A Single Extraterrestrial Sneeze

It all starts with a single sneeze.  This is usually followed with an increase in sneezes over the course of two or three days.  Despite your best defensive efforts, you find your ability to breathe hindered by a stuffy nose.  It hurts to swallow because of your sore throat.  When you speak, it's as if a frog has set up residence in your vocal chords. There's no doubt about it, you have acquired a cold.

The length of this misery is determined by numerous factors.  In your humble opinion, whatever it takes to speed your body to wellness is welcome.  Aliens Get The Sniffles Too! Ahhh-Choo! (Candlewick Press, November 7, 2017) written by Katy S. Duffield with illustrations by K. G. Campbell is a lighthearted look at the best remedy no matter where you live.

Little Alien was sick.

And sick is extra-terrestrial bad when you have two throats, five ears, and three noses.

When he sneezes it's not a simple ahhh-choo!  Each one holds words previously uttered by earthlings.  His parents listen sympathetically when he tells them his throats feel rough.

Daddy Alien whooshes off in his interstellar vehicle.  In no time at all he returns with a tasty treat for Little Alien to ease the pain in his throats.  He is not sure if it helped his throats because his five ears are aching.

Using an old family recipe Mama Alien mixes just the right amount of stardust to

a Little Dipperful of water.

Little Alien does not feel like he is on the road to recovery.  Instead he announces to his parents his noses are blocked.  How is he supposed to breathe?  Their final attempts at a cure have Mars Rover, Little Alien's canine companion, with eight legs and three eyes, deciding he needs to take matters into his own considerable paws.

Like a one-dog variety show Mars Rover begins his routines.  He is a nonstop bundle of energy.  Wait!  Was that a smile on Little Alien's face?  Saturn's rings become props in one of the acts.  In his last stunt Mars Rover heads into the starry expanse.  One look and one listen at Little Alien and the pooch knows best friends can work miracles.  Ahhh. . .!


Author Katy S. Duffield weaves extraterrestrial lingo with ease into a humorous tale destined to assist readers under the weather.  Each uncomfortable symptom is cleverly described and enhanced by the physical characteristics of Little Alien.  By blending dialogue with the narrative text readers can more readily identify with Little Alien's suffering and his parent's and Mars Rover's efforts to help him.  Katy S. Duffield clearly knows how dogs can sense better than any other individual how to best assist a buddy.  Here is a passage.

But just when it looked like Little Alien might doze off at last . . . (page turn)

AHHH-MOON-ORBIT-EARTH-CHOO!

"Which nose did that come from?" Mama Alien cried.


Careful readers will immediately note the physical characteristic of Little Alien and Mars Rover on the opened and matching dust jacket and book case.  They will be counting ears, noses, fingers, paws, eyes and tails.  The fact the duo seem to be floating among planets will be duly noted.  The starry scene extends over the spine (as does one of the rings) to reveal three other odd (by Earth standards) looking creatures.  Their green rectangular heads are peeking in from the left, top and bottom.  Each of them is holding a gizmo.  Could these be the

lunar decongestants?

A shade of blue akin to the coloring of Little Alien covers the opening and closing endpapers.  At the first page turn on a canvas of pristine white is Little Alien's stuffed toy.  In a small circle beneath the title text on the second page alien abodes with pink smoke coming from their chimneys are shown.

Rendered in pen, watercolor, and colored pencils the illustrations of K. G. Campbell using the pastel shades of pink, blue, green and purple in combination with the golden hue of Mars Rover create an other-worldly atmosphere.  The sizes of the visuals, two-page pictures, single page illustrations loosely framed in white or placed on a white canvas, or single page images, page edge to page edge convey the mood and pacing with excellence. The large expressive eyes on all the characters portray appropriate concern, misery, dismay and happiness.  They are guaranteed to have readers and listeners chuckling in agreement.

One of my several favorite pictures is when Mama Alien is mixing the ingredients for

Granny Alien's Famous Shooting-Star Ear Drops.

In this single page image, through the circular window, we can see Saturn hanging in the starry sky.  Daddy Alien sits in a floating chair on the right holding the ear drop dispenser.  Mars Rover floats next to him watching Mama Alien mix the stardust with the water.  Little Alien bends over with rapt attention.  The Little Dipper, held by Mama Alien, glows with individual stars.  It is a hopeful moment.


With the advent of the winter season most families are struggling to keep everyone healthy.  Aliens Get The Sniffles Too!  Ahhh! Choo! written by Katy S. Duffield with illustrations by K. G. Campbell is sure to lift the spirits of readers regardless of their current state of health.  Most of us know exactly how Little Alien is feeling.  And we know there is nothing like a forever friend making a less than ideal situation far better.  Your professional and personal bookshelves need the dose of laughter this title will bring.  It would be fun to pair this title with Bob, Not Bob! (To be read as though you have the worst cold ever:)(Disney Hyperion, February 14, 2017) written by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick with illustrations by Matthew Cordell.

To learn more about Katy S. Duffield and K. G. Campbell and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  At Katy S. Duffield's website there is an Activity Guide.  At Penguin Random House you can view interior images different than the one found at Candlewick Press.  You can discover more about K. G. Campbell and his art at Brightly and Painted Words.  Enjoy the book trailer.

Seeking Self

You see them coming into your classrooms year after year; testing the waters, doing what they enjoy the most and wondering if anyone will notice their best efforts.  You use your skills to help them discover and enhance their own. Knowing who they truly are, what their purpose might be or where their talents lie can be a pursuit needing perseverance and patience.

It can be somewhat unsettling to find yourself one among many whose gifts are already shining like stars in a moonless sky.  The Mermaid and the Shoe (Kids Can Press) written and illustrated by K. G. Campbell takes us down into the depths of an undersea kingdom.  One very small mermaid has a huge thirst for answers and a brave heart to match.

King Neptune had fifty daughters.  Some might call them mermaids.  They were his pride and joy.

Forty-nine of them had savvy; a green thumb, a flair with fish or words spoken in dulcet song.  Minnow did not; no glorious gardens, only frantic fish and when she sang sea creatures cringed.  One thing she did endlessly was ask questions.

A single sister in particular, Calypso, thought Minnow and her inquisitiveness worthless.  This unkindness caused Minnow, without a word, to seek solitude in a particular spot;

where the current was warm and pleasant.

It was here a beautiful thing floats down to her one day.

One sister thought it might be a hat.  Another offered that it might be a jewel box.  And a third, cold Calypso, said it was junk.  Minnow thought otherwise.  Returning to the warm and pleasant current, she had a plan.  She needed answers.

Swimming through and up, all those she encountered could not identify the splendid object she carried.  Remember those questions she was always asking?  One by one solutions were seen except for one.  Now at the surface she started to wonder if Calypso might have been right.

Then another strange being appeared.  As Minnow watched her excitement grew.  She could hardly wait to share her discoveries.  On this day, a storyteller was born.  It was absolutely remarkable.


Using elements found in the best stories from the land of fairy, the fifty princesses, the three sisters (one with a nasty personality), the three questions, mermaids and lots of happily ever after, K. G. Campbell weaves a spell with words.  A pleasing blend of narrative and dialogue envelope readers gently like we are lovely things drifting through enchanted waters.  What sets this apart is Minnow accomplishes her goals alone by believing in herself and using her strengths. Here is a passage from the book.

She had arrived at the edge of the kingdom, where bubbles burst and the above place began.
"What a wondrous world!" gasped Minnow, eyes wide as sand dollars.


 When you open the matching dust jacket and book case of this title, you are immediately struck by the luminosity of K. G. Campbell's sea scenery.  You get a very real sense of being in the warm current with Minnow and the other beings in the watery depths. The rich brilliant red of the shoe is carried over to the spine.

Rendered in watercolor and pencil crayon Campbell chooses to alter his illustration sizes, breathtaking two page spreads and gorgeous oval insets on white, framed in a variety of sea and tiny floral weeds found on land.  Fine lines, subtle shading and a carefully-selected color palette combine to create a stunning ethereal quality.  Everything about the mermaids, especially Minnow, is magically marvelous; their wide eyes, delicate facial features, porcelain skin, golden tails and flowing hair.

One of my favorite illustrations is of Minnow rising to the surface through the seaweed asking the octopus if he knows what the shoe is.  A small orange seahorse is her constant companion. Readers will wish they could be there swimming in the water with her.


When I first held this book after it was handed to me by a clerk in my favorite indie store, she said everyone there had fallen in love with it.  I understand completely.  The Mermaid and the Shoe written and illustrated by K. G. Campbell is a lovely story; a once-upon-a-time tale to be cherished and shared.

Please be sure to follow the link embedded in K. G. Campbell's name to access his official website.  Here is a link to an interview at John Schumacher's blog at Watch. Connect. Read.  Be sure to visit, enjoying the book trailer.  There is another wonderful interview at Idle Illustration by Caldecott Honor winner author illustrator Molly Idle.  

Of Vacuums, Squirrels And Lamps With Names

When you live surrounded by lakes in a land of sand and have a furry friend who gets an entire new coat twice a year, there is one essential device necessary for survival and sanity.  What is this device, you ask?  It's a vacuum cleaner, of course.  Not any old vacuum cleaner will do either.  I'm talking about a brand and model whose suction is off the charts.

Fortunately, I've found the ultimate machine for my wants and needs.  In fact, I have to be careful not to get it too close to the lighter objects in my home.  By now you are wondering why I've elected to talk about this particular household appliance.  Newbery Medal author Kate DiCamillo's new title, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (Candlewick Press) with illustrations by K. G. Campbell, begins with a birthday and a present.  Yes, a vacuum cleaner is given as a gift.

Flora Belle Buckman was in her room at her desk.  She was very busy.  She was doing two things at once.  She was ignoring her mother, and she was also reading a comic book entitled The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto!

Looking out her window she sees the aforementioned birthday gift, a Ulysses Super-Suction, Multi-Terrain 2000X, dragging her neighbor, Mrs. Tickham, around the yard heading straight for a squirrel.  Before the squirrel can think of anything except how hungry he is, he's being sucked inside the vacuum, except for his tail.  Flora races to the rescue, surprised at herself (she is after all a natural-born cynic) but determined, as this is clearly one of the Terrible Things Can Happen To You! previously addressed in the back of an Amazing Incandesto comic.

Shaking the squirrel, who at this point is missing much of his fur, loose from the cleaner's grip, she quickly begins CPR.  CPR on a squirrel?  Oh, yes indeed.  Revived the furry miracle remembers his one single previous thought.  Lifting the vacuum cleaner over his head with one paw, he loosens food from the inside before lowering it to the ground.

Mrs. Tickham thinks she has a brain tumor.  Flora thinks she is in the presence of a superhero.  She names him Ulysses.

Let's pause here for a moment.  Of the eleven living characters in this book, we've met four, a husband, Mr. Tickham, with less than perfect taste in choosing birthday gifts, his wife currently in a state of shock, a resourceful girl named Flora and her new companion, a squirrel who understands human speech and is stronger, a lot stronger, than he should be.  Continuing throughout the ups and downs of this tale, we meet Flora's mother, Phyllis, a writer of romance novels, who appears to love plunking out stories on her typewriter and her recent purchase of a shepherdess lamp she named Mary Ann, more than her daughter, Flora's father, George, a mild-mannered accountant who enjoys reading Amazing Incandesto as much as Flora, William Spiver, an extremely intelligent boy, banished by his mother, staying with his Aunt Tootie (Mrs. Tickham), a knife-waving cook, a hysterical waitress, a disreputable cat name Mr. Klaus, and Dr. Meescham (philosophy not medical).  Of significance to this story is the fact of Flora's parents' divorce.

With all the excitement of the exploits and dialogue found in the comics she loves so well (and the advice they provide, proving to be helpful in the most unbelievable circumstances), Flora, Ulysses and company, fight the evil of the arch-nemesis, defy threats and attacks, revel in poetry written by someone with a huge capacity for compassion, and soar, like an eagle, when necessary to save life and limb.  Least you think this is a series of tension-filled episodes only, rest assured it is not.  Deftly woven into the adventures are revelations which hurt and heal the heart.  Founded in hope, love finds a way.


You can't help but feel the need to celebrate the characters, the plot and the use of language conceived by Kate DiCamillo in this title.  The layers of dialogue and thoughts of her people and animals is rich in its realism even when it steps into the world of fantasy.  She makes you believe the impossible is probable.

Humor, the kind making you laugh out loud every time you read a passage, is an integral element enhancing the appeal this story has for readers.  Vocabulary, which may have some heading for a dictionary (a good habit really), conveys the exact mood necessary for everything to mesh together.  Pauses and pacing are perfection in DiCamillo's hands.  Here are a few samples.

She said the words, and then she had a strange moment of seeing them, hanging there over her head.

"YOU'RE GOING TO VACUUM UP
THAT SQUIRREL!"

There is just no predicting what kind of sentences you might 
say, thought Flora.  For instance, who would ever think you would 
shout, "You're going to vacuum up that squirrel!"?

"Holy bagumba," said Flora.

"Talking to my baby doll? said Flora.  She felt a flush of 
outrage crawl up her cheeks.  For the love of Pete! She was ten
years old, almost eleven.  She knew how to administer CPR.
She knew how to outwit an arch-nemesis.  She was acquainted
with the profound importance of seal blubber.  She was the
sidekick to a superhero.
Plus she was a cynic.
What self-respecting cynic would carry around a doll in a
shoe box?


The first four pages of this book are done in the style of a comic book with panels.  Each time Ulysses is highlighted all text smoothly switches to the pencil drawings of K. G. Campbell.  We are also treated to full page illustrations and insets as well as one double page picture; each deftly presented, filled with the emotion of the moment.  They not only enhance the narrative, but become the narrative.


 Captivating, entertaining, causing uncontrollable bursts of laughter and warming our hearts as only the best kind of storytelling can, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures written by Kate DiCamillo with illustrations by K. G. Campbell is one of this year's finest pieces of literature.  It would be a wonderful read aloud with your children or your students.  I daresay, Holy bagumba, will find its way into your conversations.

For more information about the author and illustrator please follow the links embedded in their names.  Flora & Ulysses have their own website containing Flora & Ulysses Teacher's Guide, Read an Excerpt, Flora & Ulysses Discussion Guide and Q & A with Flora & Ulysses author Kate DiCamillo.  Follow this link to Holy Bagumba! An exclusive webcast with beloved children's book authors, Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka.

Craving Cookies and A Super Surprise

You wait patiently as the butter softens on the counter along with the eggs warming to room temperature.  You watch as the flour, salt, and baking soda are combined together and set aside.  Your excitement increases as the butter is creamed together with two sugars and a teaspoon (plus a little more) of vanilla.  When the eggs are finally added, you know it's almost done.

Shifting from one foot to the other, you wonder why it takes so long to add the dry ingredients.  Then you hear the package being opened.  Quickly two cups, okay, maybe two and half cups of those delicious morsels are poured and stirred into the batter.  Teaspoon by teaspoon, shapes are placed on the cookie sheet, which is then slid into the warm oven.

The longest ten minutes ever in the history of time is finally completed.  As the door opens, the most intoxicating smell in the world wafts through the kitchen.  You gaze longingly from your mom to the cookies. A nod is given. You never forget the first time you taste one, as all the flavors melt in your mouth.  There is nothing quite so good as a home-baked chocolate chip cookie.

If you think the need for these delectable delights is relegated to only humans, think again.  Once any living being gets a whiff of their aroma, the need to eat them is irresistible.  Tea Party Rules (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.) written by Ame Dyckman (Boy + Bot) with illustrations by K. G. Campbell (Lester's Dreadful Sweaters) tells the tale of a cub who has caught cookie fever.


Cub was playing in the woods
when he smelled something delicious.
He followed his nose through the
bushes and found...

Wily woodland creature that he is, Cub has found a plate covered with cookies.  It seems he is not alone in this discovery either.  There is another bear sitting in a chair right next to those tempting treats.

Unlike Cub, this bear is of the stuffed variety.  So when Cub tries to engage the bear in conversation, he is met with silence.  In fact he falls off his seat when Cub touches him.

Cub now knows the cookies are all his.  As he is about to savor the first bite of one, he hears someone coming.  Uh, oh...

Cub does the only thing he can think to do.  He masquerades as the teddy.  Let's stop here a moment.  There's a lively, young bear taking the place of an inanimate toy?

A young girl is ready for her tea party to begin.  The table is set.  The cookies are on the plate.  She has brought the tea and a bouquet of fresh flowers.  When she carefully peers at her bear, he seems to be a tad dirty.  This will not do.  Readers are introduced to Tea Party Rule number one, cleanliness.

Cub has no choice as he is carried inside by the girl.  He tolerates a bath because he wants those cookies in the worst way.  He endures rules two and three because all he can think about is consuming those cookies.

Oblivious to the discomfort Cub is enduring, the prim and proper girl goes about  HER preparations according to HER rules.  Again outside the girl pipes up, voicing her fourth and final rule.  This is the proverbial straw that breaks this little guy's back.   Cub is, after all, a bear.  Girl responds as only she can, playing by the rules. GAME ON!


Ame Dyckman's passion for play in her storytelling makes its presence known by the time the first page is turned.  Techniques such as blending the narrative with Cub and the girl speaking their thoughts aloud, repetition of key phrases, pausing to complete sentences and word emphasis, all promote the feeling we readers are there watching this friendship, however improbable, form.  The atmosphere hums with anticipation.  Giggling and guffaws are a given.


With Cub and the girl eyeing one another, ready to grab the single cookie, framed in tiny birch branches, on the front jacket and cover and the question asked and answered on the back, readers can sense fun just around the corner.  Opening and closing endpapers have readers gazing through a birch forest, looking for nature's residents hidden among the trees.  On the title page, edge to edge, across both pages, we are still in the woods but now we see a mother bear sleeping with a cub, as another wakes up.

Rendered in sepia marker and colored pencils, K. G. Campbell's illustrations are spirited, brimming with humor and an enchanted extension of the story.  Each is set amid liberal amounts of white space; his artwork is so detailed, so delicate, it's like the white is gently holding each picture. The visuals in turn flow around and become one with the text.  The looks on the faces of Cub, the little girl and her cat will have readers roaring with laughter.  I adore both the two page spreads in the little girl's bedroom as she implements her rules.  When she's carrying Cub and her cat back outside to the tea party setting, I'm grinning, grinning big and wide.

Tea Party Rules written by Ame Dyckman with illustrations by K. G. Campbell, is one of the best tea parties you will ever have the pleasure of attending.  It's impossible not to fall in love with the characters.  Wouldn't it be fun to plan a tea party with your students having them bring in their stuffed animal friends, dressing up to fit the occasion?  You could make up your own tea party rules.

To learn more about the author and illustrator follow the links to their websites embedded in their names above.  Ame has been interviewed at The Little Crooked Cottage, The Styling Librarian, and by Nicole Y. Walters.  The most exciting thing is happening below!

Today...yes today....Ame is sharing with the world her brand new book trailer for Tea Party Rules.  It's short, sweet and full of laughter and love, just like she is.






I am thrilled and thankful she agreed to answer some questions below.  Enjoy.

AME:  Thanks so much for having me on Librarian’s Quest, Margie!  I’m very excited to be here!  And—(YES, Cub!)  Cub is visiting today, and he’s very excited, too.

MARGIE:  I would like to know more about how you felt about the illustrations the first time you saw them.  What did you like best about them?  Did you and K.G. talk at all before you saw them?

AME:  Seeing K.G.’s illustrations for the first time was a RIOT!  K.G.’s a GENIUS with facial expressions—there’s so much humor in them!  I love all the little jokes he added, too—the bubble bath bottle, the artwork in the girl’s room, etc.—and I still crack up EVERY time I see Cub in that frilly pink dress.  (Sorry, Cub!  But I’m sure you can laugh about it by now, no?  Oh.  Moving right along…)  Sadly, K.G.’s far, far away on the other side of the country, so we didn’t really talk before first sketches except for an e-mailed “Hey, K.G.!  I bet you’re gonna ROCK it!”  And he did!  But I hope the two of us can hang out sometime soon.  OW!  (Why did you poke me, Cub?  Oh.)  Make that the THREE of us!

MARGIE:  I think the forest of birch trees adds to the lightness and fun of your narrative.

ME:  AFFIRMA—I mean, AGREED, Margie!  Kids enjoy looking for the hidden animals in the end pages.  I THINK I’ve found all of them!

MARGIE:  Did you and Husband Guy make the trailer?  It's the perfect amount of text and pictures to get people to read the book.

ME:  We did!  We cleared a few extra nights in our schedule by having cookies and tea for dinner, and—uh-oh.  (I was just kidding, Cub!  OF COURSE we didn’t eat cookies without you!)

AME:  Thanks again, Margie!  Cub can’t wait to try your chocolate chip cookie recipe!  (NO, Cub!  Those are MY car keys!)  Looks like I gotta go!  Happy reading, everybody!

This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  I clipped it from the Traverse City Record Eagle more than fifteen, probably twenty, years ago.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup sugar (I use raw with a little of the white)
2 eggs at room temperature (brown, cage-free, organic)
1 package (3 oz.) cook and serve vanilla pudding (not instant)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use two)
Zest of one orange, reserving the juice
1 cup dried cherries
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (unbleached)(I add 1/4 cup more to make the cookies less flat.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package (12 oz.) chocolate chip morsels (Ghirardelli)

Grate orange and chop zest finely. Squeeze orange and pour juice over dried cherries. Simmer until cherries are soft, or you can microwave them for 1 minute.  (I never do this.)  Drain cherries; set aside.  Combine flour and baking soda.  Mix butter, orange zest, sugars, eggs, pudding mix and vanilla together until creamy.  Gradually add flour/soda mixture.  Combine fully then fold in cherries and chocolate morsels.  Let dough rest in the refrigerator for one full hour. (This is important.) Place large teaspoons full of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.  (Watch the time though depending on the humidity and your oven. It might take fewer minutes.)