pencils.

As a result of being shot by a sniper when Horace returned home from serving in the war the use of his right arm was not the same.  He could no longer draw. Despite marriage and community service filling his time, the desire to make pictures was so strong one day...a red-hot fire place poker became his brush and a piece of wood became his canvas.

Because Horace chose to overcome his disability, because he chose to painstaking paint a picture over the course of three years, because he chose to display his work in a shoe store in town, someone noticed.  They chose to tell a famous painter.  More than his splash of red would now be displayed for all to see, then and now.


One thing readers notice about the writing of Jen Bryant in this title is her nearly poetic narrative.  Based upon careful research she weaves the true words of his life (quotations of Pippin) with warmth and intimacy into the span of years from 1888, his birth until he and his art became famous.  Her passion for bringing his story to a new audience is evident on every page.  Here is a single excerpt.

As he walked along the streets of West Chester, his fingers itched to draw all the colors and textures he saw:
lacy curtains billowing in the windows,
a splash of red geraniums blooming on a step,
a yellow cat sprinting down an alley,
deep green vines spiraling up a wall.


Using a blend of watercolor, gouache and mixed media Melissa Sweet dedicates this title by saying:

To Jen, whose words make pictures in my mind.

Her matching jacket and cover open to display Horace's winning box of paints on the back with one of his quotes beneath:

Pictures just come to my mind and I tell my heart to go ahead.

The opening endpapers, against a mixture of cream textures, highlight another of his quotes and the tools of his art, brush, pencil, color palette.  The closing endpapers are a stylized map of the United States, red stars marking where Pippin's work can be seen.  Four miniature originals are shown, too.

The merging of colors and textures coupled with a varied layout and design replete with meticulous detail are stunning in their recreation of Horace Pippin's life.  Looking through the windows in the two homes shown is nearly three-dimensional.  Hand lettering the quotations incorporates them seamlessly into each illustration.  In her author's note Jen Bryant remarks about a male cardinal appearing when she visits Horace Pippin's grave.  Careful readers will see the placement of red cardinals within this book by the hand of Melissa Sweet.


It is pure pleasure to read a picture book biography as beautiful as A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin; text and pictures meshing together as if Mother Nature herself had a hand in it.  In the author's note, illustrator's note and an interview here, Bryant and Sweet discuss how they did extensive research together which is not usual.  This link is to a website dedicated to the book including a video about his work narrated by a child.  Random House has provided a Discussion Guide linked here.  The links embedded in Bryant's and Sweet's names are to their individual websites.

Soaring Through The Streets

A long standing tradition in my home, as I am sure is in many homes throughout the United States, if not in some corners of the world, is the viewing of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Through extensive planning no matter what is on the menu I will find a way to watch even if I am craning my neck from the kitchen into the living room.  In fact, given my birth date, there has not been a year in my life that I have not been able to watch the parade (with the exception of those years before we had a television).  Fascination with the gigantic balloons floating along the streets of New York City has been the big draw for me.

The list of notables is long but a few awards garnered by the November 1, 2011 release of Melissa Sweet's Balloons Over Broadway:  The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade are:

National Council of Teachers English Orbis Pictus Award-promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children
and
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Winner 2012-awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year.

From the time he was a little boy, Tony Sarg loved to figure out how to make things move.  He once said he became a marionette man when he was only six years old.

By recounting Tony Sarg's route from child tinkerer, to marionette maker of life-like puppets in London, England, to having his own marionette show on Broadway in New York City, and his eventual invitation to design the first form of movable puppets for Macy's store windows during the holidays, readers begin to see the evolution of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from the inside out.  One of the more interesting pieces of information in this title is the reason for the original Macy's parade; many of the employees were immigrants missing their own holiday customs of celebrating in the streets.  As an immigrant himself, the son of a German father and English mother, Tony was more than happy to design this first parade taking place in 1924.

Several years later when animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo for the annual parades began to frighten the child viewers along the parade route, it was requested that Tony devise some sort of puppet to replace them.  From large rubber air-filled objects supported on the ground by wooden sticks Tony's designs expanded and grew to be rubberized silk shapes filled with air and helium controlled by ropes allowing them to rise so all could see their wonder.  Their animation amazed crowds; handlers were even able to get them under the overhead train line, the El.

Beginning with an expansive, cheerfully-hued watercolor portrayal of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Tony Sarg in the forefront across the cover and jacket, Melissa Sweet sets the stage for a remarkable peek into the past.  Differing front and back endpapers done in a scrapbook collage of creative remnants (fabric, thread, wooden pieces), sketches, original pages from The Tony Sarg Marionette Book and newspaper clippings announcing the Macy's parade in 1933, cause readers to feel as if they are stepping through a time warp into Tony Sarg's studio and workplace.  Throughout Sweet uses a combination of her watercolor illustrations with varying media, altering text types and styles, using toys from childhoods' past (which she made herself for this book) and page layouts reminiscent of a designer's journal.  At every reading I guarantee new details will be discovered; details reflective of the research conducted by Sweet and her significant talents as an author/illustrator.

At the close of the book Melissa Sweet provides additional information about Sarg in her Author's Note including remarks about the art she created for her pictures.  A bibliography and sources encourage readers to delve more deeply into the man behind the magic of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons.

Balloons Over Broadway:  The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade is an accomplishment that raises the bar on nonfiction titles able to be enjoyed and appreciated by children of any age and for those of us that are still and always will be kids at heart.  This is truly an information sensation.

Two interviews of Melissa Sweet which are well worth reading are:  Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Melissa Sweet conducted by Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast on January 21, 2010 and a more recent one by Christine M. Heppermann at The Horn Book, Five Questions for Melissa Sweet on November 3, 2011.
Update: I discovered the publisher has an activity kit.

Follow the link to Melissa Sweet's website attached to her name above for a colorful tour of her world and loads of extras.