Bound By Books

Today kicks off the 96th celebration of the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country.  Children's Book Week runs through the 10th of May.  It highlights books for young readers promoting a love of reading.  A visit to the site reveals many suggestions and promotional tools.







There is no better way to begin this jubilation than with a book about books.  LOOK! (Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), April 7, 2015) written and illustrated by Jeff Mack uses only two words to tell his story.  He is expanding on the successful technique of using only two letters as he did in AH HA! (Chronicle Books, August 20, 2013).


A rather bored gorilla is trying to get the attention of a little guy seated on a stool, eyes glued to a television screen.  On a small table near the duo is a stack of three books.  The gorilla takes the top one, opens it and places it on his head like a hat.  He gently pokes the boy in the back asking him to

LOOK.

When the boy fails to move a single muscle, including his eyes, the laughing gorilla leans over the screen balancing the book on this nose, waving his arms and shouting.  The boy exclaims,

Look out.

Having tumbled backward, the gorilla gazes at the three books now on the floor.

Using his superb skills, the positive primate stacks the books edge to edge on top of one another.  On one foot he stands at the top like balancing ballerina.  When he falls to the floor, the child shouts his original exclamation again.  The gorilla points and laughs.  The boy points out an open door.

Now the room is dark except for the glow from the screen casting light on the boy's face.  With a shout, actually seven shouts, the jovial giant bursts through the door juggling all three books as he arrives, standing on the seat of a tricycle on one foot.  This is going to be a spectacular display of best intentions gone wrong.

Amid much shouting two things disappear, the hypnotic glow and the once happy but now tearful gorilla.  The boy is nearly alone.  Without words, time passes.  Without words, a discovery is made.  With cheerful yells a tale within a tale is told.


Jeff Mack employs to great effect the different meanings, combinations and nuances of the words look and out.  The only punctuation used is periods and exclamation points.  Without those readers can sense the shift in emotion and pacing; eagerness, surprise and sharing.  The final use of the word out could not have been done better.


Textured like cloth the matching dust jacket and book case background opens up the possibility of a book within a book.  Readers will know, without a doubt, the gorilla is willing to do whatever it takes to get the attention of the boy.  On the back, to the left, we see signs of his antics; the fallen table, books and a tricycle wheel.  A bright orange canvas for the opening and closing endpapers complements the bright bold colors of the jacket and case.

With a page turn Jeff Mack begins his story without words.  It continues on the title page illustration, rendered in mixed media, including pencil, watercolor, collage, and digital manipulations, as are all the pictures.  For these two pages and the following two pages, the main elements are placed on other existing open books.

Each of the subsequent single and double page images are displayed on a variety of backgrounds frequently seen in books.  Mack supplies text in different fonts, even using crayon to write some of his words.  There is an underlying zip, zap and zing on every page.  The enthusiasm of the gorilla, the total motionless of the seated boy and his eruptions of disgusted anger provide for hilarity.

One of my favorite illustrations of several is on a single page.  After one of the gorilla's falls, the red book, opened, is now on the boy's head like a hat.  The television has slipped off the stand.  The gorilla is pointing and saying LOOK.  Clearly he is happy with the outcome.  The child's body posture states he is clearly not happy.


It's not every day a gorilla enters your home wanting to be your friend but this gorilla is determined to get the boy's attention.  Little does he know the power of the objects he is using for his purposes.  LOOK! written and illustrated by Jeff Mack is one of those titles with a timeless message about the power of books to bring people together.  It will make for a fun-filled read aloud with a storytime group or a cozy one-on-one sharing with someone you love.  You might want to have a stuffed toy gorilla or puppet handy.   I think this would make a wonderful reader's theater.  Don't be surprised to see guys and gals trying to balance books on their noses.

To learn more about Jeff Mack and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  If you click on the image for this book, you can see additional interior pictures.

Refrigerator Surprises

Have you ever had a carton of milk or jug of orange juice in your hand while opening the door on a cupboard or microwave?  You're distracted to the point you're not thinking about what should go where.  Have you ever opened the door on your refrigerator expecting to find some delicious snack, only to discover it has disappeared?  You're positive you purchased it.  You're positive you couldn't have eaten it already.  Immediately you might think as was commonly heard around the house when I was growing up, "The ghost must have done it."

In my wildest dreams I've never opened anything inside my home expecting to find something alive.  (I did open a bathroom vanity one time to find a mouse waving at me, but that's another tale for another time.)  Those beings are much better at existing in the outside world.  For this reason Duck In The Fridge (Two Lions, September 2, 2014) written and illustrated by Jeff Mack is hilarious before you've even read the story.

OK, KIDDO.  IT'S TIME
FOR BED.

As a dad sits down next to his son's bed to begin reading a bedtime story, a question prompts an unexpected reply.  The boy wants to know why his dad always reads Mother Goose.  The boy is beside himself with excitement when his dad answers,

...IT ALL STARTED WHEN I FOUND A DUCK IN THE FRIDGE.  

Yes!  You read that right.  When he is a tad older than his son's age he finds a real live web-footed, orange-billed, white-feathered quacker in the kitchen appliance.

That's not the only place there are ducks either.  They make getting ready for bed nearly impossible. Sleep is entirely out of the question.  Crackers barely curb their hunger.  They, the ducks, decide to order pizza.

The boy's dad makes a phone call for help.  His request for something very scary ends up with two very hairy items prone to baaing a great deal and watching television.  His bigger, better, scarier plea prompts the delivery of not one, not two but three dogs.  Now his home is filled with ducks, sheep and canines who love card games.

At his wit's end one more phone call supplies him with a humongous box on his doorstep.  A wild rip-roaring party ensues.  When a duck, wearing an unusual hat, proclaims his lack of reading skills, the boy's dad, a very smart guy for his young age, has an idea.

Before long all the critters are crowding around him.  Questions are being asked and answered.  Good night, sleep tight one and all; night after night after night.


Every reader will be laughing by page two at the absurd turns in this tale spun by Jeff Mack.  The puns and jokes spoken by the animals are so goofy you'll be groaning but grinning at the same time.  Mack skillfully mixes the dad's narration with comments and conversations added in speech bubbles.  Having pizza as the food of choice will be readily understood by readers.  Here is a sample passage.

I gave the ducks some crackers,
but they ate them all.
Then they ordered out for pizza.

WHO'S GOING 
TO PAY FOR
ALL OF THIS?

JUST PUT IT ON MY BILL.


Look at the illustration on the matching dust jacket and book case spreading across the back to front!  All the red with the other bright cheerful colors, not to mention the expression on the duck's face contrasted by the look of total shock worn by the boy, will draw readers to the book immediately.  (I love the red refrigerator.) In two shades of golden yellow Jeff Mack has drawn the interior shelves of a refrigerator loaded with food for both sets of endpapers.  A turn of page takes readers to the verso and title page beginning the story with the boy jumping into his bed, stuffed duck toy following behind, as his father calls out to him.

Cartoon-like illustrations rendered digitally by Jeff Mack show a full range of facial emotions, some zooming in closer than others.  Mack chooses to vary his illustration sizes, double or single page edge to edge, or a single page with a liberal use of white space.  His large illustrations with all the animals are flawless creative chaos.  You could look for hours at all the details...and pieces of pizza.

One of my favorite illustrations of several is at the beginning.  The boy (the child's dad when younger) is lying in bed grasping the covers up to his mouth which is open wide.  Behind his glasses his eyes are expressing complete disbelief.  Next to him under the covers is a duck wearing one of his tube socks as a hat saying...

GOT ANY CRACKERS?

Off to the side of the scene in the lower right-hand corner is a portion of a Mother Goose book.


Sure to be a bedtime favorite with many requests for repeated readings but good anytime if you want to hear peals of laughter, Duck In The Fridge written and illustrated by Jeff Mack is the book you need.  I recommend you read with many voices full of expression to match the spirited words and pictures.  The twist at the end is absolutely perfect.

For more information about Jeff Mack and his work please follow the link to his website embedded in his name.  To learn more about this title and his process follow this link to an interview at This Kid Reviews Books.  John Schumacher, teacher librarian extraordinaire, interviewed Jeff Mack on his blog Watch. Connect. Read. in 2012.

A Day In The Life...

One of the things I miss the most when autumn arrives is the sound of frogs singing their songs at night.  I've always imagined them planning the most wonderful things, exchanging the latest gossip around the pond and looking out for one another with every single croak.  During the daylight each time you walk past a pond, seeing ripples fan out from one or two spots, it's a sure sign there's a friendly amphibian hiding under the surface, frightened by your arrival.

As soon as the coast is clear, their little green selves will pop back up to bask in the sunlight on a smooth lily pad, nearby log or warm rock.  Using only two of our twenty-six letters, author/illustrator Jeff Mack, gives readers a pond's eye view of a day in the life of a very lucky frog in his new title, AH HA! (Chronicle Books).  Jeff Mack may only use two letters but readers will be using three...OH NO!..more than a few times.

We begin this story with Frog lazily floating in the pond, sighing with pure pleasure.

AAHH!

It's quickly followed by

AH HA!

as he discovers the perfectly shaped rock to perch on for a spell.  He is so happy he again utters sounds of total contentment with his eyes closed.  That is the beginning of his troubles.

While he relaxes a child and their dog are sneaking up on Frog, jar and lid in hand.  Yikes!  That was close.  Thankfully the dog was as excited as Frog was scared.

Frog thinks he's crawling up on another rock farther out in the pond.  His instincts must be a little off because this rock turns out to be a turtle, a hungry turtle.  Leaping lizards...er...frogs.  Whew!  As fate would have it, Frog lands on a trusty log.

By now, you have guessed that this is no ordinary log.  Of course not.  It's a sly alligator waiting for the right moment to strike.  Water explodes.  Thankfully there are tall "stalks" for Frog to grasp, out of his foes' reach.

Wait!  Are you kidding me?  It's not a stalk.  It's trouble of the long-legged, pink-bird variety.  This is not good.  This is not good at all.

Frog had better be looking where he's leaping.  In the end it's all about perspective or the lesser of four evils.  It's also about a whole lot of luck.


Switching from AAHH! to AH HA! (plus a surprise) but not always alternating Jeff Mack manages to tell a tale filled with suspense at every turn of page; readers will be leery of relaxing from one scene to the next.  His skillful blend of language and intonation create a seamless pace.  Depending on which character is speaking those two phrases can take on many meanings; happiness, the thrill of victory, fright, relief, pain, or the discovery of a snack.


Use of vibrant colors, bold lines and wide eyes immediately grab readers attention on the matching jacket and cover.  Frog looks right at us, wearing a big grin on his face, uttering the title as he climbs out of a jar.  On the back cover three of his would-be enemies are smiling too, while speaking the same two words.  It's clear already the significance of that phrase depends on who is doing the talking.

Opening and closing endpapers picture Frog, arms behind his head adrift on the rippling surface.  The passage of time is shown in the color of the water.  Mack uses every portion of the book to tell his tale, endpapers, title page, and verso.

Two page illustrations throughout are rendered in mixed media.  His perspectives in the visuals are at frog level bringing the reader right into the action bursting out of every page. You never see more than hands and feet of the child. Small details add just the right touch of humor; woebegone look on the dog's face as Frog escapes, the turtle's surprise, Frog resting on the "log" with a weed in his mouth, and Frog sticking out his tongue.

As soon as you see the cover of AH HA! written and illustrated by Jeff Mack, you can hardly wait to open the cover.  The look on Frog's face combined with the vivid colors are irresistible.  While this is a great book to read on your own, especially if you are an early reader, this book is fantastic as a read aloud.

Be sure to visit Jeff Mack's website by following the link embedded in his name above.  You might want to pair this with Frog Song by Brenda Z. Guiberson with illustrations by Gennedy Spirin.  I also reviewed Mo Willem's Big Frog Can't Fit In.  In that review I included a Prezi with lots of frog titles.