Deep Down Underground

Twice this winter we've had a good five-inch layer of snow covering our ground.  Despite the depth my canine companion leaps and dives, nose first, attempting to smell what is buried beneath all those snowflakes.  If a particular scent captures her interest her paws become eager diggers, like a four-footed, furry archeologist intent on a goal.  She is not alone in her endeavors to discover what can be found underground.

Shortly before our ground was frozen a series of raised loops and zig-zags covered my front yard.  It looks like a group of moles engaged in merry mayhem.  There are whole worlds waiting to be explored.  The Street Beneath My Feet (Quarto Knows, March 1, 2017) written by Charlotte Guillain with illustrations by Yuval Zommer is a unique, fascinating approach to earth science.

When you're walking along the city streets
there's always so much to see and hear.

Most of the time we are either so focused on our own destination or captivated by the buzz of activity around us, we fail to think about what is below the ground. (Also, if your mom was like mine, she was always saying, "Stand up straight with your shoulders back and hold your head high as you walk.") We don't have to go very deep to find an entire network of pipes, wires and cables.  Water is carried through a system of gutters and drains.

In each layer of dirt there is living breathing beings.  If we go farther we might find the community sewer.  As we keep traveling down there will be more signs of life, most of it from the past.  Underground tunnels with tracks provide transportation.  We go through bedrock into sedimentary rock.  Seemingly magical wonders await us here in caves.

The farther we go the rocks reveal more gifts, peat, coal and granite.  As we get to the crust the earth's plates shift.  If they clash, we may have an earthquake.  As we travel deeper and deeper toward the core, it gets hotter and hotter; it's like liquid fire.  In the very center it is solid with temperatures near 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Now it's time to go back up.

Each step of the journey, each section, presents new surprises; precious and semi-precious rock, minerals and gems.  We learn about metamorphic rock.  Fossils appear.  As we get closer to the surface roots branch into the dirt.  Animal burrows, setts and dens and insect nests come into view.  As we finish, standing on the ground again, a forested meadow replete with flora and fauna spreads before us.


From page to page Charlotte Guillain takes us on marvelous voyage through our earth with her words.  She enhances our knowledge about those things in which we might be familiar but shares details with us about those things we never thought about before but are glad we now know.  In the conversational tone of a learned tour guide, she invites us to looks closer, to notice the smallest items, and asks questions of us about those things we encounter.  Here are four passages which follow her description of sedimentary rock.

If you're lucky,
you might find
an underground
cave.  This 
one formed
when water 
wore away
the rock
and made
holes 
in it.

Watch you head!
There are stalactites
hanging down from
the roof of this
limestone 
cave.

Psst!  Limestone 
is a type of
sedimentary rock
that formed 
in the
sea.

Spiky stalactites form when water moves
down through sedimentary rock.


I think it's safe to say this book has been designed in a remarkable manner completely in keeping with the subject matter.  When you open the book case on the right is what you might encounter beneath a city.  On the left the image depicts what you might find beneath a forested meadow.  Yuval Zommer cleverly takes the tree on the front extending it over the spine to the back.  You will be compelled to stop and look closely at every single element.  On the front many of the details are raised and varnished heightening the tactile experience.

When you open the front cover, the book needs to be turned to read the text and enjoy all the artwork.  This is a vertical accordion book with eleven pages fully illustrated on both sides on durable, heavier matte finished paper.  It is brilliant!

Yuval Zommer's images are spectacular in their intricate and delicate details done in full color.  It's as if he literally went beneath the surface to add as much as he could in each layer.  When he shows us the storm drain, not only is water running down but leaves are swirling in it.  His inclusion of a human skeleton is as if we have unearthed a grave.  Mementos of the person's life are included with the bones. In another illustration from right to left he shows the progression of the development of coal and how it is mined.  On the final page, on the inside of the back cover, a circular slice of our planet shows the Earth's layers.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when we are climbing back up to the surface. In two separate images which appear as one, Yuval Zommer shows us a fox family in their den, individual badgers in setts and rabbits running in tunnels and nestled in their burrows.  He includes possible flora used in their abodes.  Careful readers will see a tiny mouse curled in its own home.  Worms squirm in the dirt.


This book, whether you place it in your professional collections in your libraries or classrooms or in your personal collections at home, will be a huge hit with readers.  The Street Beneath My Feet written by Charlotte Guillain with illustrations by Yuval Zommer has been created to inform in a singular, outstanding style.  This title has been selected by the National Science Teachers Association as one of the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: 2018.

To learn more about Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.


I hope you will 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 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.  This completes my fourth year participating in Alyson's challenge.  My life is far richer for being a participant, expanding my respect for this beautiful planet and those who have or are inhabiting it.  I thank you Alyson and other participants.

Tidings Of Truth

Most people are filled with a need to know, an insatiable curiosity.  They thrive on facts.   Revived in 1984 the immensely popular Jeopardy! television game show has won more awards than any other game show in television history.  The board game Trivial Pursuit conceived by two Canadians, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, in 1979 and released in 1981, has (by 2010) sold more than 100 million copies. The Guinness World Records books have been published for more than sixty years.  The only time they are on the shelves in school libraries is on the first and last day of school.

Another popular series with gals and guys is the Weird but true! titles published by National Geographic Partners.  National Geographic Kids Weird but true! Christmas: 300 festive facts to light up the holidays (September 12, 2017) is brimming with information.  Every page turn brings new truths, some downright astonishing.

On the title page we read

POLAR BEARS
HAVE BEEN
KNOWN TO
SWIM UP TO
100 MILES (161km)
IN ONE 
STRETCH! 

The polar bear, in a speech bubble, proclaims

THAT'S WEIRD!

Details about icicles being grown by a machine, Santa's wealth and an ornament of enormous size are spread across the first two pages.  Readers are warned about experimenting with their tongues and a piece of metal in freezing temperatures.

We learn about evergreen trees, Christmas lists, mistletoe plants, Christmas carols, reindeer names, Christmas day foods, toboggan material, snowflakes, poinsettias, Christmas cards, United States presidents and gingerbread houses.  Deep-fried caterpillars are considered a Christmas Day delicacy in parts of South Africa.  As a joke Apollo astronauts sent a message to NASA; they saw a pilot in a red suit flying an unidentified flying object.  President Franklin Pierce was the first president to have a Christmas tree in the White House.  President Theodore Roosevelt forbade Christmas trees from being in the White House.

Our minds are stuffed like stockings hung for a midnight visitor with information about Christmas lights, the North Pole, The Nutcracker, items baked in Christmas desserts, tinsel, Santa Claus, indoor snowball fights, snowmen and snow mazes and Nativity scenes.  In Victorian England people would gather to tell ghost stories as a Christmas tradition.  America's favorite pastime, historically, baseball is known for the record of people wearing Santa hats.  Thirty-five thousand people wore them to a game.  An ice festival in Sapporo, Japan holds a special record too.  Can you name it?  Can you guess where in the world people roller-skate to church on Christmas day?

Like a gift that keeps on giving we are educated on elves, candy canes, animals with seasonal names, snow and snow sculptures, the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, Advent calendars, strange seasonal laws and snow globes.  An Advent calendar costing close to 2.7 million dollars held

24 precious diamonds.

An annual custom is for the city of Oslo, Norway to give a Christmas tree to the city of London, England.  Did you know the staff at the White House once hung 8,000 paper snowflakes from the ceiling within the building? (In case you are wondering when this happened, here is an NPR article.)  I'll be staying up very late this year to see if a legend from Europe comes true.  It is said when the clock gets to midnight on Christmas Day, animals can talk.  One of the final fun facts comes from Canada.  They have a post office specifically for Santa letters.  The postal code is

HoH
oHo.


A group of experts are named in the acknowledgements for working on the writing and gathering of facts.  The facts are noted in no particular order throughout the book, but seem to create a subtle tension getting better and better as we get to the conclusion of the book.  As I flipped from page to page I was exclaiming out loud more and more often.

Each fact is accompanied by photographs or realistic drawings.  Backgrounds and the color palette shift accordingly.  Sometimes a fact and the image will extend across two pages.  Usually there are no more than five facts to a two-page group.  To provide variety in the design, facts may appear along the bottom of two pages.

Humor is added in the form of comments by elements in the illustrations.  When citing the custom of a giant snowman that explodes with fireworks, he can be seen, ablaze, saying

IS IT 
HOT IN
HERE?

A runner wearing a gingerbread man suit during a marathon is saying

CAN'T
CATCH ME!


You'll want multiple copies of National Geographic Kids Weird but true! Christmas: 300 festive facts to light up the holidays for all your collections.  It would make a perfect Christmas treat for under the tree or in a stocking.  (I have several copies for gifts.)  This title would be excellent for challenging students to use their research skills to verify the truth of these presented facts.  At the conclusion of the book is a six-page alphabetical fact finder listing all sorts of topics and their page numbers.  If the number is bolded there is an illustration.

At Penguin Random House you can view twenty pages in this title including the title pages.  At National Geographic Kids there are numerous links to more information fun.  National Geographic Kids has a YouTube channel.




Take a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to enjoy the other titles noted by bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Still Counting . . .

You go outside as often as possible walking through woods, fields and along lakeshores.  Some of the trails you take are man-made, others are worn by use and there are those you design.  There are moments during these explorations when you stop.  You listen.  You look.  You smell. 

In these moments you understand you are embraced by a multitude of flora and fauna.  It's a humbling, exhilarating and comforting feeling.  It's an invitation to be a valued and trusted member of this vast community on our Blue Planet.  LOTS: The Diversity of Life on Earth (Walker Books, April 2017 UK, Candlewick Press, November 2017 US) written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Emily Sutton is a tribute to the abundance we have and a call to action to preserve and protect it. 

How many different kinds of living things are there on our planet?

One, 
two,
three,
LOTS!

There are big animals like elephants (two kinds) and huge plants like oak trees (more than 600 kinds).  There are living things so tiny; they can't be seen with the naked eye.  It's astounding to know there might be 5,000 kinds of microbes in a single teaspoon of dirt.

Everywhere we venture or take a peek, whether it's dry or wet, embedded or on top of creatures or within a spot above the temperature of boiling life finds a way to thrive.  It may be challenging to find but people pursue the need to know.  Their discoveries help us to understand the complexity within a single fish or the difference found in two butterflies which look alike but are not the same.

There are lots and lots and lots of plants and animals.  There are so many we may never find all of them.  BUT

So far; human beings have
found and counted almost
two million different kinds
of living things.  

We have to keep learning all we can.  We are all continuously connected.  There is a problem, though.  It's a huge problem.  Humans are continuously damaging the connection.  There are signs of this wherever you are.  Every time something becomes extinct we all are the losers.  We want the numbers to climb higher every single time we count.  Let us never move in reverse.

With the books Nicola Davies pens the living world which envelopes us is brought into our presence.  In this title her language for even the youngest of readers is conversational but intentional.  She takes a vast subject, making it clearer and more meaningful.  Captions with the illustrations disclose further factual wonders.

All the creatures on this page have
been found in the last 50 years.


The detailed portrait of a place teeming with plants and animals on the front of the book case crosses the spine extending to the edge of the left of the back.  The girl seated with her clipboard and pencil is counting each valuable piece in this essential puzzle called life.  This scene, frozen in time, demonstrates the diversity shared within the book.  The opening for the title text is replicated on the back offering a short blurb about the title's contents.

On the opening and closing endpapers, in cream and teal, are etchings of all kinds of animals and plants from many of the classifications.  Another setting, a desert setting, spans the title page and verso page to the left.  The text is skillfully placed within the image without detracted from its splendor.  The girl, dressed in appropriate clothing for the desert, is walking from left to right.

The size of each illustration Emily Sutton creates is dictated by the text.  After the initial phrase and words, each visual depicts the myriad of plant and animal life in each portion of our world being discussed.  For many of them she gives us a panoramic view but for others she takes us close to the subject.  In the case of feather mites she shows us a parrot but next to the bird a close-up view of a single feather gives us a glimpse of the mites on this feather. 

The exquisite elements Emily Sutton includes will have you easily pausing for an hour or more on a single page or image.  You will be wondering about the name for each plant and animal.  You will be curious about where they are found. 

One of my many favorite illustrations accompanies the words

or the bottom of the coldest seas.

Along the top of the page are clouds in various shades of blue-green and an icy landscape.  Five penguins dive into the water in front of the girl.  She is wearing a suit and scuba gear.  In the beam of her flashlight the life along the bottom is more brilliant.  To the left and right of the beam, the floor is covered in plant and animal life.


Now more than ever it is critical to educate ourselves and the present and upcoming generations about the importance of Earth.  LOTS:  The Diversity of Life on Earth written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Emily Sutton is a stunning representation of the life all around us.  We have a responsibility to give the planet our care.  It should be an honor to do so.  Every life depends upon this choice.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.  I can see more research following the reading of this book.  In the United States this book is titled Many:  The Diversity of Life on Earth.  It was released in November of this year by Candlewick Press.  My favorite illustration can be seen at their website.

To learn more about Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton and their other work, please visit their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  Emily Sutton maintains an account on Instagram.  Emily Sutton's work is featured on Jama Rattigan's Jama's Alphabet Soup.


You will want to stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other selections chosen by bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

A Quest For Truth

When you finish a book, close the cover and sit in silence, it's a book worth remembering.  If this particular title should be a biography, you can't help but think, not for the first time, how much better our world is for this person having lived here.  If you are unfamiliar with this individual and their accomplishments, you send waves of thanks into the universe for the work of those responsible for this book.

Next to me as I write this post is such a book.  I am filled with wonder and immense respect for this man who is introduced to readers in Schomburg: The Man Who Built A Library (Candlewick Press, September 12, 2017) written by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Eric Velasquez.  If he had lived past his sixty-four years, what other treasures might he have discovered?

The American Negro must remake his past in
order to make his future . . .History must
restore what slavery took away.
                        ---Arturo Schomburg

You would like to think educators treat all students equally, lifting them up and realizing their potential.  For Arturo Schomburg, a fifth grade teacher did not lift him up.  She told him

. . . Africa's sons and daughters
had no history, no heroes worth noting.

This statement lit a fire in Arturo and it was never extinguished.  He dedicated his life to searching for and finding primary sources and facts to proclaim the truth of black heritage.  No child should ever hear what he heard in fifth grade.

As a boy his search began, reading everything he could.  Benjamin Banneker's words and achievements fueled his fire further.  At seventeen Arturo left Puerto Rico immigrating to New York. He became involved in political issues, taught Spanish as he was learning English and, regardless of a setback with his educational records, found work as a law clerk.  His book collecting started in earnest.

Arturo had a gift for finding items others might miss.  He was fascinated with Phillis Wheatley, learning more about her than he imagined.  For Arturo Frederick Douglass was a glorious example of the power of the pen.  The more Arturo searched, the more he found.  Toussaint Louverture, David Walker, Denmark Vesey, and Nat Turner were his heroes.

He discovered connections to Africa in the ancestry of John James Audubon, Alexandre Dumas, Alexander Pushkin and Ludwig van Beethoven.  By studying volumes he unearthed, he made connections to like-minded people such as Paul Cuffee, a wealthy African American (1759-1817) and Marcus Garvey, a well-known name in the Harlem Renaissance.  Now working as a mail room clerk Arturo was highly respected for his growing personal collection and knowledge.  He was asked to search for those items most likely to further instill black pride.  He brought to light one fascinating piece of information after another.

Eventually he had more books than his home could hold.  The Carnegie Corporation bought his collection for $10,000.  It was donated to the New York Public Library in 1926 becoming the core of the 135th Street branch and the Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints.  Arturo ventured out of New York to Fisk University for a year.  Eventually he traveled to Spain, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Cuba.  Least you think he only collected books, he added art to the Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints.  A little more than two years after his death, the Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints was renamed the Schomburg Collection for Negro History, Literature and Prints.  What would this remarkable man think of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture found at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem?


As readers turn each page in this title they will indeed feel respect swell for Schomburg as presented by Carole Boston Weatherford.  There is a passion for this man revealed in every sentence she writes blending his quotations and his personal life within her conversational, lyrical narrative.  We walk in his shadow as Carole Boston Weatherford shares with us his findings about specific individuals.  She weaves all these lives together with beauty.  Here are two passages.

But Phillis was most phenomenal as a poet.
If only Arturo could have been a gull
swooping and crooning above the waves
as Phillis crossed the Atlantic a second time,
bound for London to promote her book---
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral---in 1773.
If only that same year Arturo could have witnessed
that stroke of pen granting Phillis her freedom.
If only Arturo could have looked over her shoulder,
seen her penning that praise poem
to George Washington during the Revolution.
Although she offered subscriptions
for a second book, her final manuscript
was never published or found.
If only, thought Arturo, I could find that. 

Art, he thought, might reach those
who would never read a rare book.


Rendered in oil on watercolor paper the illustrations on the matching dust jacket and book case (as well as all the interior images) by Eric Velasquez are luminous. In each one our eyes are initially drawn to Schomburg.  We focus on his current situation with respect to the text.  Notice how the light shines on portions of his face.  Then our eyes wander to the other elements noting the historical accuracy of the architecture, clothing and transportation.  I am particularly pleased to see how Velasquez has the books stacked in Schomburg's arms, exactly as he arranged them in his collections.

To the left, on the back, an interior illustration is featured.  It shows Schomburg standing, with arms crossed, in his collection, positioned between two acquired sculptures with book cases behind him.  The opening and closing endpapers are in a pale rustic red.  On the first is a book plate reading

EX LIBRIS.

On the title page is a picture of the 135th Street branch building beneath the text. Spanning from left to right is a row of books, color-coordinated, on the verso and dedication pages.  Full color pictures crossing the gutter create larger than life portraits of Schomburg.  Others are shown on single pages or portions of pages.  These visuals depending on their size provide columns for the text.  When Schomburg is learning about an individual person, the images are framed in fine red lines with a date tucked into the painting.  The people are depicted engaged in the activity Schomburg most admires.  These illustrations are like snapshots of history, accurate but emotional.

One of my many favorite pictures covers a single page and extends over the gutter to half of the right side.  It is the 135th Street branch building.  It rises into a blue sky dotted with clouds.  It is shown at an angle as if we are gazing upward at it.  In fact, Schomburg is standing in front of the building with his back to us, hands on his hips.  This historic building is like a treasure chest holding a man's life's work.


Schomburg: The Man Who Built A Library written by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Eric Velasquez is an outstanding picture book biography highlighting a fascinating life. This remarkable man never wavered in his quest.  At the close of the book a time line, source notes and bibliography are presented.  I highly recommend this title be a part of your professional and personal collection.

To learn more about Carole Boston Weatherford and Eric Velasquez and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  At the publisher's website you can view an interior illustration.  There is an eight page teacher's guide.  They've also prepared several pages on Eric Velasquez.  Carole Boston Weatherford is interviewed at Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb.  Author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson highlights Eric Velasquez on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Eric Velazquez is showcased at The Brown Bookshelf. 



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

Making Magic For Her Boys

If you are fortunate, like I was, you grow up hearing stories.  Your parents tell you of their adventures as children, teenagers and adults before you became part of their world.  They speak of these things to create a familial bond with you; to give you an understanding of your heritage.  These tales are also meant to help you become the best person you can be; to assist you in realizing your potential.

There are other stories less truthful, born in their imaginations.  These transform hours, some of boredom and illness, into memories never forgotten.  There was an extraordinary woman, a mother, whose stories still hold their original magic today.  Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton (How Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel And Friends Came To Life) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 5, 2017) written by Sherri Duskey Rinker with illustrations by John Rocco reveals how this woman used her remarkable gifts to bring joy to her two sons and other daughters and sons for generations to come.

This is Virginia Lee, but everyone in seaside
Folly Cove simply calls her Jinnee.
Anyone who meets Jinnee
will tell you that
she is quite
magical.

She has a way to coax colorful beauty into being in her gardens.  Animals, domestic and wild, see in her a friend they can trust.  When she dances, her shape seems to shift into whatever she wants us to see.  Best of all, when she draws, a spell is cast on all who view her work.

For her two boys, Aris and Michael, she pictures what they love best,

BIG MACHINES.

With her hands she brings to life a powerful train, a hardworking steam shovel, a tireless snow plow and determined cable car.  These machines' stories leave readers with timeless truths formed by their adventures and the work they do.

When Jinnee begins to draw a little pink house sitting on a hill with daisies and apple trees, Aris and Michael can see she has definitely strayed from what they enjoy most.  She asks them to be patient.  This little house is to be a part of an even greater adventure; one filled with the growth of a city and the machines who are a part of that growth.

In this book she shows the two boys how vehicles offer salvation to the little pink house.  She knows her two favorite readers and what they want and need.  She knew all of us too.


With each reading of this title penned by Sherri Duskey Rinker my appreciation for the accomplishments of Virginia Lee Burton grows.  The approach of beginning Virginia's story after her two boys are born brings a special connection to the intended audience.  Reminding readers of the admiration felt by the members of the Folly Cove community for her is a refreshing introduction to the magic of her talents as an artist and a writer.  Viewing her drawing and painting tools as a wand is genius.

When Sherri Duskey Rinker describes how Virginia Lee Burton creates the train, Choo Choo, the steam shovel, Mary Anne, for Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel, the crawler tractor turned snow plow for Katy And The Big Snow, and Maybelle for Maybelle The Cable Car it's like we are in the studio with her as she shapes and forms these characters.  With Sherri's words Aris and Michael are participants in each of these big machines' tales.  We watch and hold our breaths along with the boys as we see what is happening to the little pink house. Here are two passages.

And right before Michael's eyes:
A bucket loads and lifts, clearing
earth to make canals, cutting
through mountains for
railways, leveling land for
highways and runways,
digging deep into the
earth, making 
foundations.

Smoke blows from her stack.
There, loud and proud, strong
and steely, always hard at work:
Mary Anne!


The first thing, the very first thing, I did upon opening the matching dust jacket and book case was study those champion characters from children's literature recalling their stories read and shared repeatedly over the years.  When my eyes moved to the left, on the back, there was the little pink house, the city grown up behind her and on both sides.  The subway moved beneath her and the train ran around her.  Smoke filled the sky as the charcoal like images shown are washed from top to bottom in a shade of blue to green and then yellow.

The opening and closing endpapers are in pale yellow with light blue images.  Gears are stenciled around matching elements on the left and right.  It's the little house with the apple trees and daisies on the little hill.  In a circle around it are the cable car, crawler tractor, steam shovel, train and the truck in a repeating pattern.  Beneath the text on the title page, John Rocco places each of the big machines and the little pink house with the truck pulling it back home.

Rendered in watercolor, colored pencil, and digital media the full-color illustrations truly take us back in time.  John Rocco presents us with large two-page pictures and single-page images flowing and golden, many of them moving from the left into the right.  To show us the artistic process of Virginia Lee Burton he gives us a bird's eye view of her working from farther away to very close through a series of six small pictures on a single page.  As she draws the characters for her books, it's a different technique for the presentation of each one but the key factor is the two boys are always a part of the visual narrative.  The meticulous research of John Rocco is clearly evident.

I have many, many favorite pictures.  One of my favorites is of the creation of Katy.  On the left Virginia is first standing in front of a blank page.  She then sketches outlines of a crawler tractor on several sheets of paper.  They are filled in with red.  Then a blade appears.  Along the bottom on the left the boys dressed for winter weather are following Virginia, now wearing boots, as she puts on a winter coat.  They walk through snow and falling snow to the right.  Katy is there in front of them, larger than life.  She is framed with blue swirls reminiscent of the cover on the original book.


Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton (How Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel And Friends Came To Life) written by Sherri Duskey Rinker with illustrations by John Rocco is a book to cherish.  You will read it over and over again.  You will hardly be able to wait to share it with others.  And you will get copies of the Virginia Lee Burton books to read at least once more, to share with first time readers or to add to your collection.  You need to have this book in your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Sherri Duskey Rinker and John Rocco and their other work, please visit their websites (and Sherri's blog) by following the links attached to their names.  Here is the link to a special publisher website for this book. Travis Jonker, teacher librarian and blogger (among other wonderful accomplishments) at 100 Scope Notes, reveals the cover for this title.  Sherri Duskey Rinker and John Rocco are interviewed at The Horn Book about this title.  Sherri Duskey Rinker is interviewed at KidLit 411, Where The Board Books Are and HENRYHERZ.COM.  John Rocco is featured about this title at the BookPage and at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Enjoy the video below.



Please take a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected this week by bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

He Heeded His Heart

It seems a recurring theme permeates picture book biographies.  It is a theme which serves to inspire anyone who reads or listens to these titles being read to them.  The people being showcased in these books, who have left a lasting mark on human history, pursue their heart's desire.  They never, never, ever give up.  Regardless of advice given, they stay true to their dreams.  They believe in their capabilities.  For this reason our world is better for them having lived their lives as they did.

It does not matter when the creative spark finds a way into their heart.  For some it ignites when they are older.  For others it flickers into existence when they are children.  Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, September 5, 2017) written by Michael Mahin with illustrations by Evan Turk lifts up the life of a musical legend.

McKINLEY
MORGANFIELD 
was never good at doing what he was told.

McKinley lost his mama when he was very young but she and his Grandma Della could not keep that child out of the mud.  For some children it's not enough to be close to the earth, they like to be in it and feel it on their bodies.  It's as if they want Mother Nature's rhythm to be their rhythm.  Grandma Della finally gave him the name Muddy and it stuck.

Muddy loved music; the music sung out loud in church and the blues heard at gatherings.  Grandma Della was not a fan.  She believed music and blues music was a poor way to make a living.  Muddy went ahead and made instruments with whatever he could find.  He played.  She danced.

One night Muddy learned a new sound from blues musician Son House.  He stored it his mind's repertoire.  When he wasn't working in the cotton fields as a sharecropper, he was strumming on his guitar.  Then one day he traded those cotton fields in Mississippi for the city of Chicago, Illinois.

Although the blues melodies were being played already, no one played them like Muddy.  People loved his style.  Two possible records deals did not work in Muddy's favor but Leonard Chess, record producer, wanted to give Muddy a chance.  Muddy did not want to do it Leonard's way so Leonard agreed to do it Muddy's way.  It worked.  It worked in a big way.


You have to admit reading the words of Michael Mahin are like listening to Muddy Waters music; he's really captured the beat of his blues.  Each series of sentences mirrors a rhythmic tune.  His use of descriptive adjectives and verbs is exemplary.  Words in italics read like song lyrics and repeat during the narrative.  Frequently we are reminded Muddy

was never good at doing what he was told.

This phrase ties the verses of Muddy's life together, showing us persistence pays.  Here are two sample passages.

The clack-a-track, steam-blur
of an Illinois Central train
rocketed Muddy and his guitar
into the bustle and buzz
of Chicago's South Side.

Chicago was plugged in,
turned on, and turned up.
And so was its music.
Records with electrified guitar
and jazzy horns were making the blues
jump all over town.


One look at the matching dust jacket and book case will have you dancing.  The lines and color choices by illustrator Evan Turk reach out and wrap around readers.  They literally vibrate.  On the left front we see representations from where Muddy came and then on the right where he resided to make his music.  To the left, on the back, Evan Turk has fashioned a large record with one of Michael Mahin's sentences running around the edge.  The record is placed on a blue (with a hint of purple) background with orange accents.

The opening and closing endpapers are a rich chocolate brown.  The first page holds the word Muddy on black with muted golden zig-zags on the top and bottom.  A page turn takes us to a two-page image for the title.  A large river flows through the Mississippi landscape replete with cotton fields.  A small cabin is tucked in the lower left-hand corner.  The verso and dedication pages show two perspectives of cotton, as if we are about to pick it and away in a field.

You have to marvel at all the two page (and several single-page) illustrations created by Evan Turk.  Each one rendered in

watercolor, oil pastel, china marker, printing ink, and newspaper collage 

is a study in perspective, bringing us very close to certain elements with others farther away, a more distant view.  They are full of the hardship felt by Muddy, the difficulties he worked around and through and the glory of triumph.  Large areas of color within these pictures leave a place for the text.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when Muddy arrives in Chicago.  On the left he stands near a street light with his guitar on this back and a suitcase held in his left hand   In front of him a taxi rushes by on a city street.  Newspaper clipping are blended with colors and shapes to indict the hustle of life in Chicago.  People are walking on the sidewalks, some more in the distance and others, like on the right, a couple, close to the reader.


The first thing you will do after reading Muddy:  The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters written by Michael Mahin with illustrations by Evan Turk is seek out his music.  (I recommend you read it again with a song playing in the background.)  Despite obstacle after obstacle, Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) succeeded on a grand scale.  Reading this book makes you stop and think about what you want most.  Then it challenges you to make the dreams you hold in your heart a reality.  This book needs to be on every professional and personal bookshelf.

To learn more about Michael Mahin and Evan Turk and their other work, please follow the links embedded in their names to access their websites.  Michael Mahin has a post, On Racism, On Multiculturalism, and My Book Muddy:  The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters you will want to read.  Evan Turk maintains a blog here.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior images.  Both Michael Mahin and Evan Turk join teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner at All The Wonders, Episode 388.  The work of Evan Turk is highlighted by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, here and about this book, specifically, here.  Evan is interviewed at Mile High Reading by Dylan Teut, director of Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival and at Deborah Kalb's website.  Muddy:  The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters has received a Parent's Choice Gold Award and was named one of The New York Times The Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2017.  Please enjoy the book trailer.




Please talk a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected by bloggers this week participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

On Becoming A Part Of The Natural Landscape

Some build their homes high above the ground among the leaves of a tree.  Others seek a hollow in that very tree, mid-way down or on the ground. Some construct massive towers out of dirt.  Others dig tunnels and barrows beneath the dirt.  Gray paper is used to shape those chambered globes hanging from trees.  The animal kingdom is inventive and adaptable in fashioning its residences.

You would think humans would learn from animals that form their abodes to harmonize with their surroundings and to withstand changes in their environment.  We rarely do but there was one phenomenal woman who did.  The world is not a rectangle: A Portrait Of Architect Zaha Hadid (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, August 22, 2017) written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter is the story of a planner who saw the world around her and honored it with her designs.

In Iraq, rivers flow through green marshes.

Air like the water moves over and around sand and ruins from the past.  A little girl Zaha sees all this with her father and dreams of cities long gone.  Inside her home she recognizes hues and forms blending like the water and air over sand and marshes.  Her clothes, of her own design, and the furniture in her room are a reflection of what she observes in nature.

As a Muslim, attending Catholic school, who favors math above all else, she still dreams of cities long gone.  Yearning to make those visions a reality, she moves to London to study architecture.  With her learning she puts pencil to paper and paint to walls, bringing the past into the present.  After graduation with her degree, she and a handful of friends open an office in a large building calling it Studio 9.

The plans she creates and submits in competitions are strikingly singular.  Even when a design wins, a city committee rejects it.  Time and time again Zaha enters competitions but her ideas are not brought to life.  There is strength in Zaha, a fire which refuses to be extinguished.  She does not stop.

If you see towers resembling swaying grasses in marshes, think of Zaha Hadid.  If you see the interior of an opera house similar to an oyster shell, think of Zaha Hadid.  If you see a bridge comparable to the waves on the water beneath it, think of Zaha Hadid.  In never giving up, the one office expands to every space available in the old school building.  Hundreds of architects work to make Zaha's visions a reality.

She expands her creativity to toys, clothing and furniture.  She does not stop until her heart does.  Even in death, her dreams endure through the efforts of like-minded people working in her business.


Through meticulous research, many primary sources, Jeanette Winter models the story of Zaha Hadid much like she herself designed buildings.  She thoughtfully combines the history of Zaha Hadid's life to supply readers with a narrative which turns and swirls like water and air.  In the length of her sentences and the combination of information, she supplies a cadence.  The repetition of specific phrases and verbs enhances this beat.  Here are two sample sentences.

Zaha looks at stones in a stream
and builds an opera house like the pebbles in the water.

Inside the opera house, a singer is the pearl in the oyster shell.


On the front of the matching dust jacket and book case Jeanette Winter has placed an adult Zaha Hadid with an armful of blueprints, representative of the woman's continuous ideas.  Above the water and grasses of a marsh are Signature Towers proposed to rise in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  To the left, on the back, little girl Zaha sits among sand dunes wondering about cities from long ago.  It is a slightly smaller interior image set on a white background.

Pale mint green colors the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page an older Zaha wrapped in clothing of her own design holds planet earth, the world, in her hands.  With each page turn images are placed on a canvas of white.  Their shapes, the framing and edges, mirror the text.

Many of them are single page pictures but for dramatic effect Jeanette Winter expands the illustrations to two pages for the buildings completed by Zaha.  These are in full color, page edge to page edge.  She places Zaha within the natural setting drawing or observing as the finished project is revealed on the right.  It is a marvelous depiction of the woman and her work.

One of my many favorite illustrations shows Zaha standing in a stream as water flows past her.  All we see are her bare feet, ankles and a portion of her legs near two stones.  The stream crosses the gutter to the right.  An enormous opera house built in the likeness of the stones overlooks a river in China.  The shift in point of view is a tribute to the creative mind of Zaha Hadid.


With each reading of The world is not a rectangle: A Portrait Of Architect Zaha Hadid written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter your admiration for the perseverance and perspective of this woman grows. Her contributions to the world of architecture are unmatched.  On the four concluding pages thumbnails of interior illustrations name the completed buildings designed by Zaha Hadid and where they are located.  Quotations by and further information about Zaha Hadid are included along with a small author's note and extensive source list. You will certainly want a copy of this book on your professional shelves and in your personal collection.

As I do with any nonfiction picture book I read, I did more personal research.  I discovered the Broad Art Museum located on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan was designed by Zaha Hadid.  It opened on November 10, 2012.

If you desire to view interior illustrations from this title please visit the publisher's website.  A page dedicated to Jeanette Winter has been compiled by the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.  It has several links to other sources.  Jeanette Winter is featured in an interview at A Mighty Girl website.


Please be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to read about the selection of other bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

For Love Of Books And Children

When walking among and working for decades in the realm of children's literature you come to respect the work of and have affection for the authors and illustrators. What they do is powerful.  Yesterday during a chat on social media I remarked that children's literature is going to save the world.  It is smarter, brighter and better than ever.  So are our children.  I believe this to be true.

It was not always this way.  There were no books being written specifically for children. Balderdash!: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children's Books (Chronicle Books, April 4, 2017) written by Michelle Markel with illustrations by Nancy Carpenter is an energetic exploration of a remarkable man.

WELCOME!
THIS BOOK'S FOR YOU.
Every page,
   every picture,
every word, and even its
   letters are designed for
your pleasure.

This lively, inviting introduction concludes with how fortunate readers are today and reminds them it was not like this in 1726.  There were indeed wonderful books for all kinds of readers but nothing was written for children.  They were made to read dry, didactic tomes riddled with rules.  At this time John Newbery was barely a teen.

When he was able John left the family farm to pursue working for a printer.  This young man who loved books was now making them.  He eventually moved to London to begin a business in publishing.  He wanted to be the man who put books in the hands of all readers, adults and children.

Working hard to gather the best material for a children's book, new and classic, filled with marvelous illustrations, and a letter to parents, John released his first title, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book.  He advertised it along with a toy.  What child could resist a book and a toy?  Apparently none of them could.  It was a huge success.

John's mind was on fire with publishing ideas for children; a magazine, titles for older readers and even a novel, The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes.  It was a winner on both sides of the pond.  There is even a history of mystery with this book and others John published for children.

His shop was a haven and a little bit of heaven for his young readers.  They knew he knew what they loved best.  To have established and named a children's literacy award given annually

"to the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children"

is an honor most suited to this man who devoted a significant portion of his life to books for children.


Once you've read the first four sentences, an introductory paragraph, written by Michelle Markel you have to keep turning pages.  Her word choices captivate and engage us;

got a kick out of,
he went big time,
smack dab in the heart of the book marketplace and
gobbled them up like plum cakes.

Her ability to entwine threads of historical truth into jaunty, joyful text is marvelous.  Her storyteller's heart is evident on every single page.  Here is a sample passage.

JOHN LIKED
CHILDREN.
Why shouldn't they have
delightful
books of their own?

John!  What were you thinking?
What about the parents?  Many mums and dads worried
that if their little nippers read fun books, they'd turn
wild as beasts! 


There is absolutely no way you can look at the matching, opened dust jacket and book case without smiling.  There stands John Newbery among all the children gathered in a London street, buildings in the background framing their cheer.  Opened and closed books appear in hands and thrown in the air.  The children's open mouths are probably giving him at least three Hip! Hip! Hooray! cheers.  What illustrator Nancy Carpenter has done is to give readers a true slice of life moment, presenting children from all walks of life.

The opening and closing endpapers are a swirl of teal, pink and golden yellow looking like paper perhaps used for covers of children's books during John Newbery's publishing career.  Rendered in pen and ink and digital media the illustrations are clever, animated and reminiscent of the time period.  The edges of each page mirror the pages of a very old book; a book inside a book.

Several times the corner of a page will be rolled back to provide us with an aside.  Picture sizes shift from two pages, to those which cross the gutter paired with a smaller image, single pages or a grouping of smaller pictures to depict the passage of time.  The fine lines, the color palette, layout and design replete with intricate details will have readers pausing in pleasure at every page turn.  Happiness and humor is evident everywhere.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  John Newbery is sitting in the back of his bookshop on a bench covered with sheets of paper.  One of his arms is resting on his desk and the other is holding an open book.  He is definitely thinking of his next project.  The room is filled with books, papers, tools of his trade, and a printing press. A sleeping canine companion rests nearby on and under paper.  John's coat and hat hang below a clock next to a doorway. Through the door we can see customers in his shop.  A little girl is peeking around the doorway at John.


When you read nonfiction picture books, a biography, like Balderdash!: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children's Books written by Michelle Markel with illustrations by Nancy Carpenter, you feel a distinct connection to the past and its influence on our present.  When you hold this book in your hands you are holding pure delight.  Be sure to have a copy on your professional bookshelves and in your personal collection.  There is an author's note, a discussion about books mentioned in this book, suggested books for further reading, a selected bibliography and articles listed at the back of the book.

To learn more about author Michelle Markel and her other work, please follow the link embedded in her name to access her website.  At the publisher's website a teacher's guide is provided.  You will want to head over to Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read. to enjoy the conversation he had with Michelle Markel on the date of her cover reveal.  Several years ago Publishers Weekly supplied readers with a Q & A with Nancy Carpenter.


I am a day late for my post at Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher for the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge due to a prior commitment but be sure to see what the other participants listed this week by visiting Alyson's blog.

Majestic, Mighty Giants

They are the world's largest land mammal.  This is an amazing thought to ponder.  There is nothing bigger on this entire planet than they are.  The females live in herds and the males tend to remain alone.  Their lives can span up to seventy years.  Social bonding is nearly or as strong as it can be in humans.  Not surprisingly humans, even though their weight and height are considerably more than the average man, are their greatest threat.

We have continually encroached on their land diminishing their habitat size as we expand ours for living and resources.  Poachers still slaughter them in alarming numbers for their ivory.  African elephants are now listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (ICUN).  At the beginning of the 20th century there were millions and millions and millions of them.  They now number less than five hundred thousand.  The more we know, the more we can do to protect these giants.  In a dazzling array of art and words Katherine Roy gives us How To Be An Elephant: Growing Up in the African Wild (David Macaulay Studio, Roaring Brook Press, September 19, 2017).

WITH FLAPPING EARS and whiffling trunks, the herd quickly spreads the news.  After 22 months of growing, a new baby is on her way.

In eleven divisions, short chapters, many of them beginning with a page turn, readers are acquainted with this infant.  As she learns we learn how she will grow to become an adult member of the herd.  Of first and utmost importance is her family.

Matriarchal in nature, the members stay together forever.  Their combined knowledge will lead and guide the baby girl for the rest of her life.  They will help her balance on specially equipped feet geared for silence and speed.

Her nose, trunk, balances out her poor eye sight; food and water, family and friends and danger can be detected with a sniff of a whiff.  Her nose, having more than 100,000 muscles, functions as a tool most fabulous.  Did you know an adult elephant sucks up water in their trunk and then pours it into their mouth?  They consume up to forty gallons a day.

Both as a baby, and then as an adult, elephants have an expansive repertoire of sounds; each one used for a specific purpose.  As herbivores elephants are crunching and munching for most of their waking hours but babies have it a bit easier.  They are little recyclers.  (You'll have to read the book to find out more about this homemade baby food.)  Using ears better than air conditioning, taking mud baths, engaging in playful games to get rid of less than dangerous foes, and rumbling in the air and the ground are more lessons to learn.

The value of African elephants to the land on which they reside is intriguing and essential; a highly evolved relationship of give and take.  Their necessity for space is not only important to them but to other animals sharing the land with them.  We must adapt.  We must understand.  We have to learn.


Katherine Roy has taken her extensive research and personal experiences in Africa to write a completely riveting conversation about the lives of African elephants.  She informs us to the extent our admiration for these creatures grows as she presents particular fascinating facts.  Each chapter flows flawlessly into the next as one lesson builds on the other whether speaking about physical characteristics or behaviors.  The way Katherine Roy writes is like being a student in the best science class you ever attended.  Here is a sample passage.

REMEMBER THE LOUD, low-frequency calls that an elephant makes with her high-powered voice?  These rumbles fall below the range of human hearing and can travel much farther than higher-frequency sounds---up to 2 miles during the day and over 6 miles at night, when the air is cool.  Other elephants within range can hear the rubles as either sound waves in the air or vibrations in the ground, which they're able to detect with the tips of their trunks and the cushioned soles of their feet.


The majestic display of the African elephant mother with the baby across the matching, opened dust jacket and book case with some of the remaining herd in the background is not only breathtaking because of the subject matter but because of the masterful use of perspective.  The lines, light and shadow, color palette, and details all work to bring readers into the circumstances of what it is to be an African elephant.  On the opening endpapers it is before dawn.  Members of the herd are gathering for the birth.  On the closing endpapers we see Katherine and her guide observing from their vehicle a herd of elephants crossing a river in a line, the baby among them.

Each illustration rendered by Katherine usually spans two pages.  For those single page pictures, a smaller image or an explanatory diagram is placed on the opposite page.  These are carefully labeled to assist readers in terms they can understand.

As noticed earlier the point of view seen in these images literally bring you into the activities of the herd.  We gather when they gather, we watch in awe as many trunks reach out to touch a newborn, we quench our thirst either by kneeling and gulping or sucking water into our trunks and releasing it into our mouths, and we shelter in the heat beneath our mom with our ears flapping.  Every aspect of life is portrayed with realism and a heartfelt respect and affection is seen in every illustration.

One of my many favorite pictures spreads, without words, across two pages.  There is a golden glow to the entire scene indicting the time of day.  The entire herd is enjoying the benefits of mixing water and dirt in a water hole or along a river.  Adults are standing on the perimeter, some are lying on the bank, and the youngest, the baby, is splashing in total delight.  This visual articulates the social bonds and playful nature of African elephants.


How To Be An Elephant: Growing Up in the African Wild written and illustrated by Katherine Roy is not a book you can only read once.  You will read it repeatedly gaining insights and information.  A lengthy note from the author, selected sources, scientific articles, books, films, and websites are included at the close of this title.  Readers can further understand the extent of Katherine Roy's work by reading her acknowledgements.  This book is a must-have for all professional and personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Katherine Roy and her other work please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Here is a link to Katherine Roy's June Newsletter.  Katherine Roy talks about this book at School Library Journal.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson features this title at Kirkus and her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.








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

A Whole New View

To this day the lure is still strong.  Walking past the section of the store displaying the boxes of Crayola crayons without slowing down is not an option.  You find yourself suddenly stopping to comprehend all the various shades and number of hues in each box.

You remember when getting the coveted box of sixty-four was the best day ever.  You and your neighborhood pals would gather on a blanket underneath the big maple tree in your front yard to color and draw all day long.  Pocket Full of Colors: The magical world of Mary Blair, Disney artist extraordinaire (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, August 29, 2017) written by Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville with illustrations by Brigette Barrager presents the story of an observant young girl who gathered color and then as a grown woman took great joy in releasing it out into the world.

Under a wide blue sky,
on a red dirt road,
in a lemon-yellow house,
there lived a little girl named Mary.

Mary saw all the colors swirling in the world around her, noting the hue of every single one.  When her parents moved the family west, Mary kept those colors from her home with her, excited to find more.  As they traveled through the desert, finally arriving in California, she had tones from rock and sand, ocean and rows of fruit trees.  Even the city with its tall buildings yielded more shades.   And she saved them in her sketchbook.

When she grew up and studied art, she met another artist named Lee. (They were married for forty-four years before Mary died.)  The Great Depression made it hard to sell the kind of art they painted but Mary and her eye for color caught someone's attention.  That person was Walt Disney.  Mary was one of the first women hired to work at Walt Disney Studios.

The men at Walt Disney Studios did not have Mary's vision for vibrancy.  They were stuck in a black and white rut.  Walt Disney highly favored Mary's work, taking her and other artists to South America to complete research.  Now Mary was more determined than ever to have her colorful ideas make it to the screen; some did, most did not.  So Mary left.

She began to work her magic in various graphic design projects, set designs for the entertainment industry and illustrating children's books, but Walt Disney had an idea and he wanted Mary to come back.  On her own terms Mary returned.  Mary made his dream a reality, using her gift of gathering colors to create a work of art still amazing all who see it today.


Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville penned an outstanding portrait of a remarkable woman.  They directed their focus on her singular use of color using it to link all the defining moments in her life together.  From the second sentence in this narrative, almost like an opening line in a musical piece, all the other portions (melodies) come back to those words.

These authors also talk about the reception Mary received with her art at Walt Disney Studios working as one of the first women hired there.  This is important to note.  Mary did not waiver from her style or vision which eventually earned her respect from other creators.  Mary, like so many women, was a champion ahead of her time, paving the way for others.  Here is a sample passage from this book.

She tried, but her colors were too vivid, too wild.
When Mary turned in her work, all her ideas were rejected.

Twinkling emerald skies?
The men turned them blue.

Magenta horses that could fly?
The men made them brown
and put them in stables.

Peach giraffes with tangerine spots?

Her bosses just shook their heads.
They didn't know what to make 
of her art.


When you hold this book in your hands, opening the matching dust jacket and book case, you know you are holding a memorable title about a memorable woman.  The bold, lively colors and images streaming from Mary as she works beckon readers to open the cover.  We want to know about Mary Blair and her life.  To the left, on the back, Mary as a little girl is seated with her sketchbook, painting.  Colors burst from the page.  She is framed in the names of seventeen hues.

The opening and closing endpapers are like a quilt of squares representative of Mary's lines, palette and shapes.  The title page, like the jacket and case, has the word colors done in different shades.  A watercolor box with a cup of water and brushes sits beneath the secondary title text.

Rendered digitally by Brigette Barrager these illustrations nearly pop off the pages.  Most of the single and double-page pictures extend page edge to page edge.  Varying perspectives always bring us close to Mary and her color collecting.

You will be completely captivated by the layout, design and yes, her use of color.  As Mary moves through her life, the research to depict accurate clothing and hair styles is evident.  The inclusion of small intricate elements from the past is wonderful.  You will find yourself, after several reads of the book, going back to look over the visuals separately.

To pick a single favorite illustration is nearly impossible but when you turn the page representing her trip with Walt Disney to South America, you will nearly gasp at the array of color and scenery.  For this picture Brigette Barrager begins with a background of greens and the brilliant flora and birds of the rain forests extending it across the gutter to rich magenta, pink, purple and blue within city scenes with mountains in the background beneath a blazing sun.  All the colors flow one into the other.  And Mary?  She is seated on the left leaning over a canvas, brush in hand and other brushes at her feet.  All the color extends from the tip of her brush.


How fortunate are we readers that authors Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville with illustrator Brigette Barrager collaborated to create Pocket Full of Colors: The magical world of Mary Blair.  The work of Mary Blair lives on in her children's books still in print, in her artwork on display, in Walt Disney movies and in the It's A Small World around the world.  A two page Authors' Note provides further information.   I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Amy Guglielmo, Jacqueline Tourville and Brigette Barrager please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  As a tribute on her 100th birthday Google made a doodle for Mary Blair.




Please take a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other selections by bloggers this week who are participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

The Will To Build

When you're short (five feet, one inch as an adult) you grow up hearing your dad say, "She's little but she's wiry."  Hearing the pride in his voice made me try harder at everything I did.  It wasn't until my late twenties (high school sports for girls consisted of the Girls Athletic Association and Title IX was not a reality until I had nearly finished college) when I started to pursue competitive running.  In high school I was a huge fan of the sport, attending the boys' track meets.  As a teacher librarian I've not only attended my schools' track meets, but volunteered to act as the official announcer and score keeper.

To be a runner height is not as critical as it is in other sports.  Running is something you can build upon every single day even if you start out walking, then fast walking, jogging and then running.  When you finally place in a race or beat your personal best time, the thrill is immeasurable.  Author illustrator Don Tate's newest title, Strong As Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became the Strongest Man on Earth (Charlesbridge, August 22, 2017) chronicles the life of a remarkable man, who filled with determination, worked and trained and shared his passion and knowledge with others. He, like so many of us, started out small.

In his day, Eugen Sandow was known as "the Strongest Man on Earth."  He could break metal chains by expanding his broad chest.  

Each feat was more incredible than the previous undertaking.  If you start at the beginning though, this was not always true for Friedrich Wilhelm Muller, his birth name.  Friedrich was sick, thin and unable to participate in neighborhood games.

His love of sports pushed him to keep trying.  His successes, academically, earned him a trip to Italy.  It was there where he first saw statues of ancient athletes.  They became his inspiration to exercise more.  And he did but it did not work...at first.

It was when he left the university to join the circus as an acrobat that the exercise began to shape his muscles.  From the circus he found himself modeling for art students.  One of them arranged for Friedrich to meet

Professor Attila, a professional strongman.

This introduction changed Friedrich's life.

In 1889 Friedrich, now calling himself Eugen Sandow, answered a challenge, setting forth all he had learned about being a professional strongman, including showmanship.  The results of this challenge brought his name into the limelight.  From performances in the United Kingdom he crossed the Atlantic to make a name for himself in the United States.  Everywhere he went crowds were dazzled by his deeds.

His shows did take a toll on Eugen until he returned home to heal but that did not stop this man.  He continued to be an advocate for maintaining a healthy body through exercise and eating nutritious meals.  His crowning achievement in 1901, along with many of his ideas and practices on bodybuilding, are still used and respected today.


Even after reading this title penned by Don Tate several times readers will feel through his word choices and sentences a growing sense of excitement.  Don breaks Eugen Sandow's life into sections, like chapters, naming a geographical place with a date or span of dates.  It's as if we are charting this man's path to success.

Each of these sections focuses on one or more events contributing to Eugen's life choices.  They are like his exercises, building toward something better, something greater.  Here is a sample passage.

The Big Challenge
London, 1889
Sampson and Cyclops were the greatest professional strongmen
of their time.  They were brawny.  They were brutes.  They were
loudmouthed, muscle-bound lunks!  Sampson and Cyclops lifted
horses and elephants as though they were as light as feathers.

Each night after their act in London, they roared out a
challenge to the audience:  they dared anyone to try to defeat
them in a competition of strength.  But who would accept such a
foolish challenge?

Eugen Sandow, that's who.


On the opened dust jacket and book case Don Tate shows readers the great strides this extraordinary man made in his life.  Using red with radiating rays, light and shadow he draws our attention to the man Eugen Sandow became.  To the left, on the back, on a background of yellow with a spotlight effect on a circular image we see Friedrich as a youth struggling to lift barbells.

The opening and closing endpapers in shades of brown highlight the performance feats of Eugen Sandow.  There are nine altogether.  It's astonishing what he was able to do.  On the title page the highly prized Sandow statuette is showcased.

Rendered digitally using Manga Studio all of the illustrations except for six single page pictures extend across two pages.  In many of these visual displays the perspective shifts from one side to the other.  This serves to include readers as participants in the depiction.

The portrayal of the people shows them all fully animated with facial expressions conveying a variety of moods.  With each page turn you find yourself stopping and looking to see what details Don Tate includes to represent an accurate time and place; the hoop rolling of children, the playing of violins during a circus act, the hats worn by men and women and the attire of the strongmen.  The text for the beginning of each section is intricately framed.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for The Big Challenge.  In the foreground along the bottom are a row of spectators who have watched the show presented by Sampson and Cyclops.  On the far right with a shy grin on his face is Sandow, carefully raising a hand.  He is wearing a top hat and suit.  On the left, on a stage with a patterned curtain in a rose color behind them, stand Sampson and Cyclops.  There are weights lined up on either side of them.  They are both wearing scowls on their faces.  Their costumes and boots are indicative of the times.  The air crackles with anticipation, especially considering what follows over the next two pages.


We need picture book biographies like Strong As Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became the Strongest Man on Earth written and illustrated by Don Tate.  They inform us about distinctive people who made a lasting contribution to human history.  They inspire us to never give up on our heart's desire.  In the Afterword we are provided with more information about Eugen Sandow.  It is followed by Life Is Movement, four exercises you can do at home.  In an Author's Note Don Tate addresses his own journey in bodybuilding and how he chose to write about Eugen Sandow.  A bibliography, acknowledgements and quotation sources are included.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal bookshelves.

To discover more about Don Tate and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  At the publisher's website you can view the first two page illustration.  A website for this specific title has been created.  It is brimming with information about research and process.  Don Tate visits Watch. Connect. Read., the blog of Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher.  In addition to a Q & A and sentence completions, you have to watch the two videos.

You will enjoy visiting Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected by participants in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.