Up And Into

As you sift through your memory files, some of those labeled the first time are easier to recall than others.  Some are clearer because they are unforgettable.  It was a sensory experience as you looked at items not previously seen, inhaled specific smells, listened to new sounds, touched familiar and unusual things, and perhaps, tasted something unique.  It was as if you had entered a distinctively different world.

These are recollections held by many who step into an elevator for the first time.  You enter a small room in one place and in a short amount of time, you arrive at another spot.  Even when you learn about the mechanics of its operation, it still seems a bit magical.  Lift (Disney Hyperion, May 5, 2020) written by Minh Le with art by Dan Santat is the newest collaboration by the team who created the marvelous and memorable Drawn Together.  In this title the enchanting essence of our first elevator ride ascends to a wondrous level.

MONDAY
Hi, my name is Iris.

Iris is a fan of pushing elevator buttons, especially if she needs cheering.  Day after day, week after week, it is her job to push the elevator buttons from the lobby to their floor or from their floor to the lobby.  One week, though, on a Thursday, Iris's little brother reaches out and pushes the button.  WHAT?!

Her parents are deliriously happy.  Iris is not, not one little bit.  On Friday, it happens again, inside the elevator.  In a very un-Iris-like fit of anger, she pushes all the buttons.  Her little brother loves this.  Her parents do not.

When they get to the lobby, Iris is fascinated by the broken elevator button the maintenance man discards. (He is fascinated playing with her brother.) She grabs the elevator button out of the waste basket.  When Iris gets back to her room, she tapes that button to her wall, and pushes it, probably out of habit and desiring happiness.

Can you imagine her surprise when it dings?  Can you imagine her surprise when a door opens?  When Iris walks through that door, her heart races with the sheer joy of an explorer.  The doorbell to their apartment ringing distracts her, and she returns to her room, closing the door.

A babysitter arrives as her parents leave.  An evening of food and fun is in the offing.  Iris tolerates every moment until she is finally alone in her bedroom for bedtime.  She is not sleepy at all. It's safe to say after pushing the button again, this experience takes Iris to new heights, until her brother's crying brings her back to her room.  Iris knows a favorite book which will soothe his heart.  On Saturday, the next morning, you won't be able to stop smiling at the unfolding of events.  They are heartwarming.  They are unprecedented, hopeful, and inspirational.


With limited, but conversational and heartfelt text, Minh Le, using the voice of Iris, brings us into a week in which every single one of us can identify.  He does this with his keen insight into children and their feelings.  We have felt Iris's pride and her frustration.  Minh Le doesn't only know his intended audience, he understands others who will be reading this book.  He has a gift of connecting generations.  His pacing and word choices are designed to build anticipation (and to supply us with a bit of comedy).  Here are two sentences.

When we get back home, I just want to be alone.
I wish I could be anywhere but here.


Looking at the front of the open dust jacket, you know this book is going to be extraordinary.  You can see the normalcy of Iris's room behind her, but what surrounds her is astonishing.  There is also a hint of foreshadowing here.  Notice the placement of the letters of Minh Le's and Dan Santat's names.  They are elevator buttons.  Dan Santat's attention to detail, layout and design is already apparent.

To the left, on the back, of the dust jacket on a canvas of muted green is the discarded elevator button, taped to Iris's wall.  We have zoomed in close.  The button is lighted.  Beneath it is a Carl Sagan quotation reading:

"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that
never were. But without it, we go nowhere."

On the book case we are looking at the door from two different points of view.  On the front, we are standing in Iris's bedroom looking at the door.  Light glows around all the edges.  On the back, we are in an alternate world, a rainforest.  We are looking through the doorway into Iris's apartment.

On the opening endpapers Dan Santat has placed Iris standing in the light of the doorway after pushing the button.  Her wide-eyed look tells a story all its own.  On the closing endpapers Iris stands with her little brother on that Saturday morning, looking through the doorway and standing in the light.  Their expressions are of supreme joy.

After the opening endpapers, a page turn reveals the title page which is the lobby of the building.  There is a big L above an elevator button.  In front of the out of service elevator is the title in large block letters.  Iris's mom holding her little brother, Iris, and her dad carrying groceries are waiting in front of the elevator door. Their backs are to us.  Prior to the closing endpapers is a two-page image which will have you gasping like Iris and her little brother.  It is also the dedication page with publication information beneath it.

In this book the illustrations are a series of geometrical panels (wide framed in black), full-page images, combinations of vertical panels and horizontal panels, squares and rectangles and heart-stopping double-page illustrations, edge to edge with no borders.  There are series of images without words, interpreting the narrative flow.  Dan Santat shifts the perspectives to bring us close to the characters or farther away.  Each of these decisions places emphasis on emotional impact.  Sound effect text heightens moments.

The facial expressions on the characters are pure perfection. (I can't begin to tell you how many times I burst out laughing.) Dan Santat leaves no doubt in any reader's mind as to what the characters are thinking or feeling.  It's when you are looking closely at the characters that you notice other intricate elements.  Iris quickly realizes that a twig from her first elevator journey is still stuck in her hair when she greets the babysitter.  The name of the game the babysitter brings is Out Of This World.  The little brother's tiger stuffed animal is named Iris.  I wonder how many people will notice the lamp on Saturday morning in Iris's bedroom.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations (without giving anything away) is a series of three.  It is three horizontal pictures on a single page.  It is after Iris has pushed all the buttons.  Of course, the elevator stops at every floor, dings and the door opens.  As it opens, we see Iris's dad holding her brother, Iris, and her mom.  Her dad is resigned, as he holds a gleeful youngster.  Her brother cheers and flings back his hand holding his toy stuffed tiger in the second scene.  Iris is mad in all three.  Her mother's mood ranges from angry, to impatient and then to why me?  (I am laughing right this minute.)


This book is the answer to many questions.  It raises your mood and shifts your outlook.  Lift written by Minh Le with illustrations by Dan Santat is to be read often and widely.  We need this book for its universality and truths, insight and humor, and for its tribute to imagination.  I highly recommend this for your personal and professional collections.

To discover more about Minh Le and Dan Santat and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Minh Le has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Dan Santat has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  The book trailer for this title is premiered with a conversation between Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher, and Minh Le and Dan Santat at Watch. Connect. Read., John's site. (The book trailer is a treat to be enjoyed repeatedly.)  At a publisher's website you can view a Q & A with the creators and a praise sheet of their two books can be downloaded.  Minh Le and Dan Santat are interviewed about this book at The Roarbots.  I believe you'll want to read it.

Seeking Across The Seas

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the first human to set foot on a particular place on this planet?  Time and time again when out walking in the woods, climbing a mountain or strolling along a lake shore, I have found myself speculating on how something still beautiful today was thousands and thousands of years ago.  Were the plant and animal populations more varied and plentiful?  Was this particular place higher, lower or even under water?  Did the first person come alone or were there many together?  Recorded human history and the work of scientists in many fields can answer some of these questions.

By definition an explorer is one who travels in search of geographical or scientific information. (Merriam-Webster)  Almost five hundred years ago a Portuguese explorer left the shores of Spain in 1519.  He had the support of the then King of Spain, Charles I.  His task was to find a western route to the Spice Islands.  His name was Ferdinand Magellan.  Leo Dog of the Sea 1519-1521 (Peachtree Publishers, April 1, 2017) written by Alison Hart with illustrations by Michael G. Montgomery is a story of that voyage narrated by one of its passengers.

Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain
August 1519
Rato! a gruff voice hollers as a toe nudges my ribs.  Steward points to the dark corner.  A furry ball, its naked tail twitching, scurries along the ship's wall.  A chunk of bread is clamped in its mouth.

A dog of unknown origins and breed is making his home aboard a ship called the Trinidad as their resident ratter.  It is his fourth sea journey.  As he wanders around the ship, being prepared to set sail, we are introduced to the Steward, Hernando the barber, various crew members performing specific tasks, Diego, Dias, Vasco, Pigafetta, a writer documenting the trip and a homeless child hiding in the dog's secret nest below deck.  Before the cry to raise the anchor is given Captain General Ferdinand Magellan, his slave Enrique, and Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa, master-at-arms survey the crew.  Four other ships will sail with them, the San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria and Santiago.

The start of the trip is plagued with suffering from months of constant storms; sharks follow hoping someone will fall overboard.  A captured shark for food, another sudden storm, Marco, the stowaway saved by Leo, the dog, twice and St. Elmo's fire provide nonstop action.  A calm, windless days, follow those storms, but the men are anything but untroubled. Mutiny! It's averted but tensions are rising.

Reluctantly leaving the warmer weather in Brazil, the voyage turns south along the coast of South America as the search for a break in the land continues.  There must be a way through the continent rather than the turbulent voyage around the tip.  Magellan is determined to make this discovery at all costs.  Rationing begins again, ships are battered, and the Santiago is lost at sea.  What of those men?  A severe lesson is taught so others will not even think of mutiny.

There is joy and dread at same time upon making it through the land to see the Pacific Ocean (which Magellan names); the first Europeans believed to have completed this discovery.  This is a huge unknown with no knowledge of how long it will take to find the Spice Islands.  Surviving storms in already weakened vessels is an issue.  Food and water supplies are diminishing.  Members of the crew are wasting away with an unknown sickness; high numbers are being buried at sea.

Down to three ships readers along with crew members are wondering how residents native to the islands, if they reach them, will receive them.  They are also starting to consider how their Captain will approach the island occupants.  The events move quickly to several horrific decisions; too many lives are lost.  Will the remaining ships and crew ever see home and Spain again?  Pigafetta, Marco and Leo the Brave, a tried-and-true trio of friends, will guide readers through arduous events.


Accurate details woven into the narrative reveal the time-consuming and meticulous research conducted by author Alison Hart.  We not only learn about incidents relative to this voyage but also about life at sea in general.  Dialogue further introduces us to the personalities of the crew members adding realism and increasing the tension; both moving the story forward completely captivating readers.  Told from the dog's point of view adds sensory elements making the experience far richer.  The entire book is designed like a journal with chapters titled by place names and dates.  Here are several passages.

"How long is the journey, do you think? Dias asks.
"Who knows? Magellan has ordered provisions for a long year." Diego smiles mysteriously as he leans forward.  "For truth, I have heard whispers that this voyage is guaranteed to be like no other."
Excited murmurs travel from sailor to sailor.  I prick up my ears.
For a moment I forget about my empty belly.  The air seems to tingle.  My whiskers vibrate.
Jumping from the shadows, I place my paws on the railing.  The bowsprit points like an arrow toward the horizon.  Waves crash against the bow below me.  
Above me in the foremast, I hear sailors call to each other.
The strong wind flaps my ears.  I stare out at the vast, churning sea---and wonder at the adventures ahead.

A chunk of goose falls by Faleiro's feet and I quickly snap it up.
Suddenly Espinosa sees me.  His eyes grow dark, as if I am some enemy.  "Dirty dog!" Seizing me by the scruff of the neck, he holds me up.  "You dare to steal our guests' food?"
I snarl and squirm, but I cannot get away.
Pigafetta stops writing.  "Please forgive Leo's intrusion," he tells Espinosa in his calm voice.  "He is a curious dog."
"Leo!  The ratter has a name?" Espinosa scoffs.  I bare my teeth at him and he laughs.  "Perhaps his name should be called Shark Food.  I will toss him into the sea once and for all."
The water of Port Saint Julian is so cold that at least I will die instantly.


The front cover of the dust jacket (I am working with an ARC.) skillfully depicts a frequent position of Leo as the crew sets forth with every landing.  It was rendered in oil on canvas board.  Throughout the book illustrator Michael G. Montgomery has drawn an image for each chapter. These pencil illustrations are intricately detailed.

Each pictures depicts a particularly important happening.  We see Leo saving Marco from falling overboard during a storm, the ship sailing out into the Pacific Ocean for the first time and Pigafetta crying for help after falling overboard.  Montgomery takes us back in time.

One of my favorite illustrations is during one of the horrendous storms.  Marco is clinging to a beam as the ship lists.  He is holding Leo with his other arm after the dog just saved his life.  You can feel the rain pelting their skin and fur as the wind howls and the waves tip the ship.  You know the boy and the dog could slide into the raging sea at any moment.


For top-notch historical fiction Leo Dog of the Sea 1519-1521 written by Alison Hart with illustrations by Michael G. Montgomery is an excellent choice.  There is extensive back matter at the conclusion of the book.  Alison Hart talks about what happened to the expedition after the book finishes, about the character Leo, the officers and crew, hardships of the voyage, conditions of the ships, mutinies, the unknown, and discovering new cultures.  She includes a bibliography of sources and books for further reading.

To discover more about Alison Hart and Michael G. Montgomery and their other work (this is their fourth collaboration in the Dog Chronicles) please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  At the publisher's website you can read an excerpt, use a teacher's guide and view a Q & A with the author.

Please visit these other bloggers participating in the tour.
March 27-Kid Lit Reviews
March 28-Librarian's Quest
March 29-Good Reads with Ronna
March 30-Boys to Books
March 31-Ms. Yingling Reads

Seek And Find

There is something a bit mysterious about wading through waist-high weeds in a vacant lot, jumping across stepping-stones in a stream and building lean-to forts in nearby woods when you are a younger gal or guy.  If there is no one else around you can easily imagine yourself to be the first person to make new discoveries.  In the seconds of a single thought you are in a place far removed from home.

Moving slowly you listen, look, smell and touch as if you have entered an alien world. Explorers Of The Wild (Disney Hyperion, April 26, 2016) written and illustrated by Cale Atkinson (To The Sea, Disney Hyperion, June 2, 2015) follows two individuals roaming through a nearby forest.  They are seeking but not sure what they will find.

I love to explore!
It's my favorite thing to do!

Two narrators are expressing their excitement to readers.  They are in separate sections of the same woods.  One of them gets down low to see new sights.  The other lifts and looks beneath a large log.

Care is taken by both as it darkens in the denser areas, tree tops blocking the sunlight.  They each remember words of caution from their parents.  Like masters of their profession, explorers, they are ready for whatever happens.

As they scamper and tumble around, running along as fast as they can, they both suddenly stop.  A boy has met a bear.  A bear has met a boy.  YIKES!  They are both shaking down to the tip of their explorer toes.

When the reality of who they are is replaced with the pursuits they have in common, the fun escalates.  No matter the size of their find, together makes it better.  This day is a day to remember.


The feeling of anticipation when you set off on a new adventure spills from the pages of this book.  Even though the explorers are a boy and a bear Cale Atkinson skillfully portrays the emotions and actions they both enjoy with similar enthusiasm.  The intended audience will see themselves in each sentence (and so will older readers as they recall their pasts).  Each phrase that speaks to their eagerness builds toward the screeching halt in their activities.  When they resume together Atkinson raises the level of their happiness.  You want to cheer for this twosome.  Here is a sample passage.

My parents tell me to be careful.
They say you never know what
you'll run into in the wild.
I say I'm an explorer 
and explorers are prepared for anything.


On both the back and front, left and right, of the opened dust jacket Cale Atkinson portrays the boy and the bear together.  On the right this scene foreshadows their shared affection for exploring the outdoors.  On the left Atkinson has created another new scene of them first seeing each other.  They are peering around a grassy hill as a mother robin and two baby robins in a nest watch them.  In each image tiny creatures of the woods are observing the boy and the bear.  Atkinson introduces readers to the color palette he uses throughout the title on the dust jacket; the rich greens and browns with spot color for the flora and fauna of the forest and the duo's attire.

The book case is a composition book in a darker green.  It's definitely showing signs of wear and tear.  The label on the front has been crossed out to reflect the title and characters in the book.  The title text on the front and a drawing of animal tracks on the back have been taped to the cover.  An identical opening and closing endpapers feature a wonderful, childlike (one of the best I've seen) maps of the day's adventures; to name a few places, ELEPHANT ROCK, THE CAVE MAZE, MOSS VALLEY, WATCH OUT FOR SLUGS!!, BIGGEST TOAD IN THE WORLD and POISON IVY! The map is drawn on lined notebook paper.

The illustration on the title page is a blend of the boy and the bear looking in two different places in the woods.  Other creatures are sharing the space with them.  Until the two discover each other, Atkinson cleverly has a tree going down the center of the gutter to separate the actions of the two but make it appear as if it is a single picture.

For the following eight pages a single visual spans two.  Then masterful design joins smaller illustrations together with a stream, a log, a tree, and dotted lines for a path.  This pattern is followed somewhat in reverse as the two go back to their homes at the close of the day.  The exuberance the fellow explorers experience separately and together is fully depicted in their facial expressions.

Many, many of these illustrations could be a favorite.   One of them is when they recognize they are explorers.  It is a double-page picture.  On the right the boy and the bear are standing side by side, feet spread apart, a hand on a hip and another holding a walking stick.  Trees and flowers are spread before them as a bunch of butterflies fly around them.  (Butterflies have always meant change to me, so I really like seeing them here.)


Explorers Of The Wild written and illustrated by Cale Atkinson is a book for everyone of all ages.  It reminds us to get outside to discover all things big and small.  Shared experiences are better with like-minded people.  And a new day holds the promise of new adventures with a new friend.

To learn more about Cale Atkinson and his other work please follow the links attached to his name to access his website and his Tumblr pages.  Cale Atkinson is a guest at All The Wonders, Episode 255 talking with teacher librarian Matthew Winner.

Discover EXPLORERS OF THE WILD today! 🐻 https://t.co/nJhGo1NfVW 🌲 #kidlit @DisneyHyperion #explore pic.twitter.com/Wsu2Vufko2

— Cale Atkinson (@2dCale) April 26, 2016

Just put up my printable explorer Discovery Journal on https://t.co/S0c0uy8TbT! Anyone care to test it out? 🌲 pic.twitter.com/kVDs2RvwZI

— Cale Atkinson (@2dCale) May 11, 2016

What's the process of creating an EXPLORERS OF THE WILD spread? well something like this:🌲 @DisneyHyperion #kidlit 🐻 pic.twitter.com/xOjc3WPdUw

— Cale Atkinson (@2dCale) May 9, 2016

Curious what EXPLORERS OF THE WILD looked like in the beginning? 🐻 Well, it looked like this -> #kidlit #process pic.twitter.com/Cotm8pk6h9

— Cale Atkinson (@2dCale) June 1, 2016