Three Is A Company

Finding and being a true friend takes time.  It's a form of harmony composed of give and take, compromise and compassion.  When a duo becomes a trio, finding an equilibrium can be a little bit trickier.  Sometimes one of the three feels out of the loop, as the other two appear to be closer.  When everything is in sync though, a friendship formed by three is a thing of beauty.

The girl who charmed her way into our collective hearts has returned in a third title.  Garnering a Caldecott Honor medal in 2014 Flora and the Flamingo was followed by the second book, Flora and the Penguin in autumn of the same year.  Conceived and illustrated by Molly Idle Flora and the Peacocks (Chronicle Books, May 3, 2016) finds two companions vying for the attention and affection of the dancer.  As in the two previous titles this is a story told without words.  

On the title page the tale unfolds as an extended arm on the left, holding an open fan, reaches toward the text.  On the right two peacocks in repose fan their feathers to create an identical half-circle shape.  With a page turn Flora is standing in a crossed ballet pose fan open in front of her face.  Readers are invited to lower the flaps.  Flora is looking at the peacocks.  They are gazing at each other.  

Flora greets and bows to these graceful, gorgeous avian creatures as they look at her with mixed curiosity.  One appears to be more open to meeting her than the other.  That one looks at her with definite indifference.  As Flora and the first peacock discover similarities, the other hides, head bowed, feathers spread.

Wanting to include the second bird, Flora moves over; her body movements suggestive of kindness.  The first peacock is certainly not happy about the attention given to the other bird, stalking over to its pal in anger.  A staring match erupts in a tug-of-war with Flora's fan.  OH NO!

The fan, Flora's visual connection to the peacocks and a part of her formal attire is torn in half.  She looks at them holding the damaged fan, drops the pieces and walks away.  Staring at the fan and then each other, the peacocks pick up a half.  Distraught over the loss of her possession and the potential for new feathered friends, Flora, knees to her chest, sits with her head on her crossed arms.  

In an act of considerable cleverness the peacocks in unison approach Flora.  Their efforts ignite a transformation.  Blossomed birds are held together by warmth and tenderness.

The matching dust jacket and book case in a trio of colors, introduce readers to Flora and her new acquaintances.  With a flourish and splendor equal to theirs, Flora bows to them in greeting.  The oval framed in yellow peacock feathers is replicated on the back.  Flora and the first peacock are admiring one another within a circle of white. The yellow of the feathers on the jacket and case provides a canvas for the opening and closing endpapers. 

Rendered in colored pencils the illustrations throughout are breathtaking in their exquisite elegance.  Heavy, matte-finished paper in a soft white provides the perfect background for the colorful characters.  Delicate tendrils of leaves, like willows, drop down across the top of the pages.  

A series of flaps discloses the express emotions of Flora and each of the peacocks.  We willingly participate in this dance of friendship dictating the pace.  Every line, every hue of the limited color palette, every delightful detail (the raised eyebrows, the eyes, the mouths and beaks, the birds' head and body feathers and all body postures) and every flap and fold are pieces performing in this rich and rare production. 

Every single page turn depicts pure noble eloquence.  One of my favorite illustrations spanning two pages is of Flora stretched across the gutter reaching toward the second peacock.  Molly Idle has placed a flap on each peacock.  We can, by opening and closing them, see how the act of friendship is growing.  At this point both birds are equally curious about Flora, her intentions and how they feel about each other.  

This third title with Flora and her bird ballet buddies is simply marvelous.  Flora and the Peacocks created by Molly Idle will wrap around you like a symphony weaving its way into your heart.  It, along with Flora and the Flamingo and Flora and the Penguin, are a trio to treasure.  True friendship will always find a balance.

If you desire to learn more about Molly Idle and her other books, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  The publishers have made an activity kit to accompany this title.  Teacher librarian and a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee, Travis Jonker, reveals the cover to this book on his blog, 100 Scope Notes.  Scholastic's Ambassador for School Libraries, John Schumacher, premieres the book trailer on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  In this post he includes an earlier interview with Molly Idle.  At Art of the Picture Book Molly Idle is interviewed.  Teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner chats with Molly Idle at All The Wonders, Episode 253.  Enjoy the extra video from the publishers.

Put A Hold On Hibernation

There is only one more thing which tests the bonds of friendship as much as time; distance can make it tricky to maintain a relationship.  When you take away the ability to Skype, text, tweet, send a message on a social network or via email, this leaves you keeping your connections alive through letters.  When writing, words need to be carefully chosen so any reading between the lines conveys the right sentiment.

Sometimes the promises made between friends are hard to keep.  Herman's Letter (Bloomsbury, November 11, 2014) written and illustrated by Tom Percival poses the perennial problem between friends of one moving away from the other.  Missing someone is different for everyone, isn't it?

Herman and Henry had been 
best friends for as long as 
anyone could remember.

Herman is a big brown bear.  Henry is a pink...yes pink...raccoon.  As long as anyone can remember means all the way back to birth.  That's a long time to be friends.

They master game playing, form an exclusive club and devise a TOP SECRET handshake.  It looks like nothing is going to change their wonderful days together until Henry moves far, far away. They, of course, will write letters and pledge to be best friends always.

When Henry's first letter arrives Herman is not so sure Henry misses him as much as he misses Henry.  Herman focuses on one particular part in the letter instead of the other sentences written by his raccoon buddy.  The green-eyed monster is threatening to take up residence in Herman's heart.  With every cheerful letter from Henry, the bear sinks farther and farther into loneliness.

As spring, summer and fall pass, Herman finds himself getting ready for his winter nap.  Settling into his favorite chair ready to drift off to dreamland, he is startled by a familiar sound.  A letter has been delivered.  It's from Henry!

Herman is overjoyed with the words he reads.  Penning a reply to his pal he hurries out to put it in the forest mailbox.  What?!  How can it be closed for the winter?  If Herman wants Henry to get this letter there is only one thing he can do.

Drifts are getting deeper.  Winds are howling.  Temperatures turn everything icy.  Herman is far, far away from home and hibernation.  A suitcase gone wild spells trouble for Herman.  Will the mail go through?


The friendship of Herman and Henry is laid before us in the first expressive four sentences. Tom Percival knows the importance of shared laughter and playful memories in joining two beings together.  With each letter and the matching narrative after Henry moves, Percival heightens Herman's despair laying the foundation for total elation when the final letter is received.  It also makes perfect sense for the ensuing trek but he doesn't let us rest, providing the final two twists.


Upon opening the book case readers are treated to a two page illustration with letters as the background for the title and story line promotion.  One of the interior photographs used to portray Herman's and Henry's friendship is attached to the back letter with tape as if in a scrapbook.  While the cover shows winter as the season, the story begins in spring as shown on the initial title page.  The formal title page and verso are a collage of photographs of Henry and Herman and letters.

Alternating the illustrations' sizes and the number on each page or across two pages compliments the rhythm of the narrative and the lift-the-flap letters.  Full color pictures, with the weather and the background colors depicting moods, provide splendid pacing especially in the sequence of smaller images as Herman travels.  Of importance is the insertion of humor to maintain the faithfulness of the hopeful story line; Herman standing in the rain over a smoking barbecue, the words Oh bother in a speech balloon as Herman stands on a mountain range peak and results of the suitcase ride.

One of my favorite illustrations takes place in the springtime.  Herman and Henry are wearing appropriate pirate garb sitting in their tree house which looks like a ship on the ocean blue.  Henry is looking for bounty with a spyglass as Herman sips a cool drink.  It illustrates the phrase

Everything was just perfect...

Yes it is.


Who doesn't like to get letters?  Who doesn't like to interact with a book by opening and closing written greetings? Herman's Letter written and illustrated by Tom Percival will be a hit with readers who need to see how moving away may challenge a relationship but true friendship does last forever...even across the miles and through hibernation.  I would pair this book with Sergio Ruzzier's newest title, A Letter For Leo, Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague (first of a series) or the classic The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.

For a little bit more information about Tom Percival follow the link to his website embedded in his name.  John Schumacher, teacher librarian extraordinaire, interviews Percival on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  An eight page activity kit has been developed by the publisher.  Enjoy the videos below.

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.