An Appetitie for Bravery

In August 1945 as World War II was ending Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into North Korea and South Korea.  The politics of the evolving rulers were distinctly different.  On June 25, 1950 the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel invading South Korea.  United States President Truman appealed to the United Nations.  They first asked for the invasion to cease.  On June 27, 1950 they asked for member states to provide military assistance to the South.  (Allan R. Millett, contributor, Korean War, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., July 17, 2017)

United States Marines were sent to fight in a war which lasted for three years.  During their service one group made the acquaintance of a red mare, smaller than most horses.  Sergeant Reckless: The True Story Of The Little Horse Who Became A Hero (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, September 12, 2017) written by Patricia McCormick with illustrations by Iacopo Bruno chronicles the remarkable service of this animal.

The small red mare whinnied for her supper.  

During combat the desires of a horse are hardly worth noting but the men led by Lieutenant Eric Pedersen were ready to drop.  They had been carrying ammunition, large shells, to a cannon at the top of a hill.  The cannon was called the "reckless" rifle.  Lieutenant Pedersen wondered if this horse was capable of carrying the ammunition.

Having no hay on hand, the horse was inclined to eat everything offered to her.  Like all new recruits she would go through training.  She was given the rank of Private Reckless.  She learned to avoid incoming fire by kneeling and retreating.  There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for food.  Her trainer Sergeant Latham found she loved chocolate bars.  Equipped with a special saddle for the shells (each weighing more than twenty pounds) she learned to carry them to the gun.

Her love of any kind of food earned her the same breakfast as the other Marines, eggs, toast and coffee.  She discovered the cook's tent and woke him up every morning.  Reckless was still untested in battle until one morning.

Like any normal living being the sound of the cannon firing scared her airborne several times but eventually that horse would carry her load up the hill again and again.  Reckless had proved her worth becoming one of the soldiers.  Later on March 26, 1953 the Battle of Outpost Vegas, a five-day battle began.  On this day the little red mare was a giant among the human members of her unit, distinguishing herself with honor.


With her opening sentences Patricia McCormick introduces readers to the stature of Reckless and her seemingly unimportant place in the scheme of the war.  This is a wonderful way to highlight the contrast of her eventual accomplishments and the faith of Lieutenant Pedersen in her capabilities.  Slowly she builds, incident by incident, the horse's growing presence with the Marines.

Her research is evident in the accounts of Reckless's training and the food used to reward her specifically an ice-cold Coca-Cola when she first carried shells in her saddle up a hill.  McCormick continues with Reckless's relationship with the cook, her behavior during a card game and a tension-filled account of the Battle of Outpost Vegas.  Here is a sample passage.

Without a word of urging, she broke into a trot and
then a gallop.  The heavy shells banged against her
sides as she hit the steep incline.  The first rays of
dawn were lighting the sky as she arrived at the top
of the trail, her flanks heaving.


When first looking at the front of the dust jacket one word comes to mind, respect.  The presence of Reckless looking out at readers, carry the ammunition shells with her much deserved honors stretched behind her demands we take notice.  The color palette evokes a sense of honor.  Spanning both pages the three golden yellow strips cross the spine to the left.  Above them on the same royal blue background are two photographs of Reckless with her handler and her Identification Card after she was given the rank of sergeant.

A different hue of the same blue covers the book case.  It is designed like a scrapbook cover with an intricate double border.  On the front beneath the title is a photograph of Reckless loaded with ammunition climbing up the hill.  To the left, on the back, patches, bars and medals awarded to her are shown as if in a display case.  The opening endpapers are a collage of newspaper headlines about the war in Korea.  On the closing endpapers another collage depicts official documents about Sergeant Reckless with a braid, medals and a patch.  Above the text on the title page is a picture of a statue dedicated to Sergeant Reckless.

Rendered in pencil and colored digitally the illustrations by Iacopo Bruno, all spanning two pages with the exception of two single-page pictures, create a genuine portrait of the horse's place with the Marines.  As the images cross the gutter they do so flawlessly.  The text is cleverly set in an element relative to the scene being depicted; a page in a manual, a sign outside the cook house, a playing card or the inside lid of a first aid kit.

The chosen color palette is suggestive of historical events but still uses full color.  The affection the troops felt for Reckless is evident and humor is part of several images as dictated by the text and what we know about Reckless.  In the closing illustration as she stands with two Marines in full dress uniforms on either side of her she is leaning to the right ready to nibble the soldier's hat.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  On the left Reckless is in her stall leaning her neck and head out to a Marine on the right.  In his right hand is her lead.  He stands in full combat gear wearing his helmet.  He is kissing Reckless' muzzle as she nuzzles him.  We are brought in close to this moment.  This illustration captures the extent of the Marines' love of this horse.


Sergeant Reckless: The True Story Of The Little Horse Who Became A Hero written by Patricia McCormick with illustrations by Iacopo Bruno is one of those nonfiction picture books which brings to readers a part of history which serves to illuminate the tie animals can have with humans.  This horse risked everything to provide assistance to those men.  I highly recommend you place this title on your professional and personal bookshelves.  It will promote further research and discussions about the value of animals in our lives.

To learn more about Patricia McCormick and Iacopo Bruno and their other work please follow the links to their websites attached to their names.  Iacopo Bruno has two other sites here and here.  The publishers have designed an educator's guide for your use.


Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy to view the other titles suggested by bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by educator Alyson Beecher.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal.  The ticking of a clock.  The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out of his room.  All was drowned by silence.  But Jacob loved the night.  He felt it on his skin like a promise.  Like a cloak woven from freedom and danger.

Cornelia Funke lures her readers into her newest creation, Reckless, that promises at the very least with this opening paragraph to be full of secrets, shadows and shifting scenes.  Jacob's father has been missing for more than a year.  He knows in his heart that his father's study holds the answer to his disappearance.  On this night his anger reveals a clue on a scrap of paper---THE MIRROR WILL OPEN ONLY FOR HE WHO CANNOT SEE HIMSELF.  Jacob is twelve.

When the next chapter begins twelve years have passed.  Mounted on the wall in his father's study that mirror did offer Jacob a doorway into another reality, Mirrorworld.  It is here that characters, magical objects and the places of fairy tales exist.  It is here that Jacob has fashioned an alternate life for himself with his trusted partner, Fox, a shape-shifter.  It is also here where his younger brother, Will, decides after years to follow Jacob as younger brothers will do.  And one mistake changes everything.

There is a race of people in Mirrorworld who are made of stone, Goyl.  Years of persecution have them at war with the humans in the land of fairy.  Fueled by hatred, better battle strategy and the support of the Dark Fairy they are winning.  Unfortunately for Will a Goyl manages to claw him. His fate is certain.  Within days he too will become a Goyl with his skin slowly and painfully turning to stone.

With the help of Clara, Will's girlfriend from our world, (Yes,  she came through the mirror too.), Fox and a dwarf of less than stellar character,  Jacob uses all his contacts, skills and bag of magic to reverse what is happening to his brother.  In desperation he finally seeks the assistance of the Red Fairy who he vowed to never see again.  Readers of fantasy know that for fairies there is always a price which is sometimes hidden until it's too late.

Make no mistake Reckless will have readers staying up until the wee hours of the morning eager to discover the fate of the brothers and those characters they have come to know in the kingdom of those timeless tales.  I know I did.

Way...Way... Down South

For followers of this blog, readers of my recommendations, you know I place a high value on laughter.  My fondest life memories are generally those spent in laughter, especially shared laughter.  To become acquainted with characters whose escapade-filled lives and corresponding dialogue elicit grins, giggles or guffaws is a gift from an author and an illustrator.

We don't want these stories to end.  When they do, it's our fervent hope a sequel, or even better yet an entire series, is in the making.  On September 30, 2014 wishes were granted when James Burks' Bird & Squirrel On Ice (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic) was released.

When the fearless and fearful pair were last seen, they were making their way south for the winter.

Somewhere high above the South Pole...

I don't like this!
It's cold!
And I'm pretty sure we're...
...LOST!

It's safe to say Bird's flying abilities have taken them farther south than originally intended.  Squirrel's pessimistic assessment is definitely correct.  Within seconds of this conversation, they crash into an iceberg, cause an avalanche which they ride with hair-raising reckless abandon and meet a warrior penguin named Sakari.  She is quick to assume Bird is The Chosen One fulfilling the elements of a legend told for generations in her village.

When the moon is full in two days, it is said The Chosen One will defeat The Great Whale in battle.  This orca of enormous proportions eats most of the fish the penguin population catches each day in exchange for not placing them on the main course menu.  Of course Bird readily falls into his role as the champion for these South Pole residents but true to form Squirrel sees the worst-case scenario.

Ice sculptures, ceremonial regalia and tales of daring-do occupy Bird's days and nights as Squirrel, nerves on edge, knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that doom is coming and coming fast.  With Bird ignoring all his pleas to get help or formulate any sort of plan other than winging it, Squirrel, in the dead of night, seeks Sakari's counsel.  She in turn leads him underground to visit the local wise man...er, penguin.  In the light of the fire Squirrel sees that his worst fears will be realized.

Still in optimum optimism mode Bird does not believe a single word Squirrel says until it's too late.  A warrior and a worrywart need to hatch a winning plan or our daring flyer will be The Great Whale's next tender treat.  Will the trio be trapped by tradition or will they triumph?


As soon as we open the cover and flip the title page, James Burks does not miss a beat, whooshing us right back into the action.  Dialogue driven, with spare narration, the story moves at breakneck speed with purposeful pauses in all the right places.  The clash of personality traits between Bird and Squirrel generate humor and gentle tension.  Introducing the penguin warrior, who has troubles of her own as the daughter of the chief, and The Great Whale with a matching appetite in this setting of ice and snow heightens the appeal of the already-loved duo.  Here is a continuation of the opening lines to demonstrate the relationship of the two.  Bird is replying to Squirrel.

Don't be ridiculous!
I know exactly where we are.
My bird senses are never wrong!  SLAM
My bird senses are telling me we hit a mountain.  CRACK

What was that?
I think we broke the mountain.
AVALANCHE!!


James Burks' cover, front and back, tells a story.  On the front Squirrel is not even remotely happy to be on the ice.  Bird, true to his happy-go-lucky self, oblivious to the danger, is fishing as The Great Whale gets ready to have them both for dinner.  On the back the enemy is leaping over a terrified Squirrel, the ready fighter, Sakari, with spear unraised and Bird grinning with glee.

In speaking with Matthew C. Winner, elementary teacher librarian, and host of the Let's Get Busy podcast (which is fantastic), James Burks talks about incorporating panels on top of full bleed pages.  I have to say this technique, which he employs masterfully, increases the sense of the action swirling about you.  Each panel, placed precisely and varied in size, on all his pages are absolutely captivating.  It's like watching a movie; seamless motion.

A color palette, bright and lively, highlights the animated features on each character; features conveying the emotion associated with every single thought.  If the first ten pages don't hook you, you might want to check to see if you have a pulse.  They are absolutely hilarious.  Another sequence I enjoyed is down in the cave when Squirrel is looking into the fire to see Bird's future.  All Burks' wordless images like this tell a story as compelling as the text.


Bird & Squirrel On Ice written and illustrated by James Burks is an outstanding companion to his first title, Bird & Squirrel On The Run!  It has all the thrills and chills (literally), laughter and companionable bantering between the unlikely friends we love.  The I-can't-believe-this-is-happening twists and turns via the penguin village, the chief, Sakari and The Great Whale are top notch.

Be sure to follow the links embedded in James Burks' name and Let's Get Busy to discover more about this work.

Hail To The Chief

There have been twelve presidents elected and who resided in the White House during my lifetime.  Some served more than one term and not all of them finished their terms.  The sound of the school secretary's voice over the PA announcing the assassination of JFK as we sat in seventh grade math class is still easy to recall.  It's been a privilege to vote in the last ten presidential elections.  It's even more exciting to know in two months our nation will be voting for the first time with a women running for president representing the Democratic Party.

Knowing about our presidents gives us a more personal view of American history and in a larger context world history.  A new collection of short essays on our presidents, Grover Cleveland, Again!: A Treasury Of American Presidents (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, July 12, 2016) written by Ken Burns with David Blistein and Cauley Powell and illustrated by Gerald Kelley, will give you the inside scoop on the individuals serving in the Oval Office.  Their accomplishments and less-than-stellar decisions are revealed.

I have four daughters---Sarah, Lilly, Olivia and Willa.  When they were little and had trouble falling asleep, I would recite the names of the presidents to them. (Yes, that's a historian's idea of a lullaby!)

This is how A Note From Ken Burn begins this book.  His passion for history and the presidents is evident in every paragraph.  His goal is to provide commentary on them as people.

As our first president George Washington has repeatedly been the subject of books but until now how many of you know the people behind the Revolutionary War chose him unanimously to lead the troops.  You may realize the unfaltering love John and Abigail Adams shared but their letter writing skills might top the charts; more than one thousand letters were exchanged.  It's intriguing to know Abigail encouraged John to include women in the are created equal sentence.  There is a legend about Dolly Madison saving the original Declaration of Independence from the British when they burned down the Capitol and the White House.  She hid in the woods for several days.

John Quincy Adams allowed his pet alligator to swim in the bathtub in the East Room of the White House.  Martin Van Buren had tiger cubs for pets which eventually found a home in the zoo at Congress's urging.  The only president to leave these United States was John Tyler, championing for the South during the Civil War.  Did you know Abraham Lincoln kept significant documents under his stovepipe hat?

Many of these presidents were fortunate to have distinguished women as their wives.  Rutherford B. Hayes' wife, Lucy, was the first First Lady to have a college education.  Did you know there was a president who could write with both hands at the same time in two different languages?  Guess which president is the only one to get married in the White House?  His wife told employees they would be back in four years and they were.

One of the largest presidents in size and weight was the first one to throw out a baseball on Opening Day.  Do you remember which president helped to pass the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote?  (It's appalling when there need to be amendments granting people rights which should have been in place from the beginning.) A justice of peace swore in his own son as president on his farm in the wee hours of the morning.  Guess who went back to sleep?

Have you ever heard of a game called Hoover-Ball? Most of us know of Barack Obama's fondness for basketball but there was a president who walked two miles every morning at a lightning pace in a suit and tie. I remember Dwight D. Eisenhower because his birthday is the same day as my sister's birthday.  She got a card from the White House every year.  But his more far reaching accomplishment is the system of roads stretching between the states which he started building.

Most of us probably had no idea how those first televised presidential debates we watched would influence an election.  How many presidents can say they helped the hungry, sick, and those needing early education with laws still functioning today?  Did you know there is a president who owned five homes by the time he was teenager?  Did you know there is a president who still parachutes to commemorate his survival from doing the same thing when his plane was shot down in WWII?  Each individual has brought something unique to this office.  With each entry you find yourself stepping back in time moving forward to the present amazed at the information supplied.


For each president Ken Burns supplies conversational commentary tying threads of known and unknown facts into a pleasing whole.  Outside the larger essay of several paragraphs there are two, three, four or five flags containing additional pieces of interesting personal information.  The official portrait for each president is placed above a series of facts:  term served, birth date, place of birth, date of death with their age, sisters, brothers, occupations, their vice-president, party, nickname, wife, children (daughters and sons listed individually), pets and other famous places their picture can be found like on a coin, bill or national monument.  There are several other flags throughout the book which explain large government issues like banks and money, amendments, states' rights, checks and balances, tariffs, electoral votes and popular votes, who can be president, the role of the presidents' wives, name calling (when Americans were accused of being Communists) and taxes.  Each explanation is easily understood.  Here are some sample passages.  There are so many powerful essays it's hard to choose a portion of only one.

For much of his life, ULYSSES S. GRANT was considered a failure.  He didn't study very much.  He did okay as a soldier in the Mexican-American War, but when the army sent him out west, after years of struggling financially and missing his family, he resigned.  He moved home and began to farm.  But by 1857, the farm had failed, and in 1858, the Grants had to move on.
So it's kind of amazing that by 1864 this "failure" was leading the entire Union Army.  And in 1868, he was elected president of the United States.
What changed?  Maybe nothing.  Maybe all those failures taught him how to have courage and keep going, even in the face of difficulties.  During the Civil War, he led his soldiers again and again into dangerous battles.  Other generals thought he was too reckless.  But President Lincoln said, "I can't spare this man---he fights."

HOW SILENT WAS CAL??? Coolidge talked so little that when he announced the big news that he was not going to run for a second term, all he did was write the message on strips of paper and hand them to the newspaper people.  



Have you ever imagined how truly marvelous it would be if all the presidents could meet and chat about their experiences?  On the matching dust jacket and book case Gerald Kelley gives us an excellent image of this moment with five presidents on the front and five presidents on the back.  In these two visuals his skills in drawing realistic portraits shines.

Rendered in pencil and digital color each president is given an illustration spanning two pages.  On the side opposite the commentary the picture is more vivid in color and detail with the remainder of the image lighter allowing for the placement of text and flags.  Each image is a selected highlight from the text.  The event he chooses to feature can be serious, lighthearted, or humorous.  Each is a study of his choice, varying in perspective and at times a collage of people, places and moments.

One of my favorite illustrations of many is John Adams writing a letter at his desk with the light of a kerosene lamp.  His gaze is outward.  To the right is a softer picture of Abigail reading a letter in front of a window.  This is a lovely depiction showcasing Kelley's gift with light and shadow, shading and lines.


Readers of all ages will find much to enjoy in Grover Cleveland, Again!: A Treasury of American Presidents written by Ken Burns with illustrations by Gerald Kelley.  All personal and professional collections need to have a copy of this book.  I think it would be an excellent choice for a read aloud; one president per day leading up to the election.  A glossary of forty-eight terms is included at the end.

To learn more about Ken Burns and Gerald Kelley please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  You can view multiple images from the book at Gerald Kelley's site as well as at the publisher's website.  There are pages dedicated to Ken Burns at PBS.  Ken Burns talks about this title at Publishers Weekly, and in an article at The Washington Post, What Ken Burns left out of his new kids' book about presidents, and why. 




Please be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the selections of the other participating bloggers in the 2016 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.