In Common

Throughout history during times of war heroism can assume different forms.  Some acts are so small they are swallowed up by time only known by a select few.  We are indeed fortunate when individuals are able to document those moments so decades later they can be remembered.  Other incidents are on a much grander scale.  Even these can be lost in the larger surrounding events.

During the American Civil War a fierce battle at Fredericksburg, Virginia was fought during the month of December 1862.  Soldier Song: A True Story Of The Civil War (Disney Hyperion, February 7, 2017) written by Debbie Levy with illustrations by Gilbert Ford focuses on happenings after the battle.  This story reveals the greatest truth held in the hearts gathered at Fredericksburg.

DECEMBER 
1862
THE CIVIL WAR, America's great and terrible conflict between North and South, was in its second winter.

It was the desire of President Lincoln, before the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, to have a big win over the Confederacy.  Floating bridges were built by the Union troops to cross the Rappahannock River to take control of Fredericksburg.  After three days the losses on both sides were steep but higher for the Federals.  After dark on the fourth day they carefully and quietly retreated.

You might think with the win by the Confederates and the loss of the Union army, they would go their separate ways but that is not what happened.  Both forces planned to and did stay.  One thing both camps shared was the combinations of bugle, fife and drum to dictate the daily rituals of the soldiers.  Also as December 25, 1862 approached the same thing was on all the men's minds---home and family.

When the demands of life as a soldier were completed the men engaged in all kinds of activities like writing letters, telling stories and using those bugles, fifes and drums to play familiar songs.  Voices floated over the water from both sides of the river.  A kind of back and forth of singing and playing of the bands evolved.  One late afternoon as the day drew to a close the bands began as they always did, playing the patriotic tunes their men wanted to hear.  After several songs something extraordinary happened.

A familiar melody began on one side.  It was answered with a continuation of the notes from the other side.  Soon the bands were playing the same song together...for the very first time.  The men, Union and Confederate soldiers, stood and listened in silence.  For at least thirty minutes after the song ended, the men declared their deepest feelings.

Eventually an order was issued stating this particular song not be played.  We all know, once heard and hearts once stirred, a song will not vanish.  Music and words are a powerful combination.


This narrative is bookended with an explanation of the situation prior to the event and at the end of the Civil War, June 1865.  Author Debbie Levy begins each of these with a simple declarative sentence which allows her to elaborate in a clear, conversational style.  Between these two single pages, her sentences shift to a more personal level as the story unfolds.

Vivid descriptions take us into the action.  The inclusion of letters written by Union and Confederate soldiers connects us more deeply to these men.  Levy adds a natural phenomenon occurring at the end of the third day supported by another letter further bringing the past to the present for readers.  After the battle she continues to relate the day to day conditions and activities in both camps.  These coupled with the explanation of the musicians' songs build toward the unprecedented occurrence.  Here are two sample passages.

Those who weren't injured set up camp.  On cold nights, they felt the frozen ground beneath their bedrolls.  On warmer days, they wallowed in mud as the earth thawed underfoot.
The two armies---thousands and thousands and thousands of soldiers---dug in for the winter across the ribbon of water from each other.
Neither side was leaving.

Besides the singing, the music of brass bands also soared across the water.  The buzz of cornets pierced the air.  Velvety notes from deep-throated horns spread like soft blankets.  The rattle of side drums kept time.


The colors on the opened dust jacket, deep midnight blue, sky blue, red, orange, blue, white and black, are used throughout the book in various hues with shades of green, pink and purple to create stunning images with every page turn.  The illustration on the front of the soldier sounding his horn with the battle on the right extends over the spine to the left, the back.  Four more musicians are playing their instruments in a line behind the first man.

The book case is a red orange color with a wide sky blue spine.  Embossed on the front is a horn with a swirl of notes supplying a circular frame for a Confederate hat and a Union hat.  Purple covers the opening and closing endpapers.

The title page resembles a piece of music with treble and bass staffs in the corners.  The title text ribbons over a battle scene at Fredericksburg.  Gilbert Ford follows this with a bird's eye view of the troops on either side of the river in a two-page picture.  Another view, much closer to the river, provides an illustration for the verso and dedication pages.

Most of the images, appearing like block printing, span two pages.  The soldiers' letters are placed within some of them.  A single-page picture might be opposite a group of smaller visuals.  He alters his perspective sometimes within a single illustration; Union troops crossing the floating bridges with a horn player close to the reader on the left.  Depictions of the battle and camps are realistic age-appropriate representations.  The layered circular swirls Ford uses to portray music are marvelous.  In fact the words to some of the songs and the musical lines with notes look like they are hand drawn. This contrast between the battle and camps and the music is skillfully represented.

One of my favorite illustrations is spread across two pages.  Again it is a bird's eye view of the river and camps on either side.  We are a bit closer; able to see the details in the town's buildings, the tents and the flags flying in each camp.  This stretches from the upper left-hand side to the lower right-hand side.  In the upper right-hand corner and the lower left-hand corner light rays extend to the central scene.  On both sides orange swirls filled with lines of music and notes are lifting over and back and upward.


This story is the type of nonfiction narrative readers need to read.  Soldier Song: A True Story Of The Civil War written by Debbie Levy with illustrations by Gilbert Ford takes a glorious event amid the tragedy of war reminding us of common threads we share in the fabric of humanity.  This is an outstanding nonfiction picture book.  I highly recommend it for your professional and personal book shelves.  At the close of the book two pages are dedicated to The Civil War And The Battle Of Fredericksburg.  Two pages are given to the words and music of the song with a bit of the history about the song, places to access the song and other songs mentioned in the book.  There is a Time Line Of The Civil War and a Selected Bibliography with primary and secondary sources as well as further reading for young people.  Quotation sources are provided also.

To understand more about Debbie Levy and Gilbert Ford and their other work please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Interior images can be viewed at Ford's website.  Gilbert Ford is showcased at The Children's Book Review and Emu's Debuts.  The publisher provides an extensive teacher's guide.

UPDATE:  Debbie Levy writes a guest post for the Nerdy Book Club, We Have Our Reasons, an explanation of why she wrote this book.


Please visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected by other bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Up And Around And Then Back Down

It can be seen for miles and miles in the distance, a beacon against the horizon announcing a spectacular experience in the offing.  During the day or night this spinning marvel is the next best thing to flying; giving passengers a bird's eye view of the surrounding landscape.  Your heart may be in your stomach but the visual feast is well worth the ride.

What thinker conceived this masterpiece of engineering excellence?  Mr. Ferris and His Wheel (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) written by Kathryn Gibbs Davis with illustrations by Gilbert Ford introduces readers to George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. and his spectacular invention.  It's a story filled with monumental moments.

It was only ten months until the next World's Fair.  But everyone was still talking about the star attraction of the last World's Fair.

Certainly an American could create a showpiece for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair which would surpass the wonder of the Eiffel Tower erected in Paris, France.  George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. saw the national contest as a chance to present an idea he had been carrying around in his mind since childhood.  His structure would be more distinctive.  His structure would move.

At first his plans were dismissed as unrealistic but George knew his wheel would work.  He would use a new metal for its construction, steel.  Not only did the fair judges wait until there was only four months until the opening date before giving permission but they refused to provide any financial assistance to Mr. Ferris.  He was not deterred but determined.

A brutal winter, frozen ground and quicksand made laying the foundation particularly tricky.  Between two steel towers a forged axle was placed, breaking a record for its size and length.  With the fair date looming in the near future, the teams worked nearly nonstop piecing together more than 100,000 parts.  Eight weeks before the fair opened it was almost completed but once the cars were attached would it function?

The elegance and size of the cars, even by today's standards, were mind-boggling.  It must have been breathtaking for George, his wife and their honored guests as they sat in #1 rising up and up.  For fifty cents customers could circle twice around taking a twenty-minute trip.  George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. built his dream at the age of thirty-four.  One hundred twenty-one years later people still feel the thrill when reaching the top of his daring design.


Notice how author Kathryn Gibbs Davis begins by building a feeling of anticipation; like the start of world-class race.  Her narrative gains strength page after page as she describes with details, supported by research, of George's planning with his assistant, William Gronau, of his presentation to the judges, of his pursuit of funding and of his tireless work with his crews to complete the Ferris wheel.  As an extension of facts presented in the main story, Davis supplies two to three sentence paragraphs, in smaller font off to the side, focusing on specifics.  Here is an example.

Two thousand tons of steel began to turn around as the soft clanking of a large chain drove the mighty machine.

Two steam engines (an extra one in case one broke) made the wheel turn.  George had hidden them under the wooden platform where riders boarded.


Unfolded, the dust jacket (and matching book case) illustration spreads in all its nighttime splendor flap edge to flap edge.  The palette of blue, purple and golden yellow shades remains prominent throughout the entire book with accents of rose and green.  With little stretch of your imagination you get a real sense of viewing this scene from a building in Chicago.  If the window were open the newly invented light bulbs, numbering 3,000, would be sparkling in the dusk as sounds from the fair drifted inside your room.

Most of the images created by digital mixed media with ink and watercolor by Gilbert Ford span two pages.  Prior to the title illustration, readers are treated to a single visual of a boy fishing in a pond next to a mill with its wheel gently turning surrounded by a forest.  Tucked into the pond is a quote from the American architect and construction chief of the 1893 World's Fair, Daniel H. Burnham.

The buildings, clothing, daily activities and room interiors carefully reflect the appropriate time period in all of Ford's artwork for this title.  Each scene, with or without people, is alive, animated.  One of my favorite pictures is a panoramic view of the park as the sun is setting.  The lights are beginning to shine in the darkening buildings and on the Ferris wheel.  Leaves on the trees are turning golden and red.  Birds in flight are silhouetted against a rosy red sky with a few stars starting to shine.  You can feel a chill in the air.


The thing about really good nonfiction is it makes you notice everything differently.  After reading Mr. Ferris and His Wheel written by Kathryn Gibbs Davis with illustrations by Gilbert Ford readers will never look at a Ferris wheel the same way again.  They will remember its construction in the context of a World's Fair, which they may not have even known about previously.  They will remember the passion and persistence of Ferris, silently respecting his achievements.  Maybe they will want to know, as I did, how he lived the remainder of his life.  At the close of this title, quote sources, a selected bibliography and websites are listed.

For further information about Kathryn Gibbs Davis and Gilbert Ford please follow the links embedded in their names, taking you to their official websites.  Gilbert Ford has an excellent post on his blog about the process for creating his artwork.

Here is a little extra fun and a tribute to George Ferris courtesy of Google.





Each week dedicating a post to nonfiction has been one of the most rewarding aspects of this year.  I am truly thankful to Alyson Beecher host of Kid Lit Frenzy for her 2014 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.  Stop by her site to read the recommended nonfiction selections by other bloggers.