What R We Going To Do?

Over the years most of us will enjoy sharing our lives with a pet.  Their companionship is invaluable, even though most of them cannot speak our language.  In fact some of the most peculiar pets are not even alive.  In 1975, Gary Dahl subsequently became a millionaire with his introduction and invention of the Pet Rock.  Cleverly packaged with instructions, it was an instant phenomenon.  In the early 1980s another kind of pet, this one a living plant, skyrocketed to fame.  Chia Pets are still being produced today thanks to Joe Pedott and his company.

Regardless of the kind of pet in your life, you probably would be as shocked as the protagonist in this story when she wakes one morning.  My Pet Feet (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, August 23, 2022) written by Josh Funk with illustrations by debut picture artist Billy Yong is an alphabetical quest.  Through a laugh-out-loud narrative with equally funny images, we journey to right a wrong realizing we need the total twenty-six member team.

Today I woke up and was about 

to feed my pet when---

"What happened to my pet feet?

I mean my pet feet.  Why can't I say 'FEET'?"

It seems that Doodles, this child's pet ferret has become her pet feet.  Pet feet?!  Scanning her room for possible answers, she notices the letter r is missing from her alphabet mural.  Running to her friend Lucas for help, this girl is in for another series of surprises.

The world minus the letter r has turned into mayhem.  Lucas is no longer her friend but a fiend.  She and Doodles run from a flock of cows (crows) seeking shelter at the doo (door) of the town hall, but they obviously cannot get inside.  In desperation, the girl and Doodles climb to the top of a cane (crane) beside the structure.

From this vantage point, she ponders this problem.  What has happened to all the eighteenth symbols of the alphabet?  In her frustration, she declares she does not want pet feet forever.  At Doodles' hurt expression, she hurries to apologize, but Doodles runs away.  She tries to catch him.  She tries to find him.  Doodles is nowhere to be found.  

Determined not to give up, she finally discovers him at a sandy beach.  Across and on the water, they spy a pirate ship.  Oh, yes my friends, a pirate ship.  Boarding the vessel after a swim, guess what they discover? Quickly, one letter r and a second letter r are given to Doodles.  Back home, everything is normal, or is it? Bedtime supplies the duo with another startling stumper.  

Stellar wordsmith Josh Funk presents readers with an instant dilemma.  It's not every day you wake up to find your pet ferret has been reduced to feet.  With a combination of first person narrative and dialogue, we traverse this mystery with the girl and Doodles.  The tension is heightened when it is apparent no one else notices this travesty except the girl and her furry friend.  Alliteration contributes to the fast-paced cadence.  Here is a passage.

"Come back!" I shouted.

I chased Doodles past a fog and toad,

by the old babbling book, down a tail,

and into a gassy field.

Digitally rendered, the illustrations by Billy Yong are as highly animated throughout the book as we see on the dust jacket.  (I am working with an F & G.)  The bright, light blue canvas spans the entire jacket.  By the wide-eyed expressions on the girl and her ferret we know, even before opening the book, disaster has struck.  To the left of the spine, within a circle we see the girl hugging her beloved pet, her whole pet.  There is a vivid green border around this image.  The first sign of this illustrator's cleverness and attention to detail are four bees buzzing in the lower, right-hand corner just to the left of the spine.  One of the bee's wings covers the letter r in Schuster.

The opening endpapers in a midnight blue feature drawings in a light blue.  They are elements created by the missing letter r.  On the closing endpapers, in a dark rust, the drawings in light brown showcase items after the letter r has been restored.

Billy Yong makes use of every single space to tell his pictorial story.  The double-page picture for the title page is a scene of the child's home with large palm trees to the left.  In one of the windows, she is waking up, stretching her arms, and yawning.  The top of the home's two windows are decorated with the likeness of the top of a ferret's head.  On the first two-page visual we get another hit of the conclusion to the story as we look outside from inside the girl's bedroom.

The images' sizes shift from double-page pictures to single-page illustrations and then to a series of smaller visuals to indicate a thought process.  Readers will enjoy the two-page vertical image when the climb is made to the top of the crane.  White space is used to excellent effect.  Careful readers will notice humorous details.  (I nearly fell out of my chair when I realized what was dragging a bagel across the street.)

One of my many favorite illustrations is the second two-page picture.  This is when the girl first steps outside her home.  On the street winding past her home and through the neighborhood, kids are racing by on go-cats.  These vehicles are pure fun.  The one on the left is close to readers.  The child in the driver's seat is having their best day ever.  Across the street on the right is a park.  Here a policewoman is barely holding onto a wild hose.  Water, in jet mode, shoots out the end as the hose twists and turns.

Author Josh Funk and artist Billy Yong have taken "what if" to hilarious new heights in My Pet Feet.  Certain to generate laughter in readers and listeners as well as promote discussions about the importance of letters, words, and language, this title is a welcome addition to the picture book realm.  You will want to have a copy for your professional collections as well as a spot on your personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Josh Funk and Billy Yong and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Josh Funk has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.  Billy Yong has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  Josh Funk was a guest blogger at Tara Lazar's Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) earlier this year.  Billy Yong was interviewed several years ago at Character Design References.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images including the entire dust jacket.

Be sure to visit other stops on the virtual tour for this title.  You never know what you will learn.

But For Them . . .

There was immense uncertainty.  There was little knowledge.  There was too much knowledge.  This was not at the local level, the state level, or at the national level.  This was worldwide.  It consumed every aspect of our lives.

It has been 110 days since receipt of the second dose of the vaccine to combat COVID-19.  Prior to that time, 395 days were spent sheltering in place with my constant canine companion.  Without the dedication of essential workers, it would have been far more difficult.  Mail, packages (usually with books), and food were delivered.  Conversations with those marvelous people were conducted through the window glass.  Deep appreciation compelled the leaving of notes and gift cards for these wonderful human beings.  Keeping The City Going (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, April 27, 2021) written and illustrated by Brian Floca is a melodic, visual expression of gratitude.  It echoes eloquently what many feel and believe.

  

We are here at home now,

watching the world through our windows,

and wondering what will happen next.

The world beyond those windows is not as it has been.  It is nearly silent, businesses are closed, and neighbors are inside.  There are still some people outside moving in all directions.  They are the ones serving the city and its inhabitants.  They are the ones needed to survive this unfamiliar happening.

They bring food from restaurants to our doorsteps.  They bring food to our markets, making sure the shelves are rarely empty.  There are people operating the vehicles providing transportation to those who work in those restaurants and markets.  Taxis still race from place to place.

Sanitation workers tirelessly strive to keep the city clean.  Postal workers deliver mail.  Other services leave packages we can hardly wait to open.  

Utilities we rely on 24/7, internet, electricity, gas, and water, continue because these essential workers are on the job.  Firefighters, police officers, and EMTs work above and beyond committed in honoring their obligations.  All members of hospital staffs push themselves to limits they are unaware they have.  Though we are seeing this city through a window, we witness the steady continuation of vital activities.  Each evening we honor them, at seven o'clock. Listen.

With that first sentence, author Brian Floca portrays a moment felt by many people in cities (in all communities) around the world. With each subsequent thought he builds on the actions of all those not at home looking out at the world.  He heralds their daily accomplishments needed by us.  He does this by speaking plainly, but also poetically with veracity.  Here is a passage.

They're delivering letters and packages---

boxes full of things people need

but can't go out to buy.

And maybe . . . 

just maybe, they're brining

that one thing we ordered

that we don't really need . . . 

If someone were to look at the open and matching dust jacket and book case for this title, their first thought might be about the masks people are wearing.  This gives this book a timely quality for readers now, but also a timeless trait for readers in the future.  Why are people wearing masks?  Each of those vehicles and the people on and in them have a particular purpose necessary to this narrative.  The fine lines, the attention to detail, the realistic but soft colors, are identifying qualities of Brian Floca's artwork throughout this book, throughout many of his books.

To the left, on the back, amid a white canvas is a single, loosely framed circular image.  It is a close-up of a window placed in a block building.  A tree branch hangs over the left corner.  Taped to the window, on the inside, is a piece of paper.  On the paper a rainbow has been drawn.  This symbolizes hope.  This action spread around the world.

A rich, earthy dark tan covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Opposite the verso and dedication (In memory of Richard Jackson, editor and friend) page, a panoramic view of New York City is featured.  These illustrations rendered in

watercolor, ink, acrylic, and gouache  

are placed surrounded by white space, grouped together on a single page to emphasize a point, span a single page, edge to edge, or across two pages, edge to edge.

The images are replete with action in contrast to those sheltering inside, peering out their windows.  All the elements in each picture, large or small, ask us to pause.  They encourage us to remember the people who, whether we are in a lockdown or free to go about our daily lives, keep our communities working properly.  

One of my many, many favorite images is toward the end of the book.  It highlights an overview of two street corners, one street running along the bottom of the page and the other going away from us in the central area.  Buildings line this street on both sides.  It is the same scene shown earlier in the day.  Now a golden hue covers the buildings as the sun moves lower in the sky.  The street is still nearly quiet except for the portion of an ambulance driving off the left side.  There is comfort in this picture, knowing there are those caring for us.

This book, Keeping The City Going written and illustrated by Brian Floca, is a gift.  It is a gift to all those who worked day in and day out to maintain services for everyone.  It is a gift to all readers, reminding us to never forget those who forged paths for creating easier lives for us amid one of the most challenging times in the last one hundred years.  I highly recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.  

To discover more about Brian Floca and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Brian Floca has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  The cover reveal is hosted at Publishers Weekly.  This title is showcased at author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  You will enjoy the conversation between her and Brian along with a lot of artwork.  At the publisher's website you can view the entire jacket and case as well as interior pictures.

Better Together #2

It is not only people who respond to compassion.  Humans with animal companions, veterinarians who heal and care for them, and scientists who study them usually agree the response from animals approached and treated with kindness is favorable.  In fact, there is evidence some animals experience a varied range of emotions. (Animal Emotions: Exploring Passionate Natures: Current interdisciplinary research provide compelling evidence that many animals experience such emotions as joy, fear, love, despair, and grief---we are not alone by Marc Bekoff, BioScience, Volume 50, Issue 10, October 2000)  An act of compassion or harmony does not need to be a grand gesture.  It can be as simple as a glance filled with warmth and affection.

Sometimes, the least of us are the ones who need to receive that glance, a caring word, a helping hand or even something done in complete anonymity the most.  Tiny Kitty, Big City (Balzar + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, March 2, 2021) written and illustrated by Tim Miller simply, truthfully and with great affection is a gentle reminder of what it means to be charitable.  When we are mindful of others everyone wins.

Tiny kitty.

Big city.

When you are a tiny kitty, the city is more crowded.  It is a forest of feet and legs.  You hurry through the maze of people and vehicles as quickly and safely as possible.

Loud noises and barking dogs are frightening.  Bravery comes when joining with an iconic ally.  A warm day welcomes rest.  

An idyllic afternoon is spent dining and playing.  As evening descends, so does a snowstorm.  Nothing would be better than the warmth of a home.  Tiny kitty is chilly.

In darkness, a bluesy beat beckons.  Hearts swell at a serenade.  Love finds a way.

Using two words, kitty and city, and adding carefully selected, single adjectives, author Tim Miller tells a tale of being lost and found, and of finding what you may not have known you've lost.  The two-word phrases toggle back and forth as opposites and as responses.  The way this narrative is purposefully presented, we are able to understand the personality of the kitty and the characteristics of the city.  In those revelations, the tiny kitty and big city are able to meet in heartwarming rapport.  Here are two more two-word phrases.

Wildlife city.

Playful kitty.

Opening the dust jacket, we see the story beginning.  To the left, back, of the spine on pale blue is the tiny kitty peering from the inside of a tipped cardboard box.  On the front, right, the tiny kitty looks large compared to the big city in the background.  This reader likes to think of that as foreshadowing.  It is a hopeful concept.  The title text and tiny kitty are varnished.

You cannot look at the book case without smiling.  Across the opened book case is tiny kitty's face, up close and personal.  The nose and mouth are placed at the bottom of the spine.  One eye is on the left and the other eye is on the right.  This is a soul-to-soul stare.

Across the opening and closing endpapers, tiny pawprints, in blue on a cream canvas, loop back and forth beginning in the upper left-hand corner and running off the lower, right-hand corner.   The loops do change lengths.  Instead of going off the edge on the right side on the closing endpapers, the happy ending of this story is presented.

There are notable details for readers to see.  The words for the dedication are in the shape of a heart.  On the title page tiny kitty is staring into a puddle.  The kitty and the big city are reflected there.  Of the making of these illustrations artist Tim Miller says:

This book was made with acrylic gouache, with digital touch-ups.  Also my cat was sitting on my lap while I worked, so you might find some of her hair in the pictures.

Black lines define each element in these images.  Tim Miller presents multiple perspectives on his double-page pictures and his full-page pictures.  We look at the world from tiny kitty's point of view, from a person's point of view, and from a bird's gaze at the city below it.  These illustrations are full of emotion, fright, wonder, exhilaration, courage, contentment, fun, joy, and love.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  The sky is golden in the middle of a sunny day.  Trunks and bare branches of trees rise in front of background buildings on the left.  In front of these a large "library lion", facing left, stretches across both pages.  A familiar building fills a large portion of the right side.  Asleep under the majestic feline's face is tiny kitty on the large legs and paws.

Guaranteed to be a read-aloud favorite and much requested title, Tiny Kitty, Big City written and illustrated by Tim Miller needs to be on your personal and professional bookshelves. In his dedication Tim Miller conveys his passion and purpose for this book.  We are grateful to him.

To learn more about Tim Miller and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Tim Miller has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. This title is discussed, and Tim Miller is interviewed at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's Watch. Connect. Read. and at teacher librarian Travis Jonker's 100 Scope Notes.  Don't miss either of these posts!  They are fabulous as is the post Tim Miller wrote for the Nerdy Book Club. 

If you were to ask a group of people of various ages a year ago how they define peace, would those same people answer differently today?  Perhaps, a lot of their replies would change.  A global pandemic has a way of altering perspectives and priorities.  Also, if you were to ask this group how to obtain peace, express peace, or give peace, would their thinking have shifted?  Peace, Paz and Frieden (English, Spanish, and German translations of the same book) (North|South, March 2, 2021) written by Baptiste Paul and Miranda Paul with illustrations by Esteli Meza allows all ages to ponder those very questions.  It expresses through universal actions in easily understood words and lively, luminescent images, peace is for everyone, everywhere, and always.  

Peace is a hello,

a smile,

a hug.

Peace is for those who dare to be different and for those who quietly work alone.  When we show respect for others, extending common courtesies to them like looking at them when we share conversations, that is peace.  Sometimes peace starts with an unspoken gesture.  When shared ideas are discovered, that unspoken gesture blooms into a movement.

When we give to others when we have more than we need, that is peace.  Do these actions happen immediately?  No.  Peace is a good habit to nurture and have.  It's something we carry with us as if it is a part of our bodies. 

Peace is acknowledging our mistakes to ourselves and to others.  This peace brings a calm during day and night, happiness and sorrow.  Where there has been life, there has been peace.  What can and will we do to bring it to all parts of our planet?

Having read this aloud in both English and Spanish, the words of Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul (and translator Aida Salazar), gently sing off the pages in the sweetest of melodies.  The thoughts and truths supplied through rhyming text envelope you.  The words in this narrative are an invitation readers will be unable to resist.  With intention the selected actions are possible, releasing all to enjoy the results.  Here is a passage.

Peace is on purpose.

Peace is a choice.

Peace lets the smallest of us

have a voice.

La paz es a proposito.

La paz es una eleccion.

La paz permite a los mas pequenitos

tener una voz.

When you look at the front (right) and back (left) of the opened dust jacket, it is like you are looking at a portrait of peace.  Look at the children from all backgrounds with different animals among a paradise of plants and trees.  Everyone is happy.  Everyone is enjoying the company of the others without discord.  On the back (left), there are three children, six animals and two insects, a butterfly and a bee. Across one of the large leaves, it reads:

Peace is a choice.

La paz es a proposito.

On the book case a muted gold is the canvas.  On the left side is information about the book and its creators.  On the front a sturdy brown trunk and several branches are seats for children and animals.  The leaves are a hue of blue and some are a shade of pink.  This tree scene is circled by a pale peach background.  At the base of the trunk an animal peeks out at readers.  The same white dove seen on the front of the jacket flies toward the tree here.

On the opening and closing endpapers three tiny flowers dot the bottom of a deep blue canvas.  The tree shown on the book case is placed in the center.  The children and animals are gone.  Within the blush-colored leaves is the word peace in multiple languages.

In a word, the artwork here by Esteli Meza is stunning.  Her style is distinctive, replete with vibrant rich colors.  The flora is bold and symbolic.  Children from all parts of the world are represented on each of the double-page pictures.  They are actively engaged with each other and the animals.  

With each reading you will notice a new detail.  When there is more than one animal, it looks as though they are a family.  Fish in the ocean swim forming the shape of a larger fish.  The white dove is in every image.  Readers will gasp at the four-page gatefold at the end of the book.  

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for a single sentence.  It is night.  On the right we can see a sliver of the sky and two stars.  The dove is sleeping on a slim branch which winds up the right side and along the bottom on the right.  Two other branches fan out along the bottom on the right and left.  The body of a dozing lion covers most of the two pages.  A gray cat with a curved body and a girl with red hair in a braid lean against the lion's body.  A zebra is next to them.  The hues and pattern in the girl's dress complement the branches and leaves shown on the edges.  You know sweet dreams are being enjoyed by all.

This book, Peace, Paz, and Frieden written by Baptiste Paul and Miranda Paul with illustrations by Esteli Meza, is one to keep close.  It not only depicts peace with excellence but brings peace to all who read it.  You will want to read the Authors' Note at the end.  I highly recommend you place a copy or two in your professional collection as well as in your personal collection.

To learn more about Baptiste Paul, Miranda Paul, and Esteli Meza and their other work, please access their respective websites by following the link attached to their names.  Baptiste Paul has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Miranda Paul has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.  Esteli Meza has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website are interior images, and multiple teacher resources.  At Simon & Schuster, there is one image not shown at the publisher's website.  At Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's Watch. Connect. Read., the book trailer is premiered. Baptiste and Miranda talk about this book. 

UPDATE:  This title is showcased by author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson at her site, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  There is an interview with Tim Miller and considerable process art.

Fabulous Fare Everywhere

In college on Sunday evenings, our food commons were closed.  My roommates and I rarely had enough cash between us to get a single pizza.  We would lie in bed on those nights calling out our favorite foods and dine on an imaginary feast.

For far too long, for millions and millions of people around our planet, these same thoughts occupy the minds, on a daily basis, of those without food, incomes or the ability to leave their homes in safety to shop at markets.  Now it is an enormous global phenomenon with the numbers climbing daily due to the impact of the pandemic.  Yet, when they are able, people are posting on social media a plethora of recipes and anecdotes about creating home-cooked meals and baking from scratch.  And in the midst of this a book radiating pure bliss, brimming with color and a cast of enduring characters, is published.  VAMOS!: Let's Go Eat (Versify, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 24, 2020), companion to VAMOS!: Let's Go to the Market, written and illustrated by Raul the Third with colors by Elaine Bay is the newest adventure of Little Lobo, his dog, Bernabe, and their friend, Kooky Dooky. It's a mouth-watering exploration of their community's enticing edibles told using a melodious mix of Spanish and English language.  

Check out my new

bike, Bernabe.  Now

we can make our

deliveries faster.

Little Lobo! Un

mensaje importante 

from El Toro!

An important 

message from

El Toro!

With these opening phrases Little Lobo, Bernabe and Kooky Dooky are riding toward el Coliseo, the arena where a wresting event will unfold this evening featuring El Toro and his friends.  The trio join a procession of food trucks, also en route to el Coliseo.  When they arrive, El Toro and other wrestlers practicing for the performance reveal their hunger for an array of favorite cuisine.  Quickly jotting down their requests Little Lobo and his dos amigos get right to work.

All the food trucks are parked nearby, each one focusing on a specialty.  These mobile restaurants, for the most part, make their food fresh and hot on the spot.  The Painted Burrito is known for its signature salsa.  At Kimchi Kiosko Mexican and Korean cooking generates a pleasing flavor for their tacos.

Vendors share ingredients; unnecessary corn husks are useful to a tamale maker.  An elder with a gift for fashioning tortillas sells to makers of quesadillas and burritos.  Look at the size of that burrito!  Little Lobo gathers fresh fruits and vegetables from Pato Peeko to deliver.  She sells more to another who blends them into large fruit and vegetable drinks.

The crowning glory of Little Lobo's gathering is the desserts.  Pastries are piled into a basket.  Their wagon now loaded as high as possible with fabulous fare is held in place by Bernabe.  Kooky Dooky dozes in the side car.

Returning to el Coliseo, El Toro and his wrestling friends, Little Lobo and Kooky Dooky rush inside shouting about La Comida. It's hard to exceed the enjoyment of sharing a meal with friends, but it does get better.  El Toro rewards the efforts of the threesome as only he can.

You can feel the excitement and your cravings for each item of food and beverage growing page by page in this story.  Raul the Third masterfully tells this tale using an artful blend of dialogue and narrative. His mix of Spanish and English guides readers, regardless of their command of one language or the other, perfectly with a pleasing purpose.  In this respect the audience of readers (and listeners) is enlarged and a bridge between worlds is formed.  The short definitive sentences convey cheer throughout the book.  Careful readers will notice informative text on buildings, signs and vehicles.  Here are two passages.

Kooky Dooky leads them

to the back of el Coliseo.

Right this way!

Suddenly they feel a rumble

beneath their feet.

RUMBLE!

RETUMBO!

RETUMBO!

RUMBLE!

Que es eso?

What's that?

Every detail on the book case is significant.  Every detail says to the reader, join us.  Every detail welcomes us to learn about Little Lobo's community, their customs and food.  The bright yellow food truck supplies a sunny background for all the characters.  Bernabe is enjoying his stick.  Kooky Dooky is about to savor a buttered ear of corn.  Little Lobo will soon be tasting a taco.  Do you notice the little bug is back?  What is it holding?  The tattoo on Joe's arm educates us on the Spanish for carrot.  The characters and text are varnished.

To the left, on the back, is an introduction, words you might find on the front flap of a dust jacket.  Additional text sings the well-deserved praises of the first title and gives readers information about Raul the Third and his wife, Elaine Bay.  On the opening and closing endpapers on a sandy-colored canvas are words in Spanish and English for many of the wonderful foods found in this book.  They are colored in shades of green, yellow and red.

On the title page, Kooky Dooky is running down a sidewalk shouting out the title in a speech bubble.  The publisher text is cleverly placed on the edge of the sidewalk near the road.  Above a mailbox are the names, Raul the Third and Elaine Bay.  

The illustrations in this book were done in ink on smooth plate Bristol board with Adobe Photoshop for color.  

Hand lettering was done by Raul the Third.  The images span single and double pages.  Sometimes panels will be placed over an existing larger visual.  What readers will find captivating, and at the same time astonishing, are the multitude of marvelous details.  Every single line creating an element is done with intention.  

The facial features on all the characters, familiar and new, are spirited and highly animated.  You feel compelled to pause on every single page.  Each one is a study in imaginative brilliance.  You'll read this once and then again and then again, noticing something new each time.  

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a panel over a single-page picture.  In this scene Kooky Dooky, on the right, is holding a quesadilla in his hands (wings).  The other portion of it is in Bernabe's mouth, on the left.  The queso, cheese, is stretching from Kooky Dooky's piece around a pole to Bernabe.  Little Lobo is striding toward Kooky Dooky in amazement.  In the lower, left-hand corner is the Lobo's Delivery wagon, partially filled.  The ever-present bug is running with a burrito in its grasp.

This book, VAMOS!: Let's Go Eat written and illustrated by Raul the Third with colors by Elaine Bay, is a tour de force.  It is a visual and verbal joy from beginning to end every time you read it.  Readers will savor every page.  Listeners will ask you to read it repeatedly.  This is a title you will want on your professional and personal shelves.  On the final page is a lengthy Food Glossary, but in a note, readers are encouraged to look up the definitions of words not listed.

To learn more about Raul the Third and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Raul the Third has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  The VAMOS! books are discussed in a Publishers Weekly article.  This title is featured at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Raul the Third was recently a guest at Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Draw Every Day with JJK video art lesson.  At the publisher's website you can download an Activity Kit and watch several videos, one of which appears below.

Loving Advice

It's no easy task to be little in a world of large.  When you stand in an open sunny meadow, wildflowers dancing in the breeze, wander along a path strewn with needles among tall evergreens or gaze at a starry expanse at night, you feel the full power of your size compared to the surrounding vista but in some respects these scenes give us a sense of calm.  These spaces are not by our hands.  Walking among towering skyscrapers along crowded sidewalks with traffic buzzing by at breakneck speeds is an entirely different feeling.  Your size is further diminished somehow.

It's as if you are among giants, animate and inanimate, wandering with obstructed views except for familiar areas at your level, your line of sight.  Small In The City (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House Books, September 3, 2019) written and illustrated by Sydney Smith follows a small child on a mission.  Through his voice we are given a very personal perspective.

I know what it's like
to be small
in the city.

This child understands how the variety of sounds are frightening.  This child realizes how sensory overload can make decisions difficult.  Then, this child, makes it very clear, they are speaking to a specific individual, even though this individual is not present as they walk down the city streets.

Recommendations begin to be offered.  Some areas are okay but only under certain conditions.  Unruly pets are to be avoided.  If you need to hide, you can seek the comfort of certain shrubs or trees.

As snow begins to fall, the child increases suggestions of warmth, food and spaces for rest.  Readers come to comprehend the very intimate nature of the relationship between this child and the unseen being to whom they are speaking.  In several wordless images we are stunned by a revelation and a heartfelt request.  Nothing prepares us, though, for the twist on the final page.


With carefully constructed sentences, author (This is his debut as both author and illustrator.) Sydney Smith supplies us with truthful sentiments held by all who are small moving through an adult or taller world.  After several introductory comments, supportive examples identify exact impressions.  At this point we are curious but when the advice begins our interest, and yes, concern, grows.  We start to mull over in our minds the conversation between this child and someone else.  Who is it?  And this, readers, is stellar storytelling.  Here is the first tip by the child.

Alleys can be good shortcuts.

But don't go down this alley.
It's too dark.


Rendered in

ink, watercolor, and a bit of gouache

all the illustrations beginning on the dust jacket are heavily atmospheric.  The play of light and shadow allow us to feel the gravity of the situation.  The window on the bus featuring the child reveals another passenger when the right flap is opened.  To the left, on the back, the side of the bus fills this space until the opened left flap shows the beginning of another window.  The falling flakes of snow and the clothing worn by the child indicate the season as winter, elevating the emotional mood.

On the book case a brighter red, splashes which are used throughout the book, is used as its canvas.  The boy is embossed and showcased in the lower right-hand corner. Tiny dots, snowflakes, fall across his figure.

On the opening and closing endpapers, the palest blue gray with washes of white covers these pages.  Between the text on the title page, the child is seen walking next to a city bus.  On the dedication page, a flowered cup holds branches of vivid red berries.

For the first four pages there is a series of smaller wordless images. (There are more wordless illustrations within the book.)  They indicate the child inside the city bus until a chord is pulled and a stop is made.  Once the child begins to walk, the text is arranged among or opposite double-page pictures, a grouping of fourteen vignettes, full-page visuals, smaller images and three horizontal pictures on two pages.  Loose black lines frame the smaller illustrations.  Meticulous pacing heightens the mood and our expanding involvement in this wonderful story.

One of my many, many favorite pictures is on a single page, edge to edge.  A double-trunk tree is displayed prominently, its bare branches spread across the top.  Behind the tree, along the lower half of the illustration, are city buildings.  On the left trunk, a vertical row of boards has been nailed creating steps to a v-seat.  The child is there nestled between the two branches, still wearing his backpack.  Caught in a smaller branch on the right is what appears to be a small plastic bag blowing in the wind and snow.  Can you read the words?


Small In The City written and illustrated by Sydney Smith is a book to read and read again and then, to tuck away in your heart.  It's a tale in which all readers can identify; for who among us has not felt too small in a given situation. As a read aloud this invites speculation with every page turn.  And believe me, the farther you get in the book, the more you'll be going back to the beginning.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Sydney Smith and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Interior images from this book are included on Sydney Smith's website.  Sydney Smith has accounts on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter.  I believe you'll enjoy these interviews with Sydney Smith at Miss Marple's Musings and Art Of The Picture Book.

UPDATE:  On September 17, 2019 Sydney Smith chats with a host about this book on CBC Radio.

UPDATE:  On November 13, 2019 Sydney Smith and his artwork are featured at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

A Fascinating Fellow To Follow . . . Again

There is a fine line in choosing to follow when curiosity beckons.  If we stay, we avoid possible pitfalls, but may miss out on a one-of-a-kind adventure.  If we go, we might be walking into a how-do-we-get-out-of-this disaster or we may experience complete joy.  There's really no predicting what will occur. 

If you happen to be a fearless feline like the one we met in Spot, the Cat (Little Simon, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, March 1, 2016) conceived and illustrated by Henry Cole, there is no weighing of possible outcomes.  You go with gusto.  This cat is back in a companion title, Spot & Dot (Little Simon, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, August 13, 2019).  It's an intricately designed wordless wonder introducing two new characters by Henry Cole.  It's a single story weaving through an entire city brimming with stories.

Spot, the cat, is stretching toward the open window from the back of his boy's chair.  He joins Spot at the window to watch a young girl, a new neighbor, post a lost pet sign.  The boy and girl don't know, but Spot has seen the runaway dog, Dot, and is in pursuit.

As the dog runs through the bustling Antique fair, Spot is not far behind.  When Dot hops on one of several city buses, the cat knows exactly which one to board.  The dog's nose knows a certain shop, Maxine's Bakery, is apt to have treats.  It's loads of fun to watch how people do or don't respond to the duo running through the bakery.

Meanwhile, back near Spot's and Dot's humans' homes, the boy and girl are working together, posting the lost dog flyers everywhere and asking people if they've seen her.  The boy has no idea Spot has vanished again.  At the dog park, Spot is closing the distance to Dot which is a miracle considering the chaos of dozens and dozens of dogs and their humans. They race from one venue to the next, one noisy and the other pleasantly quieter.

Discouraged the boy and his new friend climb the stairs to their respective homes.  Wait a minute! Two wayward pets complete their tour of the city and its multitude of occupants.  Two sets of new friends know home is the ultimate destination.


Eager readers know an escapade is in the offing as they watch Spot and Dot, strategically placed above their names in the title, race down the city street.  Each home in the row of houses, spread across the open and matching dust jacket and book case, offers additional tales of the residents, humans and animals.  Some notice the passing of Spot and Dot, wondering about their wandering.  Readers will enjoy running their hands over the dust jacket to feel the raised portions of the image and text.

On the opening and closing endpapers the purple color used for the street becomes a background.  Henry Cole begins this story without words on his title page with more of his highly intricate artwork.  Each fine line is carefully placed to portray a breathtaking whole.  Single page pictures from varying perspectives start the story building with a gentle tension, moving between the boy and girl and Spot chasing after Dot.  When the focus shifts to the dog and cat alone, readers find themselves dazzled by fabulous double-page illustrations. 

Each of these double-page visuals asks us to pause.  We peer in windows to see movers and painters working inside the neighbor's house, fish swim in two different bowls above the fish market and a dog wishing for the same freedom as he watches Spot race past his door.  In the Antique fair there are thousands of objects displayed by vendors.  The Hot Dog food truck seems to be where Dot is headed, but she's got more important things on her mind.

Readers will be fascinated by the banners hanging on the city buses advertising canine treats and treatments for fleas.  I can almost hear readers gasping when Dot enters the bakery.  You'll can almost smell the wondrous odors of pastries and fresh hot drinks in the air, but then you'll notice a cat running along the counter and a dog running behind the counter.  The expressions and body postures of every living thing, throughout the title, are completely captivating and convey the vibrant life through which this dog and cat are exploring.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  Dot and Spot are scampering through the public library.  We see Spot entering on the left as Dog runs nearly off the page on the right.  The READ posters on the circulation desk feature dogs.  Many of the patrons are reading dog books.  One of the librarians is reading a dog book aloud for storytelling.  Some of the people don't even realize a cat and dog are present.  The facial features on others range from inquisitiveness to I can't believe what I am seeing.  The upholstery on the comfy chairs is spotted/dotted as is the fabric on a woman's skirt.


With the final three full-page pictures, readers will feel the same contentment seen on the faces of one cat and one dog and two humans in Spot & Dot by Henry Cole.  Stress which delicately built as the animal twosome moved through the city evaporates, but memories of their experiences linger.  This book stands alone wonderfully but pairing it with the first title is a perfect match.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Henry Cole and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Henry Cole invites you to follow him on his Facebook account.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images from the beginning of the book.  They have also supplied three activity sheets.

A Daily Dose Of Delight

One of the advantages of growing up in a small house, on a small street, in a small town is you can walk everywhere you need to go.  Our elementary, junior high and high schools were minutes from home.  We walked to the grocery store, post office, bank, drug store, the five-and-ten for trinkets and candy, flower shop, public library and doctor.  We loved hiking to the nearby Kiwanis Park and Dead Man's Hill for winter sledding.  On Saturdays gals and guys all walked to the local roller-skating rink.

With only one car, Dad used to get to and from work in a nearby town. Mom ran errands pulling a red wagon loaded with odds and ends and groceries.  Once we (my sister and I) were old enough, we started pulling the red wagon to do the grocery shopping.  VAMOS! Let's Go to the Market (Versify Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 2, 2019) written and illustrated by Raul The Third, colors by Elaine Bay, follows a daily trip to el mercado made by Little Lobo and his dog, Bernabe.  In a lively, beautiful blend of Spanish and English, readers enjoy the sensory experience with the two companions.

VAMOS! LET'S GO!
Guau!
For breakfast Little Lobo
and Bernabe eat huevos
rancheros con tortillas de
maiz and wash it down 
with warm milk.

Pulling their wagon, the first stop is the warehouse to gather supplies to take to the vendors at the market.  As they quickly move toward their destination, Little Lobo greets Kooky Dooky, the rooster, and thanks him for waking them up.  Walking down the sidewalk of their community, past a shop for haircuts and a movie theater, the duo joins all sorts of people busily making their way to their jobs.

On their way to the market Little Lobo and Bernabe cross through La Placita (a small plaza).  Here people are setting up booths, selling their merchandise and all sorts of delicious foods and beverages.  An older woman is feeding pigeons at the fountain.  Mal Burro and Peeky Pequeno try to keep La Placita (and the Mercado) neat and tidy.  There is music and folk dancing.

There is also a local renowned figure headed in the same direction as Little Lobo and Bernabe.  Their paths are close but not close enough for Little Lobo to notice.  Upon their arrival at the market (Mercado Cuauhtemoc), bursting with activity, they weave through people buying, selling, looking and watching.

Little Lobo and Bernabe stop to make deliveries of shoe polish, clothes pins, wood, tissue paper, paint brushes and the Golden Laces at a variety of shops.  They pass by other stores and greetings are exchanged.  With each stop Little Lobo's wagon empties of one item but fills up with other objects he acquires.

Upon arriving at his final (and favorite) destination Little Lobo is shocked at his good fortune.  On Little Lobo's journey home his load is heavier, but his heart is light.  Heroes really do walk among us.  Good night.  Buenas noches.  Until tomorrow.  Hasta manana.


From the beginning you find yourself fascinated by the short narrative text and dialogue penned by Raul the Third.  There is energy on every page with the perfect blend of two languages.  Text is placed outside of the narrative and dialogue on buildings, near objects and above actions.  It's an explosion of linguistic goodness.  Readers can easily understand either the English or the Spanish based upon the context or placement of both words together.  Sometimes an asterisk will advise you to look for a translation.  Here are two passages.

Mal Burro and Peeky Pequeno keep
La Placita and the Mercado clean.  La
viejita de la fuente feeds the pigeons.

Ding! Ding! Ding!
Something sure smells good!
Churros con
canela y azucar! *

*Churros with cinnamon and sugar.


By their eyes, facial expressions and body postures readers know Little Lobo and his dog, Bernabe, featured on the front of the book case are eager to go to the market.  They are accompanied on this daily adventure by a bug who barely clings to a bouncing box on the back of the wagon.  This bug also lives with them.  The text and characters are varnished.

The red in the text and used as an accent color on the front, covers the back of the book case.  There information normally found on dust jacket flaps is placed.  The bug in his splendid clothes is showcased in the center.  On the opening and closing endpapers in green and white is an intricate design cleverly formed of arrows.  On the title page, Kooky Dooky shouts out the title, waking up Little Lobo and Bernabe.

The color scheme mirrors the community and region in which this story is placed.  All the animals are wearing authentic clothing.  Kooky Dooky has a black and yellow checked shirt, belt with a buckle showing a rising sun, green pants and brown shoes.  The colorist Elaine Bay's work is marvelous.  The details by Raul the Third are superb.  The illustrations are done using ink on smooth plate Bristol board with Adobe Photoshop for color.  They appear as panels like in comic books or as full-page or double-page pictures to accentuate pacing.

You can't help but pause at every page turn.  The first narrative sentence is showcased in steam coming from the kettle heating the milk.  So, we know what is on Little Lobo's list, when he stops at the warehouse, a looped arrow comes from an enlargement of that list.  It is in Spanish and English.  As we move from the desert where Little Lobo and Bernabe live to the city, every element is appropriately placed and many are labeled.  It is here we notice there are stories within this story.

A newspaper headline hints of events to come.  Look at the floating balloon.  Where did it come from?  What are the pigeons doing with the elderly woman?  We come to understand why the bug put a carrot on the wagon at the warehouse.  Readers need to watch this little guy constantly as well as the two cleaners, Mal Burro and Peeky Pequeno.  Also references to famous creators in Mexican culture are seen in multiple places.  It's simply amazing!

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is when Little Lobo and Bernabe are hurrying from the warehouse to make their deliveries.  As they move through the desert with mountains behind them, Kooky Dooky runs along with them.  Bernabe grips the front of the wagon with his paws.  The bug hangs on and swings from a rope tying the boxes together.  Along the bottom of the page are rocks, lizards and a cactus.  A mountain, the desert, a rock and the boxes are labeled in red in Spanish.


Having read this book, VAMOS! Let's Go to the Market written and illustrated by Raul the Third with color by Elaine Bay, repeatedly, I can honestly say you will discover something new every time you read it.  You will be captivated by the story, the use of language and the astounding illustrations.  Spanish and English-speaking readers will completely enjoy the two languages.  They will be making lists of every word they see.  They will be noticing every single element in each illustration.  At the close of the book, Raul the Third includes a glossary of more than ninety words in Spanish with their article and the English translation.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Raul the Third and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Raul the Third has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  You'll want to peruse through both to get peeks at interior images from this book.  Raul the Third is interviewed at Let's Talk Picture Books, author Jarrett Lerner's website and author Chris Barton's website.  (You'll learn this is the first book in a series!)

UPDATE:  Raul the Third was featured on author, reviewer and blogger, Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast on July 7, 2019.

Sharing The View

There are distinct advantages to being small in size and height.  You can be comfortable in small spaces when traveling.  When wanting to curl up on a sofa or chair to take a snooze or read a good book, you'll be cozier quicker than most other people.  You will always be excellent at playing hide-and-seek.  When you need to reach something on a grocery shelf, you can feel confident stepping on other shelves to reach an item, knowing nothing will break.  Your younger students will feel like they share something in common with you.  Your older students will get a kick out of coming up to you and stating, "I'm almost taller than you are."

One notable disadvantage is the overwhelming feeling of not being able to see when you are in a large crowd.  Thankfully our other senses are stronger when one is unable to function properly.  Pax and Blue (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, February 7, 2017) written and illustrated by Lori Richmond gives us a peek at a budding friendship between a human and a bird who share common character traits.  The boy has, as you will discover, another beautiful sense he has nurtured.

Some kids have a dog or a cat or a fish.
Pax has a pigeon he calls Blue.

Each morning Pax chats with Blue and gives him a bit of toast.  He understands very well how being little can be a challenge.  One morning Pax's mom is in a hurry.

Pax can't chat with Blue.  Pax can't give Blue a piece of toast.  Pax is being pulled along by his mom.  Blue does not understand.

Pax is very worried about leaving Blue without so much as a word or sharing his food.  Blue does what any hungry, lonely pigeon would do.  He follows Pax.  Immediately Blue can see this is a mistake.  Everyone is huge.  Where is he?

When Blue's presence is discovered on the subway car, feathers fly, literally and figuratively.  The adults create chaos.  Pax creates peace.  He is thrilled to see his friend.  He knows exactly what to do.  When some least expects it, a child becomes a hero.


Children have an innate desire to help those, especially animals, not noticed by adults.  They feel a kinship with them.  Lori Richmond has expressed this desire and kinship wonderfully.  In her simple sentences she speaks to the empathic portion of all readers' hearts which may be large or in need of growth.  In the character of Pax she shows us how a relationship is formed between a child and an animal.  She also helps us to understand once a friendship like this is formed, a true friend feels responsible. Here are several sentences (which can be seen with the illustrations at the publisher's website).

But this morning was different.
Pax knew little ones can get rushed along---
especially when Mom can't be late.
Blue didn't understand.

And there was no on to explain.

The deliberate, limited color palette seen on the opened dust jacket is used by Lori Richmond throughout the book.  The only stand-out colors are on Pax and Blue drawing our attention to them rather than the other people or the surroundings.  To the left, on the back, is a rear view of the subway car with the ISBN strategically placed.  Staring out the window is the head of Blue.

A pale purple covers the book case.  A wide, black spine extends into the canvas.  Walking across the bottom beneath the title text and author name is Blue, tracks extending from the back to the front.  On the spine the text is in silver foil. The opening and closing endpapers are a shade of the green seen on the front of the dust jacket.

Rendered in ink, watercolor, and charcoal, and composited digitally each image is a delicate portrait enhancing the text.  Some of the illustrations are placed on one page loosely framed on the matte-finished paper.  Others extend across two pages, edge to edge.  For emphasis and emotional impact Lori places single elements on one page, shifting the perspective.  Her stacked picture of the interior of the subway station is brilliant.

One of my many favorite illustrations is of Pax looking at Blue after pandemonium broke out in their car.  There is quite a bit of purple on this page.  On the right Pax is hanging upside down looking under the seat at Blue on the left.  All we see of both of them is their heads (and one of Pax's hands).  It is a huge moment of connection between friends.


In a busy world where everything seems to move at a too-fast pace, Pax and Blue written and illustrated by Lori Richmond is a marvelous reminder for us to notice those smaller than we are.  It asks us to view the world with the eyes of others and to choose compassion.  I highly recommend you place this on your professional and personal bookshelves.  I would pair it with Little Elliot, Big City and How To Be A Bigger Bunny.

Take a moment or two to visit Lori Richmond's website by following the link attached to her name.  She has a page talking about the creative process for this book.  Follow the second link attached to her name.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Lori has been interviewed at Mile High Reading,  Karlin Gray's blog, Monica Wellington's news,  KidLit 411, and 32/7.  You can read about Lori Richmond's family vacation journals at the DailyMail.

Sending Out Hope

You are ready with all appropriate preparations completed.  Taking no chances you decide to wear your lucky jewelry, favorite underwear, shoes, socks, pants and sweater all day.   You have placed logic aside letting superstitions rule the day.  That night you wait for the first star and make a wish.  You put on your pajamas inside out and backward.  You slip a spoon under your pillow.  As you try to fall asleep you sincerely desire, for the eleventy-hundredth time, the skills of Dumbledore.

We attribute this routine to children alone but you might be surprised by the number of adults longing for the very same thing who would consider, or have done, one or more of these particular actions.  Before Morning (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 4, 2016) written by Joyce Sidman with illustrations by Beth Krommes is a plea.  It's a petition for one very special something.

In the deep woolen dark, ...

The day is done and a city and its people are sleeping.  As they dream, Mother Nature works her own kind of marvels with clouds and wind.  The swirling leaves are being replaced with others, no two alike.

As softly as milkweed pods releasing seeds, it falls.  It covers and coats and comforts.  To the touch it's like the fur on a lamb, duckling, kitten or puppy.

Quiet descends.  Everything stops.  It's morning.


Four eloquent lines in a single poem read like a prayer when the writer is Joyce Sidman.  Taken as a whole it flows as we wait for the word which rhymes at the end of each line.  In the first three phrases a gentle cadence is supplied with the use of commas, dividing each one into thirds.  We wait in anticipation for the final sentence, hoping.  In this one the use of other punctuation mirrors the requested results.  It's not written but there will be an audible sigh from readers.


Appealing to all our senses the matching dust jacket and book case create warmth where it is cold, quiet within noise, brightness over dullness, and new and clean in place of old and used.  On the front they tell us of a sleeping child nestled in coziness cuddled by their cat.  We might wonder about the globe, Amelia Earhart book and toy airplane on the floor.  To the left, on the back, is a scene from the city as horses draw carriages through a park with drivers and passengers bundled against the chilly night air as in the distance travelers await transportation.

On the opening endpapers more than two-thirds are covered in dark, gray clouds threatening a change in the weather.  They hang over the expanse of a large city and the surrounding tree-covered hillsides. On the closing endpapers the scene is similar but with a significant difference.   With a page turn at the beginning illustrator Beth Krommes expands the visual story with her signature scratchboard and watercolors images. On the left, the verso, pigeons are gathered on cobblestones.  On the right, the title page, the feet and legs of an adult and child are shown as they walk a dog.  The dedication page is a two-page picture of people, the adult, child and dog included, sitting, walking and leaving a park. Before them is a street filled with cars, a bicycle, a scooter and a bus with all their lights shining. People on the opposite side of the street stroll, window shopping.

Four single page visuals follow framed in white borders.  This is Krommes leading us into the interpretation of Sidman's words.  The child pauses in front of a bakery window, the trio climbs steps into an apartment building, a father has prepared dinner and a mother dressed as an airplane pilot sits on the bed of a child who does not want her to go.  For the words quoted above the scene is early in the morning, the father and daughter are asleep.  The cat, dog and pilot are awake; she is folding laundry on the kitchen table.

For those pages with Joyce Sidman's words we are given double-page illustrations.  On the wordless pages, seven in total, they are single images on one page.  The experience of viewing illustrations created using this artistic technique is astounding.  Krommes includes the tiniest details enhancing what is taking place in the moment inside the apartment, on the streets of the city, within the park, at the airport and over the entire area.  You are invited to pause at each picture.  This is in keeping with the peaceful pace of the poem.  You will notice the dog barking at squirrels in the park, a single snowflake falling as they enter the building, a pie cooling on the kitchen counter, the street sign indicating airport ahead, a book of poems in the living room and a key on the table as the pilot returns home to embrace the child.  

One of my favorite pictures (They're all my favorite pictures.) is looking inside the apartment windows in the evening as the pilot leaves for the airport.  On the left the child is in bed in a scene nearly identical to the front of the jacket and case.  To the right we peer into the living room.  The father has fallen asleep wearing his glasses with the newspaper draped across his body and a mug on the nearby table.  The dog is curled up on the couch.  Snowflakes are starting to fall more frequently outside the windows. Pigeon feet and a very slight portion of their lower bodies are shown above the left window.  This gives us an idea of perspective.


This collaborative team, poet and author Joyce Sidman and illustrator Beth Krommes, have given us another treasure in Before Morning.  As Joyce Sidman talks to us in her author's note, this is indeed about wishes and invocations. On the opposite page Krommes illustrates it appropriately with two kinds of angels.  It does not get better than this.  To date this title has received five starred reviews in School Library Journal, Booklist, The Horn Book, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

To learn more about author and poet Joyce Sidman and illustrator Beth Krommes and their other work please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  You might be interested in reading Five questions for Joyce Sidman at The Horn Book.  Jama Rattigan features Joyce Sidman in her hotTeas of Children's Poetry: Joyce Sidman at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Beth Krommes is highlighted at artistsnetwork.  Beth Krommes is highlighted by author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Process art is shared.

I wrote about their other work Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature here.

Shades Of Brilliance

With each season of the year, even in those months when the outside world is sleeping, nature sends us color.  It may only be a flash of rich red from a swooping cardinal or vivid blue from a chattering jay, but its vibrancy is a message.  It's a reminder of associating color with the excitement of being fully alive.

Not only does Mother Nature send us little pieces of color when there is nearly none but the burst of hues from one season to the next or from a dry spell ended with a rain storm seems to happen in hours rather than days.  Sometimes people take their lessons from the natural world.  They make loveliness bloom where there was none.  Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed A Neighborhood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 12, 2016) written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell with illustrations by Rafael Lopez is inspired by a true story of people who did that very thing.

In the heart of a gray city, there lived a girl who loved to doodle, draw, color, and paint.

No piece of paper was ever blank for very long in her presence.  Her joy came from making shapes and adding bright colors to each of them.  The very special thing about Mira was she did not guard this happiness but shared it with others; giving them her small pieces of artwork.

One day Mira taped a golden, smiling sun to a wall in her community.  The very next day a man was looking intently at that sun as if peering through the lens of a camera using his hands as a frame.  His pocket was stuffed with paint brushes.  He gave a curious reply to Mira's question.

Then faster than a lightning strike he took a can of paint and one of those brushes and began to cover the gray.  After he answered Mira's second question, she found herself being handed a paintbrush.  More gray vanished under a burst of booming brilliance.  He drew and she painted.

Their work did not go unnoticed.  Something new and exciting was taking place in this neighborhood.  People were arriving to participate.  People were dancing.  People stopped.

The policeman arrived.  An extraordinary thing happened next.  It grew and grew and grew until Mira made one final choice.  Perhaps an idea could take flight.


Working together F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell have created eloquent scenes with their words.  In picture books word choice is important; they have excelled at their selections.  Instead of saying

In the center of a gray city

they used the word heart.  This immediately brings the reader into the soul of the city and the story.

They also invite readers further into their narrative by naming specific individuals as recipients of Mira's pictures; also stating exactly what Mira has drawn and colored on those pages.

On her way to school one day,
Mira gave a round apple to Mr. Henry, 
the owner of the shop down the street.

For emphasis they have added sound effects and the names of specific dances as the joy spreads.  This story reads like poetry with a mix of descriptive text and conversation.  Here is another partial passage.

... The shadows scurried away.
Sky blue cut through the gloom.
The man's laughter was like a rainbow
spreading across the sky.


The matching dust jacket and book case extends beyond the boundaries of the folded flap and book case edges.  Left to right on the dust jacket, on either side of Mira's colorful joy, the city extends in its grayness, edge to edge.  The white background is indicative of the blank pages Mira transforms with her art.  The buildings on the book case are carefully continued to the opening and closing endpapers.  On the first the entire city is dull except for one glowing window with a single colored tree outside that window.  On the second set of endpapers the efforts of the community are evident as is the final act of Mira, a messenger in flight on sky blue rather than a washed-out gray canvas.

The joy spoken of by the authors on the first page is portrayed by illustrator Rafael Lopez in a two-page image for the title.  A smiling Mira walks along a city street represented by a living leafy branch.  She is painting a butterfly as she walks toward a transformed cityscape with a smiling sun at the end.

Rendered in a combination of acrylic on wood, original photography, and digital art all of the illustrations span across two pages.  For full impact and asking readers to pause, two appear vertically.  In another two pictures the point of view shifts close to Mira and other characters speaking with her.  Exquisite facial details and spirited body movements capture the happiness filling the community.  Each picture is like a mural of magical moments growing.

One of my favorite illustrations is the first vertical image.  Across the sides and a portion of the top Rafael Lopez has placed black and white stylized swirls (clouds or smoke?); the sun peeking out from one on the right side.  Leaping into the air is the man laughing; paint can in one hand and brush in the other, coloring the sky; his striped shirt, black tennis shoes and pink socks a revelation of his talents.  His feet hover over the gray buildings.  On one wall is Mira's tiny picture of the smiling sun.


Based upon the real work of Rafael Lopez and his wife Candice in the community of East Village outside of San Diego, California, Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed A Neighborhood written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell with illustrations by Rafael Lopez will fill you with utter and complete elation.  With every page turn the words and visuals will lift your spirits inspiring you to make beauty wherever you go.  A four page note from the authors with illustrations is included at the end of the book.  This is a highly recommended title.

To discover more about F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell and Rafael Lopez please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Rafael Lopez maintains a blog.  Here is a link to an entire site dedicated to this title.  It is filled with resources.  F. Isabel Campoy is interviewed at the Children's Book Academy and at Multicultural Children's Book Day.  Rafael Lopez is interviewed at La Bloga.  Author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson features art from this book at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Enjoy the book trailer.




UPDATE:  This title is celebrated at All The Wonders with several activities, a podcast and an additional video.  September 12, 2016