The other morning it was too icy and too cold to walk our normal route. When my canine companion and I roamed around the backyard, two chickadees swooped into a bush right next to us. For several moments their cheerful chatter banished the bitter winter chills and wind.
Their presence brought back memories of other encounters with fellow chickadees, one brave enough to land on the tip of a cross country ski pole. There are also those magical marvelous minutes too near a bull elk. His haunting bugle echoing over me alone in the deep snow of Pigeon River State Forest forty years ago. Some things stay with you forever.
These unplanned meetings are a reminder of our stewardship toward this planet we share with a myriad of living creatures. So many wild beings are in need of our assistance and protection. They are not alone, though, as Sanctuary: A Home for Rescued Farm Animals (Clarion Books, January 31, 2023) written and illustrated by Julia Denos shows us. Her thoughtful text and heartwarming artwork are a precious ode to those animals who might be overlooked in our endeavors to make life for all those on our planet better.
It is dark, but I can see your light.
The voice of a child speaks to an animal, reassuring them about the security they seek. They need to look no longer. Another child tells a group of animals, they are to be given names rather than numbers. Here they matter.
In this space, all are free to be themselves. Animals can simply live for the sake of living. They need not worry about supplying others with any form of food. Their bodies are safe from harm. They and their young can grow to oink, moo, and cluck to their hearts' content.
In this place, humans will heal, not hurt. In this place animals can sleep without worry. In this place, dreams do come true.
Sometimes, adults cannot believe children see things as they are, but they do. They do see things as they are and they open their hearts and minds. Nothing is more honest, valuable, or formidable than children who know their hearts and minds. Their words become actions.
Through the voices of five children, author Julia Denos offers hope, hope for the rescued animals, hope for the children who love those animals, and hope for healing in our world. Each of the children offers comfort and expected joy to the animals who arrive and live in the sanctuary. The word here is used repeatedly as reinforcement and a promise. Its use does precede a soliloquy by the final child. Here she shares the truth all the children believe. It is an opportunity for readers to participate in the same truth. Here is a passage.
Here is home. Where you can be
who you were born to be, just like me.
Let's feel the earth, stretch our legs,
lift our hooves, and spread our wings!
The child featured on the right, front, of the matching dust jacket and book case, is nuzzling nose to nose with a new guest at the sanctuary. The light between their heads signifies the connection between those giving love and those in need of love. The field filled with dandelions (and their wishes), tiny forget-me-nots, and clover stretches across the front and the back.
The girl's body crosses the spine and her blue jean-clad legs extend to the far left side on the back, left, of the jacket and case. Near the girl's waist are two, fuzzy yellow baby chicks. On a hill behind her graze a cow and calf and a sow and piglets. At the top of the hill is a barn. There are sparkles of light around the barn and a ray of light coming from the barn. Julia Denos has pinpricks of light on the entire image.
On the opening and closing endpapers, the backgrounds and patterns on each are reversed. Left becomes right and right becomes left. On the one the background hues are rose and golden yellow washes. On the other, shades of blue, and a bit of green and yellow color the canvas. On each are different prints made by the animals' feet. Amid the tiny dots of light are dandelion seeds, a dandelion and dandelion leaf, clover leaves, a four-leaf clover, feathers, a butterfly, a bee, and the stalk of another flower.
On the dedication, verso and title pages, a single illustration shows readers the rolling hills, flowers, birds and the barn of the sanctuary. A beautiful blue sky fills most of the two pages. These pictures rendered in
graphite, watercolor, acrylic, and digital paint
are double-page visuals, single-page illustrations or two images on a single page.
Most of the single page images are loosely framed with liberal white space bordering that framing. The animals are realistically portrayed as are the children. It is the use of color, lines, and brush strokes which give them a softness, a welcome gentleness. This invitation asks readers to pause, looking for delicate details like a honey bee resting on a clover blossom, a butterfly poised on the tip of a horn, a spider hanging from a web in the barn as animals curl against each other during a rainstorm or the heart-shaped earrings one of the girls is wearing.
One of my many favorite illustrations (besides the final, double-page picture) is the one for the above-quoted text. It is a two-page visual. On the left side, beneath a blue sky, one of the children dances with a pig near one of the barns. In front of them is barnyard dirt stretching left to right. In front of the dirt is meadow grass filled with clover. Among the clover on the left are two bunnies, one brown and the other white with brown spots. On the right side just above the meadow grass, a white, feathery turkey stands with wings outstretched, some feathers drifting down to the dirt. Happiness and contentment radiate from this scene.
This book, Sanctuary: A Home for Rescued Farm Animals written and illustrated by Julia Denos, is an exquisite treasure. It could be used in animal studies or discussions about the care of our planet and its inhabitants. At the close of the book, Julia Denos writes a moving two-page letter
Dear Caregiver,
This letter is about animals and children, specifically farm animals. It speaks about how human society has treated the farm animals. At the close of the letter, she lists seven
small ways you can make big changes
before she signs
I'll be dreaming with you.
Julie
At the bottom of the first page of the letter, in small print, Julia Denos asks readers to look for nine wild plants in her illustrations. On the back jacket flap, it states that Julia Denos has always been a lover of animals. In 2017, she became vegan. She has a rescued cat and dog and likes to visit animal sanctuaries. This book is certain to find a permanent place in readers' hearts, hearts championing for animals. You will want to place a copy on your personal and professional bookshelves.
To discover more about Julia Denos and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website. Julia Denos has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She is most active on Instagram.
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