Harnessing A Power

Despite the order in which they are placed, forward, backward or all jumbled up, this team of twenty-six is unbeatable.  When they go against any adversary, they will emerge victorious.  They can harbor mysteries.  They can comfort, heal and save.  They can move quickly and quietly or if necessary, they can roar like a lion.  They remain steadfast but are fluid enough to function for the well-being of multitudes.  This team of twenty-six are the letters of our alphabet.

They can work individually but function superbly in certain combinations.  Anyone can weld their power.  The Magic of Letters (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, April 23, 2019) written by Tony Johnston with art by Wendell Minor is abracadabra!

Letters

hold

magic.

When you
know
their
secrets,
they open
worlds.

We learn at an early age to form the sound for each letter.  We say them over and over, chanting their names.  Soon we arrange them to make our name.  We say this over and over, chanting it like a miracle.

Letters can be used to represent strength.  A single word can stand for a foundation on which great things are made.  These foundations are timeless and true.

Other words made with the magic of letters describe a specific movement, a noise or the way something feels when we touch it.  Still more words make us laugh, hungry or take us into another world.  It's delightful to say them out loud.  What can we create if we connect them together?

As we use letters to build words, and then more words, and then, even more words, we can make creative and crazy and compassionate connections.  We can read creative, crazy and compassionate connections written by others.  In this the magic of letters is revealed.


There is something about the word magic which causes us to pause. Sometimes without even knowing we are doing it, we hold our breaths in anticipation.  With her first three words author Tony Johnston takes us into that pause.  Unlike many magicians, she discloses the secrets of the magic of letters. 

She walks readers through learning each letter, then using those letters to make a series of single words describing anything you can imagine but she doesn't stop there.  Her narrative continues by taking those words to complete thoughts.  She shows us how the magic works with examples.  Here is a passage.

Letters hold
surprises.
If you swinkle
them sweetly,
new words
appear---
like swinkle.


If you are familiar with the artwork of Wendell Minor (Daylight Starlight Wildlife, Wild Orca: The oldest, wisest whale in the world, or Night Train, Night Train) you realize looking at the open and matching dust jacket and book case, the illustrations for this book are stunningly different.  Yet on close examination, the line work we've come to appreciate is present.  Rendered with graphite on paper and digital tools these images take readers on a journey between imagination and reality.

To begin, a rabbit and a black top hat are synonymous with magic.  In this instance the rabbit is the magician as letters spill from the black hat and scatter.  For most of the illustrations throughout the book, the crisp white canvas used on the jacket and case is continued.  It showcases the other elements with excellence.  To the left, on the back, the spectacle-clad rabbit is taking a bow as two words form from inside the hat.  Can you guess what they are?

On the opening and closing endpapers, the vivid hue in the title text is used as the color.  On the initial title page, the rabbit, in front of the hat, is looking up and holding the letter "g".  Other letters spill off the right edge and continue to scatter, left to right, across the formal title page.  With a page turn the first two sentences are placed between the ears of the rabbit as he looks eagerly and straight at the reader.  All we see is his front paws, head and ears.  (This effect is used again beautifully.)

The picture sizes vary in tandem with the pacing and narrative; spreading across two pages, full pages or partial pages.  They are whimsical, lively and as unpredictable as magic.  The rabbit drives a huge dump trunk with words spilling out the back; words like trees, heart, art, libraries, time and diversity.  Words the author calls mighty words.  For the word quesadilla, a row of smiling vegetables and fruits, bookend a portion of this delectable food which stands in place for the letter "a" in quesadilla.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It's for the phrase

Giggling
words
like
flibbertigibbet.

Along the bottom of the page is a grassy expanse.  Brightly-colored tulips begin on the left, cross the gutter and grow to the right edge.  Among these on the right is a jack-in-the-box with a rising sun on the front.  A happy-go-lucky clown with arms and hands extended is smiling.  His suit and hat are red-and-white polka dotted.  The word flibbertigibbet is in shades of pink, orange and red and is written across both pages.


The Magic of Letters written by Tony Johnston with art by Wendell Minor is a celebration of letters, words they make and how we say, write and read them.  It is packed with power and energy.  This book can be used in a theme on alphabets, writing, reading or creativity.  You will certainly want a copy on your professional and personal book shelves.

To learn more about Wendell Minor and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  He devotes a page to this title showing several interior images.  Wendell Minor maintains an account on Twitter.

The Power Of One

We read them.  We write them.  We sign them.  We speak them.  We hear them.  We can even touch them.  A single one of them can change the course of history.  A group of them, conveying a single thought, can be recorded and remembered for all time.  Even if you are standing in a space without them, they will come uninvited into your mind.  They are one of the most powerful forces on our planet.

They save lives around the world every single day.  In Peter H. Reynolds's newest title, The Word Collector (Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., January 30, 2018) a small boy, wise beyond his years, recognizes the value and strength of words. His greatest triumph is acting on this knowledge.

Collectors collect things . . .
Some people collect stamps.
Some people collect coins.
Others collect rocks.
Some collect art.

Jerome collected words.  He was always listening to, looking at and reading words.  If any one of them was unique to him, he wrote it down.  Each word had its own piece of paper.

The length of the word did not determine its worth.  It was the way in which they rolled off his tongue and their musicality which had appeal to him.  All those words on pieces of paper filled scrapbook after scrapbook.  Like all master collectors, Jerome had a system for categorizing those scrapbooks bursting with words.

One day the unimaginable happened.  A mishap caused Jerome's collection to scatter.  The words no longer were grouped in any sort of order.  From this mess this marvelous boy began to create magic.  He started to put the words together in a new kind of order.  With this order his collected words formed verses to write, read and sing.

Jerome was discovering the best thing about his particular collection.  Its strength increased every time he shared those words.  Did this boy stop collecting words? No.  Did this boy stop sharing words?  No.  In fact, he finally did the one thing he had not done.  On a very special day, he was the happiest he had ever been. 


If there's one thing children understand, it's the desire to collect things.  It's as if this need to know everything about one particular thing is irresistible.  Peter H. Reynolds captures this beautifully in his simple, conversational sentences.  His use of language leans toward the songs words can make when arranged.  As the story progresses we feel a gentle tension growing until the eventful day when Jerome's collection scatters.  And this in turn leads us toward the best possible conclusion.  Here is a passage.

He collected words he saw.
Certain words jumped out at him.

He collected words he read.
Certain words popped off the page.


Speaking of words, one word to describe the opened dust jacket is jubilation.  Picturing Jerome with eyes closed and arms raised gives the reader a sense of the peace and comfort he feels among his collection.  Seeing the slips of paper with his words floating around him is like giving form to air.  To Jerome his words are like air giving him life (and life to others, too).  The color choices, blue, white, yellow, and the shade of purple are particularly appealing.

On the book case, in shades of golden yellow, are layers of pieces of paper.  Each one contains one of Jerome's words.  I know readers will pour over those words, selecting those which call out to them.  On the opening endpapers the slips of paper float through a pale blue sky and wisps of clouds.  A bluebird gives witness to this.  A sky filled with the hues of a purple dusk and early starlight provides a canvas for the closing endpapers.  More yellow papers drift on the night air.  Three lines of those words form a quote from Peter Hamilton Reynolds. 

On the verso and title pages two spaces are cleared in the yellow layers of words to provide a place for the appropriate text.  (The text type and display are hand-lettered by Peter H. Reynolds.)  The remarkable style of Peter H. Reynolds's illustrations fill these pages with smaller images grouped together on white backgrounds, larger pictures on white on single pages (the white changes to other hues at times) and two-page pictures to accentuate specific moments in the story.  Each one is designed to bring readers to the story and increase our compassion for the word collector.

The facial expressions on all the children are endearing but none more so than those of Jerome.  You want to hug this child for his love of words.  Another noteworthy detail is Jerome and the other children are pictured barefoot.  There is something freeing in being able to go barefoot.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  Jerome is stringing his words together.  On the ground several two-handled large tubs hold bunches of his words.  Strips of paper are scattered on the ground around each tub.  From left to right two lines are stretched, crisscrossing to the left of the gutter.  On the right Jerome stands attaching words to the lines with clothes pins.  This image is all kinds of wonderful.  The background is white except for pale green around the tubs.


After reading The Word Collector written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds everyone will want to string lines in at least one room highlighting their favorite words.  The total joy found in the use of words flows from the pages of this story.  I can't imagine a collection, professional or personal, without a copy of this title.

To learn more about Peter H. Reynolds and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Teacher librarian extraordinaire Travis Jonker reveals the book cover on his blog, 100 Scope Notes, located at School Library Journal with an interview with Peter H. Reynolds.  There is an inspiring and helpful post at School Library Journal, The Classroom Bookshelf, by Katie Cunningham about this book and possible learning experiences. I think you'll enjoy the book trailer, too.