Animal Observations And The Music of Language

Early this morning fog and clouds shrouded the mountains as snow fell.  Walking from one room to another something caught my attention; a shadow moved behind the shades still down over the window and door opening to the back deck.  The small tree (Xena's tree) was still lit and twinkling.

It was a large doe moving as lightly as the falling flakes.  In search of food she got through the snow and ate what grass she could find.  I know when spring and summer come she will try to enjoy my gardens.  It will be a challenge as we share the same space but today she was beautiful. 

Author illustrator Julie Paschkis combines her notable skills, her acquired love of the Spanish language and perceptions of the animal world in her newest title. Flutter & Hum: Animal Poems, Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales (Henry Holt and Company, August 18, 2015) is a harmonious tribute to the beauty of written and spoken words.  It seeks and finds joy.

Snake

Slithering

through the grass

the sinuous snake

is writing

a slippery poem

with his body. ...

La Serpiente

Deslizandose

por la hierba

la serpient sinuosa

esta escribiendo

un poema resbaloso

con su cuerpo.

Fourteen animals and fourteen poems, each in English and in Spanish, feature characteristics, imagine possibilities, describe moments, and pose questions.  It's not usual to think of snakes as authors but it does make a kind of sense when you wonder about the marks they leave behind.  We know the turtle's shell is a portable home but there might be other treasures carried too.

As a heron takes flight a picture alters.  Even on a rainy day a single crow manages to find a bit of sparkle.  A cat sleeping and awake can explore named points apart on our world.  A field is not a field to a cow but a ready restaurant.  Do the dogs wag their tails or does sheer jubilation?

A tiny fly, a flashy parrot and a silent deer feast, demand and peer.  Perhaps they will travel to watch sea giants waltz with waves.  A haunting hoot pierces the dark as moths and fireflies seek and give light.  Under and on water fish weave a lullaby.

From every place on our planet the familiar become extraordinary as Julie Paschkis uses language like a magician makes magic.  Onomatopoeia, repetition, rhyming and free verse in English are mirrored in the elegance of the Spanish translation.  She has the ability to see beyond the obvious and make us gasp in admiration at her perspectives.  Here is another sample portion.

Owl
The moon is a lantern
in the branches.
A shimmer.

A shadow whistles
through the grass.
A whisper.

El Buho
La luna es un farol
en las ramas.
Brilla.

Silba una sambra
por las hierbas.
Un susurro.


Rendered in Winsor & Newton gouache on Arches paper all the illustrations throughout are as stunning as the two on the front and back of the dust jacket.  The earth tones on black are a gorgeous pairing.  On the back, to the left, a male deer, a buck, is looking directly at us from among the trees.  As you will note letters and words in English and Spanish are blended into the illustrations.  This adds a creative, innovative dimension to each image.  The book case is identical to the interior illustration of the heron.  A grass green covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Some of the elements from the dust jacket appear on the title page.

All of the visuals span edge to edge across two pages.  Intricate details invite you to pause at each picture.  Sometimes Julie Paschkis draws us directly into the presence of the animal.  Other times we move back and see them within a larger landscape.  Her color palette varies in relationship to the animal and the time of day.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the poem Dog.  Among a swirl of yellow flowers and leaves red balls bounce.  On each side a furry brown dog jumps in joy.  The words bump, bounce, abound, red, ruff and ready and tonto, junto, juego, pronto, redondo, rojo, ojo and rebote appear on the leaves and balls.


Flutter & Hum: Animal Poems Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales written and illustrated by Julie Paschkis is a cheerful frolic among animals, wild and domestic.  I highly recommend this title for reading aloud in either or both languages.  In an author's note, in English and Spanish, Julie Paschkis tells us these poems were first written in Spanish, then English.  Don't wait until National Poetry Month, use this all year long for writing, a study of languages or animals.

To enjoy learning more about Julie Paschkis and her other books please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  If you visit the publisher's website you can view eight interior images.  They are absolutely lovely.  Julie Paschkis was a guest at Jama Rattigan's blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup.  You will enjoy the additional illustrations and the interview.


While some might argue the use of this title for the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy, the use of two languages and animals plus the classification is enough for me.  Please visit the blog to see the other books selected by other bloggers this week.

Insider Secrets

Last night the first big storm of the season left behind five inches of snow.  Looking up from shoveling my driveway as the sun was starting to set; I noticed two deer quietly walking down the sidewalk across the street, a doe and an eight-point buck.  We watched each other for several minutes as I moved in rows back and forth tossing snow.

In mere seconds on a turn around I was startled to see they had gone.  They had vanished without a sound.  Not for the first time I wondered about the ability to accomplish something marvelous demonstrated in the animal world.  In a title recently named to the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12:2016 (Books published in 2015) the wife and husband collaborative team of Robin Page and Steve Jenkins reveal fascinating instructions.  How To Swallow A Pig: Step-By-Step Advice From The Animal Kingdom (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 1, 2015) will increase your admiration and respect for these creatures.

So you want to learn how to swallow a pig.  You've come to the right place.  

If you want to ease into this particular bit of knowledge, it is suggested to start out slowly with the less dramatic tricks of the trade.  Seventeen unique techniques are disclosed before the final eighteenth feat.

Teamwork among blue whales, circular swimming and blowing of bubbles, makes for a tasty meal.  An aptly named tailorbird uses creative stitching skills to shape a nest.  You'll look at millipedes differently with the new awareness of their value in the insect-plentiful rainforest.  Although the capuchin monkeys approach might make you utter the word gross.

Bighorn sheep teach us how to woo, crows cleverly crack nuts and beavers engineer a new pond.  Diving into the depths we witness the masquerade of the octopus.  Legs, a beak and spread wings define the hunting prowess of the reddish egret.  Paper manufacturer, mathematical genius, and umbrella engineer might be words used to describe the nesting building skills of a paper wasp.

Do you know why a barn spider spins the same web twice?  Do you know how bowerbirds work like interior designers?  Do you know why velvet monkeys have more than one alarm call?  Do you know why leaf-cutter ants leave a chemical trail?

Camouflage like a member of the tree family if you want to snatch dinner from the water like a crocodile.  Never settle for only one line of defense if you want to survive like an armadillo.  If pit digging is your style follow the lead of an ant lion.

The western grebe could teach contestants on Dancing with the Stars a move or two.  You most definitely won't want to engage in a hugging competition with a python.  Nothing compares to learning from members of the animal community.


For each creature Robin Page and Steve Jenkins use the repetitive words

How to ...
like a ...

This is followed by a captivating descriptive paragraph inviting the readers, if they desire, to follow their numbered steps to accomplish the same results as the mentioned animal.  The matter-of-fact conversational suggestions will have you believing you might blow a bubble net, smash heads with a rival or enjoy a

fungus feast.

Here are some excerpts from the

How to
Spin a Web
Like a Spider

...Before you start, however, you'll need to find a protected place to build your web, and---this is the tricky part---you'll have to learn how to spin silk threads.

1 Cast a line.
Once you've found the right spot, cast a single silk thread into the air.  If you're lucky, the breeze will catch it and it will snag on a nearby branch or other object.
2 Make a loop.
Walk across the first thread and spin another that droops to form a U.


The python coiled around the title, author and illustrator text on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case is stunning.  The placement of the tail and head and using the patterned skin as a frame is a truly eye-catching design.  On the back, to the left, on a background of the same rusty red as found on the front are six white circles.  Each features a portion of a different illustration from the interior.  The title font hue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page the image from the front jacket and case is repeated with a noticeable change.  All that remains of the python is an "s" portion of the tail.  The reptile is on the move.

White space showcases the torn-and-cut-paper collage art of Steve Jenkins.  The tiny details and the play of light and shadow creating life-like eyes are astounding.  The set of instructions may be placed on a single page or span two pages.  For each number a separate image is shown.

One of my favorite series of illustrations is for the tailorbird.  As the bird selects a leaf we see him on a branch coming from the top of a page.  Then it has moved to work the two edges of the leaf together with spider silk.  As the holes are poked in the leaf edges and found material is used to sew them together the angle of the pictures changes.  The final visual is larger as the tailorbird flies gathering soft items to line the nest.


It's understandable in addition to being on the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12:2016 (Books published in 2015), How To Swallow A Pig: Step-by-Step Advice From The Animal Kingdom written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is also one of the Commended Books on the 2016 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize Finalists list.  At the close of the book several pages highlight more facts about each of the animals.  There is also a short bibliography.

If you desire to learn more about Robin Page and Steve Jenkins please visit their website by following the link attached to the first name.  Attached to the second name are pages dedicated to the making of this book. Don't miss the book, reading it aloud or chatting about the information found at their website.

Please stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by Alyson Beecher to see the other titles selected by bloggers this week who are participating in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Within One, Thousands...

When learning to count, one comes first.  It's a beginning.  The true value of one can be found in the difference one year, month, day, hour or second can make in shaping lives.  We have often requested to do something one more time.  We know there is one thing we never want to happen again.  One person or one dog can impact our life choices or make our lives worth living.

In her most recent nonfiction publication Kate Messner explores the power of one.  Tree of Wonder: The Many Marvelous Lives of a Rainforest Tree (Chronicle Books, August 11, 2015) with illustrations by Simona Mulazzani takes us where many of us will never visit.  It's a journey of discovery multiplying with every page turned.

Deep in the forest, in the warm-wet green, ONE ALMENDRO TREE grows, stretching its branches toward sun.

Eleven life forms are descriptively introduced in poetic paragraphs.  Further astonishing facts follow in a separate portion of the page.  When more than one million blossoms appear on a single tree in one year, it's a tree worth investigating.

This tree will be a permanent home for the same couple year after year; a duo of birds who mate for life.  Another flock finds the fruit here enticing.  You might see keel-billed toucans using their bills to throw fruit to their branch pals.

The largest monkeys in Latin America can be heard loud and clear as they warn other howler monkeys to stay away from one particular almendro tree.  The distance from which this sound can be heard is astounding.  Night feeders become unknowing gardeners, dropping the seeds from the almendro tree.  Will they be planted later?

Perhaps it would be a good idea to not be near the most venomous snake in Costa Rica when the babies are born; fifty, one-foot long squirmers.  Even the rain forest has hoarders.  The agoutis must be busy.

A delicate butterfly can mimic a deadly foe.  Caring parents making many trips seek shelter in the tree's leafy dens.  Unsuspecting frogs need to beware of the lurking spider hiding in its lair.  It's hard to picture but leafcutter ants can live with from three to four other leafcutter ants in colonies under the ground.  They can nearly deplete the leaves on a tree in twenty-four hours but nature has a way for them to help too.

From one to one thousand, twenty-four we count the ways this tree supplies life to the forest.  From flowers to fruit, on branches, within the bark, among leaves and on the ground below, it gives.  It's easy to understand why...

In Latin America, the almendro tree is known as the "tree of life," ... .


When Kate Messner writes nonfiction she does so with diligence and meticulous research.  She first brings us into the experience with sensory perceptions.  We are then privy to mind-boggling specific aspects about each plant, bird, mammal, reptile, insect, amphibian and arachnid.  Her technique of having the numbers mentioned double puts an intriguing mathematical spin on the information.


A sun-kissed sky, pale in the background, glows against the bright bold colors of rain forest dwellers on the image spanning from left to right, back to front, on the matching dust jacket and book case.  With no effort whatsoever you can hear the boisterous howler monkeys, the chatter of the great green macaws and keel-billed toucans.  If you are the bark on the tree you can feel the flutter of passing butterflies and soft-padding of persistent frogs.  Silhouettes of the mentioned creatures are patterned in two hues of green on the opening and closing endpapers.

A rhythm, like breathing, is created with the illustrations crossing the gutter from left to right leaving a half page for a column in which the informative text appears.   Above this a number tops the etched images of the animals; 16 with sixteen fruit bats beneath, 32 with thirty-two fer-de-lance below and 64 with sixty-four agoutis in rows.  The background colors in these columns change to reflect the pictures to the left.

Rendered in acrylic and pencil Simona Mulazzani details her paintings with a realistic quality using soft, sure brush strokes.  No matter the time of day or night or location, she brings us into the world of the almendro tree with her shifts in perspective.  It's interesting to note the leafcutters are shown in more than one image reinforcing their continual work.

One of my favorite pictures is of the great green macaws.  A pair is inside their nest hole, two eggs next to them.  We are inside the nest with them looking outside at other birds resting on branches and flying near the almendro tree.


Tree of Wonder: The Many Marvelous Lives of a Rainforest Tree written by Kate Messner with illustrations by Simona Mulazzani is a stellar work of nonfiction in a picture book format.  The text and images work immediately to engage readers and inspire further investigation.  I've already looked up the average size of rusty wandering spiders.  One fact leads us to another which is exactly as it should be.  At the close of the book a discussion about the almendro tree with links to three organizations is provided.  There are several pages with challenging Rainforest Math. We are invited to read additional books and view a documentary.

To learn more about Kate Messner and her other work follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  I was most happy for her when reading this tweet.

Thrilled & honored that TREE OF WONDER is a finalist for the @AAAS-Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books https://t.co/nU8tMjXubf

— Kate Messner (@KateMessner) November 9, 2015

Kate Messner chats with teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner on his Let's Get Busy Podcast #176 about this title. 

The link attached to Simona Mulazzani's name takes you to an artist's website where her work is featured.  You can view more illustrations from this title at the publisher's website.  One of her newly illustrated books was highlighted at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast recently.


It's a pleasure each week to participate in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by educator Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please stop by to see the other titles selected this week by bloggers.

Wordsmith Extraordinaire

When you sit in a classroom knowing the answer but are afraid to raise your hand, you find solace in realizing you are right.  When you've been banished to the bench knowing you could assist your team if only given the opportunity, you find solace in past experiences.  When you sit alone as other groups gather, you find solace in your unique individualism and gifts.

As a slave in the United States the chance to attend school, join a team or create a circle of friends was not available.  Days were defined by back-breaking work and horrific living conditions.  One boy found solace in words, sustaining him for his entire life.  His days are passionately portrayed in Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton (Peachtree Publishers, September 1, 2015) by author illustrator Don Tate.

GEORGE LOVED WORDS.  He wanted to learn how to read, but George was enslaved.  

A master's approval for a slave learning to read was unlikely to happen.  Everything was about work.  George still gathered words he heard, weaving them together like a cloak of comfort.  He listened and learned the alphabet as white children studied.

A gift of a hymnal from his mother, even though he could not understand the words, was a promise.  The discovery of an old spelling book was all he needed to pursue the possibilities in that promise.  Alone in the dark by the light of a small fire, George Moses Horton learned to read.

Like water released from a dam, George read everything his eyes touched but what he loved the most was poetry.  Not only did he find pleasure in the reading of poems but he formed lines of poetry in his mind, keeping them safe until he could learn to write.  When he was seventeen George's life changed dramatically.  He was given to the master's son.

The best time was Sundays when he was allowed to walk eight miles to the campus of the University of North Carolina.  As he sold crops grown on the master's farm, to shield himself from the taunts of the students, he opened his mouth releasing those stored poetic words.  The students were enthralled.  George's life changed again.

Books were given to him.  Requests for poems were asked of him.  He was paid in money and other items for his beautiful words.  He was taught to write by a professional.  He was still the slave of the master's son.

His words were published.  An arrangement was made so he could write full time.  Money was raised to buy his freedom.  He was still the slave of the master's son.

The Civil War altered George's life once more not for the good until it ended.  He was sixty-six when he was no longer the slave of the master's son.  Words, wonderful words, had sustained this marvelous man, this poet.


By the time I finished the first page of this biography today, even though I have read it before, the words written by Don Tate brought tears to my eyes.  Perhaps it is the sharp contrast between sharing a few hours with students in a classroom hours earlier and the longing felt by George Moses Horton who wanted to learn to read but could not attend school.  Most certainly it's the carefully researched narrative placed on each page, descriptive, nearly lyrical and deeply moving.  Here is a sample passage.

Then George found an old spelling book.  It was tattered and some pages were missing, but it was enough to get him started.
George thumbed through its pages.  He recognized some of the letters.
At night, when he should have been resting after a long day of work,
George studied by firelight.  His eyes burned from the smoke. 


Pride in hard-won accomplishments radiates from George Moses Horton on the matching dust jacket and book case.  Those same wide flowing lines seen here are used within the body of the book to display text or heartwarming or heart wrenching events.  On the back, to the left, inset in this image is George, poetic words coming from his mind as he pushes a cart laden with fruits and vegetables to the university.  On the opening and closing endpapers with a background appearing like parchment or very old paper, Don Tate has lines streaming like ribbons from two different works by Horton.  Two title pages depict George at the university and on the farm working, always working.

Illustrations may span edge to edge across two pages, appear as a large inset in a double-page picture, or as smaller vignettes.  The insets are framed but one or more elements may extend beyond the boundary.  Historically accurate architecture, attire and landscape are depicted.  The facial expressions of George and the other people in his world are exquisite in their portrayal of particular moments.

Rendered in mixed media, gouache, archival ink, and pencil on acid-free, 100% cotton watercolor paper and digital the illustrations are illuminating.  We are acutely aware of every facet of George's life presented.  One of my several favorite illustrations is of George teaching himself to read.  Stars are strewn across a night sky as he rests on his elbows studying the old, torn spelling book.  He is on a small hill with a tiny fire burning.  Behind him a small, wooden, windowless shack is placed in the lower, left-hand corner.  Clothes are drying on a line.  It is inspirational and hopeful.


Poet:  The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton written and illustrated by Don Tate is one of the finest picture book biographies of this year.  No personal or professional bookshelf should be without a copy.  At the close of the book Tate includes a page of resources, an extensive two-page Author's Note and a page of acknowledgements.

You will want to learn more about Don Tate and his other books by accessing his website via the link attached to his name.  This link takes you to a page on the site dedicated to this title.  You might like to read his launch week post linked here.  John Schumacher, Scholastic Ambassador for School Libraries, revealed the book trailer on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read. along with a guest post by Tate.  Five Questions for Don Tate, Author of Poet: The Remarkable Life of George Moses Horton can be found at UNC Library News and Events. Don Tate is a guest at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and at teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner's Let's Get Busy Podcast #184.  


Make sure you stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to see the other titles selected by bloggers participating in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge this week.

Holding On To Beauty

They walk among the towering fifty foot tall ponderosa pines and tamarack trees grazing on grasses and bushes.  You can see them as darkness falls away to daylight, in the mid-morning or late afternoon hours, and at twilight.  They can be heard munching on apples at two am if you have to go outside with your dog.  Chain link fences surrounding homes built more than thirty years ago mean nothing to them.  This is their land.  It has been for centuries.

Gliding through our city and outlying suburbs alone, in pairs or large groups, the white-tailed deer are a reminder of our need to protect and preserve.  As stewards of our fragile planet our vigilance is not an option.  Counting Lions: Portraits from the Wild (Candlewick Press, October 13, 2015) writing by Katie Cotton, illustrations by Stephen Walton and a foreword by Virginia McKenna draws readers into the wild with stunning artwork and poetic observations.

One lion
sits and watches his rough-and-tumble pride.
He surveys the golden savanna, and a flicker catches his eye---something moving in the grass.

This big cat, a monarch, a sentinel and a soldier, ever attentive, rules, observes and fights to safeguard his family.  It seems fitting the group is called a pride.  His look is fierce and filled with purpose.

As a page is turned the numbers advance.  Two gorillas, a mother and child, nose to nose, are so close they are sharing the same air.  Tiny at birth, the baby will stay near for several years.

Tall, graceful and spotted they reach for leaves.  Three giraffes roam the grasslands on long legs with stretched necks.  Nestled near three cubs a majestic tiger stares and dares anyone to come near her family.

Did you know elephants walk from the day they are born?  Five search for food and water where others have traversed before them.  They are not found anywhere else in our world, these Ethiopian wolves.  Even though they are six in number, they work as one.

Seven cuddle and get cozy as a storm swirls about them in Antarctica.  Wearing no crown, these Emperor penguins live an unimaginable existence in a land of ice and snow.  Every two to four years these female turtles move en masse to lay their eggs.  Eight swim toward the sands.  How much longer will these creatures grace our oceans?

Wearing bold-hued feathers nine macaws line a limb.  Their chatter informs each other of the latest forest gossip.  Displaying coats which leave no doubt as to their identity, ten zebras lean down to quench their thirst.  Though their heads are bowed, their eyes miss nothing.  Others seeking them for dinner need the water too.  Fifty-five animals altogether, from one to ten, counting on us.


For each specie Katie Cotton has penned sentences lyrical in style.  We are taken to the place, we are keenly aware of the animals' physical qualities, and we are asked questions.  Each piece begins and ends with a number followed by the name.  This along with vivid description, alliteration and the repetition of the number followed by a noun in the next to last line create a pleasing rhythm.  Here is the completion of the first.

...A challenger to his throne?
His muscles tighten.  He throws back his huge head,
about to roar---but it is only a lioness, returning with a kill.
He settles down to keep watch again.
Who knows what he has seen?
One king.
One lion.


Mesmerizing is a word which comes to mind when first looking at the matching dust jacket and book case.  These images rendered by Stephen Walton in charcoal reach out, grab you and don't let go.  You can't turn away.  You want to sit and study every single one.  On the back, to the left three giraffes look at you from the left-hand corner. The orange color of the title text is replicated on the opening and closing endpapers.

Throughout the book the only colors are the white background, the orange text and shades of charcoal.  The first image is the only one on a single page.  The rest span both pages, the narrative placed outside the scope of each picture.  You will find yourself frequently reaching out to the page wanting to touch one of the featured animals.

Light and shadow and fine lines create beings ready to break free from the confines of the page at any moment.  You believe if you close your eyes and then open them; the animals might be alive in the room with you.  The way they stare right at you is marvelous.

One of my favorite illustrations of several is the five elephants ranging in ages.  The younger ones stay close to their parent in the grass.  The notched ears and wrinkled skin are exquisitely portrayed.  You can almost hear them breathing.  For the moment they have paused to eat but you know they'll move on soon.


Counting Lions: Portraits from the Wild written by Katie Cotton with illustrations by Stephen Walton and an introduction by Virginia McKenna is an eloquent, poignant look at ten different animals, some needing our help more than others.  At the close of the book several paragraphs are dedicated to supplying more details about each of them.  Information is included about the author, illustrator and the role of Virginia McKenna as a champion for wildlife.  There is also a page of websites for those seeking additional facts.

To learn more about Stephen Walton and his work please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  This is a link to a blog post, Why I don't edit 'proper books' for grown-ups, by Katie Cotton which gives you a feel for her passion for picture books.  Enjoy the book trailer provided by the UK publisher.




Be sure to stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected by other bloggers participating in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

A Rope In The Right Place

There have been or will be events in our lives when we think, "I can't believe I did that.  How is it that I am still alive?"   Or we will be placed in a situation completely beyond our control wondering if this will be our last moment to draw breath.  At times such as these we are reminded, if we have forgotten, to be grateful every single day.

In the course of history there are those people, for reasons not immediately understood, who are saved when they should have died.  The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland's Good Fortune (Candlewick Press, September 22, 2015) written and illustrated by P. J. Lynch, his debut as an author, chronicles the days of such a person.  It also serves to show how those who begin in one position in life can be elevated through circumstances, hard work and service to others.

London
London was a fine city when I was there.  Greatest city in the whole world.  Smelled bad, I must say, but it was huge and busy and exciting for a young lad like me.

As an indentured servant to John Carver, John Howland is busy as are the other servants to those people readying a rented ship bound for America.  They have come from Holland where they fled due to religious persecution by the ruling royalty.  William Brewster, the leader of the Separatists, will be aboard the Mayflower too.   Working long hours into the night, all is eventually loaded.

After setting sail before morning's light and before they leave the coast of England John has earned the respect of first mate Bob Coppin with his forthright honesty.  As a smaller ship, the Speedwell, from Holland joins them; there is much celebration and excitement for the voyage ahead.  Two weeks pass with bad news for the travelers.  Half their supplies are gone and they have not left England.  The Speedwell is simply not seaworthy.  This boat and many of the people stay behind as the Mayflower leaves.

Treacherous storms pound the ship, one after the other.  Water pours from the top into the decks beneath, soaking the passengers.  They are continuously advised to stay below until given permission to leave.  On one occasion when the crew decides to turn the boat into the wind without sail hoping to keep it safe, John Howland, no longer able to stand the stench comes outside.  An enormous wave tips the ship throwing him overboard.

As he accepts his fate, a voice calls to him and a flash of lightning reveals hope.  When he arrives in the company of the passengers and crew, all are amazed.  For a week he lays at rest recovering.  During his absence, the rest of the passengers are beginning to show signs of the poor living and eating conditions.  Illness and death begin to plague the ship.

In the months stretching into more than a year, land is finally sighted but it is not the longed for Virginia, a new charter is written, a search for a suitable settlement takes them north, there are encounters with the Native Americans, two-thirds of the members who sailed on the Mayflower die, King Massasoit of the Wampanoag and especially Squanto visit and assist the newcomers, the Mayflower returns to England, houses are slowly constructed, crops are planted in the spring and a feast to celebrate a good harvest lasts for several days in November.  When a ship, the Fortune, is sighted before the winter snow falls, John Howland has a decision to make.  Should he follow his dream to return to London a free man or stay in the new world?


As each portion of John Howland's harrowing journey to America and the equally challenging events once land is reached unfold, an underlying tension is felt with every page turn.  P. J. Lynch, through research, makes these historical moments seem real and recent.  Having John Howland narrate his own story makes it even more intimate.  Woven into his vivid accounts are pertinent conversations and descriptive details.  Here is a portion of a passage on a page.

Safe Harbor
We collected ourselves and loaded into the shallop right quick and cast off, heading north along the coast.  We sailed with the icy winds whipping around us all that day without seeing a harbor, a river, or even a creek.

A squall blew up of a sudden, and with Bob Coppin and me learning on the tiller to steer us away from the rocks, the hinges of our rudder broke.  There was nothing we could do but try to steer with our oars.  Over the din of the storm, Bob shouted, "Be of good cheer, lads.  I see it...I see the harbor!" and we cut in for the break in the shoreline.


The illustrations, rendered in watercolor and gouache, readily allow readers to reach back in time placing them alongside John Howland.  Opening the dust jacket, this first image stretches across the spine to nearly midway on the back.  A portion of the narrative on the left mirrors what we see on the front.  A shiver of fear passes through us as we watch John fall into the raging, bitter cold water.  All our senses are heightened.  On the title page with a white background, opposite the text in black, P. J. Lynch has placed a portion of the ship's rigging and sail.

Each painting is a study in the architecture, clothing and people of this time period.  Exquisite light and shadow give the perception of a lively scene frozen in a particular moment.  The layout alternates in a pattern of two full pages edge to edge with the words in an inset, a page crossing the gutter to cover another third, leaving space for text and a full page opposite a large column of text with a vertical image on the other side.  Sometimes we are given a panoramic vista or brought in close to the people.  Other times a bird's eye view portrays the vastness of a depiction.

One of my many favorite illustrations is at the docked ship before they leave London.  Beyond the lantern light, the darkness of the city shrouds the wagons, barrels, baggage, animals and people in shadow.  Nearer the glow we see the people working and carrying to get ready.  This image, like all of them, is so skillfully painted we feel as though we can hear the muffled conversations and animals calls, smell the city and shipyard odors, taste the salt in the air and feel the fur of the nearby sheep, goats and dog.


P. J. Lynch has written and illustrated a remarkable work of nonfiction in The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland's Good Fortune.  The hardships Howland and the others endured to seek refuge in another land are nearly unimaginable.  Readers will leave this recounting with a far greater appreciation of all individuals involved but specifically John Howland.  Every personal and professional shelf needs this book.

To increase your understanding of P. J. Lynch and his work please visit his website and blog by following the links attached to his names.  Several pages of the book can be seen at a publisher's website. Candlewick provides a note from the author for readers.


Please visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to see the other titles selected by bloggers participating in this week's 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

A Veterinarian's Hands, A War And A Child's Love For Bears

I like to think that even in the most fabulous, fantastical piece of fiction there is a shred of truth.  Perhaps the writer saw, heard, smelled, tasted or touched something real which triggered a thought carefully saved in their memory or journal.  All stories start with a single captured moment.

If we are fortunate enough to read a story, an entire story, so wonderful it feels like fiction even though it is based upon fact, we have been given a gift.  Finding Winnie:  The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear (Little, Brown and Company, October 20, 2015) written by Lindsay Mattick with illustrations by Sophie Blackall is one of those books.  It's about chance, choice, connections and love.

"Could you tell me a story?" asked Cole.
"It's awfully late."  It was long past dark, and time to be asleep.
"What kind of story?"
"You know.  A true story.  One about a Bear."
We cuddled up close.
"I'll do my best," I said.

A mother begins a story to her son Cole.  It takes place at least one hundred years before the boy is born.  It's about a veterinarian named Harry Colebourn.  It's said the warmth in Harry's heart moves to guide his skillful hands in caring for all animals.  A war in Europe extends its influence across the ocean to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where Harry lives and works.  Harry leaves his home to care for the horses used in this war.

After the train carrying the soldiers weaves through the countryside for several days a stop is made at White River.  Strolling along the platform Harry sees a bear cub tied alongside a man, a trapper.  Reaching into his pocket, kindness guiding a decision, the veterinarian offers the man twenty dollars for the young animal.  As you can imagine, the Colonel is initially shocked by Captain Colebourn's actions.  The rest of the men in his regiment are intrigued and thrilled with the bear's antics. The bear is given the name of Winnipeg, Winnie for short.

Winnie is never far from Harry as he works in the special tent, among many as far as the eye can see, designated for horses. He makes sure she acts like a proper solider and her skills surpass those of her human counterparts when it comes to finding something.  When all those men and all those horses sail for Europe, Winnie sails with them too.  She is the mascot for the men.

When the orders are issued for the men to join the fight in France, Harry makes another choice.  His love for Winnie is greater than his need to be with her.  She is placed in the London Zoo.  Young Cole can't believe this is the end of Winnie's and Harry's tale, but it is.  It is NOT the end of Winnie's story.  Nor is it the end of Harry's story.

A boy looking for a name for his stuffed bear visits the zoo, spying the bear cub and thinking her name would be the perfect for his beloved toy.  Again and again he returns; allowed inside the enclosure to be close to Winnie.  His adventures with his stuffed bear, inspired by Harry Colebourn's Winnie, are written down by the boy's father, A. A. Milne.

Happily Harry returns home to Winnipeg tending the animals under his care.  His son has a daughter who has a daughter who has a son named...Cole.  One man's love, one boy's love and one father's love are linked forever.


If you've ever read aloud to a child or a group of children, even though you are speaking and they are listening, there is an exchange taking place and a bond is being formed.  If they are comfortable with you, questions will be quietly asked during pauses or blurted out loud as curiosity overwhelms them. Lindsay Mattick writes with a natural and knowing voice both in the conversations between Cole and her and as she is relating the story of Winnie and Harry and Winnie and Christopher Robin.  Her words flow effortlessly as one who is familiar with the truth and with the wisdom of life experiences.  Here is a sample portion of a passage which resonates on many levels.

"Sometimes," I said, "you have to let one story end so the next one can begin."
"How do you know when that will happen?"
"You don't," I said.  "Which is why you should always carry on."


You can't help but marvel at the genius of the dust jacket as designed and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. On the front Winnie is looking right at the reader as she might have looked at Harry Colebourn when he first saw her.  She clings to his boot knowing he will care for her.  To the left, on the back, the blue and white pajama leg of a child and a part of their top is visible. In their hand is a teddy bear.  It's the two Winnies.  If you read a tweet below you can learn how the background was chosen.

Across the book case left to right are seven marching soldiers in a line silhouetted against a sky blushed in either a rising or setting sun.  Birds fly above them as Winnie leads the way.  On the opening endpapers a lush forest scene, a stream winding through the trees, greets readers.  A lone fox looks up.  Another two-page spread for the title page shows us what is beyond the stream. A small bear cub looks down from a tree branch.  The closing endpapers complete six pages of a photo album highlighting actual photographs and memorabilia of Harry Colebourn, his regiment, statues of Harry and Winnie, Christopher Robin and Winnie and Lindsay and Cole.  By turning the book the verso can be read on the final page.

Rendered by Sophie Blackall in Chinese ink and watercolor on hot-press paper the illustrations sing out warmth and love.  The trees in the first two images are seen again as wallpaper in Cole's bedroom.  The colors and patterns selected for Lindsay's and Cole's clothing as well as the bedding, books and the shelves are a beautiful blend of shades and geometric bliss.

In the telling of Harry's and Winnie's and Winnie's and Christopher Robin's stories picture sizes vary spreading across the gutter to leave a column on either the left or right with an inset of Lindsay speaking with Cole within a small circle.  Sometimes an image will cover a single page edge to edge or a partial page leaving room for the narrative on the side or bottom.  Blackall groups three or six illustrations framed in cream to show the passage of time.  The layout and placement of pictures is wonderful.

The details readers see on every page will have them pausing to take notice; the cost of reading material on a rack at the train station, the engine number on the train, the military uniforms and tents, the initials on Harry's duffel bag, the scenery as Harry drives Winnie to London, the bird's eye view of the London Zoo and the comparison views of the soldiers leaving for Europe and their return home at the train station.   One of my many favorite pictures is of Harry first holding Winnie on the train after she has eaten a variety of food.  She is happily sucking on a bottle of condensed milk, humming away.  The other men watch, grinning and laughing.  In the midst of what was surely a frightening time for them Winnie provides a pleasant distraction, a reminder of home.


This book, Finding Winnie:  The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear, written by Harry Colebourn's great-granddaughter, Lindsay Mattick, with illustrations by Sophie Blackall is a stunning work of textual and pictorial storytelling.  Every reader, no matter their age, will find these tales touching their collective hearts.  It's all about being connected and we are...we truly are.  It would be interesting to compare this title with students along with Winnie:  The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh (Henry Holt and Company, January 20, 2015) written by Sally M. Walker with illustrations by Jonathan D. Voss.

To learn more about Sophie Blackall and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Update:  At Sophie Blackall's blog she has posted Finding Winnie, Part 1, The Making of Finding Winnie Part 2 and The Making of Finding Winnie Part 3.  At the publisher's website you can read an excerpt starting with the opening endpapers.  It's interesting to see the image chosen for the UK version book case.  At CBC Books is a nice graphic timeline.  Author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson has a remarkable post about this title at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, One Picture-Book Roundtable Discussion Before Breakfast #4: Featuring the Women of Finding Winnie.  This link takes you to an educator's guide.  Historica Canada has a conversation with Lindsay Mattick.  Be sure to listen to PW KidsCast:  A Conversation with Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall.

UPDATE:  After the announcement of Sophie Blackall winning the 2016 Caldecott Medal for this title she was interviewed at Publishers Weekly.

Enjoy the tweets below.

Today's #kidlit sticker advertises Finding Winnie: https://t.co/IjxAqZdzoe pic.twitter.com/NCvzHj54nX

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) October 20, 2015

Fact! The cover of #findingwinnie is a nod to the pattern on a 1950 edition of #winniethepooh… https://t.co/CBIdfBU5S2

— lindsaymattick (@lindsaymattick) October 7, 2015

" I spent over a year working on Finding Winnie..." -@SophieBlackall http://t.co/5pmu3qtRFR pic.twitter.com/PGTycxgLQY

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) September 7, 2015

It makes me smile that the vine of Lou Grant smelling @lindsaymattick's Finding Winnie has been viewed 13,200 times. https://t.co/QxiqHvpUVX

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) August 8, 2015

My goal is to tell everyone about Finding Winnie:True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear. http://t.co/7TfnoeNzoX pic.twitter.com/yXIf2f87Je

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) April 11, 2015

Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by Alyson Beecher to view the other choices in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge by other bloggers.

Gliding With Grace

For a young girl growing up with the family nickname of Moose the chances of her parents spending their hard-earned money on dance lessons was slim.  Instead she watched her younger sister go to ballet lessons year after year.  She attended each and every recital amazed at the beauty of not only her sister dancing but the others with her on the stage.

You have to wonder if there had been another book other than the classic Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling would this girl have persisted in following her desires.  Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova (Chronicle Books, August 18, 2015) written by Laurel Snyder with illustrations by Julie Morstad is a book this child would have cherished.  She would have read it over and over feeling the hope and inspiration found in this dancer's life.

The city is big,
Anna is small.
The snow is
everywhere
and all around.

One winter's night Anna and her mama ride in a sleigh to the ballet.  Seeing a story told by dancers on a stage, watching their movements convey emotion, changes Anna's life.  Now her arms, legs and body twirl, dip and sway from place to place gaining even the attention of tiny creatures outside their apartment window.

Mama finally takes her to the ballet school but Anna is not accepted.  Two years pass.  Anna still twirls, dips and sways among the hanging laundry her mama washes for a living.  When they visit the school this time Anna's flair for expression draws the attention of the instructors.  Every position is precisely practiced repeatedly.

It is intense work.  It is exactly what Anna has wanted to do.  When she takes the stage the audience knows they are seeing a ballerina unlike any other.  Her style, her interpretation, is unique.

As Anna dances alone the first time as a swan, the swan, those in attendance feel the magic of her transformation.  Traveling around the world her fame continues to increase.  While Anna enjoys performing for the rich and famous, she does not forget from where she came.  She brings her dancing to those less fortunate in places ballerinas would normally not go.

Anna believes in spreading the joy of ballet everywhere to everyone.  She teaches.  She dances.  And then...  A train stop and a walk in the snow slow her steps.  Wings fold.  Breathing stills but her flights are remembered.


Sometimes we cry in sadness.  Sometimes we cry at the breathtaking elegance touching our lives.  Sometimes we cry in sheer delight.  When reading the words written with truth and respect by Laurel Snyder in this book, readers will find themselves deeply moved to tears for all those reasons.  Snyder's love of language is evident in each sentence on these pages.  Some of them are short and descriptive; others string together like sections of a symphony.  We become Anna and watch her life at the same time.  It's an incredible experience.  Here is the passage as Anna and her mama attend the first ballet together.

Then---ah!
The lights.
The lights!
Something is happening ...
There's a swell of strings,
a scurry of skirts.
A hiss and a hum and ...
HUSH!
It's
all
beginning!


If you close your eyes when first holding this book and opening the pages, you will feel the softness of the matte finished paper and heavy stock.  Your sensory experience with these illustrations has started.  Opening the matching dust jacket and book case Anna as a child, one arm extended with a wing, holds promise for the passion which will willingly consume her life and which she will gladly share with the world.  You can't see it but on the dust jacket the feathers are etched in iridescence.  To the left, on the back, is a single black chair, flowers painted on the back, with a pair of pink ballet slippers hanging from the top rail.

The opening endpapers, on a white background except for the floor in a shade of gray, show Anna gazing out the window of her home.  Laundry hangs from a crisscross of lines.  On the wall is a portrait of her and her mama.  This design is carried forth on the closing endpapers with changes to the items hanging from a line and the larger portrait on the wall.  The chair...oh, the chair.

On the initial title page, a single word, Swan, in graceful cursive is tipped with rose branches.  On the formal title page Anna practicing before being accepted to ballet school poses within the text.  Rendered in ink, gouache, graphite, pencil and crayon Julie Morstad exquisitely portrays each scene with authenticity, warmth and emotion.

Morstad's use of white space as an element in her design is exceptional drawing our eyes into the moment regardless of the size of the image.  Varying from two-page pictures to a series of smaller vignettes to depict the passing of time, each can be viewed individually or as part of a seamless whole.  Soft muted colors in a limited palette pair perfectly with the settings and historical period.

One of my favorite illustrations, besides the striking swan picture, is of Anna dancing in their apartment with a broom as her mama hangs up laundry.  We are on the outside looking through a window.  Two squirrels sit watching on the sill as snow falls.  It's a peaceful scene full of love.


You have to remind yourself to breath as you turn each page of Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova written by Laurel Snyder and illustrated by Julie Morstad.  All readers will be inspired by the life choices of this woman dedicated to the art of ballet.  It's a remarkable portrait by this author and illustrator.  At the close of the book Laurel Snyder includes two pages of additional information along with a bibliography and quotation sources.

To learn more about Laurel Snyder and Julie Morstad please follow the links to their websites attached to their names.  At the publisher's website is a teacher's guide.  John Schumacher, the Scholastic Ambassador for School Libraries, talks about his love of this book in one of his Saturday video chats with Colby Sharp and Lauren Castillo.  This book is highlighted by teacher librarian Jennifer Reed on her blog, Reederama.  Southeast publisher rep Teresa Rolfe Kravtin featured this title on her blog, A Rep Reading.  Laurel Snyder is interviewed and the book is showcased at this picture book life.  Julie Danielson, author, reviewer and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast speaks about the book and shows us some art. Teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner speaks with both Laurel Snyder and Julie Morstad during the Let's Get Busy podcast number 179.


This is my first post for the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy in six weeks.  I am happy to be back to more regular blogging.  Stop by her site to see what the other bloggers have highlighted this week.

Building Freedom One Loaf At A Time

Making bread from scratch is a labor of love.  Measuring and mixing the ingredients, selecting the correct temperature to activate the yeast, kneading the dough, letting it rise, kneading it again, dividing it into loaves and baking it are time-consuming steps but even the smell of the yeast working is enough to trigger memories of complete comfort.  As it bakes the odor drifting from the oven wraps around you like arms in a hug.

Growing up, every town, no matter the size, had a bakery.  Each morning fresh baked pastries and breads would fill the glass cases.  Gingerbread for Liberty!:  How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 27, 2015) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Vincent X. Kirsch is about a bake shop in Philadelphia and its baker who served for and with General George Washington during the American Revolution.

Everyone in Philadelphia knew the gingerbread baker.  His honest face...his booming laugh...

With his creative hands all sorts of shapes were formed and outlined in frosting.  For the children there were always left-over bits and pieces so none went hungry.  You could hear him say

"No empty bellies here!" 

"Not in my America!"

This baker knew what it was to be hungry living in Europe as a child but he also understood America offered opportunities for those willing to work hard perfecting their skills.  So he came.  In time rumors turned to truth; Americans were fighting for their freedom from British rule.  

Regardless of the advice from his wife about his age (old) and his robust physical shape (fat), this baker was determined to fight for his country, America.  He set off with the other soldiers to serve in General Washington's army.  When the baker arrived at the camp, he heard grumbling rumblings of soldiers ready to leave.  They were hungry.

While the baker from Philadelphia baked and baked for those soldiers, trouble was brewing across the ocean.  Men arrived in boats hired by the king of England.  It was more men than anyone had ever seen except for one man, the baker.  

After a consultation with General Washington, under cover of darkness the baker rowed toward those men from across the ocean.  Upon his arrival and looking at them all his plans changed.  He knew what he kneaded to do.  At the end of the revolution, believing his duties as baker general to be fulfilled, the baker from Philadelphia was ready to leave but General Washington had one more request.  And Christopher Ludwick did it.

The geniality of the baker in Philadelphia is apparent from the first two phrases penned by Mara Rockliff.  With great care she blends her research into a narrative easily understood by the youngest reader infusing the personality of the baker into her words.  With ease we follow the course of events and the baker's part in them.  Here is another passage.

But now, something was in the air (besides the smell of baking gingerbread).  Newspapers shouted

Revolution! Independence! Liberty!

Boys rolled up blankets, shouldered guns, and kissed mothers goodbye.

The baker hung his apron up.  He dusted flour off his hands.

As soon as you see the matching dust jacket and book case, you know this picture book biography is unique.  Marching off to join the army the baker is carrying stars on a platter.  He is ready to help America using his greatest skills.  To the left, on the back, other soldiers are marching to serve with General Washington.  The remarkable style of the illustrations seen here is continued throughout the book.  Created by Vincent X. Kirsch with 140-lb. press watercolor paper, watercolor, and rubbelkrepp (masking fluid) each image looks like the work of a master gingerbread baker.  

The opening and closing endpapers done in brown and cream feature a visual and written recipe for Simple Gingerbread Cookies.  Each letter in gingerbread appears as a cut-out cookie.  On the title page the majority of the text is placed on a sign such as one would find hanging outside a place of business during this time period.  Along the bottom buildings reflect the architecture of historic Philadelphia.  They continue on the verso and on the first page with the baker in a similar stance as on the front of the jacket and case.  

The color palette chosen by Kirsch is muted and warm with details etched in icing.  All of the pictures span across two pages.  Most of them present a larger overview with the exception of the conversation between Washington and the baker prior to his mission.  We are so close, we feel like participants in this communication. 

One of my favorite illustrations is when the baker is leaving to join the army.  To the left his wife is standing outside the bake shop, hands on hips.  A cow is grazing nearby.  The baker, carrying all his gear on this back, legs spread wide, is running.  It's as if he is floating over the countryside.  This is a reflection of the man's continuous can-do attitude. 

Gingerbread for Liberty!:  How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Vincent X. Kirsch is a piece of our history too delicious to miss.  It showcases the importance of doing what you do best in service to a cause in which you believe.  One person did and can make a difference.  An author's note and list of sources are found on the last page.

To learn more about Mara Rockliff and Vincent X. Kirsch please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  This title and Mara Rockliff are featured at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Publishers Weekly showcases this book, 'Gingerbread Liberty' Serves Up A Slice of Revolutionary History.  You will want to listen at TeachingBooks.net to hear Mara Rockliff talk about her name.

Please take a few moments to stop by Kid Lit Frenzy to see the selection of titles other bloggers have included in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.  I can never thank educator Alyson Beecher enough for hosting this each week.

Meteorological Moments

For those whose livelihood depends on the weather; farmers, fishermen, builders of bridges, roadways and homes, or airlines, railroads and other forms of transportation (to name a few) accurate forecasts are vital.  Some rely on generations of folklore, observations of the natural world, to predict daily, weekly, seasonal or yearly shifts in patterns.  The National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, depends on the expertise of climatologists and meteorologists, highly technical equipment and computer programming in order to provide the best, most up-to-date and extended weather information.

Having lost count of the number of times

Red sky at night, sailor's delight
Red sky in morning, sailor's warning

has been uttered in my presence and having witnessed the veracity of this lore, I've often wondered if there is a scientific basis for these occurrences.  Author Kathleen V. Kudlinski and illustrator Sebastia Serra answer this question among many others in Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather! (Dial Books For Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, July 7, 2015).   Let's go back to 1500 B.C.

Long, long ago, before people knew anything about the weather, even mighty Sumerian warriors were frightened by wild storms. 

They were certain their weather god, Enlil, was in a bad mood.  It was thought dancing might make him happier.  Today there is a scientific explanation for lightning and thunder involving jumping water droplets inside a cloud.  Spanish explorers took home the beliefs of the Taino Indians as to the cause of the killer storms they encountered.  If only those who ridiculed their frightening tales knew the truth of hurricanes.

A learned scholar in Greece taught the four elements, earth, air, wind and fire, as the cause of weather.  Now we know the sun, land forms, natural disasters and human transformation of the land figure prominently in forecasting.  You will be surprised to know how he did play a part in naming the science of weather.

Not dragonflies but water and dust can foretell a storm.  A drop in air pressure, indicating a shift in weather, measured by a barometer works best.  The ancient belief of the weather being generated all the way to the stars we now know to be untrue.  Our atmosphere only goes so high.

Climate changes have happened over the course of thousands of years in the past.  Today, people's lifestyle choices are speeding up the process at an alarming rate.  Global warming is generating uncommon weather worldwide.  Scientists will continue to collect, monitor and dispense gathered data to understand weather.


By presenting weather first in a historical context, Kathleen V. Kudlinski sets the stage for using her title phrase as a connection to disclosing the truth as we know it today.  She seeks to introduce the most interesting points about the past and explanations of the present.  Of particular interest is her opening the discussion about current climate change and global warming in light of those events in the past. Her sentences are conversational and easily understood by the intended audience. Here is another sample passage.

People have never liked being surprised by the weather.  So they searched for ways to predict it in advance.  The ancient Chinese thought that if a dragonfly was seen flying up and down instead of sideways, it meant rain was coming.
Boy, were they wrong! 


Rendered in pencil and computer graphics Sebastia Serra begins our weather journey by combining the past with the present on the matching dust jacket and book case.  This illustration crosses the spine to continue on the back to the left.  It's a wild storm with funneling winds off the coast of a community from the past.  As then yields to now, the wild weather gives way to a sunny day.  The prominent shade of blue on the jacket and case is used on both the opening and closing endpapers.  The barometer held by the girl on the front is shown in better detail on the title page.

With a page turn Serra takes readers through the four seasons on the verso and dedication pages.  As on the jacket and case his use of vibrant colors with animated characters, human and animal, supplies us with lively images.  Most of his visuals cover two pages.  At times he chooses to place a smaller picture within the larger whole.  There are some single page pictures, edge to edge or framed in white, assisting readers in pausing during the narrative.

His images are brimming with details creating entire worlds or a specific moment, altering our perspective as the text dictates.  Your eyes go to the image, read the text, and then go back to examine the story told in the illustration.  Humor appears when you least expect it.

One of my favorite pictures is of the classroom engaged in listening to a presentation about the water cycle.  The arrangement of the desks, the decor, the diversity of the students and the blend of a chalk board with a computer screen is in sync with the text.  The student with a stop watch, timing the seconds between lightning and thunder during the storm, shows a high level of interest.  This classroom exemplifies the entire book, lively and informative.


Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather! written by Kathleen V. Kudlinski with illustrations by Sebastia Serra is a science book with high appeal to all readers.  Everyone who reads this will leave knowing something new.  It entertains, explains and invites us to explore more about our weather and climate.  At the conclusion of the book a time line is listed along with two websites for gathering more information.

To become acquainted with Kathleen V. Kudlinski and Sebastia Serra please follow the links embedded in their names to access their respective websites.


I truly enjoy adding my blog post to the list of others at Kid Lit Frenzy each week.  I continue to be thankful to educator Alyson Beecher for hosting the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.  Make sure you check out some of the other titles.  There are some outstanding recommendations this week.

Living In Music

Growing up in a small town in a small house, five rooms, did not mean we were small on music.  We had one of those big radio-record player units in a cabinet in our living room, front and center, circa no television.  My parents loved most kinds of music.  I still recall a favorite, Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, and lots of big band tunes.  The music of George Gershwin was popular, especially Rhapsody in Blue.  The haunting beginning is what convinced me to pursuit playing the clarinet in the junior and high school bands.

Money was tight but my parents found a second-hand clarinet which served me well for all those years.  When it comes to making music or even listening to it, true hearts will find a way.  Trombone Shorty (Abrams Books For Young Readers, April 14, 2015) written by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews with pictures by Bryan Collier is about keeping a dream alive and those who lift us closer to its realization.

WHERE Y'AT?
WHERE Y'AT?
We have our own way of living down here in New Orleans, and our own way of talking, too.

After bidding readers hello, Troy Andrews asks us to go back to the beginning to understand how he came to be given the nickname of Trombone Shorty.  Music was and is important to him because it was and is important to his community.  You cannot walk the streets of Treme anytime without hearing melodies surrounding you like a welcome breeze.

His older brother, James, played trumpet in his own band.  Troy and his friends imagined themselves in this band too.

"FOLLOW ME,"
James would say.

During Mardi Gras, a festive time of celebration with the sounds of the brass bands, Troy was mesmerized.  Those parades lifted the spirits of everyone.  This boy's mind likened the kind of music he wanted to make to those foods most enjoyed by the people of Treme; a little bit of everything blended to perfection.

While it was difficult to have a band without instruments, Troy and his companions designed their own and used them until one very special day.  Troy found an old discarded trombone.  He blew music out of that metal.  It was much bigger in size than he was; so much so that James shouted out his nickname

"TROMBONE SHORTY!"

Wherever Troy went, the trombone went too, even in his bed at night.  It went with him to a special event, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.  It was here that a world-renowned musician noticed the boy, inviting him to play on the center stage.  That event was all Trombone Shorty needed to validate what he already knew to be true.


Page after page, reading the words written by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, readers hear a note played in their hearts grow into a loud, glorious tune.  The beat of New Orleans and Treme music is captured with the use of language in the narrative.  It's the vivid descriptions of the places and the people and the sounds of both which create a song of this man's life; soft and slow, loud and fast and pauses.  Here is another sample passage.

But before you can understand how much music means to me, you have to know how important it is to my hometown, my greatest inspiration.
I grew up in a neighborhood in New Orleans called Treme.  Any time of day or night, you could hear music floating in the air.


Rendered in pen and ink, watercolor, and collage the illustrations on the dust jacket, book case and the interior pages are beautifully brilliant.  It's as if Bryan Collier has woven Trombone Shorty's musical magic into his illustrations. The sound from his trombone shouts out from the front of the dust jacket.  To the left, on the back, Troy and his friends are featured with their home-made instruments and the newly discovered broken trombone.  You will not be able to resist reaching out to touch the texture here and on every page.  The book case shifts from the jacket's rich, warm hues to cool, calm and classic colors.  Each of the four different images can be found inside the book.

The endpapers appear as two-tone gold marbleized paper.  Beneath the bold text on the title page is a close-up of Trombone Shorty as a child playing his trombone.  Each two pages is a masterful exhibit of design and layout.  We are given panels, interplay of shadow and light to distinguish different places; street views intermingled with interior views, and symbolic balloons.

I have many favorite illustrations but one which portrays the dedication of Troy Andrews is him sleeping with his trombone.  The pages are a fusion of blues, patterns, swirls, books, a bed, a boy and his beloved musical instrument.  It's a blissful scene but also depicts dedication in its purest form.


Trombone Shorty written by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews with pictures by Bryan Collier is worthy of standing ovation after standing ovation.  It's a nonfiction picture book triumph from beginning to end.  Readers can see how holding onto a dream and receiving support can make it a reality.  An Author's Note with black and white photographs is part of the concluding back matter.  There are extensive Acknowledgments and information About The Trombone Shorty Foundation.  Bryan Collier has also included a valuable Illustrator's Note. 

The link attached to Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews' name takes you to his official music web pages.  For more information about Bryan Collier please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  TeachingBooks.net offers a pronunciation of Bryan Collier's name.  Bryan Collier and this title are featured by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  A series of video interviews of Bryan Collier can be found at ReadingRockets.  In a May 1, 2013 interview at School Library Journal Bryan Collier was highlighted.  Enjoy the book trailer.



Every week I am excited to continue participating in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by educator Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy.  I am anxious to see her and the other bloggers choices each week.  I hope you stop by there too.