Seeking The Bright Side

As an educator, one of the things you learn and remember about working with children is their constant ability to think outside the box.  Their cleverness and fresh points of view, given freedom and support, are astonishing.  Their compassion inspires. 

Never have they, never have we, been more tested than now, on a global level, for more than a year.  The losses have been unprecedented in this new normal.  Two recent titles, addressing unexpected change, provide us with deep insight and a way to seek and find hope.  Ten Beautiful Things (Charlesbridge, January 12, 2021) written by Molly Beth Griffin with illustrations by Maribel Lechuga follows the road trip of a girl to her new home with her grandmother.  She is not happy about this move.

Lily ran her finger across the Iowa map.

An X marked Gram's house

on an empty patch of land.

Lily's new home.

With a long drive ahead of them, Gram suggests they search for ten beautiful things.  She knows these things will help to fill the empty space in her granddaughter's heart.  Lily, looking out the window, is certain there is nothing worth noting.

Suddenly, the sun breaks over the horizon.  This is the first beautiful thing.  Gram offers further encouragement, but the initial warmth of discovering beauty wans.  Then, Gram yells.  The second beautiful thing stretches before them.

Sometimes the loveliness they find is seen, other times it is heard or smelled, and sometimes it extends the meaning of beautiful.  As they travel closer to Gram's house, a wild storm with wind, thunder, and lightning races across a darkened sky.  They count it as number nine.

Gram keeps driving. The words

almost there

seem like almost never.  And then, they arrive.  Lily is dismayed they did not find number ten.  Gram assures her.  They have number ten.  It's the most beautiful thing of all.

In carefully chosen words, author Molly Beth Griffin pens a gentle story of loss and gathering even the smallest thing to help fill the hollow feeling.  Using a blend of narrative and conversation, we connect with the duo as they travel across the vast landscapes found in the American Midwest.  We, along with Lily and Gram, learn to use our senses to find beauty.  Here is a passage.

A wind farm had sprouted

in the field beside the freeway.

Spinning windmill blades

gleamed in the morning sun.

The scene we see on the front, right, of the matching and open dust jacket and book case extends over the spine to the left edge of the back on the left.  This full color image by Maribel Lechuga captures the true spirit of driving through the countryside.  The red-winged blackbird against the rays of the rising sun as Lily and Gram head home depicts several of the beautiful things.  On the left as the sunlight paints pinks and purples on clouds over the farmland, barn, and silos, another of the beautiful things is displayed.  (Truthfully, this image is a beautiful thing, making the number eleven.)  The title text is varnished.

On the opening and closing endpapers, the hue is the same rich teal seen in the title text.  The illustration on the title page shows Gram packing the car, as Lily sits on a box.  The pictures in this title are rendered

in Photoshop and Clip Studio Paint, with added watercolor textures made in traditional mediums.

They are full-page pictures, double-page images, smaller visuals grouped on a single page or single loosely framed images on one page with liberal white space around them.  

There are multiple vistas shown as the granddaughter and her grandmother travel to begin their new life together.  Sometimes, it is a bird's eye view.  This enables us to make the trip with them.  At the right moment to enhance the pacing and text, we move in close to the characters or one of the beautiful things.  We may be inside the car with them or looking at the outside through a car window.  This makes the experience more intimate. 

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  Five high-flying mallard ducks glide among clouds over a meandering stream.  The perspective for readers is as if we are with the birds.  Beginning in the upper, right-hand corner to the left of the gutter, this small, two-lane road cuts across the right side and over the water.  The land on either side of the stream is represented in shades of green, with grasses, shrubs, and willowy trees.  This is a glorious point of view.

Change in our lives is inevitable, but how we work through it can supply us with an accepted new normal.  Ten Beautiful Things written by Molly Beth Griffin with illustrations by Maribel Lechuga is a book to cherish for the simple but profound actions it requires of us.  It is a marvelous guide.  You'll want a copy of this on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Molly Beth Griffin and Maribel Lechuga and their other work, please visit their respective websites by following the link attached to their names.  Molly Beth Griffin has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Maribel Lechuga has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  She also has a blog here.  At the publisher's website you can view an interior image and download an activity kit.  At Penguin Random House you can view other interior visuals.

One of the most important truths to hold in our hearts is during difficult times we are never completely alone.  It may appear we are alone, but there are others who have been in a similar situation or are in the same situation with us at the same time.  This book, There Is a Rainbow (Chronicle Books, January 26, 2021) written by Theresa Trinder with pictures by Grant Snider empowers readers to see both sides of time.

A story has a beginning and an end.

When we begin at a particular position, there is another place for us to arrive.  The space, the points from the start to the finish, are real.  During the isolation we are feeling during a pandemic, it is good to understand each of these sentences.  

We know from our increased use of computers, there are colleagues, classrooms, and students on their computers with us.  When we look outside our windows, we see other people.  Some of these people are important to keeping the world functioning.  Others are important in keeping us connected to a smaller circle of family and friends.

In the continuing cadence of phrases, we learn how the journey takes us forward.  It moves us to a glimmer of brightness, a direction, and comfort.  Storms don't last; we do by holding to the belief each day is a new beginning.

The first sentence of this narrative is like the first string of notes in a piece of music.  Theresa Trinder uses this as a rhythmic line, an invitation to readers, for all the sentences that follow.  There is a declaration and a response in each thought. These responses sometimes are what readers might expect, but others are refreshingly original.  Each response is marvelously upbeat.  Here is another of her sentences.

On the other side of town 

(page turn)

there is a voice.

All the illustrations in this book

were rendered in colored pencil.

The soothing, uplifting quality of the narrative is heightened by the artwork of Grant Snider.  His medium fashions a soft texture and his color palette reaches out to the intended audience enveloping them in warmth. The neighborhood street shown on the front, right side, of the dust jacket continues on the other side of the spine.  The time of day is slightly different.  Here, on the back, it is still raining.  People are outside going about their business.  These two scenes are our introduction to the intricate details Grant Snider incorporates into his illustrations.

On the book case is a close-up of a sidewalk.  Colorful drawings of a rainbow between two clouds, our planet, a shooting star, the sun peeking from behind a cloud and a red balloon are spread across the two sides.  We read:

THANK YOU HEROES, WE GOT THIS, STAY SAFE, IN IT TOGETHER, and STAY STRONG.

The title is written in a rainbow of colors on the right side.  A rainbow pattern of triangles is along the bottom of the right side.  

The opening and closing endpapers are bright purple.  On the verso and title pages we are introduced to the neighborhood boy and girl, each with large pieces of chalk in their hands for making the pictures on the sidewalk.  They wave in greeting while keeping their distance.

Each visual spans two pages.  There is a rainbow in some form in many of the illustrations or the colors in a rainbow are used in each scene.  This supplies readers with a sense of harmony.

One of my many, many favorite pictures brings us close to the street in the neighborhood.  At the top of the page on the left side are portions of two buildings and a city bus on the street.  Across the street running into the crosswalk is the boy, a letter in his outstretched hand.  Three pigeons appear in the foreground.  The crosswalk fills a large section on the right side.  We see the curb and a street signpost in the upper, right-hand corner.  This illustration and the three subsequent visuals are part of another pictorial short story.

This book, There Is a Rainbow written by Theresa Trinder with pictures by Grant Snider, is a superb book for people now.  It speaks to the everyday events we have experienced and are experiencing.  It is an explanation.  It is hope we can hold in our hands.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To discover more about Theresa Trinder and Grant Snider and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Grant Snider also has a website titled Incidental Comics.  Theresa Trinder has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Grant Snider has accounts on Facebook (Facebook), Instagram, and Twitter.  Theresa Trinder is showcased at KidLit411.  The cover reveal for this book was hosted by Travis Jonker, School Library Journal, 100 Scope Notes.  At the publisher's website you can view interior pictures.  You will enjoy the book trailer.  Grant Snider speaks about his artistic process for this book.

Expectations Gone Awry

Does every living being plan?  We know plants and animals plan for changes in the weather and seasons, in fact they are often a sign of what we can expect in both.  They do so to survive.  We humans make daily plans.  We plan for special events, many of them months and years in the future.  We devise plans to reach our short-term and long-term goals in our academic, career, and personal lives. It is also a given that at any moment, sometimes seconds in length, our plans are unexpectedly and significantly altered.  We learn that often the best plan is to have no plan.

Six years ago we met an enchanting character in Julia's House for Lost Creatures.  Julia is an energetic young woman who puts her heart's desires into action, but often the results are unpredictable.  She returns in a companion title, Julia's House Moves On (First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, September 29, 2020) written and illustrated by Ben Hatke.  Julia's house sits on the back of an enormous turtle and Julia pulls up her mailbox in anticipation of what is to come.  

Julia's House was for lost

creatures of every kind.

But the house was getting

restless.  It was time to move

on.  Everyone could feel it.

The creatures residing in Julia's House were no longer their normal selves, acting entirely out of character.  Julia was certain she had the perfect plan in place for the upcoming relocation.  She was packing like a pro.  She had a new setting in mind, but the house had other intentions.  It began to move.

Julia was not ready.  Her plan was not in place any longer.  The turtle had its own plan.  It was on the move.  Before Julia, and her resident creatures knew what was happening the House was in ruins, drifting on the sea sans turtle.  Julia reassured everyone that she had a plan.

Everyone jumping in the water and pushing the House did not go well.  Dangerous conditions had everyone finding refuge in the now sinking House.  Julia still thought she had a plan.  She rummaged through her workshop and boxes, finding what she knew was a solution.  It was a disaster.

Julia now, diminished in her vigor, believed she could plan her way out of this situation, but the creatures left before she could present her ideas.  Julia is now alone, and her plans float away on the wind.  Suddenly, something, more than one something, she never envisioned in her wildest dreams happened.  It was not a part of any of her plans, but many times this is life's way of telling you to let go and embrace whatever it sends you.

In a spirited, conversational blend of text and dialogue, Ben Hatke presents a life lesson within a captivating story.  His spare, but specific, choice of words builds one incident upon another leading us to a spectacular, luminous conclusion.  These sentences also leave room for further enhancement by the images.  Here is a passage.

The creatures scrambled

back on board.  The house

was sinking faster.

"DON'T WORRY!"

Julia called.

"I HAVE 

A PLAN

FOR THIS!"

The warmth in the shades of orange and yellow on the front, right, of the open and matching dust jacket and book case, hint at either a sunrise or a sunset, presenting that each is the chance for a new beginning.  We can see the House in the background is already limbering up for its move.  The creature in Julia's box, a ghillie, is a recent arrival, but a remarkable character to this story.  

To the left, on the back, is an enlarged interior image of Julia determinedly looking through boxes in her workshop for a single item she believes will save the House.  The pale canvas highlights the vibrant colors of the objects in the boxes.  Careful readers will see the ghillie there with Julia.

The opening and closing endpapers begin and conclude the story including the initial title page and the final sentence.  On the first, on the left, an overturned pot, on its side, has dirt spilling out.  The ghillie trailing earth, leaves and wearing a single flower walks across the bottom of the initial title page on the right.  On the second, on the left, Julia's House is on its way to a new adventure, small in the distance and surrounded by gorgeous clouds in hues of yellow, orange, and complementary tones of purple and blue.  On the right, in a small square image, Julia, spyglass to her eye and wearing a captain's hat, is next to a railing.  The Patched Up Kitty is next to her, paws resting on the rail. Engraved in the railing are the words:

for IDA!

The verso and formal title page is a large, double-page picture of Julia's House on the edge of the sea and the surrounding community.  The ghillie is walking down a path toward Julia's House.  If you look closely, you will see the reason the House moves unannounced.  Ben Hatke uses every space to tell his story from the beginning to the end.

The illustrations' sizes alter to accentuate the pacing and narrative.  There may be wordless panels with a small image on a single page or a single page picture.  At times, a panel is inserted into a single-page picture for emphasis.  Panels are layered on a large image in the center of two pages.  Double-page picture with and without words are highly dramatic and at times emotional.  The perspectives offered in each image are perfection, panoramic or close-up as needed.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is on a single page.  It is a close-up of Julia holding the ghillie for the first time.  It is cupped in her hand.  She smiles with affection at the creature.  It looks at her, calmly resting in her hand, with an open look.  This is the essence of Julia, and of the creatures who live with her.  Their respect and affection are mutual.

This book, Julia's House Moves On written and illustrated by Ben Hatke, like the best kind of story will resonate differently with each reader depending on their personal life experiences.  One thing is certain, though, this is a book to cherish for its words and wonderfully animated visuals. I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To discover more about Ben Hatke and his other work, please access his website by following the link attached to his name.  Ben Hatke has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter. Ben Hatke is featured at author Maria Marshall's site, and at author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. At Macmillan Publishers enjoy some interior illustrations and an activity kit you can download.  I think you'll like these videos.

Waiting For You

Moving from place to place is difficult for any number of reasons.  There is the packing and unpacking along with a multitude of items to complete on a written or mental checklist. There is the sense of loss at leaving what you have known.  There is the sense of unease at arriving where you've never been.  You are in a state of uncertainty multiplied tenfold.

When this happens, there is an answer to our frustration and anxiety.  It is waiting for us.  It does not cost us anything, but our time.  Southwest Sunrise (Bloomsbury Children's Books, May 5, 2020) written by Nikki Grimes with illustrations by Wendell Minor is the joyful journey of a young African American boy.  He, like many of us, discovers by listening, and looking we can find answers and previously unknown wonders.

Too old to cry myself to sleep, 
I hide behind my baseball cap,
close my eyes, and pout
all the way from New York
to New Mexico,
mad about moving to a place
of shadows.  . . .

The boy does not understand the reason behind the move.  When he wakes up the following morning, and looks out his bedroom window, one without bars, he is startled by what he sees. The mounding landscape in the distance has shifted into shades of color.

Still not happy about his current circumstances, he is sure the red chili peppers in their kitchen are the only bit of brightness one can expect to find in a desert.  He does decide, with a nature guidebook given to him by his mother, to go outside.  Again, his surprise is complete.  Spread before him like waves are fields of flowers noted in the book.

Gazing in another direction he sees yet another color; this one on a home formed of materials different than his.  Unaccustomed to the silence, he soon notices an unusual tree ahead with a group of black and white birds sharing the local news via their articulate noise.  Standing for a moment, the boy looks around.  The sky rolls on and on unbroken by the skyscrapers he has always known.

A bird certainly acting like royalty strides past him.  A lovely lizard glides across his palm.  Skeletal pieces of those long-gone gleam against the sand.  As the path he follows ends, he realizes the desert has seen him and fills his emptiness with a final treat.  A soul brimming with happiness returns the favor.


With each reading of the words written by Nikki Grimes, they reach farther into your heart. Her use of language, its poetic pacing and rhythmic beat fashioned by carefully placed punctuation, draws us into the experienced moments of this boy's arrival at his new home and his first day of exploration.  His emotional voice sings to us as it is transformed by his sensory morning stroll.  Here is a portion of another poem.

I look up,
try to understand
the deep waves of turquoise
overhead.
I search for the end of blue,
but there is none.


When you first look at the open and matching dust jacket and book case, the majesty and the silence of the panorama envelope you.  They allow you to be with the boy, hand to his head to sharpen his gaze, as he scans his setting.  The slight smile on his face is an indication of the pleasure he senses in his surroundings.  The rocky vista extends over the spine to the left on the back.  Here, the sky is a textured, watercolor blend of blue and white.

On the opening endpapers is a detailed, almost architectural depiction, of a cityscape.  A line of buildings, most of them skyscrapers, reach into the sky.  On the closing endpapers is a vast expanse of grasses, flowers, and a few trees reaching toward layers of rocky mounds, plateaus, and hills.  Above these is a sky awash with clouds.  A lone bird floats over one of the left ridges.

These illustrations rendered 

with gouache watercolor on Strathmore 500 Bristol Paper

by Wendell Minor, paint an emotional portrait of change within the context of a gorgeous natural space.  There is a union of soft textures, intricate lines, light and shadow and bold, almost photographic, elements.  The sizes of the images and their perspectives change with the narrative.  There are dramatic double-page pictures, single-page visuals and smaller images with wide white borders.

In many of the illustrations we get a real sense of the immensity of the location where the boy's home is located.  Even when we are brought close to the child like when he is holding the lizard, behind him is the New Mexican landscape stretching as far as the eye can see.  Readers will enjoy the altered points of view, not quite knowing what presentation they will see after a page turn.  This aspect ties us even closer to the boy and his morning walk.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture.  On either side at the bottom are rounded tops of shrubs.  We see a portion of the boy in his striped polo shirt, from mid-chest upward.  His right hand is raised in farewell.  Above him and close to readers is a magnificent magpie in flight, wings spread, and tail extended.  The bird is placed on white with a blue wash on the left and right sides.  What a magical moment created in this visual interpretation of Nikki Grimes wondrous words.


In this book, Southwest Sunrise written by Nikki Grimes with illustrations by Wendell Minor, readers travel from frustration to fascination with an African American boy who takes his first walk at his new home.  Nature, our natural world, has a huge capacity to soothe and calm.  I first read this book nearly two months ago, and with each subsequent reading, I find myself stepping into serenity.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Nikki Grimes and Wendell Minor and their considerable body of work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  On a page at his website Wendell Minor has multiple interior images from this book.  Nikki Grimes has accounts on Facebook, and Twitter.  Wendell Minor has accounts on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Please take a few moments to listen to Nikki Grimes read a poem from this book.  It's one of my many favorite entries.

Fleeing To Freedom

When we leave our homes, permanently, we do so with mixed feelings.  We find ourselves experiencing a combination of excitement and anxiety.  We are starting over someplace new; even if it's in the same community or state.  If we have left one state or country, moving to another, everything is amplified.  To make the choice to relocate out of fear or to avoid further relentless persecution heightens every emotion.

For many the decision brings other hardships.  Even starting the journey is laden with peril.  Overground Railroad (Holiday House, January 7, 2020) written by Lesa Cline-Ransome with illustrations by James E. Ransome addresses these very real worries endured by those millions of people who were part of the Great Migration.  Left behind were their family, homes, and possessions too large to carry.  They ventured forth in hopes of a better life.

Some walked.
Some drove.
But we took the train north.
Me and Mama and Daddy got to the station
crack of dawn early
before anyone
could see us leave.
Daddy holding tight
to me with one hand
three tickets to New York in the other.

In this first passage urgency and determination envelope the narrator and her parents.  Bags and a shoebox packed with food accompany these three travelers.  They move to the rear of the train car for African American passengers bound for New York City.

Before arriving at the station their goodbyes are said in secret to an uncle and grandparents before the sun rises.  The child's parents are exhausted from picking cotton and working land they do not own.  As the girl, Ruth Ellen, looks out the train's windows, she can see others already picking cotton and working land they do not own.

At one stop so many others board the train with bags and boxes, the car is crowded to capacity.  People stand or sit on the floor.  Ruth Ellen and her father play games with cards.  Then she begins reading a book her teacher gave her on her last day of school, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass."  As the train travels through Virginia and toward Washington, D. C., the girl keeps reading.  She wonders about all the people squeezed into this car, believing they are going to a fresh start with more freedom.  

When the train crosses a border, the WHITES ONLY sign is removed by porters.  People can sit in any car they desire and move about the train.  Ruth Ellen and her parents wander down the aisles; the distinctions in amenities are staggering.  Geographical landmarks trigger a comparison in the girl's mind between her trip and that taken by Frederick Douglass.  The city lights flickering in buildings against the dark on their arrival are a reminder of others who looked to the North for freedom.


When children tell a story, they share their experiences openly with truth.  Readers will readily identify with every thought shared by Ruth Ellen.  Her voice through the writing of Lesa Cline-Ransome is clear, moving and descriptive.  We are fully aware of the family's life in the South and their train trip to the North with each tiny personal detail given to us by Ruth Ellen.  The inclusion of the conductor calling out each station stop brings us further into the story.  Here is a passage.

In our straight-back seats
when we finish with cards
Mama fusses in her purse
Daddy stares ahead
I take out the book
Teacher gave me.
The cover's worn,
pages too.
"Read to me, Ruthie," Mama says
and I do.
First the title,
"Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass."


The yellow sky, on the front of the dust jacket, as the sun rises at the station signals hope with the white birds flying to the right.  You can almost feel the hearts of Ruth Ellen and her parents swell with longing as the train curves around them and others waiting.  Ruth Ellen holds the shoebox packed with food by her grandmother and her father holds the three tickets which represent freedom.  To the left, on the back, on a light purple canvas is a portion and smaller version of an interior image.  The train is crossing the Delaware River surrounded by a pastoral countryside.  The text reads:

Making their way north aboard the Overground Railroad in
search of hope, freedom, and a better life.

On the book case artist, illustrator, James E. Ransome has placed an interior illustration signifying the end of one chapter in this family's life and the beginning of another.  On the opening and closing endpapers a large cotton plant with spread branches, ready for picking, is over four separate pictures depicting methods of travel taken by those migrating North.  These are powerful endpapers.

With a page turn the two-page picture for the title page gives us a view of a cotton field next to Ruth Ellen's home with the train moving across the horizon in the distance.  On the verso and dedication pages, James E. Ransome has placed in square frames on white, first, a visual of the railroad track and second, a single cotton boll on a stalk against brown earth and a blue sky.  Each image is rendered

with paper, graphite, paste pencils, and watercolors,

carefully placed for a realistic effect, historically and emotionally.  (One of the passengers on the train is reading a newspaper from Washington, D. C. dated May 15, 1939.)

Each two-page picture takes us back in time so we may comprehend.  In the faces of Ruth Ellen's parents, we see their quiet resolve.  On Ruth Ellen's face, we see a mixture of emotions as the trip progresses. 

One of my many favorite illustrations is of Ruth Ellen and her parents seated on the train.  They are occupying a single seat with Ruth Ellen next to the window, Mama in the middle and Daddy on the end of the seat closet to the aisle.  Mama is holding the shoebox on her lap.  Ruth Ellen and Daddy are playing the card game War using the top of the shoebox as a table.  In this scene we can see the beautiful blend of papers James E. Ransome uses throughout the book on their clothing and in the clothing of the other passengers seated behind them.


This exemplary tribute to those people part of the Great Migration is a book for all readers.  Overground Railroad written by Lesa Cline-Ransome with illustrations by James E. Ransome will supply understanding, generate discussions and create a thirst for more knowledge.  An Author's Note at the end provides further information.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Lesa Cline-Ransome has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.  James E. Ransome has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  At Penguin Random House you can view the stunning endpapers.  Perhaps you will find this article at History.com helpful.  Lesa Cline-Ransome dedicates the book to Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration.

Fenway y Hattie Cover Reveal---Habla Espanol?

Regardless of the twists and turns and ups and downs and uncertainty in the human realm, there is one unwavering truth.  From their first breath to their final breath, dogs offer us steadfast, unconditional love. Embracing the world as a total sensory experience, they urge us to do the same with their actions and expressions.  If we would be more like dogs, it would, indeed, be a world worth raising our voices in howls of happiness.

For the past four plus years, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy the friendship of another human, author Victoria J. Coe, who believes, as I do, in the value and power of observing the world from another individual’s perspective.  Her books about an over-the-top, energetic Jack Russell terrier have led me to comment on more than one occasion about her astute observations and research. It is no easy task to speak the language of our canine companions, but Victoria does it with such skill, I’ve come to believe she is part canine.

On July 16, 2015 it was a privilege to reveal the cover of the first book in the series, Fenway and Hattie.  We chatted about writing, this first book, dogs and the irresistible Jack Russell terrier, Fenway.  Upon reading Fenway and Hattie, I was paws-itively captivated from beginning to end.  And this initial opinion, expressed in my blog post, has not wavered with repeated readings.  For each of the three subsequent titles, Fenway and Hattie and the Evil Bunny Gang, Fenway and Hattie Up to New Tricks and Fenway and Hattie In the Wild we have been able to laugh and learn along with Fenway and his human, Hattie, as they grow to be their best selves.

Given my total admiration for this series, the selection of Fenway and Hattie as the 2017 Global Read Aloud choice and for One School, One Book, you can imagine my joy upon hearing Fenway and Hattie will soon be available in Spanish!  Fenway y Hattie, the Spanish edition, will make the story of a dog and his human and their daily lives, after moving from the city to suburbia, accesibile to an even larger audience.  I can already hear the laughter, and growing compassion, of a new group of readers, as they follow this story told entirely from Fenway’s point of view. I am happy to have Victoria here today to answer some questions before we reveal the cover of this new Spanish edition.

Victoria, congratulations! How excited are you that the Fenway and Hattie Spanish edition will soon be out in the world?

Oh my goodness, Margie, I am SO excited! Honestly, I had no idea this would happen, and when I found out I could not believe it.

I was heartily encouraged to take Spanish as a second language by my father.  After studying for nine years, in my final class in college, I could listen to lectures in Spanish, take notes in
Spanish and read Spanish, understanding it very well.  Do you speak Spanish yourself?

I do not and I’m impressed that you do! It’ll be such a funny experience when I get to flip through my own book and not understand the writing on the pages. You’ll have to read it to me. ☺

When I first read Fenway and Hattie, I remember telling you that this book was going to be huge. It was chosen for the Scholastic Book Club, then the Global Read Aloud. Now three sequels have come out, it’s a One School, One Book favorite, and soon to be coming out in Spanish! When are you going to start believing me?

You did say that, Margie, and it really is still very hard for me to get my brain around it. Two years later, I can’t believe the Global Read Aloud actually happened, and now every time I visit a One School, One Book school - which I do often - it’s overwhelming to see my little dog in the foyer, on the walls, in the classrooms, library, literally everywhere.

I’ll tell you, teachers are SO energetic and creative. I’m continually blown away by the activities and projects they do while reading the book. And of course, I can’t get enough of the kids. I’m just really thankful that this series has given me so many opportunities to connect with them. Any day I’m at an elementary school is a very good day!

What went into the decision for Penguin Young Readers to publish Fenway y Hattie, and how did that come about? Did you have any input into the translation?

I’m not 100% sure how the decision got made, but I do know there have been a lot of requests, especially from teachers, for a Spanish edition of Fenway and Hattie. There are so many areas in the country where children speak Spanish, so many bilingual classes and schools, and of course so many parents whose first language is Spanish, that teachers are always on the lookout for books in Spanish; especially books that appeal to children of all ages and families, and would make a great read-aloud.

As for how it happened, since I don’t speak Spanish, I wasn’t very involved at all. My editor, Susan Kochan, worked with a professional translator as well as a copyeditor in Spain. I do remember she asked me to clarify something in the last chapter, because as you know, Fenway’s observations can be taken more than one way. It was important to get the context right.

Since the publication of Fenway and Hattie my beloved Xena passed away and you lost Kipper, the inspiration for the first book.  I now have Mulan, an almost three-year-old chocolate labrador retriever. While she exhibits all the canine qualities we love in dogs, she has her own quirks. Would you tell us how you went about introducing the personalities of the other dogs Fenway meets after moving from the city to suburbia?  Did this entail additional research about different dog breeds? Are these dogs based upon dogs you know?

Well, I come up with personalities for the dogs in different ways. First and foremost is my deep belief that every dog is an individual, just as humans are. So while breed is a factor, it’s not the only factor. Mostly I try to remember that readers want to connect with the characters, so I want each dog to be relatable and unique.

Sometimes I like to give a dog a personality that’s totally opposite from how we think of the breed, like Goldie. She’s a golden retriever, but she’s a grump!

I know how much you miss Kipper, but do you have any dog news you would like to share with readers?

Margie, I know you asked this just so we can talk about the new cutie in our family! ☺ And yes, two months ago our son and his girlfriend brought home an adorable and very lively little pup named Teddy Graham. She stole everyone’s hearts immediately.







I’m being nudged by a persistent cold wet nose attached to a head and body constantly being wiggled by a tail.  I think someone, namely my canine companion Mulan, besides me is excited to see this new cover. Here we go!

Fenway y Hattie by Victoria J. Coe releases in paperback on December 31, 2019 from Puffin Books and is available for preorder now.

To learn more about Victoria J. Coe and the other Fenway and Hattie books, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website. Victoria has accounts on Twitter and Instagram. If you are interested in the One School, One Book program access their website by following a link attached to their name. 

Victoria J. Coe grew up a fan of books, dogs, and the Boston Red Sox. Today she combines these passions as the author of the middle grade series, Fenway and Hattie, told from the perspective of a rambunctious Jack Russell terrier named Fenway. With fellow author Elly Swartz, she also co-hosts the Youtube series BooksintheKitchen. Victoria lives with her family on the outskirts of Boston.

Geniune Greetings

There is an array of emotions present at arrivals and departures.  There is either great happiness, deep sadness or a combination of the two.  It's important to remember hello is not necessarily equated with joy nor is goodbye synonymous with sorrow.  Circumstances and the individuals involved dictate the emotional mood.  The people present can make a difference.

Children can see even the tiniest light in a looming darkness.  They are a gift.  Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! (Dial Books for Young Readers, July 2, 2019) written and illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld takes us through the ups and downs of a little girl's day-to-day world with a large emphasis on seeking and finding the proverbial silver lining through friendship.

Bye, Mom.

Every goodbye . . .
. . . leads to a hello.

Hi, I'm Charlie!

Stella is not very happy about leaving her mother at home, but at school she immediately meets a new friend, Charlie.  She is no longer sitting alone at lunch or alone when riding the school bus.  There are playdates outside in piles of leaves and card games inside under a blanket fort on a chilly winter afternoon.

When snow creations melt under a spring sun, rainy days offer new merriment.  All the activities during a summer day last for treasured moments but they lead to new pursuits as the sky darkens.  What do you think they do outside on a summer night?

When a beloved pet passes away, Charlie is there to comfort Stella.  Together they celebrate a life which brought comfort.  Encouragement is given to try new endeavors.  When learning something new, the next attempt can yield amazing results.

These two friends are inseparable.  When one of the girls has to move, this goodbye is difficult.  Is there a hello to be found in this heartbreak?  Remember readers, there is always a hello, even if sometimes you make it yourself or decide to give it away.


The beauty in the words written by Cori Doerrfeld is they leave room for readers to reflect on their personal memories.  The toggling back and forth between goodbye words followed by the hello words supplies an engaging cadence, both uplifting and supportive.  A few speech bubbles at the beginning and ending of the story, provide a circle effect and reinforce the idea of being open to positive possibilities.  Here is a single sentence.

Goodbye to almost giving up . . .
. . . is hello to one more try.


When you look at the open and matching dust jacket and book case, the pure bliss shown by the characters envelopes you.  The looks on their faces, and their body language, on the front are ones of mutual affection.  Their colorful clothing set against the paler blue sky and field of flowers draws our eyes to them.  The text, Stella, Charlie and the butterflies are varnished.

To the left, on the back, it's nighttime.  On a slight hill are Charlie, Stella's dog and Stella.  Their backs are to us.  The girls are pointing with their outside hands to stars.  Their other hands rest on the back of Stella's dog.  This scene is brimming with contentment.

On a canvas of white on the opening endpapers in the lower, right-hand corner, is Stella, seated on the floor, putting on her red cowboy boots before leaving for school.  Her dog is licking her cheek.  With white as the background on the closing endpapers we see, in the lower, left-hand corner, Charlie removing a familiar letter from her mailbox.

The illustrations rendered using

digital ink, Dr. Pepper, and a good dose of nostalgia

by Cori Doerrfeld use very page turn to extend the narrative.  On the verso and title pages Stella's dog is running toward her and her mother as she feeds her goldfish.  Her mother is holding the dog's leash.

For most of the pictures, they span across two ages. For the sake of pacing there are full-page images and several images on a single page.  The matte-finished paper is excellent for the hues of colors used by Cori Doerrfeld.  Readers will love pausing at page turns to enjoy all the detailed elements.  Cori Doerrfeld adds items which reveal the season and her skies depict the time of day and weather.  Careful readers will notice the absence of the fishbowl after the goldfish dies, but will they notice what is on the table and wall in one of the final illustrations?  Dog lovers will adore the presence of Stella's dog in most of the activities.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is of the two girls inside and underneath their blanket fort.  In the background, left to right, is the heat radiator, the window with snow falling outside and Gill swimming in his fishbowl on the table.  The red and white plaid blanket is stretched over several chairs.  Two more blankets are placed on the living room rug.  The two girls are lying on their stomachs with their knees bent.  Each is holding playing cards; others are scattered in front of them.  Along the floor are toy cars, building blocks, crayons and paper, a plate with sliced apples and a bowl of popcorn.  Stuffed toy animals along with Stella's sleeping dog are keeping them company.


Whatever age you are, Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! written and illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld will fill you with hope.  It encourages us to seek, or if circumstances ask us to make, happiness, however small.  It allows us to see even in the most sorrowful events, there will be a change for the better; especially with the help of a friend.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Cori Doerrfeld and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Cori Doerrfeld has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Cori Doerrfeld is featured at Brightly and at Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb.  At the publisher's website you can view the opening endpapers.

Looking For The Familiar

Whether we move from city to city within the same state, move to a different state in the same country or leave our country's borders, our apprehension prior to the move finds its center in the people and places we are leaving behind.  Thoughts of using technology to connect with people, and even places, does lessen the worry, but it's still not the same as real life encounters.  As soon as we arrive at our new destination, sometimes even before we begin to settle, we start to explore our surroundings.  We are looking for the familiar. 

For children, the sooner they find places, a park, a library or a restaurant serving their favorite food, in which they feel comfortable, the more apt they are to relax.  A New Home (Candlewick Press, April 9, 2019) written and illustrated by Tania de Regil explores the parallel worlds of two children making huge moves.  They don't realize it, but one is moving to the other's city.

Mom and Dad told me that we
are moving to Mexico City.

Mama and Papa told me that we
are moving to New York City.

Neither of them is excited about the move.  They are already missing important things in their lives.  Will there be a favorite musician playing music on their way to school?  Will there be a food vendor serving a delicious snack on their way home from school?

They each enjoy certain sporting and cultural events with their parents.  They can play in big city parks where they live now; like Central Park in New York City and the Bosque de Chapultepec in Mexico City.  They are both curious to know if there are museums for their new classes to visit in their new cities. 

While realizing the detriments in their respective cities, homelessness and noise, there are multiple activities to occupy them during the summer with their families.  They wonder if there will be friends like they have now in this new city.  There are many unanswered questions.  One thing is certain, the child from New York City and the child from Mexico City, hold hope in their hearts.


As an author experiencing international moves, Tania de Regil understands the emotions of children when facing this sort of change.  Her portrayal of the blend of excitement and concern through simple straightforward text, fifteen sentences total, is profound.  As the narrative progresses Tania de Regil has worked to offer readers of all ages an opportunity.  It's an opportunity, regardless of geographic location, to see similarities in people and in the places where they live.


Un Nuevo Hogar was released on the same day as A New Home. (I don't have a copy of the Spanish title yet.)  When opening the matching dust jacket and book case, readers are introduced to the boy living in New York City on the left and the girl living in Mexico City on the right.  Outside their respective windows readers can point out elements for which their cities are known.  Each child is holding a book reflective of the city which will be their new home. 

To the left, on the back, on a canvas of white are the words:

I hope my life
won't be so different
in my new city.

Along the bottom is a skyline from New York City.  Along the top is flora and birds more likely to be seen in Mexico City.  The opening and closing endpapers are the rich golden yellow shade used on the front of the jacket and case to hold the text.

On the formal title page Tania de Regil has used predominantly green for a map and a purple hue for water.  She has drawn a dotted line from Mexico City to New York City.  The boy is headed toward Mexico City and the girl is walking toward New York City.  They are each carrying their favorite toys.

Rendered in ink, colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache and assembled digitally, the illustrations vary in size from full-page pictures opposite a white page for text, two full-page images sharing the same text beneath them, two smaller visuals on a page sharing text in the middle and a two-page, half page illustration sharing text in the middle between the two pictures.  This layout and design allow readers to notice exactly what Tania de Regil wants us to understand.  For pure dramatic effect the narrative closes with a double-page image.

The perspective shifts to complement and heighten the narrative.  Readers will pause to look at all the details; a pigeon on the fire escape in New York City and on the balcony in Mexico City, grandmothers walking the children home from school, or the presence of the children's toys.  Even though both children wonder about their new homes, there is a warmth conveyed in every single picture.  It's an exploration of possibilities.

Two of my many favorite illustrations are when the children are playing in their respective parks.  For the boy the season is in winter using a soft gray in the cityscape behind leafless trees in Central Park.  In the foreground the boy is laughing, holding his red teddy bear and skating on a pond.  Behind him others are skating, and a film crew is working on a scene.  For the girl, a royal castle is in the background.  In the foreground the smiling girl is riding her bicycle on a large cobblestone pathway.  A food vendor truck is off to the left.  A man selling balloons and whirligigs is in front of her on the right.  Behind her is a pool of water with boaters rowing.  Both pictures convey the fun the children are having.  There is a sense of motion but also calm.


As her picture book debut in the United States A New Home and Un Nuevo Hogar written and illustrated by Tania de Regil is a marvelous depiction of questions children have when moving to a new city in a new country.  It also works beautifully to provide answers and relieve any worry.  There is true artistry in the text and illustrations.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.  At the close of the book Tania de Regil features thumbnails on three pages of the illustrations with further information about the two cities.

To learn more about Tania de Regil and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Tania de Regil has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view an interior image.  The publisher has also provided an activity kit.  The cover reveal is at Latinxs in Kid Lit.  The book trailer premiere along with an interview is hosted by Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher at Watch. Connect. Read.  Tania de Regil is interviewed about this book at The Children's Book Council.  Process artwork is shared.

Finding Your Fearless Center

Depending on any given situation we need, throughout our lives, all kinds of courage.  It comes in all shapes and sizes; a little bit is welcome here and a whole bunch is imperative there.  What we find daunting, others may accept with ease.  It is most important to remember everyone, without exception, needs courage.  Finding that necessary strength is the key to unlocking our potential.

When a family moves, all the changes and all the unknowns, regardless of a sense of adventure some feel, are hurdles of fear to be faced.  When You Are Brave (Little, Brown and Company, March 5, 2019) written by Pat Zietlow Miller with illustrations by Eliza Wheeler addresses how one girl works her way to bravery.  It's not easy but it is well worth the effort.

Some days,

when everything around

you seems scary . . . 

you have to be brave.

There is the brave a bird feels when first flying, a dog needs when looking for home and a caterpillar cocooned and waiting must summon.  If you think back, there are times, other than today's challenges, when you were looking directly into scary situations.  Do you remember how overwhelming it was?  It was too much of everything.

When this happens, and it will, you must look for the special place where courage is tucked away.  You have to focus. Soon what you seek will appear.  Sometimes it's tiny but you can make it bigger.

Keep your eyes closed and imagine it spreading like the sun's rays at daybreak, warming more and more of everything it touches.  You have the power to determine how large your courage will be.  You have the power to keep it growing.  Think of the love inside and outside of you.

With this kind of bravery, you know you can leap over all those barriers to true happiness.  Will it be easy? No.  Will there be setbacks? Yes.  We are all still here and you will be, too.  

The voice used in this narrative by Pat Zietlow Miller is soothing and supportive.  She can see into a child's heart with sincere compassion.  She builds from scary situations toward bravery by defining it with things a child would usually see; a bird, a dog and a caterpillar.  She refers to other frightening circumstances experienced by the little girl, noting how those were overcome.  

What is most pleasing is the reference to courage as a light in the dark.  Her descriptors create a sense of security.  Most of us know how a spark can grow into a flame of brightness, glowing and reaching as far as we desire.  Here is a passage from the interior and back jacket.

You can make your courage

so big it brightens your heart,

fills your fingers, and flows to your toes.

When you look at the girl standing on the front of the jacket (I'm working with an F & G.) her bravery lights up the world around her.  Artist/illustrator Eliza Wheeler works complementary colors into the other elements in the new neighborhood.  Do you see what the tiny beams of light are forming around the smiling child?  This is a stunning reference to some of the narrative.  

The scene on the front carries over the spine to the left, on the back.  Here we see a lovely forest landscape at night with stars shining overhead.  The family's car, pulling a trailer full of household items, is traveling over a bridge.  A stream extends from the hills and falls under the bridge.  We can see the sparks of light from the girl's courage coming from the car and lighting up portions of the leaves below the bridge.  It's interesting how the perspective from the front, a close-up, shifts to a more panoramic view on the back.

The opening and closing endpapers reflect the growth of the girl's courage.  On the first swirls of yellow light flow into blue.  The blend makes green framing.  On the back the light is larger and brimming with warmer colors.  It pulses with life.

Eliza Wheeler wastes no space using the verso and title pages for her first interpretive illustration.  The father and a neighbor are packing the car as other neighbors help.  The mother waits for her daughter, still inside and peeking out her bedroom window.  There is a slight glow in the sky.  With each page turn this glow dims until everything is cloaked in darker hues of blue.  

Most of the pictures rendered

with India ink, watercolors, colored pastel pencils, and acrylic paint on Lanaquarelle Watercolor paper 

span two pages.  We are aware of the emotional outlook of the child by her facial expressions and the altered perspectives.  We see her sitting in the backseat of the car, a stuffed animal close to her and a box of toys on the other side.  She is holding a photo album.  With a page turn the album is spread across the page. Eliza Wheeler keeps shifting the point of view in complete sync with the narrative.  Just as the light faded in the beginning, it becomes a sunrise as courage blooms and the family arrives at their destination.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is looking through the front window in the back seat at the child.  In front of her are her parents, the one sleeping and the other driving.  The girl is visualizing her courage with closed eyes.  Wings are spread wide on either side of her, delicately dotted with tiny beams of light.  (If any of you need to hold a picture in your mind or heart when thinking of courage, this is the picture you need.)

When You Are Brave written by Pat Zietlow Miller with illustrations by Eliza Wheeler is a beautiful portrait of finding courage.  It is one of those books readers will read repeatedly.  It is one of those books listeners will ask you to read not once, or twice but certainly three times.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal book collections.  Be sure you read the other wonderful title by this collaborative team, Wherever You Go.

To learn more about Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Pat Zietlow Miller has an account on Twitter.  If you want to see the book case, Pat has a pinned tweet displaying it for viewers.  Eliza Wheeler has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Pat Zietlow Miller wrote a guest post at author Lynne Marie's My Word Playground about this title. Please take a few moments to enjoy the video below as Eliza Wheeler speaks about her process for this book.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Book Chat with the Illustrator: Eliza Wheeler from LB School on Vimeo.