And Nothing But The . . .

There are two things which happen when readers are hooked on a series.  The first is a growing excitement for the next installment.  It builds until we hold the next volume in our hands.  The second thought ever present in our minds is we don't want this to end.  We enjoy it completely and without reservation.

If laughter as an element figures in our appreciation for a collection of titles, this collection becomes more firmly cemented in our desire for it to continue endlessly.  On February 27, 2018 two titles were released which not only inform readers but entertain us and promote further research as well.  These books, The Truth About Bears (Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals) (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press) and The Truth About Hippos (Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals) (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press) written and illustrated by Maxwell Eaton III are seriously fantastic.

This is a bear.
I'm Pete.

In tandem with each stated fact, more than one on most pages, bears are commentators declaring obvious details but also providing comedic responses.  Other animal characters you might find in the appropriate region chime in with their insights.  Additional information appears as captions or in signs.

We quickly learn standing polar bears are eight feet tall, actual bear claws are several inches long and the three most common bears are American black bear, brown bear and the polar bear.  Koalas, residents of Australia, are not bears.  Bears have voracious appetites.  Did you know they can eat thousands of berries in one day?

Bear newborns are so small they weigh less than a guinea pig, but a full-grown bear can rival a small car in weight.  Hibernation, the value of fur and bears under threat are discussed.  Hints about safety around bears are given.  Here is an example of the blend of facts and dialogue on two pages.

Polar bears eat seals.  They smell them
through the seals' breathing holes
in the ice and snow.

Sometimes they smash the ice and grab them.

You should probably turn the page. (polar bear)
Please don't. (seal held in polar bear paw)


This is a hippopotamus.

H-I-P-P-O-
T-Z-O-6-3

Hippo
for
short.

Did you know there are two kinds of hippos; common hippos and pygmy hippos?  Their weights are compared to four cows versus one pig.  That's a huge difference.  They both live in Africa but tend to enjoy other areas; water and grasslands contrasted to mud along rivers and lakes close to the cover of dense forests.

Pygmy diets are more varied.  Common hippos have long, long teeth and mouths that can lay almost flat when open.  And you don't want to be near them when they relieve themselves of their waste.  YUCK!  Did you know hippos can't swim?  How do you think they move in the water?

One of the hippos prefers resting in groups, the other alone in the shade.  Night is when hippos are on the move.  The daylight hours are for taking it easy.  Both, common and pygmy, hippos need protection from hunters and habitat destruction.  Here is a factual and dialogue passage; some in narrative, some placed on signs and speech balloons.

Common hippos and pygmy hippos
both spend their days resting.

HIPPOS ARE NOCTURNAL.
THAT MEANS THEY SLEEP ALL
DAY AND STAY UP ALL NIGHT.

Common hippos stay in the 
water in large groups.

Has anyone see
this calf's mom?

She has
smooth
gray
skin.

A GROUP OF HIPPOS
IS SOMETIMES
CALLED A BLOAT.


Happily, for readers of the series a third title was released on May 8, 2018.  The Truth About Dolphins (Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals) (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press) with artwork and words by Maxwell Eaton III will have readers captivated as soon as they see the cover.  By the first page, they'll be reading as fast as they can.

This is a dolphin.

Hello. (dolphin)

Yikes! (girl seated in inner tube in water)

<---common i="">
Common
bottlenose
dolphin (arrow points to dolphin)

For the first several pages comparisons are made between dolphins and fish.  Did you know one swims by moving their bodies from left to right and the other moves their tails up and down?  Dolphins are mammals; traits in support of this are disclosed.

There are more than forty species of dolphins with one of them weighing 12,000 pounds.  You can go almost any place on our planet and find dolphins.  They are skilled hunters working together in groups.

They are one of few animals employing the use of echolocation.  Their communication techniques are masterful so is their desire to play.  Both help them to avoid enemies like sharks.  Their worst enemies are us.  Here is one of the humorous combinations of text and conversations.

Dolphins eat mostly fish and squid.

Atlantic 
spotted dolphin

That was close. (arrow points to hiding squid)

They hunt in groups, called pods, by
using their eyes, ears, and one
very special ability . . .

Left, right,
left, right, left,
right, left, right,
left, right, left,
right, left! (says a group of six fleeing fish)


When The Truth About Elephants (Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals) (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, November 27, 2018) written by Maxwell Eaton III was released this autumn, readers wondered what would be revealed.  What factual items would this author illustrator include in this book?  What would the elephants and other animals say in response?

Here comes an elephant.

Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
          Boom

Actually,
I'm a
human. (says a little girl who doesn't see what is behind her)

With the first declaration about elephants being the largest land animals, all types of comments are made along with supporting documentation.  A white rhinoceros and a common hippopotamus (who we've already met) are not too happy.  A blue whale peeks through a circle in the page to add elephants are not the largest in water.

We learn of the development of elephants, their current relatives and the types of elephants.  The Asian and African elephants are shown side by side with their differences noted.  The finer points of trunk use are disclosed.

Their tusks and molars come in handy for an array of activities.  Did you know these herbivores spend about eighteen hours a day in the act of looking and consuming food?  Family hierarchy, communication, and herd defense work is explained with examples.  Here is one of many blends of truth and playfulness.

Elephants' teeth are also unique.  Long
tusks are used to dig for roots, scrape bark
from trees, and defend against predators.

He 
tried to
eat me. (baby elephant now on mother's back)

Kids,
right? (alligator trapped beneath mother's tusks)

ELEPHANTS' TUSKS NEVER STOP GROWING.  THE OLDER
THE ELEPHANT, THE BIGGER THE TUSKS!


As an illustrator Maxwell Eaton III begins his pictorial interpretations immediately on the matching dust jackets and book cases of all four books.  His word play is evident in the opening comment on the front of each.  The images with verbal comments, text or sound effects on the back make reference to the hilarity or theme found within the body of the book; car driving bears, bicycle riding hippos, dolphins and diving with scuba gear and elephants and jazz music.

The opening and closing endpapers are bright solid colors.  On the initial title page each specific animal makes a factual or funny statement.  This is expanded on the formal title page, a double-page picture, with results certain to cause readers to smile or burst out laughing.

Maxwell Eaton III alters his illustration sizes in order to heighten and complement his narrative, captions and conversations.  They range from double-page visuals, single-page images, or several pictures gathered together on one or two pages.  Elements from one illustration often overlap another image.

The facial expressions on all the animals convey exactly what they are thinking or saying.  These add to the truth and prevalent comedy.  At the close of each book spread across two pages is an open file labeled on the tab with the animal name.  It contains habitat facts, tracks, field notes, size, a territory map or other pertinent pieces of information like elephant toenails and further research opportunities for children and adults.  This is followed with a final one-page image guaranteed to generate giggles and grins.

There are many, many favorite illustrations in each book.  In the bear book when we are being informed about bears' food it mentions rodents.  A bear is not sure what a rodent is.  A squirrel points to a rock and says it's a rodent.  In the discussion about hippo waste elimination the backside of a hippo faces us.  A small bird on top of the hippo states this is why he is where he is.  When we are learning about dolphin communication two dolphins are shown at rest underwater.  One says a sound is like a particular third dolphin.  The second dolphin says this third dolphin still owns him three squid.  Being educated about four gigantic elephant molars in their mouths invites a small bird standing on a ladder and leaning toward the open elephant mouth to make a comment.  Holding a toothbrush, he knows a bigger one is needed.


The mix of factual and funny information, commentary and illustrations is a huge invitation for readers of all ages to read The Truth About Bears, The Truth About Hippos, The Truth About Dolphins and The Truth About Elephants all part of the Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals series written and illustrated by Maxwell Eaton III.  These will be great and welcome nonfiction read-aloud selections and research titles.  You will need multiple copies of each volume. I highly recommend these for your personal and professional collections.  It appears a fifth and sixth book are coming in the spring and fall of this year.  Fans of crocodiles and hawks will be happy.

To discover more about Maxwell Eaton III and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Maxwell Eaton III maintains an account on Instagram and Twitter.  You can view interior images from Bears, Hippos, Dolphins and Elephants at the publisher's website. There is a wonderful, older interview with Maxwell at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Maxwell Eaton III is featured in the Lake Placid News about his books.


Remember to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to note the other titles chosen this week by participants in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Listen, Little One

In the animal kingdom care of eggs, newborns and the littlest members of families is not limited to mothers.  There are notable fathers.  A single male lion, gorilla, or Arctic wolf guards entire large groups; prides, troops or packs.  Some sandpiper females leave the nest once the eggs are laid (she lays more than one batch of eggs per season) and for weeks a male takes care of the eggs and baby birds.  The same is true for Emperor penguins. The fathers carry a single egg on their feet, covering it with a brood pouch for warmth and protection.  They do this without eating for two months.  When the females return from hunting and feeding, the roles are reversed.

Truthfully the position of fathers in species is varied and fluctuates.  In his newest release author illustrator David Ezra Stein takes a traditional lullaby giving it a paternal perspective.  Hush, Little Bunny (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, January 22, 2019) is a soothing exploration of nature and nurturing as spring arrives.

Come, little bunny, don't be shy.
It's time to tell the snow goodbye.

A first scamper out-of-doors leaves the little bunny in tears.  Papa is there to offer comfort.  He assures the little one blue sky is coming and if it does not, there are tasty treats to be found.

When those treats are consumed, there's much more to do.  A bunny's heart sings when it can roam freely in a field.  If danger soars above, Papa knows what to do.  He takes his precious child below that field cuddled in a cozy hole.

If the hidden space gets a bit snug, the duo can pop out again to the grassy landscape.  Should a sudden shower begin to fall, shelter is found beneath blossoming branches.  Fortunately, Papa has an answer when the situation shifts.

Tears may fall again, but fireflies brighten a broken heart.  A bird sings as a sunset radiates across the horizon.  Two bunnies, one big and one little, make their way home.  Love endures in the spring.  Love endures in every season.


As you read the phrases penned by David Ezra Stein a melody, unbidden, begins to accompany your reading.  A rhyming word ends each one supplying a cadence not unlike the movements of rabbits.  One phrase is repeated twice connecting this narrative to the traditional lullaby.  Having Papa speak to his small child makes for a personal and participatory story.  Here is a passage.

And if the afternoon brings showers,
we'll stay by a tree that's hung with flowers.

And when those flowers blow away,
we'll find some other bunnies and play.


On the front, nose to nose, eyes to eyes, smile to smile and paws to paws an adult rabbit and small bunny have our full attention (I know you are sighing.).  The use of yellow, green and hues of blue hint of spring on this open and matching dust jacket and book case.  To the left, on the back, amid a pale yellow-washed canvas, the bunny is hopping toward the spine through spring blooms.  A ladybug decides to move, too.

A golden yellow covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page beneath the text the little one peers from underneath foliage at the remaining snow.  All the images are rendered by David Ezra Stein in

mixed media on watercolor paper.

The size of the illustrations moves from double-page pictures to full-page illustrations loosely framed in black lines to full-page visuals in free-formed circular shapes.  Some of the full-page images spread from edge to edge.

Delicate pastel shades reflective of the season are highlighted by loose black brush strokes.  Tiny lines indicate fur and whiskers.  It's wonderful how the placement of the characters' eyes, ears and body postures clearly convey their every mood.  Due the perspective in each scene readers are fully engaged in each moment.  They will want to touch the pictures.  They will giggle, sigh and probably laugh out loud at the image depicting Papa and Little Bunny going home through the grass.  The heavier matte-finished paper is perfect for David Ezra Stein's artwork.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is on a single page, edge to edge.  The sun is setting turning the sky golden and spreading a similar glow across the countryside.  A tree trunk frames the left side.  Branches extend from the left; one arches across to the right side.  Leafy vines with blossoms extend down from this branch.  Under this branch is a small pond.  On the back edge Papa and Little Bunny look into the water.  Lily pads float.  A tiny turtle rests on one.  On the branch a blackbird raises its head to sing.


As soon as you read Hush, Little Bunny written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein you will want to read it again to and with someone else.  This is a book to share one-on-one or with a group.  It can promote discussions on how our parents show love, support and care.  It could be paired with Good Day, Good Night, Dad By My Side, Gator Dad, The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits, How To Be A Bigger Bunny, and another David Ezra Stein book, Tad and Dad depending on whether your focus is fathers or rabbits.  To make your story time every more engaging you might want to have some musical instruments available.  I highly recommend this delightful title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about David Ezra Stein and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website. At the publisher's website you can view interior images. David Ezra Stein has an account on Twitter.  He shares process art in his Twitter feed.  The publisher also has an activity guide.

Update:  David Ezra Stein and this title are featured at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast on June 16, 2019.

Taking The Lead

Some individuals from the moment of their first breath are destined to be different.  They have sunshine in their souls, desiring to shout it out.  Happiness is not a momentary mood for them but a way of life.

In their efforts to encourage others to choose an optimistic outlook, they do everything in their power to be their personal best.  Cheerful Chick (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., January 1, 2019) written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Brian Won is not only about pursuing your passion but inviting those around you to become part of a hopeful community.  It's all about shared joy.

Once inside a chicken's nest
A dozen eggs, all Grade-A best,
Lay still and warm, their contents sleeping,
All but one . . . 

This chick cheered every waking moment.  Her noisy vocal chants gave the older chickens cranky attitudes.  Did this deter this youngster?  It did not.

She practiced every move until it was perfected.  It was time to make her dream a reality.  It was time to get the entire barnyard buzzing with boisterous you're-the-greatest shouts.

This buoyant bundle of downy fluff tried to engage four other farm friends praising their abilities, but the results were negative.  With sagging spirits this sweet chick discarded her pom-poms and her cheerleading attire.  She admitted it's hard to have a team of one.

That night though, in still contemplation, she realized there is absolutely nothing wrong with being true to yourself, despite the response of nearby neighbors.  Again, this perky positive gal got her program polished.  When she greeted the morning, there were surprisingly multiple reasons to clap, jump and whoop with peppy precision.


Author Martha Brockenbrough has written an upbeat ode to enthusiasm.  Through her rhyming phrases we find ourselves cheering for this cheerful chick who devotes her mind and actions toward her heart's desire.  A blend of narrative, dialogue and cheers supply a fun-filled flow from one point to the next.  Here is a passage.

Ms. Cow knows all

the wildest moves.

Just watch her stand

on two front hooves! 

Ms. Cow just stood and blinked and chewed
And said, "I'm so not in the moooood."

And so, without another peep,
Chick went in search of Mr. Sheep.


The hues and color palette shown on the open dust jacket cast a rosy, warm glow here and throughout the title.  This combination of colors is guaranteed to have readers smiling.  The other chick peeking from the flowers in the lower left-hand corner is a hint of events to come.  To the left, on the back, nine cheer positions by Chick, three per row, are shown on the same sky-blue background.  These identical stances are repeated on the front and back of the book case.

A slightly darker shade of the color of Chick's sweater covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page an upside-down Chick holding her floral pom-poms looks right at readers above the text at the top of the page.  On the verso and first page a double-page image of a field filled with flowers crosses the gutter to highlight the cluster of dozen eggs, on the right, with one open.  Chick is popping out from the broken pink egg.

Rendered

digitally, mixed with scanned in paint textures and pencil drawings

Brian Won tells a merry visual tale enhancing the story line.  Careful readers will notice the additions in each illustration building toward the surprising conclusion.  Some of Brian Won's pictures span two pages, single pages or several smaller illustrations on a single page.

Humor is infused in each one.  The characters are fully animated through their facial features and body postures.  Readers can determine the passage of time and setting through the color of the background sky, from dawn, to daylight, (inside the barn), sunset and a full moon night.

One of my many favorite illustrations is at night.  Chick is quietly reflecting her current state of being.  No one wants to cheer with her.  Shades of deep purple color the sky, tree branches, leaves and grasses.  Portions are dabbled and outlined in a glowing shade due to the full moon on the right.  Chick is resting on a large leaf on the left, looking at the moon.  Our point of view is close to Chick.  The narrative says nothing about the eleven other elements silently watching.


For the endearing character found in Chick, her discovery of self, the found friendships and pure bliss, Cheerful Chick written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Brian Won is one of those huggable books.  Every single one of us needs people who are cheering for us.  Every single one of us needs to be cheering for one or more individuals.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal book collections.

To learn more about Martha Brockenbrough and Brian Won and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Both Martha Brockenbrough and Brian Won have accounts on Instagram.  On Twitter you can find Martha here and Brian here.

Be Inspired . . . Lead The Way

Whether we are initially aware, we go through life with the assistance of mentors.  We use all our senses, touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell, to guide us.  Sometimes assistance comes when we least expect it.  The teacher may not even be able to speak in human language.

We look to those who have walked the path before us seeking direction.  Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes (Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, September 11, 2018) written by Wab Kinew with illustrations by Joe Morse is a beautiful, informative depiction of inspirational people. 

There's a power in these lands,
one that's been here many years,
strong enough to make you stand
and forget all of your fears.

Sacagawea, a leader and healer of men, is the first to be honored.  Running behind her is Jim Thorpe heeding the words of his father.  She never stopped pursuing a desire to help.  She worked and worked until she earned her medical degree. (She was at the top of her class.)  Her name was Sue LaFlesche Picotte.

An author reveals a traumatic childhood and enlightens others about flaws in institutional systems.  A solider fights overseas with honor and distinction; returning home as a champion for his people.  In a remarkable feat a woman carries sweat rocks and survives a forced walk of hundreds of miles.  She does so to preserve a sacred tradition.

Can you be a physician and an actor?  Look to Dr. Evan Adams for encouragement.  You can be an astronaut who writes a book in both English and Chickasaw about your experiences, a hockey player who helps a team win Olympic Winter Games' gold or a stabbing survivor who becomes a water polo team captain in the Olympics.  The choice is yours.

Read and follow the words of leaders from the past like Tecumseh, Crazy Horse and Net-no-kwa.  Stay on the right road but if you stray, make a correction and change direction.  Remember from where you come and go forward with those in the past and present helping you navigate your future.


Whether you read the words penned by Wab Kinew silently or aloud, you find your breathing and heartbeat adjusting to the cadence of his phrases.  He uses rhyming words to excellent effect weaving facts about each of the notable men and women into his narrative.  His blend of the past and present reminds readers of intricate connections.  Joining each portion with a three-line lyrical refrain heightens the melodic quality.  Here is a passage.

Under starry nights west Sacagawea led
Lewis and Clark, so America could spread.

Plus she healed them when they were almost dead.
The men got the credit, but should she have instead?


When you open the matching dust jacket and book case, the single image is powerful.  The person on the front with their left arm extended and palm facing up is mirroring this pose on the other side of the spine with their right arm.  Rather than a shoreline, lake and large rocky outcrop with evergreens during daylight, the setting changes.  To the left, on the back, a river passing through a mountainous passage extends from the shore.  A spiral of clouds, which we see as white on the front, are hues of blue.  They frame a crescent moon.  The red of the title text is varnished.

The opening and closing endpapers are a slightly darker shade of the sun seen on the front of the jacket and case.  A ceremonial feather is placed between text on the title page.  The illustrations are rendered in

watercolor and digital color and collage

by Joe Morse.

Each page turn reveals a stunning portrait of the featured hero/heroine.  These portraits may bring us close to the person or present them within a larger landscape.  Readers are immediately drawn to the faces full of strength, perseverance and dignity.  Our eyes than move to the authenticity of the clothing and the physical and geographical locations.  These places and the elements in each are meticulously chosen to properly reflect each individual and the story of their lives.

At one point, a pause shows us several people from the past stand among trees as finely-etched shadows while present-day people look forward.  We also see three people tied together in a lovely single, double-page picture.  The last two illustrations are highly pertinent to our present times; the first showing Indigenous peoples peacefully protesting for the protection of water.  In the second, final picture, three older children raise their faces skyward at night.  They glow from the northern lights.  Lights shine from the windows of nearby homes.  An elder and smaller child are also present.  Joy.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is the one for Te-Wau-Zee.  During the Trail of Tears, the people were only allowed to take what they could carry.  She has four large stones hidden in her clothing.  She is placed on the left, lines of resolution on her face.  Across the top of the page a line of people loop and wind for miles in the distance, walking from their homes.  For those closest to Te-Wau-Zee moving from left to right, their shadows are different then their appearance.  The shadows are warriors.


This book, Go Show The World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes written by Wab Kinew with pictures by Joe Morse, is an uplifting and moving representation.  Reading this title will leave you changed.  This is a collection of remarkable people.  At the close of the book in an author's note, Wab Kinew talks about the idea behind this title and his hopes for those of us who read it.  For each of the showcased people Joe Morse has painted a black and white picture to accompany a short biographical paragraph at the end.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Wab Kinew and Joe Morse and their other work, please follow this links attached to their names to access their websites.  Both Wab Kinew and Joe Morse maintain accounts on Twitter.  You can find Wab Kinew and Joe Morse on Facebook.  At Tundra Books there is a post about this title as a Governor General's Literacy Awards Finalist and a six page discussion guide.  You can view interior images at Penguin Random House.  This book is featured at Thin Air Winnipeg, a wonderful podcast on thecommentary.ca with Wab Kinew, the Sheridan Sun highlighting Joe Morse and his process and research and NationTalk.


Be sure to take a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected this week by others participating in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Spoken Too Soon

Sometimes when a declaration is emphatically stated not once but repeatedly, you begin to wonder about its truth.  Perhaps it's all about perspective rather than veracity.  You realize an exploration of facts is necessary before you can agree.

Other times a statement will catch you by surprise.  It seems completely out of place in the context it is made.  There Are No Bears in This Bakery (Alfred A. Knopf, January 8, 2019) written and illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach is one of those assertions.  When you read the title without looking at the accompanying image, you immediately think:

"Why would anyone make that remark?"
"How would a bear get in a bakery?"
"I certainly hope there's no bear in a bakery!"

After looking at the dust jacket image, you find yourself making one more comment.

"Is that a bear in that bakery?"

Then you can hardly wait to start the story.

Each night, the moon rises,
the bread rises, and I rise.
The air cools, and the sounds
get interesting.

Now is the time for a whole new breed of cat to meander.  When others sleep this cat, Muffin, is on the job.  Muffin knows the sounds of mice, raccoons and bats but tonight there is a new noise.  It is not made by the usual culprits, mice, raccoons or bats.

Peering into and walking through the slightly open window in the back of the bakery, the cat makes a startling discovery.  A small bear is in the bakery.  This small bear is hungry.  Its stomach is grumbling.

When you have a hungry bear in a bakery there is only one thing to do.  Muffin leads the way to contented consumption.  And then there's a newer noise.  It's a sound that stops hearts from beating.  Out of the darkness comes eyes locked on Muffin. 

The cat can't move.  The cat is completely enveloped in fur.  Finally, the sunrise begins casting light inside the Little Bear Bakery.  Three beings move, the night shift ends, but the morning shift is in for a shock.


Even before the narrative begins or before the title page appears, Muffin begins to talk.  Julia Sarcone-Roach's approach to use the first purr-son point of view focuses our attention precisely where it should be.  We need to see everything as if we are a cat.

This cat gives us very descriptive perspectives like the detective it is.  It is in these very accounts the humor is ever present.    Julia Sarcone-Roach uses similes beautifully.  Here are two passages.

The air was cool and 
wet like a dog's nose.

Actually, it was the smallest bear I'd ever seen.
I was surprised.
The bear was surprised.
My tail was surprised.


If you can look at the open dust jacket without laughing, you need to check for a pulse.  The contrast, between what the cat is stating (the title) and the bear gobbling up a donut behind it, is a stellar comedic moment.  Look at the eyes on the cat.  Look at the eyes on the bear. 

To the left, on the back, Muffin is cozily curled on a bookshelf.  To the left are four books with titles reading like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys with a cat-like twist.  Muffin, much smaller, is on the spines.  One of the titles is

The Mystery of How Everything Got on the Floor.

The same darkened full color palette is used in both scenes on the dust jacket, reflective of Muffin being a part of the night shift.

The book case is another contrast.  Across the back and front is a shiny shade of white.  Down the middle and crossed is a red and white striped piece of string, tied in a bow on the right (front).  Under the bow, are rows of baked goods, donuts, cinnamon twists, cupcake, and cookies.  A seal is in the exact center.  It reads Little Bear Bakery under the logo of two bears, one large and one small, facing each other.

If ever endpapers tell a story all their own, these endpapers, opening and closing, do.  On both are shelves inside a glass-fronted bakery case.  They are most definitely before and after depictions.  And a tiny mouse has something to say on the later.

Prior to the title page we are given a golden sunset shot of the town, a panoramic view as Muffin introduces herself and her job.  On the second double-page picture, the title page, Muffin is shown closer to the bakery and in three separate positions.  It is getting darker outside.

For each of the two-page images, rendered in

acrylic paint, cut paper, and marker

by Julia Sarcone-Roach movement by Muffin is shown from place to place.  Her brush strokes create a realistic nightscape lightened only by the crescent moon's glow and reflections plus the street lights.  Humor escalates in the antics of the baby bear inside the bakery; wearing a glass cake cover like a space helmet.

If there is any doubt as to the mood of any of the characters, readers need only view their eyes.  Another thing Julia Sarcone-Roach does to excellent effect is place a shining outline around her characters at significant moments.  (Readers will undoubtedly burst into laughter at the final wordless illustration for the dedication and verso pages at the end.)

One of my many, many favorite pictures is when Muffin first sees the small bear.  On the left the cat is leaping straight up into the air with fur standing on end and wearing a stunned expression.  Muffin is placed in the enlarged shadow of the bear.  That shadow is surrounded by light.  On the right sits the bear, wide-eyed and with paws touching each other in front of its body.  A large grrrrrrrr and grrrr extends from either side.  In the upper right-hand corner is a portion of the bakery case.  This is a second frozen in time.


One look at this book, There Are No Bears in This Bakery written and illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach, and you can already hear the laughter of readers.  They will be begging you to read it again at story times, bedtimes, any time and every day.  I highly recommend you run to your nearest book shop to get a copy to place on your personal and professional book shelves. 

To learn more about Julia Sarcone-Roach and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  She has several images from this book you can enjoy.  At the publisher's website you can view other illustrations from the book.  Julia Sarcone-Roach maintains an account on Instagram.  She is interviewed at Bookroo.

Notable Poultry Notes

To speculate on what our world would be like if all living beings could communicate with each other is always fuel for discussion, research, marvelous fiction and potential questions.  Would they be furious with our lack of care for the environment?  Would they be horrified at the rate of species going extinct?  Would they demand we stop clear-cutting forests?  Would they applaud our recycling efforts or our endeavors to rescue wild and domesticated animals?  Would they be happy to see more people are planting honey bee and butterfly-friendly gardens?

Closer to home, what would our pets have to ask or tell us?  There might be a certain chocolate Labrador retriever who would demand more treats, more chew toys, and a lot more running around outside.  Chicken Talk (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, January 15, 2018) written by Patricia MacLachlan with pictures by Jarrett J. Krosoczka follows a brood of hens and one confident rooster who act with comical consequences.

Farmer Otis and his wife, Abby, loved their chickens.  Their children, Willie and Belle, loved them, too.

This shared love extended to their poultry, eleven hens, Beatrix, Bitsy, Grace, Boo, seven named Joyce and a rooster named Pedro, was constant.  Abby was sure to fix lettuce and arugula meals for the fowl family and collect their eggs every day.  The eggs were labeled with the hens' names by the siblings.

The hens enjoyed a life of leisure, resting in chairs on the porch, pecking for tidbits of food in the dirt, listening to the stories Willie and Belle told and watching them read books.  Imagine the surprise greeting the humans one morning when the words

No more ARUGULA

were found written in a pathway.  Otis and Abby came to the only conclusion they could, Trixie (Beatrix) wrote the message.

It was as if the first message opened a door to bottled-up opinions held by the chickens.  Each day another note was discovered.  The nature of the statements revealed their author.  Although the family believed if they told anyone they would be thought a tad bit crazy, the chickens took matters into their own . . . um . . . feet.

An accused mailman decided to seek the truth on his own.  A shocking discovery had the news spreading.  Curious people made for good egg business.  Even after all the Joyces had their say, there was still one chicken that was silent.  When she finally left her two thoughts scrawled across the ground, they were the best of all.


In the masterful hands of Patricia MacLachlan, the impossible not only become possible but it is done so with the utmost charm and good-natured humor.  It's funny when the sentences written by the chickens are the honest truth.  It's even funnier when the family members readily accept their chickens can write and can identify the creator.  The flawless flow of narrative and dialogue elevates the laughter factor.  Here is a passage.

Otis and Abby drove into the driveway and walked up
the hill with shopping bags.
Willie pointed to the words scratched in the dirt.
Trixie strutted over and looked at Otis and Abby with
her bright beady eyes.
"Trixie wrote that sentence," whispered Otis.
"Yes", said Abby.
"Don't tell anyone," said Otis.  "They'll think we're nutty."
Abby nodded.  "I thought Trixie liked arugula."


The canvas of barnyard dirt on the matching and open dust jacket and book case extends over the spine, front to back.  The eight showcased chickens are either looking directly at readers, at the text or ISBN.  The red circles around their eyes increase the animation seen on their facial features while at the same time coordinating with the darker red in the title text and bar at the top of the ISBN.

The opening and closing endpapers are covered in a rusty red. The title page begins the pictorial interpretation of the playfulness and wit found throughout the book.  Along the top are three sets of chicken legs with the lower portion of their bodies.  The text is written "chicken" style as if scribbled in the dirt on the path.

The illustrations by Jarrett J. Krosoczka with their loose lines and colorful washes delineating light and shadow appear to be done in watercolor.  Many of the images are double-page pictures with full-page visuals usually framed in a white border.  Sometimes it's as if we are standing with the characters in the scene and other times it's as if our point of view shifts to looking down on the action.  Readers will find the eyes of the chickens greatly enhance the hilarity especially when coupled with their body positions.

One of my many favorite illustrations is on a single page.  We can see the farmhouse porch and a bit of the siding and one window.  This is in hues of gray.  The curtains on the window are a light rusty red.  Three wooden porch chairs are placed in a row.  Right in the center of each are three plump white chickens; two apparently in conversation. (I laugh every time I see this.)


You can be sure requests for this book, Chicken Talk written by Patricia MacLachlan with pictures by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, will be frequent.  Who doesn't love to laugh and wonder what animals would say if they could write?  For a story time showcasing chickens you could use Blue Chicken, What Floats in a Moat?, Bawk & Roll, Henny, Chickens in Space, My Dog's a Chicken, Snappsy The Alligator And His Best Friend Forever (Probably) and Interrupting Chicken And The Elephant Of Surprise.  You'll want to add this title to your professional and personal collections.

For more information on Jarrett J. Krosoczka and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Jarrett J. Krosoczka maintains a blog, an account on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. (You might want to check out Jarrett's tweets about this book.)  Jarrett J. Krosoczka also has two TED talks you might find interesting.  Here is a link to a short biography on the beloved Patricia MacLachlan at the publisher's website.

Go Out Doors To Out Of Doors

Winter is in full force with a series of less-than-desirable weather scenarios playing out across the country for this evening and weekend.  Extreme temperatures, snow and rainfall, and high winds figure in the mix.  This is, whether you embrace this season or not, an ideal time to dream of a balmy setting.

If we could spend a single day, now, in pure sunny summer perfection, what would we do?  Run Wild (Viking, Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, June 5, 2018) written and illustrated by David Covell gives us one such day.  It's a joyous exploration of making the most of every minute. 

Hey, You.
Sky's blue!
(forget your shoes)
OPEN
that door
and . . .

This introduction is an invitation to drop everything inside and leave to enjoy the outside.  A girl runs past her friend's window and his split-second decision has him sprinting to join her.  Running in bare feet, they feel the field's grasses and wildflowers on their soles and in their souls.

A rabbit runs away from them.  Mud puddles are wet trampolines.  Creepy crawlies are new best friends.  A path through the woods leads to blazing sand and crystal cool sea water.

A plunge into the shoreline depths is a welcome respite.  Floating on one's back allows for speculation and imagination to thrive.  In mere minutes the blue changes to black, mirroring life.  Running from a storm is challenging, but the hand of a friend says get up and go.

As a golden globe dips below the horizon, two pals pursue the last of the day's offering.  Now a full moon guides them home.  We are one with the wild.


Your pulse quickens as you read the phrases penned by David Covell.  With each new narrative shout, declaration and question, you are a willing member of the playful party.  Each single word description sizzles with life in our natural world.  Repetition of run and wild create a singular beat with the other rhyming words.  Here are some phrases.

Run. Run.
Wild. Wild.
All day long,
the sun's gonna
smile.

Take a deep breath.
1-2-3!
Be a fish in
the salty sea.


Looking at the matching open dust jacket and book case, readers are shown two different perspectives.  On the front the bare feet among flowers, grass and ferns, is a pointed pause.  This design with the bird in flight and the ladybug perched on two toes is wonderful.  The brush-stroke lettering promises wonder within the pages of this title.

To the left on the back, the canvas continues.  In-between the text, the girl, a rabbit and the boy run.  The words read:

Chase the wind.
Can you grab it?
Go ahead . . .

Race a
rabbit!

On the opening and closing endpapers readers are given views of the forest, first in the morning and at last during the evening.  In the gaps of the trees are leaves and leafy tops and a girl and a boy running . . . wild.

On the verso and title pages to the left the girl runs toward her friend's house on the right.  A page turn shows the inside of the home in grays and black with the boy holding a hand-held device.  His pal races past.  The remainder of the pages are a colorful tribute in loose lines, fluid paint washes and varying points of view to the supreme happiness to be found in a field, forest and sea.  We see feet, legs and a lower body in motion as the girl partner races ahead.  Close to us a rabbit scampers off to avoid the dashing duo.

There is a mix of double-page pictures and full-page images to pair with the pacing.  White space is used with excellence to frame visuals of varying sizes.  It also accentuates emotion.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  A swirly wash of water covers about a fourth of the bottom.  On the left and the right one foot lifts from the sea.  Blue outlines of clouds float above and past the feet on a light, creamy sky.  A brightly-hued butterfly is nearly alight on the right foot.  This is a scene in which many can identify; floating on one's back in the water as the gentle waves lap around you.


If you missed this 2018 treasure, then don't waste another second without reading it.  Run Wild written and illustrated with a combination of intention and abandon by David Covell is one of The 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books.  It is an exuberant ode to a season and our natural world.  It will enhance your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about David Covell and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  David also has another site drawing attention to his books.  David maintains accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  David's work is featured at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, the site of author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson.  You will want to go there to see the progression and final art for this book.  At the publisher's website you can also view interior images.

Reaping Everlasting Riches

More times than readers can count, they find answers in books to questions they haven't yet asked.  Several years ago, in attendance at a storytelling class, it was suggested to begin and close a storytelling event with a candle or lamp.  When the lamp is lit, the magic of storytelling starts.  After the final tale is told, the flame is extinguished.

Listeners are asked to make three wishes; one for someone anywhere in the world who needs it, one for someone they love (including pets) and the final wish for themselves.  They are, after all, very important people.  As the flame is blown out, the wishes travel out in the world.  Decades ago a wonderful parent gave me my storytelling lamp with a wick to light as it coils in oil in the body.

It wasn't until reading a new release yesterday, the possible origin of lighting a storytelling flame was presented to me.  Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, January 15, 2019) written by Anika Aldamuy Denise with illustrations by Paola Escobar depicts a marvelous portrait of a woman whose star will remain shining.  Story was her gift.  It still grows.

It is 1921.
Pura Teresa Belpre leaves her home in San Juan
for a visit to Nueva York.
Words travel with her:
stories her abuela taught her.

Her first sight of Manhattan stirs those stories she carries.  This is a place where dreams can come true.  A temporary stay for her sister's wedding is extended.

Working in a garment shop is not a place for her tales to flourish but a job in the public library as a bilingual assistant is a splendid garden.  Seeing no books with Puerto Rican stories on the shelves, Pura's story hours sing with her stories from home.  Martina, a Spanish cockroach and Perez, her beau and a mouse, capture her listeners' attentions.  Soon, using her sewing skills, Pura fashions puppets to enhance the folktales.

Still, feeling the need to do more, Pura Belpre records the tale with pen and paper, mailing it to a publisher.  It's published!  Martina and Perez have their own book!  Pura spreads her stories from library to library, school to school and everywhere people will listen.  She wants people new to Nueva York to be able to recall the beauty of Puerto Rico through story.  One day, something unexpected happens.  His name is Clarence Cameron White.

Pura Belpre leaves the library to travel with Clarence as he makes music and she shares her folktales from home.  After his death, almost twenty years later, she returns.  Her beginnings have made new beginnings and they, in turn, have done the same.  It does not and will not end.


When you think of stories, they are a living thing passed from one generation to the next by a variety of means.  To use the analogy of seeds, planting, taking root and growing with respect to Pura Belpre and her stories is brilliance by author Anika Aldamuy Denise.  Those key words and phrases are referenced more than once, tying one portion of Pura's life to the next.

The technique of stating a date prior to two significant events gives readers an idea of the length of this woman's impact on the reading lives of many, many children and adults.  Especially pleasing is the mix of Spanish and English words in the narrative.  It makes the sentences ring with authenticity.  Readers will be able to establish meanings from the surrounding text.  Here are two passages.

Now Pura has a wish, too:
to plant her story seeds throughout the land.
Pura learns to make puppets.
She snips and sews their clothes . . .
paints their delicate faces.

Families come
to hear folktales en ingles y espanol, 
to watch Pura's puppets
dance across
   the stage
     of her stories.


The darker, deeper colors used in this book and introduced to us on the open dust jacket reach out to readers with their natural warmth.  Overlaying the blossoms on both the front and back (and within the body of the book) beautifully displays the theme of this woman's life; the planting and flourishing of her country's folktales.  The scene on the front is continued on the back.  Another woman and her child leave the library from another entrance and exit.  Careful readers will notice the puppets of Martina and Perez on the hands of two children.

A creamy blush becomes a canvas for the book case.  Flowers extends from left to right upward on the back and from right to left downward on the front.  A highly detailed pattern covers the opening and closing endpapers beginning with a background of a light, muted and natural green. Tiny blossoms on stems with leaves extend from tiny puppets of Martina and Perez, a valise, a book and a flaming candle.  Mixed with these white flowers are single blooms in other hues.

Across the verso and title pages is an illustration of Pura Belpre seated beneath a tamarind tree, a book resting in her lap.  Flowers with flowing stems extend from its pages.  Two birds fly between the title text.

The images rendered digitally in Adobe Photoshop by Paola Escobar appear across two pages, single pages or within loose shapes on a single page.  To indicate the passage of time smaller illustrations will be grouped together, flowing from one scene to the next scene.  Sometimes we look as if from a bird's point of view and other times it's as if we are standing next to Pura Belpre.

It is evident Paola Escobar researched the place and time in which this book takes place.  Readers will enjoy noticing all the details.  They will also feel a kinship with this woman, who devoted her life to her community through her librarianship, storytelling and writing, by observing the expressions on her face. (Her wardrobe is wonderful.)

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  On the left Pura is seated in her library in front of a set of book shelves.  To her left is a small table on which is placed a vase with flowers and a burning candle.  Seated in front of her on a circular rug is a group of children.  From her open mouth a large white cloud forms, moves across the gutter and covers the right page.  It is a scene from the story of Martina and Perez.  He is approaching her carrying a flower.  She watches from a second-floor balcony of her home.


In a two-page author's note Anika Aldamuy Denise says:

Her life and work as a librarian, storyteller, author, and advocate for 
the Latinx community is a testament to the power of our own stories to
build bridges---not just to literacy, but to social change. 

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre written by Anika Aldamuy Denise with illustrations by Paola Escobar illuminates a visionary with excellence in words and pictures.  You will most definitely want to find a place for this title on your personal and professional bookshelves.  Following the author's note is a selected bibliography, archival collections, articles and films, further reading, and stories by Pura Belpre mentioned in this book.  (This title is also published in Spanish.  I look forward to the arrival of my copy.)

To learn more about Anika Aldamuy Denise and Paola Escobar and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Anika Aldamuy Denise has an account on Instagram and Twitter.  Paola Escobar has an account also on Instagram and Twitter.  A five-question publisher's preview of this book with this duo appears at The Horn Book.  Be sure to read it.




Take a few minutes to stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to read about the titles selected this week by other participants in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Stay The Course

We count down the days, weeks, and months.  Our anticipation continues to grow.  Others have worked far longer to ensure a promise filled with possibilities becomes something we can hold in our hands.

When the expected date arrives, we can hardly contain our excitement.  We read it first, consuming it with care, savoring the words and pausing at the illustrations.  We read it a second time to experience the joy it brings, again.  This is how readers feel when characters we enjoy, those who have captured our hearts, return in a companion book.  The positive, can-do attitude of Penguin in Flight School (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, April 15, 2014) is an inspiration to all.  Today he's back in Penguin Flies Home: a Flight School story (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, January 15, 2018) written and illustrated by his talented creator Lita Judge.

Penguin loved to fly.

It was true he needed a little help with
the technical parts---but that's why he
worked hard as a student at flight school.

Penguin had the most important characteristic needed to fly; he had heart.  There was nothing Penguin did not like about flying except at the end of the day.  It was then he thought about his home and the penguins there.  He wanted his friends to feel the same exhilaration he felt when flying.

His teacher and Flamingo knew Penguin needed to go home.  This next morning a normal take off turned into a field trip . . . a long, long field trip.  Penguin was happy to be home with his penguin friends.  He presented Teacher, Flamingo and Egret with pride.  Next on his agenda was to teach all those penguins to fly.  Fly?

It's safe to say his exuberance was not reciprocated.  He tried his best to demonstrate the basics, flapping, jumping, going up and landing, but one by one his penguin pals dove into the water for a swim.  His usually energetic manner was crushed.  Alone, he wandered to a snowy peak watching darkness descend and the aurora begin.

Penguin thought and thought and knew he had to hold fast to his dreams.  In the morning he wanted to tell his friends he was going back to Flight School with Teacher, Flamingo and Egret.  Penguin had no idea of the surprise awaiting him.  It was a victory for love.


Within the first two pages, even without reading the first Penguin book, readers will know of this bird's passion for flying.  Through the writing of Lita Judge he continues to acquaint us with all the explicit sensations he has when high above the landscape beneath him.  Our appreciation for his mentors grows with their acute observations.

With intention and care Lita Judge inserts little bits of humor in the side comments of Penguin's pals at home.  In his desire to pass on his love of flying to them, he does not hear what they are saying which makes his heartbreak more profound.  It also contributes to the elation Penguin (and readers) have at the end.  Here is a passage.

I don't think so!

I think we heard wrong.

Penguins don't fly.

"Follow me birdies!"
Penguin said.
"It's time for class to begin."


On the front of the dust jacket you simply can't resist smiling when seeing the happy grin on Penguin's face as he glides away from his gathered penguin pals.  His colorful red goggles, spread wings and fluttering feather embellishments are sure to lift readers' spirits and send them soaring, too.  If you are questioning the lines around his body disappearing off the top of the page, an answer will be revealed.  Certain elements in this image are varnished and raised.

To the left, on the back, within a circular picture, we see Teacher, Flamingo, Penguin and Egret flying over the water to Penguin's home.  This illustration is framed by a white canvas.  On the opening endpapers with a pale blue background we are presented with the Flight School Yearbook.  It is a collection of ten framed drawings of notable characters and two of Penguin's memorable moments.  It is first here we note Penguin has become the Flight School Mascot.  Labels and captions provide further explanations.  In contrast on the closing endpapers with a rich black canvas, we have Penguin's Scrapbook. This collection of ten images captures fun-filled activities during the visit home.  As in the first endpapers, comments in the scrapbook increase readers' connection to the characters.

A light wash of blue and yellow begin the pictorial story on the verso and title pages.  A pelican wearing a mailbag (starting on the far left) flies over Penguin (on the right) perched on a wooden piling.  The pelican drops him a postcard from the South Pole wishing Penguin well at Flight School. 

The illustrations rendered in watercolor by Lita Judge are double-page pictures, full page visuals, loosely framed circles on single pages or a series of small images on two pages.  Their size is dictated by the narrative.  The shift in perspectives will have readers gasping in admiration.  Readers will delight in the details in the characters' facial expressions and body postures.  Whether we are at Flight School, the South Pole, on land, in the air or beneath the water, these illustrations are alive with emotion.  They glow with a special essence straight from this artist's soul.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  Across most of the background is a night sky at the South Pole.  It pulses with the aurora Australis; a few stars shining against the darker sky.  Along the bottom a still ocean rests.  To the far right are two icebergs.  Taking up most of the bottom half on the left is a curved high jut of ice.  Penguin prints move to the top.  There stands Penguin with his back to us; feathers and line streaming behind him.  His red goggles make for a striking comparison.


Penguin Flies Home: a Flight School story written and illustrated by Lita Judge is a book you will be asked to read again as soon as it is finished.  Readers welcome the warmth radiating from the characters.  In Penguin with his round body, soul of an eagle and cheerful mind-set, there is a hero they can embrace.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional bookshelves.

To discover more about Lita Judge and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  They are also found at Lita Judge's website, but she includes numerous concept sketches, too.  The book trailer with an interview is premiered at Watch. Connect. Read., the blog of Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher.  Lita Judge maintains accounts on Instagram and Twitter.

The Marking Of Twenty-Six

One of the most enjoyed units in our library each year was exploring the Japanese form of poetry called haiku.  For students hesitate to write poems, our choice to use a line of five syllables followed by a seven-syllable line and concluding with a five-syllable line was a structure many of them appreciated.  Did all of them adhere to the perimeters?  Not always, but the results, whether they selected the pattern or not, were wonderful.  You could feel the joy in the room as they discovered simple and ordinary things in our world are worthy of transformation and validation.

In 1968 the Haiku Society of America was founded.  One of its charter members was New York City public school teacher and writer Sydell (Syd) Rosenberg.  This woman, who passed away suddenly in 1996, had a dream.  Her children, specifically her daughter Amy Losak, vowed to make her vision a reality.  H Is For Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z (Penny Candy Books, April 10, 2018) written by Sydell Rosenberg with illustrations by Sawsan Chalabi is a collection of twenty-six poems written for children (but to be enjoyed by all ages). In an introduction Amy Losak writes a letter to readers before her mother poetically defines haiku.

These twenty-six haiku poems take a different approach to exploring our alphabet.  Instead of solely focusing on a person, place or thing represented by a letter, each poem begins with the appropriate letter. It's a different path to take, allowing for more possibilities.

Adventures over
the cat sits
     in the fur ring
of his tail, and dreams 

Everyday sights in her city capture Rosenberg's attention.  A boy seated on a mailbox, a berry-carrying blue jay and the act of getting a first library card are a few of the first to be noted.  Items seen on the back seat of a car are prime elements in her imaginative mind.

On a rainy day, a cluster of children holding umbrellas become fungi.  A large seed carelessly tossed is a toy for a fun-loving feline.  A broom is formed by a tail twitching in the rays of sunshine.

The simple act of riding a bike on an autumn day reads like a short symphony.  You will wonder which is louder; a thunderstorm or the cacophony of recorders.  A perception on a full-moon night tricks a looker's eyes.

Laundry hanging on a clothesline reveals memories.  Puddles take pride in their purpose.  Each letter takes readers on a journey of discovery.  During this trip we are invited to breathe deeply, stop, focus and use every one of our senses. 


With her writing of haiku in this book, Sydell Rosenberg guides children into the world of not only poetry but in the art of observation.  As she talks in her definition, haiku is a captured heartbeat.

Before the hoof comes down---that's haiku.

Sydell Rosenberg takes what might be an insignificant instance and with intention delivers something connecting us to each other.  Here is another of her poems from this book.

Neon wings
     of moth
exploding into headlight,
on a country road


At her website artist Sawsan Chalabi states most of her work is digital but she also uses

traditional line work and textures.

On the front of the dust jacket she gives us the impression of the H as being a part of the landscape with the clouds on the front extending over the spine to the left and back of the jacket.  This is precisely what author Sydell Rosenberg wants readers to see in her poems and in their day to day lives.  The featured girls are relaxed, comfortable.  I particularly like them being barefoot.

A colorful, tiny "v" patterns the opening endpapers (I'm working with a digital copy.)  On the title page a turtle mentioned in one of the poems is basking on a rock.  He is one of the first examples of a keen sense of humor Sawsan Chalabi displays in this book.  His nose is rather long. (He reminds me of Jimmy Durante.)

The full-color illustrations shift from full-page pictures to double-page images.  Some of the visuals only contain two colors, limited colors or an array of hues.  The fonts are bold, like many of the lines.  Readers will be delighted and surprised at the change of perspective; landscape view to close-up, depending on the poem.  Sometimes the illustrations are distinctively alone but other times one joins another; separate but parts of a larger whole.

One of my favorite pictures is of the children walking in the rain.  All four children from the bottom of the page to near the top are carrying red umbrellas with large white polka-dots.  The colors in their clothing, yellow, teal and orange, and the umbrellas are reflected in the colors of the letters in the poem.  The green from the iguana on the previous page is the color of the first letter, "H".


Sure to inspire and challenge readers to pen their own poems, H Is For Haiku written by Sydell Rosenberg with illustrations by Sawsan Chalabi is like a welcome sign.  Readers will start to look around a room in which they are sitting or standing, they will watch people whether they are in a grocery store or a movie theater and they will seek out animals domesticated and wild.  All have the potential to become part of a haiku poem.  Poetry collections will benefit from having this title.

To learn more about illustrator Sawsan Chalabi please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  At the publisher's website you can view interior illustrations.  Amy Losak and Sawsan Chalabi are interviewed at author and illustrator, Jen Benton's website.  Amy is interviewed at Matt Forrest Esenwine's site, Vivian Kirkfield's site, at Cynthia Leitich Smith's site, at KidLit411 and Celebrate Picture Books.  Amy Losak wrote a guest post at Laura Sassi Tales.  At Teachers & Writers Magazine, a lesson around Sydell Rosenberg and this title is showcased.  Amy maintains an account on Twitter. 

Constantly Changing

For most beings it beats out a cadence of life.  It comes in all shapes and sizes. If broken, it may be mended.  It's capacity for collecting (or not) is far greater than its physical size would indicate.

We store many things in our hearts, some tiny and some enormous.  An attached significance determines its prominence.  My Heart (Dial Books for Young Readers, Penguin Young Readers Group, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, January 8, 2019) written and illustrated by Corinna Luyken (The Book of Mistakes) explores the assorted aspects of listening to, following and tending our hearts.

My heart is a window,
my heart is a slide.
My heart can be closed
or opened up wide.

At times our hearts are vast and other times, they appear as a much smaller version of the first.  They even get heavy and shrink as small as the smallest seed.  When this happens, we need to remember what happens to the smallest of the small seeds.  They can blossom into something spectacular.

Our hearts may separate us far from others.  Sometimes the sound of our hearts is a mere breath of the tiniest breeze.; only those closest to us can hear.  If our hearts should shatter, we should pick up the pieces and make it whole.

Our hearts follow us but also lead us.  They do not leave us.  We are inseparable.


Ten sentences, ten simple but profound sentences, portray and reveal how our hearts reflect us.  Corinna Luyken uses rhyming words at sentence ends to welcome us into her book and to invite us to think about our own hearts. With her use of language, she asks us to listen, learn and accept.  Take a few minutes to reread her first two sentences.  Can you think how these apply to you?


We are introduced to the limited color palette selected by Corinna Luyken when viewing the open dust jacket.  Yellow, white, and shades of gray and black elevate the impact of the carefully chosen words in the narrative.  The grassy scene peppered with tiny yellow heart-shaped flowers extends to each flap edge.  On the flaps there is a profusion of blooms.

On the book case large brush strokes of yellow on white move over the spine, left to right, only to disburse, to the right and top, like a flock of heart-shaped birds.  Strong charcoal gray, almost black, makes a large border on the bottom of the opening and closing endpapers.  A wide expanse of white and pale gray spreads above it.

On the first endpapers, a bespectacled boy squats in front of a hole, holding a heart-shaped plant.  An empty pot is next to the hole.  Two other flowers are planted.  A fourth waits.  On the closing endpapers four flowers flourish, their tiny-tendril roots visible and flowing beneath the surface.

A gorgeous double-page picture focuses on a third child, a girl, standing on steps, holding a watering can.  Spread before her on the title and verso pages is a garden cloaked in yellow.  These illustrations by Corinna Luyken rendered with

a print-making process called monotype, using water-based ink and pencil

each span two pages.  The hues of the colors blend, moving from light to dark and dark to light, accentuating the textual descriptions.  Readers will be examining each image for hearts.  Some are substantial, and others are minute.  All will be happy to see a diverse cast of characters featured.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for the words

my heart is a slide.

A slide arches upward, the ladder forming one side of the top of a heart.  It drops to the ground, forming the point.  The shadow, on the grass, completes the shape.  Two children are near the ladder; another is poised to slide at the top.  A faint yellow surrounds him/her.  The point of the slide/heart goes into a yellow glow.  Genius.


If you want a book offering hope, championing the right to choose and ringing out all the characteristics of our hearts, My Heart written and illustrated by Corinna Luyken is that book. It envelopes you in wisdom and calm.  You could pair it with Love and Love, Z for a thematic story time or bedtime.  I know readers will want to share examples of the workings of their hearts.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Corinna Luyken and her other work, please follow the links attached to her names to access her website and blog.  Corinna Luyken maintains accounts on Twitter and Instagram.  Corinna chats with Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher, on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Corinna is also interviewed at Brightly and Mile High Reading, a site maintained by Dylan Teut, director for the Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival in Seward, Nebraska.

UPDATE:  Corinna Luyken is a featured guest at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.