From Them Comes Life

From their heights, the world spreads before us. (Even when we get stuck at the tip top and have to ask for help getting down.)  When a slight breeze blows, walking among rows of evergreens planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps is like strolling through whispers of angels, a gift from heaven.  Leaning against the trunk of a single tree can strengthen you; the tree lends you resolve and resilience.  Most of all trees hold memories.

With the passing of my sweet Xena, now almost six years ago, two kind-hearted author friends give me a tree with a metal label, Xena's Tree.  That tree and label have traveled with me in multiple moves.  It is now joined by five other trees, one for each year she has been gone.  I am so comforted by the sight of those trees when a dear author friend lost her beloved dog companion, I did the same for her.

Trees freely give to all around them, representing more than we can at first imagine.  BE A TREE! (Abrams Books for Young Readers, March 30, 2021) written by Maria Gianferrari with illustrations by Felicita Sala is a lyrical declaration in words and art about the immeasurable worth of trees.  It explores the similarities between trees and humans, offering us a pathway to be our best selves.

Be a tree!

Stand tall.

Stretch your branches to the sun.

It would be wise for us to root ourselves, be grounded, as are trees.  Human spines and tree trunks both house integral elements necessary for sustaining life.  Can you think of your skin like bark?  I can.

Under the bark are systems upon systems functioning to further growth.  At each's center is a beginning beat.  At the top, the tree's crown, like our hats, gathers, filters, and protects.  What will your leaves do?  Together, the top, the bottom, and what hums in the middle, we and trees are not so different.

When you stand in a forest, you see all kinds of trees.  Together they work, speaking, sharing, and sustaining each other.  Together they help the air we breathe, the soil upon which we stand, and the high winds which howl.  Around the globe trees are home to a multitude of plants and animals.  Can you name some?

Did you know trees reach out to immigrant trees?  No tree regardless of its age or physical condition is ever alone.  Trees know helping other trees strengthens them and the forest as a whole.  Can we not do the same for our fellow humans?  

Every poetic line in this narrative takes readers to a tree.  The words penned by Maria Gianferrari mirror the attributes of a tree.  They are strong, deeply fixed, and all-encompassing in their reach.  Single sentences hold profound truths about trees.  In these truths she asks us to see ourselves in the same aspect.  Here is a sentence.

Beneath your bark

are layers,

such as sapwood,

carrying nutrients

to help you grow bigger

and taller;

and heartwood,

strong as bones

to support you.

When you open the dust jacket you find yourself either gasping or reminding yourself to breathe.  The image spans flap edge to flap edge.  The tree you see on the front, right, of the jacket spreads to the right edge and nearly across the entire back, left side.  The plentiful children with birds among them are both heartwarming and hopeful.  You can almost hear the chatter of the gathered girls and boys mingled with birdsong.  On the back, left, is a single white bird.  Two children, hand in hand, in the grass are watching it.  The grass, roots and communicative fungi end at the flap edges.  On the heavy matte-finished paper all the children and birds are vanished.  In a word, exquisite.

An interior image of a large ancient tree spreads across the book case.  A child in reading among the gigantic roots.  Another is climbing up a rope, as a third one rests a hand on the tree.  Two people are seated in a bench to the right of the tree with a large red balloon tied to the back.  Two birds rest in the branches of the tree.

The opening and closing endpapers are a botanist's delight.  In two shades of green, they feature twenty different leaves and three seeds.  Each one is carefully labeled.  Portions of these endpapers are repeated on the first and final page turns.  Prior to the title page, two children play on the sprawling large branch of a tree.  The boy awaits the girl climbing up a rope ladder.

A double-page image moves from left to right on a crisp white background for the title page.  In a series of five vignettes, we see a child plant a seed.  It grows, grows, grows, and becomes a tree, roots fanning out below the surface.

These illustrations by Felicita Sala rendered

with watercolor, gouache, and colored pencils

are bold but intricate two-page displays with every page turn.  A variety of trees are represented.  Perspectives shift and ask readers to pause, noticing each item contained in the picture.  The four-page gatefold is stunning in the variation between the previous two-page visual and what is revealed.  This is the goal toward which we must endeavor.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations has a wide trunk taking up half the page on either side of the gutter.  It only fills the top third of the image.  Climbing up the bark on the left side is a tiny snail.  On the right side a girl crouches next to a snail, her fingertip reaching to touch it.  For the bottom two-thirds of the picture, we see a vast network of roots and fungi.  Three animals are burrowing among the roots and dirt. 

This book, BE A TREE! written by Maria Gianferrari with illustrations by Felicita Sala, presents the grandeur of trees and their vital place on our planet.  It invites us to learn what they can teach us.  At the close of the book is an Author's Note, Five Ways You Can Help Save Trees, Be A Forest: How You Can Help In Your Community, two pages dedicated to a graphic and textual Anatomy Of A Tree, Further Reading And Viewing and Websites.  You need to make sure you have a copy of this book on both your personal and professional bookshelves.  

To learn more about Maria Gianferrari and Felicita Sala and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Maria Gianferrari has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  Felicita Sala has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  This book is highlighted at Beagles and Books, Picture Book Builders, and Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  At Beagles and Books is a list of blog tour stops.  At each site you can view interior images.

Maria Gianferrari has climbed fig trees in Italy, stood under stately coastal redwoods and twisted Torrey pines, marveled at mitten-shaped sassafras leaves, colorful coral trees and sawtooth oak acorn nests.  She lives with her family, including dog, Maple, in a house encircled by trees. 

A Saint Among Serpents And Their Kin

A lack of rain this summer in northern Michigan has kept the sightings of snakes in our area down to a minimum.  Which for some, if not many, people are perfectly fine.  They tend to startle you more than present danger if you're not expecting them.  (Believe it or not, I've had a garter snake wrapped around my wrist.  When you're at camp with your students, you need to set aside personal fears to put your children at ease.  Surprisingly enough the snake felt unexpectedly dry and textured.)

Many people have an affinity for at least one kind of animal.  They feel a connection to them.  Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, March 13, 2018) written by Patricia Valdez with illustrations by Felicita Sala is a captivating chronicle of a unique and surprising woman.

Back in the days of long skirts and afternoon teas, a little girl named Joan Procter entertained the most unusual party guests.

These party guests were one (or more) of a collection of lizards and snakes she kept in her bedroom.  Like special friends, she was eager to learn everything she could about them.  They were her quiet companions on those many days when her chronic illness kept her from school.

When she turned sixteen, as a birthday present, she was given a crocodile.  It was not an appropriate visitor in her math class at school.  Joan sought solace at the Natural History Museum.  The curator saw a kindred spirit in Joan.

The outbreak of war left vacant positions.  Joan was hired as an assistant to the curator.  At his retirement she became the one in charge. Her work at the museum lead to the London Zoo hiring her to create a new house for their reptiles.  When this new space was open to the public, they were treated to the first ever viewing of two male Komodo dragons.

Joan's reputation and skill in working with reptiles grew, bringing her international attention.  So, too, did her bond with one of the Komodo dragons, Sumbawa.  They were frequently seen together, at presentations, at the zoo and . . . tea parties. 


Each time this book is read admiration for Joan Procter is guaranteed to grow.  Patricia Valdez's extensive research and conversational writing allow us to feel as if we personally knew this extraordinary woman who dedicated her life to reptiles, especially her beloved Komodo dragon, Sumbawa.  Each portion of her years, including specific details as depicted by Patricia, builds toward her unparalleled accomplishments bringing us full circle. Here is a passage. 

The Zoological Society of London invited Joan to present her
Komodo dragon research at a scientific meeting.  As Joan took
the stage, she wheeled out Sumbawa, sitting freely atop a large
table.  The audience squirmed in their seats.

Joan stroked Sumbawa's head and fed him a pigeon.  He ate it
in one gulp.


The ease this woman felt with reptiles, her love of working with them, is fascinatingly portrayed on the matching dust jacket and book case.  Notice how two smaller lizards are entwined in the title text. As our eyes travel across the spine to the left, on the back, we are given a hint of her achievements at the London Zoo.  A portion of a larger interior illustration is collaged on a darker shade of green.

On the opening and closing endpapers illustrator Felicita Sala provides a close-up view of Joan Procter's work space.  An open book, and Manual of Herpetology, a sketch of scales and a snake's nose, a rock, several plants, specimens, a snake, and pencils are seen.  Joan's hand is holding a magnifying glass over the snake.  Between the texts on the title page a specimen jar with a lizard curled around it is placed in the center. 

Each image, some on single pages and others spanning two pages, in full color, show us first a girl determined to pursue those things she loves regardless of the status quo.  As Joan Procter grows older we can see her attachment to her reptiles increase.  Felicita takes great care in taking us to the place and time through the clothing and architecture of the time period.

Another important aspect of her pictures is the perspective.  Altering it allows us to participate in the narrative.  We see a woman surrounded in a circle of reporters, looking down at her Komodo dragon, wishing they would focus on him.  We are in the audience as Sambawa wanders through the feet of the attendees.  We are a bird looking down at Joan with Sambawa beside her as she moves through the zoo in her wheel chair.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when people are first seeing the Komodo dragons.  Joan notices Sambawa appears ill.  On the left side of the picture her feet and hand are extended to him.  The people behind the glass cannot believe she has entered the enclosure.  To the right of the gutter the rest of his body, his head and neck and one foot are laying on an examination table.  Now in a white coat she is tending to his sore mouth with one hand on his head and a swab in the other hand.


For a unit on memorable women, reptiles or must-read picture book biographies Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles written by Patricia Valdez with illustrations by Felicita Sala is a title needed in both your professional and personal collections.  Every time I read this book, I am moved by the sheer commitment of this woman.  In a two page author's note we learn more about Joan and Komodo dragons.  A lengthy bibliography is included.

To learn more about Patricia Valdez and Felicita Sala, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Both Patricia and Felicita maintain Twitter accounts.  Felicita has an Instagram account and a blog.  Patricia wrote a guest post on author Beth Anderson's website.  KitLit411 highlights Patricia Valdez.


Make sure you visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected by other participants in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Views Of Hues

To receive a new coloring book as a gift as a child is marvelous.  If it comes with a new box of crayons or colored pencils it is the best of the best.  The possibilities the coloring book and box of crayons offer the recipient are endless.

The trend in adult coloring books beginning several years ago can be attributed to many things but two are the inner child in all of us wants to play and they remind us of childhood.  A sense of calm is supplied by coloring, like a form of mediation for those seeking calm in the face of a variety of situations.  I Don't Draw, I COLOR! (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, March 21, 2017) written by Adam Lehrhaupt with illustrations by Felicita Sala is for everyone who longs for the freedom to express their creativity however they choose.

Some people are really good at drawing.

Other people are not really good at drawing.  Our narrator tends to make puppies, cars and people using a collection of lines and curves vaguely resembling those subjects.  He realizes his drawing techniques are minimal but he makes up for it by coloring.

Starting with the primary shades he swirls them on his paper.  He varies the shapes and sizes of the lines in combination with the hues to convey his feelings.  Happy is yellow and orange fireworks.  Angry is dark red scribbles, over and over and over until it's solid.

He is ready with a reply when asked if he wants to draw.  He politely responds with

"...I don't draw.

I color."

In fact he knows anything can be colored whether it's concrete or abstract. 

Some students would be challenged by a class assignment but not this guy.  When he is asked to make a self-portrait, he has the perfect answer.  Not only is his response perceptive but he, more than any one else, can depict himself with confidence and competence.

With just the right amount of humor and insight Adam Lehrhaupt writes simple but profound sentences spinning a narrative in which many readers will identify with the character.  His point of view rings true.  With each page turn readers are being given permission to be themselves rather than act upon the expectations of others.  This is an empowering message.  Here is one of my favorite examples:

Or something full of

life.

The swirl of shades bursting from the yellow crayon on the front of the dust jacket as our young narrator colors loops over his head, across the spine and to the edge of the back, on the left.  Yellow blends into variations of green, then hues of blue and finally to purples and spots of pink and red.  The white title text pops superbly.  

On the book case, still on a background of crisp white, the sizes of lines and shapes convey several emotional moods.  On the opening endpapers is a sunny yellow.  Complementary purple is on the closing endpapers.  The same purple is used for the title text on the title page except for the word color.  Each letter is a different shade; red, blue, purple, yellow and orange.

Rendered in watercolors, drawing and colored pencils, and crayons by Felicita Sala the images vary in size to emphasize pacing.  Throughout the narrative until the conclusion the boy is portrayed in shades of black and gray, as are the other children.  This allows for the use of color, usually on a white canvas, to intensify the connection readers have with the story.  The children and adult hand are descriptively depicted.

One of several favorite pictures is for the words 

Or something full of

life.

Here readers can see the guy extending his emotional representations.  Large areas of green in assorted shades fan upward from the bottom of the page.  On the upper edges yellow appears.  Lines looking like stems shoot toward the top with small lines and dots on all the edges.  

In a word I Don't Draw, I COLOR! written by Adam Lehrhaupt with illustrations by Felicita Sala is inspirational.  This story is an invitation.  This story gives permission.  It makes you want to race to the store to get a new box of crayons. Educators will want to use it to begin the school year or a new unit.  Make sure you have a copy on your professional bookshelves and one for home too.  I believe it would pair wonderfully with SWATCH: The Girl Who Loved Color by Julie Denos. 

To discover more about Adam Lehrhaupt and Felicita Sala and their other work please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Felicita Sala has several interior images on her website and at her blog.  To view interior images you can also visit the publisher's website.  Adam Lehrhaupt has created a Pinterest board for this book.