There's "Snow" Better Time To Read

It began in the early afternoon yesterday.  It was not stopping.  The entire landscape looked as though it was dipped in vanilla frosting.  The wind gusts sculpted lovely shapes and rang my three sets of wind chimes.  Winter is back full throttle. 






Late, late last night the snow finally stopped but the winds are still howling.  The big lake, Lake Michigan, is wild and beautiful today.  A walk along the shoreline needs to be done with respect.


Two of three publications released in November 2019 remind us of all the fun-filled activities to be enjoyed outside in winter.  The third book focuses on a hesitate hibernator.  In an alphabetical journey with a new-found friend, he makes his way back home.

When The Snow Is Deeper Than My Boots Are Tall (Godwin Books, Henry Holt and Company, November 5, 2019) written by Jean Reidy with illustrations by Joey Chou will have eager readers ready for a romp in the out-of-doors.  There is something special about an unexpected snowstorm.  It's an open invitation brimming with possibilities.

Jump up in the morning.
Winter's here at last!
Gobble down my pancakes.
Getting dressed so fast. 

Our happy narrator compares the snow depth throughout the story by his size.  It begins as

deeper than my toes are tall.

Before he gets garbed in his winter gear and sets foot outside, it's much deeper.  He joyfully leaves prints wherever he goes.  The family cat and dog join in his snowball fight with the neighborhood children and when he makes a snowman.

It keeps on snowing and the wind is still blowing.  A huge gust snatches his hat and now the snow depth matches the book's title.  This little guy is in need of rescue.

Near but not too near, loving parents pick him up.  The adventuresome boy, dog and cat are carried through the snow until they all take a minute or two or three to leave their shapes in the snow.  A final gaze at a vast starry sky is a prelude to an appreciative snuggle inside by a cozy, crackling fire.


Author Jean Reidy pens a wonderful rhyming story which will have readers clapping and toe-tapping by the second page turn.  Repeating the deeper than phrase but adding to its descriptions asks for reader participation.  Jean Reidy also includes single alliterative action words and the repetition of certain words together to heighten the rhythm.  Here is a passage.

Step!
Stamp!
Stomp!
Run!
Tracks in the white.

Splet!
Splat!
Splot!
Fun!
Snowball fight!


Illustrator Joey Chou using hues of blue and purple contrasting with vivid colors in clothing and interior and exterior scenes of the boy's home manages to portray a winter's snowy, blowy and chilly day with excellence.  On the front of the dust jacket the boy is gleefully swung between his parents as the family pets watch.  To the left, on the back, we are brought in close, to the boy and his pets engaged in making snow angels as two birds fly over them.  Specific elements are varnished to reflect light on the snow and title text.

On the book case in shades of turquoise as a background with large snowflakes in darker turquoise, white and purple, an interior illustration is featured.  It shows the boy romping in the snow, leaving his footprints and handprints.  He moves from left to right into four different positions before running toward the right-hand corner.

The opening and closing endpapers are covered in a bright orange similar to the boy's scarf.  The images, rendered by digitally painting in Adobe Photoshop, are all double-page pictures with shifting perspectives to enhance the pacing.  Several times we get a bird's eye view.  We are brought close to the characters for emotional impact.  Readers will delight in the extra details like the cat and dog paw prints on the frost-covered window pane

One of my many favorite illustrations is of the boy making a snowman.  On the left he is rolling the head toward the two other large snowballs on the right.  His snowball on the left already has eyes, a smiling mouth, a carrot nose and twigs sticking out the top for hair.  The medium snowball has a red bow tie on it.  The cat is peeking out the top.  The largest snowball has yellow boots for feet.  The dog, paws on top, is looking at the cat and his boy and is barking.

To learn more about Jean Reidy and Joey Chou and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Jean Reidy has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.  Joey Chou has accounts on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  The link is attached to their name.


A Day for Skating (Candlewick Press, November 5, 2019) written by Sarah Sullivan with illustrations by Madeline Valentine is sure to have readers reaching for their skates and searching for the nearest ice.  If you can't walk to it, it's time for a trip.  Then, get ready to glide, twirl and zoom over the frozen surface.

Mittens, boots, parka, cap.
Crisp cold. Branches snap.
Clear pond, shining ice.
Laced-up skates---check them twice.

An adult, little girl and pet dog head to the skating pond in their car.  At the ice, the little girl struggles to maintain her balance but her companions, human and canine are there to offer support and help.  After the tumble, the trio head inside the warming hut with others for a snack and hot chocolate.

Later, back outside, we watch others skating hand-in-hand, playing hockey, dancing and racing.  Everyone seems to be enjoying their day on the ice.  At dusk, a roaring fire in a brick pit outside is a place to get warm and change from skates to boots.  Others gather by the fire with the adult, little girl and their dog.

Back home there's a warm bath to take off the chill, and a favorite book to read in bed. What's happening at the ice now that everyone is home?  Only the full moon knows for sure.


Through the words written by author Sarah Sullivan is seems as if we are there at the pond and at the child's home at the end.  Most of the two lines rhyme at the end, giving us a descriptive vision of place, time and the emotional mood.  There is a distinctive flow mirroring the actions of the characters until we, like the little girl, are lulled into calm at the conclusion.  Here is a passage.

Good friends gliding in a row.
Holding on and letting go.


Rendered digitally and using watercolor and colored pencil, the illustrations by Madeline Valentine transport us to the pond on the matching and open dust jacket and book case.  On the front the girl and her parent skate together amid a hockey player and group of figure skaters.  The crisp, cold setting is deftly depicted in cooler colors with bright splashes in the clothing worn by the skaters. 

The scene continues over the spine to the left.  Five skaters, hand-in-hand fashion a line whipping around on the ice.  Behind them is the warming hut, the dog and another father and his son. Readers will be pleased to see different ethnic groups represented.

On the opening endpapers, the parent, little girl and dog are riding in their car to the pond down a county road with a snowy landscape behind them.  On the closing endpapers we are at the pond at night.  We can see the warming hut and a portion of the pond.  Deep purples broken with white snowflakes and a large shining moon portray an atmospheric scene.  On the verso and title pages we are treated to an overview of the parking lot, warming hut, ponds with skaters and the bridge.

The majority of the images are double-page pictures with smaller illustrations featuring actions in a short time period.  The expressions on the characters are those of pure joy whether they are on the ice, in the warming hut, cozy around the fire outside or when our main characters are happily at home.  Readers will appreciate the fine line work and details.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a close-up of people gathered around the outdoor fire pit.  On the left are several children and an adult, and the girl, her parent and dog.  On the right a child, skates over their arm, is close to the pit, arms and hands outstretched to savor the heat.  Careful readers will notice new guests off the edge to the right.  They are a hint of things to come.

Links are attached to the names of Sarah Sullivan and Madeline Valentine, so you can learn more about them and their work by accessing their websites.  Sarah Sullivan maintains accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.  Madeline Valentine maintains accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At Candlewick Press and at Penguin Random House you can view interior illustrations.  Here is a link to a nine-page activity kit found at the author's website.


Bear Is Awake!: An Alphabet Story (Dial Books For Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, November 26, 2019) written and illustrated by Hannah E. Harrison is an enchanting story of an unlikely and unexpected friendship.  A winter's nap is interrupted for reasons unknown.  A girl's morning is interrupted, too, but she handles it with pure perfection.

Aa  awake
Bb  big bear
Cc  cozy cabin
Dd  doorbell ding-dong!

As you might expect, the letter e reveals entirely different responses from the bear and the girl.  The bear is thrilled with his entrance into the cottage.  The girl is surprised out of her mind.  For each letter of the alphabet the story unfolds from one hilarious moment to the next.

The girl decides they need to go on an excursion.  She puts a large hat on the bear, and they set off down the road into town.  The townspeople and children are terrified.  The bear is having a ton of fun and the girl is trying to keep him acting nicely.

After a trip to the market and back at the cottage, a pancake breakfast makes for two happy people.  The more she learns (from reading a book she got when they visited the library), the girl knows the bear must go back to his home.  The trip is partially fun filled, long and a tiny bit sad.  Now tucked in for his long winter's nap, the bear (and readers) will notice the treats and promise left behind.


Every carefully chosen word by Hannah E. Harrison moves us through this delightfully charming narrative laden with humor.  The single words, double words, triple words and one group of four are sometimes alliterative but nevertheless, fashion a cadence.  Together this collection of alphabetically arranged words do tell a story but they leave plenty of room for the marvelous illustrations.  Here are the words for the letter o.

Oo  oblivious officer
       outlandish outfit


As soon as you look at the front of the matching dust jacket and book case, not a second later, you'll be filled with merriment.  That bear and that girl are having the most fun either of them have ever had.  Notice the shadows made by their arms and legs as they form their snow angles and their footprints and paw prints in the snow.  To the left, on the back, still on a background of white, an interior image of the girl tying the hat on the bear is placed between text that reads:

What would you do if A Bear Came to the Door?

A. Run!
B. Scream!
C. Give the bear a warm hat and head to the library for advice.

On the opening and closing endpapers, with a blue-on-blue color scheme, a map of the community, the girl's cabin and surrounding woods, the stream, mountains and bear's home are shown.  There is one difference between the first and second set of endpapers.  Readers will have fun with the added detail.

Illustrator Hannah E. Harrison begins the pictorial story on the title page with the bear still sleeping inside his den but by the first page turn, a squirrel has moved to the top of the den when the bear wakes up. 

The artwork for this book was created with Winsor & Newton Designers gouache on Strathmore 400 series 184 lb. mixed media paper with vellum surface.

The image sizes vary between double-page pictures, full-page pictures, and several images on a single page.  Readers won't know whether to burst out laughing (which they will undoubtedly do) or point out all the tiny elements Hannah E. Harrison includes in her pictures.  The bear is using a single sharp claw to ring the doorbell.  The bear glances back at the lion on the library steps.  The baby touching the bear's fur during story time is completely at ease.  All the children are watching the bear or carrying on as usual.  The librarian is the one looking rather uncomfortable.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is on a single page.  The bear and the girl are in the supermarket at the check-out counter.  The cart is ahead of the girl and the cashier; the items are already in a bag.  The big, bulky bear is squashed into the seat, wearing the seatbelt and cautiously waving one paw at the cashier.  The cashier is trying to ring the cash register and take the girl's money while keeping an eye on the bear.  The girl, her back to us, is holding out her money.  This is the nice part of the letter n.  (You should see the naughty scene on the previous page.)


Follow the link attached to Hannah E. Harrison's name to access her website and learn all about her other enchanting books.  Hannah E. Harrison has an account on Facebook.  You might enjoy this interview of Hannah E. Harrison on Brightly.  At the publisher's website you can view the title page.


When The Snow Is Deeper Than My Boots Are Tall written by Jean Reidy with illustrations by Joey Chou, A Day for Skating written by Sarah Sullivan with illustrations by Madeline Valentine and Bear Is Awake!: An Alphabet Story written and illustrated by Hannah E. Harrison are three fabulous books for a winter theme whether they are read separately or together.  They offer multiple opportunities for story stretcher activities.  All of them are lively and full of cheer.  Who could ask for anything more?  I highly recommend all three for your personal and professional collections.

Icy Encounters

There are still forty-one days until the December solstice but a chill is in the air, trees are nearly bare of leaves and needles, and snow is staying on the mountain tops.  It's a time to gather wood for cozy fires, check furnaces and gas fireplaces, take wool blankets and flannel sheets out of storage, and locate mittens, hats and scarves.  Poles, snow shoes, sleds, snowboards, skis and ice skates move from the back corners of sheds and garages to the front.

We all watch and wait for the snow to fall deeper and deeper.  We all watch and wait for those chilly temperatures to turn our water wonderlands into frozen stages for our skating dances and games.  In the realm of fairy tales and nursery rhymes the residents are as eager as we to shift into another season.  Little Red Gliding Hood (Random House, October 27, 2015) written by Tara Lazar with pictures by Troy Cummings follows a familiar girl among a cast of well-loved characters as she searches for a way to win.

It was winter, and the river winding through the enchanted forest was frozen solid.  A girl raced down to the river's edge and laced up her skates.

As she moves with the same grace as swallows on currents of air, we can easily see why the people have named her Little Red Gliding Hood.  She looks at her skates wondering how she will continue going to her Grandma's house every Sunday.  They are falling apart at the seams and too small.  Up ahead a group has gathered around a proclamation banner.

It's an announcement for a skating competition.  The winner will receive a pair of new skates. Little Red has to win.  Little Red knows she can win.  Little Red needs a partner but everyone already has someone or they have more excuses than Jack has frost.

Flying as fast as her feet will go to avoid the Big Bad Wolf Little Red arrives at her grandmother's cottage.  Her suggestions of the Gingerbread Man and Baby Bear won't work; too fast and Goldilocks snagged the little cub first.  As luck would have it, The Three Little Pigs were Grandma's new neighbors.

Someone was not too happy to hear Little Red utter

"Little pigs, little pigs, let me in!"

Someone started skating with purpose in pursuit.  Little Red raced across the ice but her skates could not take the strain.  One left her foot as she toppled toward the ice.  With outstretched arms the wolf, the big bad one, caught her.

Displaying all the gallantry of Prince Charming, this waltzing wizard on ice pays Little Red a compliment.  What?!  This is beyond her comprehension and her knowledge of this cunning creature.  It does give her an idea though.  This idea grows until it becomes a plan; a plan which turns into a day everyone in attendance will remember, especially the couple wearing new skates skimming along the frozen river into the sunset.


The four sentence introduction to the title page is our prelude to the skillful use of rhyme, repetition and alliteration by author Tara Lazar.  With her words our world fades away; replaced by the enchanted forest.  With ease the persons and animated items from classic children's literature find a new home in her spin on this timeless tale.  Here are a couple of sample sentences.

Little Red's skates were worn-in and worn-out, no longer snow white, and a little too tight.
She frowned at the creases and crumples.

Old MacDonald slipped and fell.
E-I-E-I-ouch!


When you first see Little Red gliding in her hood on the ice you know she's in her element.  This gal loves to skate.  You also believe she's oblivious to trouble lurking in the woods along the river.  To the left, on the back and behind her, are folk from nursery rhymes and fairy tales, The Three Blind Mice, Humpty Dumpty, one of The Three Little Pigs, The Queen of Hearts and one of the Seven Dwarfs.  They are wearing winter attire and a variety of expressions.

On the opening and closing endpapers Troy Cummings has placed snowy evergreens and snowflakes in a pattern of blues and diamonds.  The following double-page spread gives readers an overview of the enchanted forest with the river winding around a gingerbread house, castles, The Three Bears, Little Bo-Peep and her sheep, a beanstalk rising into the clouds, a golden braid of hair draped down the side of a tower, and other icons we know.  This takes us to the close-up of Little Red, cape billowing out behind her holding the title text, on the second double-page image.

Cool hues with an array of vivid shades color the illustrations in all shapes and sizes throughout this title. Cummings may zoom-in to perfect a point in the narrative or give us a larger perspective to increase our understanding of Little Red's world.  He crosses the gutter flawlessly with the river or inside Grandma's cozy abode.  We pause to look at the details he cleverly includes.

One of my favorite pictures is of the skating competition.  The crowd of characters on the ice is brightly portrayed.  On the outside the spectators are outlined in blue and shaded in pastels.  It works very well drawing our eyes first to the inside where we see oodles of charming friends from books we love. When a boy cries

WOLF!

he surrounds that word in pink.  The wolf looks quite debonair in his clothing.


Little Red Gliding Hood written by Tara Lazar with pictures by Troy Cummings is fractured fairy tale fun during any season but it's absolutely perfect for the winter months.  As the words are read or heard heads will nod knowingly when they hear familiar names.  You will want to have all those other rhymes and tales ready so readers can enjoy them and this title again and again.  You might want to do a comparison with Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion and Ninja Red Riding Hood.

To learn more about Tara Lazar and Troy Cummings and their work please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Tara Lazar has several blog posts dedicated to this title.  The link is here.  At the publisher's website you can view the endpapers, introduction and title pages.  Little Red is interviewed at The Little Crooked Cottage. 

Over And Under The Ice

Once the temperatures were consistently below freezing and snow had fallen, all the neighborhood kids knew what would happen.  The caretakers of the nearby park would start to make a skating pond.  I know every single child for blocks around was including Jack Frost in their prayers at night, hoping he would work his magic to make the layers of water freeze faster.

When the rink was ready some would play games of hockey using whatever was available for a puck, others wove over the ice in endless challenges of crack-the-whip or a few dreamed of dancing in swirling figure eights before an admiring crowd.  We loved skating on that pond.   Molly Idle's gregarious gal first acquainted with readers in her 2014 Caldecott Honor winning title, Flora and the Flamingo, has returned.  Donning a pair of skates she glides over the ice in Flora and the Penguin (Chronicle Books, September 30, 2014).

In silence, without words, the story is told; beginning with a single two-page illustration including the title.  Flora is walking across a section of ice, her skates over her shoulder, as she eyes a hole in the ice.  We are able to see the water underneath the frozen landscape.

Putting on her skates, still watching the hole, she is rewarded, as are we, with the sight of a beak tip.  We know it's a penguin.  A few fish are swimming from the page edges toward the center.

As the penguin emerges from the water a greeting is given.  The two join hands, partners in a graceful dance, moving to a melody only they know.  As they change directions so do the two large schools of fish now present.  When we lift the first flap we see the pair in perfect synchronization as they face away from us.

As their bodies leap and stretch, the fish are performing in a figure eight formation.  With laughter on her face, Flora is blissfully unaware of every single fish shifting as a unit toward the opening.  Apparently with some instinctual gift, the penguin knows, diving through the hole in hot pursuit.  On the top of the ice flaps show Flora's disappointment at the loss of her companion.  Beneath the ice, the penguin is not giving up the chase.

Pleased as punch, the penguin pops back up to the surface with a single fish; presenting it to Flora as a token of friendship.  With a flippant fling, she tosses it back through the hole.  The penguin is aghast.  The pair is not pleased with each other but Flora, perhaps from her own experiences in the first book, realizes the need to make amends.  Heart and head working together, her inventive plan gains more than one catch of the day.


When I unfolded the dust jacket Molly Idle's design seen on the front, the wide strip edged in snowflakes, continues to both flap edges.  Flora and her penguin friend are joyously skating to the right on the front.  The reverse is featured on the back.  Beneath the jacket the book case is a frosty white with only two small illustrations.  On the right the penguin is peering out of his hole.  It's bottoms up on the left.  The bright golden yellow hues cover both sets of endpapers.

In this title the white, rather than acting as a canvas as it did to highlight Flora and the flamingo, becomes an element directly influencing the overall atmosphere of ice and snow.  Rendered in colored pencils with the limited color palette, simplicity in design and delicate details create sheer eloquence.  Each flap, carefully placed, heightens the narrative's progression and emotions.

I've turned the pages again and again as well as each flap, finding it hard to select a favorite.  Everything flows flawlessly; so connected as to be one solid whole.  I really enjoy the sequence of illustrations when Flora and the penguin are together again, working to correct her mistake.  It says a lot when the penguin joins her rather quickly.


Like a blade on the ice, Flora and the Penguin conceived and illustrated by Molly Idle will skate its way right into your heart.  Hand this to readers who like participating in stories with the tactile experience of lifting flaps and readers who love penguins, skating and friendships.  You are going to love dancing with Flora and her pal as much as you did the very first time.  It's simply glorious.


If you are interested in learning more about Molly Idle and her work, please follow the link attached to her name taking you to her website and blog.  Here is a recent interview she did at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by Julie Danielson.  A Q & A with Molly Idle about this title and her work in general appeared a little later in Publishers Weekly.  Teacher librarian extraordinaire, John Schumacher, premiered the book trailer (and much more) at his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  At the publisher's website they have included two illustrations with the flaps for your viewing.  Molly Idle chats with Matthew C. Winner, a special teacher librarian, on his Let's Get Busy podcast.