Cherished Creatures

Within a heartbeat they can tell you.  Not only do they have an answer but they want to know what yours is.  No matter how many books the library may have or resources you provide, it's simply never enough.  Truthfully over the years I have learned more than I ever knew I wanted to know about a large variety of animals because of students' quests to discover everything about their favorite animal, domestic and wild.

The extent of their interest is not limited to facts either; each having an uncanny ability in their individual style to recreate their animal visually.  How exciting for all of us that Eric Carle and thirteen other illustrators decide to share their choices.  What's Your Favorite Animal? (Henry Holt and Company, January 2014) not only answers the question but entertains with text and pictures by each.

I have always liked all animals.  

So begins the story Eric Carle tells of his cat who liked to chase and fetch a string bean until she decided it was better off tucked away from view.  A ladder would definitely be needed to see eye to eye with Tom Lichtenheld's animal friend after a trip to Africa or the zoo.  You will be hard pressed not to gasp and utter yikes after seeing the smile on Mo Willems' crawling critter's face.

A Christmas tradition with a happy ending, especially for the main course, is a tale with timeless appeal as revealed by Peter Sis.  Giving us a whole new perspective on one of nature's slowest movers, Chris Raschka reminds us patience has great rewards.  Nick Bruel's Bad Kitty is up to his typical tricks.  Could it be because of a favorite animal choice?

Let's see now.  Who could possibly like a high-jumping bunny, these-pillows-are-my-spot dog, or a boastful elephant?  It might be Rosemary Wells, Lane Smith, Jon Klassen, Susan Jeffers, or Peter McCarty?  Or perhaps one of them has voiced their love of a duck (without a hat) or a herd of wild white horses?

A memory of cows coming to life at night, a kinship felt with penguins and a colorful connection to leopards fill the pages by Lucy Cousins, Steven Kellogg and Erin Stead. (No, I did not put them in order.) Just when you think you might suffer from happiness overload due to the wonderful words and colorful pictures on these pages, the final two host childhood pictures of each artist with a short biographical sketch.  Who could ask for anything more?


An amusing incident, a whimsical poem, a message of hope, personal reflections from now and then, and tales full of hilarity reach out, pulling readers into the realms of these fourteen individuals who, fortunately for us, populate the children's literature community.  All the wit and wonder we love about their work is condensed into these two page spreads; how they choose to speak about their favorite animal is a direct reflection of them as authors and illustrators.  You will find yourself alternating between a slow smile, a giggle, a guffaw, a sigh, and nod of understanding more than once. These fourteen people say much with few words.


Eric Carle's notable cut-paper collage decorates the front dust jacket with a list of the contributors and their animals on the back.  Upon removing the jacket readers see all fourteen creatures spread across both sides of the cover with the artists' signatures next to their work.  The pristine white background makes all the elements pop off the pages.  Sunny golden opening and closing endpapers brushed in paint announce the total joy to be found in this book.

Even without their name as part of the text or a signature within the illustration, each visual clearly identifies the creator; vividly displaying their unique styles and mediums.  The deft paper cuts for a cat's fur, the fluffy cloud cleverly becoming a beehive hairdo for the ruby-lipped giraffe, the loose swirls of orange, amber and blue making a home for a snail, small delicate lines and softened brush strokes bringing the essence of penguins to the page or cow paintings papering a wall as a boy dreams one into life, not only feature an animal but the considerable talents each illustrator brings to this book and everything they do.  Every single one is a masterpiece.


This variety in selected animals, narratives and illustrators is exactly what makes What's Your Favorite Animal? by Eric Carle and Friends a true treasure that everyone should read and own.  It's like holding an art gallery in your hands.  The end flap states:

All royalties from this book will be donated to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art which was founded by Eric and Barbara Carl in 2002.  

Links to each of the contributors' websites (when possible) have been placed in their names above.  Follow this link to the publisher's website for a peek inside this title.  Enjoy the videos collected by some of the artists.  If you have other videos you would like me to include feel free to leave a link in the comments below. 

Each One Is Unique

Life is filled with moments and memories of unbearable sadness and exhilarating happiness.  In between those unbelievable lows and highs, each day is filled with simple, tiny, truly magical instants, if we only take the time to notice and honor them.  I was writing on December 14, 2012, toggling back and forth from my blog to Twitter, when my feed was suddenly filled with the tragic events unfolding at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.


On June 30, 2013 when attending the American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition, I found myself sitting at a table with Nerdy Book Club friends for the Random House Fall 2013 Preview Tea.  Two of the authors present were Patrica MacLachlan and Steven Kellogg.  That afternoon I received a f & g of their beautiful collaboration, Snowflakes Fall (Random House, October 29, 2013) and had the opportunity to chat with each of them.  To all present they both spoke about their desire to create this book for the children, prompted by the heartbreak felt by all on and after December 14, 2012.

After the flowers are gone
Snowflakes fall.

The mysterious beauty of snowflakes is they are all different.  As they cover the buildings, bushes and trees in our communities, the coats of our beloved dogs and gently land on our out-stretched  tongues, we marvel at their potential.  They are small but together they can transform a landscape.

They are carried on a breeze like sound.  Wild winds during the night, shape them like sculptor's hands as we lie awake listening in the dark.  With gladness we greet the new day, sun shining on fresh wonders.

Imprints are left in the snow by animals, sleds and children.  Men, forts and angels are made of and on the snow.  Weeks pass, the season changes.  Imprints, men, forts and angels disappear, replaced by warmth, green grasses and blooming flowers.  Even in the midst of a new season, the one passed will be not be forgotten.


Today as I write, it's snowing here again.  The wind is mingling dry, feather-light leaves with flakes of whiteness.  What I see outside is reflected in the words of Patricia MacLachlan.  Having read this book over and over again, I still continue to be carried from page to page by the gentle rhythm of each phrase, some repeated, one connected to the other.

Readers are transported to those snowy days, bundled from head to toe in winter wear, laughing and playing with others outside in the snow.  Readers can imagine the cozy comfort of snuggling under the covers in a warm bed as a storm  passes through in the night.  Readers are reminded of the flow of life and the power of memories.  The words of Patricia MacLachlan take you where you need to be.


When you first look at the front matching jacket and cover, you know you are looking at pure bliss; it's familiar and freeing to make angels in the snow, no matter your age.  On the back cover of both is a single snowflake set in a circle.  Close inspection shows a pattern with diamonds, hearts and snow hats.  This is enlarged, set within a square of snowflakes, for showcasing the title on its page.

Opening endpapers show children playing a game of hide-and-seek in the autumn woods.  One child is running off the page in the upper right-hand corner in a swirl of snow.  The closing endpapers are done in shades of blue, snow covering the land, snowflakes scattered about, twenty snow angels weave their way from one corner to the opposite; from land to the air.

The artwork of Steven Kellogg is as unique as a single snowflake.  All of the illustrations, two page and single page, are filled with the joys of childhood or in two, looks of questioning.  You can hear the chatter of children coming from the pages as they seek, discover and enjoy.  A couple of my favorite illustrations are a two page spread of children running up and down hills among the trees as their dogs scamper along with snow falling and a single page close-up of branches framing a window, a boy being tucked in by his mother for bedtime, the warm glow of inside contrasted with the icy chill of night.


Winter has always been one of my favorite seasons but watching the world get covered with snow will be different now after reading Snowflakes Fall written by Patricia MacLachlan with illustrations by Steven Kellogg.  In the stillness of a wintry walk I will be listening for the laughter of children, gone but remembered.

No two the same---
All beautiful.

For more information about Steven Kellogg please follow the link embedded in his name above.  Follow this link to the publisher website for more information about the title, a couple of downloadable activity pages, a teacher's guide about life, renewal, grief and memory, and a peek at some of the pages from the book.