Accomplished

For forty-seven years and counting, it has been a privilege to work within and enjoy a world centered in children's literature.  Book by book my already considerable respect for authors and illustrators has grown every year.  With each new title I hold in my hands and read, it still grows.

One of the greatest joys of being a teacher librarian, other than sharing books with all readers, is the honor of watching an author, illustrator, or author illustrator begin and master their art.  Underlying every word they write and every element in the images they make is a passion for bringing their absolute best to children, readers, of all ages.  In 2021 one of these creators has released two books within a week of each other.  To me, these titles demonstrate this individual's skill.  Bear Island (Feiwel And Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC, January 26, 2021) written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell addresses the life-changing event of great loss. 

Goodbye, Charlie.

In a series of five wordless illustrations, with the exception of the words above on the final picture, prior to the title page, we learn of the value of Charlie, the family's canine member.  The family is Louise, Mom, Dad, and Charlie living in a home on a lake.  Near the home is an island.

One day, in a small rowboat, Louise goes to the island, thinking about Charlie.  Missing him, she wanders alone there.  She finally, after quite a while, decides to leave.  She grabs a stick and hits a nearby tree.  In a flash, butterflies surround Louise.  Several deer come from the woods near her.  Louise is starting to feel a shift in her soul, but suddenly that stops.

Large, loud noises send the butterflies and deer away.  A bear stands near Louise, roaring.  She is afraid and mad, mad about so many things.  She roars back, waving her stick.  The bear lies down.  As she goes to her boat to leave, Louise looks back at the bear.  In him, she senses herself.

Day after day, Louise returns to the island.  Some days for her, and for Bear, are better than others, but together they are making a difference.  Through the seasons, life on the island is shifting.  It is not the only place change is happening. Even though winter is coming, Louise continues to visit the island until one day, Bear is missing.  When she finally finds him, a hard truth envelopes her.  It is fortunately followed by other wonderful truths.

Each sentence by this author states succinctly what can be seen and thought.  Matthew Cordell leaves room in his narrative for readers to find connections to their own life experiences.  His word choices are sensory, welcoming us into this story.   He also employs repetition to reinforce and intensify a particular moment.  Here is a passage.

But then . . . came a noise.

A crunching of leaves noise . . .

A snapping of trees noise . . .

A chuffing of breath noise . . .

RROOAARR!!

When you stare at the bear spread across the front, right, of the open and matching dust jacket and book case, what do you see? Do you see the use of light and shadow?  Do you see the texture and color of the bear's fur?  Do you see how the top of his head and the shape of the island are one?  Why is Louise standing on his head?  There is so much in this initial image for readers to notice and understand.  The title text is varnished.  To the left, on the back, on a canvas of white, is a loosely framed circular picture.  This picture features the island, shades of turquoise water lapping against its shores.  Butterflies hover over the treetops.

A bright spring green covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the first page is a baseball nearly life-size on white.  It is followed by Louise throwing the ball to a running Charlie.  In the next three pages we know Charlie is gone.  The color palette is sepia for the grief Louise, Mom, and Dad are feeling.  The two-page picture for the verso, dedication and title pages is a close-up of the water around the island.  Fish swim in the upper corners.  On the right, on a small stone above the water rests a gorgeous butterfly, its color in contrast to the water.

Rendered 

in pen and ink with watercolor and sometimes gouache

the images mirror and elevate the story.  At first, they continue in the sepia tones (and again at the end) altering in size from two-page visuals, single-page pictures, to a circular image on a single page and at times multiple images are placed together to depict the passage of time.  The shapes of these multiple images vary.  They are loose circles, vertical panels, squares, or rectangles.  A crisp white background heightens the impact of many of these illustrations.

Matthew has a gift for using powerful wordless visuals.  He does so with great effect in this book.  Their emotional force will leave you breathless.

One of my many, many favorite pictures is one of ten spread across two pages.  It is a small rectangle.  It is framed in a loose black line.  Inside are Louise and Bear. They are in the water, looking out across it with their backs to us.  Louise is standing with her stick, using is like a staff.  Bear is seated in the water next to her.

This book, Bear Island written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell, is one to heal the hole left by loss.  It speaks directly to how grief wraps around us, but how we can replace it with something else.  A closed door can also open.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Matthew Cordell, you can visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Matthew has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Matthew and this book are featured by Elizabeth Bird, Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system, at her space at School Library Journal, A Fuse #8 Production and by author, reviewer, and blogger, Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.

Oh, there is nothing like holding a book in your hands with the return of a fiery, determined protagonist within its pages.  We first met her in a montage of modes of transportation as she, with the most heartfelt of reasons, desired to make a gift of an elephant to her Great-Aunt Josephine.  This is Special Delivery.  In The Only Fish In The Sea, she sets off on a stormy sea accompanied by a friend and a unruly crew to rescue a tiny pet, a gift, tossed away.  Sadie is back!  

This time, Sadie's Aunt Josephine takes center stage, regaling readers and Sadie with a particularly crazy feat from her youth.  Follow That Frog! (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, February 2, 2021) written by Philip C. Stead with illustrations by Matthew Cordell is an adventure loaded with non-stop action and laugh-out-loud hilarity.  You'll begin to understand why Sadie exhibits certain characteristics as she faces life's challenges.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Grrr . . .

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

HEY, AUNT JOSEPHINE!

ARF!

ARF!

Sadie has started her day, carrying a tray with a pot of tea and cups to her Aunt Josephine's bedroom.  She opens the curtains in her aunt's bedroom.  There is a steady and very loud knocking at the door to Aunt Josephine's home.  Aunt Josephine does not want to answer the door and wishes to do nothing more than sleep to noon.  

After all her around-the-world escapades, she deserves her rest.  Then she launches into a tale of 

cataloging amphibians for the scientific team of Admiral Rodriguez

in the wilds of Peru at the tender age of nine.  Admiral Rodriquez, we discover, has died in a weird event involving bananas. His son has a serious crush on Josephine.

While gazing at Josephine's beauty, this son is devoured by an enormous frog. (Are you laughing yet?)  Momentarily stunned, Josephine springs into action.  She has to catalog that frog!  Josephine and her loyal canine companion, Orion Francis Nelson, are in persistent pursuit, finding themselves in the hot regions of southern Argentina. 

The frog, tiring of riding a rhea, leaps north toward the Panama Canal.  Josephine and her dog manage to catch up as it heads west. To their dismay, the vessel they secure to follow the ravenous leaper helps them get totally lost.  Nevertheless, Josephine stays upbeat until a band of pirates near the Canary Islands take away her vessel.  They are left stranded.

As fate would have it, a whale provides much-needed assistance. Josephine, now touring around the globe searching for the frog via alternative forms of travel, tries to never gives up.  To this day she has never located that frog. This is her one regret.  Sadie, ever the optimist, offers wise words.  

KNOCK! KNOCK!

With every reading, you will be laughing more and more as the sheer absurdity of this tale told in dialogue strikes every humorous chord in your body.  Philip C. Stead has taken his well-crafted characters and heightens their exploits to extraordinary.  Just when you believe it can't possibly get more outrageous, it does in the best possible manner.

Philip C. Stead's choice of verbs and adjectives has readers following every twist and turn.  Even though, we, like Sadie, are listening to this story, it is as if we are there in every single second.  This is this author's gift to us.  There is a part of us that knows this would never happen, but as we read this story, it is the truth.  Here is a passage.

I gave chase, northward, aboard a reluctant tortoise,

disembarking at the Panama Canal,

where the frog took a sharp left turn, heading west into the tempestuous waters. 

By opening the dust jacket, you get the full advantage of the design and artwork by Matthew Cordell.  To the left, on the back, Aunt Josephine is sitting up in bed under her colorful quilt.  Sadie is standing next to the bed, sipping a cup of tea.  Chickens are meandering in the room, some looking for food and others looking up with the dog toward the front of the dust jacket.  A rooster on one of the bedposts is crowing.  Speech clouds spread from Aunt Josephine, puffing toward the spine.  One of those clouds frames the ISBN.  On the right, front, a large cloud borders the scene of a young Aunt Josephine chasing the frog with her pal, Orion Francis Nelson.  Two methods of travel, the tortoise and rhea, are moving as fast as they can.  The giant frog and the title text are varnished.  

The book case cleverly presents JOSEPHINE'S FIELD GUIDE.  The canvas is lined pages.  The larger entries are taped to the pages.  On the front, right side, are drawings and a photograph of frogs.  Some are labeled.  There are smaller sketches and flora taped to the pages. On the back, the left, is a diagram of the inside of a frog, a drawing of the rhea and several other photographs.  Smaller elements hint at events to come.

The opening and closing endpapers are a bright green.  On the first single page and first double-page picture before the verso, dedication, and title pages, we see Sadie standing inside in front of the door, her back to us.  She then moves toward her Aunt Josephine's bedroom.  Oh, my goodness . . . the intricate numerous details will have you pausing.  On the walls you will see memorabilia from Josephine's travels and those of Sadie from the two previous books.  The expressions on the chickens' faces and the antics of the dog are fabulous and funny.

The chickens and dog continue to be aggravated by the knocking on the verso and dedication page.  On the title page, Sadie opens her aunt's bedroom curtains.  This is the placeholder for the title text.

White space is an important part in all these illustrations.  They highlight each line and supply a place for the present-day Josephine to tell her story to Sadie as larger images to the right and across several pages portray her past.  In fact, in the present day readers will delight in watching how the morning proceeds.  It is guaranteed you will see something new in the illustrations every time you read this book.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for the text:

. . . run and run and run with no particular destination in mind.

It spreads across two pages.  The cloud's background signifies the desert.  On a path of her own making Josephine speeds across on her motorcycle, wearing proper attire and with her dog at her side.  A parrot flies along with the duo.  Weaving and looping around the sand is the rhea carrying this huge frog.  The facial looks on both the frog and rhea are humorous with a capital H.  For seven of the pictures of the frog and rhea, they are together.  In the eighth set, the frog jumps from the relieved and startled rhea's back. 

Whether you've read the first two books, you must have a copy of Follow That Frog! written by Philip C. Stead with illustrations by Matthew Cordell for your professional and personal collections.  Although to be honest, having all three books makes for richer reading.  In both words and images, this is storytelling at its finest.  

To learn more about Philip C. Stead and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  At Penguin Random House, you can view a few images.  The book release party was at The Book Stall.  You can watch it now.  At Books of Wonder, you can register for a future event. 

Life Partners-Loss And Love

As an educator who has experienced loss of a beloved being, you are always filled with compassion when a student comes to you expressing sadness at the death of a family member, a cherished animal, or friend.  You cannot know the exact nature of their grief, but you understand it based on your personal heartbreaks.  You listen.  You offer support.  If asked, you can share when deep sadness has touched your life. 

As a librarian, you know which titles can offer the best comfort for each child. Addy's Cup Of Sugar: Based on a Buddhist Story of Healing (Scholastic Press, October 20, 2020) written and illustrated by Jon J Muth is a book for those mourning and missing a special individual.  It's an explanation of how death, as a part of life, connects us.

Addy and her pet kitten were best friends.

They did everything together.

She called him Trumpet because of his meow.  They woke up together.  Neither started their day without the other.

Abruptly, this changed one day.  Addy and her family recently moved.  Trumpet died when a car hit the kitten near their new home.  Addy was heartbroken.  She wanted Trumpet back.  She knew her friend Stillwater, a panda, could help her.

Stillwater, saddened for Addy, offered sympathy and a solution, a medicine.  One of the necessary ingredients was a cup of sugar.  It had to be borrowed from someone untouched by death.  Addy ran to the closest house to borrow a cup of sugar.

There a little girl assured her they had sugar, but her grandfather died the previous week.  From house to house Addy ran, but no one was untouched by death.  Taking a break Addy recalled an antic Trumpet performed.  She told Trumpet she was working as hard as she could to bring him back.  Addy kept remembering and then her mind and heart and the end of the day worked its magic.  In his wisdom, Stillwater knew the medicine Addy needed.

With his words, author Jon J Muth establishes the close bond between Addy and her kitten Trumpet.  He speaks with a heart that knows the strength of affection between humans and animals.  With respect for his readers, he does not sugarcoat the kitten's death, stating it briefly and with truth. His blend of text and dialogue gives his signature interpretation of this Buddhist teaching the capacity for comprehension by his intended audience.  Here is a passage.

Addy ran through the backyards

and beneath the laundry that hung

on clotheslines.  The linen sheets that

brushed against her skin felt like

Trumpet's rough tongue.

She never knew what a cat's

tongue felt like until she met

Trumpet.

On the front, right, of the matching dust jacket and book case, using shades of complementary golden yellow and rich purple, Jon J Muth casts a comforting spell on readers.  We know Trumpet is a shadow of his former self here.  Stillwater, giver of knowledge, stands next to Addy as she embraces the sad reality of her loss.  This image extends to the left edge of the spine.

On the other side of the spine we are shown a portion of a double-page interior illustration.  It is the picture enhancing the text above noted.  On the top part Addy is running across grass along the side of hanging sheets on a clothesline.  Beneath the grass, on the lower half, Trumpet, enlarged, is running with her.  The kitten appears to be sketched in charcoal chalk.

The opening and closing endpapers are covered in the palest of robin's egg blue.  It's nearly white.  On the title page, Trumpet, seated, looks kindly at readers.  A tin measuring cup is placed to the right of Trumpet.  Stillwater's red umbrella hangs on the verso page.  On the dedication page Stillwater, lounging on the grass, is playing with Trumpet.

These images by Jon J Muth were rendered using

watercolor and pencil on d'Arches paper.  

They are single-page pictures framed in white, or dramatic double-page pictures, page edge to page edge.  Conveying a soft gentleness, they invite readers into the story.  We view each visual with different perspectives; some close to Addy and others as if we are standing back from her.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is the first one.  It is a single-page picture.  Addy is squatting on a large boulder, her light brown/blond hair in a braided pigtail down the center of her striped shirt.  Her hands are outstretched and reaching down to Trumpet.  Trumpet is perched on a much smaller boulder, a large rock.  This rock and Addy's boulder are in water with many smaller rocks around them.  Their reflections in the still pool are beautiful.  The light and shadows indicate a sunny afternoon with the slightest hint of light blue wash around the kitten and child.  It is a poignant portrait of shared love.

Addy's Cup Of Sugar: Based on a Buddhist Story of Healing written and illustrated by Jon J Muth is an important book allowing all of us to see how death is inevitable and a part of life.  This book helps us to bear the sadness because we are not alone in this grief.  At the close of the book Jon J Muth, in an Author's Note, talks about the Buddhist legend and his views on life and death.  I highly recommend this book for your personal and professional collections.

I could not locate any website or social media connections for Jon J Muth but I did locate an article here and an interview here in American Libraries.  At the publisher's website you can view excerpts from the book.  This includes the title page.

A Piece of Time

For anyone living or visiting northern Michigan the beaches along the Great Lakes are a treasure trove of all forms, shapes and sizes of rocks.  It is indeed the only place on earth to find the coveted Petoskey stone.  In fact, you don't have to go very deep on any piece of property to find sand, gravel and rocks.  Nearly daily I am unearthing rocks from walnut-sized to as large as a fist, mine and the Hulk's mighty clenched hand.

You find yourself wondering about the path taken by any single rock.  From where did it originate?  Is it part of a larger whole?  How long has it been here?  Was it present at a significant historic event?  A Stone for Sascha (Candlewick Press, May 8, 2018) conceived and illustrated by Aaron Becker, without words, takes readers on a passage through time and discovery of self.

A beloved canine companion is dead.  A girl morns the loss as the family lays the animal to rest near their home.  Shortly thereafter they leave for their camping vacation; one member is absent this year.

Taking a bucket to the beach to the girl searches along the sand and notices another girl with another dog.  As dusk blankets the area that night, a cosmic crack gives us a vision into the past.  In the time of dinosaurs a meteor strikes the planet; later large portions of it are found by early people.  It is taken from place to place and eventually appears as a carved monolith. Kingdoms and wars cause it to be broken and transported in pieces to other locations.

As a keystone it survives decades of time to be formed later into a precious and intricate work of art.  It is a gift.  It is plunder.  It is lost.  When finally found time has smoothed its edges and size to fill a hole in a saddened heart.  It becomes . . .


The beauty of this book, beside the glorious illustrations and profound story, is it will resonate differently with each reader.  It, like the stone, will heal and connect us to something larger than ourselves.  We will, thanks to the imagination and perception of Aaron Becker, take with us in the visual reading of this narrative a greater understanding of the passage of time, life and death.  We are all in this together.


When you open the dust jacket you see the girl gazing at the lake from the beach at her camp site.  Standing next to the bucket of rocks, she holds her golden treasure.  The flow of the complimentary colors is soothing to the soul, allowing us to feel a similar peace she now perceives.  To the left, on the back, on a canvas of light royal blue, is the ornate carved golden chest from ancient times.

The book case covered in a darker textured blue is bare except for the center of the front.  A golden dog tag, heart-shaped, inscribed with the word

SASCHA

holds this spot.  The text on the spine is also embossed in gold.  The opening and closing endpapers are two different maps, chronicling the journey of the stone.  Aaron Becker includes dates and place names.

On the title page a framed photograph of the girl and Sascha seated together is centered between the text.  The girl is hugging the dog as the dog leans into her.  The dedication and verso are placed on a two-page breathtaking illustration (all the illustrations are painted digitally) of the girl picking flowers to put on the dog's grave.  Her family watches in the distance.

A blend of small images on white, single-page visuals framed in white or placed edge to edge, and grand two-page illustrations fill our eyes with wonder.  To delineate the passage of time a series of vertical or horizontal panels are designed to cover one page.  Aaron's realistic colors are muted, softened, to take us back in time and to supply a specific emotion.  To accentuate meaning, his point of view shifts, bringing us very close to the moment.

One of my many favorite pictures is of the girl on the beach on their arrival at the camp site.  The curve of the water meeting the sand is a partial oval in front of her.  Behind her the bucket is overflowing with stones as she reaches into the water for another one.  To her left in the back is another group of campers.  Although she is reaching into the water, she head is lifted up and to the right.  A girl runs along the beach carrying a disc as her dog runs along with her.  A beach volleyball game is in the background.  Amid all this activity her thoughts are drawn to Sascha.  (One key technique to note is Aaron places yellow in every picture tying places and time together.)


There is hardly a reader who has not experienced the loss of a beloved family member, friend or cherished animal companion.  This book, A Stone for Sascha conceived and illustrated by Aaron Becker, gives solace.  Through his perspectives we are able to find our own.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Aaron Becker and his other work please follow the links attached to his name to access his website and Tumblr pages. Aaron visits super school librarian Travis Jonker's website, 100 Scope Notes at School Library Journal, to chat about this book.  I believe you will appreciate the video.  The cover for this book is premiered at All The Wonders.  At publishers' websites, Penguin Random House and Candlewick Press you can view interior images.  Candlewick Press also has a Q and A with Aaron.  Enjoy the other videos.


A Stone for Sascha - official trailer from Aaron Becker on Vimeo.

Campaigning For...

Every single person knows what it's like to want something more than anything else in the whole wide world and having parents who completely disagree with this desire.  As far as said parents are concerned, as long as you are living under their roof, this is not going to happen.  Does that stop children from still believing this is a possibility?  It does not.  In fact, they will devote every waking (and sleeping) moment to figuring out how they can make this dream come true.

Most guy and gals, at one time or another have wanted a pet.  For many of them the only pet which will bring them total and complete joy is a dog.  In her debut novel, Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, March 7, 2017) Kristin L. Gray introduces us to a remarkable girl, not yet ten years old, who is determined to bring a dog into her family.

The day I was born I was four times smaller than the trophy largemouth bass hanging in my daddy's shop.  My entire hand fit on Dr. Lafferty's thumbnail.  Nobody, Mama included, had planned on me arriving three months early.

This is Vilonia Beebe.  She has a twelve-year-old brother named Leon who is more pest than human.  Her all-around great guy dad who can fry the tastiest catfish anyone has ever eaten is a fishing guide.  Her mama is the happy life force of the family but is currently suffering greatly having lost her own mother forty-three days ago.  She rarely leaves her bedroom.

Now, besides her family, Vilonia loves her next-door neighbor and forever friend Ava Claire, a girl with a dancer's heart, softball and Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.  India Opal's love of Winn-Dixie is the chief reason Vilonia has the Great Pet Campaign fully operational though for the time being not too successful.  This is all about to change because of Eleanor Roosevelt.

No, this is not the dearly departed first lady and wife of President Franklin Roosevelt.  Eleanor Roosevelt is a fine egg-laying chicken, the pride of the Willoughby family.  You should also know the Willoughby twins, Rory and Ransom, friends of Leon, are charming, handsome and pranksters of the highest order.  (The family also owns the local fireworks business.)

On the way to her opening softball game for her pitching debut, Vilonia rescues Eleanor from a hit-and-run accident.  After delivering her to the local vet, she notices a sign there proclaiming the benefits of owning a dog, especially for those people feeling blue.  Click.  Now Vilonia has even more reason to have a dog.  She needs to bring her loving mama out of her sadness.

Miss Bettina is the editor of the local newspaper and Vilonia's mama's boss.  Her mama writes the obituaries for the paper; well, she did until forty-three days ago.  Her mama thinks Miss Bettina has been writing them.  We readers discover who is really writing them.

Obituaries, puppies, stink bombs, Mr. Reyes, the school librarian, the library goldfish, Max, Ray Charles, spring break, sour cream pound cake, Viking funerals, Miss Hazel Sogbottom, the vet's assistant, and the Howard County's 47th Annual Catfish Festival are all ingredients in an amazing quest to demonstrate responsibility.  You will laugh out loud, cheer and fall in love with the characters in this book (even Miss Bettina) as they shape Vilonia's world in Howard County, Mississippi.  The conclusion will lift your soul like a balloon on a gentle breeze and fill your heart with happiness.

Kristin L. Gray writes with such clarity and description you will read this with a Southern accent in your mind.  (In fact, I am thinking with a Southern accent as I write this blog post.)  Told through Vilonia's point of view the story is intimately tied to readers.  We connect with Vilonia's thoughts.  We understand all the characters' personalities through the conversations.  We feel as though we are members of the community in which they all live.

The narrative flows flawlessly from one moment to the next with true-to-life emotions and events.  Gray ties all of the life threads from other characters' lives into a beautiful blend.  Here are some sample passages.

"It's a perfect day to play ball!" I held my arms out to the sun, and a cool breeze brushed my face.  It was the Thursday afternoon before spring break.  Nana loved spring.  "Nana would love today."

"She sure would, Tadpole.  She loved to watch you play." Daddy reached into the cab of his truck and tossed my lucky glove my way.  I snatched it midair and ran my fingers across its smooth leather.

"And what about Mama?" I asked, and stabbed the dirt with my toe.  "Think she'll feel like coming?"

Daddy's eyes changed from sunny to cloudy with a chance of rain.  "The forecast changes daily when it comes to Mama, Vi.  But I can ask.  You know she's your biggest fan."

"I know."  I tried to hide my disappointment.  I knew Daddy was doing his absolute best to take care of us, Mama included.  But I've learned grief has no rules.  She'll make herself at home, eat all your best snacks, sleep in your bed, and no matter what you do or say, sometimes nothing on earth can make her leave.


Ava Claire was all ruffles and tutus and sparkly dance shoes---everything I wasn't.  I'd played softball since I could swing a bat, but Ava Claire wasn't interested the minute she laid her brown eyes on those "ugly spiked shoes."  She's rather twirl onstage in scratchy sequins under one thousand-watt lights.  Yeah, we went together like toothpaste and orange juice, but if anyone tried picking on either one of us, we stuck together like gum to a shoe.


I looked to the back of the bus, hoping to catch Rory's eye, but Mr. Danny, our bus driver who's older than dirt but somehow still has his driver's license, came over the loud speaker.

"I need everyone to listen up and sit down.  I've survived two hurricanes, a wife, and a war.  I'm getting y'all to school safe and sound.  Ya' hear?


There is so much laughter, life and love in Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge written by Kristin L. Gray you will read it in one sitting and eagerly start it all over again.  After reading several pages aloud to a group of third grade students, hands went in the air to be the first to read it cover to cover.  This would make for a great read aloud.  Make sure you have a copy for your personal and professional bookshelves.

You are going to enjoy visiting Kristin L. Gray's website by following the link attached to her name.  The information she shares is like sitting down to chat with her one on one.  There is a special post at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read., to celebrate the cover reveal.  Kristin is interviewed at author Wendy McLeod MacKnight's site, Tuesday Writers,  author Patricia Bailey's site, and author Melissa Roske's site.

A Sweet Sixteens' Visit, Guest Posts

It is indeed an honor to host Jenn Bishop and Abby Cooper here today.  They are both members of The Sweet Sixteens, a group of middle grade and young adult debut authors this year.  You'll want to take some time to visit the website to learn a little more about them, their books and events related to their titles.  The site also matches you to authors living near you and contains a great list of associated links.

The Distance to Home, Jenn Bishop's book, celebrated its book birthday on June 28, 2016.  In this story a family is trying to form a new sense of normal after the death of their oldest daughter and Quinnen's sister.  Baseball is integral to Quinnen's sense of who she.  Will her love of this game help her when she needs it the most?

On July 12, 2016 Abby Cooper's title Sticks & Stones was released into the world.  Magic blends with reality in this story of Elyse, a twelve-year-old girl with an unusual condition.  When people call her names or speak about her, those words appear on her arms and legs. Middle school is tricky as it is.  How will Elyse navigate through the school year?

The more you know about these two authors and their books, the more you will want their titles on your TBR (to-be-read) piles or, in my case; you'll be moving them to the top.  Both Jenn Bishop and Abby Cooper have worked as a librarian which, in my humble opinion, is pretty great.  Today they shine the spotlight on teachers who made a difference in their writing lives.

Looking back on the teachers who inspired us---

a back to school giveaway with Abby Cooper and Jenn Bishop

Abby Cooper:

I first saw my name in print when I was eight years old.  My third grade teacher, Mrs. Huntley, had submitted a poem I'd written to an anthology of work by young writers, and it had been accepted.

I couldn't believe it.  Me?  Published?  I'd always liked to write, but I never expected anything like this would happen.  But Mrs. Huntley expected it.  She believed in it.  When I entered third grade and proclaimed that I wanted to be an author, she didn't laugh or give me one of those "okaaay" kinds of looks or anything else.  Instead, she gave me a journal and asked me to write in it every day.  She read books like Frindle, the one that turned me into a reader.  She gave choices.  We could show what we learned in all kinds of ways.  Presenting, drawing, writing, interpretive dance, you name it.  She supported, she nurtured, she encouraged.  And she took all of it a step further, and she made things happen.

The best part of being published (besides, you know, being published), was realizing what you could do if you believed in someone or something the way Mrs. Huntley believed in me.  I wondered what could happen if I believed in myself and my writing that same way.  Now, almost twenty years later, with the publication of Sticks & Stones, I know.

And now, straight out of the Anthology of Poetry by Young American, 1998 edition, a poem by eight-year-old Abby:

Rosemary Jane

Rosemary Jane, I do complain

You always watch TV

And never pay attention to me

Your gym teacher says

When you should be listening to him

You are watching the basketball rim.

The principal says when he asks you to talk,

You just pretend you have chicken pox.

Oh, Rosemary Jane, you always watch that darn TV

And never look at me.

Oh, Rosemary Jane, did I tell you about the farm?

The farmer said you caused so much harm.

Oh, Rosemary Jane, I do complain.

Jenn Bishop:

As a thirteen-year-old, I loved babysitting, especially reading to the kids.  They knew that if I was putting them to bed, there'd be some serious bedtime reading.  My favorite was Jon Sciezka's Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and I'd need a glass of water to get through the whole thing, but every time it was worth it.  So when my seventh grade English teacher Mrs. Haggerty announced a writing contest where the prize was to visit the elementary school and read to the kids, I was game.  Plus, it felt like the kind of thing, a real author did.  

Now, I'd never met a real author before, but I was always a stickler for realism.  That meant my book had to have Library of Congress cataloging sub-headings, a copyright date, an actual NYC-based publisher, author bio, etc.  The contest didn't say your book had to be a part of a preexisting series, but I decided mine was and adhered to the form of the American Girl books.  Each character had a Changes For... book, so mine was Changes For Hannah.  Each American Girl book had ten chapters, so mine had ten chapters.  It is entirely possible that I thought Pleasant Company might offer to buy my book, publish it, and make a doll of Hannah.  (What can I say?  I was entrepreneurial.)

I probably don't have to say it, but none of the other kids in my grade took the contest nearly as seriously, and I was among those chosen to read to the elementary students.  Mrs. Haggerty's kind notes on all my work---even when it was clear I had "borrowed" plotlines from my favorite books---and encouragement bolstered my sometimes iffy middle school ego.  Importantly, she taught me that successful writing has a target audience, something I've always tried to keep in the front of my mind as a writer for children.  

As a special thank-you to the incredible teachers and librarians who inspire future authors every day, three winners will receive a signed copy of 

The Distance to Home and Sticks & Stones.  

Enter by Thursday, September 8, 2016.

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For The Love Of Truth...And A Father

When a being has been a part of your life, here one moment and gone forever the next, you know the world tilts.  It does not matter if the death arrives at the end of a terminal illness, as a result of old age or suddenly because of an accident.  The hole in your sense of normal seems to have no bottom; your life as you knew it is gone.

There is no set time for recover.  Each person works through the loss at their own pace.  For those who have experienced this grief, one thing seems to be true, even though it might take time to recognize it, those gone remain.  They remain because those left behind remember.  We remember exactly what they said, precisely what they did and how they embraced life.  With or without intention bits and pieces of them are integrated into how we speak, what we do and how we face all our tomorrows.

Soar (Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, July 5, 2016) written by Tracy Edward Wymer follows a seventh-grade boy navigating the waters of life without his father.  The day to day experiences in a small town have disadvantages and advantages which come sharply into focus for Eddie.  It begins and ends with a bird.

I'm looking for a bird, but not just any old bird.  I'm looking for Dad's golden eagle.  And I'm not stopping until I find it.

Before Eddie's father dies, he sees a golden eagle out by Miss Dorothy's pond.  He claims its

wings were wider than the creek behind our house, and its talons were the size of bulldozer claws.

With no photographic proof, Eddie's dad's claims are eventually thought to be a tall tale or even an untruth.  Eddie believes in his father and in this story.  Of course, like so many things, the journey from believing in something to proving it is never easy.

The first challenge Eddie encounters is when a spy mission on a new family on his street goes wrong in the worst possible way and his bike, a birthday gift from his dad, is stolen.  Beautiful Gabriela and her Papa, deaf, and their stunning macaws, newly moved from Brazil have fascinating gifts to share.

Bullying Eddie since kindergarten, Mouton starts at the school bus stop on day one of seventh grade.  His taunts are verbally abusive and his pranks, honey in Eddie's locker (yes he can get into any locker), are hard to ignore.  We learn very early in the story of Mouton having Tourette's syndrome.

A birder, like his father, Eddie's science teacher, Mr. Dover announces in their first class about the science symposium.  It's a seventh grade tradition.  Years earlier Eddie's father won the top prize, a blue-ribbon winner.  It's hard to get a true read on Mr. Dover, sometimes he seems like an okay kind of person, other times his behavior is shocking.  He is a man of secrets.

The cement which holds Eddie's life together is his mom, a cigarette-smoking, hard-working, firm but fair parent.  She is the head janitor at Eddie's school, announcing her presence with the jingle of keys she carries on her belt.  The straight-forward conversations shared between her and Eddie clearly explain the love they hold for each other.

As if school and Eddie's life in general could not get more confusing and complicated, when Mr. Dover draws the names to pair people for the science symposium, Eddie's partner is Mouton.  A nighttime ninja operation leads to discovering hidden talents, countless trips to Miss Dorothy's property, a fixed Predator, an unexpected agreement, and a fiasco of epic proportions propel readers toward a series of revelations, heartbreaking and heartwarming.  Goals are worth pursuing; it's the results we can't predict which change us.


The first person voice of Eddie, the true-to-life conversations between the characters and excerpts in Eddie's birding journal, including remarks to his dad, are techniques used adeptly by Tracy Edward Wymer bringing readers into Eddie's world.  We experience firsthand the events in those beginning months of his seventh-grade year.  We share his frustrations, his goof-ups, his grief, and his triumphs, silently cheering for him.

Each of the other characters is fully human with their flaws and perfections.  Wymer has them move in and out of Eddie's days, coming to the front and center and then stepping back as others move forward, in a smooth rhythm as their stories are woven into Eddie's narrative. Here are some sample passages.

He rested his hand on my shoulder.  "If you want to be the best, Son, then you have to be creative.  You have to think like a bird.  You have to become the bird."

"Become the bird," I said.  "What does that mean?"

"You have to ask yourself, if you were that bird, and you were trying to survive, what would you need at that exact moment?  Not two days from now, not one week from now, not a year.  At that very instant ask yourself what that bird needs.  Food?  Protection?  Nesting materials?  Companionship?

"What's 'companionship'?" I asked.

Dad smirked and said, "It's about filling a big, empty hole inside you with feelings for someone else."

"You mean like you and mom?"

He smiles and said, "Exactly."


Bird:  great horned owl
Location:  Miss Dorothy's place
Note:  With Mouton's voice, there is hope for our project.
Dad:  Making friends is a tough business.  Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the trouble.
I'm trying to listen to the music, but it's hard to hear the words.


After two readings in two days, I know Soar written by Tracy Edward Wymer will most definitely find an audience with middle grade readers.  The short chapters, realistic conversations and events and multi-layered characters truly sing off the pages like the call of the golden eagle, sharp and clear.  I look forward to recommending this title.

To learn more about Tracy Edward Wymer and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name. Tracy Edward Wymer maintains Tumblr pages and a Twitter account @TracyEWymer  Tracy Edward Wymer is featured on a Successful Author Talk post and BookPage.  He is a guest at Scholastic's Ambassador for School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read. for a book trailer premiere.  You can read an excerpt at the publisher's website.

Not Here But Still Here

Body language and eyes convey the news even if a parent, staff member or student has not already spoken with you.  Sometime between the last time you saw this student and now, they have suffered a loss.  It happens to all of us no matter our ages, usually without warning.  Even if we know it's coming the hole in our hearts is huge.

When love is shared between two, day in and day out during the course of their lives, filled with ordinary and extraordinary events, the absence of one is keenly felt.  Ida, Always (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, February 23 2016) written by Caron Levis with illustrations by Charles Santoso is first a look at the strength of a bond formed by two animals in captivity.  It further cements the belief that all animals can suffer the loneliness of losing the one loved.

Gus lived in a big park in the middle of an even bigger city.  Buildings grew around him and shifted the shape of the sky.

As sure as an alarm on a clock, each morning when the keeper Sonya brings food to Gus and Ida, two polar bears, they each leave the comfort of their respective caves to spend their day together.  They play with Ida's cherished yellow ball, frolic in their pool and rest on their favorite rock.  They have thoughtful conversations.

When Gus wonders, Ida answers.

"You don't have to see it to feel it," said Ida.
"Listen."

She reminds Gus what the noises they can hear mean.  Each day closes in the comfort of this constant cadence of their lives.

Upon waking one morning Gus is puzzled to hear all those city and park sounds without the presence of Ida.  He knows Ida is in her cave; her breathing reaches his ears.  Sonya explains to Gus about Ida being so ill her body will eventually sleep without waking.

Gus immediately runs to Ida angry and afraid.  She responds in kind, angry and afraid.  Eventually they sleep next to each other, quiet in their closeness.  Peace.

Days are brimming with ups and downs, silence and not silence.  Each evening ends the same, a mantra of longing.  Then Gus is alone.  BUT remembered words warm a soul like the sun brings heat to the fur of a polar bear sitting on a favorite rock.


When Caron Levis describes the Central Park Zoo, the habitat of Gus and Ida and the city surrounding them, she does so from personal experience creating a vision for readers.  Her use of short, informative sentences, the repetition of key phrases and a blend of dialogue and narrative supplies an invitation for us.  The sounds of the city are integral to the story.  Single words and near poetic sentences bring them from the page into our respective reading spaces. She compels us to become a part of Gus's and Ida's world.  We follow with pleasure and fall in love with these two magnificent creatures.  Here are two sample passages.

They heard buses groan; trucks rumble;
police whistle; taxis honk; pigeons coo;
people say Hey, Wait Yo, Hello;
and children laugh.

Two bears sniffled, two bear breaths panted, 
two bear hearts echoed each other's beat.


Even if you know absolutely nothing about this story, looking at the illustration on the opened matching dust jacket and book case portrays the affection felt by the two bears in their space within the confines of a city.  Charles Santoso's attention to the sky and skyline in this initial image, in the entire book, is spectacular extending from left to right, back to front.  Of particular notice is the color selected for the opening and closing endpapers; a lighter shade of purple followed by a darker hue.  I have always thought of purple as signifying royalty.  Surely by all accounts this is how these two bears were to all who visited them.

On the initial title page we are gazing at a pale blue sky filled with clouds in the faint shapes of polar bears. (Santoso does use shapes several more times within the body of the book.)  In small text we read the words

ida,

ALWAYS 

centered to the right edge.  The more formal title page, verso and dedication pages are a panoramic view of New York City and Central Park.  

Rendered digitally but looking like finely detailed paintings Santoso brings warmth of emotion to each picture.  Wide-angle views of the park from a bird's perspective and closer encounters with the two bears balance in a pleasing portrayal.  Visual size enhances the pacing; sometimes odd shaped or more traditional panels are used or a circular image framed in a liberal amount of white space.  These ask us to pause.

Santoso skillfully combines an interior look at the bears' homes while including the city in the background.  It is obvious he has studied his subjects conveying them realistically.  Can you see the small animal (s) he places in many pictures?  I see this as a constant and of life moving forward even in sadness.

One of my favorite illustrations, of several, spreads across two pages.  On the left in a circular display as the sun sets is the skyline of New York City with colored clouds and birds gathering for the evening in the trees.  It is framed in vegetation and rocks as if seen from a bear cave.  To the right inside the cave Gus and Ida are together, eyes closed and at rest.

Ida, Always written by Caron Levis with illustrations by Charles Santoso is a truly moving account of an enduring love and the loss of one part of a very special whole.  Thoughtfully written and illustrated, based upon a true story, it sends a beautiful message to everyone about grief.  It helps us to remember that what we cannot see can still be visible in our hearts.  An author's note is included on the last page.

To learn more about Caron Levis and Charles Santoso please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  They both have updated blogs linked at their websites. There is an excerpt from a developing activity guide on Caron Levis' blog. (Update:  April 18, 2016 The guide is now complete.) Charles Santoso has a Tumblr site. There are ten interior images at the publisher's website.  I think you will enjoy this radio interview. 

Here are some links to newspaper articles about Gus and Ida found at The Daily News, The New York Times, Huffpost Green and Gothamist.

Update:  March 17, 2016  I really enjoy when illustrators share portions of their process.  Here is a new tweet sent out by Charles Santoso.

Found these scribbles in my sketchbook. These were the start of many options for #idaalways cover. Time flies.. pic.twitter.com/67w9GTj0ur

— Charles Santoso (@minitreehouse) March 17, 2016

..."If I Never Get Back."

On February 24, 2016 people around the world will be celebrating World Read Aloud Day.  One of this year's activities leading up to the festivities, focused on the sheer joy of reading, is the 7 Strengths Countdown.  These seven weeks highlighting specific themes, belonging, curiosity, friendship, kindness, confidence, courage and hope, began the week of January 3, 2016.

Very early this morning I finished
a book, a book with words and pictures resonating long after the final pages are turned and the cover is closed, which embodies every single one of those ideas.  Firefly Hollow (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, August 18, 2015) written by Alison McGhee with illustrations by Christopher Denise is a place called home by firefly, cricket, vole and human nations.  It is an extraordinary place if you have a true heart, a heart ready to believe.

Swoop!
Firefly flitted through a knothole in the hollow tree, straight out into the clearing and straight back in again.  The night air outside the hollow tree was cool, and the air inside was warm.  She whooshed back and forth from cool to warm, outside to inside, faster and faster and faster until---yikes---she accidentally side-swiped Elder.

Since she was a teeny, tiny baby Firefly was watched over and encouraged by Elder.  They had a secret code for communicating, three fast and two long blinks which meant a variety of words depending on the situation.  Regardless of what she learned in her Basics of Blinking, Air Safety and Fear of Giants classes, Firefly practiced her midair flips, loop-de-loops, figure eights and timed her endurance flying.  Firefly had dreams; to explore beyond the safety of her home, to get closer to the miniature giant and to fly among the stars traveling to the moon.  The other fireflies thought she was crazy.

Cricket was usually getting in trouble during the Telling Temperature, High Jumping or Fear of Giants classes taught by Teacher.  He understood the reasons for fearing all water, the sun and giants but he had secrets.  Cricket had been close to the miniature giant, a boy called Peter, many, many times.  At night when the other crickets were singing about the natural world, Cricket hid away from the others among the reeds on the sandy shore, singing the words Peter and his friend sang,

Take me out to the ballgame...

Cricket had a dream; he wanted to be the Yogi Berra of crickets, learning to catch.  The other crickets thought he was crazy.

Vole was the last of his kind.  All the other river voles had lost their lives in a great flood (the giants had destroyed a beaver dam) when he was very young.  He now lived on a boat crafted of cedar by his grandfather tied to the roots of a white birch on the bank of the river.  He practiced a series of sailor knots over and over and memorized the River Vole's Guide.  Many seasons had come and gone and Vole had never left this spot.  He had a dream to sail, as his ancestors had done for years, down the river south to the sea.  The other animals highly respected Vole.

Both Cricket and Firefly were told giants could not see or hear them but after curious Firefly found Cricket, they made discoveries of their own.  These lead to a summer like none other ever experienced before in any of their lives. Firefly, Cricket and Peter helped and healed one another.  Vole watched, waited and cared for the two small creatures.

As the days grew shorter, the leaves started to look a little less green, and Peter's parents kept talking about school (He is refusing to go for reasons I will let you uncover.), a hurtful encounter at the hollow tree had Firefly doing the impossible.  Nations united in unforgettable moments.  Words of wisdom and comfort

You'll know when the time is right.
I'll be watching over you.
Let it come to you.

bound in hope a courageous, kind and confident cricket, firefly, vole and boy.  Their curiosity and sense of adventure created a friendship built on the need to belong.


The realm of Firefly Hollow is a place tucked away outside the hustle and bustle of city life, a small space of trees, leaves, grasses, and wild flowers near a river running to the sea.  We only know of two homes of humans near the wildlife community.  Alison McGhee fashions a world we want to reach out, hold gently in our hands and store in our hearts forever.  In our mind's eye we can see the hollowed tree, home to the firefly nation, the school training all the crickets, the outside and interior of Vole's boat and the flat rock, sandy beach and home of the boy Peter.  We share balmy nights lit by stars and a moon and days full of summer sunshine.

The conversations between the characters are genuine, full of true emotion.  We are also privy to the thoughts of Firefly, Cricket, Vole and Peter.  In addition to the dialogue between the characters McGhee has a narrator softly and subtly unfolding all the parts of the characters' lives, past and present, so we completely and wholeheartedly feel a kinship with them.  Here are some sample passages.

Firefly floated closer still.  This song was not a cricket song at all.  Firefly could hardly believe it, but this song was, in fact, a giant song.   It was the same song that the miniature giant used to sing, back in the days when his friend was still there and they played catch on the shore.

"I don't care..."

This was a song about forbidden things: giants and ball games and crowds.  Firefly fluttered her wings just enough to stay aloft, trying to be as quiet as possible, so that she wouldn't disturb the unknown cricket and his song.

"...if I never get back."

Somewhere out there was a cricket who snuck off at night to sing about something forbidden, something dangerous, something that none of the other crickets wanted.  Somewhere out there was a
cricket
like
her.

Now the sun went down, and the clearing in the woods began to glow with fireflies.  Vole watched the little rebel cricket hop down the creature path and hide himself in the reeds by the riverbank.  Every time Vole heard this particular cricket's song, he crept out onto this deck to listen.  There was something about the little cricket and his song that made him dream of faraway places.  Of what he himself might see, when he finally sailed downstream and beheld the great waters beyond.

Peter tilted his head in the way that meant he was trying to figure something out.  How could Cricket explain to him?
"After we die, we turn into music," he said.  "And we're everywhere."  They turned into the sound of the wind, rustling the leaves on the trees.
The crunch of an acorn in the fall.
The tap-tap-tap of a woodpecker's beak on a tree.
All these sounds were music.  Crickets and the memory of them were still part of the world, even if they were invisible.


The illustrations in this book by Christopher Denise will literally take your breath away.  You are introduced to Vole, Firefly and Cricket during a nighttime conversation along the river bank in the initial visual on the dust jacket.   The luminosity seen here is found in the fourteen full color single page images placed within the interior of this story.  

These eloquent pictures depict fireflies in flight, one doing loop-de-loops beneath a full moon, Cricket gazing at the captured baseball card of Yogi Berra, sunlight streaming through the trees into the clearing, and Peter, eyes open wide in wonder, peering at Cricket and Firefly near their flat rock.  Each image is a study in light and shadow, delicate details drawing you into the world of Firefly Hollow.  Numerous drawings in black and white and various sizes further support the narrative.  Each chapter begins with an oval picture above the text.  One particular image of a small paper boat caused me to burst into tears.

One of my favorite (I love all of them.) illustrations is the interior of Vole's boat at night.  He is sitting in his chair which rests on a small rug on the plank floor, an open book on his lap.  Firefly is floating upward toward her hammock-like bed in a spider web.  Cricket is sleepily leaning against the folded paper boat resting on Vole's table.  The room is lit from the glow of the fire.  Readers will wish they could join them.


Firefly Hallow written by Alison McGhee with illustrations by Christopher Denise is a marvelous story of longing, loss and love.  It's one you want to read at least once a year.  It's a story you will want to share with as many as you can.  Read it one-on-one or to an entire group, but read it you must.  This book is a classic in the truest sense.

To learn more about Alison McGhee and Christopher Denise please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  They both have more information about this book on their respective blogs (Christopher's) which are linked at their websites.  At the publisher's website are several more interior images as well as an excerpt from this book.  Take a moment to read Q & A with Alison McGhee at Publishers Weekly about this title.  Alison McGhee also talks about her writing process for this book at The Pippin Insider.  Christopher Denise and Nick Patton chat together on The Picturebooking Podcast. 

Update:  Enjoy this broadcast on MRPNews 'Firefly Hollow' The children's book that began with a painting  Writer Alison McGhee on 'Firefly Hollow' and the power of poetry

Drifting Out To Sea With Love

When someone you love has died it leaves a huge hole in your heart.  You wish to see their face, hear their voice or laughter or feel their hand holding your hand.  You miss them so much a smell can make you believe they are near to you.  Perhaps they passed by the same spot seconds before you arrived.

You may transfer plants from their gardens to your gardens wherever you live no matter how many times you move.  Without realizing it, you will acquire certain habits similar to their habits.  You will do what you know they would have enjoyed; little things or larger things.  Although they are gone, the connection is still strong.  Boats For Papa (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, June 30, 2015) written and illustrated by Jessixa Bagley is a story of longing and the purest form of love, unconditional.

Buckley and his mama lived in a small wooden house by the sea.  They didn't have much, but they always had each other.

On any given day, if you looked down at the beach, you would see Buckley walking along the sandy shore, gathering treasures delivered from the ocean.  He was a gatherer of objects, crafting boats from the found driftwood.  When he showed one of his boats to his mother, he told her with joy it was for his Papa.  Buckley's father had died.

Several days passed.  It was Buckley's birthday; celebrated with a picnic on the beach.  A special gift of paints and brushes from Mama made his day nearly complete.  As dusk descended the two of them walked along the beach.  Buckley had decided to send his boat out into the sea with a note attached.

Buckley believed if the boat did not return, his Papa would have received it.  A tradition was born on this day.  Buckley would send more boats to the parent he missed.  As Buckley slept, Mama strolled along the shore thinking about her husband.

Whenever an eventful day would come, Buckley would send out a boat to his Papa with the same message attached.  Every single time, his Mama would walk along the shore with him.  As weeks and months passed, Buckley's skill with building boats grew; as did the designs and details.

On his next birthday, the fun was better than ever due to Mama's extra special preparations.  At day's end, about to put his latest boat in the water, Buckley realized he had no note.  As his Mama waited at the water's edge, he raced back to their little home.  The next five pages are a testament to the strength of love between this parent and this child.


Very early in the narrative, Jessixa Bagley joins us to the characters.  Her choice of words creates a mood melody, a song about love.  With the second phrase we are keenly aware of the closeness of Buckley and his Mama.  Continuing with simple but illuminating sentences, we become further acquainted with the child and parent.  Bagley helps readers understand how a little can become all you need but much more than you expected.  Here is another sample passage.

"I'm going to send my boat to Papa.  If it doesn't come back to shore, I'll know he got it!" said Buckley as he placed his little boat in the water.  They watched it bob up and down as the tide carried it gently out to sea.


Rendered with pen and watercolor all the illustrations, beginning with the dust jacket, generate an atmosphere of solitude and peace.  A lightness of line and fine details along with the color palette radiate warmth in each image. (Careful readers will notice another story on the roof of their home.)  This first picture continues to the left, on the back, with a blanket, picnic basket and the remains of a meal, as evidence of time shared together.

The opening endpapers are a sandy beach strewn with pieces of wood, a pail, shovel, kelp, sea grass, pebbles, sea glass and a couple of sea creatures.  The closing endpapers supply the heartwarming conclusion to the story within the small wooden home. The two double-page illustrations for the title page, verso and dedication pages begin the story by showing Buckley and his Mama at the beach and walking home later hand in hand.

Jessixa Bagley varies her image sizes from smaller ones loosely framed in white on a single page, to those spanning two pages, and sometimes several on a single page.  These heighten the tender tempo of the story.  At times she has chosen to give us a wider view of the scene as when Buckley and his Mama are walking along the shore.  In other moments we are closer to the characters like when Buckley is painting one of his boats.  We are there with them.

One of my favorite illustrations is when Mama is walking the beach at night after Buckley is sleeping.  We see the vast expanse of the sea, the wide beach and huge rocky hill in the distance with everything bathed in moonlight. Mama stands alone in contemplation near the small house on stilts, curtains closed at the windows.  The use of light and shadow is exquisite.


Boats For Papa written and illustrated by Jessixa Bagley is a beautiful picture book debut.  A double twist at the end will leave you emotionally moved.  This is a book for every reader, for those who have loved and lost and for those who need to understand this loss.  Everyone will want to have it on their personal and professional book shelves.

To discover more about Jessixa Bagley, her work and thoughts, please follow the links attached to her name to access her website and blog.  You will enjoy this image on the mackidsbooks Instagram page.  To see interior images follow this link to the publisher's website.  Author, reviewer and blogger, Julie Danielson talks about and shares artwork from this title at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. (Spoilers within the post) Author Pat Zietlow Miller speaks about the use of text in this title in a post at Picture Book Builders.  Jessixa Bagley talks about the pronunciation of her name at TeachingBooks.net UPDATE:  Jessixa Bagley writes about the audience for her book in a recent blog post on October 7, 2015.