You Wonderful You

As we go through life, we are from time to time our worst critics. We forget that goals are guides and not expectations etched in the stone of perfection.  Our possibilities are limited with a negative outlook.

If we embrace everything we do, even if it's not what is planned, there is always a sliver of the desired silver lining.  Rock What Ya Got (Little, Brown and Company, September 25, 2018) written by Samantha Berger (What If . . .) with illustrations by Kerascoet (Malala's Magic Pencil) is a lively look at being satisfied with who you are.  It champions self-acceptance with total joy.

Once upon a

blank piece of paper,

where anything could happen . . .

There was an artist who took a pencil and drew a little girl.  She named her Viva.  As she studied the drawing, the artist felt the drawing could be better.  She lifted her pencil, again, to erase Viva. 

Viva reached out and took that pencil in her hands.  Viva believed she was fine the way she was.  She asked the artist if she could 

rock what I got?

The artist thought maybe the hair was wrong, so she experimented on another page with all kinds of styles and colors.  None of them seemed to be right and Viva had plenty to say.  The artist was still dissatisfied.  It had to be the body that needed changing.

No matter what shape and size she tried on yet another page, none fit Viva.  This gave Viva the perfect opportunity.  She could not stop talking about herself and cheering for all her potential.  This artist was not ready to give up, but neither was Viva.  

When another attempt still left the artist unsure, Viva had a question of her own.  Finding the answer brought back a memory the artist had forgotten.  Together she and Viva started a new once upon a . . .

Taking the familiar and enchanting words used to begin a tale, Samantha Berger attaches new words taking readers into a whole new world of wonder.  Samantha uses repetition masterfully in tying the beginning of the narrative to the end bringing us full circle.  Each time the artist pauses and starts to change Viva, the same three phrases are used supplying us with a cadence inviting participation.  When Viva speaks each of her spirited declarations ends in words that rhyme heightening the happiness of the entire story.  Here is a passage with Viva shouting out with glee.

Everyone has their own special thing---

find what is yours,

and bring what you bring . . .

Find your own voice

and sing how you sing.

Find your own OOMPH!

Find your own ZING!

Mirroring the exuberance of the text the husband and wife team of Kerascoet splashes colorful artwork across the opened dust jacket.  Every line is charged with bliss.  Looking at Viva makes you want to jump for joy too.  The watercolor crosses the spine to the back, framing text.  The text appears to be written in pencil.  The artist's hand is holding a blue pencil beneath it.  The paragraph explains the delight revealed inside the book.

On a white canvas on the book case Viva skips across a field of watercolor and bright sketches.  On the right of the opened case she is carrying the pencil.  It's twice as big as she is but she carries it well.  

The opening and closing endpapers are the inside of an open sketchbook.  The spirals in the center of the sketchbook are placed in the center of the images.  Each one, the opening and closing, are different, depicting possible settings with a variety of flora and buildings.  On the title page Viva is peeking out from the pages of a small, handmade book standing up on the artist's table.  This book holds the title text.  Colored pencils are shown in a cup and on the table.  

To complement the narrative the illustrations rendered in watercolor and colored pencils on Arches paper vary in their perspective bringing us close to the work of the artist, to Viva and the inside of the sketchbook.  Each image spans two pages.  The details bring us directly into the creative process of an artist.  The hand lettering enhances this involvement of Viva with the artist and of us with the entire story.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the artist is seeking to answer Viva's question.  In this picture, on the right, Viva is kneeling on one of the pages of the open sketchbook on the desk.  Above her, on the right and left, is the illustrator, seated and opening a drawer in her desk.  She is removing the handmade book.  All we see of the illustrator is a portion of her body, arms and hands.  Viva is smiling as she watches.  It is a pivotal point.  

Rock What Ya Got written by the effervescent Samantha Berger with illustrations by the creative team, Kerascoet, is a gem to be shared repeatedly, preferably as a read aloud.  You will want to have plenty of paper and colored pencils handy for readers to enjoy drawing exactly what they want to draw to express what they got.  This one will sing off the shelves.  Be sure to have a copy on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Samantha Berger and Kerascoet and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Both Samantha and Kerascoet maintain accounts on Instagram.  Samantha has an account on Twitter.

Writing Your Own Magic

We see them walk in and out of our lives every single day of the school year.  If we are fortunate to be working in the place where we teach, we meet and greet them when we are out and about in our communities.  As educators we are a significant part of our students' lives.  We make a difference.

Regardless of our grade level or subject area, we are teaching people.  We are making sure, through them, hope is always present.  We need to ask ourselves constantly if what we are doing with and for them is going to make their world better.  When she was seventeen years old Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  In her debut picture book, Malala's Magic Pencil (Little, Brown And Company, October 3, 2017) with illustrations by Kerascoet, Malala tells her story for all audiences.  This woman believes in magic.  She believes in herself.

Do you believe in magic?

Malala and her brothers used to watch a television show about a boy who had a magic pencil.  He could draw whatever was necessary to alleviate his problems.  Malala wished for a pencil as magical as his pencil was.

She dreamed of those things she would immediately correct; most of them affecting her personally.  Then her focus shifted to her family; beautiful clothing for a beautiful mother, buildings to house the children her father was educating in their valley and a real ball for her brothers.  The stuffed sock was less than ideal for their games.

Each night she wished for that pencil.  Each day her cupboard was empty.  One day as she was taking garbage to the nearby dump, the sight of children working among the trash filled her head with questions.  After a conversation with her beloved father the value of education and the necessity for all to be educated equally without cost was weighing on her mind and heart.  Her use for the magic pencil changed again.

Trying harder than ever to excel in her studies Malala was disheartened by the order given by

powerful and dangerous men

forbidding girls to attend school.  Soon only a handful of girls were attending classes.  The world needed to know, so Malala used a pencil to journal what was happening in her valley.  She wrote.  She spoke.  She was a champion for girls.  Her popularity increased to the point those men knew she needed to be stopped.  She was not quieted.

Their unsuccessful attempt enlarged her influence.  Others joined Malala and they still are today.  This girl, this woman, used her pencil to form the best magic of all, hope for girls and young women around the globe.


With her initial question Malala Yousafzai opens the door of possibilities.  In her own voice she is inviting us to follow her on her journey of discovering magic.  Page by page she explains how her use of a wished-for magic pencil grows as her perspective shifts.  She expands her thinking from herself to the world as a whole. With her words we clearly sense her desire for such a pencil.  With her words, layer after layer is being added toward her ultimate realization.  Here are several passages.

That night I thought about families who didn't have enough
food.  And the girl who couldn't go to school.  And even about
how when I was older, I would be expected to cook and clean
for my brothers, because where I came from, many girls
weren't allowed to become what they dreamed of.

I knew then that if I had the magic pencil, I would use it
to draw a better world, a peaceful world.


The matching dust jacket and book case are stunning in the use of color and design.  The white background elevates the gold, blue and shades of pink.  The golden foil on the jacket is also used on the case.  The tiny elegant elements flowing from Malala's pencil are symbols of her accomplishments and the focus of her continued work.  To the left, on the back of the jacket and case, a younger Malala is walking home from school carrying a backpack.  With a notebook and pencil in her hands, she continues to write of the beauty she wishes in her world.  Gold flowers and a bird are etched over a gorgeous vision of her valley filled with homes and mountains in the background.  This landscape is done in blue, purple and yellow.

The opening and closing endpapers and first and last page initially appear as a pattern of white blossoms on gold.  Closer inspection discloses the blooms to consist of opened notebooks and pencils. Delicate details appear in the spaces.  A continuation of the image found on the back of the jacket and case spans across two pages for the first sentence in this story.  (I can already hear the gasps when I read this aloud with students.)

Rendered

in ink and watercolor on cold-pressed paper by Kerascoet and separated by Naewe

the illustrations alter in their size based upon the narrative.  The choice of colors placed on the backgrounds draws our attention immediately to the people.  Throughout the title the use of gold foil supplies readers with a sure knowledge in the value of magic.  The watercolor washes and intricate lines convey gentleness filled with strength.  You can feel a power flourishing.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  On the left Malala is using a magic pencil to alter the landscape on one of the streets in her community.  Many of the buildings are ruined.  She is reaching up to reconstruct them to their original grandeur.  Her drawing goes across the gutter all the way to the right page edge.  Lush trees and bushes line a path in gold.  Children, girls and boys dressed in colorful clothing, are walking together freely and carrying backpacks.  They are sharing their experiences after a day of school.


If you are looking for a book to reflect the impact of a single individual, Malala's Magic Pen written by Malala Yousafzai with illustrations by Kerascoet is a powerful example to share with readers of all ages.  At the close of the book Malala writes a letter to readers offering further explanations.  There is also another page dedicated to her life accomplishments to date.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.  It needs to be shared with readers often.

To learn more about Malala Yousafzai and Kerascoet and their other work, please visit their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  Kerascoet maintains an Instagram account.  At Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read., he interviews Malala Yousafzai.  The book trailer is there along with another video of Malala Yousafzai as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Kerascoet is composed of the husband and wife team of Sebastien Cosset and Marie Pommepuy. They are interviewed at The Comic Journal.


Please be sure to visit Kit Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to discover the titles posted by other bloggers this week participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.