New Season, New Life, New Challenges

It's here!  Today (March 20, 2018) is officially the first day of spring.  It's hard to believe it when you look at the National Weather Service map picturing a nasty winter storm for the east coast or when you recently return home from walking your dog through ice and snow in northern Michigan.  Mother Nature does things in her own time.

It's as if she is the maestro standing in front of the members of a great symphony orchestra.  As soon as she lifts her baton, everything begins anew.  I'm a Duck (Candlewick Press, March 13, 2018) written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Will Hillenbrand follows a newborn uncomfortable with what should come naturally.

When I was just an egg, I'm told,
I left my nest and rolled and rolled.

The wayward egg splashed right into the pond.  Mother duck wasted not a second and dove into the water.  Once nestled in the nest again, the egg, in due time, cracked and revealed one of four baby ducks.

Unlike its siblings this duck did not want to swim in the pond or lake.  No amount of encouragement from its three brothers convinced the frightened creature to join them.  Drowning was a very real worry.

Friendly Big Frog made it very clear the fearful youngster simply needed to get in the water as quickly as possible.  Owl's advice was similar.

" . . .You're a duck.  Use common sense
and try to get some confidence."

Perhaps this duck needed to ease into the water.  Puddle practice and an understanding mother certainly helped but the water terrified this little being.  A friend offered a helping hand but a determined spirit made another decision.  New wondrous sounds rang out over the pond.


With the heart of a child and the wisdom of an ancient mentor, Eve Bunting reveals profound truths in the words she writes in each and every story.  In this book, her most recent release, with a soothing rhythm of rhyming phrases, focus is directed at a fear but solutions are lovingly offered.  By giving the duck the role of narrator, readers can identify more intimately with the challenge and rejoice in the resolution.  Here is a four-line passage.

The pond is waiting there below.
It's whispering, "Come on!  Let's go."
But even though I'm well prepared.
I'm really, really, really scared.


Within the soft hues of blue, green, yellow and brown readers are introduced to the duck.  The quiet setting of the pond shown on the front and back of the matching dust jacket and book case sets the tone for the entire book.  Who can resist loving this adorable child?  With the curve of a wing, the set of webbed feet, large dark eyes and a bill easily conveying emotion, we find ourselves drawn to his story.

A darker shade of his downy feathers covers the opening and closing endpapers.  The initial title page begins the story with an egg splashing and sinking into the pond.  On a background of crisp white the same image as shown on the front of the jacket and case is replicated beneath the text on the formal title page.

Most of the illustrations rendered by Will Hillenbrand using mixed media span two pages. They shift from peaceful panoramic water settings to close-ups of the duck in a variety of scenarios.  Each picture, regardless of the time of day, creates a sense of calm even in the noisier moments.  Each choice by Will Hillenbrand, the color palette, the elements in each image, his use of materials and his lines and details contributes to enhancing the words of Eve Bunting.

One of my many favorite illustrations covers two pages.  It accompanies the text already noted.  From left to right a pale cream canvas extends.  On the far right edge reeds fill the upper corner.  Beneath them the pond is placed from the right, across the gutter and into the lower right corner on the left side.  The duck is standing on the edge of the shore, looking at its reflection.  This visual, like all of them in this title, is brimming with charm.


Winsome in words and pictures, I'm a Duck written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Will Hillenbrand is certain to resonate with readers of all ages.  Who among us has not been afraid to do one important thing?  With the encouragement and love of family and friends, the impossible becomes a reality.  This title would work wonderfully with the themes of courage, spring or ducks.  I highly recommend it for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Will Hillenbrand, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  An older video interview of Eve Bunting at Reading Rockets provides background information.  At the publisher's website you can view an interior image.  At this publisher's website you can see some of the first pages in the book.  In this video Will Hillenbrand chats about his process for this title.

What We Give Up, What We Keep

It hangs in my front picture window near the entrance to my home.  It's a small poster the size of notebook paper.  Beneath a large picture of my chocolate Labrador are the words Rescue Me, I'm Xena.

While it would be heartbreaking to loose family photographs and artifacts, pieces of furniture which belonged to my parents when they were children, letters and cards from cherished friends, artwork, decades of successful lessons and created games used in my school libraries and thousands of books, nothing is more precious than the being who has shared her fourteen years and seven months of life with me.  I remember asking my vet if moving from one home to another would be hard on Xena at this age.  He told me as long as Xena had me, wherever we were, she would be fine.  This truth about family is beautifully portrayed in words and pictures in Yard Sale (Candlewick Press, April 14, 2015) written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Caldecott Honor winner (Nana in the City) Lauren Castillo.

ALMOST EVERYTHING WE OWN is spread out in our front yard.  It is all for sale.  We are moving to a small apartment.

Callie's parents did take her to see the new apartment.  She will be sleeping in a bed which comes down from the wall.  No matter how nice it may be, it's strange to her.

She watches all the people walking around, looking at her family's possessions and asking about prices even though her mom and dad have labeled them.  She's hurt when a woman wants to give less for her headboard because of the crayon marks.  They aren't simply crayon marks to her but a record of something special.

As she chats with her best friend Sara, who brought along her little brother Petey, she abruptly stops in alarm.  A stranger is taking her bike.  She hurries over to tell him, reaching for it.  Her dad rushes to them; reminding her of a conversation they had about having no place to ride a bike at their new home.   Callie agrees to let the man have the bike on one condition.

Resuming her talk with Sara, it's clear the two are going to miss each other deeply.  They are not entirely sure of the reason for the move, but Callie believes it's about money.  Sara offers an exchange of Callie for Petey but she would miss her parents.

Their goodbyes said Sara and Petey leave as Callie watches people coming and their things going.  Prices are lowered.  A woman who thinks a seated Callie is adorable wants to know if she is for sale.  This alarms her.  Crying she runs to her mom and dad who reassure her with a group hug.  She will never be for sale.

Items left are now free.  Soon the yard and home are empty.  Some things are still full; the hearts of a mom, dad and their precious little girl.


To me the words of Eve Bunting, as a whole in this title, are infused with wisdom.  Within a day, she takes a situation experienced by many, a drastic change due to money, moving from losing things to understanding the value of those people we keep in our lives.  Through narrative thoughts and conversations we experience along with Callie her sadness, bewilderment and acceptance.

Bunting focuses on specific moments.  The comparison of a small empty apartment with a home filled with familiar things now on the lawn.  The woman who points out the crayon marks on the headboard has no idea of the significance to Callie.  It's like complaining about lines on a wall marking a child's growth.  It's the meanings attached to our things which she brings to our attention.

When Callie is confused by seeing her bike going, in the ensuing conversation, she is startled by what she sees in her dad's eyes. Bunting is careful to have the buyer be particularly understanding.  In this way, readers see how adults view these same shifts.   Bunting is building on each event during the day toward a hopeful conclusion, a new beginning filled with love and family.  Here is another sample passage.

Almost everything is gone.  Anything that's left my dad is selling cheap.  He and my mom look droopy.  My dad is rubbing my mom's back.  


Rendered in ink and watercolor by Lauren Castillo the matching dust jacket and book case reach right into the heart of the reader.  You can tell by the expressions on the characters faces, this yard sale is not about getting rid of unwanted items.  This yard sale signals a move.  You want to embrace this family.  In fact, to the left, on the back, a small oval set in the signature red background, frames the family in a group hug.

The yellow seen on the spine, in the chair on the lawn and in one of the balloons is the shade used for the opening and closing endpapers.  With a page turn Callie is holding the four balloons as her dad places the sign in the yard.  A two-page illustration holds the verso and title.  Rooftops are shown against blue sky and wispy clouds as one of the balloons floats away.

The next picture is also edge to edge across two pages.  We zoom in on Callie sitting on her front porch looking over the lawn filled with her family's belongings.  It's a beautiful day but we see the heartbreak in Callie by her body posture.  All of the illustrations either cross the gutter or cover double pages which enlarges the emotional impact.

Endearing in every single detail, through her color choices and perspective, Lauren Castillo binds us to all the characters.  Although Callie's age is never mentioned her bike has training wheels attached.  The pajamas worn by her best friend and her brother make you want to smile.  Castillo is meticulous but her softened lines, blended hues and the play of light and shadow are full of warmth. Careful eyes will see the passage of time through the balloons.

One of my several favorite illustrations is the scene of Callie and her dad talking with the man who is buying her bike.  We are close to the three of them.  We know Callie's dad is lovingly explaining to her by his body posture.  The buyer is squatting down on their level too with his hands clasped around his knees.  The bike is between them.  This is a powerful portrait.


I have yet failed to read this book without being deeply moved, even though I know the words and pictures well.  Yard Sale written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Lauren Castillo is an eloquent depiction of one of life's hard times.  It's touching and brimming with trust.

Please follow the links attached to Lauren Castillo's names to access her website and blog.  This link will take you to a series of video interviews of Eve Bunting by Reading Rockets.  After her Caldecott Honor win, John Schumacher, teacher librarian extraordinaire, interviewed Lauren Castillo on Watch. Connect. Read. For a truly lovely discussion of this title, please read the post by author and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Julie Danielson at Kirkus.  UPDATE:  Julie has some of Lauren's process artwork on her blog. Enjoy some of Lauren Castillo's tweets below in which she shares art from this title.

Here's a 6 second preview of art from YARD SALE. The book is out in just one week! @Candlewick #evebunting https://t.co/tQWMIkO8XY
— Lauren Castillo (@studiocastillo) April 7, 2015

My book YARD SALE w/ Eve Bunting is out 4/14! Heres a throwback to last spring when I finished cover art https://t.co/67EHVMvncz @Candlewick
— Lauren Castillo (@studiocastillo) March 16, 2015

My new book with Eve Bunting is out next month! Here are a few of my favorite details from the yard sale🎈@Candlewick https://t.co/QHhwqMLoir
— Lauren Castillo (@studiocastillo) March 9, 2015

Where Are They?

I am a dyed-in-the-wool neatnik.  It's possibly the consequence of having a Dad who had all his tools organized by type and size, even engraving his initials on every single one.  My lifetime love, being a school librarian, could weigh heavily in favor of this particular personality trait.  The influence, over decades, of good ole' Melvil Dewey and alphabetical order is hard to shake.

Despite this, there are times when the most used, the most loved, item will turn up missing.  For whatever reason, my mind has one of its Swiss cheese moments. It's good to discover I share this, the forgetfulness not the neatness, in common with a particularly charming little green duck.  Have You See My New Blue Socks? (Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Sergio Ruzzier takes readers on a comic lost-and-found stroll.


I have lost my new blue socks.

Looking in a box proves futile.  Duck knows, at least he thinks he knows, he put them close.  It's a complete mystery where they could be.

He decides to ask his pal Fox if he has seen his new blue socks.  Fox, knowing Duck well, asks if he has looked in his box.  He also suggests he question Ox about those missing socks.

This is becoming quite the puzzle because Ox has no clue except for inside Duck's box, asking Fox or....wait maybe down by the rocks.  There are plenty there but none are blue.  And blue is exactly how Duck is trying not to feel.

Knowing how the peacocks like to preen and parade Duck thinks they might have passed his lost attire. The three offer a question, sympathy and a solution.  The youngest of the three (and a careful reader) spots the tiniest of clues. Hip! Hip! Hooray!  Duck knew he put them close.


Rhyming couplets and repetition of phrases masterfully conceived by Eve Bunting provide an irresistible beat.  It invites active participation in the reading and the narrative journey. Each turn of page offers new possibilities, building toward a mirthful resolution.


From the matching jacket and cover readers clearly feel the frustration of  Duck having lost his new blue socks.  We also get a sense Duck might not be the best housekeeper either.  The title page featuring a single peacock feather hints at the ending.  A two page illustration, a landscape showing a forlorn duck leaning out the window of his home, follows for the verso and dedication page.

Sergio Ruzzier's adept composition of pen and ink and watercolor pictures done in a palette of delicate blues, greens, yellows, rusts (terra cotta), purple and creams elevates and extends the text.  Fine lines convey personality traits and mood on each of the characters.  Ruzzier's extra touches, those added details, add joy to the story; Duck's unkempt household (items scattered on the floor, hanging from the open window frame and upon the sill), Duck's friend Fox reading a book (Aesop's Fables?) with a plate of grapes from the arbor next to him, Mr. Ox sitting on a bench painting a fruit tree but not quite getting the colors right, the shape of the peacocks bodies, their head and tail feathers and the shoes Duck wears.  Each reading offers new discoveries.


Author Eve Bunting and illustrator Sergio Ruzzier have penned and pictured a precious tale in Have You See My New Blue Socks?  While the story reaching out to readers, the illustrations will pull them in, surrounding them with affection and warmth.  This is one of those books that is best shared, preferably out loud.  It would be fun to extend this with reader's theater or creative drama.

The link embedded in Eve Bunting's name will take you to a series of video interviews at Reading Rockets.  Sergio Ruzzier's official website can be accessed by following the link attached to his name.  Links to several interviews about Ruzzier's illustrative process can be found in a previous review linked here.