A Stray . . . Changed

In those random moments of individuals' lives when an uncharacteristic decision is made, the results of that choice can be more splendid than ever imagined.  A split second can transform the remaining days of your life.  The wondrous thing about this is at the time you have no idea what you have done.  The consequences, over time, reveal themselves in one beautiful opportunity after another.

Some beings have light inside them, carefully hidden.  All it takes is that split-second choice to release that glow until it radiates farther and farther out into the universe.  Pigeon & Cat (Christy Ottaviano Books, Little, Brown And Company, June 21, 2022) written and illustrated by Edward Hemingway is indeed a tale of friendship by an unlikely pair, but it is much more.  It is a story about the power of love, a love made visible.  This kind of love can change a vacant lot and a community and all who dwell there.

In an abandoned city lot there sits a cardboard box.

Inside the box lives Cat. 

The box has withstood the test of time, keeping Cat warm and dry.  Cat has a few possessions inside the box, the bare necessities.  At times, he leaves the city lot to search for food in nearby dumpsters.  When Cat sleeps, it is always with one eye open.  This allows him to keep others away should they dare to step into his space.

Near a window ledge on a rather breezy evening, a nest falls to the ground.  Inside is a perfect unbroken egg.  Cat decides not to eat it and takes it to his box.  As Cat watches, a baby pigeon breaks through the shell.  The two greet each other.

Cat tends to the baby bird as a mother would.  Pigeon's first melodious notes lull Cat to sleep.  Pigeon grows and is soon flying.  When she goes to the top of a building surrounding the lot, she can't wait to visit the world spread in front of her.  Cat warns her, but Pigeon flies away.  When she returns, she brings Cat a gift of red chalk.  Cat is astonished at her generosity.

Day after day, Pigeon brings forgotten gems to Cat.  Cat, in turn, releases the hidden light inside himself and fashions colorful wall art with those gifts.  One day, storm clouds roll in and Pigeon does not come back to the city lot.  After the storm passes, Cat calls and calls for Pigeon.  She has disappeared.  Cat does what he has never previously done.  He leaves the lot and ventures into the city.

Cat looks everywhere for Pigeon, leaving her drawn messages with the chalk she gave him.  Week after week Cat seeks Pigeon, sometimes he even gives away gifts to other strays.  One day, Cat spies birds carrying something unusual.  He follows them.  He can't believe where he is.  He can't believe what he sees.  Believe it, Cat.  Believe.

Meticulously chosen words by Edward Hemingway create short intentional sentences supplying readers with a true sense of the life Cat lives before and after the arrival of Pigeon.  These words, verbs and adjectives, elevate the meaning of the narrative beautifully.  When Pigeon speaks to Cat, Edward Hemingway places tiny pictures (emojis) in her speech balloons to convey her meaning.  This invites participation by readers, bringing them further into the tale.  Here is a single sentence and another passage.  The sentence describes Pigeon's egg elegantly.

White as fish bone and warm as summer rain, it's too beautiful to eat.

The lot isn't much, but it's become nothing without Pigeon.  Gathering all his 

courage and some possessions, Cat climbs over the fence and into the city.

Using 

oil paint on board with hand-cut paper and Photoshop,

we get our first look at the artwork of Edward Hemingway for this book on the open dust jacket.  Not only are we introduced to Pigeon and Cat, but we see how Pigeon communicates.  Their admiration and affection for each other is evident in their facial expressions.  To the left of the spine which features tiny heads of Pigeon and Cat, we are shown portions of an interior collage.  Here we see items retrieved by Pigeon for Cat.  The ISBN is cleverly included in one of the geometric spaces.  These spaces surround a rectangle with these words inside:

Pigeon and Cat form a lasting

bond in this poignant picture book

about compassion and friendship.

On the open book case from left to right is a vast cityscape.  In the pastel sky replete with pastel dots flies Pigeon on the right.  She is clearly excited.  A circle highlighting a drawn hopscotch game points to a rooftop.  The game is drawn in red chalk.  This image from the book is wordless.

On the opening and closing endpapers is a pattern in a blue canvas with cream lines and an array of pastel and sometimes darker dots.  (This would be splendid wallpaper.)  With a page turn, we come to the verso and title pages.  Here on the first, within a circle, Cat is drawing Pigeon on a brick wall.  On the title page, Cat is seated outside his newly decorated box.  Pigeon speaks of her happiness and love for Cat.

The visuals by Edward Hemingway vary in size from dramatic double-page pictures to single-page pictures, some with insets, and striking black and white silhouettes cut from paper.  Sometimes a page will be broken into borderless panels.  The backgrounds vary according to the narrative.  Perspectives vary too, taking us close to an event or giving us a grand view.  One of the businesses is named Eddies. On one of the billboards we read:

BUY BUY BUY

BUY BUY BUY.

As pages are turned, readers will be looking at the included details and measuring the contrasts like the one between Pigeon and the BOXES sign and the city beyond the city lot.  They will find themselves interpreting Pigeon's speech and a few foreign language words.  They will see love and hope growing.

One of my many favorite illustrations is toward the end of the book.  It is a single page picture.  On a pale dusty pink canvas is a large oval image.  Framing it is a collection of dots in an assortment of hues and sizes.  Inside on a cream background in black are Pigeon and Cat.  Cat is holding Pigeon in his hands.  Pigeon is speaking in pictures.  Cat replies in pictures.  This is a very moving moment.

These two creatures defy what nature tells us about felines and birds.  In Pigeon & Cat written and illustrated by Edward Hemingway, the words love finds a way are realized.  This title will be a much-requested book to be reread repeatedly and shared widely.  No collection, personal or professional, will be complete without a copy.

To discover more about Edward Hemingway and his other work, please access his website by following the link attached to his name.  Edward Hemingway has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website, you can download a six-page curriculum guide and a four-page activity kit.  This title is showcased by Betsy Bird at School Library Journal, A Fuse #8 Production and by John Schu at Watch. Connect. Read.  Both interviews are stellar, disclosing much about this title and Edward Hemingway's art.

Edward Hemingway Presents PIGEON & CAT from LB School on Vimeo.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like .. #4

They date back to the 16th century during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  She had a special baker to fashion men shaped like foreign dignitaries and people in her court. They were made of gingerbread.  Gingerbread men (and women) have become an important feature of Christmas food presentations.  They have also been a part of the folktale realm for more than 150 years.  To our delight tellers of stories have given readers and listeners numerous variations.

The one constant in most of the stories is the tasty treat is usually running as fast as they can.  Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story (Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company, September 11, 2018) written and illustrated by Edward Hemingway offers readers an appetizing twist.  A brand-new tradition is about to race into your repertoire of holiday tales.

Once upon a time, while Fox

was visiting Christmastown,

in the Land of Holiday Treats . . .

A cookie, fresh from the oven, ran to the bakery door and declared how delicious he was.  Fox could hardly wait to catch this little rascal and savor his sweetness.  The cookie taunted him 

Run, run, as fast as you can!

You can't catch me---

I'm the Sugar Cookie Man!

Fox was fast, faster than the cookie.  He reached out, grabbed him and bit that cookie's head.  YUCK!  He tasted horrible.  He was the worst sugar cookie Fox had ever tasted.

Well, let me tell you; cookie was mad on two accounts.  He had a bite mark on his head and no sugar cookie wants to be told they taste disgusting.  In addition, Fox told him he was so hard, he broke one of his teeth.  Cookie, Tough Cookie, burst into tears.

Fox decided to befriend the little guy attempting to help him be sweeter and faster.  A trip to Christmastown Spa, including a dip in scrumptious eggnog with other luscious choices, running in the Sweet Treat Christmas Race and building a gingerbread home in Cookie Cutter did nothing to improve Cookie's circumstances. He was more depressed than ever.  Always the optimist, Fox was sure something good would happen.  And it did!

Suddenly a chorus of voices pointed out the truth to Cookie and Fox.  How had they missed this tiny but important detail?  Now everything was tree-mendous for Cookie; toughness can be an asset for cookies and their foxy friends.

When Edward Hemingway begins with once upon a time you know you're in for a treat.  The words Christmastown and Land of Holiday Treats conjure marvelous visions.  The blend of crisp, descriptive dialogue and concise, natural narrative create a captivating flow.  Edward uses repetition and clever wordplay to cook up a storytelling cadence with ample seasonings of humor.  Here is a passage.

And that's when Cookie crumbled.

I'm not sweet.

I'm not fast.

I can't even make a

gingerbread house.

Everything I do 

is half-baked!  

It's impossible not to smile when looking at the matching, opened dust jacket and book case.  Wide-eyed Cookie and all his confection companions are grinning with happiness.  Even Fox is joining in the merriment.  On the front Edward Hemingway introduces us to the color palette used in this book.  Snow drifts gather on the title text or maybe it's frosting.  It's Christmastown, after all.

To the left, on the back, Cookie, featured in a circle of white on a pale mint green background, is running and chanting his familiar phrase.  The opening and closing endpapers are patterned in rows of rectangles in a variety of colors.  They are canvases for seventy-five treats (plus Christmas decorations and gifts) with one more for Fox who is leaning over and sipping one of those mouthwatering goodies.  Cookie is shining in the near center.  The eyes, positions of arms and legs and exquisite details in these portraits are wonderful.  

Rendered with oils on board sprinkled with Adobe Photoshop the illustrations throughout this title spanning double pages, single pages and partial pages contribute to stellar pacing.  The speech bubbles and narrative placement are pleasing.  The background elements with the previously mentioned intricate details present a setting readers will be eager to visit.  

One of my many favorite illustrations is the first double-page picture.  We are given a bird's-eye view of a crossroads in Christmastown.  The brick buildings are enchanting.  Peeking out of most of the windows are wide-eyed treats.  A bluebird (of happiness) sings above the Christmastown Bakery sign. The word bakery looks to be fashioned from bread; like the bread displayed in the window.  Bright candy-shaped lights hang along the roof edge.  Fox, standing in front of the bakery, is dreaming of sweet treats.  A candy cane is riding a bike down Sugar Street with a peppermint passenger.  A whip-cream topped drink, cupcake and candied apple are running down Spice Avenue.  A Santa Claus mural on a building faces Spice Avenue.  In the town square a decorated tree is glowing.  It's snowing. 

When you read the title text on the front of the jacket and case you wonder why a gingerbread man, front and center, is smiling.  Why would a tough cookie be smiling?  When you read Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story written and illustrated by Edward Hemingway you'll be smiling too.  It's entertaining from beginning to end.  It's gives us a fabulous new beginning and ending on a traditional tale.  It inspires us to keep seeking our rightful place in the scheme of things.  It also encourages us to start baking because we are craving sweet treats.  With that end in mind Edward includes two separate recipes at the close of the book.  I know you'll want to add this title to your personal and professional book collections.  

To learn more about Edward Hemingway and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  You can view interior images at Edward's site and at the publisher's website.  Edward maintains accounts on Twitter and Instagram.  You'll enjoy this article published about the book in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Beware! One Could Be Lurking Near You...

You have probably been living under the notion they have vanished from the face of the Earth, never to be seen again.  Their skeletons have been found and now stand on display in museums.  Countless volumes examining everything there is to know about them line the shelves in libraries.  Children read those countless volumes retaining and conversing with others about details too numerous to count.

In fact it might be said these guys and gals are known to assume some of those distinguishing traits prevalent in those creatures they understand so well.  Field Guide To The Grumpasaurus (Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 7, 2016) From The Notes Of (written and illustrated by) Edward Hemingway describes what you can expect from close encounters with these critters.  I shudder to think what might happen.

Curious about the world's most fearsome creature?

The Grumpasaurus can be located by the storm cloud hovering overhead.  Its furious eyes and brow, perpetual frown, lack of heart (strange but true) and spiked tail are noticeable physical characteristics.  It is at its very worst after a complete catastrophe.

Just as you would bolt with due haste and batten down the hatches before a terrible storm do so when the Grumpasaurus becomes more frightful.  You should move as far away as possible.  The sounds it makes are deafening and said to rattle the windows from miles away.

There are certain adults, not children or animals, who will on occasion venture near this fearsome being.  They do not quake in terror but stand still with fortitude and patience.  When the Grumpasaurus's disposition reaches a breaking point, there will be only one thing left to do.  It's an activity many of the Grumpasaurus kind dread the most.  DO NOT MOVE CLOSER!

There might be one more way to dispel this extreme inclination.  If anyone so dares, it involves treating the calamity with care.  Don't stare but something has vanished into thin air.  Again...for the moment.


The narrative is designed as a naturalist's journal beginning with the introductory sentence on the title page.  Short descriptive sentences are linked to specific areas of the Grumpasaurus's body so we are well informed.  Between these labeled diagrams are conversational insights and warnings; while factual they will be inclined to produce smiles and outright laughter.  It is clear with the seamless flow of the story Edward Hemingway is an astute observer of this specie.  Here is a sample passage.

When it's done sulking, the Grumpasaurus will always seek out
the nearest adult, demand some attention, and get ready to
speak its mind.

You may want to plug your ears...


When opening the dust jacket you can more fully see the design of a spiral bound notebook.  The color palette here is used throughout the title as is the format for pointing out specific quirks of this being.  To the left, on the back, we are given the rear view of the Grumpasaurus with further conclusive characteristics.  The book case background is the rich chocolate brown seen in the spikes of this grouchy critter.  A darker brown is used along the wide spine.  To the right and left are cream-hued ovals.  The Grumpasaurus is in the first and to the left is the small black cat holding the trademark multi-hued umbrella.  When it rains or storms this comes in handy.

The opening and closing endpapers are done in two shades of blue.  Each is a reflection of the mood of the story at the beginning and at the end.  The title page welcomes readers into the guide with the dark cream-colored, lined paper of a notebook with the spirals along the left edge.  A pair of binoculars is placed between the title text and the introduction.  Many of the subsequent pictures are framed in a darker shade indicating wear and age of the notebook pages.

The images rendered in oils on panels portray the spirit of the writer documenting what is seen.  Each page turn, the verso, the dedication and thanks and the story itself truly give a sense of information gathering and exploring.  We are not quite sure what we will see next, but we can hardly wait to do so.  Hemingway alters his perspective depending on the mood of the Grumpasaurus.  The black cat companion is placed accordingly and also mirrors the emotional state of affairs.  This character's expressions are perfection.  (Only portions of the adult are shown which is wonderful.)

One of my favorite illustrations (I can hardly keep from laughing.) is when the Grumpasaurus is disgusted with the most recent activity.  Standing with hands on hips, the creature is wearing a red towel tucked around its waist.  On its head is a huge pinkish towel, acting as a turban.  The look on the Grumpasaurus's face is hilarious.  A trail of water behind it leads across the gutter and to the cat on the left.  This feline friend is looking a bit bedraggled and sopping wet.


If you should happen to come upon one of these creatures or wish to advise a group of listeners to be on the lookout for this disagreeable specimen, Field Guide to The Grumpasaurus From The Notes of Edward Hemingway is exactly the book you need.  This title allows us to examine ourselves for the possibility of shifting into this very thing.  You should expect giggles and grins, knowing nods and requests of read it again.  

To learn more about Edward Hemingway and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Edward Hemingway and his studio mates were interviewed at Pen & Oink.  On June 11, 2016 the New York Post featured Edward Hemingway in an article, Why Hemingway's grandson will never grow a beard.  Follow this link to get a peek at the book case.

UPDATE:  Be sure to watch the book trailer featured along with an interview with Edward Hemingway at Scholastic's Ambassador for School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.