Where There's A Will . . .

It would be hard to spend your life in the state of Michigan without ever crossing a bridge.  Water surrounds us.  The number of times my family crossed the Blue Water Bridge into Canada for summer vacations is lost in memory as is the number of times as a child and adult I've trekked across the Mackinac Bridge into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Today, if I want to get from one side of my community to the other side, I need to cross a bridge.  

The bridge, a double-leaf bascule bridge, crosses the Island Lake Outlet (also known as the Pine River Channel).  This outlet connects the waters of Lake Michigan to Round Lake which leads into Lake Charlevoix.  (Here is a link to the webcam of the bridge activity.)  The bridge opens twice an hour for boats to pass from one body of water to the other.  It's not uncommon to see boats lined up in the channel or lake waiting for the bridge to open.  In Lily Leads the Way (Candlewick Press, May 17, 2022) written by Margi Preus with illustrations by Matt Myers, readers find themselves following the efforts of a special sailboat needing to pass under a bridge.  Readers realize persistence provides great rewards.

Today is a big day for Lily the little sailboat.

A fleet of grand old tall ships is coming to visit.

Lily plans to go out into the lake from the harbor to meet them.  She is polished from bow to stern.  Her lines are in order.  She is in full sail.

To get to the lake, Lily needs to pass under a bridge.  She has a tall mast.  This bridge lifts up for boats and lowers for vehicles on the roadway.  Lily sounds her horn.

An ore boat sounds its horn, rushing toward the bridge.  The bridge responds with another horn.  Lily plans to join the ore boat, but it tells her to move aside.  The bridge lowers before Lily can go under it.

Lily sounds her horn again.  It goes unheard.  This time an ocean-going vessel is coming from the lake to the harbor.  Its horn initiates a response by the bridge.  Lily is tossed aside.  Before she can alter her direction, an assortment of boats take advantage of the bridge being lifted.  Lily is nearly swamped with waves.  Just in the nick of time, she scurries under the bridge.

There, before her, are the tall ships, five different types.  Lily realizes they have no horns to call out to the bridge.  Can Lily finally get the bridge's attention?

Even if you've never been in a sailboat, or any type of boat, through the words of Margi Preus, you connect with this little craft.  The descriptions of Lily, the bridge, the harbor and the other boats by name take us to that day.  The sound effects for each of the horns blown by the boats and the bridge ask us to participate.  The insertion of dialogue by the larger ships adds to the tension Lily (and us) are feeling.  Another technique further involving us in Lily's day is the repetition of the words up and down as the bridge moves.  Here are several consecutive sentences.

A tugboat honks, "Outta my way!"

Flustered, Lily turns the wrong direction,

swaying and bobbing.

When a coast guard cutter chugs by,

its wake heels Lily over!

Readers are treated to a double-page image upon opening the dust jacket.  In full color, the illustration continues over the spine to the left, back, edge.  We can see more of the tall ships coming toward the harbor.  Behind them is the large iron ore boat.  In the background on the left side is a rolling hill dotted with buildings.  The text is varnished.

On the book case is a single picture.  The colors in the sky and water are more turquoise.  The layers of clouds in white and cream supply a striking background.  Waves crest and roll with white foam.  Sailing off the right side is Lily.  All we see is the side of the boat with her name and the Canadian flag fluttering.  We are so close to Lily we feel as though we can reach out and touch her.

A dusty royal blue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the initial title page, we are given a bird's eye view of the harbor, lake, bridge and surrounding land and buildings.  In the distance along the horizon are the tall ships.  A stunning double-page picture for the verso and title pages shows Lily moored to the dock as the sun rises behind the bridge.  The dock and Lily are close to us with the harbor and community filling the page.  An orange, peach, yellow and purple sky spans left to right and is reflected in the water.

Each page turn provides readers with illustrations by Matt Myers rendered

in oil on illustration board.

They are single-page pictures and double-page visuals enhancing the pacing of the narrative.  The details draw us into each scene.  You can smell the water, feel the breeze and warmth of the sun, and hear the horns and seagulls.  Readers will notice the hint of facial features on the boats.  Some readers will notice the Canadian flag remains on the stern of the little sailboat, but the flag on her mast changes often.  What do those flags signify?

One of my many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture.  The water is extremely wavy due to all the boat activity.  The bridge is down again, large, front and center on the page.  Behind the crisscross of the bridge's supports is Lily.  She is positioned in a triangle, sounding her horn to have the bridge raised.  To the left and right is the land with the buildings on either side of the harbor.  Large clouds loom in the blue sky.

There is so much to enjoy and discuss about this book, Lily Leads the Way written by Margi Preus with artwork by Matt Myers.  It is a reminder that size does not hinder one's determination to accomplish a goal.  This title will promote research on bridges, boats, and shipping.  There is a one page author's note at the conclusion.  Here is the link to the bridge cam for this bridge.  I highly recommend you place a copy of this informative and delightful title in both your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Margi Preus and Matt Myers and their other work, please follow the link attached to their name to access their websites.  At Margi Preus's website, she has made a video about this book for you to view.  Margi Preus has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Matt Myers has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website, you can download an activity kit.  At Penguin Random House, you can view some interior images.

Wellness On The Water

We are never more grateful for good health than when it is gone.  We wake up day after day, not thinking about how wonderful it is to not have a fever, chills, aches, sniffles, or a cough.  When any of those symptoms strike, we realize our mistake.  We are doubly miserable.

We want to wave a magic wand and be better.  We need help.  And Then Came Hope (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, May 4, 2021) written and illustrated by Stephen Savage offers readers a look at the arrival of help in the form of a very special boat.  This boat, like others who offer assistance to those who need it the most, supplies support, security, and the appropriate cure.

The boats

in the harbor

weren't feeling well.

Barge is the victim of a runaway spool of cable.  Submarine comes to the surface feeling as though it might be at one of the Poles.  Ferry has a high temperature.  Aircraft Carrier has trouble breathing without coughing.

Even the smallest among these boats has problems.  Dory, a tiny sailboat, has the sniffles.  The smile she usually carries is gone.  What are hurting boats supposed to do?  They signal with a big

S O S. 

A large gleaming white boat called Hope, with tugs on either side, glides into the harbor.  In that moment when she announces her intentions to Barge, Submarine, Ferry, Aircraft Carrier and Dory, they know, with a sure sense of calm, they will be fine.

For each ailment, treatment is administered.  Four boats sail from the harbor.  One stays; the last to get care.  Dory may be small, but she is given a reminder, a token, of the truest definition of hope.

The words in this book written by Stephen Savage indicate his knowledge of his intended audience.  They also show his skill as a wordsmith, reaching out to a much broader readership through symbolism.  The verbs (illnesses and healing) attached to each vessel are alliterative providing a rhythm to the narrative.  Like the best of stories, the final two sentences give readers exactly what they need.  Here is another sentence.

Then Submarine started shivering.

Complementary colors, golden yellow and pale orange and purple and lavender, fill the rays extending from Hope on the front and the back of the matching and open dust jacket and book case.  The expression on Hope's face is one of compassion as she enters the harbor on the front.  As she heads out to sea, on the back of the jacket and case, her stern to us, her look is one of happy determination.  

On the first page of the opening endpapers and the last page of the closing endpapers is a pale blue sky with seven seagulls grouped together in flight.  Stephen Savage makes use of every single page with the title page opposite the first set and an author's note opposite the closing set.  On the title page, Hope is heading out to sea about to go under the large suspension bridge.  Other smaller boats cross the ripples of blue-hued water.  A large half sun sits on the horizon with a lighter blue and lavender sky around and above it.

Each double-page picture rendered

using digital techniques

invites readers into the story.  We are first greeted with a panoramic scene, left to right, of the land, docks, and buildings, framing the harbor with the bridge and horizon small in the distance at the top of the image.  As we are introduced to each of the vessels and their conditions, we are brought close to them.  Details focusing on their problems heighten our connection to them.  Shiver lines border Submarine, a thermometer registering heat is stuck in Ferry's mouth, and a sick Aircraft Carrier is hunched as it coughs into the water.

Even though the colors are bold in the first images, after Hope enters the harbor the shades shift.  They are lighter and soothing, leaning toward healing and warmth.  The illustration sizes change to draw our attention to the delivery of remedies.  Readers will enjoy the facial features on all the boats.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a full-page picture.  From the gutter on the left, Hope's bow (face) is enlarged, covering a bit more than half the page.  She is smiling with her eyes closed as she comforts Submarine.  Submarine is next to (in front of) her facing in the opposite direction.  Submarine is also smiling with its eyes closed, now warm under the cover of a blanket.  The water is a light blue.  The background with a few buildings is several shades of dark peach.  This is pure contentment.

This book, And Then Came Hope written and illustrated by Stephen Savage, is designed for younger readers, but will resonate with readers of all ages.  It builds toward the five concluding words we all long to hear.  The author's note at the end titled The Real S. S. Hope gives us a bit of history and refers us to the Project Hope website.  You'll want to place this book in your professional collections, have a copy for your personal bookshelves, and share this often with others.

To learn more about Stephen Savage and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Stephen Savage has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At Penguin Random House you can view interior illustrations. 

And Then Came HOPE: Author Discussion and Reading with Project HOPE

Author Stephen Savage and Project HOPE's Grace Duggan join us to discuss Stephen's new book and have a conversation about child wellness during the pandemic.  "And Then Came Hope" was inspired by Project HOPE's own S. S. HOPE, the first peacetime hospital ship.  Stay tuned afterward as Stephen and Grace respond to your questions and comments in the chat.  Special thanks to Holiday House Books for Young People! 

Go With The Flow

One of the many things you learn from being near or on water for most of your life is, it never stays the same.  Every minute, hour, or day, whether it is a stream, river, inland lake or one of the Great Lakes, it changes.  A difference in temperature, humidity, or wind determines if it is as smooth as glass, rippled, or rocky with waves.  Its fluid moods beckon to a host of flora, fauna, and humans.  A student of watery realms gains essential life insights.

Paddling down creeks or rivers rafting or canoeing, it is easy to observe our feathered friends, either as frequent visitors or residents.  Mel Fell (Balzar + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, February 2, 2021) written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor captures the can-do spirit of young kingfisher.  Determined thinking bolsters bravery.

One day, when Mama was away,

Mel decided it was time to learn to fly. 

Her sister, Pim, and her brother, Pip, were certain this was not the best idea.  Mel, having the good sense to be scared, was nevertheless going to fly.  Today was the day.  Springing up from the branch, she dove.

It was a long way down.  The affectionate squirrels tried to catch her.  Their attempts were not fruitful.  Buzzing bees simply could not stop her.  Down she went.  As you might assume, the efforts of a neighborly spider were unsuccessful.  

Mel fell straight down, plunging into the water.  She caught the right-sized fish in her sharp beak.  Using her wings, she surged from the water.  She was flying!  Up and up and up she went.

As she passed each of the resident tree members, they cheered for the courageous Mel.  When Mel reached the family branch, Mama was home.  Looking at each other, they spoke identical thoughts.  Attitude.

Using dialogue with narrative, author Corey R. Tabor fashions a tale guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat as you applaud the efforts of this young bird.  The tension builds as each of the friends try to prevent what they assume is a disaster.  Yet, Corey R. Tabor builds humor into the story with his word choices and descriptions as Mel whizzes past the tree trunk, on the way down and on the way up.  Here is a passage.

The squirrels tried to catch her.  They

really did.  They'd grown quite fond of

those squeaky little chirpers upstairs.

Blast!

Nuts!

Oof!

Aieeeeeee!

But it was no use.  They

missed her by a whisker.

The position of the text in relation to the spine on the matching dust jacket and book case is your first hint the reading of this book is going to be turned a bit.  To read the title horizontally, left to right, as it appears above, you need to put the spine on top.  The cheerful, full color palette with animated characters on the front, right, is another clue as to the enchanting events unfolding inside the covers.  The title text is raised to the touch.

To the left, on the back, with the spine on top, the textured white canvas continues.  On the left side is Mel's tree.  It stretches from top to bottom.  We can see the three bird siblings and Mama, the owl family, the beehive, the spider's web, and three squirrel tails sticking out from hollows in the trunk.

On the opening and closing endpapers and the first inside page is a vibrant pattern in two hues of spring green.  It features leaf prints like those on Mel's tree.  At the front, the next page is a close-up of the tree with the trunk on the right, branches extending off the top and left side.  At the back, the trunk is still on the right.  A single branch sticks out from the kingfisher home.  Mel is pushing one of her siblings to the edge of that branch.  The other one is holding to the branch with most of their body still in the hole.  This page also contains an author's note, the dedication and publication information.

On the title page (You are still reading this book turned.), the trunk of the tree on the right is shown from the top to the bottom of two pages.  Mama is on a branch above the nest hole in the trunk.  Mel is peering outside.

These illustrations rendered with

pencil, colored pencil, and acrylic paint, and assembled digitally

are vertical two-page pictures on the textured, white canvas on a matte-finished, heavier paper.  The one exception for the background is when we see Mel moving in the water.  At this point we turn the book again, so Mel is flying up.  The tree trunk is always on the right side.  

It's the facial expressions on the animals which elevate the humor as do their physical attempts to stop Mel on her way down.  Mel's eyes are closed all the way down until just before she hits the water.  Her eyes are closed on her way home but this time she spins her body around.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is when Mel is flying up to her home.  Toward the bottom of the page two branches bleeding off the left side form a large "v".  Inside the "v" the spider has spun a web.  Mel shoots through the web, threads showing her speed upward.  Off to the right the spider spells "yay" and claps with all eight of her hands.  Mel has spun showing us her breast.  The fish in her beak is looking worried.  (There is more humor involving the fish at the end.)

Original in words, design and artwork, this book, Mel Fell written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor, shows the results of adding a dive of faith plus resolve to equal success.  Whether you read this one on one or to a larger group, this is a story time treasure.  I highly recommend you add this title to your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Corey R. Tabor and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  At the publisher's website you can read a sample.  They also have a book trailer there which supplies an example of how to read this title.

UPDATE:  On April 20, 2021 this title is highlighted by author, reviewer, and blogger, Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Here Corey R. Tabor talks about the spark for this book and his illustrative process.

By canoe, by raft, by fishing boat, by speed boat, by pontoon, by yacht, by houseboat or by sailboat, with every trip this passenger has stories to tell.  It can be a simple sunny day cruise.  It can be the most amazing fish tale every told.  It can be a my-dad-will-never-let-me-drive-the-boat-again-after-I ran-it-up-on-the-dock escapade.  It can be an I-can't-believe-I-survived ocean exploit.  These narratives, when combined with other multiple water travels, are an individual's existence from first to last breath.  In Sail (Little, Brown and Company, March 9, 2021) written and illustrated by Dorien Brouwers, readers explore the wild, wonderful, unpredictable, and sometimes frightening ride called life. 

We all have ships to sail

in life's adventurous tale. 

It does not matter the size or type of vessel.  There is one for each of us.  We release a ship from its moorings and with openness seek that which awaits us.

Regardless of the shape and height of the waves, we bravely welcome them.  If we feel as though we are off course, look to the sails and change direction. Stay sharp as the wind tosses the boat. 

If we tumble into the water, swim.  There are secrets beneath the waves, waiting to be found.  Go down.  Go deep.  Hold those secrets close.

When it is time, we rise to the surface. We do so with more knowledge and understanding.  From there, back in our boat, we go forward knowing there is much more to explore and achieve.  

Reading like a poem, a lullaby, and a loving letter offering encouragement, this book written by Dorien Brouwers asks us to be our best selves regardless of where we go and what we encounter.  Using watery realms analogous to life with us as sailors in a boat of our choosing, rhyming couplets create a comforting narrative.  In each of the couplets, emphasis is placed on a single word.  When those single words are strung together, they make a buoyant ring around the reader.  Here is a passage.

Search the ocean for the light.

Breathe in deep and don't lose sight.

The swirl of blue and white hues seen on the front of the dust jacket moves over the spine to the left, fashioning a vast expanse of water and opportunities.  The school of tiny fish racing in an arc on the front indicate a fast-moving current.  To the left, on the back, a smaller group of fish meander through the ocean.  This setting with the sailboat and its single passenger with a seabird flying nearby is the essence of anticipation.  

A whirlpool spins across the opening and closing endpapers.  It's a wild blend of blues and white.  Fish in both colors swim with the circular currents in constant motion.  On the verso and title pages, a double-page picture of a seascape presents several different kinds of sailboats in a sheltered space, a calm sea, with a red and white lighthouse on a nearby point of land.

Each two-page picture in this book was rendered

with watercolor on 220gsm Daler Rowney paper with monoprinted details added to it.

Their eloquent, textured depictions display sensory scenes.  In a superb mix of light and shadow, a variety of perspectives draws us into each image.

We are standing on a dock next to a row of boats, some large enough to dwarf us.  As our boat moves off the right side of the visual, we reach down to pull a large anchor loose from the bottom.  When a stormy sea surrounds us, we hold tight to the sail lines, trying to follow the right path.  Now in the ocean, we silently swim down and among the colorful creatures and plants.  Each perspective offers an original possibility.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is in the murky depths.  Starfish, jellyfish, rays, scallops, and fish glide and rest.  Swimming with a school of fish is the child.  They are moving toward a giant vibrant octopus who occupies most of the left side.  In three of its arms, it holds keys.  What do these keys unlock?  I imagine each reader will have an answer, some the same and others strikingly divergent.

This book, Sail written and illustrated by Dorien Brouwers, like the water on which we traverse, will take on fresh meanings each time it is read with readers of all ages.  At the close of the title is a page of six questions with the heading,

Some Things to Think About.

This is a book which needs to be on your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Dorien Brouwers and her other work, please access her website by following the link attached to her name.  You can see interior illustrations at her website.  Dorien Brouwers has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. At the publisher's website is a marvelous, illustrated chat with the author about the book and her images.

(Note:  I was working with an F & G when writing this post.)

Better Together #1

At an early age humans learn, a helping hand benefits everyone, both the recipient and the giver.  We are never sure where the initial connection will lead. If a leap of faith is taken by extending assistance to another human, plant, animal, or planet, a lasting relationship is often built.  In nature within and without species, this is an observed behavior, contributing to survival.  It supplies all living individuals with the best existence possible. 

For those whose lives have been limited by the pandemic, people delivering mail and packages have been a constant tie to the larger world no longer available.  There have been frequent conversations through windows.  The Lost Package (Roaring Brook Press, March 2, 2021) written by Richard Ho with illustrations by Jessica Lanan allows readers to see how much is gained through discovery and decision.

Like other packages, this one began as an empty box.

The art of packing this particular package was done as a labor of love.  The sender knew the receiver would appreciate and recognize extra details.  This package arrived and left the post office in a series of designated steps.

It was sorted in a labyrinth of moving paths, but on its way to an airport it unintentionally left the truck carrying it.  This box was not bound to a special address any longer.  It was off course from its intended destination.

No one who passed the package gave it any attention.  Now muddy and torn, it was finally noticed.  The extra details, so lovingly added, sent a clear message.

The spotters made a decision.  In the true spirit of the United States Postal Service, they acted. Like many before them, their choice and deeds enriched more than one.

As soon as you read the first two sentences, you are intrigued.  What was in the package? Where was it going?  Who will receive the package?  Who sent the package?  Richard Ho has taken the less is more approach to this story, mastering it beautifully.  His simple, profound prose allows our imaginations to take their own journey as the package follows its own alternate route.  Never mentioning people, but focusing on the package, also leaves room for illustrative interpretation.  Another wonderful technique Richard Ho uses is the repetition of three important words.  When he changes them toward the ending, the impact is greater.  Here is a passage.

Like other packages, it was taken to a building with

wondrous machines.

Machines that zip mail through a maze of moving belts.

Soft, layered elements on the front, right, of the open dust jacket in a full-color palette introduce readers to three important, but never named, characters in this tale of a package gone awry.  On closer inspection you can see how illustrator Jessica Lanan weaves hints of the package's origin and destination in the special details on the brown-paper wrapping. Did you notice how she places the cancelled postal waves through three letters in the title text?  

To the left of the spine, on the back, golden and peach washes supply the canvas.  A loosely framed circular image is placed here.  Within this image our attention is drawn to the USPS truck moving down a city street.  Buildings and other vehicles are a part of the background.

On the book case is the brown-paper wrapping for the package. It is smudged and torn.  Postal insignias and labels are on the back portion on the left.  On the right is a series of stamps, a return address, and a to-be-delivered-to address.  A deep midnight blue covers the opening and closing endpapers.

On the title page, the text is the same as on the front of the dust jacket.  The scene is different.  It is an overview of a large metropolitan city on the east coast of the United States.  A tall identifying landmark reveals the place.

These illustrations rendered

with watercolors

shift in size from page turn to page turn, generating a story within a story.  Readers will pause to make sure to not miss any of the included items; a photograph of both the children in their respective rooms and posters on each other's walls of the place in which their friend resides.  How many will want a bunny lamp like the one in the girl's bedroom?  How many will identify with the boy's passion for fish and sea creatures?

The scenes inside the post office and postal sorting facility are informative and engaging.  Several wordless images speak volumes.  The two-page pictures are lovely as are the cross-country scenes.  

One of my many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture.  It's one of those times in a story where you hold your breath, waiting to see what happens.  A boy, his mother, and their dog are walking down a wet sidewalk in the rain in the city.  The battered box rests against two large objects in the gutter.  The dog is pulling on its leash toward the box.  A pale sky highlights the buildings, streetlamps, a stoplight, and a bus stop sign. Close to us is the sidewalk shiny in the rainstorm.  It draws us toward the three characters. 

In reading The Lost Package written by Richard Ho with illustrations by Jessica Lanan, we come to understand with greater insight the value of a single act.  It magnifies the notion of what-if.  Both the author and illustrator have notes for readers on the final page.  What a truly genuine and touching story this is!  I highly recommend it for your personal and professional bookshelves.

To discover more about both Richard Ho and Jessica Lanan and their other work, please visit their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Richard Ho has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.  Jessica Lanan has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. At Macmillan you can view interior illustrations.  You might be able to watch an archive of the launch here hosted by Books of Wonder.

For those who have spent many an hour on water in a boat, what we see around us is only a small portion of the wonders being in a boat affords us.  There is much to be seen underwater which in turn affects what we see above it.  The brother collaborators who gave us The Old Truck (Norton Young Readers, an imprint of W. W. Norton and Company, January 7, 2020) have a new release.  The Old Boat (Norton Young Readers, an imprint of W. W. Norton and Company, March 2, 2021) written and illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey is an ode to our environment, family, and shared experiences using a boat as a focal point.

Off a small island, an old boat rode the tide.

Over time, the old boat moved from the island into deeper and deeper waters.  It supplied the woman and boy what they needed.  It gave them a place to dream dreams.  In that old boat, they saw breathtaking wonders given to them from the water beneath the waves.

Still more time passed.  Now the boy, a man, traveled farther from the small island.  The island was no longer in sight.

The old boat was weary, worn, chilly and most decidedly lost in a raging storm.  All that remained was the turbulent waves and angry sky.  Fortunately, after the storm passed, the man washed ashore on a sandy beach on another small island.

There, the man saw what needed to be done.  He started, little by little, to change the landscape of the beach, moving into deeper and deeper waters.  He inspired others.  The man and the old boat were settled and satisfied, content in their new places.

Readers willingly place themselves in the old boat near the small island.  Through the words of Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey, we ride with the boy and woman during their shared experiences.  Jarrett Pumphrey's and Jerome Pumphrey's use of alliteration in one special sentence is enchanting.  It's like riding the swells of water formed by wind.

This creative duo brings the story full circle through generations by using repeating words and phrases.  We accept the changes as inevitable, but those things which cement connections to each other and to our planet remain the same, but stronger.  We know something in the story is about to shift when we read this sentence.

But the old boat rode farther (page turn)

and farther.  

Opening the dust jacket for this book gives you a glimpse of the lovely hues used in the illustrations.  The signature artwork of the brothers' is as exquisite here as in their first title.  The image on the right, front, is reversed on the left, back, with a continuous flow over the spine.  On the back there are now two clouds in the sky.  The boy's back is to us.  The fish move away and from under the boat traveling to the left edge and corner.  

On the book case is a textured cream color.  A wide border of green, the same shade as on the boat and title text, covers and spreads from the spine.  On the front of the case, near the top, the old boat is embossed on the cream.  It's a tactile, defining moment when readers run their fingers over the old boat.  

On the opening and closing endpapers is a slightly lighter golden color than as shown on the jacket.  When you turn the page after the endpapers at the front and before those at the back, there is a mirror image with some differences in the land and water. On the first, the island shows only flora.  There appear to be fewer fish and underwater flora.  On the second, the island has colorful homes and less flora.  The water is more populated with sea creatures.  This is a visual explanation of the beginning and end of the old boat's story.

Prior to the title page is a fabulous two-page picture.  It introduces us to the woman, the little boy, their small island, the watery wonders near the shore, and the old boat.  On the title page is only the old boat.  With the page turns, we see how the ages of the woman and the boy progress.  They both get older.  Under them in the water, the sea changes too.  Pollution invades closer to shore, spreading out farther and farther as the two age.

The farther they go out into the sea, the more the residents there present themselves to them, until a stunning moment when the woman is very old, and the boy is a young man.  From then on, for several page turns Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey present the man, alone and now older, in the old boat, too far from home to get what he needs.  This is the pictorial introduction to a huge change.  In one of the more dramatic two-page pictures (They are all two-page images.), there are no words, no boat and no man.

Readers will be entranced by the blend of words and illustrations.  Each page turn invites examination.  Subtle and not so subtle differences are noted in every element.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the boy, a teenager, and the woman, white-haired, are resting in the boat after a successful day of fishing.  He is leaning against the bow and she against the stern.  It is night.  The island is in the distance black and dotted with white houses.  Stars twinkle in the black sky as one streaks from left to right, across the gutter and over their boat on the right.  Beneath several shades of tan water, white jellyfish gather.  The two words on this page are:

and wishes.

There is total contentment and calm in this scene.

If you ever imagine how one person can make a difference, look to The Old Boat written and illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey.  Here we see how a woman influenced a boy, and how that boy as a man influenced an entire island.  It's about making this world better for those who dwell here now and in the future.  We can do this . . . together.  You will certainly want a copy of this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey and their work, access their website by following the link attached to their names.  There are three double-page illustrations for this book at their website, including the favorite I above noted.  Jarrett Pumphrey has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Jerome Pumphrey has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  The brothers were featured guests on February 4, 2021 at The Brown Bookshelf.  Author illustrator Don Tate is the author of that post.

Wondrous Water Wanderings

It begins in childhood during a summer rain, as neighborhood friends gather to release leaves with stick passengers to drift down the gutter of a small-town street.  Very early there are more adventures than can be remembered on a small aluminum boat named Rainmaker with Dad.  There are hard-to-believe fishing tales and that one episode of running the boat up on the dock.  Later there are quiet glides down meandering Michigan rivers in a canoe small enough for a small young woman to carry.  There are Atlantic sailboat excursions with a life jacket being thrown to you as a squall hits or a softball-sized lump forming on your cheek after a sidestay keeps you from falling overboard on a rocky ocean.  Finally, there is the 1957 Chris Craft Sportsman with its throaty engines and the twenty-six-foot pontoon boat for idling away sunny summer afternoons.  When you live near water, boats for many are part of their years.

Regardless of the purpose they serve, there are boats for every type of person and their wants and needs.  Boats Will Float (Sleeping Bear Press, March 15, 2020) written by Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum with illustrations by Brett Curzon is a rhyming day trip and tribute to these water vehicles.  Bright full-color artwork complements these boats in an array of settings.

Boats are bobbing in the bay,
Waiting to be on their way.

The tide is the guide as the morning begins.  Fisherman and special groups celebrating sport and tradition work and practice in a shared space.  Multiple boats surge toward the sea.

Recreational boaters speed along sandy shores.  Sails billow in the wind, riding the ups and downs of the waves.  Big boats thrive because of smaller boats' tasks.

Boats protect.  Boats haul freight.  Boats provide places for people to vacation or look for whales.  Boats help those who seek science.

In boats sailors cruise beneath the surface.  Up above sailors have their own language with alphabet signal flags.  To aid them (and all who float in their boats) are beacons of light on rocky shores.  As night descends and stars and a moon light the sky, we end as we started, a home on a boat with a family snuggled inside.

You find yourself humming or singing at least in your mind, if not aloud, when reading the words written by Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum. Every two or four lines rhyme at the end creating a cadence similar to the movement of the boats.  Frequent use of alliteration elevates the beat.  The title text is woven into the narrative several times to supply continuity.  Here is a passage.

Coast guard, freighter, ships that cruise,
Offer front-row ocean views,
Leaving foamy, frothy trails,
Passing pods of spouting whales.


Spirited characters (and one happy-go-lucky canine) are featured on their cheery tug racing out to sea on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case.  Three other boats, a schooner, tug and freighter, are also shown.  This is one of many wonderful details about the illustrations in this book.  On any given page showcasing a particular boat, other boats are included.  Using the lifebuoys in place of the letter "o" is an excellent design choice.

To the left, on the back, a slate blue canvas provides a background for a small rectangular picture.  In this picture a group of sailors and a dog are sitting in a small boat. Three of the four people are holding signal flags spelling out one of the words in the title.

The opening and closing endpapers in pale turquoise have rows of waves in white as a pattern.  This pattern of waves is broken by silhouettes of sails.  On the title page a fire boat is shown beneath the title text.

Rendered by Brett Curzon these illustrations, with marvelous elements, all spanning two pages, are a gallery of boats placed in an range of circumstances with a variety of people, young and old, alike.  They are realistic portraits of life with people at work and play.  All the people are enjoying their time on all these boats as evidenced by their expressions and body postures.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is at night.  A star-studded sky with a crescent moon spans the top half of the image.  On the left a white area, cloudlike in shape and size, establishes a space for text.  To the left of this and a bit lower is a lighthouse on a rocky cliff shining its light.  On the lower half is the sea awash in hues of blues.  Only swirls disturb the water.  On the left a numbered red buoy, lighted, guides boats.  A single sailboat glides under the stars and moon on the right.  An adult and child (father and son) are sailing.  The child holds a lantern.  This is a peaceful scene.  You can almost hear the swish of the water as the boat cuts through the surface.


For an introduction to boats, how they are used and enjoyed, Boats Will Float written by Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum with illustrations by Brett Curzon is a stellar selection for the information, melody of the words and the joy in the visuals.  At the close of the book two pages are dedicated to giving readers more facts on sixteen types of boats along with smaller pictures of each.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum and Brett Curzon, please follow the links attached to their names to access relevant websites.  Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Brett Curzon has an account on Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view multiple interior images.  Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum and Brett Curzon are both highlighted at Kathy Temean's Writing and Illustrating website.

Drifting Out To Sea With Love

When someone you love has died it leaves a huge hole in your heart.  You wish to see their face, hear their voice or laughter or feel their hand holding your hand.  You miss them so much a smell can make you believe they are near to you.  Perhaps they passed by the same spot seconds before you arrived.

You may transfer plants from their gardens to your gardens wherever you live no matter how many times you move.  Without realizing it, you will acquire certain habits similar to their habits.  You will do what you know they would have enjoyed; little things or larger things.  Although they are gone, the connection is still strong.  Boats For Papa (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, June 30, 2015) written and illustrated by Jessixa Bagley is a story of longing and the purest form of love, unconditional.

Buckley and his mama lived in a small wooden house by the sea.  They didn't have much, but they always had each other.

On any given day, if you looked down at the beach, you would see Buckley walking along the sandy shore, gathering treasures delivered from the ocean.  He was a gatherer of objects, crafting boats from the found driftwood.  When he showed one of his boats to his mother, he told her with joy it was for his Papa.  Buckley's father had died.

Several days passed.  It was Buckley's birthday; celebrated with a picnic on the beach.  A special gift of paints and brushes from Mama made his day nearly complete.  As dusk descended the two of them walked along the beach.  Buckley had decided to send his boat out into the sea with a note attached.

Buckley believed if the boat did not return, his Papa would have received it.  A tradition was born on this day.  Buckley would send more boats to the parent he missed.  As Buckley slept, Mama strolled along the shore thinking about her husband.

Whenever an eventful day would come, Buckley would send out a boat to his Papa with the same message attached.  Every single time, his Mama would walk along the shore with him.  As weeks and months passed, Buckley's skill with building boats grew; as did the designs and details.

On his next birthday, the fun was better than ever due to Mama's extra special preparations.  At day's end, about to put his latest boat in the water, Buckley realized he had no note.  As his Mama waited at the water's edge, he raced back to their little home.  The next five pages are a testament to the strength of love between this parent and this child.


Very early in the narrative, Jessixa Bagley joins us to the characters.  Her choice of words creates a mood melody, a song about love.  With the second phrase we are keenly aware of the closeness of Buckley and his Mama.  Continuing with simple but illuminating sentences, we become further acquainted with the child and parent.  Bagley helps readers understand how a little can become all you need but much more than you expected.  Here is another sample passage.

"I'm going to send my boat to Papa.  If it doesn't come back to shore, I'll know he got it!" said Buckley as he placed his little boat in the water.  They watched it bob up and down as the tide carried it gently out to sea.


Rendered with pen and watercolor all the illustrations, beginning with the dust jacket, generate an atmosphere of solitude and peace.  A lightness of line and fine details along with the color palette radiate warmth in each image. (Careful readers will notice another story on the roof of their home.)  This first picture continues to the left, on the back, with a blanket, picnic basket and the remains of a meal, as evidence of time shared together.

The opening endpapers are a sandy beach strewn with pieces of wood, a pail, shovel, kelp, sea grass, pebbles, sea glass and a couple of sea creatures.  The closing endpapers supply the heartwarming conclusion to the story within the small wooden home. The two double-page illustrations for the title page, verso and dedication pages begin the story by showing Buckley and his Mama at the beach and walking home later hand in hand.

Jessixa Bagley varies her image sizes from smaller ones loosely framed in white on a single page, to those spanning two pages, and sometimes several on a single page.  These heighten the tender tempo of the story.  At times she has chosen to give us a wider view of the scene as when Buckley and his Mama are walking along the shore.  In other moments we are closer to the characters like when Buckley is painting one of his boats.  We are there with them.

One of my favorite illustrations is when Mama is walking the beach at night after Buckley is sleeping.  We see the vast expanse of the sea, the wide beach and huge rocky hill in the distance with everything bathed in moonlight. Mama stands alone in contemplation near the small house on stilts, curtains closed at the windows.  The use of light and shadow is exquisite.


Boats For Papa written and illustrated by Jessixa Bagley is a beautiful picture book debut.  A double twist at the end will leave you emotionally moved.  This is a book for every reader, for those who have loved and lost and for those who need to understand this loss.  Everyone will want to have it on their personal and professional book shelves.

To discover more about Jessixa Bagley, her work and thoughts, please follow the links attached to her name to access her website and blog.  You will enjoy this image on the mackidsbooks Instagram page.  To see interior images follow this link to the publisher's website.  Author, reviewer and blogger, Julie Danielson talks about and shares artwork from this title at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. (Spoilers within the post) Author Pat Zietlow Miller speaks about the use of text in this title in a post at Picture Book Builders.  Jessixa Bagley talks about the pronunciation of her name at TeachingBooks.net UPDATE:  Jessixa Bagley writes about the audience for her book in a recent blog post on October 7, 2015. 

A Porcine Tale

If you utter a single word, once, even without the upon a time, you will have the attention of the people in the room or at the very least those within hearing distance of you.  This word is laden with potential.  People instinctively wait for the revelation of the powerful w words.

This, like the title or first sentence in a written story, welcomes, tickles the funny bone and intrigues readers.  What This Story Needs Is A Pig In A Wig (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, May 12, 2015) written and illustrated by Emma J. Virjan certainly hooks readers with the title.  After reading this title and the first sentence what word immediately pops into your head?

What this story needs is a pig. 

With the page turn the bright red wig is on the pig.  Our porker pal is next seen floating in a boat in a nearby castle's moat.  Before we can even blink a leaping green frog is sharing the ride.

It's a rhyming romp!  Next a dog joins the passengers along with a goat who is balancing on a _______. (You will in the blank.)  The unseen narrator proceeds to insist on adding another member.

Quick as a wink the rodent is donning apparel while being balanced on the trunk of an elephant.  It's starting to get a tad bit crowded when a rather smelly animal makes an appearance along with a small residence.  This is becoming ridiculously hilarious.

Two more creatures, one dressed in a fancy blouse, arrive on board.  Fearing the boat will sink, the pig issues a series of firm requests until, finally, things are back to the beginning.  The luxury of solitude is bliss.  Or is it?

It's obvious Emma J. Virjan had as much fun writing this book as we do reading it.  Her selection of words shouts out comedy with contrasts beginning with the beginning.  To top it off, how often have you noted pigs living nearby a castle on a sandy island surrounded by a moat?  Her choice of animals elevates the laughing level due to the mix; a dog, frog and goat with an elephant is not something you see every day.  Once readers realize Virjan is supplying them with giggles and grins, each page turn will be relished for the surprise it reveals.

Created with charcoal sketches then colored digitally, the illustrations intensify the narrative.  A full color palette with vivid blues (and complementary) colors as a background canvas and images outlined in black lines will attract the intended audience.  How can you resist that pig on the front?  On the back, to the left, a stack of animal friends peeking in from the left seem to be ready to answer Pig's request.  On the opening and closing endpapers in two shades of pig we are greeted with rows of pig snouts.  Emma J. Virjan does not waste any space starting the visual story on the verso and title page.  Pig is pulling on a line attached to a pink boat with a snout painted on the bow.

The first illustration spans two pages accompanying the first sentence.  It's all pink except for a spotlight shining on the pig.  After this pacing is generated by the visual sizes; in the beginning most are single page surrounded by a wide white border creating rounded corners.  After the pig asks the uninvited guests to leave the boat, all the pictures span two pages, edge to edge. 

With every reading more comical details emerge.  When pig is putting on the wig, the mirror has a snout topper and the pattern on the rug in the room is filled with snouts.  The dog licks the pig to its disgust.  When the goat is balancing the frog and dog are holding up numbers like judges.  In the next image, the dog and goat are holding hands.  As more of the story is told you will find yourself smiling nonstop.  

A favorite illustration is when the elephant arrives.  The boat is weighted on one end like a teeter-totter as another new rider stands on the tip of the elephant's trunk.  At the higher end of the boat is the pig with the goat clinging to the wig with the frog clinging to the goat and the dog is standing on the log embracing the frog.  The look in the pig's face is akin to complete astonishment.

What This Story Needs Is A Pig In A Wig written and illustrated by Emma J. Virjan gets funnier and funnier every time you read it.  It's a story about building a story.  It's a story about inserting humor into a telling.  It's a story about the value of sharing your story with others.  You can expect to read this repeatedly to your listeners.  This would make an outstanding puppet show or reader's theater.

Please visit Emma J. Virjan's website to learn more about her and her work by following the link attached to her name.  Emma J. Virjan and this title were featured in a podcast interview at Storybook Spotlight.  During author Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo Emma J. Virjan wrote a guest post about this book.  There are sketches of the process.  Enjoy the book trailer.

Newsworthy

Students in my library have a fondness for objects folded from paper.  At the beginning of each year kindergarten students leave wearing sailor hats fashioned from newspaper so they can tell their parents about reading Tom Goes To Kindergarten by Margaret Wild.  Second grade students are amazed at the forms paper takes in the telling of The Something Special.   In the upper grades during April Is Poetry Month the guys and gals shape origami items to go with their written haiku.  For the oldest students, as a culmination to a study of the Dewey Decimal System and earning their pilot licenses (Library Sparks lesson), we have a day of competitive making and flying paper airplanes to earn gift certificates to a local book shop.

A single piece of paper with words, pictures or both words and pictures can hold a story.  A single piece of paper can represent a real or imagined person, place or thing.  In Daniel Miyares new title, Float (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, June 9, 2015) without words readers enjoy a day with a boy who sees wonder in folded paper.

An open newspaper has been placed on a table.  Adult hands tear a piece, crease and fold it as a younger child leans in to watch.  Now clothed in a yellow rain slicker and hat, the day promising rain, the boy holding a paper boat begins his daily excursion.

As the sky darkens clouds heavy with moisture roll in.  Soon drops of rain prompt him to hide the boat inside his coat.  It's a downpour.

Large puddles are left in the wake of the storm; a perfect place for sailing and stomping.  Along the edge of the roadside curb, swift currents of water pass.  The boy sets his boat on the speedy path.  To his surprise it's moving more quickly than he thought it would go.

Within seconds it is out of his reach.  Racing down the sidewalk he tries to retrieve his runaway vessel.  Where is it?  There it is!  Oh no!  Down, down it drops into the storm drain.

Like a lone sentinel he stands vigil on the small brick arched bridge; watching and waiting.  Heartbroken he heads back home, the happiness he lost mirrored in the new rain showers.  Welcome, compassion, warmth and more creativity bring new light into the day.


The making of a boat from newspaper is an activity passed from generation to generation, child to child.  With this act, requiring only a piece of paper and a learned skill, Daniel Miyares shows readers how a day, even a rainy day, can evolve into one filled with joy and sadness and joy again through our imaginations.  The beauty of this story is in the timelessness.


Rendered digitally with a limited color palette, gray, yellow, white, pink, black and shades of brown, Daniel Miyares begins his illustrations with the dust jacket, an image spanning across the front and back.  The rain is diminishing as the boy sets his boat afloat in the puddle.  The tree-lined street is reflected in the water.  The book case picture, also covering both the front and back, moves in closer to the boat as it drifts on the water.  A hint of sun peeks from a cloud in the upper right-hand corner.  On the endpapers Miyares gifts readers with step-by-step instructions for folding the two objects highlighted in his story; one on the opening pages and the other on the closing pages.

Not wasting any space the narrative without words begins on the title page and verso with the newspaper.  Careful readers will take note of the pictures on the newspaper pages when an item is made.  With each page turn the tale is revealed in a series of visuals moving across two pages or two pages divided into panels supplying pacing.

Miyares invites us to be participatory readers with alterations in perspective.   We see only hands and the newspaper when the folding begins.  As the boy walks down the street we notice the top of his head above a white picket fence, his hands holding the boat high.  When the boat begins to move away, out of reach, our eyes start at the left with smaller images until on the right the boat is prominent.  Emotional impact is achieved with these shifts in point of view.

One of my favorite illustrations spreads across two pages.  The boy has picked his boat up from the puddle.  Holding it in his hand, in a series of six images, we see him gleefully jumping, splashing and leaping in the water.  In the lower right-hand corner a frightened bird squawks and moves out of his way.  I think I can hear the laughter, sloshing and chirping.


Truly uplifting, an ode to the simple joys in life, Float a wordless story conceived and illustrated by Daniel Miyares is marvelous.  While the focus is on the boy, the parent (adult or older brother) (The book dedication reads For my big brother.) plays a part as creator of folded objects and as a conveyor of compassion when needed.  This is a book for all ages.  It has the feel of a classic.

Please take a moment to visit Daniel Miyares website by following the link attached to his name.  You can view his other illustrative work, his blog, and news.  Stop by the publisher's website to see eight interior illustrations from this title including my favorite one and another one causing me to sigh and get a little teary. At TeachingBooks. net an audio tells us how to pronounce his name.
UPDATE:  Author, reviewer and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast Julie Danielson features Daniel Miyares, this title and artwork.  Julie Danielson conducts one of her classic feature interviews with Daniel Miyares at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.