When you least expect it, but need it the most, there it is. You might be cresting a hill on a walk with your dog and the sight you see takes your breath away. As you look through the different shades of spring budding on trees spread before you, in the distance hues of blue water like glass extend to an opposite shore. The shadows and light cast an enchanting spell on this moment. There is silence. Even your canine companion stills. What if you had not glanced that way?
This beauty on this day is a symbol and a sign. In What the World Could Make: A Story of Hope (Roaring Brook Press, May 4, 2021) written by Holly M. McGhee with illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre, two friends find the best life has to offer in the simple things given to them as they explore their world. Each season brings the duo closer together, bound in mutual affection.
The friends thought it a wonder---
winter white flakes a gift from the sky.
Side by side they sat, as flakes fell on them. They were amazed at the beauty. Bunny wanted the snow to never stop. Rabbit asked if Bunny was sure. Bunny really wanted the memory to last always. And Rabbit understood.
So, Rabbit made a snowball for Bunny. It was large and perfectly shaped like their tails. Now Bunny would have the memory of the winter white flakes always.
With the arrival of spring, Rabbit and Bunny were enticed by the colors and smells of lilacs. During this season it was Rabbit who wanted the memory to last always. As the most beloved kind of friends do for each other, Bunny made something extra special for Rabbit.
Summer offered a delectable, tangy and crisp treat. This present was presented by warmth, water, and tiny grains of ground rock and minerals. As the days shortened, the rich glow of autumn supplied them with the perfect place to do what bunnies and rabbits do best---
JUMP!
That's what Bunny and Rabbit did, wondering at the wonder this year made for them.
And then---
The words written by Holly M. McGhee in this story radiate from the pages, wrapping around you in a hug you want to last forever. The friendship between Bunny and Rabbit is precious and pure, shown by their willingness to make a shared moment never end for the other. Through the rhythmic sentences, repetition of phrases and conversations, we learn as they have. Hope, like their love, is where you choose to find it. It is provided each and every day and night of our lives. Here is a passage from the story.
"I know what you mean,"
said Bunny this time.
"The kind of forever where
you remember it even after
it ends!"
When you look at the front of the open and matching dust jacket and book case, you have questions. Two rabbits, bunnies, with their backs to us are facing the sky, future, rosy with the rising (or setting) sun. A field filled with possibilities stretches from them to the bottom of the jacket and cover. On the front of the jacket the text and friends are varnished.
To the left of the spine, the back, there is a crisp white canvas. Here, in the center, Bunny and Rabbit walk and splash, paw in paw, through shallow water. On either side of them is a treat they will soon taste.
On the opening and closing endpapers is a delicate mint green. On the title page, the image of Rabbit and Bunny sitting in the tree is placed between the text. All the illustrations were rendered with
pen and ink and Adobe Photoshop
by Pascal Lemaitre. One of the first things you notice about Pascal Lemaitre's artwork in this book is his superb use of space. For many of the scenes Bunny and Rabbit are small, surrounded by a natural setting. His fine lines and limited elements in each illustration convey a real sense of fascination. The image sizes range from double-page pictures to a collection of smaller visuals on two pages and back to double-page images before this is repeated. It is a pleasing flow enhancing the narrative. The splendor of each season is portrayed in wonderful color choices.
His intricate details add to the endearing quality of the friends and their experiences. Each of them is wearing colored scarfs with a white R on the red one for Rabbit and a white B on the green one for Bunny. The quality of emotion conveyed with their eyebrows, eyes, button noses and mouths leaves no doubt in readers' minds as to the state of their minds and hearts.
One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture. Across the top of the pages is a light purple wash with plump snowflakes falling in it. Below this is white. On the left side Rabbit is holding a large snowball and reaching toward Bunny. Falling snow is shown on Rabbit and the slightly shadowed ground around her. To the right of the gutter is Bunny. She stands looking at Rabbit, expectant and happy, her paws clasped in front of her. To the right of her is an evergreen tree laden with snow.
When you finish reading this book, What the World Could Make: A Story of Hope written by Holly M. McGhee with illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre, you find yourself smiling. In fact, you've been smiling the whole time and perhaps, you might be a bit teary by the tenderness expressed in words and artwork in this title. Is there ever a time when we don't need hope? Is there ever a time when we don't need to share the simple, freely given gifts of nature with someone who understands us completely? I can't imagine a collection, personal or professional, without a copy of this book.
To learn more about Holly M. McGhee and Pascal Lemaitre and their other work, please access their respective websites by following the link attached to their names. Holly M. McGhee has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Pascal Lemaitre has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This book is featured with an interview at Kathleen Temean's Writing and Illustrating. At the publisher's website you can view interior illustrations.
You step outside in the spring and listen, look and inhale. The spring peeper chorus fills the night air. In the distance a lone coyote howls into the darkness. Moths flit and flutter in beams of light. The next morning chickadees send messages from tree to tree making a distinguishing melody. Mist after the rain smells fresh. Impressions left in mud, dirt, and sand announce wildlife visitors.
What if you took these sounds, sights, and odors and shifted how you listened, looked, and inhaled? Wonder Walkers (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, March 30, 2021) written and illustrated by Micha Archer is an exuberant one-day journey outside. Excited siblings share their musings and questions drawing readers into each and every moment of this glorious day celebrating our planet.
Wonder walk?
Sure.
Those three spoken words open a door to inventive possibilities. Looking at the sun, the girl asks,
Is the sun the
world's light bulb?
From her question, what is your reply? If the sun is indeed the world's light bulb, what or who turns it on? Oh, there is much you can do with her first query.
Gazing across the expanse of a river, fog hovers above the water. What can it be? Running through a mountain meadow, the children imagine the mountains and forests as life partners. What are they? The boy's and girl's curiosity is building.
Tree trunks look as though they are stretching up to the sky, but what if they are stretching down from the sky? Another thought occurs to the children as they rest and meander among the branches of an enormous tree. Then, on the ground, running like the wind, they fantasize about dirt and roots.
From the forest, they find themselves on a sandy and rocky beach. They peek inside a cave pondering. The ocean and its shore offer two more reflections. As the girl and boy walk toward home, the river, the wind, and the rain prompt more perceptions, until later, they watch the moon rise over the seascape in front of their home.
To be sure, no matter how many times you read this book, you'll read it again. Why, you ask? Micha Archerwelcomes us to take notice of the characters' questions, but also encourages us to fashion our own suppositions. On a grander scale, perhaps, Micha Archer is wondering if we look at these things in nature differently, might we do the same with one another. Once to pause and again to conclude, the girl and boy utter identical words, a bond and a nod to the title. Here is another of their questions.
Are roots plant's toes?
Are you ready? Let's join the children on the front, right, of the open and matching dust jacket and book case. Let's run along the sand, climb the rocks, feel the saltiness of the breeze and warmth of the sun. Let's listen to the waves crash on the shore. Let's shout out loud in happiness.
The rocks, sand, and ocean continue on the other side of the spine. There we read an introductory sentence about this title. There are praises and blurbs for Micha Archer's two previous books, Daniel's Good Day and Daniel Finds a Poem.
On the opening endpapers is a light, bright spring green to signify beginning. On the closing endpapers is a deep teal symbolizing the end of the day. On the initial title page, a full-page picture, we are shown a breathtaking collage of meadows, trees, ocean, and sun with fingers of fog reaching in from the right. On the formal title page, a double-page visual, the children are relaxing on a textured emerald green sofa. The girl is reading a book, and the boy is cuddling their sleeping cat resting on his stomach. Above them are two separate large windows giving readers views of sand, sea, sun, and sky. (I am curious about the artwork hanging on the wall on either side of the windows.)
These images rendered
in inks and collage, using tissue paper and patterned papers created with homemade stamps
by Micha Archer are brimming with harmonious texture and an inviting color palette. They all span, with the exception of the final illustration, across two pages. The panoramic landscapes are marvelous, taking you to specific places during particular times of the day.
One can only speculate on the hours spent making the materials and the meticulous care in planning and placing each individual piece to form a completed image. Exquisite details require readers to pause at each page turn. The children are highly animated as they explore. Sometimes they are small in comparison to the vista in which they are placed. Other times we are brought so close to their faces; only portions of them are shown.
I think I could stare for hours at one of my many favorite illustrations. A wide band along the bottom is intricate layers in earth tones featuring a view underground of a myriad of roots and rocks of all sizes. Above this is a feast for readers' eyes in greens and blues, showcasing all types of flora. There are splashes of reds, oranges, and yellows. In the foreground are the children. All we can see is the lower part of their bodies, their legs and feet as they race across the ground. Their beautifully patterned clothing in blues and reds adds another element to this striking scene.
As you read Wonder Walkers written and illustrated by Micha Archer, silently or aloud, you stop at every page turn to consider each question and to notice every single item in each illustration. This is a book to promote discussions, and to extend through writing, artwork, and research. It inspires similar walks. So, grab a notebook and pencil or a camera and go outside to see what you can see, hear what you can hear, and inhale what you can inhale. What a beautiful world it is! I highly recommend this title for all collections.
To learn more about Micha Archer and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website. At her website, you can view multiple interior images. Micha Archer has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Each day our world is shaped by our perspectives. If we seek the extraordinary in the ordinary, we will find it. It is not easy, but something to be refined with purpose and persistence over time.
Never has the genius of a master storyteller been more apparent than in this newest release. Sun Flower Lion (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, September 22, 2020) written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes takes the familiar fashioning it into an original memorable tale. This tale encourages readers to look for stories in their everyday surroundings.
CHAPTER
1
This is the sun.
Can you see it?
When the unseen narrator assumes you have seen the sun, they follow with a simple but profound description and comparison. This leads us to the next two-page chapter.
Here a statement and a question lead to the description of a flower. At the close of the chapter, the reader is asked to look closer at the flower. Does it not look like a lion, a small lion?
Introduced to the lion, we watch him enjoy both the flower and the sun. He tires because of his youth, falling asleep. In his dream, the flower multiplies into something delicious. Although he consumes everything in his dream, upon waking, he is hungry.
In the closing two chapters, one a single page and the other three pages, readers are again asked a question and given an answer. We, through the narrator, shadow the lion as he finds his way home. Like the smallest beings in many walks of life, the small lion's day and close of day are defined by his youth.
Kevin Henkeshas a gift for making us a part of his stories. Spare language invites readers into the pages of this book. Here when the unseen narrator seeks our observations, we step into the realm of sun, flower and lion. Impeccable pacing is present through the pause found between the six short chapters. Here is a passage.
The flower is growing.
It is growing on the hill.
It looks like a little lion.
Upon opening the dust jacket, we are shown the limited color palette, black, white, and yellow, used throughout the book. On the front Kevin Henkes presents all three elements of this narrative, the sun, the flower, and the small lion in a scene. To the left, on the back, they are placed in a wide strip of yellow bordered on the top and bottom by black. Each of them, left to right are depicted individually and separately. On both, the front and the back, the scalloped yellow edging is varnished as well as the lion's tail.
On the book case on the yellow canvas, on both the front and the back, is an enlarged view of the lion's head. A wide-textured black strip covers the spine. Rows of the sun, flower, and lion's head without the facial features, pattern the opening and closing endpapers on the same pale-yellow background.
Rendered in
brush and ink
the illustrations are framed in thin black lines bordered by large expanses of white. The chapter-heading pages are on the pale yellow with the text in the center on white. The sizes of the illustrations vary to place emphasis on the pacing. There is one two-page picture at the end certain to elicit sighs from readers. It is fascinating how much emotion Kevin Henkes places in his artwork with the angle of a brush stroke.
One of my many, many favorite illustrations is at the end of the third chapter. It is a single-page square image. Here the little lion is resting on a grassy hill. He is facing toward the left, eyes closed. On the downward slope of the hill, the flower is leaning to the right. Over the little lion on the hilltop and the flower, the sun shines. All we see of the sun is the lower curve peeking down from the top edge.
This book, Sun Flower Lion written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, is like holding untold wealth in your hands. This gem will be read repeatedly, continuing to gently invite readers into the narrative. It will have readers wondering what other three similar things they can find to form an original new story. I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.
To learn more about Kevin Henkes and his other work, please take a few moments to visit his website by following the link attached to his name. This book is featured by author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson on her site, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Interior images are shared. I hope you enjoy the book trailer.
(Merry Makers is offering a sun flower lion doll.)
In a bright, cheerful ode to our natural world, Round (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, September 29, 2020) written by Jennifer Ward with illustrations by Lisa Congdon asks us to rethink what the word round means to us. In an Author's Note on the dedication and verso page, we are challenged to identify other examples of round. The wonder of this book is twofold; we journey into a search for round as a circle and round in its other forms.
Up round.
Down round.
Nature all around is round.
Recognized round can be temporary. What coils in a circle, but moves in a wavy line? At times round holds other shapes of round not quite a circle. When was the last time you peeked at a robin's nest?
Take a few moments to stop by a pond. Stationary shapes there are round, as are those brought by action. At times round is slow. Sometimes round portrays youth or is tiny markers on a lady. What kinds of light are round?
Round can be loud or quiet. Within seconds it can alter its shape like raindrops. If we stop to examine a round form, we might discover its composition is a multitude of round grouped together. Objects can move around in a round path.
What tiny round packed together makes a larger round? When you hear the hoot of an owl what variety of round might you find? As we travel toward the end of the book, the end of a season, or the end of a day, readers will find themselves calmly marveling at all the round to be found.
Through her verbal representations, author Jennifer Ward reveals her astute skills of observation. With her rhyming of the first words in each couplet, followed by the word round, we find ourselves turning the pages to continue the musical exploration of her narrative. Jennifer Ward welcomes willing readers into the fascination to be detected in all seasons of the year wherever we go. Here are two more couplets. What are they?
Glowing round.
Growing round.
Dripping round.
Slipping round.
Truthfully, I exclaimed "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness" when opening the dust jacket and peering at the book case underneath. The color choices on the open dust jacket conjure visions of (mostly) spring and summer bursting forth with breathtaking hues. Elements on the dust jacket are to be found within the pages of the book. On the other side of the spine, to the left, on the back, there is some repetition, but many of the items are new.
On the open book case, the canvas is black instead of white. Here we see round at night, in the autumn, and in the winter. It's a different world, but alive with forms of round. There are objects and animals here not shown on the dust jacket, but they, too, are found inside the book.
On the opening and closing endpapers, there are similarities and differences. On the first set, the drawings are in a rusty orange on white. The animals here are awake. On the second set, the lines are a midnight blue on white. Readers will know it is night by the animals' positions and eyes.
is a gorgeous depiction of round. On the verso and title pages, a double-page picture of large blossoms holds the text. They are in shades of pink, orange, and red. In the body of the book, page turns disclose double-page visuals with two actions or examples within the picture. Most of the perspectives bring us close to the featured round. In many of them an animal focuses on the round. A fox and squirrel appear in three images each.
One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for one of the couplets showcased previously. It is night. The canvas is black. On the left in six small circles of light, fireflies light up their immediate area. To the right, a crescent moon, close enough to touch, hangs in the sky.
You'll hardly be able to wait to go outside and start finding round after reading this title. Round written by Jennifer Ward with artwork by Lisa Congdon is fantastic! For a story time on shapes, nature, seasonal changes, or to promote skills of observation, this title is an excellent choice. Your personal and professional collections need this book.
To learn more about Jennifer Ward and Lisa Congdon and their other work, please follow the link attached to their name to access their respective websites. Jennifer Ward has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Lisa Congdon has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. At the publisher's website you can view interior images.
In times of great adversity, the people on this planet tend to seek calm in our natural world. During the current crisis of a pandemic around the world, the arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere is a welcome declaration of hope. Despite what is happening in the human world, nature stays the course. The sighting of a first robin, a sliver of a rainbow or the tips of tulip leaves poking through the dirt send our spirits soaring.
Like spring itself, bursting forth with new life, many March releases in children's literature embrace the wonders of our outdoor environment. Nesting (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, March 3, 2020 written and illustrated by Henry Cole focuses on the annual ritual of robins becoming a pair, building a nest and how the hatched eggs grow and prosper to become part of the flock. A marvelous color palette will fully fascinate readers.
It is an early spring morning. The ground is covered with frost. From the branch of an apple tree, a robin starts to sing.
He sings a warning to other males and sings an invitation to a nearby female. Together the new duo finds materials to fashion a nest in a discovered nook. Completed it provides a place with purpose for the female.
She lays one, two, three, four eggs. They are a brilliant blue against the nest. Calmly she cares for those eggs, as the baby birds grow inside. When they finally hatch, they rely completely on their parents. They need to be fed and fed and fed some more. Their parents are busy flying to and from the nest.
This nest shelters the tiny birds from a brief storm. It harbors them when a sneaky snake wants them for food. Like fierce warriors the male and female robins chase the intruder away.
Soon feathers form on the babies and they grow, crowding each other out of the nest. As fledglings they learn to fly and find their own food. When spring turns to summer and summer turns to autumn the robins prepare for winter and their long flight south. Even as the snow falls, we know they will return in the spring to chase away males and call for a female to begin the cycle once more.
The beauty of these birds is presented in the simplicity of the language used by Henry Cole. Each moment in this life cycle is described in careful detail to replicate the scene for readers. Henry Cole also establishes a rhythm in the use of his words similar to the rhythm of robins in each season. We are very much a part of their lives. Here is a passage.
The nest is finished. It is perfect. It is just the right size and shape. The mother robin settles into it and sits quietly.
The most striking, visually arresting, aspect of the matching and open dust jacket and book case is between the three robin's eggs and the nest. If you've ever seen robin's eggs in the wild, Henry Cole has depicted this in stunning reality. The title text on the jacket is done in copper foil.
To the left, on the back, on a cream background, three baby robins, now with feathers, are struggling to find a spot in the nest. They have outgrown their home. On the opening and closing endpapers is a canvas of brilliant robin's egg blue.
The title page is a vast display of the bare branches of a single tree reaching out from left to right on a double-page picture. The male robin is flying toward it from the lower, right-hand corner. All the images by Henry Cole are rendered in
Micron pens and acrylic paints.
For the most part they appear in black and white. The illustration sizes range from double-page pictures to single-page visuals framed in fine lines, to groupings of smaller images on a single page, a series of vertical panels on two pages or clusters of rectangles on two pages and full-page pictures, edge to edge. For the slightest bit of shading, the robin's egg blue is sometimes used as spot color. The most impressive use of this blue is in the eggs. The delicate lines used by this artist and his details are nearly photographic.
One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans nearly two pages. It's as if we are looking from the bottom of a tree up to the bird's nest in the nook where is rests. Leaves swirl in the wind as lightning cuts a jagged edge through the sky. The nest is firmly in place with the female robin faithfully sitting on the babies to protect them. This is in black and white. A column is created on the left by the expanse of the image from left to right crossing the gutter.
As an introduction to spring as a season of rebirth, a study of birds or robins in particular, Nesting written and illustrated by Henry Cole is excellent. One page at the end is devoted to five more facts about robins in an Author's Note. I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.
To learn more about Henry Cole and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website. Henry Cole has an account on Facebook.
There is no doubt about the value of bees as essential elements in world ecology. Due to their drastic reduction in population, more people have entered the field as keepers of bees. Kaia and the Bees (Candlewick Press, March 10, 2020) written by Maribeth Boelts with illustrations by Angela Dominguez explores life with a young girl whose father is a beekeeper.
I'm the brave type. Like hottest-hot-pepper brave. And furry-spider-in-the-basement brave.
Despite her bold claims, Kaia was not brave around bees. Being stung once was enough to instill fear in her. And to make matters worse, her dad, a beekeeper, had thousands of bees in hives on the roof of their building.
Her father, knowledgeable about bees, explained to her their value but she never went with him to the hives. Did she tell her friends about her fear? She did not. They thought she was an expert like her dad until one day her dread was revealed.
Her friends' reaction to her fear made Kaia mad and determined to face her foe. She donned protective gear and followed her dad, also in a suit, hood and gloves, to the roof. As her father explained the bees and hives to Kaia her bravery increased. Then she made the mistake of removing her glove. Kaia was stung again! She did not go back to the roof.
Soon it was time to get the honey from the hives. Kaia, her mother and father worked all day in their kitchen, filling jars with honey. A quiet conversation with her father, another insect incident and final understanding completes this story of bees and courage, and a parent and their child.
Written with the experience of being a keeper of bees, Maribeth Boeltsuses a blend of first person narrative and dialogue to convey Kaia's story. Each of the characters are realistic in their demeanor so as to connect with readers. Maribeth Boelts' ability to weave information into the story of Kaia and her fear of bees is outstanding. Here is a passage.
The honey flows, and I want to draw a picture. But no crayon is that golden, and you can't draw the smell of warm, sweet honey filling our apartment.
Kaia's face, deftly portrayed, front and center on the right of the open and matching dust jacket and book case, asks a question of readers. We want to know why Kaia appears to fear the bees. We want to know why Kaia is near bees. The use of purple and golden yellow, complementary colors, is a pleasing design choice.
To the left, on the back, on a purple canvas, Kaia is standing to the left of her father as he lifts a frame of bees from the hive. Both are wearing beekeeping apparel. In the upper, left-hand corner is a large portion of honeycomb with two bees working on it.
The opening and closing endpapers are an enlarged honeycomb in rich golden-yellow shades with three bees hard at work. These three are placed in the corners. One is coming in from the bottom of the page.
colored pencil on illustration board, with color added digitally
are as bright and bold as Kaia. The full-color images on a crisp white background invite readers into the story. A variety of perspectives and image sizes supplies readers with a captivating and pleasing visual glimpse into facing a fear.
One of my many favorite illustrations is a full-page picture, edge to edge. On a very pale blue background we are close to Kaia. With her gloved hands on either side of her face she is facing forward, gazing at a bee drinking water. You can see she is becoming more relaxed around the bees. She is excited to see the bee in its own setting.
Kaia and the Bees written by Maribeth Boelts with illustrations by Angela Dominguez is a book to be enjoyed for numerous reasons. It's a story of bravery. It's a story of beekeeping. It's a story of how to care for those who can't care for themselves. I highly recommend this book for both your personal and professional collections.
To learn more about Maribeth Boelts and Angela Dominguez and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites. Maribeth Boelts has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. Angela Dominguez has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. At the publisher's website and Penguin Random House you can view interior images. At the publisher's website is an Author's Note you can download and print. Maribeth Boelts is the guest blogger for March 2020 at The TeachingBooks Blog. Illustrator Angela Dominguez talks to us about this book in a video.
As children, if we are fortunate, there will be someone young or old who will ignite a spark within us for the natural world. They will teach us to notice and value every aspect of the landscape around us. We will learn everything large and small, seen and unseen, has a place. The Keeper of Wild Words (Chronicle Books, March 10, 2020) written by Brooke Smith with illustrations by Madeline Kloepper presents an affectionate relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter. This relationship blooms into an appreciation for and preservation of words and what they represent.
At the end of a long cinder lane, surrounded by meadows and pine trees and sky that wrapped around and back again, Brook ran up to her grandmother's door, swung it open, and she belonged.
On this day she had a request for her grandmother. Brook needed something for the first day of school, something special for show-and-tell. Her grandmother had a request of her, too. Her grandmother, Mimi, was an author. Mimi had a list of words, words that were disappearing because they were not being used. She asked Brook to protect these words by being The Keeper of Wild Words.
Mimi showed the list of words to Brook asking her to take a walk, from light until dark to discover the words. As soon as they began, the first word, WREN, uttered a melody to capture their attention. Flowers sprang from the ground, fruit grew on prickly vines and seeds from large trees were at her feet.
At a nearby pond tiny MINNOWS and a BEAVER swam. Herbs around the pond offered a sharp, savory treat as a water bird took flight. Bright-patterned insects and a bounty of wildflowers fluttered and blanketed her path.
A rare sight of STARLINGS flew in unison where Mimi and Brook rested. From the meadow into the forest, they walked. Quietly they moved to cherish the flora and fauna, not disturbing either. A final sighting, a final word, not only brought the day full circle but gave Brook a loving look at the origin of her name. That evening a grandmother and her granddaughter paused, remembered and celebrated wild words.
Like the world seen in this book, the words written by Brooke Smith are connected in a constant and enchanting chain. Each one serves as a priceless piece in a larger whole. Each time a word is disclosed, the scene is described with poetic joy. There is a blend of narrative and dialogue making the shared day and evening personal, intimate. Here is a passage.
POPPIES in the corner of the yard suddenly popped open! Paper petals reaching to the sun.
When you open the dust jacket the foreground of the flowers, close to the reader, extends over the spine to the far-left flap (and on the right). The area on the other side of the path where Brook and Mimi walk also extends over the spine to the flap edges. Portions of the dandelion floating in the air on the right, float on the left, too. A tiny butterfly glides on the far left. By the body language and facial expressions on Brook and Mimi we are aware of their close relationship. The title text is varnished.
On the book case is a pattern of flowers, ferns, leaves, birds, feathers, animal prints, seeds, and a nest. They are tiny. They look as if they have been gathered by a naturalist for safekeeping.
On the opening endpapers Brook, wearing her bicycle helmet, rides past a group of flowers, ferns and shrubs to her grandmother's house. The verso and title pages are a continuation of this floral design. A wren is placed on the left. On the right, the text is written on a piece of notebook paper tucked into the grass.
mixed media and Photoshop
spans two pages, except for two single-page pictures. At times we are shown a larger, nearly panoramic view and then brought close to the characters in a natural setting for emphasis. The colors and lines are soft. The details are delicate. Even inside Mimi's home we are a part of nature.
One of my many favorite illustrations is when the twosome is first beginning their walk. On the left, Mimi and Brook have stopped among bunches of violets. In a closer perspective dozens and dozens of red poppies nod from the right across the gutter to the left. In the center of this setting a full sun, rays extended, shines.
Not only is The Keeper of Wild Words written by Brooke Smith with illustrations by Madeline Kloepper a tribute to words and our natural world, it is a daily adventure between two like souls. At the close of the book is a two-page Author's Note. This is followed by an envelope adhered to the binding in which to store your own wild words. The closing endpapers feature a notebook paper on the left and items of nature on the right. This book is a wonderful choice for your personal and professional collections. It inspires us to write down and seek our own wild words.
To learn more about Madeline Kloepper, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website. Madeline Kloepper has an account on Instagram. At the publisher's website you can view interior images. At this link you can listen to a portion of the audiobook on SoundCloud. Courtesy of this video by Let's Talk Picture Books you can view the book case.
With millions and millions of people around the world currently confined to their homes under a quarantine or because of isolation, the appeal of the outdoor world and being a part of it has more allure than ever. Why is it we don't fully appreciate the value of something until it's no longer readily available? During this time some will be able to go solo in parks or designated walkways or neighborhoods, some will dream of days when nature will envelope them again, others will recall countless adventures in the outdoors, and many can travel within the pages of a book. HIKE (Candlewick Press, March 17, 2020) conceived and illustrated by Pete Oswald is a nearly wordless trek into the best nature has to offer.
We start as the sun starts to rise on a neighborhood in the suburbs. A dad, still clad in his pajamas and holding a cup of coffee, gently wakes his child up. Slow to wake, the child suddenly jumps from bed remembering what this day will bring. The child and their father, dress and pack, and drive from their home, through the city and into the country.
The road takes them higher and higher until they reach a trail head. Putting on their backpacks, they head up the path into the forest and into the mountains. They observe birds and wildlife as they are observed in kind. Pictures are taken, sketches are made and each turn on the trail reveals new fun like a thrown snowball and challenges like crossing a log over a swift river.
After resting and snacking, they continue to climb. Now wearing helmets, they scale rocks to top a ledge with a spectacular view. Later, on more level ground, readers will be intrigued to see them pause. An item is removed from the child's backpack. A picture as proof is taken.
As shadows lengthen and the sun starts to dip from the sky, the duo reaches their car. A celebration of their accomplishments is enjoyed before the drive home begins. The car moves down the mountain, into the city, the suburbs and into their driveway. Nighttime rituals fill this home with warmth as one final deed of the day chronicles their HIKE.
Pete Oswald has conceived a story of companionship and exploration with memorable achievements in a single day. He offers, through this book, a means for others to partake in comparable activities. He shows us how to treat each other and our world with respect and love.
On the matching and open dust jacket and book case, readers gaze in complete admiration at the design of the title with the father and child climbing up the letters. Small moments in their day are depicted in each letter. By placing these elements on white our focus is directed at the characters and the title.
To the left, on the back, is a majestic forested mountain scene. Bald eagles float in a sky wispy with clouds. The text here reads:
A father and child head out on a hike, keeping a cherished family tradition alive.
On the opening and closing endpapers in shades of brown is a map of the trip from their home to a star shown in the mountains. From the opening endpapers a page turn shows the parent and child, dressed and carrying their backpacks, standing side by side with their walking sticks in hand. The title page, a two-page picture is a bird's eye view of their home with the cityscape and mountains in the background as the sun rises.
Pete Oswald rendered these pictures digitally with the few words, sounds, lettered by hand. Images are single page, double page, and groups of smaller illustrations to indicate the passage of moments. Sometimes with a minimum of details a great deal of emotion is conveyed as when we are only shown one hand reaching for another hand after a frightening deed. Like real life, these glimpses are powerful and meaningful. We are aware continually of the mood of the child and father through their expressive faces. In each scene Pete Oswald has captured the rich and rare experience of being a part of nature. His images are sensory in every aspect.
One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture. It is a bird's eye perspective of the father and child walking on the path in the forest. Tall trees and grass stretch from either side of the path. Flowers, like stars, are sprinkled throughout the setting. In the upper left-hand portion of the visual a fox slowly moves. On the other side of the path, on the left, a female bird perches on a nest with three eggs high in a treetop. On the right, near the gutter, the male bird brings another twig to the nest. The duo walks toward the upper, right-hand corner of the page. You know they walk in silence except for the sounds of the forest.
This book, HIKE conceived and illustrated by Pete Oswald, is a glorious day spent with nature. To hike in the woods in the mountains is a unique undertaking but to do so with someone you love, it's extraordinary. This is cleverly and creatively presented by Pete Oswald. I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal bookshelves.
Quiet covers the out-of-doors like a blanket on most winter mornings. Some days this silence is broken by the call of chickadees or stiff breezes blowing among the evergreens. Rabbit paths in and out of shelter and chewed shrubbery are a sure sign of their survival. During storms high winds sculpt snow into wavy drifts. As it passes and clouds leave, rings of light surround the moon.
On those days when the sun shines, black shadows paint patterns of bare tree trunks and branches on the cold, white canvas. When we notice these elements, in any season, we also realize the magnitude of the network of life of which we are a part. The Whole Wide World and Me (Candlewick Press, February 19, 2019) written and illustrated by Toni Yuly follows a small girl who realizes her various connections to our natural world.
Like a flower . . .
This flower is not alone. It is growing in a field. Nearby a fish swims in a pond. Above the field and the pond, a single cloud floats in a clear blue sky.
Noticing the flower in the field, the fish in the pond and the cloud in the sky is the curious child. She grows, breathes and moves as they do. As she wanders through the grass to the edge of the water and looks up from a tree branch, she feels a part of her surroundings.
At the seashore a wave washes along the sand. The girl uses her feet to make her own waves. Wherever she goes she replicates the actions of those things she sees.
The world is large. She is little. They are a team.
Six sentences worded perfectly for the intended audience by Toni Yulyallow readers to shadow the explorations of a single child. We feel close to her through her first-person point of view. A gentle rhythm is supplied with rhyming words and alliteration. By using the title as the closing sentence, we are brought full circle.
Vibrant, bold colors on the matching dust jacket and book case immediately draw readers' attention. The green, yellow, red, purple and black on the front coupled with the tiny details of the ladybug and butterfly invite us to join the little girl in the field of flowers. To the left, on the back, four layers of purple form a large frame around a square image of the child splashing in the sea.
The opening and closing endpapers are a pale robin's egg blue. There is an initial title page with blades of grass along the bottom. The ladybug rests on one of the blades. On the formal title page, the grass continues. A blue jay on the left is turned toward the title on the right. Above the bird the butterfly flutters and a delicate blue dragonfly hovers above the grass on the right.
Throughout the entire book, Toni Yuly masterfully uses white space to accentuate the items on each page. She shifts her perspective to coincide with the text. For the first three words we are very close to the single yellow flower. In the field with a larger point-of-view there is more grass and insects. All we see of the girl is her green boots and a part of the bottom of her skirt. For the third set of three words, she moves us close to the object again.
Rendered in
ink, charcoal pencil, torn tissue, cut paper, and digital collage
the illustrations spanning double pages are like individual visuals lining the walls of a gallery. Each one is perfect alone but ties to the one before it and after it presenting a pleasing flow. They radiate the delight of discovery.
One of my many favorite illustrations is of the child sitting on a tree branch. The trunk of the tree rises on the left side with a tiny "v" at the top. One of two blue jays is perched there. The girl's back is to us as she watches the cloud. On the back of her purple top is a lavender daisy. At the end of the branch on the far right another blue jay is resting. The butterfly is moving on the right side under the branch. This is an ode to all the girls and guys who've climbed a tree and watched clouds pass by in the brilliant blue sky.
Our natural world is a beautiful place. The earlier and more often we feel a part of it, the more we will protect and preserve it. This is the value of The Whole Wide World and Me written and illustrated by Toni Yuly. You can sense happiness with every page turn. I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.
To learn more about Toni Yuly and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website. Toni Yuly has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. At Candlewick Press and at Penguin Random House, you can view interior images. There is an older but wonderful interview at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast with Toni Yuly. Enjoy the video where Toni Yuly talks about her creative process.
Winter is in full force with a series of less-than-desirable weather scenarios playing out across the country for this evening and weekend. Extreme temperatures, snow and rainfall, and high winds figure in the mix. This is, whether you embrace this season or not, an ideal time to dream of a balmy setting.
If we could spend a single day, now, in pure sunny summer perfection, what would we do? Run Wild (Viking, Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, June 5, 2018) written and illustrated by David Covell gives us one such day. It's a joyous exploration of making the most of every minute.
Hey, You. Sky's blue! (forget your shoes) OPEN that door and . . .
This introduction is an invitation to drop everything inside and leave to enjoy the outside. A girl runs past her friend's window and his split-second decision has him sprinting to join her. Running in bare feet, they feel the field's grasses and wildflowers on their soles and in their souls.
A rabbit runs away from them. Mud puddles are wet trampolines. Creepy crawlies are new best friends. A path through the woods leads to blazing sand and crystal cool sea water.
A plunge into the shoreline depths is a welcome respite. Floating on one's back allows for speculation and imagination to thrive. In mere minutes the blue changes to black, mirroring life. Running from a storm is challenging, but the hand of a friend says get up and go.
As a golden globe dips below the horizon, two pals pursue the last of the day's offering. Now a full moon guides them home. We are one with the wild.
Your pulse quickens as you read the phrases penned by David Covell. With each new narrative shout, declaration and question, you are a willing member of the playful party. Each single word description sizzles with life in our natural world. Repetition of run and wild create a singular beat with the other rhyming words. Here are some phrases.
Run. Run. Wild. Wild. All day long, the sun's gonna smile.
Take a deep breath. 1-2-3! Be a fish in the salty sea.
Looking at the matching open dust jacket and book case, readers are shown two different perspectives. On the front the bare feet among flowers, grass and ferns, is a pointed pause. This design with the bird in flight and the ladybug perched on two toes is wonderful. The brush-stroke lettering promises wonder within the pages of this title.
To the left on the back, the canvas continues. In-between the text, the girl, a rabbit and the boy run. The words read:
Chase the wind. Can you grab it? Go ahead . . . Race a rabbit!
On the opening and closing endpapers readers are given views of the forest, first in the morning and at last during the evening. In the gaps of the trees are leaves and leafy tops and a girl and a boy running . . . wild.
On the verso and title pages to the left the girl runs toward her friend's house on the right. A page turn shows the inside of the home in grays and black with the boy holding a hand-held device. His pal races past. The remainder of the pages are a colorful tribute in loose lines, fluid paint washes and varying points of view to the supreme happiness to be found in a field, forest and sea. We see feet, legs and a lower body in motion as the girl partner races ahead. Close to us a rabbit scampers off to avoid the dashing duo.
There is a mix of double-page pictures and full-page images to pair with the pacing. White space is used with excellence to frame visuals of varying sizes. It also accentuates emotion.
One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages. A swirly wash of water covers about a fourth of the bottom. On the left and the right one foot lifts from the sea. Blue outlines of clouds float above and past the feet on a light, creamy sky. A brightly-hued butterfly is nearly alight on the right foot. This is a scene in which many can identify; floating on one's back in the water as the gentle waves lap around you.
If you missed this 2018 treasure, then don't waste another second without reading it. Run Wild written and illustrated with a combination of intention and abandon by David Covell is one of The 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books. It is an exuberant ode to a season and our natural world. It will enhance your personal and professional collections.
To learn more about David Covell and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website. David also has another site drawing attention to his books. David maintains accounts on Facebook and Instagram. David's work is featured at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, the site of author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson. You will want to go there to see the progression and final art for this book. At the publisher's website you can also view interior images.
This year in the northern hemisphere on September 22 summer will come to a close. The daylight hours are already shortening but during those minutes the world around us is bursting with color in every hue imaginable. The blend of shadow and the height of the sun give us breathtaking beauty.
We wake to filtered sunrise rays peeking through trees, bushes and flowers giving them a golden glow. Cloud cover alters every instance. Wind works a special wonder. Summer Color! (Little, Brown And Company, May 15, 2018) written by Diana Murray with illustrations by Zoe Persico takes us on a tour of a summer day shared by siblings and their family.
The hot summer sun lights the sky like a torch as folks fan themselves on the shady back porch.
With this opening sentence we see the first hue of the day---yellow. It shines on the sunflowers. As parents and cousins join the duo ice cold sweet treats on a stick are shared. Their vibrancy shines with a primary color.
Brother and sister run fast past familiar places until they realize the day has darkened. Clouds swell turning a stormy gray. All the animals in the field hurry toward the safety of the green woods. As the rain falls everything starts to shimmer. Brights are brighter.
The companions traverse farther into the forest, seeking a cool sheet of white water tumbling to a pond. Making their way home past the lake with people seeking shelter beneath blankets of purple and past meadow mice tucked in their cozy abode, they run to their door.
Soaked through and through, they cuddle under the warmth of orange towels noticing the color of the fence and shed in their backyard. As suddenly as it arrived, the disturbance disappears. The leftover droplets cast a silvery sheen. The children run outside looking at the clear blue of the sky only to find an arching surprise.
Listening and reading children alike will find themselves caught in the cadence of the words written by Diana Murray. Twelve vivid hues are spotlighted in rhyming couplets (and other poetic techniques such as alliteration), each focusing on an action; everything and everyone is in motion. Diana Murray's descriptions of place and time entice us to recall similar experiences or to create new adventures in the near future. Here are two couplets.
Splashing and splattering, streak after streak, the rain soaks the earth and sweeps over the creek, where frogs start to croak and the water snakes slink, and wildflowers glisten with petals so pink.
Using an F & G (looking forward to having my own copy of the book), the dust jacket unfolds to display a green hill topped with the children's home, a field of flowers spreads from flap edge to flap edge. The blue summer sky holds places for fluffy white clouds, the warm yellow sun and a cardinal gliding on the breeze in the far left upper corner. On the opening and closing endpapers a fun-filled meadow scene is shown. (In the back these endpapers also display the dedication and publication information.)
A fox calmly watches eleven white mice and nine blue-green frogs frolic on and off the pages. Eight snails slide across the right corner. A variety of flowers and mushrooms grow in clusters. Two of those snails move across a meadow with brown farm fencing on the two-page picture for the title page. In each corner we are given a close-up view of flowers.
Rendered by Zoe Persico using traditional-art-inspired digital brushes and media the illustrations radiate from every page, blissfully conveying the magic of a summer day. Each two-page picture feels as though it's in motion, frozen only for a moment until we can jump in and join the characters. The facial features on the humans are those of contentment and happiness. Even in the animals there is a sense of harmony.
One of my many favorite illustrations is a close-up of the children running from stone to stone across the creek as the rain begins in earnest. They are moving from left to right on the left side. All we can see are their sneakers, legs, a pair of shorts, a skirt and the bottom portion of their shirts. The girl's hands and arms move in motion with her legs. Pink land and water flowers dot the image. A snake glides toward the left side of the page. A brilliant green frog watches from a rock on the right. We can see the rain drops streaking downward.
You'll want to use this title, Summer Color! written by Diana Murray with illustrations by Zoe Persico, for your seasonal story times as a charming introduction to all that can be seen in a single summer day. It can also be used with a unit on weather and for any theme involving the concept of color. Children (and children at heart) will be attracted to the gentle but energetic beat of the words and the spirited illustrations. It would be wonderful to have this title on your professional and personal bookshelves.
To learn more about Diana Murray and Zoe Persico and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites. Both Diana and Zoe are on Twitter. Diana has an account on Pinterest. Zoe has Tumblr pages and an Instagram account. Both of them are interviewed by writer and illustrator Jena Benton about this book on her blog. Enjoy the trailer.
