Fifty Years Of Energy and Efforts For Mother Earth

For fifty years it's been the same date every year.  On April 22, 2020 around our planet Earth Day celebrations are going digital for the first time in its history.  A host of prominent people are participating.  The organizers promise to

flood the world with messages of hope, optimism and, above all---action.

Numerous recent publications shine a light on the means for all of us to make a difference in our natural world.  We need not do anything grand.  Even the smallest endeavor can bring about change.  We must engage with our world because it depends on us, all of us.

From a true story comes The Bear's Garden (Imprint, a part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC, March 24, 2020) written by Marcie Colleen with illustrations by Alison Oliver.  Through the imagination of a child a dream takes shape.  Through an accident and efforts of many, this dream becomes a reality.

IN THE BIG, BUSTLING CITY, all the people were busy.

They did not see the neglected buildings, but a little girl did.  To her they offered opportunity.  To her they were an invitation to grow, play and love.  This child made her own beauty.

Planting seeds in an old tomato can, she and her stuffed toy bear nourished tiny sprouts. The can placed on her windowsill, provided sun and fresh air to the plants.  One day, a bird flew by, knocking the can to the ground beneath her apartment window.  It rolled and rolled right across the street.

In the vacant lot where the can rested, those small plants grew.  The child cared for them with water and her affectionate heart.  She talked to them, giving them encouraging words.  Those busy people soon noticed the little girl and her plants.  

When the girl had to leave, she worried about what would happen to her garden. She left her bear, loaded with hugs, to act as guardian.  The single act of a generous spirit bloomed in her absence.  Upon her return, she and her bear were surrounded by beautiful bounty.

To begin author Marcie Colleen gives us a broad overview of the city and then leads us to a single child whose outlook is in contrast to many others.  Simple sentences build toward an astonishing conclusion.  We become more invested in the story with the use of dialogue when the little girl voices her thoughts.  Her faith in her stuffed toy bear (and life in general) as presented in the narrative is endearing and enduring.  Here is a passage.

One night, the girl's imagination

spilled onto the sidewalk, 

rolled across the street,

and sprouted.

The scene on the front of the dust jacket gives a close view of the child and her bear enjoying the beauty the garden is offering to them.  Their eyes closed in contentment present a calming representation.  The sky and clouds continue over the spine to the left, the back of the jacket.  There the garden continues with buildings in the background.  The title text on the front is embossed in foil.  The little girl, her stuffed toy bear and some of the leaves and blossoms are varnished.

On the book case, the position of the girl and her stuffed toy bear are the same but everything else is different.  Their eyes are wide open in cheer.  The garden is bursting with color and blooms spreading over the spine to the left at the back.  In a word, it's joy.

On the opening endpapers is an aerial view of this New York City area with a pin placed where the garden is.  The bear's face is on the pin.  On the closing endpapers the visual is enhanced and closer.  Multiple gardens are shown.  This closer view is also shown on the verso and title pages, but no gardens are visible yet.

These illustrations rendered by Alison Oliver using 

marker, pencil, brush pen, charcoal, cut paper, and Photoshop

depict varying perspectives, a bird's eye view, multiple moments grouped in a two-page picture or in four separate wordless frames.  They span two pages and single pages.  Black as a background is used to fabulous effect.

The personality of the little girl shines on every page through her facial expression and body postures. The portrayal of the bear is vivid to the extent you expect it to come to life.  The bond between the child and the toy is as real as any human relationship.  

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is on a single page.  The little girl is seated near the tiny plants, the can tipped to spill them and now planted in soil.  Near her is an empty cardboard box with a black kitten inside.  On top of the box is a teapot.  In front of her toy stuffed bear, a tiny mouse, a pigeon and the plants are teacups.  The girl, smiling, is holding a teacup, ready to sip.  It's a garden party.

This book, The Bear's Garden written by Marcie Colleen with illustrations by Alison Oliver, is brimming with hope.  It's certain to inspire others to begin community gardens.  At the close of the book an Author's Note explains the garden which sparked this story.  I highly recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Marcie Colleen and Alison Oliver and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  At Alison Oliver's website you can view the endpapers and interior images.  Marcie Colleen has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Alison Oliver has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Marcie Colleen is featured at The Children's Book Podcast with Matthew Winner.  She and this book are also highlighted by Debbie Ridpath Ohi at her website, Inkygirl.  Please enjoy this peek at the book case courtesy of Let's Talk Picture Books.

The Bear's Garden by Marcie Colleen and Alison Oliver from Let's Talk Picture Books on Vimeo.



Although in northern Michigan at the moment snow is swirling in high winds, for months collective minds here and in other parts of the world have been turning to gardening. Seeds and soil have been gathered.  On warmer days, walks have revealed shoots from bulbs pushing through the dirt and perennials are starting to turn green as buds get larger.  In My Garden (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, March 24, 2020) written by the late Charlotte Zolotow (1915-2013) with illustrations by Philip Stead is a journey through the seasons.  It is a shared trip through time and the offerings Nature bestows on all of us if we choose to notice.

IN THE SPRING what I love best in my garden
are the birds building nests.

As the narrator chats with us, she quickly relates other things about the garden for which she has affection; things like tulips, violets and other seasonal blooms. There is also one thing, above all others, which is enjoyed the most.  This is kite flying.  It is not the only thing done, but it is the best.

Other flowers take the center stage in the summer.  Among the most prized are roses of all colors.  Lunching under the pear tree is one of the narrator's greatest pleasures in the summer.  Birdsong, gliding butterflies and dips in a stream provide other delights.

In autumn, leaves shifting from green to an array of colors and animals collecting food for winter are observations appreciated, but the chrysanthemums are the narrator's favorite part of this season in their garden.  There is also an assortment of activities to like in the fall but raking leaves is number one on the list.  JUMP!

When the garden is covered with snow, sculpting different shapes, this is the best part of the season.  Of all the outdoor pursuits during these blustery months, ice skating upon the frozen pond is simply the best.  Gliding on this watery world offers time for reflection and appreciation.


Each time the words written by Charlotte Zolotow for this book are read, their timeless quality envelopes you.  You are wrapped in the narrator's respect for each sensory impression.  You experience on a personal level each thing done.  A repetition of certain phrases creates a calmly cadence.  With her words, Charlotte Zolotow transports you to the garden.  Here is another passage.

In the spring what I love most to do is fly kites.
     Of course there are other things I
love to do---play dolls and roller skate
and skip rope.


What readers first notice about the open and matching dust jacket and book case, are the two figures under the pear tree in the garden.  This introduces us to the visual interpretation of Charlotte Zolotow's words by Philip Stead.  The bird resting on the E in the title is a nod to the first line in the story.  The red tulips refer to the next lines of the story.  This entire scene on the right, front, is one of participants standing in a sanctuary.

To the left, on the back, poetic words are framed in a circle of flowers, leaves and colors of the four seasons.  Two more birds are featured prominently in a blend of blue, yellow and purple.  On the opening and closing endpapers a soft shade of purple has been placed.

On the initial title page, a bird rests on the letter E.  For the formal title page and verso, a cat is perched on a stone wall stretching from left to right across both pages.  Bright yellow rays shine from the upper right-hand corner as green and purple shade the area on the right.

This artwork by Philip Stead is

handmade using oil-ink monotype techniques and carbon transfer printing.

Each illustration spanning two pages is a study in perspective, design and color.  We are given larger views and then brought closer to individual settings.  We look straight at a scene or peer down from above.  We are participants and observers.  One double-page picture during spring and winter are wordless but convey the essence of the narrator's words.

One of my many, many favorite images is the one for the first sentence of this story.  On the left, along the bottom a shade of pale green shifts to spring green before it crosses the gutter.  In the first green are three birds, gathering twigs for a nest.  One red tulip stands tall on the left side of the gutter.  To the right of the gutter two other red tulips behind a birdhouse on the ground frame it.  Two birds are in front of the birdhouse and a third is on the roof.  The spring green hue changes to yellow as it moves up the page.  On the far right a tree truck extends off the page.  Another bird is leaning out from the trunk, twigs in its beak.  The birdhouse is palest green with purple and yellow.


Regardless of your age or the time of day, In My Garden written by Charlotte Zolotow with illustrations by Philip Stead will supply your soul with much needed serenity.  Philip Stead's artwork elevates the stunning rhythm of Charlotte Zolotow's poetic perceptions.  This book has my highest recommendation for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Charlotte Zolotow and Philip Stead and their other work, please access their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Philip Stead has another site with information titled The Stead Collection.  An article at Publishers Weekly addresses the reissue of Charlotte Zolotow's book with Philip Stead's artwork.  At author and teacher librarian Travis Jonker's blog, 100 Scope Notes, at School Library Journal, a video highlights how Philip Stead made the artwork for this book.  At the publisher's website there is a link to an Educator's Guide for this title.



In his newest brilliant artistic entry in children literature, author illustrator Henry Cole does not disappoint.  The conception and illustration of One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., April 7, 2020) is a wordless display of transformation.  It is a loving tribute to people, their lives and their love of each other and our Earth.

Prior to the title page, Henry Cole in a series of framed single-page pictures, horizontal and vertical panels and two large double-page pictures, takes us through the process of making paper from logged timber to large rolls of paper to the delivery of boxes of paper bags and to the use of a single bag at a small community market. We follow one particular tree through the use of spot color as it makes its way from the forest, to a logging truck, to the paper mill, the processes at the mill, and the packing of one paper bag among hundreds in a box.  The final two-page image before the title page is an amazing display of the interior of a small grocery store highly stocked with all kinds of items.  People walk on wooden floors with carts laden with their groceries.  At the counter is a boy and his father and the brown-colored paper bag.

The father, having drawn a red heart on the bag, uses it as a lunch bag for his son's school meal.  After a nightmare, the bag is used to mute a flashlight as comfort next to the child's bed.  As the boy grows up the bag is always present, used for a variety of purposes.  When he leaves for college, the bag goes with him.

His musical gift for guitar playing attracts the attention of another guitar-playing individual, a young woman.  The bag holds rolled up music. As they study together during college and enjoy outings with each other the bag is nearby.  The young woman draws another heart on the bag prior to the young man's proposal of marriage.

As the two journey through their shared lives, the bag's presence is noted.  At the birth of their son, another heart appears on the bag attached to the baby's bed.  When the new boy's grandfather visits, readers will know it is the first boy.  Years pass, memories are made by the grandfather and his grandson and another heart is added.  The bag's final use after decades is poetic, purposeful and perfect.


In his dedication Henry Cole states:

TO MY MOM

WHO INSPIRED THIS STORY,

TO ALL THOSE

WHO PACK LUNCHES EVERY DAY,

AND TO THOSE

WHO ALWAYS CARRY REUSABLE BAGS.

Each carefully visualized image, rendered using

Micron ink pens on Strathmore Bristol paper

by Henry Cole is an ode to our forests, trees, paper, paper bags and recycling.  It also addresses the abiding love of family and the nearness of the bag in some of the simplest but most memorable moments of his characters' lives.  The black and white illustrations with only spot color of brown and red are exquisitely detailed and highly emotional in their portrayals.

On the open and matching dust jacket and book case, we are presented with two points of view.  On the front, the bag is introduced to us through the boy and his father as they shop in the local market.  To the left, on the back, a doe peers from behind the trunk of a large tree among a stand of large trees, their tops not visible to us.  The forest floor is carpeted with grass and wildflowers.  A single butterfly sips at one of the flowers.

On the opening and closing endpapers the view of the woodlands is expanded.  The doe is still present on the far left.  A flock of turkeys cautiously moves through the trees on the right.  The tree which becomes the bag is the only bit of color in this black and white artwork.

Each page turn is a revelation of the tree's and bag's journey.  To accentuate pacing the picture sizes vary as does their point of view.  We move from a single-page picture to a series of four smaller pictures on the opposite page as we step back farther and farther.  Henry Cole's placement of smaller pictures on one or two pages is intentional as is the placement of the bag in each image.

The characters' facial features and body postures supply readers with a range of emotions.  The settings in which they are shown contribute to the personal involvement of readers in this story.  We are there with the characters in each situation.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is when the original boy, now a grandfather, is walking with his grandson.  It is a single-page picture, page edge to page edge.  They are walking on a path in the forest.  Their backs are to us.  They are holding hands.  The grandfather on the left is using a cane to aid his walking.  The family cat follows along on the boy's right.  He holds the bag, now bearing four hearts, in his right hand.  As we look ahead of the duo, through the trees, Henry Cole has placed a glow, a lightening.

This book, One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey conceived and illustrated by Henry Cole, is as they say in the children's literature community, a heartprint book.  It will leave a mark on your heart.  This story and the characters will remain in your mind long after the book is finished.  It will cause you to pause in the future, reflecting on its intelligent message so marvelously delivered.  At the close of the book in an Author's Note, Henry Cole speaks about his personal story and the premise for writing this story.  I can't imagine any collection of books without a copy of this title.

To learn more about Henry Cole and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his personal website.  Henry Cole has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.  The cover reveal for this book is at Nerdy Book Club.  Henry Cole is interviewed about this title at The Horn Book and Publishers Weekly.

Our rewards from Nature are proportionate to the attention we give it.  The more we look, the more we see.  Every detail is a delightful discovery.

In her newest release, A New Green Day (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, April 14, 2020), Antoinette Portis asks us to think about alternate descriptions for that which is familiar.  Through her words and illustrations, magic happens.

"Morning lays me on your pillow, an invitation, square and warm.

Come out and play!"

Who is speaking in these first two sentences?  With a page turn we realize we have been welcomed to participate in a guessing game with elements found in Nature.  Sunlight is talking first.

We are asked to follow a doodle on a path and a map within a home.  What we hold in our hand, can act as a measuring tape.  A newborn in a nearby stream is a form of punctuation, a pause before adulthood.

A pebble is a sweet delicacy if a river is the taster.  Is there a mountain that can move toward you?  This answer will surprise you.  It is usually a prelude to 

"I'm a chorus 

of a million tiny voices. . . ."

and several more wondrous riddles which follow.

Other apt descriptions have you searching your mind for answers as you put the clues together.  As the summer day comes to a close, a final voice calls to sleepers.  It's a reminder of what we have seen and what we have yet to see.

Using lyrical but carefully chosen words, author Antoinette Portis, presents two-sentence puzzles for readers to ponder.  She requests of readers to contemplate beyond our initial thoughts allowing us to witness beauty we might otherwise miss. Fourteen poems following a similar premise lead us to a new appreciation of our world.  

The amazing shades of green which light up trees, shrubs and plants as spring turns to summer move from the right, front, to the left, back, of the open and matching dust jacket and book case.  The garland of leaves extends from flap edge to flap edge on the jacket.  Placing them on a crisp white background gives them a special glow.  We are introduced to the character who proceeds through the summer day on the front of the jacket and case.  The title text on the jacket is varnished.

On the opening and closing endpapers and the first and last page turn are brush strokes, looking somewhat like marble.  They are in various shades of green. Prior to the title page, on white, is a single tiny cricket.  Across the two pages given for the title are five different leaves, all in green hues.

The initial two sentences of each poem are placed in a colorful but muted square on white.  For the answer to the poem, a full-page picture is offered.  These illustrations rendered by Antoinette Portis 

using brush and sumi ink, leaf prints, vine charcoal and hand-stamped lettering with color added digitally,

supply readers with different points of view.  We stand next to a sleeping child. We are at eye level with a snail.  We see an enlarged tadpole as if we are with it in a stream.  We watch from the safety of a neighborhood of homes as lightning slices into a tree.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for the answer to the first riddle poem.  Below the words

says sunlight

the little girl, one pigtail spread across her pillow, sleeps with her face turned away from readers, to the left.  Her red top provides a contrast to the white pillow with shadows and the green of her blanket.  As sunlight comes in through the window, we see outlines of leaves on a tree outside her home on her blanket and top.  A new day is gently beginning.

Inspiring and hopeful, A New Green Day written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis is a book to read repeatedly.  It celebrates our planet and elements large and small found everywhere.  It requires us to think.  It encourages us to see the magic in the ordinary.  Perhaps we can write our own puzzle poems.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Antoinette Portis, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Antoinette Portis has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website there is a link to an Educator's Guide.

Never has it been more apparent than the beginning of 2020 how vital the outside world is to all living things.  We humans, if not previously so appreciative, are now.  We recognize the value of embracing what has been so freely present.  The urgency of preserving and protecting it is heightened.  

In their first collaboration author Deborah Underwood and illustrator Cindy Derby work to show readers the allure of what we find beyond the four walls of our homes.  Outside In (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 14, 2020) looks at the benefits of becoming one with the world around us.  It awakens memories of the past bringing it to the present.

ONCE

we were part of Outside

and Outside was part of us.

There was nothing between us.

This has changed considerably.  Now, even when we venture to the Outside, we do so enclosed in another form of Inside.  Our recollections of 

ONCE

are clouded.

The most important thing to remember is that Outside has not forgotten.  It tugs at those murky memories.  It does so with bursts of color and growth.  

The sunlight streaming through a window is a reminder.  Birdsong is a reminder.  Twigs brushing on rooftops are a reminder.  Outside is calling to us through our senses.

If we stop to think about it, Outside is responsible for our care.  It gives us food.  It gives us clothing.  It gives us shelter.  It brings itself to the Inside when we hug and cuddle our dogs and cats.

Outside is a clock.  We mark our days with light and darkness.  Sometimes Outside sneaks in through tiny creatures.  It might race through pipes only to return from where it came.  Outside implores us.  Will we respond?

A lilting rhythm in the words written by Deborah Underwood recalls a collective time in our consciousness.  A very personal connection is fashioned by having Outside become a character in the story.  The examples of Outside reminding us are always present for us to experience, but in Deborah Underwood's stellar use of language, they are enchanting.  They cast a spell and we willingly allow it to work.  Here are two sentences.

It beckons with smells:

sunbaked,

fresh,

and mysterious.

Outside cuddles us

in clothes,

once puffs of cotton.

The open dust jacket for this book is entirely varnished.  Small portions of the images on the left, back, and the right, front, bleed to the flaps.  The glorious display of Outside as presented on the front with the girl and her cat walking from Inside is uplifting and comforting.  You will find yourself pausing to look at all the details embedded in this illustration (and in all the illustrations throughout the book.)  The play of light and shadow is outstanding.  On the back the Outside opens from the bottom and slightly left like a beautiful blossom.  The blend of greens and blues is luminous.

On the book case moving from the deep blue hues on the left and over the spine to the right, we are drawn to a doorway.  Light streams in through the opening.  As we gaze through the doorway, we see, with anticipation, the Outside.

On the opening and closing endpapers in brush strokes of green on white, Outside calls to us.  Swirls of leaves, branches and tiny creatures greet our eyes.  A page turn at the beginning and end reveal green on green and a cluster of evergreens.  On the initial title page, the child, standing on a pathway, is looking back at the Outside.  On the double-page picture for the formal title page, she is now seated on a large tree branch enjoying the Outside spread before her.

Each image, rendered

with watercolor and powdered graphite on cold press paper

by artist Cindy Derby, mirrors an affection for Outside and the words by Deborah Underwood. 

Some of the lines were created with dried flower stems and thread soaked in ink.

Although the colors are bright and bold, as are the pictures they disclose, there is a soft texture about each one.  All the visuals span two pages or single pages.  To accentuate the text, perspective is shifted, sometimes within a single image. 

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a two-page picture.  The little girl's body is resting on the floor, her head on the left and the rest of her body is on the left, crossing the gutter and her feet are stretching nearly to the right edge. Her eyes are closed as her body curls around the sleeping and curled form of her dog.  Lying on top of her, eyes closed, is her black cat. The cat is on the right.  The girl's top, a mix of red, blue and orange highlights her form and the forms of her dog and cat.  This picture of the Outside is not only universal but happening more often in our current world circumstances.  

This book, Outside In written by Deborah Underwood with illustrations by Cindy Derby, is to be read and shared often.  I expect you will receive requests of read it again.  It restores our ties to the Outside.  It is a balm, a treasure, for a craving we sometimes can't identify.  You'll want to have a copy of this title for your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Deborah Underwood and Cindy Derby and their other work, links attached to their names allow you to access their respective websites.  Deborah Underwood has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Cindy Derby has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson showcases this book and the artwork of Cindy Derby on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Enjoy the recent video below made by Cindy Derby where she demonstrates how she made some of the art for this book.

Fabulous Fare Everywhere

In college on Sunday evenings, our food commons were closed.  My roommates and I rarely had enough cash between us to get a single pizza.  We would lie in bed on those nights calling out our favorite foods and dine on an imaginary feast.

For far too long, for millions and millions of people around our planet, these same thoughts occupy the minds, on a daily basis, of those without food, incomes or the ability to leave their homes in safety to shop at markets.  Now it is an enormous global phenomenon with the numbers climbing daily due to the impact of the pandemic.  Yet, when they are able, people are posting on social media a plethora of recipes and anecdotes about creating home-cooked meals and baking from scratch.  And in the midst of this a book radiating pure bliss, brimming with color and a cast of enduring characters, is published.  VAMOS!: Let's Go Eat (Versify, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 24, 2020), companion to VAMOS!: Let's Go to the Market, written and illustrated by Raul the Third with colors by Elaine Bay is the newest adventure of Little Lobo, his dog, Bernabe, and their friend, Kooky Dooky. It's a mouth-watering exploration of their community's enticing edibles told using a melodious mix of Spanish and English language.  

Check out my new

bike, Bernabe.  Now

we can make our

deliveries faster.

Little Lobo! Un

mensaje importante 

from El Toro!

An important 

message from

El Toro!

With these opening phrases Little Lobo, Bernabe and Kooky Dooky are riding toward el Coliseo, the arena where a wresting event will unfold this evening featuring El Toro and his friends.  The trio join a procession of food trucks, also en route to el Coliseo.  When they arrive, El Toro and other wrestlers practicing for the performance reveal their hunger for an array of favorite cuisine.  Quickly jotting down their requests Little Lobo and his dos amigos get right to work.

All the food trucks are parked nearby, each one focusing on a specialty.  These mobile restaurants, for the most part, make their food fresh and hot on the spot.  The Painted Burrito is known for its signature salsa.  At Kimchi Kiosko Mexican and Korean cooking generates a pleasing flavor for their tacos.

Vendors share ingredients; unnecessary corn husks are useful to a tamale maker.  An elder with a gift for fashioning tortillas sells to makers of quesadillas and burritos.  Look at the size of that burrito!  Little Lobo gathers fresh fruits and vegetables from Pato Peeko to deliver.  She sells more to another who blends them into large fruit and vegetable drinks.

The crowning glory of Little Lobo's gathering is the desserts.  Pastries are piled into a basket.  Their wagon now loaded as high as possible with fabulous fare is held in place by Bernabe.  Kooky Dooky dozes in the side car.

Returning to el Coliseo, El Toro and his wrestling friends, Little Lobo and Kooky Dooky rush inside shouting about La Comida. It's hard to exceed the enjoyment of sharing a meal with friends, but it does get better.  El Toro rewards the efforts of the threesome as only he can.

You can feel the excitement and your cravings for each item of food and beverage growing page by page in this story.  Raul the Third masterfully tells this tale using an artful blend of dialogue and narrative. His mix of Spanish and English guides readers, regardless of their command of one language or the other, perfectly with a pleasing purpose.  In this respect the audience of readers (and listeners) is enlarged and a bridge between worlds is formed.  The short definitive sentences convey cheer throughout the book.  Careful readers will notice informative text on buildings, signs and vehicles.  Here are two passages.

Kooky Dooky leads them

to the back of el Coliseo.

Right this way!

Suddenly they feel a rumble

beneath their feet.

RUMBLE!

RETUMBO!

RETUMBO!

RUMBLE!

Que es eso?

What's that?

Every detail on the book case is significant.  Every detail says to the reader, join us.  Every detail welcomes us to learn about Little Lobo's community, their customs and food.  The bright yellow food truck supplies a sunny background for all the characters.  Bernabe is enjoying his stick.  Kooky Dooky is about to savor a buttered ear of corn.  Little Lobo will soon be tasting a taco.  Do you notice the little bug is back?  What is it holding?  The tattoo on Joe's arm educates us on the Spanish for carrot.  The characters and text are varnished.

To the left, on the back, is an introduction, words you might find on the front flap of a dust jacket.  Additional text sings the well-deserved praises of the first title and gives readers information about Raul the Third and his wife, Elaine Bay.  On the opening and closing endpapers on a sandy-colored canvas are words in Spanish and English for many of the wonderful foods found in this book.  They are colored in shades of green, yellow and red.

On the title page, Kooky Dooky is running down a sidewalk shouting out the title in a speech bubble.  The publisher text is cleverly placed on the edge of the sidewalk near the road.  Above a mailbox are the names, Raul the Third and Elaine Bay.  

The illustrations in this book were done in ink on smooth plate Bristol board with Adobe Photoshop for color.  

Hand lettering was done by Raul the Third.  The images span single and double pages.  Sometimes panels will be placed over an existing larger visual.  What readers will find captivating, and at the same time astonishing, are the multitude of marvelous details.  Every single line creating an element is done with intention.  

The facial features on all the characters, familiar and new, are spirited and highly animated.  You feel compelled to pause on every single page.  Each one is a study in imaginative brilliance.  You'll read this once and then again and then again, noticing something new each time.  

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a panel over a single-page picture.  In this scene Kooky Dooky, on the right, is holding a quesadilla in his hands (wings).  The other portion of it is in Bernabe's mouth, on the left.  The queso, cheese, is stretching from Kooky Dooky's piece around a pole to Bernabe.  Little Lobo is striding toward Kooky Dooky in amazement.  In the lower, left-hand corner is the Lobo's Delivery wagon, partially filled.  The ever-present bug is running with a burrito in its grasp.

This book, VAMOS!: Let's Go Eat written and illustrated by Raul the Third with colors by Elaine Bay, is a tour de force.  It is a visual and verbal joy from beginning to end every time you read it.  Readers will savor every page.  Listeners will ask you to read it repeatedly.  This is a title you will want on your professional and personal shelves.  On the final page is a lengthy Food Glossary, but in a note, readers are encouraged to look up the definitions of words not listed.

To learn more about Raul the Third and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Raul the Third has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  The VAMOS! books are discussed in a Publishers Weekly article.  This title is featured at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Raul the Third was recently a guest at Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Draw Every Day with JJK video art lesson.  At the publisher's website you can download an Activity Kit and watch several videos, one of which appears below.

A Wee Winged Warrior

If you listen closely, you'll hear them before you see them.  By remaining as still as possible, they'll hover close to you as they sip sweet nectar.  From your peripheral vision their striking colors are vividly apparent through a blur of wings.  Their size would seem to delegate them as delicate beings, but that is far from the truth.

Each year they endure an arduous adventure few humans would undertake.  Tiny Bird: A Hummingbird's Amazing Journey (Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company, April 14, 2020) written by Robert Burleigh with illustrations by Wendell Minor explores every aspect of this feat through facts, an exquisitely descriptive narrative and realistic, remarkable paintings.  You will enjoy memorable moments as you marvel at this inspiring wonder found in nature.

Today is the day.

In the yard,
the last orange flowers
open their petals to the slanting sun.

Three inches in length, a ruby-throated hummingbird seeks food within the orange flowers.  Wings moving rapidly, nearly imperceptible, help it to suspend above the petals.  It darts with efficient and succinct speed, sipping vital nectar necessary for the journey about to begin.

Tiny Bird, this ruby-throated hummingbird, knows with the arrival of autumn, its flight starts soon.  This bird, all alone, heads south of this well-known yard in the northeastern section of the United States.  Sometimes thirty miles an hour are traveled just above the treetops.  Along the way Tiny Bird still sips nectar from flowers and spears the occasional insect when diving closer to the ground.

In the nick of time Tiny Bird escapes the clutches of a hawk.  At times Tiny Bird rests, but the need to keep going is strong.  Soon the Gulf of Mexico stretches before the ruby-throated hummingbird.  It crosses this large body of water flying without stopping for more than twenty-hours.  With skill Tiny Bird uses waves to block the wind but watch out!  It's another close call by a predator.

Then the worst happens, a mighty storm.  Tiny Bird is losing strength fighting the wild weather. Salvation comes from two sources before the little creature continues once more.  Thankfully, in the light of a rising sun, a southern home is spotted.  A reward of rest and a banquet found in flowers await this wee winged warrior.


Information is woven into poetic lines by master of words, author Robert Burleigh.  Sound effects add authenticity to the narrative.  Alliterative and rhyming text supply a soothing but captivating cadence.  Readers are fully invested in this breathtaking and challenging trek.  Here is a passage.

Zap!
It flits down.

Flower to flower,
backward, forward, under, over,
like an acrobat of the air!

Radiant green feathers glimmering,
ruby throat shimmering,
Tiny Bird delicately dips its beak
into the heart of each flower,
extracting precious nectar.


The enlarged view of the ruby-throated hummingbird, Tiny Bird, on the front of the dust jacket (I am working with an F & G at the moment, awaiting the arrival of the new release.) brings readers close to this astonishing being.  The intricate details will have you longing to have the bird take a moment's rest on your outstretched hand.  The pale blue wash of the sky provides a wonderful canvas for the brilliant bird and flower.

To the left, on the back, a dark grass green background, one of the many hues in the small bird, showcases an oval image taken from the interior of the book.  It is a startling scene of the ruby-throated hummingbird struggling to survive during a fierce thunderstorm.  An introductory sentence arches above the illustration.

On the opening and closing endpapers are a series of explanatory images about these amazing birds.  Each illustration is captioned with facts.  The size of their nest is compared to a coin, their stature with spread wings is shown, their egg is compared to another familiar egg and there is a map of this ruby-throated hummingbird's route.

These pictures, paintings by Wendell Minor, are rendered using

gouache watercolor on Strathmore 500 Bristol paper.

Each one is connected to the next, like a row of artwork hanging in a gallery.  Wendell Minor brings us close to Tiny Bird in a double-page picture or a series of smaller visuals.  Then he takes us to larger settings or landscapes so we can appreciate the astounding nature of this bird's life and trip to the south.  Sometimes we are observers and other times it's as if we are Tiny Bird.  We gasp at its near brushes with death and sigh when it is safe.

Each brush stroke adds life to each painting in a pattern of light and shadow.  The portrayal of movement is stunning.  We can readily hear the hum of rapidly beating wings, the rush of air from an ocean breeze along the Gulf of Mexico or the rumble and crash of thunder and lightning in a horrific tempest.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  It's a depiction of the storm Tiny Bird flies through during the crossing of the Gulf of Mexico.   The upper portion of the image is a darkened sky marbled with angry clouds only broken by a flash of lightning, forks extending to the horizon.  The horizon, a line, above the churning and white-capped water is an eerie golden shade.  The wind-tossed waves span the lower section of the scene.  On the right above splashing droplets of water flies Tiny Bird.  We are very close.  One eye is shown, determined and focused.  The wings are shown frozen in flight, one extended from the body and the other downward before it raises again.  You can feel the supreme struggle Tiny Bird is experiencing.


Compelling at every page turn, Tiny Bird: A Hummingbird's Amazing Journey written by Robert Burleigh with illustrations by Wendell Minor is an excellent informational picture book.  At the close of the book a section titled Fun Facts About Hummingbirds furnishes further items under headings such as How Tiny?, Really, Really Tiny, A Little Bird with a Big Appetite, More Than a Few Days and Feisty Hummingbirds Defend Their Territory (to name a few.)  There is also a page dedicated to How to Become a Member of the Hummingbird Helper Club. This section begins with a reminder to look, but don't touch them.  We are encouraged to plant particular types of flowers, place hummingbird feeders in our yards, given instructions on how to make a feeder and fill it with proper food and finally a list of books is shared.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  At Wendell Minor's website you can view illustrations from this book, including one of my favorite ones.  Wendell Minor has accounts on Facebook and Twitter. (One of Wendell Minor's biggest fans is his lovely wife, Florence, who is also an author.  She has an account on Instagram where you can see his work.)  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.

UPDATE:  Wendell Minor is interviewed at author James Preller's Blog about this book, birds and birding, our natural world and his amazing body of work and his art.


Be sure to visit educator Alyson Beecher's site, Kid Lit Frenzy, this week to view the selections chosen by other participants in the 2020 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

A Horde Of Hares

In our neck of the northern Michigan woods, the wild rabbits have huge appetites for . . . everything.  No item is safe from their voracious desire to sample a range of perennial plants and shrubs, regardless of the season.  They are both clever and determined despite the use of carefully placed and secured netting and burlap wrap. 

Most of them are the normal size of wild rabbits but one or two are rather large which confirms their considerable abilities not only in enjoying a banquet of edibles but in eluding the prevalent raptors and coyotes.  It's hard to know how many there are in residence, but their frequent appearances indicate their numbers are growing.  A is for Another Rabbit (Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, April 7, 2020) written and illustrated by Hannah Batsel is an alphabet adventure gone awry due to an overabundance of bunnies.  Trust me when I relate that this is no laughing matter to one particular owl, but the hares find it hilarious (and you will, too.)

A is for A rabbit.

Wait---
rabbit starts with R! 

Yes, but "a rabbit" starts with A.

As you might surmise the letter B is represented by the word bunny which, I might add, is quickly pointed out by the disturbed owl as being a synonym for rabbit.  As the narrative proceeds through the letters of C and D, entire phrases represent those letters because of the first word in those very phrases.  A promise is made for the letter E.  Initially, the owl is happy because it seems this alphabet book is back on track until he uncovers a wily disguise. 

The presentations for letters F through J are outrageously focused on rabbits rather than the specific letters.  Owl is fearful of being fired.  Clearly Owl is getting more and more rattled when he mistakes the word Kit for Kite.  Kit happens to be the term for a baby . . . rabbit.

The farther into the alphabet we go, the more despondent Owl becomes. He's a complete bundle of nerves.  The unseen narrator convinces him to rest for a few pages after the letter P.  Owl readily agrees.

The silence that settles over the pages for Q is laden with suspense because the next letter is R for . . . RABBITS, oodles of rabbits.  Owl is flabbergasted as he shouts out S for stop!  An obvious message is conveyed.  With letters T through Y, it's fulfilled.  As the alphabet book comes to a close, Owl, frazzled to within an inch of his bird life, finally gets his wish.  Although, others get the last word.


Author Hannah Batsel begins her comedic tale immediately as we read the first three sentences.  It builds with each letter of the alphabet as the banter increases between Owl and the unseen narrator.  Every alphabetical statement, more preposterous than the last, is countered by Owl as his frustration escalates.  This supplies readers with humor which multiplies proportionality.  The pure fun at reading this text aloud increases with the use of alliteration and rhyming.  It's a joyful rabbit jubilee!  Here is a passage.

G is for Goodness me!
Another page
of rabbits?

Now, look here.  I may
be small, but I refuse to be
pushed around by a pack
of long-eared, carrot-eating
furballs!  If you don't stop
this nonsense, I'll---


The full-color images on the front and back of the open and matching dust jacket and book case declare shocked surprise and marvelous merriment. Clearly on the right, the rabbits have no intention of stopping their quest to occupy every single letter of this alphabet book, much to the dismay of Owl.  To the left a multitude of rabbits in an array of colors and attire are layered together.  Among them is a rabbit robot, a pastry chef rabbit carrying a cake with lighted candles, a rabbit wearing a Wisconsin cheesehead hat, a crown-wearing royal rabbit, a rabbit opera singer donned in a Viking helmet with horns and braids and rabbits wearing lion and alligator costumes.

On the opening endpapers in lavender as a canvas with brown etching is a gallery of animal portraits, meant to be a part of this alphabet book.  Owl is entering from the far-left walking along, carrying a book under one wing and a hot beverage in the other wing.  On the closing endpapers, a white rabbit on a ladder and with telltale red paint has made alterations to the gallery.  An exhausted Owl, beverage spilled and book on the floor, is sleeping on the sofa on the far right.

These images

painted with acrylics, black ink brush pens, and liquid gold leaf

by Hannah Batsel are a reflection of her gift of humor and love of rabbits per her dedication and note on the verso page.  On the title page Owl is quietly at rest in an easy chair in front of his fireplace.  Careful readers will notice an odd shape on the globe next to his chair. 

Each illustration spanning two pages or single pages is highly animated with bright and lively characters.  Their facial features especially those of Owl mirror every mood.  Readers will pause at each page turn to notice the details and myriad elements.  The use of white space is instrumental in depicting the comedy and drama to perfection most notably for the letter Q.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for the letter E.  Spanning across from the left, over the gutter and nearly to the edge on the right is an elephant.  This is no ordinary elephant.  This elephant is formed from patched gray blankets of different textures, with cardboard ears painted pink, cardboard tubes for tusks and a trunk manipulated by three rabbits and a stick contraption.  On the green and yellow tile floor are splatters of pink paint and a dropped paint brush.  Owl is basking in a glow of suspicious confidence with closed eyes.  This page is sure to evoke bursts of laughter.


This book, A is for Another Rabbit written and illustrated by Hannah Batsel, is a celebration of all things rabbit.  It is one of the funniest alphabet books with bunnies busting out of the seams. It can be used with other alphabet books, a unit about rabbits or a theme based on humor, one discussing what makes a book hilarious.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Hannah Batsel and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  At her website a page dedicated to this book provides a glimpse at illustrations.  Hannah Batsel has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images and read an excerpt.

"I Do Solemnly Swear (Or Affirm)"

In the past one hundred years, humanity has rarely been more humbled.  In the midst of this global pandemic, the importance of qualified, focused and unwavering leadership is vitally apparent.  Those who lead must succeed.

In the United States the Constitution determines how our government functions. Three branches, legislative, judicial and executive, provide for a separation of powers.  Of these three, a new book release focuses on the leader of the executive branch.  The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America's Presidents (Chronicle Books, March 24, 2020) written by Kate Messner with illustrations by Adam Rex approaches this office by examining what those people were before they served.  This blend of truth and extraordinary artwork takes readers down an enlightening and inspirational path.

Quick: Name The President of the United States.

In an introduction we are reminded regardless of when in history this sentence is read, there is only a single president serving.  It is proposed that in any year, others who will hold this office in the future are already engaged in a variety of activities depending on their age and circumstances.  There are also those who have yet to be born.  These premises guide this intriguing narrative.

We begin in 1789 with George Washington as president number one.  We are told nine future presidents are already alive.  Fascinating facts about presidents two, three, four and five are offered.  James Madison is already at work in Congress.  As president he is the smallest, weighing around one hundred pounds.  Presidents number six and seven, in 1789, are engaged in the same occupation.  Can you guess what it is?  Of presidents eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve, three are children and two are not born yet.

Two snapshots, interludes in the main narrative, reveal little known information about future presidents Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln.  It is now 1841.  President number nine is sworn into office.  Many more future presidents are alive at this time.  Of them, one is the grandson, of this ninth president.  Others are working as legislators, studying law, attending school or serving in the military.  In the next snapshot we are acquainted with the menagerie of pets held by six presidents.  Which one has a bear named Jonathan Edwards?

In 1897 when William McKinley assumes his duties as president, presidents twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty and thirty-one are alive.  One of them is overseeing

a gold-mining operation in Australia.

The following three presidents are still children.  In their youth their activities resemble those of other boys, detailed notebooks of collections, reading biographies, family gardening and playing sports.

By 1961 the youngest president to serve, to date, John Fitzgerald Kennedy recites the oath of office.  All the future presidents including the one currently in the White House are alive.  Of these ten one earns money for college by working in the orange groves of California and washing dishes.  Another is a sports announcer.  A third individual is born in Hawaii.  It is this one who will change the course of history.  We are challenged as readers to speculate about future presidents, some already alive.

What are they doing right now?


Readers will be captivated by the presentation style employed by author Kate Messner in this book. By stating a year when an individual president is sworn into office, she opens the door to exploring future presidents alive (or not) at that time.  She adheres as much as possible to giving facts about each one in the chronological order of their time in office.  To add further interest her Snapshots between years delve deeper into individuals or a common interest shared by several.

Her research, as always is meticulous.  She searches for those unusual, but important, pieces of information about each man.  These details offer a fact-based view and history of this country's leaders.  Here is a passage about

President 12, four-year old Zachary Taylor, was living with
two older brothers on the Kentucky farmland his father had
been given for serving in the Revolutionary War.


What you can't see on the front of the dust jacket are the raised elements and changes in color.  The word The, the subtitle and tiny design like stitching which acts to tie other items together are in a burnished gold foil.  The words Next President are varnished in red.  An excellent feature is the glowing around the indistinguishable figure standing in the doorway of the White House.  To the left, on the back of the jacket, on a very pale blue background three paragraphs depict the main idea of the book.  A gold star is placed under the first word.  The tiny design loops and waves along the bottom and top.  Figures carrying flags with their number as president are following two children, a young woman and a little girl.  They are holding flags numbered 51 and 53.

On the book case the gold, zipper-like line loops from the left on the back to the spine.  Three tiny stars, white, red and gold are placed on the left.  On the front of the book case is a truly stunning image of the Oval Office focusing on the Resolute desk.  The room is in shadow except for a spot of light on the President's chair and the upper center front of the desk.

On the opening and closing endpapers a pale orange canvas is used.  On the first the golden line from the left takes us to the right and a map of the United States, the lower forty-eight, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Territories.  These maps are placed on pedestals.  Stars on strings hang from the top on the right.  On the closing endpapers, the line waves and loops from the left, where the publication information is shown, to the right.  On a pedestal numbered 16, sits Abraham Lincoln with one hand lifted in greeting.

On the initial title page, George Washington stands on a pedestal numbered one with his left hand raised. A two-page illustration for the formal title page features presidents eleven, twenty-two, thirty-three, and forty-four on the left.  The text is spread across both pages.  Under the text on the right is a pedestal numbered 55.  Six children from all races and ethnic backgrounds circle around it.

These digitally rendered pictures by artist Adam Rex request you to pause at every page turn.  They are an extraordinary blend of the past with the present and of the real with the imagined.  The smallest of details, the historical accuracy and visual interpretation are stellar.

In the first two-page pictures, an artist is painting a portrait of George Washington, the frame held by an African American.  A portion of the American flag supplies a background as other African Americans lift the White House to its place.  In front of this on the right presidents two through five are engaged in heated discussions.  Each page is connected to the previous page and the following page by the element of gold lines.

Whether the images are double-page pictures, single-page pictures or a mix of smaller illustrations together, the seamless flow is evident.  When necessary full color will fade to line drawings. Most page turns will showcase a special blue hue.  Readers will find themselves looking to see where Adam Rex places the number connected to each president.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It highlights presidents thirty-two, thirty-three and thirty-four.  On the left a huge set of sails covers most of that page and crosses the gutter.  In the sailboat is FDR with 32 on the bow of the boat.  The water crosses the gutter and becomes the rush of air as Dwight D. Eisenhower swings at a baseball. (His number is stuck in the dirt of the garden like a seed packet marker.) The ball flies into the darker shaded area beneath a piano. On the piano bench sits Harry Truman legs crossed and reading. His number appears where the brand of piano would normally appear.


There are books about individual presidents.  There are books with collected information about the presidents BUT none of them are as fabulous in format, words and illustrations as The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America's Presidents written by Kate Messner with illustrations by Adam Rex.  At the close of the book are pages about Presidential Birthplaces, Presidential Requirements, The Changing Face Of America's Presidency and A Presidential Bookshelf: Suggestions For Further Reading.  These are followed by a two-page bibliography.  I can't imagine a personal or professional collection without at least one copy (or more) of this title.

To learn more about Kate Messner and Adam Rex, please follow the links attached to their names to access their personal websites.  Kate Messner has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Adam Rex has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  At author, reviewer and blogger, Julie Danielson features this book on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  There are many process pieces of art.  At the Nerdy Book Club Kate Messner interviews Adam Rex. Please enjoy this video Kate Messner prepared for readers.

 

UPDATE:  Today, November 8, 2020, Kate Messner and Adam Rex did a read aloud of this book.  Here is the link.   You will love this!  In light of the election results, there is additional commentary.  Many thanks to these creators for this gift to readers.


I hope you will take a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to see the other titles selected this week by participants in the 2020 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Taking The Plunge

The first time you stand on the shores of one of the Great Lakes or a sea or an ocean, the vastness of the water spread before you is a stunning revelation.  Being near something so large the opposite shore is not visible, shifts your perspective. You always knew it was immense but now, while having a special beauty, it's a bit daunting.

Your respect for this watery vision grows and little trickles of fear zing through your body.  You wonder about the safeness of leaving the shore.  Don't Worry, Little Crab (Candlewick Press, April 7, 2020) written and illustrated by Chris Haughton explores with knowledgeable insight the emotional ups and downs of venturing into new territory.

Little Crab and Very Big Crab
live in a tiny tide pool. 

Today is a very special day for the duo.  Today Little Crab is going to THE OCEAN.  He is excited.  He can hardly stand the suspense.

From their tide pool they trek over rocks, other pools of water and seaweed.  His confidence expanding after these short accomplishments, Little Crab declares his first-class ability as an adventurer.  This all changes when he gets his first glimpse of THE OCEAN.  A very small

Oh

sums up his thoughts.

He begins a series of suggestions for remaining on the cliff which are countered by Very Big Crab.  When the first wave crashes over them, fortunately both crustaceans hug the rocks.  Whew!  Another larger wave rushes toward them.  Will Little Crab stay fast?

Little Crab survives that wave but he's ready to head home.  Big Crab gently urges him to take one step and then another step and still one more step.  Little Crab can't believe it, he's in THE OCEAN!

A gigantic wave approaches and the twosome dive.  A world of wonders spreads before Little Crab.  A crowd of friends introduces themselves.  Little Crab moves from one delectable moment to the next.  The biggest surprise of the day, for him and readers, comes at the end of the day.  It's marvelously truthful.


What readers, regardless of their age, appreciate about Chris Haughton is his masterful ability to convey large feelings with few words.  He blends dialogue into the straightforward narrative.  Alliterative sound effects accompany his storyline.  Punctuation provides pacing and emotional drama.  We find ourselves drawn deeper and deeper into his words.  Here is a passage.

"Maybe it's better if 
we don't go in the
ocean," says Little Crab.

"Don't worry,"
says Very Big Crab.
"It will be OK."

But the waves are getting bigger . . .
Look! A huge wave!
Hold tight!
Here it comes!


The teal canvas on the matching dust jacket and book case spreads edge to edge, including the flap edges.  It's an ideal background for the white text and brilliant colors used in the creation of Little Crab.  His size on the front, right side, proportionality indicts how small he is.  To the left, on the back, Little Crab and Very Big Crab are shown side by side with their large eyes looking to the right.  On the front Little Crab and the text are varnished.

A darker ocean blue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Using a lighter blue, Chris Haughton outlines two different beneath-the-sea scenes on each set of endpapers.  The initial title page is a replication of the front of the jacket and case, but Little Crab is placed on white with teal letters.  The formal title page is a two-page image of the vast ocean, rocky crags and splashing waves.  On the dedication and verso page Chris Haughton places this quote:

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion
to one's courage." --- Anais Nin

The distinctive digitally fashioned illustrations of Chris Haughton span double and single pages.  Regardless of the image size, Chris Haughton varies his point of view to accentuate the narrative visually.  He alternates his background from shades of blue to white.  Most of his pictures have large white borders.  Chris Haughton's use of color is vivid, imaginative and highly appealing.  Readers will be captivated by his ability to depict emotion with shifts in the crabs' eyes and placement of their claws.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages with a wide white frame around it.  On the left a portion of rock generates a triangle from the upper left corner to the gutter.  On this is Little Crab.  He appears large because we are very close to him.  A tiny bit of one of his claws is in THE OCEAN.  It's fairly calm with the remnants of white foam on top.  Behind this is a teal background.  Little Crab's eyes are large with astonishment as he realizes he's in THE OCEAN.  You can feel his supreme bliss.


Sometimes if we approach our fear step-by-step with the help of a friend, our bravery builds until we can experience more joy than we imagined.  Don't Worry, Little Crab written and illustrated by Chris Haughton is a book with a jubilant blend of words and expressive visuals conveying the journey of one tiny crab in a single day.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Chris Haughton and his work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  At his website you can view numerous interior images from this book.  On his blog he outlines the making of this book.  I believe you will enjoy his illustrative process.  Chris Haughton has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  You can view an interior image at the publisher's website and others at Penguin Random House.  Here is a link to an Activity Kit.  Teacher librarian and author Travis Jonker features this book and Chris Haughton on his blog at School Library Journal, 100 Scope Notes. Please enjoy the book trailer.

"Both Sides Now"

For me it begins with How Much Is That Doggy In The Window and it's continued to this day.  It's like we have a library of songs in our minds.  We sing them.  We hum them.  We play them on a variety of devices over and over depending on our moods, moments and activities.  Each song by each artist is a milestone in our lives.

To this days whenever I gaze at clouds and the patterns they make, the words of Joni Mitchell from her song, Both Sides Now (Clouds), spring into my mind.  I can hear her singing it as clearly as if she is standing next to me.  This is the power of music and music makers.  Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell (Harper, HarperCollinsPublishers, February 25, 2020) written and illustrated by Selina Alko is an inspired walk into and through a life of making art.

Joni Mitchell painted with words.

These words were (and still are) her truth regardless of the emotions conveyed.  She grew up as Roberta Joan Anderson in a tiny community in Canada.  She was a child of nature and encouraged by her mother, but still she was more of a free spirit walled in by rules.  During her piano practicing, her own notes floated from her fingers.

At ten, Joni, caught polio.  Her confinement in a hospital was heartbreaking for a child which moved like the wind.  Her mother only visited once in six weeks.  She made a promise during her restricted activity.  This promise to herself became her life's work.

She started with painting, mentored by a teacher in junior high.  After saving on her own in high school she bought her first guitar.  Attending art school in college, opened a world for Joni to express herself in paint and words and music.  Meeting a folk singer from America, Chuck Mitchell, changed the course of Joni's life.  She ended up in Detroit, Michigan.

From Michigan, Joni moved to New York City.  Here Joni wrote and sang among heroes of the musical scene.  From New York City, Joni left for California.  She thrived among others with her same passion for song.  Joni sang what she saw.  Joni sang her feelings.  Missing Woodstock in 1969 resulted in Woodstock (1970).  Her fame grew.

One of her most popular albums, Blue, further cements her place as an artist able to portray her sincerest feelings through music.  Entering her mid-thirties, Joni altered her style, but not her commitment to truth.  It's in her truths so many see their own truths.


Threads woven into the tapestry of Joni Mitchell's life are expertly presented through the narrative penned by Selina Alko. Her words are as poetic and truthful as the lyrics of Joni Mitchell's songs.  Page by page we are walking alongside this distinctive musician as specific aspects of her life informed and heightened her talents.  Here is a passage.

It began in junior high.  The Andersons moved to
Saskatoon, where a teacher named Mr. Kratzmann
admired Joni's paintings.  He encouraged her to look
deep inside herself.

He said, "If you can paint with a brush, you can
paint with words."

Paintings turned to poems on the page. 


As soon as you open the matching dust jacket and book case, you find yourself drawn into a kaleidoscope of color, textures and artistic mediums.  The illustration of Joni playing in her room to the sights and sounds beneath her on the city street extends to the flap edge in a wide brush stroke of white.  On the other side of the spine, to the left, another swirl of white loops and circles at the top of the page over layers of vibrant colors.  There is a portion of a setting of the stage at Woodstock.  This design spans to the left edge, including information about Selina Alko, the jacket art and design.  On the front of the jacket, the text is varnished.

A sunny yellow covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the initial title page an exquisite display of intermingled raindrop shapes points to the text.  A double-page picture provides a marvelous presentation for the verso and title pages.  Joni on the right is playing a piano as larger raindrop shapes, her musical words, fan out from right to left.  A butterfly is tucked into the shapes.  Shades of red, orange, blue and green are predominant.

Selina Alko rendered these illustrations using

acrylic paint, collage, found objects, and wild flowers.

All the pictures are double-age pictures.  They characterize a variety of aspects of Joni Mitchell's life and her songs.  They are replete with details and numerous elements. Text, lyrics, are tucked into the visuals.  Perspectives shift in reflection of the narrative.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations brings us close to the setting.  We are looking down on a younger Joni as she plays the piano.  Across the top of the page is the keyboard.  Her hands are on the keys as she plays her own melody.  Flowing from her head, like strands of hair, on the left and right are wide ribbons of textured paper, some with ledger lines.  It is a bold, stunning portrait.


For use in a biographical or musical themed unit, for those interested in Joni Mitchell and her music or for those who've never met her or her music previously, this book, Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell written and illustrated by Selina Alko is outstanding.  Within a two-page Author's Note Selina Alko reveals her introduction to the music of Joni Mitchell and what it means to her.  This is followed with a Discography and Bibliography.  I highly recommend this book for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Selina Alko and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Selina Alko has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  This book is showcased at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  This is a fabulous post replete with artwork.  At the publisher's website you can view other images.

 

To see the titles selected by other participants in the 2020 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, please take a few moments to stop at educator Alyson Beecher's Kid Lit Frenzy.