Yesterday in the United States a national holiday was observed, Thanksgiving. There are other countries who honor a similar day by the same name, but sometimes on different dates. Many cultures commemorate gratitude for a fruitful harvest, a change in the seasons, or encountered annual blessings. Most of these traditions are shared with families, friends, or community members.
It is said an attitude of gratitude cultivated every day of the year is highly beneficial for individuals and those in contact with those individuals. Two publications released on the same day highlight the art of being grateful. We Give Thanks (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, September 7, 2021) written by Cynthia Rylant with illustrations by Sergio Ruzzier follows two friends, a rabbit and a frog, and their friends as they find joy in their everyday worlds.
We give thanks for mittens
and for coats and boots and hats.
We give thanks for yellow dogs
and yellow kitty cats.
A frog and a rabbit are enjoying the clothing they find in a friend's home. When the artistic talents of the first are presented on canvas, laughter ensues. They venture into the garden and carry fruit to a feast.
As they travel throughout their day, they meet family. They appreciate the efforts of those providing services in the tiny town. Even when the weather shifts several times, they welcome those changes realizing the advantages of each one.
The benefits of various modes of transportation are acknowledged. They pause to watch the work of insects in a colorful space. Signs of affection shown by an avian mother to their child and a bear to a fish friend are noted.
Wherever this duo go, they notice the little things, taking nothing for granted. They relish the ability to cook and eat. Every minute of their days and nights is perceived as valuable, especially those moments shared with their friends.
What readers will first notice about the words penned by Cynthia Rylant is they address those things with which many can identify. She lists items we need. She includes people and their accomplishments. She draws our attention to the natural world. And she focuses on tender displays of affection.
She views the world through the eyes of children, the children residing in all of us. She does this through couplets, two sentences, with rhyming words at the end. The first sentence welcomes readers to wonder about the second sentence. What word will she use? Also, she uses the word "and" to join a group of words together rather than using commas. Here is another passage.
We give thanks for sun and rain
and wind and sleet and snow.
We give thanks for bikes and skates
and . . .
The color palette on the open and matching dust jacket and book case is radiating warmth, like the apples in the basket. That red in the title text, the apples and the hillside draws us into the happiness of the animals. The wash of yellow and blue in the sky extends that warmth into a comforting calm. It is here we meet the two main characters, the frog and the rabbit.
To the left of the spine, the red covers the area except for a circular image. It is an interior illustration. Here the rabbit is looking through its kitchen window while cooking. Friends are arriving to partake in a banquet.
A spring green, a shade of the green on the frog, covers the opening and closing endpapers. On the initial title page the frog and the rabbit, on a white background, are walking to the right. On the double-page picture for the formal title page, we can now see them approaching a villa set in the mountains. The hues of colors are variations on those we saw on the jacket and cover. They are an open offer of participation to readers.
Rendered in
pen & ink and watercolors,
the visuals by Sergio Ruzzier present his signature style. His endearing animals depict a range of body positions and facial expressions. Highly detailed images ask us to step into each scene. Often elements on one page will appear in the next page, fashioning a flow.
One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture (all are double-page images except for one, a dramatic pause). A white sky highlights two low hills in rose and yellow. The yellow is replete with large flowers and insects. The bugs are given long noses and tiny eyes and mouths formed from a single line. The rabbit and frog, on the right side, stand on the rose-colored hill talking about the display before them of insects and flowers. They are watching the bugs work. The flowers are large enough to make us feel as though we are one of them.
This book, We Give Thanks written by Cynthia Rylant with artwork by Sergio Ruzzier, is one to be shared widely and read often. It reminds us every single day there are things around us that need our appreciation. I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional bookshelves.
To learn more about Cynthia Rylant and Sergio Ruzzier, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites. At Cynthia Rylant's site is a single page with a letter from her to readers. Sergio Ruzzier has accounts on Facebook and Instagram. At the publisher's website, there are interior images, and views of the entire dust jacket and formal title page.
In a few short weeks, winter will officially begin. All day yesterday the wind blew and snow fell. Tonight the temperature will drop to its coldest since last winter. The activities in the natural world have slowed. Humans are finishing their outside preparations for the shift in seasons.
Inside, humans are altering how they spend their time. Thankful (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, September 7, 2021) written by Elaine Vickers with illustrations by Samantha Cotterill follows a family as they begin and complete an annual tradition. It is a time to reflect and remember. It is a time to make gratitude visible.
EVERY YEAR when the first snow
falls, we make thankful chains
to last us through December.
It is hard to think of all the things
to be thankful for in a whole year,
so I start right in my own room.
The girl's parents, her father carrying a younger infant sibling, have come to wish her a good night. As she lies in bed, she feels grateful for her home, parents, and a poem. This poem, recited every night, helps her to recall those things for which she is thankful. Some of those you hold in your heart; others you see every single day.
The little girl adores her dog, a wish come true. She realizes the gift of life, a beating heart and breathing with ease. Her school days supply her with people she cherishes.
She (like so many of us) is thankful for books and the places they lead us. The girl finds the beauty in opposites. She identifies the silver linings in good things and in things not quite as good.
She keeps writing, one thankful thing at a time, one chain at a time. The girl's thoughts appear on paper until sleep is about to take her into her dreams. The story ends as it begins with her parents and a poem and her final words of thankfulness.
With each acknowledgement by the girl, readers start to relate to her and to examine their own surroundings for similar things. We accept the goodness revealed in the opposites, soft and hard, and warm and cold, and safety and accidents. This is a gift given to us by author Elaine Vickers.
The repetition of the words
I am thankful for
provides a connection, like the links in the paper chain, and a cadence. With each thankful thing the narrator mentions, page by page, we understand it is not only a recounting but building toward an all-encompassing conclusion. Here is a passage.
I am thankful for
things that are soft
and fresh, like
laundry,
bread,
moss on rocks.
In looking at the open dust jacket, readers can easily see this book is intricately designed. We are fascinated by the intentional placement of elements on the front, the right side. Here the girl is penning her thankful memories, link by link. To the left, on the back, a colorful paper chain is photographed on white, portions of it faded and others clear. Over this is a circular illustration of the girl holding and hugging her dog. The dog looks at her with love. Her eyes are closed in contentment.
On the book case the canvas is white. Layered on both sides is one continuous, colorful paper chain. The thankful memories are placed on the inside, but sometimes we are privy to one or two letters in a thought.
On the opening and closing endpapers is a green wall lined with six bookcases. They are filled with books in an array of hues. Paper chains in those same shades hang down either side and across each of those two sets of three bookcases. Along the top of the bookcases is a schooner, a box with a bear on it, a guitar, a statue, a plant, a pennant with the words THANKFUL and a house. On the title page, between the text is the girl's desk, a chair, and a waste basket. Across the top of the desk are supplies for making the thankful chains. A partially completed chain drops down from the desk and curls on the floor.
These artistically shaped illustrations by Samantha Cotterill
are hand-built three dimensional sets photographed with a digital SLR camera.
The meticulous care given to each setting requires us to pause and savor the words and the images. The people and the girl's dog are outlined in a black line and a small white border. The sizes of the pictures switch from double-page pictures to a full-page visual, and then to a circular illustration on a colorful canvas. Three times across a white background on two pages, we are shown only the girl working on her paper chain. These are important pauses in the pacing.
One of my many favorite pictures is a two-page illustration. It is in the evening inside the girl's home. There is an "L" shaped sofa in the living room. A single light shines on the left wall, but the entire scene glows as if there is a fireplace we can't see in front of the sofa. On the left side of the sofa, the dad has fallen asleep holding the baby, a book next to them. On the right side of the sofa is the girl in her pajamas, cuddled with a blanket wrapped around her. Her dog is mostly seated next to her. On the coffee table are dishes from a dinner of soup. This image complements and elevates the text superbly.
You'll be gathering supplies to make your own paper chains after reading Thankful written by Elaine Vickers with illustrations by Samantha Cotterill. It emphasizes the value all things have in our lives. It prompts us in every respect to be grateful. I can't imagine a personal or professional collection without a copy of this title.
By following the link attached to their names, you can discover more about Elaine Vickers and Samantha Cotterill and their other work at their respective websites. Elaine Vickers has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Samantha Cotterill has an account on Instagram. This book is showcased at Watch. Connect. Read. the site of John Schumacher, librarian, lecturer at Rutgers, and writer, at author, reviewer, and blogger, Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, at author Caroline Starr Rose's website, at Mel Schuit's Let's Talk Picture Books, and at The Children's Book Review. At the publisher's website you can view interior images including the entire dust jacket.
Thankful by Elaine Vickers and Samantha Cotterill from Let's Talk Picture Books on Vimeo.
