Finding Fearlessness

Fear always finds a way to wiggle into our lives.  Most of us have one thing that escapes our bravery.  Some fears seem as though they've been a part of us from the beginning.  Other worries are sneakier.  Seemingly, all of a sudden, what we once did without a thought, we now avoid.

Sometimes those things we dread, old and new, are vanquished.  The answer to dispelling them may be closer than we can know.  Courage Hats (Chronicle Books, March 22, 2022) written by Kate Hoefler with illustrations by Jessixa Bagley follows two individuals as they face fear in their own, but same, unique manner. 

Not everyone loves a train.

That's the world.

Even though trains are not a favorite mode of travel, sometimes you have to ride one to get where you are going.  Mae, a little girl, did not want to ride a train.  Bear, a younger bear, did not want to ride a train.  Mae did not want to go through forests where bears lived.  Bear did not want to go where people resided in the cities.

Mae and Bear decide to make their own courage.  They make hats to wear.  Mae's hat makes her look like a bear.  Bear's hat makes him look like a person.

Bear and Mae find each other on the train.  Bear looks like a grown-up human and Mae looks like a cub.  Each is comfortable with the other one.

They play with Mae's tea set.  They eat Bear's snacks.  Every moment they spend together sharing what they see from the train windows expands their view of the world in the forest and the city.  At their destination, several surprises are revealed.

The simple sentences penned by Kate Hoefler resonate with truth.  The use of identical words in different order supply readers with the similarity between the girl and the bear.  The repetition of phrases uttered by each with small word changes further binds the duo.  Each faces their fear by discovering togetherness eases that worry.  The cadence provided by Kate Hoefler's words is not unlike that of a train moving down the tracks.  Here is a passage.

No matter how you feel about a train,

someone else feels the same way.

You're lucky if that someone has a blanket and snack.

When you open the dust jacket, the design of the sides of the train extends flap edge to flap edge.  The train windows continue on the back, with the only break being the spine.  Bear is not the only animal riding the rails.  To the left of the spine, on the back, a wild boar is reading a book opposite a human male passenger.  A male deer with antlers is seated opposite the writer we see on the front, right side, of the jacket.  Truthfully, Bear and Mae wearing their hats and smiling as they watch the world pass outside the train is pure happiness.

On the book case, the train design is used again.  On the front, right side, we see Bear walking to the left as does Mae seen through another window.  On the back, three bunnies are looking outside as another person writes.  In the final portion of a window, on the left, a bear wearing a hat is resting.

The opening endpapers in purple with white polka-dots is the same pattern on Mae's headband.  On the closing endpapers, in lavender with white polka-dots, we see the same markings as on Bear's blanket.  On the verso and dedication page, we are looking at the top portion of Bear and Mae in their hats along the bottom of the page.

Illustrator Jessixa Bagley used

graphite and watercolor

to render these pictures.  Each page turn presents readers with a double-page or single-page image, edge to edge, or a single-page visual in a circular shape with elements outside the frame.  In several illustrations, Jessixa Bagley alters her perspective giving us a bird-eye view outside and inside the train.  There are also several wordless images, a group of four smaller pictures, a double-page image, and a single-page illustration.  These are wonderful dramatic pauses.

The textures in each illustration are soft and inviting.  The full-color pictures are full of fine lines and delicate details.  Readers are certain to enjoy the variety of expressions on the faces of Mae and Bear.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  In the foreground, close to us, are the backs of Bear's and Mae's heads, hands and paws resting on the window sills, as they watch the world outside the train. (They are still wearing their hats.) It is a pastoral landscape with rolling hills in shades of green, golden yellow, and brown.  Birds fly in both directions across a pale blue sky.

We are reminded in this book, Courage Hats written by Kate Hoefler with artwork by Jessixa Bagley, there is usually someone needing the same kind of bravery we are seeking.  The rhythmic words, at times lyrical observations, paired with the wonderful drawings and paintings will find a permanent place in many readers' hearts.  You will want to place a copy of this book in both your personal and professional collections.

Author Kate Hoefler has an account on Instagram.  To learn more about Jessixa Bagley and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Jessixa Bagley has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  This book is highlighted by librarian and writer John Sch on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  You will love his conversation with both Kate Hoefler and Jessixa Bagley.  Author, reviewer, and blogger, Julie Danielson features this book on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Kate Hoefler is interviewed about this book on Max's Boat.  At the publisher's website, you can see more interior images.

At times, overwhelmed, we decide to walk away from a challenge.  It is easier and more favorable than an uncertain outcome.  We believe we are not what is expected of us.  In their collaboration, Mac Barnett & Marla Frazee Present The Great Zapfino (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, April 5, 2022), this duo encourages us to take a leap (literally) of faith in our abilities.

Behold:

THE GREAT

ZAPFINO!  

A ringmaster announces the death-defying deed The Great Zapfino is about to perform.  Climbing a ladder to a platform ten stories in the air, this man will leap and land on a small trampoline.  The audience barely breathes watching Zapfino climb the ladder.

Zapfino, clad in striped clothing and wearing a cape, stands on the edge of the diving board.  He stands there and stands there.  He does not leap.  He climbs back down and runs far and fast from the circus.  He boards a plane and flies to a new seaside city.  There, he takes a job in a tall building as the elevator operator.

Zapfino is good at his job, chatting with people and making friends to and from each floor.  At night, he enjoys in his small room a meal of toast before looking out his window from the top floor.  Day in and day out, he finds himself loving his job and his simple afternoons and evenings.

One late afternoon, he falls asleep before taking the toast out of the toaster.  It catches on fire, filling his room with smoke.  He knows the only way to avoid disaster is through his window.  The fire department has arrived.  Below, the firepeople hold a small trampoline.  We have come full circle.

Behold!

This narrative conceived by Mac Barnett is as stunning as the described and realized feat of Zapfino.  The majority of the text is found in the ringmaster's introduction of this circus performer prior to his 

LEAP for LIFE.

This introduction allows us to see what potential is within Zapfino, waiting to be released.  Two other times the word Zapfino appears alone and then along with the single word which asks us to pause and observe.  Here is a single sentence from the ringmaster's opening.

Zapfino will dodge peril

and brave calamity in an impossible

feat of derring-do!

Beginning on the matching and open dust jacket and book case, the artwork

rendered in black Primacolor pencil on Dura-Lar matte film

for all the images in this title by Marla Frazee is a fantastic feast for our minds and hearts.  The billowing curtain proclaiming The Great Zapfino is pulled aside by a man who is unsure of his greatness.  On the front the text is raised to the touch.  On the back, on a soft white background, is Zapfino walking toward an as-yet-unknown destination.  He is carrying a box that appears to hold a toaster.  In the other hand, he holds a bag of bread.  His cape with the large "Z" floats behind him.

The opening and closing endpapers are a matte black finish.  On the title page, Zapfino stands before the circus tent opening.  Above the opening is the title text and the author and illustrator names.

With every page turn, we find scenes in various perspectives in the signature style of Marla Frazee.  A small Zapfino walks into the enormous tent.  As he climbs higher on the ladder, the trampoline, ringmaster and audience get smaller and smaller.   In the first depiction of him on the end of the diving board, the last sentence is read.  This is the moment of Zapfino's decision.  This is the moment the wordless images of Marla Frazee tell a impressive pictorial story.

For his thinking about whether to leap or not there is a series of six small pictures.  In the last one, the facial expression of Zapfino really does speak volumes.  In each subsequent scene, we seek the figure wearing the striped suit and cape.  When he gets the position at the seaside building, his garb during work hours changes.  

To show his success as an elevator operator, nine small illustrations on a single page portray the interior of the elevator and the array of people Zapfino services.  Exquisite details depict the inside of his room and how his afternoons and evenings unfold.  The next time his work is presented to us, it is a series of twenty interior views of the elevator.  (No wonder he falls asleep without taking the toast out of his toaster.)  The two-page picture of smoke swirling from the window of Zapfino's room as he stands on the ledge outside his top-floor residence with all the tiny people below will take your breath away.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture.  We are shown the top five floors of the building at night.  Stars cover the sky on the right.  The last window on the top floor has a light shining in it.  Zapfino, head up, leans out the window, enjoying the night.  He is a man at peace.

Readers of all ages, individuals and groups, will request to read Mac Barnett & Marla Frazee Present The Great Zapfino over and over again.  Each time you read it, the thrill of Zapfino's success will warm you from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.  Readers understand fear disappears when it needs to the most.  I highly recommend you place a copy of this title in your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Mac Barnett and Marla Frazee and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Mac Barnett has an account on Instagram.  Marla Frazee has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Please enjoy this interview of Marla Frazee at KidLit411.  This title is showcased at author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  The interview with Marla Frazee is fabulous as are all the process pictures and artwork.  (WOW!)  This book in a conversation with Barnett and Frazee is featured on NPR Picture This.  At the publisher's website, you can view interior illustrations including the open dust jacket.

A Memory Of Forever Friends

The more we know about the kingdom of animals as a whole, the more we understand about the vital importance of every single member to all life on this planet.  There is an intricate network in place.  When we choose to shift our focus to a specific animal, it's astounding what can be learned about their physical characteristics.  Each one of those qualities helps them to adapt, survive and continue to be an essential link.

It's even more interesting and exciting to discover the personality and emotional traits animals exhibit.  They are more like humans in some respects than we might think and even better than us in other aspects.  Elephants Walk Together (Albert Whitman & Company, October 1, 2017) written by Cheryl Lawton Malone with pictures by Bistra Masseva was previously highlighted here with a conversation and cover reveal.  Based upon a true story this book will increase your appreciation for these giants who walk among us.

In the wild,
two baby elephants
walk together.

Alert and animated they seek food with their herd.  As the day comes to a close and the family moves, the two baby elephants, Precious and Baba, make sounds; a conversation between friends.  All is well with the duo until the arrival of hunters.  They take the baby elephants away.

Initially separated they are joyful at discovering each other inside a circus car.  At the circus they are trained to do things elephants would not normally do.  Precious is in pain from learning tricks demanding more than her body can handle.  Baba is frightened of the trainers.  Thankfully they have each other for comfort.

Their first performance does not go well.  They are separated; Precious to a variety of zoos and Baba to one circus after another circus.  Apart for decades they mourn the loss of their companionship.

To heal Precious's feet she is sent to a sanctuary.  Healing on the outside is much easier than healing an elephant's heart.  Hope is a curious thing.  Even the smallest protected spark in one's heart can create a miracle. 

A new elephant arrives.


Having lost count of the number of times this book has been read, it still brings me to tears at the end.  Author Cheryl Lawton Malone has taken the real life affection of two elephants and fashioned a story around its center. The repetition of certain words, walking and talking, is used as a unifying rhythm several times.  She takes phrases used to describe their lives together as baby elephants and brings those full circle at the conclusion.  Here is a sample passage.

In a rattling circus car,
Precious and Baba meet again.

They trumpet their joy.
They purr, side by side.


When I look at the opened dust jacket (I am working from an F & G.), the front speaks of the joy of the two adult elephants.  To the left on the back illustrator Bistra Masseva has depicted a circus tent entrance, a circus stool and a whip.  In the foreground on the left is foliage found in a zoo setting with a steel and chain fence in front of it.  It's a poignant contrast between what should have been and what was.  On the title page along the bottom are the five peaks of a striped circus tent with flags waving.

Rendered in acrylic paints each image elevates the text by taking readers into the moment.  The time of day and setting are depicted in appropriate colors with added details of flora and fauna and people.  Bistra alternates the size of the pictures from single and double pages, page edge to page edge, to accentuate the pacing.

Her perspectives are particularly superb.  She brings us close to Precious and Baba when they are experiencing joy.  When they suffer we are given a larger scene; training in the snow, the spectacle of the first circus act, and Precious in the zoo.  The bird's-eye-view of the sanctuary is wonderful.

One of my favorite of many images is the first two-page picture.  The sky is a blend of clouds, pale yellow and green with a sun shining over several mountain peaks.  In front of this is the green of the forest with some trees towering over the others.  Birds glide above the trees.  Along the forest edge the herd forages.  In a mud patch, on the left, close to readers, Baba and Precious are playing.  One of them is rolling in the mud.  The other has her front feet on the other's back.  Their trunks are raised.  Their mouths are open.  They are happy.  To balance the scene in the lower right-hand corner several leaves provide cover for one of the birds on the ground. 


Elephants Walk Together written by Cheryl Lawton Malone with pictures by Bistra Masseva is one of those books which serve to highlight the true beauty found in the animal kingdom.  In an author's note at the close of the title we are told about the story of the real Asian elephants.  Cheryl continues by speaking about elephants in general and reminding us how much they need our help.  She includes relevant organizations with their websites and selected sources.  You will want to have this book on your professional and personal bookshelves.  It would pair nicely with Katherine Roy's new title, How To Be An Elephant: Growing Up in the African Wild.

If you follow the links attached to Cheryl Lawton Malone's name and Bistra Masseva's name you will discover more about them and their other work at their websites.  At the publisher's website is a Q & A with Cheryl Lawton Malone about this book.   Also at the publisher's website you can view interior pages.

Of Coffins, Combustion, Chickens And Cursed Contracts

Illustration by Ben Whitehouse

We all know and admire people who look at the world as one large living, breathing machine consisting of a nearly infinite amount of parts working together.  They assess every situation seeking solutions.  There are no boundaries or limits to their imagination.  They are always thinking outside the box.

In The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin (Walden Pond Press, April 12, 2016) written by Elinor Teele with cover and interior illustrations by Ben Whitehouse, two orphans, an older brother and his younger sister, must use their best qualities to survive the clutches of a dastardly relative. A family ritual of storytelling bolsters their hearts.  What each one does and would do for the other is the soul of this story.

The Beginning
"Tell me a story."
"A story? Not now!"
"My dear boy, if not now, when?  Seize the carp, John. Seize the carp." ...

Chapter 1
Once upon a time there was a boy who made coffins.  His name was John Peregrine Coggin, and the Coggin family had been manufacturing wooden caskets in the city of Pludgett for over a hundred years. ...

With this introduction and the beginning of chapter one, your mind is already filling up with questions.  Who was talking to John?  Where are they?  When is this conversation taking place?  You are intrigued to the core.

John, now eleven and his sister Paige, nearly seven, have been living with his Great-Aunt Beauregard since the death of their parents when he was five.  Unfortunately with his brilliant mind and his aunt putting him to work long hours at an early age, he has become the best coffin maker in the swampy community of  Pludgett.  He detests making caskets, yearning for some kind of escape from what promises to be a life of drudgery for both he and his sister.  An unusual impromptu trip away from the shop to a hotel by the sea has the siblings hopeful for a brighter future but then again, this is Great-Aunt Beauregard in charge of the outcome.

Her proposals have John saying things he has never previously said to her face.  The children make an escape out of a locked room with the assistance of a new friend, Boz, an exceedingly long-winded, walking-dictionary and mischief-making scamp.  Where might their destination be, you ask?  They are headed for the company of The Wandering Wayfarers, a circus.  A non-functioning steam powered engine named Autopsy and an unfortunate episode with a local official's newfangled automobile have the children on the run again.  To make matters worse Great-Aunt Beauregard has an uncanny knack of locating them wherever they go.

John, Paige and sometimes Boz, find themselves in one calamitous mess after another, exploding chicken poo being the least of their worries.  Each situation and the characters they meet add to the escalating precariousness of their future.  Will forces for good, ingenuity and teamwork prevail against greed and deceitfulness?  Only a dragon, a shaggy dog and a flying coffin can supply the answer.


As soon as you read the first page, you are drawn into the story by the request for a story.  Without missing a beat Elinor Teele draws us willingly into places seemingly familiar but completely unique, describing the communities, residences and other modes of transportation in which our main characters find themselves.  The phrase, a cast of colorful characters, applies with gusto to this narrative.  John and Paige find themselves thrust not always by choice but more due to circumstances into the presence of diverse and multi-dimensional people.

John's thoughts, the conversations between all the characters and the language each uses create highly engaging and often comedic responses in readers.  You will find yourself mentally assigning voice qualities to the characters based upon their personalities.  Boz's persuasive, embellished observations and suggestions, Great-Aunt Beauregard's boisterous outbursts, Maria Persimmons quiet, loving words, Leslie's arrogant assumptions and Miss Doyle's wise counsel as well as the circus performers requests, insights and advice supply non-stop entertainment, a montage of ingredients in the siblings' stew of life.  Here are some sample passages.

And when that didn't work---and granaries and grannies took to mysteriously disappearing overnight---the settlers began building hovels on top of the ones that were sinking.  The whole city was a layer cake of decay.
Of course, living in a city built on a swamp meant the air smelled like rotten eggs and mosquitoes were the size of pumpkins.  But no one ever complained.  Pludgett citizens were terribly proud of Pludgett.

"Building a story is like any other invention, John my lad," he would say.  "Guts and gung-ho at the beginning, struggles and surprises in the middle, and the glorious moment when everything comes right."

When John found enough balance to peek back at the fence, he could just spy the top of the canary in Great-Aunt Beauregard's hat.  It appeared to be screaming.
"JOHN PEREGRINE COGGIN! I WILL ROAST YOUR GIBLETS FOR THIS!

He stood and began touching his toes.
"One, two, one, two.  A working bakery like this should give me exactly the capital I need to convert my castle at Howst into a showpiece for investors." He threw back his shoulders and pounded his chest for emphasis.  "Harry, you may not know it yet, but you are looking at the next real estate king of this country."
Then, as a fitting finale, Leslie farted.

"Euripides!" Boz blasted.  "By George, I think you've got it!"
John grinned, happiness rising in him like yeasty bubbles.  


The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin written by Elinor Teele with cover and interior illustrations by Ben Whitehouse is a stellar story of high adventure.  You are advised to be prepared to read on the edge of your seat from cover to cover in a single sitting.  As you move with the primary characters from escapade to escapade you, like them, will understand (or have your beliefs confirmed) there is more than one way to define family.

If you desire to learn more about Elinor and this debut title, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Please stop by the publisher's website to read an excerpt.  An activity guide, writing exercises, is available here.  To read the other posts by bloggers in this tour follow this link to the Walden Pond Press blog.


To be able to chat with Elinor through a series of questions is an honor.  I know you are going to be as delighted as I am with her answers.

When I read a book as engaging as The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin (I did consume it in one sitting on a Sunday past.) I find myself marking passages with sticky notes.  One of the first pages I marked in this title referred to a rather vivid description of the town of Pludgett where John and his sister Page live.  I’m curious to know whether the world of Pludgett and the surrounding towns came first to you or did one of the characters present themselves to you? 

It’s been so long since the first draft that I had to go back and do some ferreting! John and Page are loosely based on reality, so they were in my head from the beginning.

But I always had Dickens in mind when it came to creating place. The opening passage of Bleak House and the description of the Thames in Little Dorrit are particular favorites of mine. I wanted Pludgett to be a city that reflected John’s trapped imagination—grime, grit, repetition, and layers and layers of rotting thinking. 

My original notes read:

“Unhappy, unhappy. Grind, grind, grind. Inventiveness frowned upon. Like rats in a maze, directed over the same lines again and again.”

Within the body of the story there seems to be a blend of the past, without our current inventions, with more iconic text.  An example is your description of John as a lean unkeen coffin machine.  Was this blend intentional and would you tell us why?

Yep, it’s intentional. Since I was writing the book for my relatives, I wanted Coggin to have some of the same flavor of The Princess Bride, a family favorite—

·        “Life is pain. Anybody that says different is selling something.”

·        “Never get involved in a land war in Asia.”  

And it seemed fitting that John, whose imagination is boundless, shouldn’t be restricted by historical “accuracy” in the tone or text. The book is about busting open the rulebook. 

From your bio on your website you have a keen interest in theater and the study of Anglo-Saxon literature.  Did this influence the character of Boz being verbose in exceedingly descriptive language with a flair for the dramatic? 

Probably, but my siblings will tell you that verboseness and the tendency to be a ham were obvious from my early years! Theatre and my studies in literature just seem to have compounded it.  

I don’t adore all my characters, but I do have a soft spot for Boz. Like Gonzo in The Muppets or Merlyn in The Once and Future King, he doesn’t belong to a particular time period or setting—he’s a master of doggerel and servant of none. I hope folks have fun with the Easter eggs (cultural references) embedded in his speech.

Did you have to do much research to create the scientific thinking of John’s mind? 

Some. I’ve never been good at engineering principles—that honor belongs to my father and my grandfather—and it took me a while to sort out internal combustion. I’m absolutely certain that I’ve made a few clangers in my descriptions. (My apologies to my science teachers!)

But it was intriguing to discover how John’s interest in “how things work” dovetailed with my own exploration of “how writing works.” The two disciplines aren’t that far apart. You have a large variety of component parts that you must put together in a particular order. One thing follows another, and small structural mistakes can be extremely costly.

Would you please describe your writing space for us if you have a specific area?  Do you have a special schedule for your writing? 

I write in an old chicken coop. It still has the faint scent of its former inhabitants, but it’s perfectly serviceable.

There’s no special schedule, other than achieving a certain word count by the end of the week. Hours don’t count—you can stare at the ceiling for a day and call it work. For my own sanity, I have to get something on a page.

Did your work in photography help in creating the places in this book?  Are they based on any actual settings?

Probably not. When I’m taking photos, I’m thinking about framing and light and technical bits; I’m not always concentrating on how to describe the scene in front of me. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s hindering more than helping. But let’s give it the benefit of the doubt—photography has taught me to be more careful about noticing hidden corners.  

And, yes, some of the places are based on actual settings. The street of bakeries where Maria lives is a mash-up of a backpacking trip through York in the U.K. and Hansel & Gretel’s stumble through the forest; the lunar landscape of Miss Doyle’s archeological dig was prompted by a memory of New Zealand; and the train scenes harken back to a cross-country trip through Canada when I was very young.

Is there anything else you would like readers to know?

The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin has taught me nothing is perfect.  Every invention is an adventure.  Every book is about trying something completely new and hoping to hell it works.  I hope I've written something kids will enjoy, but if I've failed, that's okay.  Life would be awfully boring with no mistakes.

Be Aware Of These Bears And Their Books Part I

An unexpected encounter with them puts our lives in danger.  They are the largest land carnivore on our planet.  They are ferocious but generally shy and when observed from a safe distance intriguing. When seen in a toy shop, we select them to become cherished friends.  In 2002 a centennial celebration marked their creation.

In literature, as characters, we laugh at their antics, marvel at their insights and ingenuity and more times than not make room in our hearts for what they represent. As 2015 comes to a close there are five titles featuring bears I would like to highlight in two separate posts.  I Thought This Was A Bear Book (Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, August 4, 2015) written by Tara Lazar with illustrations by Benji Davies gives readers a peek at the potential for problems when books fall from a shelf.

Once upon a time there were three bears.
Zark! Zoot! Zinder!
DOING  WHOOSH  CLANG 

A spacecraft crashes into the woods normally populated by residents from the land of fairy.  A green being has lost his book and needs to return to Planet Zero.  No one is more surprised by this turn of events than Papa, Mama and Baby Bear.

Prince Zilch is panic-stricken at his plight.  He needs to return to page twenty-seven immediately.  These berry-picking bears, who are sick of eating porridge, are unfortunately more interested in exploring his other-worldly vehicle.  Their fumbling fixes any chance Prince Zilch has of leaving on schedule.  Both the alien and largest bear appeal to the reader for help.  As luck would have it you-know-who, the girl with the golden hair, arrives.

With only certain items on hand, chairs, beds and busted bits, the bears do their best to assist the royal visitor out of their story.  Nothing seems to work.  As parents snooze, Baby Bear proposes a plan.  It might work.  WHOA!  Now look what we've done!


With a talent for fracturing fairy tales Tara Lazar very quickly alters the norm by introducing a character from a different galaxy...er...story.  His language is easy to understand although he does tend to favor the letter z.  Told entirely in dialogue between the characters and at times directed at the reader, humor is prevalent.  The use of alliteration adds to the buoyant cadence.  Here is a sample passage.

Papa Bear Well, maybe you can bounce out of the book using our beds.
Goldilocks Jeesh, can't a girl get some shut-eye around here?


Digitally rendered using an array of hues, leaning toward secondary colors, Benji Davies introduces the characters on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case.  He peaks our curiosity as to the importance of the open books with familiar faces looking from and leaving the pages.  To the left, on the back, Papa, Mama and Baby Bear are walking away from us toward the berry bushes.  Prince Zilch is zooming past with his signature pink cloud trailing behind his spaceship.

One of the shades of green from the bears' book is used on the opening and closing endpapers.  A page turn shows a child leaving a book case as books slip from position and fall to the floor.  An alien vehicle zooms from one into Goldilocks & The 3 Bears.  On the verso and title pages the image from the back of the jacket and case is extended with an enlarged book on the left.

Picture sizes vary from two pages to single pages and to several on a single page.  Many of them have rounded corners with white space acting as a frame.  The dialogue is placed in colorful balloons of pink, yellow, orange and two shades of blue depending on who is speaking.  Plan on laughing out loud at the details Davies adds to enhance the story.

One of my favorite illustrations spans two pages.  First the alien and then Papa Bear are talking directly to the reader.  The fallen spaceship is behind them.  Behind the vehicle Baby Bear and Mama Bear are smiling and waving at a busload of tourists who have stopped to take their pictures as if they are bears in a national park.  I dare you not to smile.

I Thought This Was A Bear Book written by Tara Lazar with illustrations by Benji Davies is definitely a bear book filled with fractured fairy tale fun.  It's a tribute to the power of story and those who read them.  To discover more about Tara Lazar and Benji Davies please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Tara Lazar includes a teacher's guide and fun activities as well as links to other posts about this book.  At the publisher's website you can view three additional interior images.  



Readers were and will continue to be enchanted with the father and son duo and their winding adventures in The Bear's Song and The Bear's Sea Escape.  In a third title, The Bear's Surprise (Chronicle Books, September 15, 2015) written and illustrated by Benjamin Chaud spring has sprung.  Roles are reversed as Papa Bear seems to have vanished.

Deep in the forest, Little Bear awakens to the sounds of spring.  Outside his cozy den, birds are chirping, animals are scurrying, and Little Bear smells the sweet scent of flowers.

Little Bear's joy at the shift in the seasons is short-lived as he notices his father is absent.  Could he be near the yellow glow beyond the trees?  The shining sun lights the way along an unexplored trail.

Within mere minutes Little Bear is standing in front of a large hole in a hillside.  Could this lead him to Papa?  It's a huge, huge cave filled with beings from fantasy, now and the past.  Oh!  What's this?

How did Little Bear get into a washing machine?  Who are all these creative creatures and people straight from the realm of whimsy?  Little Bear rushes toward a large red tent.  He thinks he spies Papa Bear's behind.  A crowd has gathered and is making their way toward seats.  Suddenly the lights are lowered.

Papa Bear and Little Bear are making magic with their planned and unplanned performances.  The watchers cheer and applaud as Little Bear soars higher and higher.  He flies.  He lands.  He leans.  Oh. ... This is indeed a surprise, a wonderful gift of spring.


Carefully written sentences, brimming with descriptive adjectives and verbs, place readers squarely in the bears' world.  Benjamin Chaud repeatedly asks readers questions, inviting them to turn the pages closely following Little Bear.  Punctuation asks us to pause and ponder his next move.  Here is a sample passage.

Little Bear darts through a collection of quirky clowns, costumed cats, and other curiosities until he spots something behind a great red curtain.  Isn't that Papa Bear's fuzzy brown bottom?  With three quick hops, Little Bear enters the circus tent.  What will he find?


The muted earth tones seen on the matching dust jacket and book case are used by Benjamin Chaud throughout the book.  The fine lines, multitude of details and fascinating characters are his signature style for these bear books.  To the left, on the back, a small oval image amid a golden yellow background foreshadows the surprise.  A similar hue colors the opening and closing endpapers acting as a canvas for a pattern of large white stars.  On the opening right side Baby Bear is seen flying through the air wearing a circus hat.

Beginning with the title page Chaud starts his new technique for this title.  Each two pages contain one or more cut-outs encouraging us join Little Bear.  You will marvel at their placement.  The exquisite intricacy of the elements placed in each two-page illustration will take your breath away.

One of my favorite pictures is when Little Bear goes into the hole in the hillside and enters the cave.  All the passages and little rooms are amazing.  They are filled with creatures you might expect to see; foxes, moles and a skunk.  There is a tiny yellow submarine exploring in the water.  A creature from the age of dinosaurs hangs from the ceiling as bats flit from place to place.  People from the past and present have made their homes here.  You will gasp when you spy two memorable fictional characters.


The Bear's Surprise written and illustrated by Benjamin Chaud is another stunning title in the series.  Readers of all ages will read this over and over looking for new items on every page.  At the publisher's website three more images can be viewed.  Even though this book trailer is in French you can get a closer peek at some of the pictures.  It's also interesting to see the dust jacket used for the French version.





As she did in Inside Outside and Flashlight Lizi Boyd asks us to expand our inventive nature in her newest title.  Big Bear Little Chair (Chronicle Books, October 6, 2015) is a book of concepts.  Opposites combine, two characters' lives intertwine.

Big Bear
little chair
Big Plant
little cocoon

A bird, a zebra, a butterfly, and an elephant are paired with a trick, a rock, a broom and an umbrella.  Is that a star and the moon?  Little Bear is as surprised as Big Bear to see the size of his chair.

What do an owl, a meadow, a lion, a sea, a rabbit and a forest have in common?  They are all matched with little things.  Most are normal, but one is quite extraordinary.  Ahhh....now Big Bear and Little Bear are together next to a little chair (and a big chair).

Another item has been added to the comparisons.  We read from big to little and finally to tiny.  Who's driving the little bus?  What's near the big seal?  Who's walking through the little village in the big snowstorm?  Tales are told.  There are bears in chairs too.


Lizi Boyd divides the book into four sections.  Within the first three she includes six comparisons.  The attention of readers is guaranteed with her ingenious selections.   With each page turn we wonder if we will see an owl on a branch or a zebra with a broom.


Red, white, black and gray are the only colors Lizi Boyd uses in this title.  The red is extended on the dust jacket and book case to the back on the left.  The circles used to hold the title text on the front frame pictures of an owl, an elephant and a turtle on the back.  The endpapers are done in two shades of gray, each with a different graphic design.

A variety of shapes are featured in each single page visual.  Rendered in gouache the lines range from delicate to precise.  Careful readers will notice how the expressions change on Big Bear and Little Bear as the book progresses.  Each animal showcased in the images is content and smiling.

One of my favorite pictures is for big meadow and little salamander.  The flowers in the meadow are done primarily in gray with added details in black on a white background.  The lines are extremely intricate.  Tucked in at the bottom is a small bright red salamander.

Big Bear Little Chair written and illustrated by Lizi Boyd is many things in one.  The graphic designs are impeccable.  The size and shape of the book is perfect for the intended audience.  To learn more about Lizi Boyd please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  At the publisher's website are three more interior images.  Lizi Boyd wrote a blog post at Chronicle Books about this title.  Enjoy the book trailer.

Listening For Pipes And Drums

Depending on whom you ask, the word magic will have a variety of meanings.  According to Merriam-Webster, magic is:

• a power that allows people (such as witches and wizards) to do impossible things by saying special words or performing special actions
• tricks that seem to be impossible and that are done by a performer to entertain people
• special power, influence, or skill

Regardless of how you define it, the real question is, "Do you believe in magic?"

There are many things clarified by science but there are extraordinary happenings which defy a logical explanation; there is simply no reason.  In Circus Mirandus (Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), June 2, 2015) debut author Cassie Beasley brings readers deep into the realm of belief.  We become involved on a personal level with a family touched by magic.

Four small words.  That was all it took to set things in motion.

Ephraim Tuttle is very ill, bedridden and finding breathing difficult.  He has written a letter addressed to The Lightbender (The Man Who Bends Light, Son of the Sun, Master of Illusions) care of Circus Mirandus.  As a ten-year-old boy Ephraim spends a week at Circus Mirandus, a place filled with magical wonders, people and animals.  Not all children are able to attend or be invited to this place of enchantment.

You have to believe it to see it.

On his last day there he musters the courage to speak with The Lightbender.  He, in turn, is taken with Ephraim and his magic trick granting him a miracle.  Unlike other children Ephraim defers his miracle...until now.

At the age of four Micah Tuttle lost both his parents in a boating accident.  His grandfather, Ephraim, is the only family he has really known.  Great-aunt Gertrudis, his grandfather's younger sister, arrives at their home to help care for Ephraim and Micah.  After several weeks in her company, Micah knows she is the opposite of his grandfather in every respect.  She sees no joy in anything, does not care for children and definitely does not believe in magic.

In one of their rare moments together, great-aunt Gertrudis keeps them apart due to the nonsense of the Circus Mirandus stories, Ephraim tells Micah about the letter, the arrival of the messenger Chintzy, a rather saucy red parrot, and the truth.  Circus Mirandus is real.  The promise of a miracle is real.

With a mind filled with hope and worry, Micah forgets about making an artifact for the ancient Inca project he and Jenny Mendoza, a highly intelligent new girl in his class, are working on together.  Their presentation is the next day.  He wants to make a quipu due to the gift the Tuttle family has with knot tying.  When he arrives at school he quickly finds some string in the craft closet, trying to make the object.  To his surprise every knot he ties looks like his grandfather.  It's as if he has captured his essence.  And the knots feel nearly alive.

A night spent with Jenny working on their assignment in the unfinished tree house he and his grandfather are building, the arrival of Chintzy again, an unusual wind, words written in string, a midnight journey, Mr. Head's menagerie, the Amazing Amazonian Bird Woman, The Lightbender and Circus Mirandus swirl around all the characters at an every-increasing pace blending the past with the present and good with evil.  Can The Lightbender fulfill Ephraim Tuttle's request for a miracle before he takes his final breath?  People are capable of more than they think is possible when they believe.


By the last sentence on page two, Cassie Beasley, has readers anxious to continue, completely captivated by a narrative filled with possibility.  There are questions and we long for the answers.  In chapters alternating between now and then, the village of Peal and Circus Mirandus, the connections between all the characters are beautifully revealed.  The flow between these spaces in time and place is formed naturally by sentences rendered with skill, as if the magic from the story and the writing of Beasley are one in the same.

Each character, Ephraim, Micah, Jenny, Gertrudis, Chintzy, (and other animals) the Amazing Amazonian Bird Woman, Mr. Head and The Lightbender (and other people at the circus), are depicted with full and rich personalities binding us to them in happiness or leaving us feeling shock and sadness. The conversations further disclose the attributes we will embrace or abhor about each person or animal (of course the animals talk).  Beasley portrays each event, especially those at Circus Mirandus, with a vividness, taking us willingly into the story. Here are some sample passages.

On the inside, Aunt Gertrudis was probably cough syrup.
She wore her dust-colored hair twisted into a bun so tight it almost pulled her wrinkled skin smooth, and she starched her shirts until the collars were stiff enough to cut.  She made black tea every day in a bright steel kettle.  The tea was scalding and bitter, a lot like her, and she wouldn't let Micah add sugar because she said bad teeth ran in the family.

"All this rain!" she squawked once she was safely atop her perch.  "I don't know why the Head allows it.  Gray, cold, wet.  Ruins the mood of the place.
She ruffled her damp red feathers and glared with one beady yellow eye at the Man Who Bends Light, who was fiddling with an ornate silver coffee service beside her perch.  He looked as he had for centuries.  His sandy hair was a tangled nest, and his beaten brown leather coat swept the ground.  His nose was strong---almost, Chintzy had been known to admit from time to time, like a proper beak.
"The meadow around the circus needs rain as much as any other living thing," he said.  "You're in a snit because you wasted your day on a fool's errand.  Not every twitch of your tail is a magical event.  I told you I wasn't expecting any messages."
Chintzy snatched a lemon cookie off the coffee tray with one clawed foot.  "Shows what you know," she muttered around a beakful of crumbs.
"I told you," he said again, then paused.  "Wait.  There was a message?"

It's important, when you first see magic, to recognize it.  You don't often get a second chance.


I can say with certainty one reading of Circus Mirandus written by Cassie Beasley will not be enough. ( I finished it for the second time this morning.)  You will want to read it over and over, filling the pages with post-it notes.  It is a story about family, life and death, friendship and most importantly love.  It is about believing in those things which you find hard to believe.  You will hold fast in your heart the desire to meet a grandfather who sees truth and silver linings, a friend like Jenny, grounded in logic, who makes difficult choices for someone who needs her, and The Lightbender who spins illusions to make miracles happen.  If you hear pipes and drums, do follow the music.  I believe this will make for an amazing read aloud.

I need to also speak about the dust jacket, book case, endpapers and interior illustrations by Diana Sudyka.  The red and cream colored stripes on the front of the jacket with deep blues and touches of gold allude to specific events and people within the story.  On the book case with a white background the phrase about believing quoted above is shown again on the back. (It's on the dust jacket back too.)  On the front birds including Chintzy, the rather large white tiger, the elephant, The Lightbender and the Amazing Amazonian Bird Woman are featured.  In two hues of blue the opening and closing endpapers showcase a large sun, the word Believe and a string of knots respectively.  Exquisite black and white single-page illustrations spaced throughout the book, many beginning chapters, foreshadow or replicate specific moments.

To learn more about Cassie Beasley please follow the link embedded in her name to access her website and blog.  You will find a link to a dedicated Circus Mirandus website.  If you want to read an excerpt follow this link to the publisher's website.  Cassie Beasley stops by teacher librarian John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read., for an interview.  There is an interview of Beasley and discussion about the book at BookPage.  There is another interview at Project Mayhem.  

UPDATE:  May 12, 2016 Here is a link to a new Educator's Guide.

On The Tracks

If someone were to tell me the only way to get somewhere is by train, I would be thrilled.  To be able to sit in a seat watching the cities and landscape coast by the window, reading or resting is my idea of the best way to travel.  Over the years almost all of my journeys by train have been memorable in a good way.

When lines of track were originally being laid to connect eastern parts of the country with the west, the passenger cars were considerable different than they are today; not only due to modern conveniences.  The variances in decor, comfort level and amenities afforded people based upon class were striking. When I learned Kenneth Oppel's newest title, The Boundless (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, April 22, 2014), bore the name of a train in which most of the action takes place, I was more than willing to heed the call of the whistle.

Three hours before the avalanche hits, William Everett is sitting on an upturned crate, waiting for his father.

Will has not seen his father, James Everett a builder of the Canadian Pacific Railway, for three years.  While waiting to meet the train bearing him and a host of other workers, one of Will's sketchbooks draws the attention of a circus performer about Will's age.  The girl is an aerialist with a dream to become the world's most famous escape artist.  When a small train from the opposite direction, pulling some rather elaborate cars, appears she disappears.

On that train is none other than Cornelius Van Horne,

general manager, engineer, visionary---slave driver, some call him, according to Will's dad.

As luck would have it, Will is invited to travel with Van Horne and the other gentlemen joining in the celebration of driving in the last spike, a spike of solid gold with diamonds spelling the name Craigellachie.  An avalanche, encounters with sasquatches, threats from the evil Brogan, a thief with no qualms about taking a life if necessary, the saving of the gold spike and Van Horne, change James Everett's and William Everett's lives in ways they could never have imagined.  Chapter one ends with you having to remind yourself to breathe.

Three years later James and Will are boarding The Boundless, an immense train with 987 cars, pulled by a steam engine with a three-story boiler and 6,495 people as passengers.  It is her maiden voyage traveling from the east to the west.  One of the cars is a funeral car, loaded with treasures and secrets and carrying the body of Cornelius Van Horne.  It is his wish to always travel with The Boundless back and forth across the country.  Only two people have a key to unlock its hidden door, the guard and James Everett.

Will is astounded at the opulence of the first-class stateroom in which he will be traveling as his father is to serve as one of the engineers.  His desire to find an earlier acquaintance (remember the aerialist) will have Will running to catch the caboose at the train's end and wondering from one minute to the next when a cold-blooded killer will find him.  Will is the sole witness to a murder and everyone's lives on The Boundless depend on him reaching his father miles ahead in the locomotive.

Mr. Dorian, ringmaster of the Zirkus Dante circus cars numbering over eighty, Maren, escape artist and aerialist, and Will have a plan.  Chapter by chapter, class by class, and train car by train car, they and their plan move forward with more twists and turns than the train makes through the Canadian wilderness.  Legends come alive in the great north and other legends are pursued as death makes its presence known.  A conclusion as gripping as the opening chapter and all the pages in between will have you shaking your head as if awakening from a dream.


There is urgency in the writing of Kenneth Oppel with the telling of this story.  Acts of nature are told with such vivid clarity you will find yourself swimming alongside new acquaintances as they try to survive an avalanche.  Single sentences provide instant glimpses into the depths of peoples' hearts; either good or evil.  Conversations between the cast of characters fully flesh out individual personalities.  You can't help but feel empathy or disgust, sadness or elation or fear.

Just enough detail of the train, inside and outside, is supplied to convey you into the array of miniature worlds within each car.  Each of these worlds, the circus, the colonists, the third class, the second class, the first class, the caboose, the brakemen, the porters and the engine emerge from the pages surrounding you as the tale progresses.  Whether within the train itself, on top of the train or in-between the cars as it races along the tracks or near the train in a small town or in the eerie muskeg each scene is described in mesmerizing detail.

Here are several passages from the book.

He looks at the track, gleaming as though it has just been set down.  Will imagines his father helping lay those long measures of steel.  He follows the track west, where it's quickly swallowed up by dense, snow-cloaked forest.  His eyes lift to the towering mountains---like the very world has raised its gnarled fists to keep you out.  How could you cut a road through such wilds?  Clouds graze the icy peaks, painting restless shadows across the furrowed slopes of rock and snow.

Twigs crackle.  A lantern handle creaks.  Will thinks he can hear Brogan breathing; he imagines his lantern in one hand and the knife in the other.  Abruptly the light goes out, and Will almost gasps.  For a few agonizing moments he is completely blind, completely helpless.  Silence.  He needs to breathe but waits for retreating footsteps that don't come.  He knows Brogan is just standing there in the darkness, waiting and listening.

"You were rash in the colonist cars," Mr. Dorian tells him quietly.  "You've revealed more than you should have."
Will wondered if he'd be reprimanded. "I'm sorry.  But it was terrible, what Peters was doing.  Why doesn't Sam Steele put a stop to it?"
"The Mounties don't patrol the colonist cars," Mr. Dorian says.  "They're left to sort out their own affairs."
"I'll talk to my father about it," says Will.  "They're too crammed back there.  Cattle are treated better."
"I agree with Will," Maren says. "It's not fair."
"Many things aren't fair," says Mr. Dorian placidly---but for the first time, Will realizes there's anger beneath this unnerving calm of his. "My father's people came from France to claim this land.  Then the English came and took it from the French.  Later the Americans tried to take it from the English.  As a Metis I've seen my people shunted and shamed.  I'm not numb to the hardship of these new colonists.  But they are, after all, just another group of Europeans come to take land that once belonged only to the Natives."


This book, The Boundless written by Kenneth Oppel, has enough action and adventure to make you feel like a coiled spring.  It's spun through the history of railroad development in Canada while parting the curtain to bring creatures of legend to life.  Once started you won't be able to do another thing until you've finished it.  I do know this to be true; I've read it twice.

To discover more about Kenneth Oppel and this title please follow the link embedded in his name to access the pages at his website dedicated to The Boundless.  This link takes you to his blog where numerous entries talk about specific aspects of the train and the characters.   Here is a link to a curriculum guide.  At the publisher's website several pages can be read.

Giving Sanctuary

Sanctuary

a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter

the protection that is provided by a safe place
Merriam-Webster

I would like to think each of us has a place we can call our sanctuary.  For many it may be home.  For others another structure offers peace and security for the people and shared experiences within its walls.  A beach, a wood, a mountain, a swamp or a meadow offering solitude may be the only refuge for some.  

I would like to think if our sanctuary is lost to us, others might choose to assist us.  In her newest title, The Farmer And The Clown (Beach Lane Books), Marla Frazee, without benefit of words, visualizes a single day of being lost and found for two very different individuals. It is an experience neither of them will forget.

The front and back of the dust jacket and book case left to right feature two interior illustrations from the book.  On the left the clown has run over to the farmer hugging his legs before they walk away together.  These two images initially provide more questions than answers, inviting us to open the book.

Pictured on the title page a rising sun peeking over the horizon, rays shooting up, provides light for the farmer, rake upon his shoulder, as he heads to the hay fields from his small home.  As he bends to his work during the day, a colorful train, a circus train, passes on a nearby track.  Pausing to watch he is startled to notice someone fall from the rear car.

Walking toward the now-seated person, he sees it is a small clown.  After an animated show-and-tell of how he fell off the train, the clown walks with the farmer to his home.  Not quite sure what to do with his new little visitor, the farmer goes about his evening rituals including the clown.

When the farmer washes up before bed and the clown does too, a shift in the farmer's perspective, his mindset, is clearly visible as he sees the child's features minus the painted-clown face.  Throughout the night his new thinking continues.  The daybreak ushers in a changed man.

Forgetting himself, the farmer focuses on the well-being and happiness of his guest.  Chores and unique gifts are shared.  The reappearance of the train interrupts a picnic lunch on a tree-topped hillside.  A pause in the joyful reunion reveals the true outcome of this unexpected encounter.  Goodbye waves and a walk home give readers even more to smile about as the story ends...or does it?


When Julie Danielson, co-author of Wild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast featured Marla Frazee and this title in a post on September 28, 2014, I remarked about the essence of emotion we continually find in Frazee's work.  At that time I had only seen an F & G.  To read as often as you desire and hold the "real" book in your hands is a whole new experience.

Rendered in black Prismacolor pencil and gouache in a limited but masterfully selected palette, every line, the play of light and shadow, and intensity of color in these illustrations depicts with heartwarming clarity the difference a day can make in our lives.  It certainly did for the farmer and the clown.  Bleakness becomes uplifting bliss.

Two more important points, to me, in this title are the pacing and the characters.  By altering the size of her visuals, one page to double page to a series of smaller vignettes, some loosely framed, others page edge to page edge, Frazee adeptly unfolds the story to her readers.  She brings our hearts into the heart of the story.

Pairing an older farmer, living alone with his chickens and a cow, surrounded by a flat landscape of fields with the child, the little clown, creates wonderful human connections.  There is the connection of an elder with someone very young; both sometimes dismissed because of their ages.  There is the connection of someone living alone with another who lives with a large group.  There is the connection of being lost and found literally and emotionally.

One of my favorite series of illustrations is two pages of four small pictures of the farmer and the clown before they wave goodbye.  The very young are often more open and uninhibited in expressing their feelings.  The clown running to the farmer, the farmer picking up the child, both of them laughing, and the hug and kiss goodbye are very moving.  The impact of each is heightened by the liberal use of white space.  I know I will never be able to "read" these without my eyes filling with tears.


The Farmer And The Clown is a marvelous picture book by Marla Frazee.  It's about giving and receiving more than expected.  It's about the true meaning of having a place filled with warmth, safety and happiness...home...sanctuary.  This is one title not to be missed; a classic.

For more information about Marla Frazee and her work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Yesterday I read this outstanding interview by Roger Sutton of The Horn Book Magazine, where the two chat about this book.  For additional views of images please visit the publisher's website.  Thanks to educator Colby Sharp for tweeting today about this fantastic interview of Marla Frazee at ZULKEY.  Update 12/11/2014 Marla Frazee talks about her book at TeachingBooks.net.  Update:  I don't know how I missed this interview at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by author and blogger Julie Danielson with Marla Frazee sharing her process for this book.

A Place For All

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Albert Einstein.

There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.

This seems to go hand in hand with my thoughts on the difference between extraordinary and ordinary.  The more you know, the more you come to understand there is a line barely visible between the two.  Simply stated it relies on point of view.  What may be counted as normal for some is unusual for others.

I would venture to say most people who have been chosen by a dog, who have had the very good fortune to share their life with a canine companion, can relate to this connection being anything but typical or predictable.  Every single day is an adventure.  Every single day is important because each living thing has value.  In her debut picture book author/illustrator Hannah E. Harrison invites readers into life under the big top in Extraordinary Jane (Dial Books for Young Reader, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA)).

Jane was ordinary, in a world that was extraordinary.

Jane, a sweet fluffy little dog, lives in a circus.  Her mother can pose on the back of a galloping horse.  Lifting an elephant in the air is an everyday accomplishment for her father.  Being shot out of a cannon or walking along a high wire are feats her siblings achieve with ease.

Jane can do none of these things.  It's not like she hasn't tried but her efforts fall short of their goal.  Being up high makes her woozy.  Listeners usually wish for earplugs when she tests her musical talents.  In fact, attempting one particular skill leaves most of the residents in the circus bandaged and bruised.

Jane is friendly.  Jane is helpful.  Jane is a sweet fluffy little dog.  Her caretaker, the ringmaster, watches, learns and loves.  Barnaby Beluchi is a very wise man with a pure point of view.


The simplicity of the words used by Hannah E. Harrison delightfully beckons readers to her story of Jane.  It's a timeless storytelling technique establishing an intimate bond between the teller and the reader or listener.  Her word music will have readers cheering for and identifying with the lovable pup.  She designs a cadence by repeating what Jane is in contrast to what others around her are capable of doing.


Readers initially are drawn to the matching dust jacket and book case resplendent in an array of soft colors.  The single illustration, spanning across the front and back, of the clothed, costumed and animated characters, with the exception of Jane, portrays those who most definitely enjoy their lives as members of the circus.  Six different full length portraits of Jane set within intricate oval frames pattern the opening and closing endpapers.  Every single one is guaranteed to create a smile.  Hannah E. Harrison chooses to continue this on the next page, front and back.

The formal title page shines the light on three circular pictures, the ringmaster on the left and the circus tent on the right with a close-up portrait of Jane in the center.  The verso and first page of the book includes a series of circus posters highlighting the outstanding artistry of all the circus members except Jane. A turn of page shows the inside of the tent; three red rings in place, with all the acts in full swing.  Jane sits patiently observant off to the side.

Rendered in acrylic paint on bristol board each visual glows against the pristine white background. This white space acts to draw your focus to important elements in each picture.  The altering of perspective on all of the illustrations makes you feel a part of the story; the close-up of Jane's mother on the horse's back, her six sisters balancing on the high wire as the ringmaster looks up from below or Jane looking down at everyone as she tries the trapeze.

Humor plays a key component in these pictures; Jane leg raised scratching as her mother balances on the horse, Jane head down, paws over her eyes before her brothers are shot out of the cannons and the looks on all the circus members' faces as they sit in a row in the emergency ward.  What readers will come to understand is the love Barnaby Beluchi feels for Jane, noticing his looks of affection as she plays her part in the circus day or his gentle care in giving her a bath.  The color palette, the layout, the details, facial features...well everything...works to generate a feeling of goodness and warmth.

I think one of my favorite two pages is the series of four small pictures of the ringmaster with Jane.  He has removed his red coat and top hat to bathe and towel her dry.  As he sits in his chair she then brings his hat to him.  When she sits up in front of him, the look on his face is total joy.


Author illustrator Hannah E. Harrison has delivered a treasure to each of us who read Extraordinary Jane.  It's a superb choice for a read aloud.  I can almost see the looks on the listeners' faces and hear the collective sigh at the story's conclusion.  Sharing this title with others is a pleasure you don't want to miss.  I will be adding this title to my Mock Caldecott list for 2015.

Please follow the link embedded in Hannah E. Harrison's name above to access her official website.