Feeding Our Bodies, Our Minds And Our Hearts

Individuals plant it, nurture it, harvest it, sell it, and consume it.  They can do one of these things, a few or all of them.  Food is life.  Entire lifetimes are spent gardening, farming, producing, marketing, preserving, cooking, and presenting food.  It is the center of daily dining, celebrations, and moments we hold in our hearts forever. 

In the produce market field, one woman took the proverbial words, variety's the very spice of life, to a whole, original level.  Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat (Beach Lane Books, January 12, 2021) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Giselle Potter is an exciting portrait of an innovative woman who chose to do the unexpected.  Her decisions affected too many to count, in a classic ripple effect for good.

When Frieda Caplan went to work at the Seventh Street

produce market, she saw boxes of bananas.

Piles of potatoes.

Truckloads of tomatoes.

Apples as far as the eye could see.

These fruits and vegetables were popular fare, but Frieda Caplan wondered using those two magical words, what if.  She brought mushrooms.  People started to buy her mushrooms for a very simple reason.  They were there.  From there they went to markets, restaurants, and roadside stands.

Frieda did not stop at mushrooms.  She developed a reputation for trying anything.  She enjoyed displaying items with distinctive textures and unforgettable flavors.  She would show a new kind of produce with descriptions about it as well as recipes.  

Sometimes it took people a bit of time to respond to her unique introductions, but Frieda was persistent.  She had a knack for knowing what special fruit or vegetable would become favored.  Not only did Frieda bring her ideas to the produce market, but to others who asked questions.  

Reporters were eager to know what new fruit or vegetable would make an appearance.  Frieda was not shy in telling them.  Soon her two daughters were working with her.  They practiced using the words, what if, too.  They were a team, a force for change.  People will be thanking them for generations.

Author Mara Rockliff starts with what was, showing readers step by step, how a single person can contribute to what many take for granted today.  A recurring detail in the narrative adds to the authenticity of the narrative.  Mara Rockliff includes fruits and vegetables Frieda Caplan introduced to the produce market with respective dates and appetizing information about some of them.  Here is a passage.

Farmers dug for tips on what to grow.

How about purple potatoes?

Cooks peppered her with questions.

On the front, right, portion of the open and matching dust jacket and book case, we see Frieda's hand holding a mushroom with other hands extending to her.  In those hands are a few of the fruits we now see in our markets with gratitude to her courageous and inventive spirit.  The hands representative of many ethnic groups, the fruit, and title text are varnished on the jacket.  

To the left, on the back, is a portion of a double-page interior picture, somewhat smaller to include more area.  Within shades of the background color used on the front, stands Frieda sampling baby corn offered by a farmer.  Around her are other bins of fruits and vegetables.  To the left and top, a marketeer moves their goods.  Another grower stands in the back of a truck waiting to unload their colorful vegetables, yellow, red, and purple.

Purple covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page, wearing purple with a string of pearls, Frieda stands behind a display of fruits she brought to the market.  The image sizes throughout the book vary from double-page pictures, to full-page pictures, and smaller visuals grouped together on a single page.

Rendered in watercolor by Giselle Potter, the images depict Frieda as rare as the fruits she presented at the market.  You can tell, as the first female to own and manage a produce company, she shone among a mostly male-dominated industry.  By the facial expressions on the people and their body postures, we understand Frieda commanded a certain growing respect.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  Frieda, on the right, stands among eight male marketeers.  We can see two of them only by the hands holding boxes of produce.  One of the men is holding a box of blood oranges.  Frieda is tasting a slice.  Their commentary adds to the sincerity of the scene.

Go see Frieda.

Take it 

to Frieda.

Frieda

will try

anything! 

The next time you go to the market for or eat your favorite fruit or vegetable, think of this remarkable woman.  Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Giselle Potter chronicles the accomplishments of a woman who paved the way for food diversity.  At the close of the book is an author's note titled Fabulous, Fearless . . . Frieda!, and a note on sources.  This is an excellent picture biography to have in your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Mara Rockliff and Giselle Potter and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  At Mara's website are four activity sheets you can download.  Giselle Potter has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  Elizabeth Bird, author, reviewer, blogger, and current Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system interviews Mara Rockliff about this title at School Library Journal, A Fuse #8 Production.  At author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Giselle Potter and this book are featured.  At the publisher's website you can view the entire dust jacket and book case, and multiple interior illustrations.  Here is the link to Frieda Caplan's company, Frieda's Specialty Produce.

 

It was a single kind of fruit.  It was one pre-dawn walk in the woods.  It was the wisdom of a beloved elder.  Combined they fashioned a force which kept a fierce fire alive in an iconic civil rights leader.  We Wait for the Sun (The Story of Young Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Her Grandmother's Enduring Love) (Roaring Brook Press, February 9, 2021) written by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe with illustrations by Raissa Figueroa is a loving story of a morning memory. 

The girl in this story, Dovey Johnson Roundtree, was born more than one hundred years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina.  During a time of racial inequity in America, she grew up to become a legendary civil rights lawyer, fighting for justice. 

It is an hour before the sun's rising.  A little girl follows her grandmother out of their house and down a path toward the darker woods. She believes she and her Grandma Rachel are the only two people outside at this time of day.  Soon, they are joined by other women who move silently through moist warm southern air.

Grandma Rachel calls out to Dovey, assuring her there is nothing to fear.  Dovey stays close to her grandmother, mirroring her every move.  Bird song starts, leading the ladies of all ages toward the best berries, ripe for picking.

Dovey opens her mouth to receive and savor the first-picked blackberry from Grandma Rachel.  The sound, the gentle plop, of berries dropping into pails surrounds the pickers.  As pails fill to the top, the sky fills with the first blush of dawn.

Kneeling, Grandma Rachel hugs Dovey close to her as they watch the horizon.  Suddenly, the sun is there, and Grandma Rachel stands, her face toward the new light.  Dovey watches her.  Time stands still until Grandma Rachel leads Dovey back home.

When you read the words written by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe, you are with the child and her grandmother in the early hours of a North Carolina morning.  Each sensory step envelops you.  There is a bit of mystery.  There is a bit of magic.  There is a whole lot of love and strength being passed from a grandmother to her granddaughter.  Here is a passage.

The darkness holds a thousand sounds.  As we push deeper 

and deeper into the woods, the blackness turns to gray,

and sleepy birds begin calling to each other, sending

     echoes

        through

           the treetops.

The images on the front and back of the open and matching dust jacket and book case wash over you like the colors they showcase.  The picture on the right of Grandma Rachel and Dovey embracing each other and waiting for the sun to rise asks us to embrace this story.  And we do.  The five-word title text is in gold foil.  The text along the bottom is varnished.

The image on the back is deep in the forest where the light of day has not reached yet.  It is a continuation of what we see on the right.  Women work in silence and sometimes whisper local gossip.  They nearly blend in with the trees.  Text here, from the narrative, reassures Dovey.  It reassures readers, too.

On the opening and closing endpapers, artist Raissa Figueroa has placed a closeup of blackberries amid leaves.  Moving from left to right on both sets, the lighting changes from darkness to a faint bit of light, then to before sunrise light, and finally, on the fourth, to the light of a rising sun.  It's a snapshot in fours of Dovey and Grandma Rachel's experience.

These digital illustrations are breathtaking and atmospheric with a superb use of light and shadow.  There are many moments that glow.  Elements in each of the double-page pictures frame the central focus of each one.  Sometimes there appear to be two separate illustrations in one image.

Perspectives shift.  We might be looking at Dovey and her grandmother walking.  We might be a bird flying over them.  We might be standing directly behind them, the backs of their heads next to us, as the sun rises.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the first sentence of the story after the introduction.

In the hour before dawn, we slip out of the house,

and the midsummer night is dark and cool.

Dovey and Grandma Rachel have stepped out the door and off the porch of their home.  They are walking in the light shining from windows on the right side of the visual.  We see the outline of the house and surrounding forest etched and filled with darker colors, hues of black, purple and blue.  This illustration is luminescent and enchanting.

Beside bringing us into the larger story of Dovey Johnson Roundtree, this book, We Wait for the Sun (The Story of Young Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Her Grandmother's Enduring Love written by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe with illustrations by Raissa Figueroa, reinforces the power of a single day to create great and lasting change in our lives.  It is an intimate, heartwarming recollection.  It is something to be treasured.  At the close of the book is lengthy backmatter.  There are four pages dedicated to an author's note, Rachel Millis Bryant Graham and Dovey Mae Johnson Roundtree.  Following this is a timeline page and a bibliography page.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Katie McCabe and Raissa Figueroa and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Raissa Figueroa has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  This book is highlighted at author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Author Katie McCabe and illustrator Raissa Figueroa are interviewed by author, blogger, and current Collections Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system Elizabeth Bird at School Library Journal A Fuse #8 Production.  Raissa Figueroa is showcased with an interview about this book at Let's Talk Picture Books.

Deciding to plant a garden for producing food is no easy commitment.  Digging and preparing the ground for planting is hard work, harder still if you are doing it alone with only a shovel.  Depending on the soil, you might spend days and weeks getting it ready for planting.  Michelle's Garden: How the First Lady Planted Seeds of Change (Little, Brown and Company, March 2, 2021) written and illustrated by Sharee Miller is a joyful exploration of the development of the largest kitchen garden at the White House.

Before Michelle Obama was the First Lady,

she was a kid just like you.

She walked to school with her brother, rode

her bike, and played outside every day.

As a child she loved to eat vegetables, and as a parent and wife she wanted to encourage the same love in her daughters and husband.  They loved trying new recipes.  As the First Lady, she wanted to spread the love of eating more vegetables and fruits to a greater group.

She was going to design, prepare, and plant a garden big enough to feed everyone at the White House, everyone who visited, and still have food leftover to feed others.  Michelle had a huge problem, though.  She had never gardened.  With the help of White House staff for advice and local children, her plan started to take shape.

They collected the proper tools, the proper soil, and lots and lots of seeds.  All the helpers and Michelle picked a sunny spot on the White House lawn.  They dug, raked, and hauled rocks.  They made special holes for each seed.  They watered and watched, watered and watched.  They removed harmful pests.  President Obama helped, too!

It was hard to wait for tiny sprouts to grow.  The day for harvesting did arrive.  All the workers gathered and picked the produce.  Gardeners became chefs.  There was enough to give to those without food.  The best part of this biggest kitchen garden ever at the White House is the idea for gardening grew just like those first seeds planted by Michelle and her helpers.

Readers will appreciate and be inspired with author Sharee Miller's approach to this narrative.  She builds on Michelle Obama's youth and years as a parent and wife prior to becoming the First Lady.  She uses the repetition of the words More, please to great effect along with a spare but appropriate amount of dialogue.  The other helpful ingredient in this nonfiction tale is Sharee Miller includes how Michelle Obama worked through her initial problem and the steps followed toward a fruitful harvest.  Here is a passage.

There was no rushing nature, but there were things they could do

to help the garden grow big and strong.  They watered the plants

every day, especially when it was hot outside.

(Note: I am working on this post with an F & G.)

One of the first things you notice when looking at the open dust jacket is the vibrant colors and vibrant personalities on all the people.  First Lady Michelle Obama with her gardening helpers kneeling and ready to work asks readers to join them.  With the White House in the background, it places importance on Michelle Obama's achievements in this project.  Framing it with individual fruits and vegetables adds a playfulness to the image and its design.

To the left, on the back, is an interior illustration.  It shows the helpers wearing chef hats and preparing their fruits and vegetables for cooking.  They are to the left and right of Michelle Obama in the front and back of her.  This is a setting filled with happiness and a sense of success.

The opening endpapers are a vivid display of fruits and vegetables around small images of the White House.  On the closing endpapers (or last two pages of the book) is a top of a wooden table.  There is an eraser, several paperclips, and a writing pencil visible.  On the left side is an author's note.  On the right side is a photograph of Michelle Obama working with her helpers.  Many of the children here, as in the book, are wearing yellow t-shirts.  There is a seed packet partially shown.  There are also instructions for making a paper cup garden.

On the dedication and publication page, six meals on colorful plates frame the top and the bottom.  To the right, on the title page, fruits and vegetables circle the text with the White House on the bottom.  These illustrations rendered with

watercolor, ink and colored pencil on 140lb cold-press paper

by Sharee Miller are highly animated, and cheerful.  Points of view are altered to enhance the pacing of the narrative.  We might be joining Michelle, her brother, and parents for dinner.  We feel as though we are walking with President Obama and First Lady Obama as they walk on the White House lawn.  Or we might be looking over the gathered tools, soil, fertilizer and seed packets spread on two pages.  Most children will see themselves in these illustrations.

One of my many favorite pictures is a single page picture.  It is a closeup of one of the girl gardeners.  Behind her we see a row of carrot tops neatly labeled.  She is on the ground with a glass jar luring a beetle inside with the promise of a favorite leaf.  All we see of the child is her face two hands and a portion of her arm and shoulder.  I love that she has one eye open and the other closed.  I love that she is smiling.

Readers will realize the value of growing their own fruits and vegetables when and after reading Michelle's Garden: How the First Lady Planted Seeds of Change written and illustrated by Sharee Miller.  First Lady Michelle Obama used her position to teach others to feed themselves.  It was a powerful thing she did with this garden.  In the author's note we are told the fate of the garden, another brilliant idea by our former First Lady.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional bookshelves.  Let's get gardening!

To learn more about Sharee Miller and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Sharee Miller has accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website is a printable activity sheet.

Sharee Miller Presents MICHELLE'S GARDEN from LB School on Vimeo.

Waving Her Wand

On January 19, 1920 my mother was born on a farm in a small town outside the capital of Michigan.  On August 18, 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified; no citizen shall be denied the right to vote based upon sex.  When you consider the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788 (our system of government began operating under the United States Constitution in 1789), it's hard to believe the first generation of women who grew up with the right to vote by constitutional amendment was my mother's generation.  In 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton is the presumed nominee for President of the United States for the Democratic Party.

As you can imagine not only in the United States but all around the world women struggled to achieve this equality.  Prior to this achievement (and still today) if a woman assumed or pursued a role outside of the expected or accepted norm, it was not easy.  Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic (Candlewick Press, April 12, 2016) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Iacopo Bruno highlights the considerable accomplishments of an extraordinary woman.

Addie never wanted to be ordinary.

This girl certainly was not going to conform to the status quo.  In fact, noticing an ad in a newspaper one day, she secretly pursued a plan which landed her on the stage in front of a live audience.  She was excellent but as far as Addie was concerned, it was still not astonishing.

Her next attempt at being daring and different had her traveling from London to other large European cities, dressed in appalling (for this time in history) attire riding on a new invention.  (The name given this mode of transportation has changed but it remains.) Addie's delight in exploring the world had her on a ship from Europe across the ocean to America.  It was in New York City, at the age of 21, that she married a fascinating gentleman, a magician named Alexander Herrmann.

They built his one man extravaganza into a show together and then added more artists.  In fact, Addie ended up being shot out of a canon!  Fearless to a fault, there was a single trick which Addie begged Alexander not to do, The Bullet-Catching Trick.  (I wonder how it would have been to sit in the audience watching a row of riflemen shoot at someone holding only a plate for protection.)

After more than twenty years together, Alexander suddenly died as they traveled by train between shows.  This is when Addie decided to do the most uncommon thing of all.  She would continue to keep the show alive.  She would become the main attraction as a magician doing what was rarely done.  For her entire life she lived as her younger self had imagined.


The research for a particular nonfiction subject is nearly always challenging but for some topics it is even harder.  In two separate author notes at the end, Mara Rockliff offers further explanations about the life of Adelaide, Alexander and their family of entertainers.  She also delves into the search for information about Addie which is a bit of a detective story.

In presenting Adelaide Herrmann as a living breathing person, Rockliff begins with a sentence which ties all other details of her life together. This mantra or viewpoint Addie had on how to embrace everything creates a subtle tension or force behind all her decisions and the narrative of this book.  It supplies readers with a series of pauses and exclamation points within a truly amazing existence.  Rockliff repeats key words and phrases to enhance this flow.  Here is a sample passage.

Alexander was no ordinary husband.
He set fire to Addie.
He chopped off her head.
He made her vanish
(poof!)
into thin air.

The two of them got 
along splendidly.

Together, they
ASTONISHED,
SHOCKED,
and
DAZZLED
audiences around
the globe.


Rendered in pencil and colored digitally all of the illustrations beginning with the matching dust jacket and book case are as alluring as Addie.  Designed to mirror the look of a stage on both the front and the back with pillars framing the pictures on each, readers are taken to an era from the past.  Iacopo Bruno includes details on the front depicting the love of animals which Addie and Alexander shared.  They used them in their acts.  He includes Addie's flare for elaborate clothing, the flying cards and Addie's wand.  There is most definitely magic in the air.  On the back, to the left, scrolled, intricate letters, A and H, are intertwined on a background of deep rich red.  The opening and closing endpapers announce the changes over the course of Addie's career.

Nineteen full, two-page visuals portray the life of this remarkable woman.  A technique Bruno uses is to highlight portions of the image in a wide white line making those elements appear to stand out from the others.  It gives the pictures a 3-D effect.  In the first illustration for the first sentence most of the picture is done in sepia tones except for Addie.  She is in full color.

Throughout the book, Bruno places small visuals within larger wholes adding interest and expanding the narrative.  The text is carefully fitted within portions of the pictures in areas provided by Bruno; inside a big drum, curtains on a stage, the side of a ship or on the back of a woman's dress in the audience.  For most of the book, the moods of the characters are happy and light, but the illustrations adeptly depict the sadness of Alexander's death on the train and the state of the show at his passing.

Repeatedly for emphasis the viewpoint zooms into the page.  Pieces of newsprint add to authenticity.  Attire of the general public and specifically the Herrmanns supplies a real sense of time and place.

One of my favorite pictures is of Adelaide and Alexander seated at the captain's table on a ship.  Large borders on both sides showcase cards, golden balls moving through fingers, large rings, a rabbit above a top hat and a hand waving a wand.  In the center at a large table set for an extensive meal sits the foursome.  Alexander is making the roses rise from the centerpiece.  Adelaide is gasping in pleasure and surprise.  There is a glow to this scene.


Anything But Ordinary Addie:  The True Story Of Adelaide Herrmann Queen of Magic written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Iacopo Bruno is as dazzling as the subject.  This collaboration by Rockliff and Bruno demonstrates their ability to make the same kind of wonderful nonfiction picture book as given to readers in Mesmerized:  How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France (Candlewick Press, March 10, 2015.  If a woman can rise above the prejudices of her time and do so garnering respect and admiration from her peers, this will inspire others to do the same even if their circumstances are not entirely identical.

To learn more about Mara Rockliff and Iacopo Bruno please visit their online presence by following the links attached to their names.  At two separate publisher websites you can view images from the interior of this title, here and here.  Candlewick Press provides an activity kit linked here.


Please be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected this week by bloggers participating in the 2016 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Building Freedom One Loaf At A Time

Making bread from scratch is a labor of love.  Measuring and mixing the ingredients, selecting the correct temperature to activate the yeast, kneading the dough, letting it rise, kneading it again, dividing it into loaves and baking it are time-consuming steps but even the smell of the yeast working is enough to trigger memories of complete comfort.  As it bakes the odor drifting from the oven wraps around you like arms in a hug.

Growing up, every town, no matter the size, had a bakery.  Each morning fresh baked pastries and breads would fill the glass cases.  Gingerbread for Liberty!:  How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 27, 2015) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Vincent X. Kirsch is about a bake shop in Philadelphia and its baker who served for and with General George Washington during the American Revolution.

Everyone in Philadelphia knew the gingerbread baker.  His honest face...his booming laugh...

With his creative hands all sorts of shapes were formed and outlined in frosting.  For the children there were always left-over bits and pieces so none went hungry.  You could hear him say

"No empty bellies here!" 

"Not in my America!"

This baker knew what it was to be hungry living in Europe as a child but he also understood America offered opportunities for those willing to work hard perfecting their skills.  So he came.  In time rumors turned to truth; Americans were fighting for their freedom from British rule.  

Regardless of the advice from his wife about his age (old) and his robust physical shape (fat), this baker was determined to fight for his country, America.  He set off with the other soldiers to serve in General Washington's army.  When the baker arrived at the camp, he heard grumbling rumblings of soldiers ready to leave.  They were hungry.

While the baker from Philadelphia baked and baked for those soldiers, trouble was brewing across the ocean.  Men arrived in boats hired by the king of England.  It was more men than anyone had ever seen except for one man, the baker.  

After a consultation with General Washington, under cover of darkness the baker rowed toward those men from across the ocean.  Upon his arrival and looking at them all his plans changed.  He knew what he kneaded to do.  At the end of the revolution, believing his duties as baker general to be fulfilled, the baker from Philadelphia was ready to leave but General Washington had one more request.  And Christopher Ludwick did it.

The geniality of the baker in Philadelphia is apparent from the first two phrases penned by Mara Rockliff.  With great care she blends her research into a narrative easily understood by the youngest reader infusing the personality of the baker into her words.  With ease we follow the course of events and the baker's part in them.  Here is another passage.

But now, something was in the air (besides the smell of baking gingerbread).  Newspapers shouted

Revolution! Independence! Liberty!

Boys rolled up blankets, shouldered guns, and kissed mothers goodbye.

The baker hung his apron up.  He dusted flour off his hands.

As soon as you see the matching dust jacket and book case, you know this picture book biography is unique.  Marching off to join the army the baker is carrying stars on a platter.  He is ready to help America using his greatest skills.  To the left, on the back, other soldiers are marching to serve with General Washington.  The remarkable style of the illustrations seen here is continued throughout the book.  Created by Vincent X. Kirsch with 140-lb. press watercolor paper, watercolor, and rubbelkrepp (masking fluid) each image looks like the work of a master gingerbread baker.  

The opening and closing endpapers done in brown and cream feature a visual and written recipe for Simple Gingerbread Cookies.  Each letter in gingerbread appears as a cut-out cookie.  On the title page the majority of the text is placed on a sign such as one would find hanging outside a place of business during this time period.  Along the bottom buildings reflect the architecture of historic Philadelphia.  They continue on the verso and on the first page with the baker in a similar stance as on the front of the jacket and case.  

The color palette chosen by Kirsch is muted and warm with details etched in icing.  All of the pictures span across two pages.  Most of them present a larger overview with the exception of the conversation between Washington and the baker prior to his mission.  We are so close, we feel like participants in this communication. 

One of my favorite illustrations is when the baker is leaving to join the army.  To the left his wife is standing outside the bake shop, hands on hips.  A cow is grazing nearby.  The baker, carrying all his gear on this back, legs spread wide, is running.  It's as if he is floating over the countryside.  This is a reflection of the man's continuous can-do attitude. 

Gingerbread for Liberty!:  How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Vincent X. Kirsch is a piece of our history too delicious to miss.  It showcases the importance of doing what you do best in service to a cause in which you believe.  One person did and can make a difference.  An author's note and list of sources are found on the last page.

To learn more about Mara Rockliff and Vincent X. Kirsch please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  This title and Mara Rockliff are featured at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Publishers Weekly showcases this book, 'Gingerbread Liberty' Serves Up A Slice of Revolutionary History.  You will want to listen at TeachingBooks.net to hear Mara Rockliff talk about her name.

Please take a few moments to stop by Kid Lit Frenzy to see the selection of titles other bloggers have included in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.  I can never thank educator Alyson Beecher enough for hosting this each week.

Rational Results

This spring many gardens are filled with newly opened daffodils, hyacinths, primroses and tulips alongside untreated lawns covered in the golden yellow of dandelion blossoms.  Let's just suppose for a moment you woke up this morning, bucket and digger in hand, to discover all those weeds had vanished.  Wherever you look, every single inch, is missing those tell-tale leaves and buds.

While you are rejoicing in this phenomenon, the thought this is too good to be true might move through your mind.  If we were to travel back in time during the American Revolution, we would encounter another series of events taking place in Paris, France, with questionable outcomes.  Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France (Candlewick Press, March 10, 2015) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Iacopo Bruno discusses the examination of Dr. Mesmer's work by the famous American.

While the American Revolution raged at home, Benjamin Franklin sailed to France.  His goal?  To charm young King Louis the Sixteenth and Queen Marie Antoinette.  Ben wanted them to send money and soldiers to America.

Several things caught Ben's attention upon his arrival in France.  People were cheerfully chatting about new discoveries.  Gas, hot air and electricity were top topics.  They were thrilled with Franklin's use of the scientific method during his kite experiment.  These subjects were quickly pushed into the background though by the work of Dr. Mesmer.

This man waved an iron wand said to carry an invisible force capable of creating a variety of flavors in the same single glass of water.  This force was proficient in curing whatever ailed an individual.  As you can well imagine, physicians of the day were in an uproar, reporting their displeasure to King Louie.  He, as king, needed a resolution to this quandary.

King Louie felt there was no one better able to shed light on this dilemma than his guest from America.  Putting into practice his successful approach, Franklin worked with Mesmer's assistant, Charles.  Comparisons were made between patrons' outcomes and Franklin's own to the force.  

An idea started to form.  Moving from his hypothesis to repeated tests, this man of science was able to report a surprising but well-founded conclusion to King Louie and Queen Marie Antoinette.  It would appear people needed to place more faith in themselves.  The mind does matter.


With a flair for presenting facts with engaging energy, Mara Rockliff tells the story of these events as well as including the process of the scientific method.  To further enlighten readers, she does not stop with Franklin's discovery but continues with the impact today of Dr. Mesmer's work and Benjamin Franklin's revelations.  Phrases such as

giggled at a gas...
gasped at the balloon...
gaga over...

involve readers through the use of alliteration.

Rockliff uses repetition and contrast to reinforce ideas.  The inclusion of French words takes us to the place and time in which these people interacted.  The overall feel of these combined techniques in the text is lively which is exactly how I like my history.  We need to believe these people could walk off the page or we could step into the moment with them.  Here is a sample passage.

Doctors were furious.  Their patients didn't
care about regular medicine anymore.  All they
wanted was a wave of Dr. Mesmer's wand.
                  The doctors griped---
                         and groused---
                                and fussed---
                                       and fumed.
Dr. Mesmer's force was not like electricity, a gas, 
or the hot air in a balloon, they told the king.
Non?                            Au contraire!
The reason nobody could see or touch it was...


The radiant rich red on the matching dust jacket and book case is as magnetic as the supposed force of Dr. Mesmer.  On the back, to the left, of the opened duo we see a hypnotic two-toned set of circles around the stylized capital letter m.  The layout on the front proposes the dichotomy between the two men; the one flamboyant in his presentation, the other down-to-earth in his methods.  On the opening and closing endpapers the same set of circles now in blue, yellow and teal are placed in a pattern signifying hypnosis.  In one of them is the capital letter M on a white background.  Beneath the title on the appropriate page the two men are standing on either side of The Baquet.  

Rendered in pencil and colored digitally Iacopo Bruno dazzles readers with an array of intricate illustrations ranging in size from double-page depictions to small decorative insets, bringing the past into the present.  The design of each element contributes to deft pacing.  Diverse fonts, shifting from print to script, in a variety of sizes supplies emphasis and emotional impact.

Body postures and facial expressions allude to the true personalities of the characters as well as furnishing humor.  The attention given to historical accuracy is evident.  One of my favorite pictures is the first two pages of this book.

Spanning both pages is a map with portions of North America, Europe and Africa done in muted blues, greens and browns.  A compass rose is placed in the upper left-hand corner.  There is a path traced across the ocean from Philadelphia to Paris with a schooner moving in the waves.  A squid with legs upraised is featured beneath it.  On top of Africa is a portrait of the King and Queen of France with their names in a ribbon of purple. Positioned over most of North America is the figure of Benjamin Franklin dressed in his signature attire, glasses moved to his forehead as he looks through a spyglass.  His body extends beneath the frame.  To his left is the text for this section with a Revolutionary soldier waving a flag above 1776.


Mesmerized:  How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Iacopo Bruno is outstanding; one of the best nonfiction picture books of 2015.  You will read it the first time for the narrative, the second time you will frequently pause to look at the images and the third time you will read it aloud for the pleasure of the combination of the two, narrative and images.  This is going to be a popular book with every reader.  At the conclusion of the story are pages devoted to an extensive author's note and sources.

To discover more about Mara Rockliff and Iacopo Bruno please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  To view an interior picture follow this link to the publisher's website.  Beneath the review at Shelf Awareness is an interview with Mara Rockliff and Iacopo Bruno about this title. At TeachingBooks.Net are additional resources about Mara Rockliff and Iacopo Bruno.


Please stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to see what books are highlighted by other participants in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge this week.

At Sunset

Walking outside as twilight falls after days of gale warnings, the calm is wonderfully comforting.  Pieces of sky are elbowing aside the billowing clouds to show a soft golden glow.  Sunsets, as well as sunrises, hold promises.

Except for those nighttime marauders moving with utmost care, creatures of the natural world seek sanctuary in their homes.  This is the promise of quiet.  The workday for many people throughout the world has come to a close.  This is the promise of rest.

Sunsets on Friday signal the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath; continuing until nightfall on the next day.  This is the promise of celebration.  Chik Chak Shabbat (Candlewick Press, September 3, 2014) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker eloquently portrays the promise of kindnesses returned.  

Every Saturday, a wonderful smell wafted from apartment 5-A.

This delectable aroma traveled from the fifth floor to Tommy Santiago as he played his tuba on the fourth floor to Signora Bellagalli who bustled about cleaning on the third floor to Mr. Moon on the second floor who wrote his newest novel and all the way to the ground floor where grins grew on the faces of the Omar family as they smelled.  Each of these people knew what was coming.  They could hardly wait for the door to apartment 5-A to open.  

Goldie Simcha would open her arms wide inviting the Santiagos, Signora Bellagalli, Mr. Moon and the Omars to her table to enjoy her freshly made stew, cholent.  None were certain what made it so tasty but all good-naturedly offered opinions.  According to Goldie, who told them of Shabbat preparations shared with her grandmother, it was the things done while the stew simmered for a night and a day which gave it the special flavor.  

One Saturday something was not quite right.  No delicious odor left the fifth floor winding in and out the other apartments on the other floors.  When small Lali Omar knocked on Goldie Simcha's fifth floor door, Goldie said she had been too sick to start the cholent.  It needed to simmer for a night and a day.  

The neighbors were certain it wouldn't be Shabbat without cholent.  Not a word is shared from neighbor to neighbor but a door on the first floor and the doors to 2-B, 3-C and 4-D open as the true spirit of Shabbat spread.  Differences blend to create the secret ingredient. 

Certain smells can trigger powerful memories.  I really appreciate that Mara Rockliff uses the smell of the cooking cholent to introduce us to Goldie Simcha and the other tenants in the apartment building.  Their attempt to determine the best ingredient in the cholent is the perfect opportunity for Goldie to speak about her family traditions during this weekly celebration.  It explains Shabbat to readers in the best possible way.  

Rockliff uses the same rhythm established in the beginning to alert readers to a change in the typical Saturday.  When the neighbors respond to this variance the cadence appears again.  This technique ensures the story will remain in readers' memories.  Here are two small passage samples.

It curled into 4-D, tickling Tommy Santiago's nose as he played his tuba.

It slipped into 3-C, tempting Signora Bellagalli as she bustled around, dusting her teacups.

Rendered in oil paint and collage, the illustrations of Kyrsten Brooker, beginning on the matching dust jacket and book case, bring readers into the charm of the lives lead by the residents of this apartment building.  The swirl of steam from Goldie Simcha's cholent ties everything together.  On the back a separate picture set on a lighter background shows the steam drifting from the pot, lid removed, and a spoon and filled bowl next to it.

A darker and lighter shade of blue form a diamond pattern seen on the opening and closing endpapers. (This is the wallpaper in Goldie's apartment.)  An initial title page framed in blue scroll work on a white background showcases a small image of the ingredients used in making Goldie's cholent.  A lovely double-page illustration of Goldie looking out her apartment window at the cityscape, Shabbat candles lit, presents the more formal title and verso information.

Most of the illustrations span two pages unless the reader needs to pause or the pace of the narrative is shifting.  A color palette favoring blues, browns and creams adds warmth to each scene.  Several times the border used on the initial title page will frame other single page visuals; especially when Goldie is telling her neighbors about Shabbat with her grandmother.

One of my favorite illustrations is when we first see all eight people seated around Goldie Simcha's table eating her cholent.  The joy in a shared celebration is evident on all their faces.  The details in their dress, the dishes and silverware and facial expressions make readers feel as if they too are seated at this table.  

Despite the diversity in their ethnic backgrounds these eight people come together to observe a tradition united by their love of Goldie Simcha and her cholent.  Chik Chak Shabbat written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker is a book serving several purposes.  It touches our hearts with its story of generosity.   It informs us about the Jewish Shabbat.  It is one more book which serves to illuminate those things people can have in common.  I highly recommend this title.

For more information about Mara Rockliff please follow the link embedded in her name to visit her website.  This link to the publisher's website gives you a peek at another illustration from the book. 

When The Wind Blew In

It's a rarity in the north along the Lake Michigan shoreline to have a day without wind.  Small craft advisories and gale warnings are commonplace.  Depending on the direction these breezes can be a blessing or a curse.  You're never sure what sights you'll see during the gusts or after they subside.

Wind can play a paramount role in a book; whether the piece is fiction or nonfiction.  Its part, sometimes so integral to the narrative, can make it feel like a character.  The Grudge Keeper (Peachtree Publishers) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Eliza Wheeler has fantastic fun with this force of nature.

No one in the town of Bonnyripple ever kept a grudge.  No one, that is, except old Cornelius, the Grudge Keeper.

Cornelius receives everyone's grudges, no matter their size or importance, storing them carefully within the rooms of his cottage.  When a goat eats zinnias, a schoolboy hooks the teacher's toupee like the catch of the day and a clumsy guy treads, not so lightly, on a gal's new shoes at the local dance, grievances are aired at the Grudge Keeper.  As you can well imagine after much time passes, every nook and cranny is overflowing with grudges in Cornelius's home.

In the true nature of folktales, life as the people of Bonnyripple know it, is about to change.  A wind starts to blow.  At first no one notices but when a particular pie flies off a window ledge and the schoolmaster's hair piece ends up as a goat's entree, unease ripples through the town.  As the gale continues to howl during the night, people gather their grudges to be taken to Cornelius as soon as they safely can.

All is calm as the day dawns except for the state of the folks' attitudes.  Marching up to the Grudge Keeper's house on the hill, they can't believe their eyes.  Grudges are everywhere in a ginormous pile, mixed and matched not according to size or importance. More than one discovery is made this day. A mischievous boy, a cat and, of course, the wind may have lent a helpful hand.


Fortunately when Mara Rockliff has a thought, her imagination takes wing fashioning it into a timeless picture book for all ages.  Word play abounds in exquisite descriptions, alliteration and puns.  When she makes a statement she supports it with picturesque phrases.  Characters' names roll off your tongue leaving a smile on your face.  Here is a single passage.

The wind had mixed and mingled, tossed and turned,
tumbled and jumbled, and finally dumped the rumpled,
crumpled grudges in one whopping pile.


You know you are going to someplace special when you open the dust jacket and matching book case on this title.  The golden glow continues on almost every single page of the story.  The pastoral setting, the style of the homes, inside and out, and the attire wore by the townspeople is from a time past, a time filled with just enough magic to make it fanciful.

The opening and closing endpapers, different, feature important characters before and after the wind. The initial title page gives a snapshot of the village with Cornelius trudging up the hill in the distance, wheelbarrow loaded with grudges.  The formal title page and verso is a two-page spread of the village in the distance zooming in on Cornelius.

Double page illustrations, almost exclusively throughout, made using dip pens, India ink and watercolor by Eliza Wheeler exude welcoming warmth. Delicate lines convey a wealth of emotion, movement and whimsy.  Careful readers will sense events to come based upon hints in her visuals; the swirl of wind during the night or the glance of the schoolmaster at the crouching boy.

One of my favorite illustrations is the cutaway of the Cornelius's cottage in the beginning.  The layout of the home is small but filled with comfortable items.  Tiny scrolls representative of the grudges are sorted in numbered jars; a quill and inkpot sit upon a desk next to a book for record keeping.  Already every possible storage space is overflowing.  Cornelius is reaching for a jar on the mantel, stuffing yet another grudge into the opening.


With a delectable union of narrative and pictures The Grudge Keeper written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Eliza Wheeler has all the earmarks of a charming, enduring story.  You feel as though you've discovered a forgotten fairy tale on forgiveness.  Will there be words younger readers might not know?  Yes, but that's the joy of this book, the wonderful use of language.  I highly recommend this title.

Please follow the links embedded in Mara Rockliff's and Eliza Wheeler's names to enjoy their websites.  This link is to an interview of them both at the Peachtree Publishers blog about the making of the book.  Here is an earlier interview of Mara Rockliff at John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.