In The Darkness Dwells...

When you move into a new house, go to stay someplace else on vacation for a week or two or visit friends in their home for several days, it takes time to adjust to the room arrangements and where things are placed in those rooms.  If you are used to a light switch being on a certain side of a doorway when you enter a room and it's not there, it can be a little bewildering for a few seconds especially if it's dark.  It can be more disconcerting when you're in a strange room at night during a storm and the lights suddenly go out.

As you are trying to navigate in the total blackout your senses are heightened. You might see or hear something real or imagined.  I Will Not Eat You (A Paula Wiseman Book, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, September 6, 2016) written by Adam Lehrhaupt with illustrations by Scott Magoon is about a very specific dark place with a very particular inhabitant.  You are definitely going to be surprised several times.

Theodore lived in a cave.
It was a quiet cave,
and that's the way he liked it.

A chatty bird flapped its wings outside Theodore's cave one morning.  It made so much noise he wondered if the bird was offering to be his next meal.  There was not even the slightest inkling of emptiness in Theodore's stomach so he quietly told the noisy creature to leave.

"I will not eat you."

After the bird left a howling wolf approached the darkened entrance.  Again the thought popped into Theodore's head about consuming this beast.  A little more irritated this time, he told the annoying canine to move away from his cave.  He was not hungry.

A third animal, one of the largest of the big cats, strolled up to the cave growling.  Theodore was certainly not hungry and did not like the noise.  He told the uninvited guest to go.  By now afternoon had turned into evening.

To Theodore's amusement (insert eye roll) a boy rode his toy horse to the cave and gave a loud roar.  By this time the state of Theodore's belly was changing.  In a loud voice, far from welcoming, he told the irksome child to skedaddle or he would, without a doubt, gobble him up.  What did this boy do in the face of danger?

What he did was the proverbial last straw.  Theodore raced from the cave in hot pursuit.  The boy ran. Theodore ran.  This went on until something extraordinary happened not once but twice. The results are quite unbelievable.  And the last line...be prepared to laugh out loud.


When Adam Lehrhaupt spins a tale, you know nothing is going to unfold exactly as you might expect.  In this book he lures readers into the center of the story with the three animal visits to Theodore's cave.  The musings of Theodore form a repetitious pattern with the dragon's replies showing his increasing exasperation. The short spirited narrative and dialogue are utterly perfect leading us unknowingly toward the surprises after the fourth "guest" or "entree" appears.  Here is a sample passage.

But Theodore wasn't hungry.
"Go away, loud wolf," he grunted.
"I will not eat you."
The wolf jogged away.


It's the darkest part of dark on the dust jacket; the varnished, bright, golden text (hand-lettered) accentuating the cave entrance with the menacing eyes.  What could possibly be inside that cave? To the left, on the back, among the forest foliage we see three more pairs of eyes, alluding to the appearance of these creatures in the story.  On the book case all is revealed during the light of an early spring morning in the future. All four visitors happily surround the cave opening.  The two glowing eyes look directly at us.  (Readers will notice the change in elements of the boy's attire.)  The opening and closing endpapers are vastly different.  On the first the forest scene is bleak in shades of black and gray like late November.  On the second the sky is awash in the color of new day.  The trees are full of leaves.  There are flowers around the cave.

Scott Magoon's digitally rendered illustrations begin to put a singular enhancement on the story on the verso and title pages. The blush of early morning in autumn in the forest greets readers in a two-page image.  All of the pictures span both pages, edge to edge.  By the change in the color palette for the sky and flora we see the shift in time of day and the seasons.  The eye color of Theodore reflects these differences.

In the one visual where all we see is the darkened interior of the cave, the ground in front and the eyes, the entire tension of the story is intensified.  It makes the approach of the boy more startling.  Carrying his stick pony, a shining flashlight, a shield (a garbage can lid with a star painted on it) and his wooden sword and wearing a blanket cape and muddy boots, he is the classic figure of a knight of the royal boyhood realm.  In keeping with darker colors, a shadow of Theodore gives us our first hint of his identity.

One of my favorite illustrations is for the moments before the double surprises are revealed.  On the left is a close-up of the boy's face. He's covered in muddy streaks and flowers.  His mouth is wide open.  In the beam of his flashlight we see the grandeur of the dragon, wings outstretched, tail behind the boy and standing tall.  Whiskers shoot out from either side of his nose. His eyes are full of amazement or amusement.  Flowers surround his head and face.  His mouth is wide open too.  The colors of black, hues of blue, white, golden yellow, red and brown make for a striking image.


I Will Not Eat You written by Adam Lehrhaupt with illustrations by Scott Magoon is a delightfully dark story which will leave you guessing more than once.  It invites participation with the reoccurring phrases.  You'll want to get your props ready to use this book in a creative drama storytime.

To learn more about Adam Lehrhaupt and Scott Magoon please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Scott Magoon has numerous images on his site showing the illustrative process for this title.  At the publisher's website you can view six interior images.  Both Adam and Scott are interviewed by educator Dylan Teut about this book on his site Mile High Reading.  Scholastic News Kids has an interview with Scott Magoon.

Truly—esp. building visual suspense towards the reveal w slow zoom in over many page turns. @Loveofxena @Lehrhaupt @SimonKIDS @pwisemanbooks

— Scott Magoon (@smagoon) September 22, 2016

UPDATE:  The book trailer premiere is up at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog Watch. Connect. Read. today, September 23, 2106.  It's perfect!

Just One More...

Sometimes we have an appetite for more than we really need especially when it comes to food.  Our nose tells us to taste something because the aroma is downright heavenly.  Perhaps our eyes see a combination of colors and design in the presentation on a plate which is an open invitation.  Our stomach is full but our senses are saying just one more helping.

We believe an extra little bite can't make a difference.  One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, May 3, 2016) written by Daniel Bernstrom with pictures by Brendan Wenzel is a tantalizing tale of relinquishing common sense.  Clever coaxing wins over a greedy gourmand.

One day in the leaves 
of the eucalyptus tree
hung a scare in the air
where no eye could see,

when along skipped a boy
with a whirly-twirly toy,
to the shade of the eucalyptus,
eucalyptus tree.

The lad wasn't aware a sly snake silently moved toward him, its mouth open wide.  In a blink of an eye, he was inside; inside the stomach of the wily reptile.  The boy's voice called out, encouraging the cagey creature to seek another entree as there was plenty of room.  Before you could say chirp, chirp a bird and his worm friend were consumed, both certain of their doom.

Deep from the dark, the little guy yelled again.  Not surprisingly the snake complied, savoring an unsuspecting cat.  In case you think it was getting crowded in the beast's belly, rest assured it was not.  The crafty child spoke a third time with even more purpose, convincing the snake the empty space was spacious.  Gulp!  A sloth was much too slow.

The creature continued to devour at the boy's insistence, the size of each meal increasing.  When the snake asked the child deep in the dark if

"I should take one more bite
while my tummy feels so tight?, 

you know exactly what he said.  In fact, after the next big swallow when the reptile could barely wobble, the boy suggested he eat more.

The snake said no once.  The snake said no twice.  Then he weakened seeking a teensy-weensy morsel.  Ssssssip!  OH! MY! GOODNESS!


With every reading as the tale unfolds and the snake's stomach grows, you can feel your grin expanding in proportion.  Daniel Bernstrom's words burst forth in a fabulous rhythmic melody.  His spirited verb choices, skipped, gobbled, zipped, descriptive sounds, crinkle, wrinkle, slurp, buuuuurrrrp and repetitions, especially the boy's tempting suggestions, encourage participation.  Here is another sample passage.

Munch, munch came a
crunch from the leaves of the tree.
Oh! A rare kind of bear munching
tasty, tasty greens.


Readers have no idea what is about to ensue when looking at the front of the matching dust jacket and book case.  The tiny critters in the trees are simply observing wide-eyed at the boy and snake duo.  In fact, by the smiles on the faces of the twosome, you assume they are friends.  The framing of the forest tree, flowers and vines around the title text suggests a circle, perfect for this cumulative story.  To the left, on the back, readers get an entirely different sense of where this tale is going to go.  The boy is held in the tight grip of the snake's tail as the open mouth is ready to swallow him whole.  The same hue as used in the title text provides the background for the opening and closing endpapers.

Rendered in everything imaginable to create the digital illustrations Brendan Wenzel captures and enhances the liveliness of the narrative.  His creatures of the forest and the boy see with large expressive eyes.  Their body movements are in keeping with their personalities.  Wenzel also manages to instill humor in his characters with their typical but exaggerated physical characteristics and habits.

Many of the images cross the gutter spanning from page edge to page edge.  Wenzel fashions panels of varying sizes and shapes to signify changing scenes or portions of a single scene.  Their design and layout is superb drawing our eyes to a specific place.  As the belly of the snake continues to bulge the area of the visual focusing on the darkened interior increases.  A bright color palette appropriate to the flora and fauna adds to the joy found on every page turn.  Careful readers will notice several things on the final page of publication information in the picture.

One of my favorite of many illustrations is when the snake is about to swallow the bear.  To the left and crossing a portion of the gutter is the darkened stomach of the snake with the shapes of the animals already in residence visible.  We can see the whites of their frightened eyes.  On the right the bulging belly of the snake extends behind a portion of its body as its large mouth aims at the rear end of the bear.  The bear, mouth full of leaves, is turned looking in fright.  You can't help but wonder how the snake is going to eat this big bear.


One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree story by Daniel Bernstrom with pictures by Brendan Wenzel is a read aloud treasure.  It's a triumphant entry in the folklore family sure to be requested repeatedly.  I know listeners are going to be joining in with the repetitious phrases.  Can't you just see this performed as a reader's theater?  I know I can.

To discover more about Daniel Bernstrom and Brendan Wenzel please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Brendan Wenzel has some interior images displayed.  Julie Danielson, author, reviewer and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast interviews Daniel Bernstrom at Kirkus (Don't miss this!) and follows with artwork on her blog the following week.  Brendan Wenzel is interviewed by educator Dylan Teut at Mile High Reading.