Nature's Champions

She entered our hearts and minds from the pages of a book eight years ago; a middle child in a family of seven, three older and three younger brothers.  Eleven years old in the summer of 1899 Calpurnia Virginia Tate thought and acted differently than girls did or were expected to during this time period in the hot heat of Texas.  The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate a debut novel written by Jacqueline Kelly and the recipient of a 2010 Newbery Honor award revealed to readers the quiet and not so quiet determination of a girl wanting to be allowed to pursue her own interests.  Not quite two years ago on July 7, 2015 The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate continued this young woman's journey to follow her own convictions amid history's events, the ups and downs of family life and the large disparity between what was appropriate for young men and young women.

In this second book the relationship between Callie Vee and her younger brother Travis strengthened.  Her pursuit of the natural sciences and his love of animals (wanting to make each one a pet) forged an unbreakable bond.  This past fall a new series for early readers, Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet began featuring these two memorable characters.

Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet Skunked! (Henry Holt and Company, October 4, 2016) written by Jacqueline Kelly with illustrations by Jennifer L. Meyer and jacket art by Teagan White begins as the title suggests with a skunk.  We all know the scenarios that single word raises in our collective minds.  The results are sure to be smelly.

None of the terrible things that happened need have happened at all if the skunk hadn't drawn attention to itself by ripping up our garden and stealing a bunch of vegetables.

The year was now 1901.  The skunk in question was a mama skunk.  One fine morning out for a walk, Travis heard the sound of what he believed was a kitten in the hollow of a tree truck.  It was a kit, a baby skunk and an orphan.

Of course, Travis enlisted Callie's help with the skunk's care.  She was dead set against keeping it, but Travis had already named it Stinky.  She simply couldn't resist his kind heart.  The two kept it hidden in a rabbit cage in the darkest part of the family barn.

All seemed to be going well, until with the help of a frantic Stinky another kit, near death, was discovered in the hollow trunk.  Now a cover story for items needed for its care was fabricated by Callie and Travis.  It was touch and go for the life of the second skunk, Winky, and for the devoted brother and sister in protecting their secret.  They might have succeeded except for one thing...the family dog named Ajax and a crazy decision by Travis one day at school.


In the second full length novel a veterinarian arrived in the town of Fentress, Texas.  Dr. Pritzker allowed Callie Vee to assist him with jobs around his office, to accompany him when he tended to sick animals and even read his books.  As you might expect this was kept strictly confidential from Callie Vee's mother who would be very unhappy with this arrangement.

In the second early reader title, Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet Counting Sheep (Henry Holt and Company, April 4, 2017) written by Jacqueline Kelly with illustrations by Jennifer L. Meyer and jacket art by Teagan White Mrs. Tate might have need of the skills acquired thus far by her daughter.  Callie knows she walks a fine, well-guarded line but her Grandfather, an extraordinary and brilliant scientist living with them, offers continuous wisdom. A morning jaunt with him challenges her skills before they are critically tested.

What I am going to tell you about took place on our farm in Fentress, Texas, in the early spring of 1901.  Now if you don't live on a farm, you might not know that spring is the season when most of the animals have their babies, and places like ours were overrun with lambs and calves and piglets and kittens.

After one early morning expedition digging in the mud, Callie Vee earned the stern discipline of her mother but managed to venture out later with her grandfather.  During their time together she found a leaf containing three dots.  In true scientific investigative style, she studied them until the fateful day when they hatched into beautiful butterflies.

One of the three had an injured wing.  Over the course of several days with the help of Grandfather and encouragement from Travis, Callie Vee performed a minor miracle.  If sheep could talk one would be grateful for this butterfly's injury.

Mother Tate had a prize sheep with wool known for its unique softness.  She bred the sheep hoping to sell the lambs for their fine wool.  When it came time for the mother to birth, she demanded Travis fetch Dr. Pritzker. (Of course Callie Vee explicitly told her it would take several hours.  That shared knowledge did generate some uncomfortable questions.)  Ease turns to unease leaving no one but Calpurnia to demonstrate being smart, ready and lucky was an advantage with brothers and life.


With her adept use in painting a setting with words Jacqueline Kelly takes us back in time to the farm, surrounding meadows and woods and the banks of the river.  We can hear the gentle sound of the water, the hum of insects and the call of birds.  Through conversations with her brothers, especially Travis, her mother, Dr. Pritzker and their cook, Viola, we come to admire all the characters and find ourselves laughing out loud more than once.  The comparison between what is acceptable to Mrs. Tate and what Callie Vee actually does are miles apart.  Here are sample passages from both books.

Skunked!

I watched him to see if he got the joke.  It took him a moment, but then he laughed.  I always enjoyed making him laugh.  It was like the sun bursting out from behind the clouds on a gloomy day.

"Oh, boy, another one!" Travis cried, all excited.  Stinky grew even more excited at being reunited with his brother (or sister, who could tell?).  The three of them would have thrown a party if I'd let them.  The only one not excited by the reunion was yours truly.  No, not excited.  Not at all. 

Counting Sheep

Mother said, "Send us your bill, Doctor."
"Good heavens, Mrs. Tate, I did nothing to help.  I can't send a bill on Mother Nature's behalf.  No, no.  I bid you good day.

I left Mother and Travis staring at the lamb and walked the vet back to his buggy.  I gave his mare Penny a quick pat while he loaded up.

"Well, Calpurnia, is that the first lambing you've attended?"
"Yessir, although I've read all about it in your books."
He paused.  "Have you now?  Have you...uh...told your mother about your reading those books?"
Was he crazy?  Mother would likely have a fit if she found out.  "Never, Dr. Pritzker."


Each volume contains a variety of delicate black and white illustrations drawn by Jennifer L. Meyer.   The chapters begin with a thematic picture carried throughout each book, a reflection of the main storyline.  The size of the images heightens the emotional mood of the text varying from a partial page to a full page or spanning across two pages.

The intricate details draw readers into the illustrations, making us feel as though we are participating in the story beside the characters.  The facial expressions on the characters not only depict the current mood but endear us further to the people.  The flora and fauna are portrayed with realism and also an underlying appreciation for the natural world.

One of my favorite pictures in the first title is of Travis sneaking the newly found kit into the barn.  It covers one page.  As he walks past the horses, cow, and kittens he is holding a finger to his lips asking them to not utter a sound revealing his secret.  Jennifer L. Meyer has tucked a tiny mice into a ladle, up in the loft and around a hanging lantern.  In the second book one of my favorite illustrations, on a full page, is of Callie Vee holding a jar with the lid in her hand.  The butterflies are being released.  Travis watches while holding his beloved Bunny, an angora rabbit.  Two mice and several kittens watch too.  Both of these visuals create a vivid sense of time and place.


Calpurnia Tate Girl Vet Skunked! and Calpurnia Tate Girl Vet Counting Sheep written by Jacqueline Kelly with illustrations by Jennifer L. Meyer and jacket art by Teagan White are absolutely wonderful!  I have read them both twice and they get better with every reading.  The humor is genuine, the sense of history is true and the characters are irresistible.  Volume three is set to be released the first part of October 2017.  You won't want to miss a single one.

To learn more about Jacqueline Kelly and Jennifer L. Meyer please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names. Jennifer L. Meyer has a blog here.  The artist responsible for the jacket art, Teagan White, has a website here and Tumblr pages here.  You can read an excerpt from volume two at the publisher's website.
  

Sleuth And Truth

There are any number of reasons a book ends up on your to-be-read stack.  In the case of one of my most recently read titles, a middle grade novel, it was first a reference made on social media about the illustrator creating the artwork for the dust jacket and interior images.  This particular illustrator, John Hendrix, is respected for his signature depictions of history.  His interpretations and details direct our attention to the most fascinating aspects.  

. @hendrixart Lou Grant really likes your cover illustration for The Detective's Assistant. 😺 https://t.co/LPpCFhTSJR

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) April 4, 2015

When mystery, history, Chicago, and two spirited female characters are words used to describe the story, the intrigue heightened.


A copy, ordered in February, of The Detective's Assistant (Little, Brown And Company, April 7, 2015) written by Kate Hannigan arrived shortly after the release.  Weeks went by with the cover and promise of a marvelous tale calling to me.  I finally ordered another copy in audio format so every time I drove my car, I could follow the adventures of the characters.  (At this point I have to admit, I did, more than once, sit in my driveway and garage unable to stop listening.)



Before the first page, a single eye looks directly at the reader with the words

"WE NEVER SLEEP"

written beneath the picture.  This is, as you will soon discover, the logo for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.  With a page turn, the narrator, Cornelia, begins the story.

Chapter 1
In Which I Find Myself on the 
Doorstep of a Pickled Onion

You're expecting me to do what?" snapped a peevish voice from the other side of the heavy wooden door.  It opened just a few inches to allow a single blue eye to survey me up and down.  "Take in this gangly urchin you claim is one of my kin?" One look tells me the child hasn't made the acquaintance of a bar of lye in a good many years, not to mention been in the same two-mile vicinity of a comb."

Cornelia, Cornie to her friends, has been left at her only remaining relative's door in a Chicago boarding house; the Right Reverend Abernathy having thrown paperwork toward the woman and skedaddled down the stairs and out into the street.  Her widow aunt, Kate Warne, who she calls Aunt Kitty, wants nothing to do with Cornelia including her name.  Within minutes Cornelia has been given the title of Nell Warne.  Now in all fairness to Kate Warne, you can understand her indifferent, rigid attitude toward Nell once the past is revealed.  Nell's recently deceased father, who was shot to death, had years earlier accidentally, under mysterious circumstances, shot his brother, Matthew Warne, Kate's husband.

To Nell's utter distress the next morning her aunt announces her intention to place her in the Home for the Friendless newly located on Wabash Avenue.  Thankfully a pickpocket, Nell's quick thinking and an injured knee alter the course of events for that day.  The next morning a routine is established with Nell helping the owner of the boarding house, Mrs. Wigginbottom, with shopping to help ease the newly inflated rent due to her presence.

Nell is astonished to learn during a trip to town her aunt's occupation as a detective in the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.  One thing you should know about Nell is while her command of the English language in speaking and writing is not refined, she enjoys keeping up-to-date on the latest happenings by being an avid reader of newspapers.  You can't imagine Nell's surprise when an ad in the paper announcing the presence of the Seventh Daughter of a Seventh Daughter, Madam L. L. Lucille, a fortune teller, turns out to be part of a plan to snare a criminal.  Aunt Kitty is masquerading as Madam L. L. Lucille and at the last minute Nell will be playing a part in the ruse.

This is the first in a series of cases in which Kitty and Nell work together along with the other detectives at the agency even though it's due to circumstances rather than choice by Kate.  Her determination to find another place for Nell is met in full measure with Nell's desire to stay with her at the boarding house.  The tension between them ebbs and flows as respect for each other grows.

In letters received and sent to her best friend Jemma, a free-born African American, now living in safety in Canada, we come to have a clearer picture of the night Jemma's family ran to freedom and Matthew Warne was killed.  As pieces in each case for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency are put together to create a solvable whole, Nell works to clear the name of her beloved daddy, Cornelius.  A meeting with the Maple Tree and a harrowing train ride with a disguised distinguished guest ease and elevate anxiety and fear. As the pace quickens when pages are turned, readers' hearts will race as we are lead to a conclusion blended in liberty, inevitable war and the strength of family.


When you read the words penned by Kate Hannigan you are well aware of two things:  her meticulous research and skill as a storyteller.  Like her character Nell she can tell a captivating tale.  Several techniques add to the experience of the reader.  Each chapter is captioned with a statement alluding to the nature of the events to come;

In Which I Share My Woe
with My Best Friend, Jemma

In Which I Fall Victim
to the Silent Sit

or

In Which Aunt Kitty Transforms 
into a Southern Belle, and 
I Get a Bit Choked Up.

Nell's descriptions of her surroundings, the details of the cases and disguises worn, and the conversations between all the characters are like stepping into the years of 1859 to 1861.

The letter writing between Jemma and Nell is a brilliant bridge between the present and the past.  The girls each hint at the truth of both their lives, then and now.  They devise a cipher system for conveying information.  Too much said by either of them could put family members in danger as well as themselves.

Here are some sample passages from the book.

Aunt Kitty pounced on me as if I'd uttered a profanity right there on Washington Street for all to hear.  Color rose up in her cheeks and turned them as red as radishes.
"Why would Mr. Pinkerton hire me, a woman?  Because I can go where a man cannot---I can befriend the wives and girlfriends of criminals, and I can worm out their secrets.  I can go where no one suspects me.
"And because I was not put on this earth to spend my days filing a man's papers or writing down every word he utters---nor washing trousers and darning his socks.  Because I can do most any job a man can do, and maybe even do it better.
"I can do great things, Nell Warne.  And so can you."

"School," she repeated.  "You need the firm hand of a schoolmarm, Nell.  We will enroll you today."
She sounded determined.  It was time to take drastic measures.
"Aunt Kitty," I began, trying out her same cool delivery just to see how it would go over, "these schools here in Chicago have seventy, maybe one hundred kids in each classroom.  If you make me go, I'll catch the croup and die before Christmas."
She did not look moved.
"Or I might pick up foul language and rough habits."
She merely cleared her throat and dusted at her sleeve.
I was not getting through.
"Or even worse," I whispered, watching her lean in a bit closer to hear me.  "Head lice."
Aunt Kitty gasped and shot both hands to her tidy brown hair.
Conversation over.  I would take my lessons at home.


The Detective's Assistant written by Kate Hannigan is an action-packed adventure brimming with suspense, larger-than-life characters and historical figures, humor and the importance of making and keeping family ties.   Hand this title to anyone who craves a mix of the past with excitement and fear and questions and answers.  As a read aloud this will be outstanding.  It not only gives us glimpses into important places of the day, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, the first female detective in the United States but also addresses slavery, abolition and the Underground Railroad.  At the conclusion Kate Hannigan provides an extensive Author's Note, Answers to Ciphers and an If You Want to Read More section.

To discover more about Kate Hannigan please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  You can read several chapters from the beginning of this book at the publisher's website. (Trust me; you will not be able to put this book down once started.)  Take a moment to read this article and interview, Kate Hannigan on Kate Warne: New book brings 19th century detective to life, in the Chicago Tribune.  Enjoy this video interview with Kate Hannigan by Becky Anderson of Anderson's Bookshop.

A Glorious Return

On May 12, 2009 Jacqueline Kelly published her debut middle grade novel, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Henry Holt and Company). It went on to garner a Newbery Honor Medal in 2010.  Readers were taken back to the community of Fentress, Texas in the year 1899.  They cheered for Calpurnia Tate the only daughter in a family of seven children (She was born in the middle of three older and three younger brothers.) who against all odds accomplished great and small things with the help of her witty, wise and I-don't-care-what-people-think-about-me grandfather.

In preparation for the sequel to be released I reread The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate this past week.  It was even better the second time. I couldn't resist placing sticky notes to mark some gems like these:

By 1899, we had learned to tame the darkness but not the Texas heat.  We arose in the dark, hours before sunrise, when there was barely a smudge of indigo along the eastern sky and the rest of the horizon was still pure pitch.  We lit our kerosene lamps and carried them before us like our own tiny wavering suns.  

When I reached the river, I stripped down to my chemise, floating on my back with my shimmy gently billowing around me in the mild current, luxuriating in the coolness of the water flowing around me.  I was a river cloud, turning gently in the eddies.  I looked up at the filmy bags of webworms high above me in the lush canopy of oaks bending over the river.  The webworms seemed to mirror me, floating in their own balloons of gauze in the pale turquoise sky.

"It means that we should celebrate today's failure because it is a clear sign that our voyage of discovery is not yet over.  The day the experiment succeeds is the day the experiment ends.  And I inevitably find the sadness of ending outweighs the celebration of success."
"Should I write it in the log?" I said.  "Cat piss, I mean."
He chortled.  "A good idea.  We must be honest in our observations.  Take up the pen and kindly do the honors, my girl."

With her adept use of words Jacqueline Kelly takes us where she wants us to go introducing us to the most intriguing and remarkable people.

Today, July 7, 2015, is the release date for the second book, The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate (Henry Holt And Company).  It is pure bliss to step through the open door with a page turn back in time to Fentress, Texas.  It's the spring of 1900 and change is in the air.

To my great astonishment, I saw my first snowfall on New Year's Day of 1900.  Now, you might not think much of this, but it is an exceedingly rare event in central Texas.  Why, only the night before, I'd made the resolution to set eyes on snow just once before I died, doubting it would ever happen.  My improbable wish had been grated within the space of hours, the snow transforming our ordinary town into a landscape of pristine beauty.  I had run through the hushed woods at dawn clad only in my robe and slippers, marveling at the delicate mantle of snow, the pewter sky, and the trees laced with silver, before the cold drove me back to our house.

With those introductory sentences the voice of Calpurnia is sounding with clarity in our minds once more.  Her oldest brother Harry who in the past was frequently an ally is focusing all his spare moments on courting a local young woman.  Thankfully he still has moments to help Callie when she seeks his advice.  If you will recall he gave her the notebook, a constant companion, in which she records observations, questions and answers about the natural world.

Life on the family cotton farm and at the gin ebbs and flows with the seasons.  Viola, head of the kitchen, working for the family before even Harry was born, is as spirited and wise as ever.  Three of her brothers are still sweet on her best friend, Lula, but she appears to take a shine to the youngest of them, Travis.  Within the first several chapters it's clear Callie Vee and tender-hearted Travis are going to be in and out of trouble for most of the story.  As far as Travis is concerned any animal, especially those appearing lost or alone, are fair game to becoming cherished pets.  It begins with an armadillo.

As fate or intellect would have it, the merest suggestion from Granddaddy about a possible disease ends the armadillo episode lickedy-split. Rescued blue jays, a baby raccoon, and finally a coyote-dog mix keep Callie and Travis busy as bees with their care and keeping their presence a secret from their mother.  Mother Nature enters the mix, as she is apt to do, and a home-made barometer and a laughing gull foretell deadly developments.

The hurricane in Galveston in 1900 is the deadliest in United States history.  As a result of the storm and after two months of helping victims, Callie's dad and brother Harry return home with a haunted appearance and two new people; one an older cousin Aggie and the other, Dr. Pritzker, a practicing veterinarian.  These two figure prominently in Callie inching toward her goal of being her own person as does Granddaddy who continues to share his knowledge and books with her whenever she can escape her required duties.   Domestic arts debutante or scientist?  Let us hope Calpurnia stays the course.


As in the first title the writing of Jacqueline Kelly makes our real world vanish to the perimeter.  We are surrounded by Calpurnia, her insatiable curiosity and those persons who influence her life the most.  The descriptions of the time of day, the seasons, the setting of the farm and community are vivid enough to feel like moving pictures in our minds.

Kelly weaves historical fact, the mindset of the majority of people in the early 1900s and the hierarchy of the Fentress and Lockhart communities deftly together through Callie Vee's thoughts and the frequent conversations of the characters.  We become attached to them to the point of laughing out loud or having our eyes fill with tears.  One of the most important themes readers will notice is the disparity between young women and young men at this time period.  It is huge.  We will feel Calpurnia's frustration and rage and respect her courage in the face of her parent's attitudes and others close to her.  Here are several other sample passages.

"Wait," I said, "you're ... you're trying to teach Bunny to retrieve?"
"Yep.  I try and try, but he just won't do it.  I even tried him with a carrot stick, but he just ate it."
"Uh...Travis?"
"Hmmm?"
"No rabbit in the history of the world has ever fetched a stick.  So don't bother."
"Well, Bunny's awful smart."
"He may be smart for a rabbit, but that's not saying much."
"I think he just needs more practice."
"Sure, and then you can start piano lessons for the pig."
"Maybe Bunny would catch on faster if you helped us."
"Not so, Travis.  It's a hopeless dream."

I told him what I'd learned about the species from Granddaddy, but he shrugged it off.  I figured he'd have to find out for himself.  Some lessons can only be learned the hard way.

A couple of my classmates tittered and elbowed each other, one of them being Dovie Medlin, my least favorite of all, a self-important nincompoop with delusions of grandeur over the fact that her older sister was the town's Telephone Operator.

But now it was time to bid adieu to the old one and start the cheerful new red one Granddaddy had given me.  I opened it and inhaled the smell of fresh leather and paper.  Could anything top the promise and potential of a blank page?


The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate written by Jacqueline Kelly is captivating historical fiction.  Jacqueline Kelly's writing, her portrait of Callie Vee, is stunning and memorable.  When you finish a work like this and feel as though you've been a passenger on a time machine, no words can describe its true impact.  Read this book.  Recommend this title.  I know I will do so repeatedly.

To discover more about Jacqueline Kelly and her other work please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  At the publisher's website you can read an excerpt from the book as well as a Teacher's Guide to both books. Author Chris Barton highlights this title in his June newsletter and asks Jacqueline Kelly some questions.  Take a few minutes to stop by Publishers Weekly to read an interview with Jacqueine Kelly about this book.  Due to the generosity of the publisher I am giving away two sets of both books in paperback.  Good luck.

Barriers Broken With A Beat

Inherent in everything adults do should be a wish for the world to be better for those following in their footsteps.  Our children need to believe all things are possible.  Opportunities should be available for them to pursue regardless of their gender.

It would seem music would rise above any obstacles, visible or invisible but there was a time in a place this was not so.  Drum Dream Girl:  How One Girl's Courage Changed Music (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 31, 2015) written by Margarita Engle with illustrations by Rafael Lopez is a poetic and pictorial tribute to a girl who felt the earth's rhythm.  Every place held potential for making a measured melody.

On an island of music
in a city of drumbeats
the drum dream girl
dreamed...

In her mind's eye she captured a cadence, sounding it out on conga or bongo drums and the timbales.  Her hands carried the beat to the instruments.  Unfortunately on this island only boys and men were allowed to play drums.

This did not stop the girl from dreaming.  It only made her desires grow stronger.  Hearing others make music set beats singing in her heart.  Wherever she walked, she listened.

In the picturesque park, with the cavorting carnival dancers or alongside the dragon drummers, she felt the tempo.  Even in her own home, constantly reminded drumming was not for girls, she moved her fingers on every surface, playing the conga or bongo drums and the timbales.  In her dreams she could do anything.  And she did it well.

So impressed with her skills, her older sisters invited her to play in their all-girl dance band. At first her father was firm in his refusal.  Perhaps her determination to continue, even alone, softened his stance for he found her a teacher.  Learn. Learn. Learn. Practice. Practice. Practice.  Dreams, drumming dreams, do come true.


When Margarita Engle wrote the poetry for these pages, it's as if her words are drumming.  Alliteration and onomatopoeia will have your fingers moving without you even being aware.  Based upon the life of Chinese-African-Cuban Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, the girl's passion for making music with her drums is visible on every page.  Here is another sample portion of a passage.

...so the drum dream girl
had to keep dreaming
quiet
secret
drumbeat
dreams.


Rendered in acrylic paint on wood board the matching dust jacket and book case and interior illustrations by Rafael Lopez take readers into another time and place.  The rich, vivid darker colors are truly like stepping into dreams.  Wanting to play drums on an island filled with music, even though she was a girl, did not stop her from hoping.  On the back, to the left of the opened jacket and case, a smiling man in the moon looks down on her as she sleeps on a conga drum suspended among tree branches near the water.  The opening and closing endpapers feature a night scene of lush flora and fauna native to her island.  A stunning two page illustration of the girl sitting on a crescent moon drumming above the island of music provides the canvas for the text on the title page.

Nineteen double-page images, two vertical, with breathtaking beauty enhance and extend the language used by Engle. The depicted people and animals are fully alive whether the moment is real or magical.  The girl is in splendid harmony within her world and in her dreams.

There are many of these illustrations which are favorites but one which stands out with particular emotional impact is the one when her father decides to let her learn with a teacher.  On the left a larger smiling moon is watching through tree branches within purple clouds.  A flying bird with legs is on the lower cloud.  Between the two clouds is the drum dream girl playing.  Colored ribbons are wrapping around her.  The ends of the ribbons, gathered together, are held by her father, on the right, standing outside their home at night.  He is pulling her toward him.  The look on their faces conveys happiness and love.


Drum Dream Girl:  How One Girl's Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle with illustrations by Rafael Lopez is filled with hope.  The melodic words and eloquent paintings blend with natural elegance.  This book is for those who know dreams come true and for those wishing they do.  A Historical Note and Acknowledgments supplies further information about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga.

To learn more about Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Here is the link to Rafael Lopez's blog.  Julie Danielson, author and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, speaks with both Engle and Lopez here, Beating the Drum for Women's Rights.  Toward the end of 2011 Julie Danielson featured Rafael Lopez on her blog.  Follow this link to a discussion guide. Educator Alyson Beecher shares her views on this title at Kid Lit Frenzy.  Enjoy the book trailer.  Update:  November 23 2015 As an introduction to one of the #SharpSchu December selections Scholastic Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher interviews Rafael Lopez at Watch. Connect. Read.

From The Cosmos A Challenge

When you take away the magic, fairy tales can mirror the real world.  A parent can disappear from our lives through death or divorce.  They are often replaced with another less than savory person who may or may not have children of their own.  Each day brings tasks to be met as a new normal is being shaped.

Cultural adaptations supply variances but at the heart of every story is a clever protagonist.  Interstellar Cinderella (Chronicle Books, May 5, 2015) written by Deborah Underwood with illustrations by Meg Hunt draws our attention to a girl, despite her current circumstances, who maintains her focus.  Her determination and choices provide readers with courage and hope.

Once upon a planetoid,

amid her tools and sprockets,

a girl named Cinderella dreamed

of fixing fancy rockets.

By day her mundane household repairs kept her busy but by night she read manuals to increase her understanding of elaborate ship systems.  On the eve of the Prince's Royal Space Parade, her stepmother simply stated the family vehicle had no room for Cinderella.  It was suggested she repair the other broken ship.  

Cinderella would surely have done this but those two snide stepsisters took her tools.  Her trusty robotic companion, Murgatroyd, beamed out a signal to the stars.  True to the tale, a fairy godrobot appeared offering a new space suit, a jewel loaded with pizzazz and a sonic socket wrench.  Using her learned skills, the repairs are made and Cinderella's rocket surged into space.

Just in time she settled among the cosmic crowd to watch the Prince's ship pass.  To her surprise (and the Prince's too) smoke belched from the rocket ride.  Our heroine with her new tool in hand fixed the fractured vessel.  

An invitation was issued and accepted.  Hours sped by like minutes as conversations revolved around favorite topics.  As midnight neared, Cinderella, jet pack ignited, hastily departed.

A persistent Prince searched for his Gravity-Free Ball date.  He carried what Cinderella had dropped; only in her capable hands would it work well.  An arrival yielded disappointments all around until a mighty mouse prevailed.  A galactic girl and a royal guy struck a bargain.

With the first rhyming sentence we are shooting across time and the galaxies.  Deborah Underwood writes to and for her readers giving a timeless classic her own signature twists.  Her Cinderella not only sets her sight on the stars but rockets around among them; a gal with her own ambitions but also willing to use her skills to help others.  Each point of Underwood's telling leads to a conclusion unrestricted by the norm.  Here is another sample passage.

The prince's spaceship jerked and hissed

and spewed a cloud of grit.

The prince hopped out. "Oh blast! What now?

My chief mechanic quit!"

Although the dust jacket and book case match, readers will notice a subtle difference on the front of the jacket.  The cosmic elements and the title are done in a multi-colored foil as opposed to the bright white on the case.  This pink-haired girl, sporting goggles, her sonic socket wrench, and atomic blue space suit, is most assuredly a match for her step-family and any mechanical problems on the horizon.  To the left, on the back, the prince is zipping through the planets and stars, searching.  It's an introduction to this presentation that's out of this world!

Meg Hunt, as a debut picture book illustrator, continues exhibiting her talents on the opening and closing endpapers, depicting an array of tools Cinderella would have at her disposal in her workshop; micropliers, megamag mallet, antimatter hammer, plasma pump or googol gauge, to name some depicted. Smaller images of these items are depicted on the verso around the text.  The words on the title page are framed in starry items, Cinderella in flight, Murgatroyd and space beings in ships.

Most of the illustrations, rendered in gouache, brush and ink, graphite, rubylith and digital process, span across two pages. The color palette is evocative of space and life on planets other than our own.  Hunt's lines flow but also portray firmness in the details on the character's faces, their attire, the robots' parts and in the interior and exterior places.  

One of my favorite pictures is the first one on two pages.  We zoom-in on Cinderella seated outside on her planet, her spaceship nearby under a port.  She is wearing her everyday clothing and gloves, holding a crescent wrench in her hand with her tool box next to her.  Her robot mouse companion is gazing upward with her.  The constellations drawn in the sky reflect her dreams; each is a different space ship. 

Every collection will want to have a copy (or two) of Interstellar Cinderella written by Deborah Underwood with illustrations by Meg Hunt.  It is a rhythmic romp among the stars with a young woman of courage and conviction.  I think readers will be requesting to hear this repeatedly or maybe they will want to present it as a play.  

For more information on Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt please follow the links attached to their names to visit their websites.  This link will take you to Meg Hunt's blog.  She gives us peeks at interior illustrations.  Meg Hunt is featured at teacher librarian extraordinaire John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Deborah Underwood was a guest blogger at the Nerdy Book Club speaking about this title.  (There are illustrations there, too.)  Here is educator Colby Sharp's review of Interstellar Cinderella as part of the trifecta.  Deborah Underwood chats with Matthew C. Winner, the busy librarian on his Let's Get Busy podcast.