Loud Drew A Crowd

Parents are not perfect.  They are as flawed as the rest of us humans.  They, for the most part, try their level best to raise an individual or individuals who will reflect the best parts of each of them.  Their aim is to nudge their youngsters to realize their full potential, and, hopefully, make the world better for themselves and everyone in it. 

What is probably most startling and wondrous to parents is when their objective is reached.  Even more surprising is when it happens in an unexpected way.  Pokko And The Drum (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, October 1, 2019) written and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe follows the rise to forest fame of a young frog. 
 
The biggest mistake Pokko's parents
ever made was giving her a drum.

What readers quickly realize is, this was not their first mistake in gift giving to Pokko.  It should have dawned on them that the jumbo slingshot and large balloon would have less than stellar results. Immediately the quiet cuisine-creator father and literary-lover mother knew the drum was too loud for them to think or have a conversation.  Pokko played . . .constantly.

Pokko's father gently suggested one morning that she play it outside being as quiet as possible because they were quiet frogs who preferred to remain living unnoticed.  Pokko thought this was a good idea.  She left their home inside a mushroom.

The forest was beautiful and a bit too silent.  Pokko started to lightly beat her drum to dispel the hush around her.  Before she knew what was happening a banjo-playing raccoon joined her.  A rabbit was next, tooting out tunes on a trumpet.

A wolf joined the line of musicians without an instrument and guess what happened to the rabbit?  This made Pokko stop playing her drum.  She warned the wolf who seemed repentant.  Before long the number of animals playing instruments grew as did the number of animals who simply enjoyed the music.  Pokko kept playing her drum leading the crowd.

Back at the mushroom abode of Pokko and her parents, a carefully prepared dinner was about to go uneaten.  Two unassuming adult frogs were about to have their lives changed.  Pokko kept playing her drum.


With his opening sentence Matthew Forsythe has our undivided attention.  With his second sentence, we are not leaving this book until every single syllable is read.  Matthew's pacing in the narrative is pure perfection.  He leaves space for readers' reactions and the humor to bubble to the surface.

The inclusion of dialogue between the parents and Pokko and the wolf enhances the comedy but also leaves room for speculation.  What is there about Pokko that fosters respect?  Here are three sentences on three separate pages.  Do you see what those words are doing?  Do you feel something shifting?

It had just rained, and the forest
was sparkling like an emerald.

And it was quiet.

Too quiet.


The front, the right side of the opened dust jacket and book case are identical.  It is here that Matthew Forsythe introduces the color palette used throughout his book.  The hues are soft and subtle, but their power lies in the patterns and textures.  We want to know who this Pokko is.  We want to know about the drum.

To the left, on the back of the dust jacket, is a series of six smaller images, three to a row.  Three feature flora from the forest.  Another one shows the frogs' mushroom home.  The final two are of Pokko's father and mother doing what they love best.  The caption reads:

A story about art.  And persistence.
And a family of frogs that lives in a mushroom.

On the back of the book case is an image from the interior of Pokko's father helping her get on her coat.  The drum and drumsticks are next to them.  One other item of note is the ISBN.  The barcode in black is the design for the side of a drum in white with yellow drumsticks.

The opening and closing endpapers are a pattern of mushrooms, leaves and berries, lichen, stems, leaves and flowers and tiny homes in mushrooms and one large tree branch.  It's a glimpse into the realm of possibilities.  These elements are placed on a white-cream colored paper, heavier and used throughout the book.

Matthew Forsythe uses full-page pictures, and double-page pictures to extend his narrative and increase its emotional impact.  Some of his visuals cross the gutter, creating a column for text.  Or the area for text crosses the gutter and leaves a column for an image.  As he does in his text, he leaves room for speculation and interpretation in his art.  These illustrations are

rendered in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil.


His perspectives are altered for maximum effect.  His close-ups have a huge impact.  Readers will want to reread this book repeatedly looking for portions of the book leaning more heavily on yellows and reds.  What, if any, is the importance of this change?

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It is when Pokko is first walking through the woods.  A long horizontal column at the bottom provides a space for text on the right.  There are several plants using the same white-cream color to balance the design.  The world of the woods surrounds Pokko but we must remember we are seeing it at a different level than we do as humans.  There is a hint of events to come hidden on the left behind a tree.  The look on Pokko's face reflects her emotional state at being in this forest, this very quiet forest.  She carries her drum with both hands in front of her.  Her drumsticks are tucked in a pocket at her back.


This is one of those books you'll always remember reading for the first time.  Pokko And The Drum written and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe leaves an impression on your mind and your heart.  I am looking forward to sharing it with readers.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections. Today Publishers Weekly announced their Best Books 2019.  This title is on the list.

Please access Matthew Forsythe's website by following the link attached to his name to learn more about his other work.  Matthew Forsythe maintains accounts on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter.  At author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's site, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, she highlights Matthew Forsythe and this book.  At the publisher's website you can view multiple interior images.

A Soul Of The Ocean

Home to one of the most diverse collections of life, coral reefs are known as the rainforests of the sea.  Although they cover less than two percent of the ocean bottom, it is believed one quarter of all ocean species depend on them for food and shelter.  (Ocean Portal Team, Smithsonian.  "Corals and Coral Reefs." Ocean Find Your Blue, Smithsonian, April 2018, ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/corals-and-coral-reefs.)  They are vital to life on our planet but they are dying.

There are champions recognizing the danger of the diminishing coral reefs.  They are working tirelessly to renew these valuable places in our oceans.  The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding The World's Coral Reefs: The Story Of Ken Nedimyer And The Coral Restoration Foundation (Chronicle Books, May 8, 2018) written by Kate Messner with illustrations by Matthew Forsythe portrays the life of one of these champions.

It starts with one.

It's dark.  The full moon has come and gone but this phase is a signal for a magnificent event on our coral reefs.  On this one night millions of tiny gametes are released.  One will start a new coral; more coral equals a new reef.

Growing up close to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and having a father work for NASA meant Ken Nedimyer saw his share of rockets climbing into space.  Unlike his father Ken did not lift his head to the sky but sought the beauty in the surrounding ocean.  He was fascinated with men like Jacques Cousteau.  His greatest joy came in swimming the reefs of the Florida Keys.

Ken went from snorkeling to scuba diving.  He filled his bedroom with aquariums so he could examine gathered specimens.  One summer when exploring his favorite place, he noticed there were less fish and the reefs were pale versions of their normal vivid colors.  The sea urchins, essential to the balance on coral reefs, were dying.

Believing there was nothing he could do, Ken, now an adult, had a live rock farm in the Florida Keys.  One night the annual coral spawning event happened near his farm.  Some of those gametes traveled to the rocks and they grew staghorn corals.

Ken and his daughter tried an experiment.  It worked!  Coral pieces could be carefully cemented to rock where it would grow.  Now it was time for another experiment on the reef where Ken dived as a young boy.  Others came to help Ken and his daughter.  This was the beginning of the Coral Restoration Foundation.  These people, volunteers, and Ken were changing the ocean environment.  Never doubt the value of an individual with a singular passion to preserve places on our planet.


Meticulous research is apparent in the narrative written by Kate Messner.  Her sentences reveal her appreciation for the natural realm through her word selections as she weaves gathered facts into almost poetic descriptions of the ocean, coral reefs and the life of Ken Nedimyer.  She further engages readers by inserting groups of questions into the text.  Here is a passage.

The reefs of the Florida Keys
teemed with life.

They painted the ocean floor fire red and murky gold.
How could the reefs grow so large?
What made all the different colors and shapes?
How could such tiny creatures build such
elaborate homes of rock? 


How can you not want to dive along with the boy shown on the matching dust jacket and book case?  The artwork of Matthew Forsythe beckons to readers, asking them to enter this magical space.  The blend of colors, and the design of the fish, the sea turtle, coral and plant life are breathtaking.  On the front, the text, boy's mask and some of the flora and fauna are varnished.  The scene continues over the spine and across the back.

The book case is identical except all the text has been removed.  We are indeed under the sea.  The opening and closing endpapers are "seaweed" green.  Beneath the text on the title page, coral is given a prominent position.

There is a soft texture to the two-page images displayed with every page turn.  The brush strokes depict the angle of light and shadow beautifully.  With each shift in perspective, an important emotion is added to the illustration.  We feel the thrill of exploration when young Ken is snorkeling, the sadness as his flashlight casts a beam on the dying reef and the sea urchins and the building of anticipation as he and his daughter get ready to dive with sea birds circling above them.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is when Ken, as a boy, is snorkeling.  On the left side of the image a school of fish are sweeping downward and out toward him on the right.  The sunlight creates bright spots and where it does not reach, darker areas.  Layers of sand form smooth low hills.  Coral grows along the right side.  We are looking at the sea as Ken sees it through his mask but Matthew Forsythe also shows the top of his head and snorkel tip above water.  It's perfect.


In words and artwork The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding The World's Coral Reefs: The Story Of Ken Nedimyer And The Coral Restoration Foundation written by Kate Messner with illustrations by Matthew Forsythe brings to readers not only the importance of our coral reefs but the significance of a single individual working with intention.  His commitment and accomplishments serve to inspire others.  At the close of the book Kate has included sections titled

What Happened To The Coral Reefs
How Can Kids Help
Read More
Explore Online (Organizations and Articles) and
Coral Reef Vocabulary.

I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional bookshelves.  In addition to the books listed by Kate, I would recommend Science Comics Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean written and illustrated by Maris Wicks for slightly older readers.

To learn more about Kate Messner and Matthew Forsythe and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Both Kate and Matthew maintain accounts on Twitter. Kate can be found on Facebook.  Matthew can be found on Instagram and Tumblr.


Please be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to note the titles selected this week by those participating in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

To Heed Or Not To Heed...That Is The Question

It would seem when it comes to following written instructions, directions, commands or requests, people fall into two distinct categories, those who do and those who don't.  If you comply you may save time, reap rewards and spare yourself trouble.  If you fail to observe what is asked you may find yourself and others in a bit of a predicament.

When author Adam Lehrhaupt and illustrator Matthew Forsythe introduced readers to a cast of crazy primates and rambunctious toucans plus one nasty reptile in Warning: Do Not Open This Book! (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, August 27, 2013) readers should have done as they were asked or at least had a boatload of bananas handy.  The gang has returned in a crackerjack companion title, Please, Open This Book! (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, October 6, 2015).  The jungle bunch has changed their tune and is pleading for assistance.

Hello?
Finally!
Quick.
Someone turn on the light.

A monkey holding a lantern is jubilantly shouting.  You have saved the day by opening the book.  The last reader trapped the entire company of characters inside.  Survival cost them dearly, physically and emotionally. Their final fruit is looking like something dragged from the garbage bin.

They are attempting to catch the responsible culprit; hopeful you have seen him.  As they continue to patch up the mess, you are asked to leave the book open.  You are not to turn one more page.

Promises are made if you simply walk away now. What!?  How could you turn another page?  As a reader you can't help it.  You fail to understand their reasoning.  You wouldn't think of ensnaring these poor innocents.  Would you?

Panic and pleading is evident in the expression of the narrator.  A bribe is offered; well at least a half of a bribe.  STOP! STOP! STOP! That ends that...or does it?

Adam Lehrhaupt has infused an array of emotions in the voice of the narrator.  We sense the relief felt by our presence.  We understand the plight of the animals.  We are aware of the damage done by our predecessor.  We knowingly nod when given a promise and presented with a bribe.

 Despite all this we are persuaded to proceed by the cloak of comedy covering the narrative.  We willingly wear it as we march toward the end trying not to laugh.  But it's hopeless thanks to the adept use of language by Lehrhaupt.  Here is another sample passage.

We're still fixing things from last
time.  So you should leave this book
open.  Just put it down.
Step away from the book.


As a companion, comparison and reversal of the first title, the first thing you notice is the black background as opposed to the white in the initial book.  This serves to showcase the wide-eyed look of the inhabitants due to fear and lack of light.  The pennants held when coupled with the facial expressions begin the hilarity.  You will have to read the book to discover what the back on the matching dust jacket and book case reveals.  The opening endpapers are completely dark.  The closing endpapers highlight what your deed has done.  Before the story starts sign-holding characters offer suggestions to the readers.

Rendered digitally by Matthew Forsythe the illustrations elevate the words of Lehrhaupt by telling us more than the text.  The alligator wearing a sling and a cast, the toucan's bill wrapped in bandages and the lemur hiding beneath a cardboard box provide us with a visual as to the extent of the destruction done.  The close-ups of the banana and the monkey's face will have you bursting out in laughter; as will the papers strewn about the floor as a gorilla types, hunt and peck fashion.  The font color and placement of the text adds to the telling, becoming part of the visual whole.

One of my favorite illustrations is of the narrator promising to change the story, making it better.  We see him on the left; body language suggesting the sincerity of his words.  On the right sits the gorilla typing in earnest.  The same word appears over and over, page after page.  They are both looking straight at the reader.  It's impossible not to grin.  It's impossible to believe the monkey.


Please, Open This Book! written by Adam Lehrhaupt with pictures by Matthew Forsythe captivates readers with an invitation to participate.  It's a read-aloud gem with every page turn.  It's destined to be a family and classroom favorite with repeated requests to "read it again."

By following the links attached to their names you can discover more about Adam Lehrhaupt and Matthew Forsythe at their respective websites.  Six interior images are shown at the publisher's website. On Watch. Connect. Read. the blog of Scholastic's Ambassador to School Libraries, John Schumacher hosts the amazing book trailer premiere and a post by Adam Lehrhaupt.  To see how this all began, read You've Been Warned... a question and answer with Adam Lehrhaupt and the book trailer reveal for the first book.  UPDATE:  November 20, 2015 Adam Lehrhaupt and Matthew Forsythe chat with teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner on his Let's Get Busy, Episode 208 podcast.

Please, Open This Book! https://t.co/HQQoT0vZxa

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) November 3, 2015

Use Extreme Caution

After fourteen years living in northern Michigan you would think I would be used to the wind; more days are windy than not.  As a weather nerd (I frequently check NOAA National Weather Service to follow local, state and national weather) I've noticed this year in addition to Small Craft Advisories or Gale Warnings, a new type of alert, Beach Hazards Statement.  This advises people to watch for high wave action, longshore currents and rip currents.  People know wind combined with these headlines are serious.

There are other times when an alert, advisory or warning is an invitation to do the exact opposite of the request.  Perhaps you or someone else are doing something particularly annoying; one or the other will utter these oft-heard words, "I'm warning you, ..."  To the frustration of one, the other continues with glee.  The very finest demands to ignore though are found within the pages of a book.  Every single page turn in Warning: Do Not Open This Book! (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, August 27, 2013) narrated by Adam Lehrhaupt with illustrations by Matthew Forsythe is a tantalizing temptation.

Maybe you should put this book back.
You don't want to let the monkeys out.

Immediately you are wondering how and why monkeys got trapped inside a book.  You are compelled beyond your control to turn the next page.  This completed compulsion is greeted with a question.

The narrator is inquiring as to why you are here and not back where it is safer.  If you stay on this page, you are still in a risk-free area.  It would be a very good thing to remain right where you are.

Desire to discover the truth has deepened.  What's the worst that could happen?  It's a book after all.  Right?

Uh...Oh...

Here they come.

First one, then eight more monkeys of all shapes and sizes scamper across the pages carrying art supplies and a musical instrument.  What are these roaming rascals going to do?  It's a jungle, a rather sloppy jungle, but they've painted a jungle!  Whew, okay...this is a situation which can be handled without fear. Why are we readers being cautioned to stop turning pages?

Yikes!  I guess if you have tropical trees an invasion of toucans is a given.  Above the chaotic noise another sound is heard.  It's not a good sound....not a good sound at all.  Readers are now wishing they would have listened.  They should have heeded the advice of the faithful narrator.  Will a fruitful trap be able to save the day?


Readers could not ask for a better narrator, author, than Adam Lehrhaupt to tell this tale of playful pandemonium.  Each sentence is structured, despite words to the contrary, to entice readers to proceed.  As readers fall farther under the spell he has verbally cast, they realize there is no turning back.  Even if they could they don't want to; they're having too much fun with Lehrhaupt as the perfect partner on this adventure.


Digitally rendered illustrations by artist Matthew Forsythe enhance and extend this story from the matching front jacket and cover onward.  From the tape, chains and glaring messages on the front to the opening endpapers, the results of not taking the title seriously are clearly delineated.  A pattern of various style signs with wit and wisdom warn and question; my favorite is HERE IS THE LAST GUY WHO READ THIS BOOK with an arrow pointing to a skull.  (At this point I can barely contain laughter.)

Grays, browns, golds and greens in earth tone hues color pictures varying in size and position.  Some are front and center, others cover a single page or extend across the gutter.  Backgrounds shift from white, lots of white, to a pale golden, and to a deep gray green. Once the first monkey head peeks from the lower right-hand corner of a double-page spread  the jungle jive begins; those primates move, groove and rest with a passion.  I think one of my favorite text and illustrative combinations is

Can you stop now?
Everything used to
be so good.
Wait! Did you hear...

The two-page spread of the monkey faces close up with the accompanying toucans, wide-eyed and questioning, is loaded with premonition (and hilarity).  The closing endpapers and back jacket with corresponding cover are all part of the story, too.


Four words come to mind when thinking of Warning: Do Not Open This Book! narrated by Adam Lehrhaupt with illustrations by Matthew Forsythe, impeccable pacing and relentless humor.  Reading it aloud makes it even better.  This book is meant to be shared.  Believe me...your listeners will ask for this title over and over.  I'm tempted to pair this with James Stevenson's Don't Make Me Laugh.

Please follow the links above to the author and illustrator websites for more information about each.  Here is the link to a recent interview of Adam Lehrhaupt at Watch. Connect. Read. by John Schumacher.  Please visit the blog post of the debut of the book trailer.  Have fun and open this book at will... as long as you have a banana.

You've Been Warned...

For quite some time there's been a virtual voice in my Twitter feed that's spreading laughter with his astute observations, sharing his family's slices of life and providing fantastic support to everyone involved in the #kidlit community.  Adam Lehrhaupt's life has been most interesting; traveling to six continents, performing on Broadway, and living on a communal farm.  (There's much more to know about Adam by following the link to his website and blog.) Due to strange happenings at my home recently, I've decided to negotiate a chat with Adam.

Good morning, Adam.

Hello Margie. Thanks for inviting me to stop by.

I understand you have a new book being released this summer.

That I do.  My first picture book, Warning: Do Not Open This Book!, will be released on August 27, 2013 from Simon & Schuster.  

Hmmm...can you explain why UPS delivered six cases of bananas to my front door?

There could be a lot of reasons for that.  You won the banana of the month sweepstakes?  Bizarre neighbor prank? Xena needs a little more potassium in her diet?

No, no and no, Adam.  Also whenever Xena and I walk around the yard, the birdsong has been replaced with jungle noises and guitar music.  You wouldn't have any idea why, would you?

OH.  That might not be good.  Um, you didn't by chance watch...the book trailer I sent you?

Well...I thought I was supposed to watch it, wasn't I?  It's just a video isn't it?  Adam, is there something you aren't telling me?

Um...something I'm not telling you...nope.  Nothing at all.  Everything is fine.  Maybe you are experiencing one of those global warming phenomenons.  You know, like they talk about on the news.  With all the animal migrations and ice melts and such.  Have you seen less snow and ice recently?

Now that you mention it, my yard does seem to be looking more like summer as opposed to my neighbors who still have piles of snow.  Hmmmmm...

Perhaps, given the events of the past week at my home, I'm thinking it might prove to be important if you were to share more information about your book.  What sparked the idea for you to write it?

Well, that's a bit of a long story.  Not Doctor Zhivago long, more like unnecessarily making The Hobbit

into three movies long.  I'll try to condense it down.  My family and I took a vacation to Honduras a few years ago.  The resort where we stayed had a troop of monkeys roaming around, causing all kinds of mayhem.  I began wondering what would happen if I put these monkeys into a book.  And, once they were in the book, what would result when you opened it.  That is the core of what Warning: Do Not Open This Book! is about.  When you disregard all the warnings and free the monkeys, exactly what occurs?

That's all well and good, but I don't have the book.  And I'm wondering Adam, if you asked the monkeys' permission prior to putting them in the book. They could be a tad put out.  EEEEEKKKKK!  Adam, vines are starting to grow out of my walls. What should I do?  Oh...My...Goodness...Adam?  There's a monkey riding on Xena's back.  I'm starting to hear those jungle noises and guitar music inside my house.  Adam?  Ada?  A?  (The sounds of howling monkeys and one barking dog are all that can be heard.)

Margie?  Hello?  Margie?  Uh oh, Xena.  Now I've done it.  I shouldn't have sent the trailer.  You need to keep people from watching it.  It could be dangerous.  

WOOF! WOOF!

Warning: Do Not Watch This Trailer!

Really.  Not kidding here.  Look what happened to Margie.

You should stop now.

Don't click play.