Seasonal Sensations

Books centering on pumpkins, jack-o'-lanterns, vampires, ghosts, witches, goblins, and things that go bump in the night can be read and enjoyed any month of the year but when the last stroke of midnight echoes on October first, something happens.  Readers' desire to enter and explore the season increases tenfold.  Whether it is fact or fiction, funny or frightening; they want it all.

By definition, vampires, alive or back from the dead, tend to be most active during darkness.  We never expect to see them during daylight hours.  This is why, before we have even opened the cover of Vampenguin (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, July 20, 2021) written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins, we are already smiling.

On Saturday, the Dracula family woke up extra early

so they could beat the weekend crowds to the zoo.

Once at the zoo, they were inside quickly, or were they?  As per their custom, they went to the Penguin House first.  They were not the only people enjoying this area.  Before long, they had viewed the several different species living there.  As they left, it was time for the penguins' breakfast.

(Unbeknown to the Dracula family, their tiny tot traveling in the stroller had switched places with one of the penguins.  This was never part of the written narrative but fully disclosed in the pictorial story.  Their ignorance is bliss for readers.)

As the family moved to the enclosures of the tiger, elephants, monkeys, and the lion, something strange was happening.  At the bear exhibit they were completely unaware of the bear's hand signals.  A nearby vendor had his snow cones entirely consumed to their puzzlement.  The parents and older son, Junior, were oblivious to the birds' curious chorus in the aviary and the sea lions' splashing at the demonstration.

In the Penguin House, as you might imagine, normalcy was gone.  Disrespectful visitors got a fright.  So intent on finishing their stroll through the zoo, the Dracula family failed to see nonverbal communications of the animals, even when they paused for a picture and a balloon.  It is safe to say this trip to the zoo was a memorable one for all.

Every sentence written by author Lucy Ruth Cummins is a study in contrast.  What is distinctively said and what we observe in the pictures supply us with comedy at nearly every page turn.  These carefully chosen words are also leading us to a conclusion certain to promote outbursts of laughter more than once.  Here is a passage and image explanation.

Back outside, the entire Dracula family was absolutely delighted

by the sea lion behavior demonstration.

The parents and Junior, seated on the stands, were not happy with being splashed.  Their hands were up, and their eyes were closed at the sudden watery episode.  The penguin in the stroller was thrilled.

The washed-teal background is used on both the front, right, and back, left, of the open dust jacket.  On the back a penguin is standing on the ISBN.  On the front, we see what the Dracula family does not.  A penguin in the stroller is making the SHH sign with its flipper wing.  This is an indication to readers this book has the unexpected ready to envelope us.

On the book case a darker teal spreads to either side of the wide black spine.  In the far lower, left corner on the back is the toddler sucking on his yellow teething ring.  In the far lower, right corner on the front is the penguin.  We are only shown their upper bodies.

On the opening and closing endpapers a pattern of black and white stripes, like the mother's shirt, creates a visually alluring effect.  On the title page illustrator Lucy Ruth Cummins shows us the zoo entrance at dawn.  The clock there shows it is 6 am. 

On the heavier, matte-finished paper, these illustrations 

rendered in gouache and colored pencil, and finished with digital line

are full-page pictures, double-page visuals or smaller images grouped by two to a page.  The limited color palette adds to the comedic impressions.  We are supplied with varying perspectives; close to characters and fading in the distance, a birds-eye view, realistic overview of scenes, and close-ups.  The facial features and body postures extend the impact of each illustration.  The smallest of details elevate the humor such as the single penguin looking directly at readers after the toddler has contributed a new odor to the Penguin House. 

One of my many favorite pictures is a double-page image.  We are brought close to the Dracula family as they swiftly move through the aviary.  Here, on the left side and along the top half of the right side, a variety of birds among branches and vines are not at rest.  They are vocalizing the fact a penguin is riding in the stroller.  Father is pointing at some birds.  Mother has her head buried in a map.  And Junior is looking straight ahead.  The penguin shifts in the stroller to give the birds a soft SHH.  Here, as throughout the book, the colors of black, white, yellow, pale pink and teal (turquoise) expand the emotional and hilarious response in readers.

Although this title, Vampenguin written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins, is certain to be a huge hit during the autumn season, it is guaranteed it will be a much requested read aloud all year.  The text and images work together with perfection welcoming readers from beginning to end.  I highly recommend this title for both your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Lucy Ruth Cummins and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Lucy Ruth Cummins has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.

Before October arrived this year, pumpkins were appearing at every grocery store, nursery, and farmer's market.  These squash are a symbol of the season.  They find their way into our food and drink, outdoor and indoor displays and decorations, and in our gardens, too.  There is something clearly satisfying about watching a pumpkin grow from blossom to something heavy we can hold in our hands.  How to Help a Pumpkin Grow (Beach Lane Books, July 20, 2021), one of the newest titles by author illustrator Ashley Wolff, joyously informs readers.

Dig it.

Spade it.

Seeds to sow.  

Sometimes when we plant early in the spring Mother Nature sends us a surprise snow.  We need to protect those seeds, so they will grow.  If we have hungry creatures near our gardens, we need to protect those seeds now forming tiny plants.  A good fence works.

Special care is given to those sprouting shoots.  Food, water, and weeding are on the agenda.  Crow helps.  Rabbit helps.  Duck is ready to lend a wing.

The vines are creeping and winding.  Let's wrap them around the sturdy posts.  The garden is flooded with green, yellow, and orange.  Goat wants to help, too.  The spring and summer seasons have shifted to harvest.

Pumpkins are gathered and taken to Dog's farmhouse.  Crow, Rabbit, Duck, and Goat are happy with their part in this success.  There is cooking and consuming of delectable delights.  And, yes, there is one more project.  Can you guess?

There is one word which comes to mind in reading the words here penned by Ashley Wolff.  That word is jubilation.  From beginning to end, her use of alliteration and rhyming is an open invitation to readers.  Two-word sentences fashion an introductory cadence.  The questions asked by Dog of Crow, Rabbit, Duck and Goat are a promising pause.  This whole narrative reads like a song.  Here are two passages.

Drench them.

Quench them.

Let it flow.

Watering up and down the row.

You want to help a pumpkin grow? (Dog bends down to Duck.)

The angle of the sun provides us with breathtaking views in the autumn.  At times, the light seems magical.  This is what we see first on the open and matching dust jacket and book case of this title.  There is a luminescence, a background glow in the front and back images.  This warmth, this golden sheen, is part of every picture throughout the book.  Cleverness in design is apparent in using the stacked pumpkins as placeholders for the title text.  Crow, the first animal, makes an appearance.  The tiny mouse, though never named, is present in all but one of the illustrations.  Readers will enjoy seeking out this tiny individual.

To the left of the spine, on the back, is a more panoramic view of Dog's farm.  Here Rabbit, Duck, and Goat are present.  Two are in the pumpkin patch, and one is under an apple tree.  Behind them is the farmhouse and silo with the barn.  We see the use of a darker blue with hints of purple as a complementary color.  Who wouldn't love to rock in the chair on the porch?  The ISBN is inside a pumpkin.

On the opening and closing endpapers colors mirror those of a pumpkin.  We are close to a pumpkin, blossoms, leaves, and vines on the title page.  Mouse is peeking from behind a leaf.

In this book, these illustrations were made using

acrylic gouache on Fabriano watercolor paper.

Each double-page picture is animated, filled with charming elements, and the rich hues of a pastoral setting.  We can see in the color choices how the days and seasons progress.  The animals, Dog, Crow, Rabbit, Duck, Goat and the mouse, are featured with facial expressions and body postures suggesting happiness and a willingness to help.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the words:

Twine them.

Vine them.

Watch them go,

filling up the garden---whoa!  

The exploding pumpkin patch is bursting with leaves, vines, blossoms, and pumpkins.  The fence is partially visible from left to right of this double-page picture.  On the left Dog stands, eyes closed, and arms outstretched in happiness.  Duck, with only its neck and head visible, looks at Dog.  Rabbit is holding a white pumpkin and watching Dog.  On the right, Crow is perched on the fence.  Goat's head is through the fence and chewing on a pumpkin vine.  The mouse is resting on the side of a pumpkin.  All their eyes are on Dog.  The sky is glowing.

Whether this book, How to Help a Pumpkin Grow written and illustrated by Ashley Wolff, is read silently or aloud, it is one to savor repeatedly.  For a thematic story time pair it with, to name a few, How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow?, Stumpkin or Pick A Pumpkin.  Be sure to have a copy of this title on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To discover more about Ashley Wolff and her other work, please access her website by following the link attached to her name.  She also has a blog.  Ashley Wolff has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  This title is featured at Jama Rattigan's Jama's Alphabet Soup.  You will love the interview and all the added images.

Correspondence Confusion

Bright and early yesterday morning after a rain shower, a discovery was made.  A soggy letter was found in the middle of the road.   It was returned to its rightful owner after a blurred address was deciphered.  What might have happened if it had not rained and it blew farther away?  Did the owner of the letter find it stashed on their porch?  Are the contents important?

Whether you find a soaked message in the middle of the road or a written note placed in an envelope and left inside your dry mailbox by the postman, there is still today, with all our advanced technology, a bit of magic attached to unexpected correspondence.  There is usually a bit of an internal conversation taking place before the envelope is opened.  Is this good news or not-so-good news?  Will this letter change my day?  The Love Letter (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, October 8, 2019) written by Anika Aldamuy Denise with illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins is a charming combination of hopefulness, misunderstanding and truth in words and art.

Hedgehog was late.
He did not like being late.

Hedgehog's mood was the opposite of cheerful at the point when he spied something out of the ordinary on the ground.

It was a letter.

Reading the words, Hedgehog realized it was a love letter.  He believed someone loved him because the salutation read Friend.  He took the letter with him, stashing it inside his backpack.

When Hedgehog arrived in the meadow, his mood was happier than normal.  Everything he did with his friends, Bunny and Squirrel, was downright enjoyable.  He was pleased to walk Bunny home.  After she hugged him in thanks, she found something on the ground.  It was that letter.

Bunny was jubilant.  Hedgehog loved her!  At home Bunny was more helpful than normal.  When her chores were completed before and after dinner, she decided to visit Squirrel, bringing him a bundle of acorns.  Guess what she dropped as she left?  It was that letter.

Squirrel believing Bunny loved him was more carefree than normal.  Nothing was going to change the way he was feeling.  He slept long and hard until he raced to the meadow in the morning.

Each one of them, Hedgehog, Bunny and Squirrel, believed someone loved them.  Two were certain they knew who it was.  There were more than a few surprises at the meadow that day.  Wise words act as a reminder and retie the threads of friendship.


You have to admit when Hedgehog first finds the letter and reads the words, you feel a bit excited for him.  A new normal has popped into Hedgehog's day.  This is how author Anika Aldamuy Denise immediately invites us into the story.  When he voices his thoughts out loud, our heartrate picks up a little bit, too.  This is why we understand the difference in how he relates to his friends during their daily meadow visit.

With the discovery of the letter by the other two characters, we fully comprehend their joy, but we also feel a tension growing.  Who wrote this letter and for whom did they write it? For each of the characters, Anika Aldamuy Denise simply doesn't state they are more cheerful, helpful or carefree.  She gives examples.  This assists in elevating the gentle tension.    An added bit of humor by Anika Aldamuy Denise is the exclamations made by Bunny and Squirrel when they believe they are loved.  Here is a passage.

Down in the rabbit hole, Mama put her straight to work.
Normally Bunny pretended to nap at chore time, but today
she had a love letter and was feeling oddly . . . helpful.


Readers will find the limited color palette, introduced on the open dust jacket, will wrap around them like their favorite cozy clothing.  Throughout the book black, white, brown, yellow, pink and hues of gray create pleasing portraits of the characters and their surroundings.  The design on the jacket and inside the book is stunning.  Careful readers will notice something very special about the framing of the woodland scene with Hedgehog on the front.

To the left, on the back, Bunny, Squirrel and Hedgehog have arrived at the meadow, all believing they are loved.  They are bundled in their winter apparel and boots.  None of them are making eye contact.  The setting is more open expressing the shyness and vulnerability they feel.

On the book case it's night.  The darker sky highlights the falling snow, a row of birch trees from the left edge to the right edge and the ground covered with snow.  A full moon fashions shadows of the trees on the snow as it shines in the upper, left-hand corner.  A trail of tiny footprints moves from the far left to the tiny creature making them on the right.  It is our first hint.

The yellow used on the varnished title text on the front of the jacket covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Before the title page, Lucy Ruth Cummins gives readers another clue on this first page.  A typewriter with paper and envelopes is placed in the lower, right-hand corner.  The size of the chair and a teeny teacup are another hint.  With another page turn, the darker night lit only by the moon and glowing windows in a nearby home provide a place for the verso and dedication and title pages. The trees stand like silent sentinels.  A third clue is seen in the other place with glowing light, the inside of a log. (This same log happens to appear in the first narrative page in the book.)

The images rendered using

Navah Wolfe's old-timey typewriter, gouache, brush marker, colored pencil, and ink wash before finishing the illustrations digitally for this book

by Lucy Ruth Cummins are double-page pictures, smaller illustrations placed on white space, full-page pictures and several smaller images grouped together on a single page.  Every time the letter is read it's a close-up.  Lucy Ruth Cummins's double-page picture of the three friends walking in the snow to the meadow is an outstanding layout.  Her fine lines and delicate details further draw the reader into the story.  The eyes on the characters leave no doubt as to their current mood.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a full-page picture.  Even without the text, you know something in the story is changing.  Several leafless trees stand near two large birches against a pale gray sky.  Brown grass covers the lower half of the page.  It is slighting rounded.  Hedgehog, with his back to readers, is walking away between the two birch trees. Bunny is in the foreground bending down to pick up the dropped letter.  (At this point in a read aloud, listeners will be gasping or crying out.) Her pint sweater, bluish gray backpack and shoes and yellow polka-dot skirt are a pleasing contrast to the meadow.


If there were a huggable category for books, The Love Letter written by Anika Aldamuy Denise with illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins, would find a place there.  To believe you are loved is wonderful, to know it, is even better.  This book inspires us to shine love whenever we can, wherever we go.  I highly recommend a copy for your personal and professional book collections.

To read more about Anika Aldamuy Denise and Lucy Ruth Cummins and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Anika Aldamuy Denise has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Lucy Ruth Cummins has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior illustrations.  I was honored to host the cover reveal for this book and was able to ask questions of Anika Aldamuy Denise and Lucy Ruth Cummins.  You can read the full post here.

Courage In Motion

Love pushes aside fear and makes us brave.  We do and say things we would never do or say except when motivated by love.  If we feel the recipient of our affection is in a precarious situation, we race to the rescue.

Science is still trying to decipher the development of lasting bonds between animals and humans.  For animals and their humans, science is not needed.  The love is tangible.  Truman (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, July 9, 2019) written by Jean Reidy with illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins explores courage compelled by a connection between a pet and his human.

Truman was small,
the size of a donut---
a small donut---
and every bit as sweet.

His human, Sarah, lived in the city in an apartment above all the noisy vehicles and the bus labeled 11.  Truman, the tortoise, was the opposite of the noisy streets.  He was quiet and thoughtful.  His Sarah was quiet and thoughtful, too.  They were a perfect match.

One day, Sarah, did some out-of-the-ordinary things.  She ate a banana for breakfast, wore a new sweater and a blue bow in her hair, put on a large backpack and gave Truman extra green beans for his meal, two to be exact.  With her finger she reached out to his shell, leaving a kiss.  She quietly gave him a message and left.

Truman started thinking about all those out-of-the-ordinary things.  He was worried.  He was even more worried when he saw Sarah leave on the bus labeled 11.  He waited and waited and waited for Sarah to come home.  She did not.  He had to find her.  He had to ride the bus labeled 11.  There was one huge problem.  He was inside a glass tank.

Truman was determined though.  He observed what had always been there with fresh eyes. Everything was daunting and HUGE without Sarah but a discovery, and a sound helped Truman to not only remember whispered words but feel them.  A happy arrival and a story at the end of the day gave one small tortoise named Truman all the hope his heart could hold for a future of togetherness with his human, Sarah.


With the first sentence author Jean Reidy gives us a character, a creature, we instantly adore.  Our affection grows upon reading the words, his Sarah.  Despite all the hustle and bustle of the outside world he sees from his tank, Truman finds serenity in living his life with Sarah.  Even when circumstances challenge that serenity, we are enveloped in the story.

Jean Reidy supplies us with a welcoming rhythm in repeating words.  Alliteration is used to excellent effect.  It's poetic.  She gives us a world seen through Truman's eyes using special descriptions.  We are told Sarah's backpack is big.  (There is room for thirty-two tortoises to fit inside it.)  Here is a passage.

That's when he noticed
the rocks---
three rocks---
that had always been there.

Ordinary
rocks
that now
seemed
EXTRAORDINARY!


What readers can't initially see is upon opening the dust jacket, Sarah's body extends over the spine. It covers nearly two-thirds of the back.  She is wearing a pink skirt, short, full and bouncy; almost like a tutu. Her knees are bent up and one stockinged foot crosses on top of the other.  It's a relaxed pose as she gazes lovingly at Truman.  The ISBN has been cleverly placed to appear as a fixture in the home.

On the book case readers can see and feel a wide, vivid yellow cloth spine.  The front and back look like pink frosting covered in sprinkles . . . like a donut.  It's exactly like a donut Truman is eating on the first page of the book.  On the opening and closing endpapers a two-tone, golden-green color is used to supply a pattern like Truman's shell.

Each illustration by Lucy Ruth Cummins was

rendered in gouache, brush marker, charcoal, and colored pencil, and were finished digitally.

On the heavier, matte-finished paper liberal, splendid use of white space, accentuates the details, lines and colors in these images.  Lucy Ruth Cummins includes everyday charm like Sarah and her mother eating breakfast barefoot with their shoes next to them on the floor.  When numbers are mentioned, the objects have black numbers next to them.  The color palette within Sarah's home is bright and the patterns are cheerful.

The facial features on Truman and Sarah are completely endearing.  Lucy Ruth Cummins has captured all his tortoise-ness eloquently.  Points-of-view shift from seeing a large portion of a city street with small Truman watching from his tank in the apartment window to a close-up of him eating one of his seven green beans.  For extra emotional emphasis and pacing, we are sometimes very close to Truman.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It is a close-up of Sarah and Truman on a white canvas.  Across most of the space Sarah is lying on her stomach, knees bent up and leaning her chin on one hand.  With her other hand she is coloring.  An open box of crayons is next to her on the left.  Other crayons are scattered on the left and right.  She is wearing a blue skirt with straps (a jumper).  Her shirt is pink with white hearts.  A yellow flower is tucked in her hair.  (This is important for later in the story.)  Close to Sarah, nearly nose to nose, is Truman.  He is resting his head on one of his arms as he watches her.


There is much to appreciate (love) about this book, Truman written by Jean Reidy with illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins.  It is a story of bravery born of love.  It is a story of a human and animal bond.  It is a story of the first day of school told from an entirely new perspective.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.  We should all be so fortunate to have a Truman or a Sarah in our lives.

To learn more about Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins and their other work, please access their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  Jean Reidy has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.  Lucy Ruth Cummins has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  You can enjoy viewing interior images at the publisher's website.

UPDATE:  December 8, 2019 At author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast you can view additional artwork.

The Love Letter Cover Reveal

 As I write this, we are in the middle of another howling winter storm.  It is a day for bundling up and venturing outside for short walks close to home.  It is a day for hot drinks and comfort food. It is a day for snuggling under a cozy blanket and for losing yourself in a book by stepping into a story.

In two days, it will be Valentine’s Day 2019.  On this day we give extra recognition to love, acts of love and those we love.  Secrets are revealed, as this day asks us to declare that which we value the most.  I can think of no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day 2019 than chatting with two wonderful creators in the world of children’s literature. I am very happy and excited to welcome Anika Aldamuy Denise and Lucy Ruth Cummins to Librarian’s Quest for the cover reveal of their new book, The Love Letter.   

Thank you so much for having us, Margie. And for sharing the cover of our new book.

I want to know about the character on the cover. Who is it? Why this animal?

This is Hedgehog. He’s a bit prickly. Why a hedgehog? I suppose part of the credit goes to my friend Emily. She’s an artist and a proud hedgie mommy. She posts pictures of her sweet hedgies (Figgie and Doodle) on her Instagram feed all the time—curled up sleeping, nestled in her arm, taking a bath. I guess I had hedgies on the brain as I sat down to write. Our story begins with Hedgehog, and a mysterious letter.

.

What inspired Hedgehog’s story?

Well, it’s a shared story, of three friends, Hedgehog, Bunny, and Squirrel—and a small mouse. The idea began with something my daughter Sofia started years ago, where she’d write a poem and leave it for me to find. Her poems were short and lyrical. They always made me smile. And so, I started writing poems back to her. We've done this on and off through the years. No matter what our poems are about, finding them unexpectedly makes us both feel happy.

It got me thinking about how a simple unexpected expression of love, or joy, or gratitude… can be powerful. The story came from that basic idea: the effect of kind words.

Lucy, what was the first visual that popped into your head after you read the manuscript?

The first thing that popped into my head was a vision of the little mouse silhouetted against the moon. I knew I wanted it to be a quiet, private moment, and I knew I wanted the enormity of the moon to overtake the whole scene. I wanted readers to feel the emotional significance just from scale alone.  

I was so taken with Anika's words, and so excited at the prospect of setting a story in the woods, and in the snow. That was a thrill for me, having set most of the books I've worked on in cities and neighborhoods that look very much like where I live with my family in Brooklyn. I grew up in Central New York, though, where it always seemed like we spent 10 and a half months of the year freezing cold, buried under a foot of snow, and fully encased in snowsuits, and where there were giant, beautiful trees everywhere you looked. It was neat to be able to unload all my visual memories of those views into the pages of our book.

What medium did you use for the cover and the art in the book?

I used anything and everything, as is my habit! I seriously have a hard time limiting my materials. I paint with gouache, use pencil and charcoal to define shadows and contours, crayon for texture here and there, brush marker for details and patterns, and digital line work overall.

I also had a lot of fun incorporating real bits of typewriter text for the letter—I used my friend Navah's typewriter and the ribbon was SO dry I had to press and hold each key for 10 seconds, wiggling my fingertip and pushing with all my might!

Is there a character in the book who you most relate to?

I am such a Rabbit! And I love naps just as much as she does. I think she would enjoy a mountain of varied art materials just as much as I do—her frenetic energy and joie de vivre spoke to me! And I'm married to a Hedgehog—it's...an interesting balance!

And you, Anika?

I think I’m a little like Mouse. A bit of a dreamer, the unlikely optimist. Small, but opinionated. And if it means I get to spend my days in Lucy’s lovely winter woods, under the big beautiful moon, then yes, I definitely want to be Mouse.

Thank you both, Anika and Lucy, for taking a few moments to talk with me about your book. I can hardly wait to show the world the cover. When I look at it, I can't help smiling and wanting to twirl around and hug someone. So . . .

Happy Valentine's Day 2019 to Anika Aldamuy Denise,

Lucy Ruth Cummins and

The Love Letter

This title published by HarperCollins Children's Books will be released on October 8, 2019.

Other books featured here written by Anika Aldamuy Denise are Baking Day at Grandma's, Monster Trucks, Starring CARMEN!, and Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre. Books written and illustrated or illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins showcased here are A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals, This is NOt a Valentine, and Stumpkin.

To learn more about Anika Aldamuy Denise and Lucy Ruth Cummins and their other work, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names. Both Anika and Lucy have accounts on Instagram. You can find both of them on Twitter, too, here and here.

Anika Aldamuy Denise is the author of many picture books including Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre, Starring Carmen!, Lights, Camera, Carmen!, and Monster Trucks. She grew up in Queens, New York, and spent summers in the Adirondacks where she had a series of jobs including: chamber maid, breakfast waitress, ice cream scooper, and t-shirt seller at Fort William Henry. She now lives with her family near the coast in Rhode Island where she happily works as a writer. She still enjoys ice cream. Her favorite flavor is coffee.

Lucy Ruth Cummins spends her days at Simon & Schuster, art directing everything from picture books on up to young adult novels, and her evenings at home, drawing everything from the very, very cute on up to the very, very weird. She made her picture book illustration debut with a parody of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree---The Taking Tree and is the creator of A Hungry Lion, Or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals as well as the Stumpkin. She is also the illustrator of This Is Not a Valentine by Carter Higgins, Truman by Jean Reidy, and the covers for author Stuart Gibbs. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and once worked at a Taco Bell restaurant.

"Orange" You Going To Pick Me?

It's a term of endearment.  It's a mode of transportation in a popular fairy tale.  It's rich in fiber and low in carbohydrates.  It is a popular and main ingredient in food especially during the autumn season.  Scientifically, it's known as a fruit but there are those who argue it's a vegetable. 

As October 31st draws nearer, grocery stores and farmers' markets are featuring it prominently.  Children can hardly wait to find the best one.  Stumpkin (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, July 24, 2018) written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins (A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals) is about a pumpkin who believes his perfection is flawed.

It was a few days before Halloween.  Outside a little shop in a big city, a shopkeeper placed some pumpkins on the shelves.

Immediately a little girl stopped, looked at the pumpkins and walked away with one in her arms.  Those still on the shelves wondered what was going to happen to their companion.  That evening they had an answer. 

In one of the apartment buildings on the other side of the street, a jack-o-lantern glowed in a window.  The pumpkin turned jack-o-lantern had fared fantastically according to his buddies.  They could hardly wait for the same fate except for one.  He realized he had no stem just a stump.  He was literally pumpkin perfection except for this one detail.

As it got closer and closer to Halloween more and more pumpkins left the shelves and filled windows with happy grins across the street at night.  As each pumpkin left Stumpkin knew he would be the best jack-o-lantern of all.  Would his turn to leave be tomorrow?

People walked by and picked pumpkins.  The shop keeper's cat settled on top of Stumpkin.  A child picked him!  YES! Oh, no!  He changed his mind when a dog did what dogs do around cats. (sigh)  Soon it was just a gourd and Stumpkin on the shelves.  It was now Halloween day.  A boy walked up and picked one of them.  You won't believe which one he picked.  Someone got a new home that night.  Someone else was already in their special space.


When Lucy Ruth Cummins writes a story you know she will take something ordinary and expand your thinking.  In her capable hands it becomes extraordinary.  In this narrative she smoothly moves from narrator to the thoughts of the pumpkins and the thoughts of Stumpkin.  She builds descriptive reasoning into the tale which leads us to humor and the glowing, grinning conclusion.  Here is the bottom portion of a passage.

Poor little . . . Stumpkin.
Still there was plenty to like about Stumpkin.
He was a handsome pumpkin---as orange as a traffic cone.
He was as big as a basketball---and twice as round!
Stem-schmem!
Who know?
Some people might even prefer a stemless pumpkin.


Could there be more excellent colors for a book about a pumpkin and Halloween?  The rich black on the dust jacket extends flap edge to flap edge. On the left it's entirely like a moonless midnight except for a sliver of Stumpkin in the lower right-hand corner.  And without even opening the book case we know Stumpkin is not happy about his physical state. The placement of his eyes and angle of his eyebrows conveys his emotional mood.  The texture of the paper for the jacket is rough like tiny, tiny weaving. 

On the book case we move in closer to Stumpkin on the front.  We see a hint of his stem but our eyes are drawn to his eyes and lots of orange.  A wide black band extends from the spine.  Stumpkin is also highlighted on the back but he is much different; much happier.  On the matching opening and closing endpapers in orange and cream are rows of bricks like the walls of the apartment buildings.

Lucy Ruth Cummins begins her pictorial story on the title page with a truck driving left to right, almost off the page.  The back is filled with pumpkins and one gourd.  Rendered in gouache, pencil, ink, and brush marker the images invite interpretation. Many of the elements are in shades of black and gray to accentuate the pumpkins.  We never see details on the people.  Details are seen in other items; the signs on the shop windows and door and the plants and fruits on display. (Take note of those fruits, page to page.)

The perspective changes from larger views of the shop and apartment buildings across the street to close-ups of the shelves.  This allows us to see the eyes of the cat and the pumpkins as their expressions shift.  The change in visual sizes, double-page to full page, elevates the emotions Stumpkin is feeling.  It also surprises us with six very special pages toward the end which are masterful.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans a full page crossing the gutter to the left. It's a close up of the shelves outside the shop.  It draws our attention to three shelves.  There are four elements on each shelf; nine pumpkins, a single gourd, Stumpkin and the black cat with brilliant green eyes.  All the eyes are looking at Stumpkin.  He is most definitely worried.  He has just noticed his lack of a stem. 


Is this a stellar choice for a Halloween read aloud?  It certainly is!  Is this a super-duper choice for reminding us imperfections in our minds are likely perfections to others?  Yes, it is!  Stumpkin written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins is a book you need to add to your professional and personal collections.  It is destined to be a holiday classic.

To learn more about Lucy Ruth Cummins and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images and portions of the story.  Lucy Ruth Cummins maintains an account on Twitter and Instagram. 

Messages From The Heart

It is a greeting given in friendship.  It is a written declaration of devotion.  It is a token of endearment.  On February 14th, collectively by more people than any other day of the year, love is celebrated.  Brave souls will reveal their sincere feelings for others.  If the fondness is known, shared and has stood the test of time, it is honored for the treasure it is.

You can be a Valentine, the cherished individual, or you can give someone a Valentine, a greeting, a declaration or a token.  This is NOT a Valentine (Chronicle Books, December 26, 2017) written by Carter Higgins with illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins offers readers less than traditional displays of tenderness.  They are nonetheless genuine and straight from the heart.

This is not a valentine,
since those come with buckets of roses
and bushels of tulips
that smell like grannies
fresh out of the garden.

On the bus ride to school on Valentine's Day a girl gives a classmate, a boy, a Valentine card.  In response he gives her a handful of dandelions, some blooming, others ready to make wishes come true and several bare.  As he hands her another token he is quick to remind her, this is not a valentine.

Each gesture of kindness and friendship by him to her during the day reveals how well he knows her.  He realizes what he gives her next is not the hues frequently found on Valentines nor is it any of her favorite colors, but it is a color worn by superheroes and she is a superhero to him.  When their teacher asks them to make portraits, his drawing of her is filled with imperfections but his attempt is pure perfection.

His answer to them being separated in the drinking fountain line is an expertly aimed paper airplane.  He has to get her attention as best as he can.  During science he imagines them being sick together from a lesson with negative results but he chooses to find the silver lining.  In the cafeteria at lunch and on the playground at recess, the boy finds readily available mementos to present to his friend.  His purpose for choosing each one is a reflection of his affection.

As the school day closes, the two walk to the bus chatting together.  Unlike the morning, they are riding home side by side.  The boy speaks one final line leaving readers with a profound thought to ponder.


The brilliant beauty of this book penned by Carter Higgins is its truth.  There are many ways to demonstrate friendship and love; sometimes denying either is a demonstration of the opposite.  With the openness and genuineness so easily found in children, this boy allows us to see the wonder in loving someone.  His reasons for selecting each item will stay with readers.  They disclose the depth of his character.  Here is a passage.

This is not a valentine,
since it's got sharper edges than
dainty old lace.
But if you play duck duck goose
with kids who run real fast,
you'll just get stuck in the stew pot.
So meet me at the hopscotch squares.
My lucky rock will help.


Although the title on the opened dust jacket claims this is not a Valentine, the looks on the boy's and girl's faces say otherwise.  The color choices and the size of the book give you the sense this is a Valentine.  To the left, on the back, the ribbon-wearing frog is leaping away to the left from the spine on the same cream canvas.

The book case is a scattering of Valentine envelopes each sealed with a small red heart.  They are placed on a white background on both sides of the case.  The title appears in the center on the far right.  A shade of lavender covers the opening and closing endpapers.  It is a slightly lighter hue than the color of the girl's dress.

Before the title page a single Valentine envelope bears the name Kevin. (At the close of the book there is a notable difference.) Illustrator Lucy Ruth Cummins begins her visual story on the following pages.  The verso shows the front of the school bus as it pulls up to the stop.  The boy and the girl are seated together on a bench waiting on the title page.  She is about to give the boy a Valentine.  The next wordless two-page picture shows his reaction.

Rendered in brush marker, gouache, graphite, colored pencil, crayon, ink and charcoal the images created by Lucy Ruth Cummins are brimming with texture and charm.  The children in their facial expressions and body postures exhibit happiness.  You can't look at them without smiling.  A full page is dedicated to each of the keepsakes given to the girl.  Lucy Ruth Cummins switches perspective to focus our attention on a particular moment in the story; when the ring color matches the color of the girl's shoelaces, when the children are drawing the portraits or eating their lunch.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the boy, seated at the back of the room, is passing a "gift" to the front of the class where the girl sits.  This image is on a cream background spanning two pages.  Our attention is drawn to the colorful clothing of the students.  Their desks, in a row, left to right, are pencil sketches.  On the side of each desk is a pink heart.


This is NOT a Valentine written by Carter Higgins with illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins is a Valentine to readers from these two talented women.  It is a touching testament to the variety of Valentines given and received.  Each one is as precious as the other.  You will want to add this delightful title to your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Carter Higgins and Lucy Ruth Cummins and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Both women visit All The Wonders for a book cover reveal with teacher librarian Matthew Winner.  At 12 x 12 and author Melissa Roske's site, Carter Higgins is showcased.  Lucy Ruth Cummins is interviewed at BOOKish.

And Then There Was One

There is a creation story from the Onondaga of the Northeast Woodlands called The Earth on Turtle's Back.  (It can be found in Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children (Fulcrum, Inc., September 15, 1988) by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac with illustrations by John Kahionhes Fadden and Carol Wood.)   In this story there is only water and birds and animals able to live under, on and above the water.  Over the water and among the clouds is Skyland.

As an elderly chief's wife falls toward the water through a hole in Skyland created by the removal of the Great Tree, the animals below know she is different; she cannot live as they do.  Two swans catch The Woman From The Sky, holding her in their wings as the others try to get Earth from the very bottom of the water.  Several animals dive but it is tiny Muskrat who succeeds, floating to the surface, near death, grasping Earth in one of her paws.

Great Turtle volunteers to hold this bit of Earth.  As soon as it touches his shell it grows and grows becoming the land upon the water, our world.  For this reason, among others, the turtle is a sacred symbol of the Earth, wisdom and long life.

Today many animals inhabit our planet in the air, on the land and in the sea.  They act instinctively in the presence of one another.  In her first book, A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, March 15, 2016) art director of children's books Lucy Ruth Cummins tells a tale relying on expectations.  The twists and turns it takes will have you in turn counting, gasping and laughing out loud.

Once upon a time there was a hungry lion,
a penguin, a turtle, a little calico kitten,
a brown mouse, a bunny with floppy ears
and a bunny with un-floppy ears,
a frog, a bat, a pig, a slightly bigger pig,
a woolly sheep, a koala, and also a hen.

These fourteen animals, for the moment, are casually in a row content and happy.  With a page turn and an exclamation by the unseen narrator, the story begins again...

Once upon a time there was a hungry lion...

This time the narrative is considerably shorter.  The number of animals has diminished; the kitten, a pig, and the sheep have vanished.  It's hard to look at the lion without suspicion.

As the story continues our narrator is even more startled; so much so that the words used change with the next two page turns.  The hungry lion is now in the company of less than four animals. Truthfully, this does not bode well for those remaining brave or fool-hardy souls especially when the king of beasts is whistling a tune.

Truly shocking events evolve until the lion, all alone, glares and strides off the page.  As if this is not frightening enough, the pages go black for reasons unknown.  Click!  A single light bulb illuminates an epic reveal involving a confection of gigantic proportions and .... click!

When the darkness is banished a second time be prepared for not one, not two, but three unforeseen outcomes.  Mother Nature is chock full of surprises.  So is the best kind of fiction picture book.


Deep within our storytelling psyche is a programmed response to the three words, once upon a time.  When reading or hearing those words expectations arise unbidden.  To choose to use those words Lucy Ruth Cummins sets the stage for what follows.

To have the narrator speaking in an aside along with the more traditional text heightens our curiosity and adds a new dimension to the tale. The use of adjectives at critical points in the story causes a false sense of security in readers.  We think we know what's going to happen but are therefore totally unprepared for the reality we read.  Also Cummins' carefully selected words increase in importance as they and the animals lessen in number.  Here is a sample passage.

Wait a second.
It seems there was just a hungry lion,
a turtle, only the floppy-eared rabbit,
a frog, a bat, and a pig.
And apparently?
               No one else. 


Rendered throughout in brush marker, gouache, graphite, colored pencil, and charcoal readers believe when looking at the front of the dust jacket, they are seeing a gathering of happy animals regardless of the title.  The back, on the left, foreshadows the ending complete with a comment from Caldecott Medal and Honor winner, Jon Klassen which sums up the narrative succinctly.  Different than the jacket, in the resplendent shade of the lion's mane the canvas for two circular images is found on the book case.

On the front is the lion.  Smiling with a secret only known to this individual animal (and readers once the book is finished) a second picture is loosely framed on the back.  The opening and closing endpapers are patterned in vertical stripes in two hues of yellow and orange.  A single glowing light bulb hangs over the text on the title page.

Sixteen glorious two-page pictures add subtle nuances to the narrative.  Facial details and body postures confirm notions but also increase questions.  Their combination with the text creates a suspenseful atmosphere and exquisite pacing.

One of my favorite illustrations is of the hungry lion on the left and three animals on the right.  Completely relaxed with closed eyes and resting, the lion is whistling.  The other animals' moods are varied.  One is smiling, another looks definitely concerned and the third is looking straight ahead, expressionless.  This image speaks volumes.  What is going on?!


A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins is a guaranteed to be a favorite read aloud.  It will astonish you over and over again even when you know the ending.  That is the sign of a remarkable read.  The wit found in the blend of text and images is meant to be shared often, at every opportunity.

To discover more about Lucy Ruth Cummins and her artwork please visit her site by following the link attached to her name.  At the publisher's website are several interior pictures including my favorite one.  In late 2014 Publishers Weekly had an article about this debut picture book.  Lucy Ruth Cummins is interviewed at Picture Book Builders and at Quill & Quire.  This title is featured at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.