Nighty, Night...Sleep Tight...Or Not

There is one thing which will get a child through thick and thin.  It will get them through a week of school with homework every single night.  It will get them through parental requests and requirements, cleaning their rooms, making their beds and brushing their teeth, every single day.  When they see this on the horizon, their whole world is a glass half full.

Spending the night with a friend is one of those events when the realization exceeds the anticipation.  Those treasured hours chatting, laughing, telling stories, watching television or movies or playing games are sacred childhood memories.  In Sleepover with Beatrice & Bear (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, August 7, 2014) written and illustrated by Monica Carnesi a solution is sought by one kind and clever friend.

Beatrice and Bear met on a clear spring day.

Like some first time meetings, an innocent blunder brought them together.  The erring party quickly made amends.  They did what bosom buddies do in the awakening world after winter.

Rain or shine they continued to enjoy activities with one another through summer and into autumn.  One day Beatrice looked and looked for Bear.  He was nowhere to be found.  Squirrel informed the baffled bunny Bear was off to hibernate.

At first sweet Beatrice thought hibernate was a place to visit.  Squirrel again set her straight.  You can't imagine her joy at discovering hibernate is a long nap in winter.  Guess who's packing her suitcase lickety-split?

However her happiness is short-lived.  A disappointed Beatrice simply couldn't share this seasonal snooze with her friend no matter how hard she tried.  She thought and thought.  She questioned and questioned.  Then this friend had a plan.  There was more than one way to enjoy the snow and ice with her pal Bear.


Very simple narrative sentences, conversational exchanges and voiced thoughts written by Monica Carnesi tell this charming tale of Beatrice and Bear.  These quickly reveal to readers the kindness of each character; their willingness to invest one hundred per cent in this growing friendship.  The optimism of the spirited Beatrice is contagious.  You can feel your love for her and her friend Bear grow page by page.

As soon as you open the matching dust jacket and book case, the personalities of Beatrice and Bear are evident; Bear is more easygoing of the two.  Beatrice, like her natural counterparts in the wild, is happily hopping and ready to go.  Dusty blue opening and closing endpapers are covered in etched carrot pairs and hives with buzzing bees.  No space is wasted by Monica Carnesi; her story begins on the title page introducing us to Beatrice standing among her gardening tools.  A page turn has her looking dumbfounded beneath the verso as Bear (on the first page) sits crushing carrot tops in her garden gazing at a bee hive in the nearby tree.

Rendered in brush and Windsor & Newton black India ink with Sennelier and Windsor & Newton artist watercolors and Prismacolor pencils on Fabriano Artistico extra white 140 pound hot pressed paper, these illustrations increase the meaning of the text.  Fine expressive lines, soft background colors and brush strokes and delicate details on facial expressions not only depict the affection these two have for each other but heighten our attachment to them.  Carnesi shifts between double page spreads, single pages, loosely lined smaller visuals and framed panels with elements overlapping those lines to create an impeccable pace.

More than once she makes use of speech bubbles for emphasis.  Tiny items raise our interest; the bird they watched in the spring becomes a drawing in the cave during the beginning of their sleepover, the water wings on Beatrice when they go swimming, Beatrice's map to Bear, the carrot fabric on Beatrice's blanket and her small toy bunny.  My favorite illustrations are the sequence of Beatrice and Bear sleeping in the cave.  Well...Bear is sleeping and Beatrice is trying.  You can't help smiling at these two moving around; one sound asleep and the other wide awake.


I can't imagine a collection of friendship books without this title.  Sleepover with Beatrice & Bear written and illustrated by Monica Carnesi is one of those huggable books.  Beside friendship it could be used to discuss hibernation, the seasons, perseverance and ingenuity.  Get out your bear, rabbit and squirrel puppets for a story hour filled with joy and warmth.

You will be glad if you follow the links embedded in Monica Carnesi's names to access her website and blog.  She includes fun stuff and a teacher's guide at her website.  On her blog is a series of posts about the process for making Sleepover with Beatrice & Bear.

An Icy Ride Ends Well

It's not hard to imagine frigid temperatures here in northern Michigan as winter has finally wrapped her chilly fingers around our lakes and forests.  But what is hard to imagine is a dog surviving for several days on an ice floe floating on a river swiftly moving toward a large body of water.  On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean on the continent of Europe in the country of Poland that is exactly what happened as the whole world watched.

On January 23, 2010 when glacial temperatures were the norm, a small dog was first spotted on the ice in the Vistula River at the town of Grudziadz; the Baltic Sea its destination.  Little Dog Lost:  The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic written and illustrated by Monica Carnesi captivatingly portrays the events surrounding Baltic's journey.


Something is moving in the water!
What is it?
Is it a bird?
No.
A fish?
No.
It's a DOG!

Initially when the dog is spotted by a group of children their cries bring a group of firefighters forming a chain into the waters of the river.  A fast moving current speeds him out of reach.  For two nights and days no rescue is made as the dog moves toward the river's end. 

When the little brown and white dog is next spotted he is fifteen miles away from land out in the Baltic Sea.  At first the crew of the ship believes him to be a seal.  He will not leave the ice to jump into a long-handled net; falling off the ice into the freezing waters.

Those on board are unable to glimpse him, fearing he may have drowned.  After determined efforts bring him once again to the ice floe the relieved crew places a small boat in the water, moving gently toward his precarious position.  A seaman is able to grab the dog, bringing him into the sanctuary of his craft. 

Once dry and warm the little dog seeks out his rescuers enjoying a sausage breakfast with them.  Attaching himself to the man who plucked him from the ice, the little dog receives a new name and a new home, Baltic of the Baltica.

Using spare text alternating between the telling of the tale and those who are speaking directly to the dog, readers are held in suspense throughout.  Using her watercolor, pen and ink illustrations Carnesi brings readers into that narrative holding them there until the satisfying ending.  The blending of the two is flowing and flawless.

Endpapers done in a cool, pale purple gray (Brrrr...) picture Baltic as an inset on a map of the Vistula River as it flows toward the Baltic Sea.  A smaller map of Poland, in its entirety, is tucked into this visual.  On the front and back of the title page readers are given a possibility of how Baltic may have found himself on the ice in the river.

Carnesi's delicate artwork spreads across two pages, appears as a single framed page or bleeding off a page, a small uneven-edged inset or multiple frames within a single page depending on what she wishes to convey.  Color choices not only reflect winter's descending in this part of the world but the emotions of the characters as the story develops.  Readers will identify with and cheer for this little dog that beat the odds.

Monica Carnesi, in this first picture book, Little Dog Lost:  The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic, gives readers a glimpse into the heart of this courageous canine and those that saved him.  There is nothing little about the impact of this book; it is storytelling the way it is meant to be.  I can hear the sighs and ohs already once it has been shared with the children; the loudest will probably be me.

Monica Carnesi does include more information in her Author's Note at the book's end as well as at her web site linked above.  She has a fun little Baltic paper doll (dog) that can be printed and stood up.  Here are a couple of other links about this truly amazing journey.