Taking The Lead

Some individuals from the moment of their first breath are destined to be different.  They have sunshine in their souls, desiring to shout it out.  Happiness is not a momentary mood for them but a way of life.

In their efforts to encourage others to choose an optimistic outlook, they do everything in their power to be their personal best.  Cheerful Chick (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., January 1, 2019) written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Brian Won is not only about pursuing your passion but inviting those around you to become part of a hopeful community.  It's all about shared joy.

Once inside a chicken's nest
A dozen eggs, all Grade-A best,
Lay still and warm, their contents sleeping,
All but one . . . 

This chick cheered every waking moment.  Her noisy vocal chants gave the older chickens cranky attitudes.  Did this deter this youngster?  It did not.

She practiced every move until it was perfected.  It was time to make her dream a reality.  It was time to get the entire barnyard buzzing with boisterous you're-the-greatest shouts.

This buoyant bundle of downy fluff tried to engage four other farm friends praising their abilities, but the results were negative.  With sagging spirits this sweet chick discarded her pom-poms and her cheerleading attire.  She admitted it's hard to have a team of one.

That night though, in still contemplation, she realized there is absolutely nothing wrong with being true to yourself, despite the response of nearby neighbors.  Again, this perky positive gal got her program polished.  When she greeted the morning, there were surprisingly multiple reasons to clap, jump and whoop with peppy precision.


Author Martha Brockenbrough has written an upbeat ode to enthusiasm.  Through her rhyming phrases we find ourselves cheering for this cheerful chick who devotes her mind and actions toward her heart's desire.  A blend of narrative, dialogue and cheers supply a fun-filled flow from one point to the next.  Here is a passage.

Ms. Cow knows all

the wildest moves.

Just watch her stand

on two front hooves! 

Ms. Cow just stood and blinked and chewed
And said, "I'm so not in the moooood."

And so, without another peep,
Chick went in search of Mr. Sheep.


The hues and color palette shown on the open dust jacket cast a rosy, warm glow here and throughout the title.  This combination of colors is guaranteed to have readers smiling.  The other chick peeking from the flowers in the lower left-hand corner is a hint of events to come.  To the left, on the back, nine cheer positions by Chick, three per row, are shown on the same sky-blue background.  These identical stances are repeated on the front and back of the book case.

A slightly darker shade of the color of Chick's sweater covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page an upside-down Chick holding her floral pom-poms looks right at readers above the text at the top of the page.  On the verso and first page a double-page image of a field filled with flowers crosses the gutter to highlight the cluster of dozen eggs, on the right, with one open.  Chick is popping out from the broken pink egg.

Rendered

digitally, mixed with scanned in paint textures and pencil drawings

Brian Won tells a merry visual tale enhancing the story line.  Careful readers will notice the additions in each illustration building toward the surprising conclusion.  Some of Brian Won's pictures span two pages, single pages or several smaller illustrations on a single page.

Humor is infused in each one.  The characters are fully animated through their facial features and body postures.  Readers can determine the passage of time and setting through the color of the background sky, from dawn, to daylight, (inside the barn), sunset and a full moon night.

One of my many favorite illustrations is at night.  Chick is quietly reflecting her current state of being.  No one wants to cheer with her.  Shades of deep purple color the sky, tree branches, leaves and grasses.  Portions are dabbled and outlined in a glowing shade due to the full moon on the right.  Chick is resting on a large leaf on the left, looking at the moon.  Our point of view is close to Chick.  The narrative says nothing about the eleven other elements silently watching.


For the endearing character found in Chick, her discovery of self, the found friendships and pure bliss, Cheerful Chick written by Martha Brockenbrough with illustrations by Brian Won is one of those huggable books.  Every single one of us needs people who are cheering for us.  Every single one of us needs to be cheering for one or more individuals.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal book collections.

To learn more about Martha Brockenbrough and Brian Won and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Both Martha Brockenbrough and Brian Won have accounts on Instagram.  On Twitter you can find Martha here and Brian here.

On A Farm

Life on a farm is not easy.  Regardless of the type of farm, there is an endless list of chores.  There is also a knack to performing each and every task.  These skills are perfected with practice and time . . . lots of time.  Each day begins and ends with a familiar rhythmic routine.

The land, buildings and home tend to pass from one generation to the next with the word retirement rarely spoken.  Farmers may not do as much as they get older but it's nearly impossible to take farming away from a farmer.  Of course, with that being said, there are exceptions.  George the Hero Hound (Two Lions, March 20, 2018) written and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler follows a canine capable of unquestionable loyalty to a particular farm and all who reside there.

George was a good old hound dog.

At the crack of dawn, and sometimes earlier, George followed Farmer Fritz helping keep the nearly dead tractor running and making sure the sneakier-than-sneaky cows did not escape into the corn field.  George loved all the work on the farm as long as he could take a much-deserved midday nap.  Life was good until Farmer Fritz decided to retire.  Dogs were not allowed where Farmer Fritz was to spend his days.  George was destined to stay on the farm.

Now, just in case, you may be wondering how George would survive alone, a new family, the Gladstones, arrived from the city.  George was readily accepted as a welcome part of the farm but they had no clue as to his name.  First on George's list of things to do was to help Mr. Gladstone fix the beat-up old tractor.  Unfortunately, Mr. Gladstone fixed it incorrectly.  There went the tractor!

Cows happily scattered with the tractor on the rampage.  Ever vigilant George kept them out of the corn field but tracked in a whole bunch of dust when he went to get a drink in the house.  Plumb pooped out George meandered toward his special space outside but something blue caught his attention.

Owen, the Gladstone son, had not been paying attention to Olive, the Gladstone younger daughter. It was up to George using the scent from her ribbon to find the little girl.  George was certain he could finally take his nap but an epic accident stopped all thoughts of rest.  Life on the farm was never going to be the same.


Like the first line in your favorite country western song, Jeffrey Ebbeler has penned a first sentence destined to having you humming a tune as you read the story.  The next thing you'll do, even if you are alone, is read it aloud.  The choice of words Jeffrey uses calls to mind life on a farm with extra attention to the humor in the variety of situations.  There are also speech bubbles with dialogue enhancing the narrative. These contain another bit of comedy as everyone seems to have a name for George except for the correct one.  Here is a passage.

Then Owen came running over.

I was supposed to be watching my baby sister, Olive.  Can you help me find her, boy?

George took a good sniff of Olive's ribbon---he was a hound dog, after all---and off they went.


When you read the title on the opened, matching dust jacket and book case, it's easy to see by his stance George looks the part of hero. (The title text is varnished.)  What you have to do is take a good second look at that image.  Notice Mrs. Gladstone and Owen, each looking in opposite directions.  Olive is chasing that poor chicken which she will not leave alone.  Mr. Gladstone is racing after the tractor with a mind of its own.  And take a look at those cows.  It looks like they've hatched another escape plan.

To the left, on the back, within a circle of white on a teal background the hero of the farm is standing with his new farmer friend.  This is one of the more hilarious nods to the American Gothic.  The opening and closing endpapers take the darker shade of teal from the front of the jacket and case as their canvas.

Rendered in acrylic, ink, and pencil on Fabriano hot press watercolor paper the pictures further generate laugh-out-loud moments on the title page with the clever cows climbing out from the loft window on the roof of the barn as George runs after Olive who is running after the frantic chicken.  The verso and first pages create another scene sure to bring on giggles as George and Farmer Fritz carry buckets to begin the daily chores.  (You won't believe what the cows are doing.)

Jeffrey Ebbeler shifts his image sizes to emphasize his story pacing.  Double pages change to single pages and then there might be two illustrations on one page.  You will find yourself stopping to notice all the details in every single visual.  There is usually more than one thing happening.  These details and the facial expressions on the characters increase the laughter.

One of my many favorite illustrations is one of two on a single page.  The story has Owen and George searching high and low for Olive.  In the second picture George is holding his nose high in the air as they cross a tiny stream on protruding rocks.  Owen is bent over on one of the rocks looking into the water.  Behind them in the woods a tent has been set up for camping.  Over a crackling fire two cows are toasting marshmallows.


Without a doubt George the Hero Hound written and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler is certain to be a story time winner.  As all readers know shared laughter is better laughter and this story with its words and illustrations is jam-packed with humor.  You could use it for a theme on farm life, dogs or different kinds of heroes.  Be sure to place a copy of this title in your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Jeffrey Ebbeler and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name.  More information can be found in this post at Writing and Illustrating, Kathleen Temean and at MBartists.  Enjoy the book trailer.

George The Hero Hound from Jeffrey Ebbeler on Vimeo.