Stepping Outside Into The Gathering Dark

Humans tend to shelter inside at day's end.  Some activities are better enjoyed and accomplished within their homes.  If we should venture outside, a whole new world greets us.  In the absence of light, shadows rule, creating new forms.  Our senses of hearing and smelling are heightened.

When homes are passed during our exploration of the world at night, we see scenes inside them rarely observed during daylight hours.  It's as if we have stepped into a magical realm.  Night Walk (Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press, September 29, 2020) written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Ellie Arscott is an enchanting excursion through a neighborhood during the evening hours.

The time was long past when I should have been

dreaming, but I lay in my bed, owl-eyed and awake.

With the special sense parents have, her dad realized she was still awake.  He suggested they take a walk.  The little girl's other siblings and mother were content, so it was only she and her dad sharing this adventure.

The girl and her father moved down the sidewalk between the dark and light cast by streetlamps.  All the windows glowed in some homes.  Other residences had one lamp shimmering in the darkness.

People she knew acted differently when she saw them in their homes.  People she didn't know were celebrating an event special to them alone.  She was pleasantly surprised how many people were awake when she was normally asleep.

Her dad explained about growing up in the country with houses far apart.  Seeing these homes with her on this night was different for him.  For her growing up in this neighborhood was all she knew.  And that was all she needed.

Authored by Sara O'Leary, this story reads like a lullaby.  It is told through the eyes of the little girl except for two pieces of dialog by her dad.  Each sentence is a soothing observation, even before the child and her father leave the house.  Short phrases replete with childlike wisdom wrap around you in cozy comfort.  Here is a passage.

In one house a big family was eating a meal too late for supper and

too early for breakfast.  They were so happy it made me happy too.

The scenes on the right, front, and left, back, of the open and matching dust jacket and book case, invite readers into the journey with the little girl and her father.  We can feel the silence of the evening enveloping them.  We easily embrace the light given by the moon, stars, and streetlamps.  I love that we see the backs of the duo leading us into the park on the front.  To the left, a vertical rectangular image gives us a glimpse of another night walker with her dog.  The layout and design of this picture is gorgeous.

On the opening and closing endpapers is a deep midnight blue.  A loosely framed oval illustration precedes the verso and title pages.  It is a bird's-eye view of the neighborhood at night.  A closer perspective of the community, a single-page picture, is placed on the title page.  The use of light and shadow by artist Ellie Arscott is marvelous.

These illustrations rendered

in watercolor and ink pen on paper

are delicately detailed.  There is a softness, like the night, in all of them.  Ellie Arscott has included elements readers will enjoy discovering.  Will they recognize the picture books on the little girl's bed?  Do they have lights in their own bedrooms like the lights on the wall over the little brother's crib?  Do they have the same kind of shops in their neighborhood?

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  The girl and her father are standing on the sidewalk outside a corner house.  To the left of the gutter is the front of the house with an open porch and a street lined with buildings going in a perpendicular direction.  The home has several stained-glass windows on the side and a larger window.  At the back of the house is an enclosed sunroom, with floor to ceiling glass.  Lights are strung over its roof to a nearby tree.  Inside the glass room is a man playing his violin.  A white cat watches.  A dog, perched on the sofa, is howling in accompaniment.  In a touch of whimsy, the man, in addition to a plain shirt and pair of pants, is wearing pink bunny slippers.  

For those who have taken walks in the evening or for those who have not, this book rings with beautiful truth.  Night Walk written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Ellie Arscott is certain to inspire more shared strolls through neighborhoods.  It is guaranteed to bring peace and promote the sweetest of dreams.  I highly recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Sara O'Leary and Ellie Arscott and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Sara O'Leary has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Ellie Arscott has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Debut picture book illustrator Ellie Arscott is a guest at author illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Inkygirl.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.

For those of us with canine companions, strolls are taken at all hours of the day and night, but those after dark are particularly spellbinding.  Our partners on those walks do so with elevated senses.  They alert us to things we might not notice.  Sometimes they do this as a protective measure.  Other times, it is as if they want us to see, hear, or smell what they see, hear and smell.  Woodland Dreams (Chronicle Books, October 27, 2020) written by Karen Jameson with pictures by Marc Boutavant is an ode to forest creatures, ten in number.  It is a poetic goodnight with rich, stunning artwork for each one.

Come home, Big Paws.

Berry picker

Honey trickster

Shadows deepen in the glen.

Lumber back inside your den.

A young girl with her dog, heading home, walk through the forest.  As they pass by each of the inhabitants, words are uttered for each one.  These words welcome them to their resting place.  They describe each animal with a nickname and their prominent characteristics.

There is the swimmer with a head of antlers, a swift-moving youngster bearing spots on its fur, and a long-eared leaper that enjoys a good meal of fresh clover.

As it gets darker and darker, snow begins to fall harder and harder.  A turtle rests drawing its feet and head inside its shell.  A woodpecker seeks its last meal before snuggling inside a hole in a tree.  A squirrel scurries by the light of the moon to its nest.

There is a final poem, an eleventh nickname and four distinctive lines.  A girl and her furry friend rest as quietly as those they passed in the woods.  Of what will the creatures, the child and her dog dream tonight?

The cadence of these poems penned by Karen Jameson is as pleasing on repeat readings as the first time it is enjoyed. Readers will be captivated by the nicknames of each animal following the words

Come home

at the beginning of each poem. Lines one and two rhyme with some of the best personality or characteristic traits readers are likely to encounter.  Offering perceptions of the time of day and its conditions, the narrator encourages them to return to their respective homes in lines three and four which also rhyme.  Here is another poem.

Come home, Painted Wings.

Nectar sipper

Dizzy dipper

Stars are twinkling. Flutter. Search.

Light upon your leafy perch. 

The open and matching dust jacket and book case radiate warmth and comfort.  The chosen color palette for the images on the front and back refer to the darkness of nighttime, but the natural earth tones are welcoming. The illustration on the front, right, of the squirrel curled in slumber with gathered treasures in its nest enfolds not only the girl and her dog but us. (The treasures are varnished.)  Careful readers will notice the girl is carrying a sketchbook.  This is foreshadowing for the final two-page, wordless picture at the conclusion. 

To the left, on the back, of the jacket and case, the canvas is still black.  Autumn leaves, a sprig of pine needles, an acorn cap, and a single Queen Anne's lace flower form a ring around the girl and her dog.  They are fast asleep in her bed at home.  The child and her dog are curled around each other.

On the opening endpapers the forest is alive with life as the sky shifts into the golden yellows and pinks of sunset.  We see a startled fawn watching us in the lower portion on the left side.  On the right, higher up, a woodpecker pauses staring at us.  Among the row of tree trunks are a variety of leaves, evergreen branches, holly, and pinecones.  The closing endpapers is the same section of the forest, but the changing light gives us different insights.  There is more definition to the trees and surrounding foliage. The fawn and woodpecker are no longer present.  The sky is dark with some snowflakes falling.  In a previously empty hollow, the squirrel now sleeps.

The illustrations by Marc Boutavant are simply splendid.  Each scene gives us appreciation for another portion of the woods.  The light in the sky changes as the walk progresses.  The weather shifts too.  The girl and her dog are shown far away from the animals or closer depending on safety for all.  In each setting they may quietly wait for the animal to pass, stop as it runs away or past them, or sometimes they will pause to watch it move at its own pace.  Readers will savor the moments shared by the girl, her dog, and the animals they encounter.

There is a blend of single-page pictures and double-page visuals.  When there is a single-page image, the text is placed on the opposite page with the animal at rest.  The elements in each illustration ask us to look closely before each page turn.  How many readers will see the final sketchbook paper on the girl's bed as she and her dog sleep?

One of my many favorite pictures is a single-page image.  It is the illustrations for Velvet Nose.  In the foreground the girl is kneeling on the ground facing her dog.  The dog is seated.  She is holding his nose with one hand and her other hand with her finger pressed to her lip in a shushing gesture asks the dog to be quiet.  Behind them is an array of forest shrubs and trees filling almost all the page.  Passing through the shrubs and trees, nearly hidden, is a large moose.

For one on one or as a storytime read aloud Woodland Dreams written by Karen Jameson with pictures by Marc Boutavant is an ideal selection.  Whether you are using it for a theme about forest animals, the shift in seasons, or as a quiet or bedtime book, listeners will relish every moment.  You will want a copy of this title for your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Karen Jameson and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  The link attached to Marc Boutavant's name takes you to his agency page dedicated to his work.  Karen Jameson has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.  Marc Boutavant has an account on Instagram. Karen Jameson was recently interviewed at Lynn Becker Books Blog.

Animal Idiosyncrasies

There will be books you read which cause an excitement to grow within you.  Each page turn reveals more inventiveness, information, humor, or opportunities.  You can't wait to read it aloud.  You can't wait to tell someone else about it.

This book, Owls Are Good at Keeping Secrets: An Unusual Alphabet (Random House Children's Books, December 4, 2018) written by Sara O'Leary (The Boy And The Blue Moon and This Is Sadie) with illustrations by Jacob Grant, is one of those books.  Readers will be continuously wondering, between bouts of giggles, if there is some truth to the statements.  Who knew our animal friends had so many hidden talents and quirks?

Aa
Alligators think you'd like them
if you got to know them.

Letter by letter from a to z, we learn and laugh.  Bears with boo-boos are just like children.  Kisses are the most requested method for healing.  It will come as no surprise elephants' hearts are most joyful when bathing.  Foxes get frantic when they can't take more photographs. 

At times the smallest creature is the most eager to explore.  Aim high little hedgehog!  Gals and guys aren't the only ones who miss their own beds during sleepovers.  Iguanas are known to be wide-eyed awake in the middle of the night.  The unicorns of the sea actually enjoy solitude.

You'll never guess which guests arrive first at a celebration.  (Clue: They wear masks twenty-four hours a day.)  One book is never enough.  Adorable voles value reading.

When you reach the letter z, you'll be grinning from ear to ear.  You'll also not be surprised at the deepest desire of zebras.  It's guaranteed you'll quickly go back to the beginning to read each animal's declaration again.


The sentences written by Sara O'Leary are infused with whimsy and wit.  She uses the physical characteristics and habits of the animals to supply readers with comedy.  We find ourselves laughing because the revelations are curiously close to the truth or completely ridiculous.  Here is another sentence.

Quail get quite tired of being
told to be quiet. 


You can already feel humor radiating from the front of the matching dust jacket and book case.  We are drawn into the image by the darker color palette and the two owls, wing tips to mouths seeking our silence and suggestive of them hiding something.  To the left, on the back, eleven of the animals are peering in from the sides and staring up at the owls.  They frame six questions about the alphabet animals.  The title text and animals are varnished.

On a sand-colored canvas on the opening and closing endpapers white letters, a to z, are placed in four rows.  The critters for each upper-case letter at the beginning are tucked behind them.  At the end, lower-case letters highlight the animals in front of them.    On the title page under the text sits the zebra, in two shades of pink.  He's holding a toy zebra.

The illustrations rendered by Jacob Grant are showcased by their placement on a white canvas.  The thicker matte finished paper is excellent for the images which range in size and shape; extending over the gutter, loose frames with elements breaking those borders, and even a cut-away picture.  The range of colors are muted.

The added elements in each scene increase the hilarity and charm.  The alligator is holding a bouquet of flowers.  Chipmunks are scampering around their house while a disgruntled parent, holding a mug with a steaming beverage, watches.  Giraffes are riding a bicycle built for two.  Two young yaks are grinning at their own jokes. 

One of my many favorite illustrations is on a full page.  Five iguanas are having a sleepover.  They are laying in a row under the cover of a large palm leaf.  The iguana on the right end is sitting up and afraid.  He is grasping a tiny purple teddy bear. 


You can be sure whether this book is read silently by an individual, shared one-on-one or with a group, there will be loads of laughter.  Owls Are Good at Keeping Secrets: An Unusual Alphabet written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Jacob Grant is assuredly an entertaining book about letters and animals, but it is much more.  It issues an invitation to readers to think of other animals and what they might think or do.  Readers can also delve into nonfiction research about these animals and other creatures. You will want a copy of this title on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Sara O'Leary and Jacob Grant, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Jacob Grant also has a Tumblr site.  At the publisher's website you can view some interior pages. The book trailer is premiered at teacher librarian Matthew Winner's site along with some sentence starters that Sara and Jacob finish.  Jacob is interviewed by Maria Marshall.  Sara and Jacob have accounts on Twitter.  You can find Sara and Jacob on Instagram.

Under Its Light

By one definition a blue moon is a second full moon in a single calendar month.  February 2018 was a month without a full moon, giving us this March with a second full moon.  On March 31, 2018 a full moon, a blue moon, will light the sky.  It is the second one we've had this year.  It is the last time we will have two blue moons of this type (January and March) until the year 2037. 

With this event occurring only every nineteen years, folklore contains references to superstitions and beliefs attached to blue moons.  Regardless of scientific evidence, educators and parents of children and pets know these individuals are affected by a full moon.  When there are two in a single calendar month, the unexpected is to be expected.  The Boy And The Blue Moon (Godwin Books, Henry Holt and Company, February 13, 2018) written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Ashley Crowley follows two companions taking an enchanting nighttime journey.

On the night of the blue moon, a boy and his cat went for a walk.  
Inside their house the light was warm and yellow, but outside it was blue and magical. 

As they are walking the boy pauses and turns to his cat advising him of the special significance of a blue moon.  Their path through a field filled with flowers leads them ever closer to the woods.  As they enter the trees a song rings out from the branches.  What is making this music?

Although the boy explores this trail frequently, it is not the same on this night.  A lake appears in front of them.  Along this shore never seen before is a boat.  Both the boy and his cat climb into the boat. 

A reflection of the blue moon on the water beckons to the boy and his cat in the boat.  Many nights the boy has wished to visit the moon but tonight he puts his whole soul into that same wish. (The cat wishes, too.)  These two friends find themselves transported.  On a blue moon night wishes can come true.

Their exploration of this celestial body is exactly as imagined.  As they rest, the boy holding his cat sees a tiny glow from down below on Earth.  It calls to them as the blue moon on the lake did.  In the morning an assumption is reaffirmed.


From beginning to end, the sentences penned by Sara O'Leary sing like the song heard by the boy and his cat in the book.  They flow like notes strung together in a line of music.  They supply a hushed atmosphere; one where anything is possible.  As the duo gets farther into the woods, you know something is going to happen, something extraordinary.  It builds inside you like hopeful anticipation. Here is a passage.

The trees of the forest
were blue as well, and
somewhere high in the branches,
something was singing.  It might have
been birds or it might have been dragons.


If you open the dust jacket, the path along the fence stretches to the left on the back.  Above the fence on a hill sits the home of the boy and his cat.  Lights glimmer in the windows on both floors.  The starry sky provides a backdrop.  The many layers and hues of blue cast, like the light of the moon, a deep sense of calm and a spell filled with promise.  On the book case a deep, deep blue sky with a few stars spans the front and the back, trees like black lace line the bottom.  On the right the full blue moon lights the center.  From one side to the other a bridge allows the boy and his cat to continue on their journey.  They like the trees are in black.

On the opening and closing endpapers seventeen different small images with shining borders of blue light feature elements from the story like the boy and his cat, a telescope, books on the moon and a pair of boots.  They are placed on a star-studded sky.  The field of bluebells covers the lower third of the verso and title pages.  The cat is standing among them on the right.  A canvas of white above the flowers provides space for the text on both pages.

Rendered in blue inks applied using a water brush pen, gouache paint, graphite sticks, pastels, colored pencils, and Adobe Photoshop the illustrations of Ashley Crowley envelope the reader in the sensory marvel of this blue moon night.  The hues of blue contrast with the white in a stunning display.  The affection between the boy and his cat is evident in their body postures and facial expressions.  Aren't the highlighted cheeks on the boy wonderful? 

Spots of red appear in significant elements in some of the pictures.  The image sizes vary in keeping with the pacing of the story.  Ashley Crowley gives us many breathtaking panoramic views.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the boy and his cat are paused during their travels.  It covers two pages.  They are standing in the field of bluebells.  A fence goes from the left to the edge of a row of trees spanning toward the moon which rises large and blue above the horizon on the right. Tree silhouettes cover the rolling hill on the right.  Between the trees the white path winds.  You can feel the stillness.


Perfect for anytime but especially wonderful on a full moon night, The Boy And The Blue Moon written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Ashley Crowley is sure to be a beloved bedtime or story time treat.  Readers and listeners will be captivated first by the walk taken by the boy and his cat but will be thrilled when their wish is fulfilled.  Get cozy and get comfortable and wander into the magic of this night.  You will want to include this title in your professional and personal collections. 

To discover more about Sara O'Leary and Ashley Crowley and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Both Sara and Ashley maintain Instagram accounts.  Sara chats on a podcast at CBC about this title.

Imagining Yourself

Children rarely have to dig as long or as far as do adults.  It's much closer to the surface.  For them within seconds, they are transformed and transported to roles and worlds of their own choosing.  Their minds are free of life's accumulated clutter.  They dream big all day long.

We had several vacant lots on our street when we were growing up.  The one, wooded and tall with weeds, was a paradise for all of us.  As soon as we crossed the boundary, we were no longer within the confines of our neighborhood.  In This Is Sadie (Tundra Books, May 12, 2015) written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Julie Morstad a little girl reminds us of the potential of creative imagining.

This is Sadie.
No, not that.  That's a box.
Sadie is inside the box.

To Sadie it's not a box.  To Sadie it's a boat; a big boat traveling across a sea so vast there's nothing but water as far as the eye can see.  There might be land nearby but Sadie is content to ride the waves.

Even before a single soul in her home, other than herself, is awake, Sadie has traveled a distance.  She's quiet until she selects her favorite dress to wear for the day.  Her playmates are not all real.  Some of them are characters from stories.

Sadie selects where she goes and who she becomes, diving, howling, sipping and riding.  She has conversations with those others cannot understand.  She soars gliding on wind currents.

No minute in Sadie's day is wasted.  They are brimming with bits and pieces from her collected thoughts.  They are inspired by the inventiveness of others.


In this story Sara O'Leary has given readers a character to cherish.  Through Sara's words we see a girl who looks at her world, making it larger with her making, doing and being.  The best thing is readers are invited to join Sadie in her adventure with the first three words.

The unseen narrator speaks warmly using informal sentences.  When Sadie talks we are intimately aware of the wonder she finds wherever she goes.  Here is another sample passage.

And then she chooses a dress.
"Don't tell the others," she whispers,
"but you are my favorite."


When you open the dust jacket, the first thing you notice is the delicate flowers filling the field across both sides.  Sadie is featured in her fox mask on the front with her stuffed toy fox companion sitting in the grass in the lower right-hand corner of the back, to the left.  Tiny details like the flower dotting the "i" in Sadie are found throughout this title.  When you flip the dust jacket to the inside one of the gorgeous nighttime scenes from the interior becomes a poster with a quotation from the story.  The book case is identical to the jacket with one exception.  The opening and closing endpapers are a deeper forest green with a triangular three dot pattern in white.

The light, lyrical feel of the words is continued with the title page illustration.  The text letters are hanging from a string across the top.  Beneath this the beloved toy is sleeping in cheery bedding.

Rendered in gouache, watercolor and pencil crayon Julie Morstad's fine lines supply exquisite elements in all the illustrations.  Most of the images extend over two pages but for those smaller pictures or larger ones with a white background, the white gives a new dimension to the colors used.  Morstad depicts playfulness in her visuals in contrast to the narrative.  We read

When it is time to start the day,
Sadie tidies her room.

We see Sadie standing among a pile of clothes on the left.  To the right is her bed nicely made but underneath we see her interpretation of tidy.

One of my many favorite illustrations is of a small hill sprinkled with little flowers.  Slightly off center to the right is a large tree with a rounded top.  Bluebirds have gathered among the branches.  We see Sadie's bare legs dangling through the leaves.  Her red bicycle is leaning against the trunk with her fox sitting in the wire basket. You wish you were one of those bluebirds

chit-chatting

with her.


This Is Sadie written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Julie Morstad is one of those books where the word delightful immediately springs to mind.  We all need a bit of Sadie in us.  Some of us need more than others.  Read this to a group at story time, one on one or to your neighborhood fox family.  (A baby fox was spotted last week.)  I guarantee your listeners will be checking for wings.

To discover more about Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad please follow the links attached to their names to access their online presence.  Julie gives us views of two interior images.  Sara has created another space dedicated to this book at Tumblr.  Teacher librarian extraordinaire, John Schumacher, hosted Sara O'Leary on his blog at Watch. Connect. Read.  A link to an activity kit is provided along with the book trailer and a series of questions and answers. Enjoy.  

These two tweets offer more for you about This Is Sadie.  

This is Sadie by @saraoleary and Julie Morstad https://t.co/O7nThOvy4w

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) May 23, 2015

Have you seen Sadie in real life? http://t.co/5cBB1NGNFb @saraoleary #JulieMorstad #ThisIsSadie

— Tundra Books (@TundraBooks) May 26, 2015

UPDATE:  Sara  O'Leary is a guest on the podcast, Let's Get Busy, Episode #230 hosted by teacher-librarian Matthew C. Winner.