Practice Can Make Perfection

It's not an easy lesson but it's based in truth.  It seems the younger you are, the more you struggle with the art of mistakes, the art of trying something over and over again.  It's a rarity if someone reaches their ideal after a single attempt.

When we see the end result, an accomplishment, we have no idea how much effort was given to achieve that outcome.  Newbery Medalist (The One and Only Ivan, HarperCollinsPublishers, January 17, 2012) Katherine Applegate in collaboration with illustrator Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Blue Ethel, Margaret Ferguson Books, Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC, May 30, 2017) remind us of the endeavors prior to amazing and lasting deeds.  Sometimes You Fly (Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 3, 2018) asks us to never give up.

Before the cake . . .

Unless you are in the presence of the cook, you have no idea of the commotion in the realm of the kitchen prior to any portion of a meal being served.  Some desserts are particularly difficult, especially if you are not a culinary expert or a chef.  Babies find some activities like the act of eating something undesirable or struggling to find happiness in the hugging of a beloved toy more challenging than older children . . . usually.

If you are not a duck, the act of getting into wading pool is downright terrifying but it makes enjoying the sea much better if you embrace the wonder of water with comfortable caution.  Each act, regardless of how small, can lead to greater exploits.  We grow with every attempt.

Reaching out to people, supporting them and believing in them, can form permanent partnerships.  Academic achievement is based on study.  Being a member of a team requires dedication.

Raise your hand if you remember your driver's education teacher and all those lessons and the joy of driving alone in your first car.  Each time we try something new repeatedly, each time we overcome adversity, we get better at whatever we are seeking to do.  We get better at life.


An almost melodic rhythm is established with the twelve phrases written by Katherine Applegate prior to the five final sentences.  Two words, before the, are followed by a single word in these twelve phrases.  The single words are familiar to most of us.  Many of them are laden with memories.  The words in the second and fourth phrases rhyme.

With the five final sentences Katherine Applegate ties the phrases together and brings us back to the beginning.  It is done with love for her readers and the art of storytelling.  Here is the first of the final five sentences.

Each recipe we undertake
can rise or fall,
can burn or bake.


Rendered in ink and watercolor the art of illustrator Jennifer Black Reinhardt is tender, heartwarming and inviting.  As evidenced by the front of the dust jacket her delicate details, fine lines and realistic color choices ask us to join the characters in her images. Who wouldn't want to run after a flying kite?  To the left, on the back, two children within a loose circle are bending over a newly planted seed.  You can almost feel them willing it to grow.  A trowel and seed packet is lying nearby.  The girl is holding a watering can.

Without spoiling the book case for you, rest assured the theme of the book is portrayed on the front and the back on a canvas of another sunny day outside.  A bright, sky blue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  The dog shown on the front of the dust jacket gazes at the kite lying in the grass beneath the text on the title page.

A single page is devoted to a picture with Katherine's opening phrases.  These are followed by another single page, a wordless picture depicting the merriment found in success.  Jennifer's interpretation of the text goes straight to your heart.  Liberal use of white space frames the first picture but the second visual fills the following page.  A fine black line is used as a border.

For the final triumphant effect Jennifer gives us an expansive two-page illustration with an element soaring as if it's a kite.  A blend of small images on several pages and two-page pictures bring us to the final visual which will have readers wondering what might happen next.  There is a lingering feeling of suspense.

One of my many favorite illustrations follows the phrase

before the know . . .

A girl is tucked in bed but sitting up reading a book.  The scalloped headboard and footboard of her bed are softened in shadow as is most of the illustration.  We can see a goldfish swimming in a bowl next to her bed.  Stuffed toy animals are snuggled next to her.  A family cat sits on the bed.  An overhead lamp attached to the bed creates a cone of light in those shadows lighting her up as she reads.  This is a universal moment for many.


When you finish reading Sometimes You Fly written by Katherine Applegate with illustrations by Jennifer Black Reinhardt the first time and the second time (and all the other times) you feel your spirit lighten.  This is a book reinforcing the importance of making mistakes, learning from them and persisting.  Our efforts will be rewarded.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.

To discover more about Katherine Applegate and Jennifer Black Reinhardt and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Katherine and Jennifer are both on Twitter and Instagram. (Katherine and Jennifer)  Sometimes You Fly has its own website.  There is quite a bit of art on Jennifer's blog.  You'll enjoy the article at Picture Book Builders about why this book was made.  Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher, premiered the book trailer on his site, Watch. Connect. Read.  You'll want to read the interview of both Katherine and Jennifer there.

Color Me Confident

It happens to everyone.  You walk with an air of assurance into a venue full of individuals, only to have them suddenly stop their current activity.  They are all staring at you.  Your steps falter.  Have you drawn their attention because of your projected poise or have you developed the characteristics of the one-eyed, one-horned flyin' purple people eater?

If you are fortunate a kindhearted soul will come to you offering an explanation.  Otherwise you realize it would be in your best interest to remove yourself from this place until you can assess the situation.  Blue Ethel (Margaret Ferguson Books, Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC, May 30, 2017) written and illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt is about a cat completely comfortable with who she is, until she isn't.

Ethel was old.

She was rather plump filling in her black and white fur-coated form much like a pillow stuffed to the brim with feathers.  It could be said the word flexible was not a part of her vocabulary.  Her outlook on life was extremely rigid.

Her daily routine never wavered; four essential events preceded her much anticipated nap.  One day, as the afternoon was coming to a close, her final exercise changed Ethel significantly.  Her roll on a sidewalk square, her favorite sidewalk square, altered more than one thing about this consistent feline.

Her roll unbeknownst to Ethel removed her white replacing it with blue.  That sidewalk square, her sidewalk square, had become the canvas for an artist.  As she walked home the cat community could not contain their comments.  And this made Ethel very, very, very sad.

What was Ethel to do?  Having decided to stay inside, in the morning she gazed out the window to see young, white, slim, Fluffy wearing a new look.  When life gives you sidewalk chalk a faithful follower and friend can give you freedom.


The succinct sentences penned by Jennifer Black Reinhardt, especially the first five, set the tone for the entire narrative.  They allow her to follow with evidence of those statements supplying the superb scenario for the total shift which comes next.  In this alteration of the ordinary the opportunity for another twist is revealed.  Jennifer Black Reinhardt can now introduce a compassionate character wise beyond its years.  Repetition of key phrases

It wasn't easy being Ethel, but she was good at it.

totally tie this story together as neatly as the perfectly wrapped present.


How can you not smile when looking at Ethel on the matching dust jacket and book case?  Her body shape, that skinny tail straight up in the air, the tiny legs and paws and the Cheshire Cat grin on her face tell readers a lot about Ethel even before we open the book.  The ants on the sidewalk, the dandelions growing through the cracks, the butterflies and dragonfly (to the left, on the back) all demonstrate the exquisite details found in the artwork of Jennifer Black Reinhardt.  On the back Ethel is posed like someone attempting to do the yoga position for downward dog, stretching as best as possible.

The opening and closing endpapers have a similar large, colorful, grassy and floral area covering the bottom two-thirds of the pages.  In the first one Ethel is striding down the lane with conviction as Fluffy watches hidden.  In the second one Ethel, Fluffy and other felines are parading proudly, looking other than normal but enjoying it immensely.

Large areas of white space draw our attention to important elements in the illustrations regardless of the image sizes.  They invite our eyes to move from left to right as the pictures further enhance the storyline. They also create a contrast to the two-page full color visuals.  In all of these the fine lines and loose brush strokes generate a very cat-like feel to the pictures.

One of my favorite of many illustrations is on a single page.  For the phrase

chase villains

Ethel is in hunt mode creeping on all fours, belly to the ground and tail straight up in the air.  She is stalking three ants.  Underneath her, to the left and up, is a grassy area.  On the top portion of this is a pot of geraniums.  The pot is patterned in large ladybugs.  Peeking through the flowers is the ever-observant Fluffy.


Blue Ethel written and illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt is confirmation of change is good.  No matter our age or physical traits, we can adapt to circumstances.  It is usually better and easier with the help of a friend.  And although we may survive the shift with flying colors, we can still keep our true selves right where they belong, in our hearts.  You will want a copy of this title on your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Jennifer Black Reinhardt and her other work please follow the links attached to her name to access her website and blog.  At the publisher's website you can view interior illustrations. At the Iowa SCBWI website Jennifer Black Reinhardt on Writing and Illustrating gives you further insight into her work.  At Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read., Jennifer writes a guest post about this title.

Entertaining Elements...Of Speech

A group of students have just entered your classroom and taken their seats.  You announce today they will be spending time writing.  Or you could announce time today will be dedicated to playing in addition to any designated recess they might have.  Which proclamation will receive the most favorable response?

Words, individually or gathered together, offer infinite opportunities.  When the use of words is connected to fun, it's a win.  Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs (Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 8, 2016) written by Linda Sue Park with illustrations by Jennifer Black Reinhardt explores the versatility of language.

Yaks yak.
to yak=to talk

Eighteen creatures are featured participating in activities spelled and spoken exactly as they are.  It's a menagerie of definitions.  It's a formula for fun.

Insects take pleasure in annoying each other.  Sea critters fail to succeed.  Birds cringe at the slightest hint of unease seeking shelter for protection.

Primates and canines irritate and persevere respectively.  It might be a little strange but on a clear day, looking over the side of your boat, who knows what you will discover happening beneath the waves.  Flying mammals head for a dugout.

Fighting crawlers, crouching water fowl, and blustering birds have their way, save the day and have their say.  Pigs will ponder their piles of produce.  Children will be children.  These word combinations are unlikely to bore a boar.


When you begin to discover the potential for play and words existing at the same time, as done by author Linda Sue Park, it can't be ignored.  With her choice of animal-verb medleys Park invites us to find our own.  For several of the pairs three words appear instead of two.  In a switch, an exclamation mark makes a point.  Here is another match.

Parrots parrot.
to parrot=to repeat


Throughout the title, beginning on the matching dust jacket and book case, the illustrations were rendered in watercolor and ink on Arches 300 pound bright white, hot press, watercolor paper.  Delicate, fine lines, intricate details, soft texture and a full color palette enhance the humor found in the text.  As you can see with the yaks on the front, Jennifer Black Reinhardt creates animated characters.  To the left, on the back, in the same hue of blue as the title letters, a background highlights a circular frame filled with two parrots saying

love this book.

One is wearing a bow tie and the other a tie.  A raised foot and wing let us know their discussion is lively.

The opening and closing endpapers are done in vertical stripes in two shades of green like wallpaper in a traditional, quaint setting.  The title page is enclosed in a garland of tiny leaves.  A crow wearing a top hat adorned in colorful feathers is walking across the title text.  A small fly leaves a dotted trail from the edge of the final letter k.

All of the images span two pages.  Each is a unique depiction of the animal-action pairs.  The yaks yak over a cup of tea in a parlor but their food is a pile of grass on a plate.  As flounders flounder their air bubbles include exclamations of dismay and puzzlement. When the quails quail a bright-bold scary kite flies in from the edge of the right side.

Readers will want to stop and look at each picture.  There is happiness to be found.  One of the apes is wearing bling in the form of earrings and a necklace.  A fish has hooked a book titled

The Book of Compliments.

Tea cups, hats, and apples appear more than once.  Reinhardt has cleverly placed the definition within each picture.

One of my favorite illustrations is for steers steer.  The setting is an amusement park.  The animals are riding in bumper cars.  The looks on their faces and the spinning of one in particular will have you grinning from ear to ear.  The seven cars are different colors.  The sign holding the definition of steer acts as the marquee for the ride.


Winning wordplay in Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs written by Linda Sue Park with illustrations by Jennifer Black Reinhardt will have readers reaching for their dictionaries between bouts of laughter.  It's a delightful fusion of whimsy and wit.  At the end two pages explain the origins of the animals' names and the actions.

To learn more about Linda Sue Park and Jennifer Black Reinhardt and their work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  At Picture Book Builders Jennifer Black Reinhardt talks about the process for creating her art for this book.  Be sure to watch this Tedx Talks video Can A Children's Book Change the World by Linda Sue Park.