There's No Doubt About It

Our neighbors have a new jet black puppy.  To say it's energetic would be an understatement.  It bounces around in a constant state of motion as if its legs are pogo sticks.  They also have an older Golden Retriever who wanders about the yard trying to ignore the relentless invitations from the youngster to play.  As the one jumps up and down in the face of the elder, she regally walks away, chin lifted high.

Older dogs, if they so desire, have earned the rightful place in their households to savor every second of the day in silence, drifting in and out of sleep.  Their presence is a cornerstone of what home means.  When you introduce a young boy into the mix, the results are utterly charming.  My Dog Is The Best (Farrar Straus Giroux, June 9, 2015) written by Laurie Ann Thompson with pictures by Paul Schmid tells the story of this enchanting companionship.

My dog is the best.  He does tricks.

This little boy walks up to his dog, blanket and ball in hand.  When he encourages the dog to chase the ball, the dog dozes.  Next the dog continues to rest with the blanket on his back.  This is 

playing dead.

As the child lists all the things his dog can do, his pooch pal merely moves from one peaceful pose to the next.  On his back, his trick is rolling over.  Curled up tail to nose, his trick is playing ball.  This boy not only says his dog is the best, he looks for the best.  

As the boy pulls the dog on his blanket or runs away with it, he labels this as forms of fun.  He sets the stage for the napping canine to be a hero.  The intelligence of the dog is never in question.  He patiently participates in quiet time activities.  He even allows himself to be costumed as a stegosaurus.

All this hustle and bustle finally tuckers out the little guy.  With a yawn he tells us one final, special quality of his dog.  It ends as it began with a tail-wagging twist.

With the simplest of sentences Laurie Ann Thompson allows us to participate in this child's appreciation of his cherished friend.  After each declaration of 

My dog is the best.

he follows with what his dog is.  Each of these five statements is supported with examples straight from the heart of what dogs and their young people do together.  Here is a single example.

My dog is the best. He is strong and brave.

He helps the fireman.

He scares away monsters.

Readers are promptly endeared to the characters when viewing the muted colors, round shapes and soft, sketchy lines seen on the dust jacket.  On the back, to the left, the boy with eyes closed is giving his dog a big hug.  A pale, mint green provides the canvas for the boy and his dog at play on the book case.  The dog, rolling on his back, is giving the boy a quick lick.

An even lighter shade of green covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the first in the lower right-hand corner a drawing of the boy shows him reaching for the ball with his blanket in his other hand.  On the back in the lower left-hand corner the ball is placed on top of the blanket.  The child and his dog are not featured.  Paul Schmid continues his illustrative story with the boy offering the ball to his yawning dog on the verso and title page.  

Throughout the book a cream color is used for the background on matte-finished paper focusing our attention on the little boy and his canine companion.  The text may be alone on the left with an illustration on the right or vice versa.  Sometimes the boy will be on the left with the text and the dog on the right.  Or Schmid may choose to have the image be a part of both pages with the text on one side.  The placement of the image and the text mirrors the cadence created by the narrative. 

Tiny details add to the overall emotion readers feel when reading this book.  The red star on the ball, the dog's tongue hanging out in sleep when he's playing dead, the dog's one eye opening as the child falls asleep, and the dog looking at the ball all contribute to the pure joy of reading this book.  Every element of these pictures blends together beautifully.

One of my favorite illustrations of many is of the smiling boy, sitting among cut-up green paper, an open dinosaur book, a bottle of glue and tape, holding scissors in one hand.  On the opposite page the dog is sleeping.  A series of stegosaurus spikes have been taped to his back.  You can't help but smile along with the child.

Words like cuddly, cute and clever, of course, come to mind when you think of My Dog Is The Best written by Laurie Ann Thompson with pictures by Paul Schmid.  This combination of words and images is superbly delightful.  This is one of those rare books about the relationship between a child and their dog which spells classic.  Readers and listeners of all ages will find themselves smiling and laughing out loud from beginning to end.

Please access the websites of Laurie Ann Thompson and Paul Schmid to discover more about them and their other work by following the links attached to their names.  You can read posts on Schmid's blog.  Eight interior illustrations from the book are shown on the publisher's website.  As part of the blog tour Laurie was interviewed by teacher librarian extraordinaire, John Schumacher at Watch. Connect. Read. and by dedicated educator and children's literature promoter Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy.  Paul was interviewed at Emu's Debuts about this title.   I think you will enjoy the guest post between Laurie and Paul at author Kirby Larson's blog.

Update November 4, 2015:  John Schumacher, Scholastic Ambassador for School Libraries, announced the release of the book trailer.

A Rock...Or Not

When you live in an area with lakes carved out by glaciers, it's a given the contents of the shore line will extend into the surrounding land no matter how many decades have passed since development by humans began.  Barely an inch beneath the lawn on my property is nothing but gravel and sand.  My gardens flourish because I have dug out the original soil replacing it with bags and bags and bags of organic dirt and peat.

During this summer's months men from the city (our township electricity is supplied by the city) have been digging up lawns replacing electrical lines with newer versions.  They have unearthed geological treasures of all shapes and sizes.  Day after day when walking Xena, a particular rock on the shoulder of the road has caught my eye.

After reading Oliver and His Egg (Disney Hyperion Books) written and illustrated by Paul Schmid, I decided to go back and claim it as my own.  It fits in my hand, nearly perfectly round and warmed by the sun.  Like Oliver I can't stop thinking.

When Oliver found his egg...


In his mind's eye, Oliver sees his egg cracking open.  This is no ordinary egg.  Popping from the two halves is a spotted creature meant to be his friend.

Together they share journeys; traveling to parts unknown.  Like the Vikings of old an island is discovered.  Floating in space wearing astronaut gear, the Earth a distance ball, Oliver and his companion hear a call.  It's Oliver's name being shouted by a little girl.

She understandably wants to know why Oliver is sitting on a... rock.  Holding the rock Oliver looks; his inventiveness shifting.  For a little guy he has big, big ideas.


Spare text, only fifty-two words thoughtfully selected and placed, a few on a page, asks readers to slow down and think along with Oliver.  Paul Schmid wants us reflect about the role of imagination in directing our actions.  He wants us to ponder our place with people realizing even the slightest change in our thoughts can make a difference benefiting us and others.

When opening the dust jacket the lavender background spreads across the left and right sides.  Oliver is sitting on the head of his friend whose tail curls around to the back.  Placed on top of the tail is his rock.  The peach from the jacket covers the book case with loosely but easily identified dinosaurs sketched in a lighter shade.  White eggs on teal decorate both the opening and closing endpapers.

With the first page turn Paul Schmid gives readers glimpses of events to come, showing Oliver, with other children on a playground, riding a bouncing dinosaur when he first spies his egg.  With those introductory five words Oliver's fantasy is pictured on a pale green background surrounded by a liberal amount of white space.  He is looking at a rock; his mind sees a cracked egg with a tiny dinosaur peeking out.

As dreams of their adventures together expand so does the size of the hue of green and the imaginary friend.  To accentuate Oliver's joyful turn of thinking Schmid designs a four page fold-out sure to illicit exclamations.  With a pastel palette and simple lines on characters' faces denoting emotion, Schmid endears readers to his story.

One of my favorite illustrations is when Oliver and his polka-dotted dinosaur are on the island.  Oliver has removed his Viking helmet placing it on the beach.  He is holding a stick roasting two marshmallows over a crackling fire as his friend, resting, closely watches.


I simply can't look at the cover of Oliver and His Egg written and illustrated by Paul Schmid without smiling.  Oliver, his dinosaur and his other playmates are adorable with a capital A.  Schmid's mastery of words opening the narrative door for a higher illustrative impact strikes a chord in his readers' collective hearts.  Huge hugs to Oliver in his latest title.

For more information on Paul Schmid and his work please follow the link embedded in his name to access his website.  Here is a link to my review of Oliver and His Alligator.  In May of this year teacher librarian wonder, John Schumacher, interviewed Paul Schmid on his blog Watch. Connect. Read. Paul Schmid has a board on Pinterest for his books.

Have No Fear, Alligator Is Here

Year after year I've stood outside the school watching the buses arrive on the first day of school, outside the library doors in the hallway or inside the library on open house night as parents and their sons and daughters arrive excited, anxious and for new students, wondering and wide-eyed.  No matter what they have read or been told, the experience is a change.  It's the not knowing, the never-been-here-before and never-done-this-before feeling, which can be overwhelming.

Each person, no matter their age, has a method in place for dealing with stress.  Quite frankly, children have the best idea of all---carrying their favorite toy with them, a friend that never fails.  The first day of school ever, starting kindergarten, is shown to be less intimidating in Oliver and his Alligator (Disney Hyperion Books) written and illustrated by Paul Schmid.  Oliver's alligator is different, very special and...agreeably hungry.

Oliver sometimes felt his brave 
wasn't nearly as big
as he needed it to be.

He decides to pick up an alligator at the swamp on his way to school for the first day.  As soon as Oliver arrives at his classroom door, the fear grows.  His mom isn't there for starters.  She has been replaced by a unknown woman who wants to know his name.  A name which escapes him at the moment.

All he can think to say is "Munch, munch!"  These two words turn out to be a code communication between him and his reptile pal.  The stranger disappears into the stomach of the alligator.  Walking into the classroom is clear now but there are new children in the room.

One, a little girl, has the misfortune to approach Oliver asking him about his favorite animal.  Overcome by shyness the only two words he can utter are..."Munch, munch!"  The belly of the gator is getting noticeably bigger.  Maybe school isn't going to be so bad after all when you've got a buddy like Oliver has.

There were more boys and girls.  Alligator is getting huge.  There are inviting educational patterns and designs on the walls.  Alligator is now ginormous.  Ah, yes...that's more to Oliver's liking, peaceful and quiet and...wait...could it be...boring?

There's a sound.  Oliver wants to be a part of the sound.  There's only one thing for Oliver to do and he does it.


The simplicity of the text, the ease in which it flows, all contribute to the appeal of this title.  Paul Schmid writes specifically for his intended audience, knowing the heart of a child on the first, very first, day of school.  In using two, single syllable words repeatedly to alleviate any problem Oliver encounters, readers can feel, like Oliver, the same sense of relief and finally a sense of belonging.

Using pastel pencil and digital color Paul Schmid creates pages where readers can be comfortable stepping into Oliver's world.  On the book's jacket the cool, soft minty green, the textured dusty blue of Oliver's sweater, the rosy red of the apple in his hands appear again on the jacket's spine.  On the front we see only the tail and the back portion of the alligator's body.  His nose and the rest of his body are on the back of the jacket looking at Oliver. When you remove the jacket the cover unfolded is all white except for three stripes of green (including the spine).  An upright alligator is on the front.

The opening and closing endpapers, in lavender with a partial circle of lighter turquoise in the lower right and left corners, respectively, are actually part of the story, as is the dedication page (For Maurice) with Oliver forlornly staring into his cereal bowl, an apple sitting on the table.  The lines used to create Oliver are soft, delicate, sketch-like; making him all the more endearing.  The same holds true for his alligator.  Readers will want to hug them both.

Throughout the book Schmid alters his layout and perspective making liberal use of white space, along with a gray, the turquoise, the alligator green, the lavender, the rosy red, introducing a lime green and spots of pale yellow.  Every time Oliver speaks the "Munch, munch!" words with the girth of his alligator expanding, Schmid's portrayal of the loyal companion gets funnier and funnier.  The paper stock coupled with the medium and artistic techniques make the reading of this book a very tactile experience.  My two favorite illustrations are of Oliver resting on his alligator's stomach after the teacher and little girl have been consumed and the alligator alone spread across the gutter after Oliver wonders if all the students can fit inside his friend, They could.


Oliver and his Alligator written and illustrated by Paul Schmid is one of those books you wish you could give a copy to every new student entering your building.  It speaks directly to those fears, apprehensions, children have.  Paul Schmid is attentive to children's feelings and he knows how to make everything okay.

It would be interesting to read this title to any age, asking them to write or draw what they would bring to school on the first day (or another time they might be frightened) to give them comfort.  I think it might be a good idea to have the first day of school be Bring Your Stuffed Animal Day.  There are days I wish I still had my sock monkey.

Please follow the link embedded in Paul Schmid's name above to access his website.  Follow this link to an interview at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  There's lots of artwork.

Phew...

All readers have to do is look at the cover of author/illustrator, Paul Schmid's book, A Pet for Petunia, to know exactly what kind of pet this little waif has in mind.  And having had many near encounters walking with Xena through the neighborhood (Is our little neck of the woods in northern Michigan the National Headquarters?), I know, as my younger readers will too, just how unlikely this is to occur.

Within the turn of a few pages, it's crystal clear that Petunia loves everything about skunks; their cuteness, their cuddliness, their black-and-white-striped furriness.  Just imagine, a live one would be twice as nice as the stuffed pal she totes around.
          Petunia wants, wants, wants! a REAL pet skunk.

She triples her use of the magic word, Please, chatting about each and every task and activity she and Skunkie can and will do.  When her parents finally get a word in, they simply say, They stink. 

Her disbelief at that single statement explodes in a ranting dissertation that is filled with sentences so typical, I challenge any reader not to laugh.  Of course, this little bundle of sweetness has no choice but to leave the house for a walk in the woods.

And yes, there she meets a real, live skunk.  Oh, the joy of it.  Oh, the...  Within a whiff of time Petunia's attitude alters as does the direction of the path she is taking.  She makes a beeline for her bedroom at home where she rethinks her wants, finds acceptance in what she already has until she sees another something special that just might make the perfect pet.

Schmid's use of color, black, purple and touches of golden yellow, elevate the spare, lyrical text to an invitation; an invitation into the pure childhood innocence of Petunia's world.  When he chooses to use a purple background to frame the parent's earth-shattering statement and a background of darkened yellow as Petunia shouts out her tirade, in contrast to white throughout the rest of the book,  readers know that emotions have shifted.  Paul Schmid's illustrations take the less is more mindset giving reader more spirit, more laughter and much more fun.

Be sure to treat yourselves by reading this interview with Paul Schmid at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.