All In A Week

For those who've grown up in a small town, you know what life there can mean to you.  There will be moments when you long to leave, yearning for more of anything.  Even if you do go to make a life elsewhere in a larger community, there will come a time when you recall all the benefits of living in a quieter place where everyone knows who you are and, for the most part, is friendly and willing to lend a helping hand.

For neighbors, adults and children alike, to be able to walk their city streets feeling safe and secure is a wonderful accomplishment.  To leave the comfort of their home and stroll to the local grocery store, bakery, hardware shop, drug store, post office, bank, school, public library, flower shop, park or even a doctor or dentist is not something many are still able to do.  It seems today our communities are spread across larger distances.

If you are willing, let's step back in time and revisit a town called Bloomville.  We first traveled there in the marvelous book called Lucy (Candlewick Press, August 2, 2016) written and illustrated by Randy Cecil.  In a companion title, Douglas (Candlewick Press, September 10, 2019) written and illustrated by Randy Cecil, our attention is focused on a charming, silver screen loving girl and her new acquaintance, a mouse. Join me as we begin with the first of four acts.

ACT I
1
On a Saturday afternoon in Bloomville,
Iris Espinosa put on her sister's blue sweater
and stepped out the front door.
A familiar buttery scent wafted through the air.

Popcorn.

As Iris, wearing her sister's clothing, heads toward the movie theater, she passes a huge feline with an odd number of toes on each paw, six toes to be exact.  She also passes Everett Dunn, stuck on the stoop to his home.  He has a knack for bringing home unwanted pets, so his mother has issued a restriction.  He can't go any farther than the stoop.

Today at the local theater, the Majestic Cinema, a film called Robin Hood is playing.  (It starred Douglas Fairbanks.  It was released in 1922 to great acclaim, even though it was in black and white and was a silent film.)  Like every time Iris goes to the movies, she sits in her same seat only on this day, slightly behind her, is a mouse, who also enjoys movies.  This mouse also loves all the popcorn dropped by the Woman with the Large Hat.  Over-consumption finds the mouse settling in the pocket of a blue sweater worn by a girl who smiles at her.

When the tiny stowaway awakens, she is amazed at the sights of the outside world and terrified of the monster with the six toes on each paw who follows them all the way to Iris's house.  Iris is thrilled to discover the mouse in her pocket and promptly names her Douglas after one of her favorite actors.  The plot, as they say, thickens when Iris's sister, Adriana, takes her sweater, where Douglas is hidden, and leaves to meet her boyfriend's mother. Let's pause here at the beginning of chapter five of eight chapters in act one.

We have met most of the characters, but not all, who will play a part in one harrowing moment after another for Douglas.  True to her namesake, her remarkable skills of swinging, leaping, climbing and masterful agility assist her in barely escaping time and again with her life.  It is during one of her most frightening getaways, someone wonderful is discovered.  Make no mistake, readers, this book's conclusion promises there is always another story to be told.


Readers are certain to be astounded by how Randy Cecil ties all the character threads and plot twists together to supply them with nonstop action.  It's a continuous series of knowing something is about to happen, watching it unfold, open-mouthed, and breathing a sigh of relief when Douglas is unharmed.  The connections between seemingly unrelated incidents are nothing short of miraculous.  (If you think about it, life is a lot like this, if we stand back and look at the larger picture as an observer rather than a participant.)

There is no dialogue in the narrative, but we are very aware as to what each character is thinking during each incident.  Randy Cecil brings us into the story with thoughtful descriptions and meticulous pacing.  Here are two passages.  (I will verify their accuracy once my finished copy arrives.)

This is going so well, thought Adriana as they all sat down
for a cup of tea in the living room.  And then she sneezed.

She reached her hand into her sweater pocket,
hoping to find a handkerchief.
Instead she felt something furry.  And whiskery.

It wriggled in her hand.


Exhausted, Douglas collapsed in a tiny heap on the rooftop.
As her racing heart slowly quieted and her shaking legs slowly stilled,
night began to fall, and the first real stars Douglas had ever seen
appeared in the sky.

She watched as they twinkled, so beautiful yet so impossibly far away.


Poised on the edge of the roof like a superhero examining the world, we are introduced to Douglas.  (I'm working with an ARC generously supplied by the publisher.) Even though Douglas is tiny, she is able to appreciate the world as a larger whole, not confining herself to her immediate surroundings of the cinema.  No matter where she finds herself, she adapts to every challenge.  On the title page, she is standing on top of a barber's pole.  The introduction of each act gives readers a broader view of a portion of Bloomville's streets and the buildings lining them.

All the interior illustrations, rendered in oil, appear in the same shades of white, gray and black as seen on the front of the cover.  They are placed in loose circles on single pages.  These draw our center of attention to all the details Randy Cecil includes in his artwork.  Sometimes he asks us to step back to see more of a scene and then he shifts to show us a close-up of Douglas.  It's like we are watching our own private movie.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is when Douglas, yet unnamed, is in the movie theater.  Mrs. Pennington, the Woman with the Large Hat, is dropping as many popped kernels of corn on the floor as she is eating.  We move in close to the theater seats.  All we see of Mrs. Pennington are her legs, lower and middle portion of her body, and one arm holding the box of popcorn. Douglas, on the floor next to her, is leaping, mouth wide open, and ready to grab her next kernel of popcorn.


Whether you read this one-on-one, as a read aloud to a large group or silently to yourself, Douglas written and illustrated by Randy Cecil is simply splendid.  It's about friendship, being your best self, and how individual stories are connected to the larger story of us.  I highly recommend this for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Randy Cecil and his other work, please follow the link to his website attached to his name.  There is an interior illustration available through the publisher's website. At Candlewick Press you can also read most of the first three chapters, act one.
  

Three Days + One

There are advantages to living in a small community or a specific neighborhood within a larger city.  Everyone knowing everyone can facilitate a sense of security, continuity and belonging.  People are recognized by name and also for what they do.

I know this because I grew up in a small town; living there for the first twenty-two years of my life.  We could walk to the grocery, five and dime and hardware stores, the bank, the post office, the roller skating rink, the public library attached to the township hall, Deadman's Hill for sledding in the winter, Kiwanis Park any time of the year and all the schools; elementary, junior high and high school.  The flower shop where I got my first job at sixteen was on the same street as my home.

If we look within these close-knit communities and neighborhoods we will see they're alive with stories.  (Now don't get me wrong.  I think stories can be found everywhere but sometimes the intimacy of a smaller setting makes the details easier to see.)  Lucy (Candlewick Press, August 2, 2016) written and illustrated by Randy Cecil recalls and pays tribute to the slower pace of another time.  Told in four acts the tale spins like a magical movie.

As the sun rose over Bloomville,
a distant trumpet began to play---
doodle-de-doodle-doo.

In an alley a little white dog sleeps through the music but wakes when a car door slams.  She gets to her feet leaving to run through the streets; a mission on her mind.  Familiar shops, the one-eyed cat in the window, and the pigeons in the park are passed.  She reaches her destination.  Up the steps she goes to wait in front of the red door of an apartment.

Inside the apartment a daughter, Eleanor Wische and her father, Sam, prepare to go about their daily tasks with the same focus as the little white dog.  Eleanor wants nothing more than to lower a string with a bit of food attached to feed the dog.  Her father wants nothing more than to perfect his juggling skills so he can perform in front of a live audience at the local vaudeville theater.

After her breakfast the dog finds a place to nap, dreaming of her former life.  Sam goes to his job as a store clerk.  Eleanor visits Enzo's Deli to buy her lunch.  Each of the three characters continues their day; the little white dog getting food any way she can, Eleanor greeting other dogs on the street while thinking of the little white dog who she would name Lucy and Sam attempting to juggle at the theater.  The curtain closes but not before a hook removes one failed juggler from the stage.

The next two days are similar but different; enriched by added elements.  On the third day love and courage cause Eleanor and Sam to deviate from their regular routines.  In a quirk of beautiful fate the little white dog, Sam and Eleanor are in the presence of each other but not all are aware.  A highly skilled nose and a memory will prompt a standing ovation.


Even after repeated readings the flawless flow of Randy Cecil's writing will continue to enchant readers.  There is a rhythm established with the repetition of each character's day but in each act Cecil includes extra incidents which in turn endear us further to the characters.  We long for Lucy to find a home after her past is revealed in her naptime dreams.  We yearn along with Eleanor for Lucy to be her own when we discover she is saving leftover lunch money to purchase toys for the little white dog.  With every failure we cheer harder and louder for Sam.

The introduction of musicians, the neighbors with their dogs known by name, the familiar family playing in the park with their dogs and the store proprietors also known by name heighten the feeling of this story surrounding us.  It's as if we are living in Bloomville too.  Here is a sample passage.

As evening approached, Lucy positioned herself
across the street from Bertolt's Butcher Shop.
Mrs. Pennington ambled by
on her last walk of the day with Bailey.
And Mrs. del Rio strolled leisurely past
with Dahlia and Daisy.
Lucy sniffed a mailbox.
She pretended to inspect a lamppost.
Then she crossed the quiet street.


The front of the dust jacket contains the only color, red, in this title. (I am working with an ARC.) The interior art is reproduced in duotone with the illustrations rendered in oil.  Throughout the book, the soft, textured quality seen on the front of the jacket is maintained.  When we open the book case it's as if we are stepping into a theater.

At the beginning of each act Randy Cecil has painted a double-page depiction of a street in Bloomville.  All the remaining pages contain a single visual in a loose circular shape.  Readers will want to go back and look at these over and over to recognize the meticulous care Cecil has given to each one.  Not only will they notice the tiniest of details but they might observe other stories within the illustrations.

One of my favorite pictures is of Eleanor and Lucy in the beginning.  Lucy, sitting on the stoop in front of the red door, is looking up at Eleanor.  Eleanor is leaning out her window unwinding the ball of string with the sausage attached at the end.  There is a lot of emotion in this image; hunger for body and soul.


Lucy written and illustrated by Randy Cecil is a remarkable, charming and heartwarming tale with three distinct stories intricately tied together.   Rarely will you see a picture book with the length of 144 pages.  In this one there may be only a partial sentence, a single sentence or a few sentences accompanying each image.  Whether you share this one-on-one or with a group, it will be greatly enjoyed.  I can only imagine there will be collective sighs at the end.

To learn more about Randy Cecil and his other work please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  You can view interior illustrations at two different publishers' websites here and here.  Randy Cecil is a guest at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. At Walker we can learn more about Randy Cecil.  At Publishers Weekly you can enjoy a Q & A with Randy Cecil about this title.  Randy Cecil chats with teacher librarian Matthew Winner at All The Wonders, Episode 274.  Enjoy the book trailer.



UPDATE:  Author, blogger and teacher librarian Carter Higgins interviews Randy Cecil at Design of the Picture Book, October 11, 2016.

Wishes? Tears? Friendship Found

Sometimes when you read a book and the final page is turned, you flip the front cover back and read it all over again.  You read the words aloud instead of in your head.  You study all the little extra details in the pictures.  You do this because there was a connection, a combination of the two, that drew you into the story.

Finding a true-blue friend can be difficult especially if you're a girl longing for a dragon or a dragon longing for a girl.  When one lives in an isolated castle and the other a cave in the snowy mountains, what are the chances of the two ever meeting?   Author Barbara Joosse and illustrator Randy Cecil tell readers exactly how it's done in their new collaboration, Lovabye Dragon (Candlewick Press).

Once there was a girl
an all-alone girl
in her own little bed
in her own little room
in her own little castle
who didn't have 
a dragon
for a friend.

What this little girl cannot know is a dragon asleep in his mountain haven has the exact wish for friendship.  In her loneliness the girl cries and cries and cries.  Her tears become a stream leaving her room, winding through the castle.


Past the mouse, past the moat, past the bog, past the glen and yes, readers, right to the mountain, the very mountain where the dragon lay dreaming, those tears do flow.  Special tears from a special girl wake her longed for friend. The watery trail leads him to his heart's desire.

Oh, the joy of them finding one another knows no bounds.  These two are unstoppable now.  Marching, singing, hiding, comparing and sharing their day passes into evening.

Having a dragon for a pal has its benefits in the chilly darkness, warmth and protection.  Having a little girl for a companion has its benefits as quiet wraps around the two, little songs to shepherd in sleep.  On the next starry night look upward, you might (because wishes do come true) see a shadow pass overhead, a shadow with a rider singing sweetly.

Lilting, lyrical language tells the tale of desires fulfilled.  Barbara Joosse employs the technique of repetition of words to invite readers into the characters' realm, zooming out with her descriptions and taking them on the trail.  Mixed in with the repeated phrases are rhyming words adding to the song quality of the narrative.  Like the silver stream bringing the friends together, the text gently moves through the pages.

Dusty plum front and back endpapers set the tone for the regal setting.  Four times within the story artist, Randy Cecil, frames his illustrations in golden scrollwork, reminiscent of medieval times, to begin, end and introduce.  His oil paintings in shadowy shades of blues, browns, purples, grays and greens give readers, despite the wanting of the two characters, a sense of peace.

The size of the pictures vary to accommodate the storyline, using oval or circular insets to heighten interest, to instill a sense of comfort.  The shapes of his faces, the body proportions, are interesting, funny, lovable and huggable, especially the bug-eyed, thin-necked plump dragon with the toothy grin.  Including tiny details provides a certain symmetry to the story; there are three castle guard toy figures on the girl's bedroom floor, three live castle guards search for her and the dragon.

Lovabye Dragon written by Barbara Joosse with illustrations done in oil by Randy Cecil is an ode to single lonely hearts becoming one in unbridled happiness, soaring among the stars.  This would make the best bedtime story with a snuggly stuffed dragon on hand or as a group read aloud anytime of the day.  Howling winds and pounding rain have been on hand here all night.  I'm taking this with me to bed, reading it for the...hmmm...fourth time.