Listen For Their Music

They appear when you least expect them.  There is the long-ago memory of holding a bouquet of fresh-cut zinnias while standing in my garden.  One landed on a flower to sip the nectar.  I stood, holding my breath.  There is the most recent recollection of digging up a new garden in the first few days of hot summer sun. Wearing a hat with netting to protect myself from the hordes of black flies, a sudden humming near my face had me freezing.  A hummingbird was there before my eyes.  Was I like some giant flower?  Was it coming to say hello? Or perhaps, and thankfully, it was coming to consume some of those flies.

In northern Michigan they are only here during our short summer months, but their tiny presence is a reminder of how resilient even the smallest beings are.  Hummingbird (Candlewick Press, May 7, 2019) written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Jane Ray is a narrative piece of nonfiction.  It's a blend of the annual migration of hummingbirds and how they encounter humans during their trek.  It's a tribute to one of nature's jewels.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are tiny---they weigh less than a nickel---but every spring they fly up to 2000 miles from Mexico and Central America to spend the summer in the United States and Canada, where they build their nests and have their babies.

Let this bit of information sink into your mind.  Think about it the next time you have change in your hand.  That nickel you hold is more than the weight of a hummingbird.  Wow!

A grandmother and her granddaughter wait in a garden for their arrival.  Holding bowls of sugar water, the duo, hardly daring to breathe, watch as the hummingbirds hum to take sips.

Tz' unun! Tz'unun! 

The elder remarks to the child the birds will soon leave to go north, just like her granddaughter. 

A lone sailor at sea watches a plane pass as a hummingbird rests in the ship's rigging for the night.  These birds will lose a great deal of weight during their flight.  Farther along the route siblings wait for the visitors.  In addition to the feeders of sugar water, they have a bug dispenser to provide protein for the hummingbirds.

It takes hummingbirds until May to arrive in southern Canada.  Individuals and families watch them claim their share of nectar and sugar water placed by humans.  Their nests are as tiny as they are.  If you crack open a walnut, half the shell is the size of a hummingbird nest.

Do you remember the little girl with her grandmother?  One day in a park in New York City, she realizes the truth of something Granny told her.  Later, as the chill of autumn comes, so does a letter, a package and an annual guest.


In her writing Nicola Davies provides information which heightens our interest and need to preserve these precious birds and their habitats.  By including several stories of human interactions, she makes life on this planet an act of togetherness.  We humans are enriched by the existence and appearance of hummingbirds.  Here is passage with the accompanying fact.

Hummingbirds must fly south.  The trip is long and hard for such small bodies, and many of them won't reach their destination.

Roads, houses, and cities built by humans
mean that there are now fewer places for
hummingbirds to refuel on their trip.


Stunning illustrations rendered in watercolor and watercolor pencil with gold ink

begin on the matching dust jacket and book case.  Realistic, delicate and intricate elements bring readers closely into the realm of the ruby-throated hummingbird.  The male feeding and the female sitting on their nest gives us a unique perspective of the continuation of these birds' marvelous life cycles.  The breathtaking color of the flora and the birds is elevated by the cream canvas.

To the left of the spine in golden yellow, on the back, the floral scene continues.  It frames text inviting readers to follow a remarkable yearly journey.  On the opening and closing endpapers illustrator Jane Ray has placed a variety of hummingbirds among greenery and flowers.  Some are resting and others are in flight.  These elements appear varnished against the background.  This follows the text---

Their feathers flash in the slants of light.

(This technique is used throughout the book.)

An informative and beautiful map, prior to the title and verso pages highlights the residences of the ruby-throated hummingbird in the summer and winter.  A single setting stretches over two pages for the verso and title.  A tree, leafy branches and flowers border the text.  In the lower right-hand corner blossoms welcome a male hummingbird with their scent and nectar.

Each page turn reveals a double-page picture or several full-page pictures and even smaller images to accentuate the text and pacing.  Each visual is full of lush and luminous items contributing to elegant views of these birds and the humans along their path.  At times in a single illustration Jane Ray alters her perspective giving us a larger point of view on one side before bringing us close on the opposite page.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It is a close-up view of Granny's garden.  Spread along the sides, top and bottom are a glorious array of flowers, and leaves.  Rays of pale, golden sunlight radiate in the center of the two pages.  Hummingbirds on both pages seek the flowers.  Along the bottom of the right side, the granddaughter's hand provides a resting place of a male hummingbird.  To her right, Granny holds a bowl of sugar water.  Several hummingbirds are gathered there.


Through carefully chosen words and striking artwork readers are transported into the world of hummingbirds on their travels each year and how they survive.  The humans, as shown here, welcome them and assist them . . . as we should.  Hummingbird written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Jane Ray is a title you will want in your personal and professional collections.  It, like its subject, is a gem.

To learn more about Nicola Davies and Jane Ray and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  At Penguin Random House and Candlewick Press, you can view interior images.  Nicola Davies has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Jane Ray has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. I hope you enjoy the video of Jane Ray speaking about her work.

 





Please take a few moments to view the titles selected this week by other participants in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by educator Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy.

Still Counting . . .

You go outside as often as possible walking through woods, fields and along lakeshores.  Some of the trails you take are man-made, others are worn by use and there are those you design.  There are moments during these explorations when you stop.  You listen.  You look.  You smell. 

In these moments you understand you are embraced by a multitude of flora and fauna.  It's a humbling, exhilarating and comforting feeling.  It's an invitation to be a valued and trusted member of this vast community on our Blue Planet.  LOTS: The Diversity of Life on Earth (Walker Books, April 2017 UK, Candlewick Press, November 2017 US) written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Emily Sutton is a tribute to the abundance we have and a call to action to preserve and protect it. 

How many different kinds of living things are there on our planet?

One, 
two,
three,
LOTS!

There are big animals like elephants (two kinds) and huge plants like oak trees (more than 600 kinds).  There are living things so tiny; they can't be seen with the naked eye.  It's astounding to know there might be 5,000 kinds of microbes in a single teaspoon of dirt.

Everywhere we venture or take a peek, whether it's dry or wet, embedded or on top of creatures or within a spot above the temperature of boiling life finds a way to thrive.  It may be challenging to find but people pursue the need to know.  Their discoveries help us to understand the complexity within a single fish or the difference found in two butterflies which look alike but are not the same.

There are lots and lots and lots of plants and animals.  There are so many we may never find all of them.  BUT

So far; human beings have
found and counted almost
two million different kinds
of living things.  

We have to keep learning all we can.  We are all continuously connected.  There is a problem, though.  It's a huge problem.  Humans are continuously damaging the connection.  There are signs of this wherever you are.  Every time something becomes extinct we all are the losers.  We want the numbers to climb higher every single time we count.  Let us never move in reverse.

With the books Nicola Davies pens the living world which envelopes us is brought into our presence.  In this title her language for even the youngest of readers is conversational but intentional.  She takes a vast subject, making it clearer and more meaningful.  Captions with the illustrations disclose further factual wonders.

All the creatures on this page have
been found in the last 50 years.


The detailed portrait of a place teeming with plants and animals on the front of the book case crosses the spine extending to the edge of the left of the back.  The girl seated with her clipboard and pencil is counting each valuable piece in this essential puzzle called life.  This scene, frozen in time, demonstrates the diversity shared within the book.  The opening for the title text is replicated on the back offering a short blurb about the title's contents.

On the opening and closing endpapers, in cream and teal, are etchings of all kinds of animals and plants from many of the classifications.  Another setting, a desert setting, spans the title page and verso page to the left.  The text is skillfully placed within the image without detracted from its splendor.  The girl, dressed in appropriate clothing for the desert, is walking from left to right.

The size of each illustration Emily Sutton creates is dictated by the text.  After the initial phrase and words, each visual depicts the myriad of plant and animal life in each portion of our world being discussed.  For many of them she gives us a panoramic view but for others she takes us close to the subject.  In the case of feather mites she shows us a parrot but next to the bird a close-up view of a single feather gives us a glimpse of the mites on this feather. 

The exquisite elements Emily Sutton includes will have you easily pausing for an hour or more on a single page or image.  You will be wondering about the name for each plant and animal.  You will be curious about where they are found. 

One of my many favorite illustrations accompanies the words

or the bottom of the coldest seas.

Along the top of the page are clouds in various shades of blue-green and an icy landscape.  Five penguins dive into the water in front of the girl.  She is wearing a suit and scuba gear.  In the beam of her flashlight the life along the bottom is more brilliant.  To the left and right of the beam, the floor is covered in plant and animal life.


Now more than ever it is critical to educate ourselves and the present and upcoming generations about the importance of Earth.  LOTS:  The Diversity of Life on Earth written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Emily Sutton is a stunning representation of the life all around us.  We have a responsibility to give the planet our care.  It should be an honor to do so.  Every life depends upon this choice.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.  I can see more research following the reading of this book.  In the United States this book is titled Many:  The Diversity of Life on Earth.  It was released in November of this year by Candlewick Press.  My favorite illustration can be seen at their website.

To learn more about Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton and their other work, please visit their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  Emily Sutton maintains an account on Instagram.  Emily Sutton's work is featured on Jama Rattigan's Jama's Alphabet Soup.


You will want to stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other selections chosen by bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Seen And Unseen, Earth's Residents

There can never be enough.  There can never be too much.  The more knowledge and understanding we have about how the natural world works, the better able we are to preserve and protect its riches and value to all life.  The task of caring for our planet and its inhabitants is a continuous challenge.  Sometimes it seems as if we move forward a single step, then back two.

Even a small piece of information can promote admiration or awe.  In a companion title to Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature author and zoologist Nicola Davies has penned a collection of poems which both inform and inspire.  A First Book of Animals (Walker Books, October 6, 2016) with illustrations by Petr Horacek takes us to every corner of the world; we journey beneath the waters, across the land and soar in the air.

Divided into five sections, Big And Small, Colours And Shapes, Animal Homes, Animal Babies and Animals In Action, these fifty poems create a living landscape.  At the close of each of the five portions, two pages are devoted to discussions about animal categories, animal camouflage and warnings, parasites, eggs and animals that use tools.  It's a portable enchanting exhibition.

BIG AND SMALL
Blue Whale
Words can't describe a blue whale's size.
Big and huge and large don't work.
Even enormous, vast, gigantic aren't enough.
But when you hear a blue whale's blow---
a deep per-wuffing sound that makes you think
of caverns, caves and concert halls---
and see its breath punch upwards
like a house-high exclamation mark,
you know that it's the biggest creature
there has ever been.

Close your eyes.  Now think of a bird so large and another bird so small that it can fit inside the large bird's eye and you will have identified the ostrich and a particular hummingbird.  Elephants living in Asia and elephants living in Africa have an identical physical trait with one notable difference.  Who knew?  Have you ever wondered how ants can find food so easily? When it is discovered a scent trail is left for others to follow.

When you think of flamingos you think pink.  Why pink?  One hump or two humps, depending on the camel, help them survive.  The clever bird who weaves a nest is waiting for a companion.  It hangs from a branch with an opening at the bottom.  Certainly their shells offer safety but they also keep them wet not dry.  This is the life of a snail.

Anemones which look like colorful stems sting some but are a haven for clownfish.  Animal relationships are a puzzle but also a wonder.  Some mothers lay their eggs and leave, never to return.  Other mothers give birth and cuddle their young.  Would you rather be a sea turtle or a gorilla?  Name two animals with fathers that tend the eggs.  Here are some clues.  One is under the sea and the other is in the coldest place on the planet.  One does not neigh and the other does not fly no matter how hard its flippers are flapped.

A slow moving sloth turns green as tiny plants hook to its fur.  Bees may not know how to communicate with us but they do speak with steps and wiggles to convey distance and direction to their hive mates.  There is so much to learn.  There is so much to know.  This is what we need to do to help our animal friends live and grow.


A variety of poetic styles and use of language depict beauty, even if deadly, in the animal world in this collection. Nicola Davies weaves truth into her free verse, rhymes and alliteration like a master artisan creating an elegant tapestry.  She gives a voice to each animal by connecting us to them with her words.  We zip but do not buzz with the bumblebee bat.  We stalk with the deadly komodo dragon that does not need flames to fashion fear.  We turn streams into a lake with the engineering skills of beavers.  Here is another poem.

The Swiftest Sailfish
Fast and fierce:
Fin flouncing, flashing, flexing;
Sword swishing, stabbing, slashing,
Small fry flinch and die
As the sailfish feeds, swift and furious.


The panda seen on the front of the dust jacket is quiet and contemplative in a setting pleasing to them; among the bamboo in a forest.  The brush strokes, lighting and shading and choice of color create a textured, realistic quality.  To the left, on the back, a canvas is supplied in shades of blue and green.  It appears to be a pattern of beetles. In the center, a loosely-formed circle frames a Monarch butterfly on a pale yellow background.  The book case has the same background with two more loosely-formed elements.  The one on the front features a giraffe.  On the back is a hummingbird.

In hues of blue an interior image of Arctic terns is used for the opening and closing endpapers.  A swarm of Monarch butterflies in flight spans across two pages circling the title text.  You expect to hear the sound of wings in both these pictures.  Beneath the table of contents a scene from an African savanna stretches across two pages as elephants, giraffes and zebras walk and stand.

For each poem a lustrous painting by Petr Horacek spans two pages with the exception of eight single page pictures, the colors used as backgrounds are indicative of the animals' habitats; darkened blues, purples and greens for the bumblebee bat, hot golden yellow for the giraffes, lush shades of green for the leaf insect and chameleon, blowing snow for the polar bears and Emperor penguins and crisp, clean white to showcase particular animals and their poems.  For the five special sections they've been illustrated to look like journal entries; black, gray and two hues of cream.  The heavy, semi-gloss paper is an excellent selection for the pictures and the use this book will receive.

One of my favorite illustrations of many is of the two seahorses facing each other.  One, the male, is releasing teeny babies into the water.  Seaweed waves in the water around them. Soft swirls of greens and blues flow with the current.


A First Book of Animals written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Petr Horacek reminds us when we are curious we care.  This collaborative team raises awareness in readers of known and unknown animals.  Some of the facts are familiar, other facts will astound readers.

To learn more about Nicola Davies and Petr Horacek and their other work, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  They both maintain blogs; Nicola Davies chats about her life and work and Petr Horacek includes many posts about this title.  There is a lovely article about this title including artwork and comments by Nicola at The Guardian.  Picture Book Party, a blog maintained by Walker Books, highlights Nicola Davies and Petr Horacek in individual posts about this book.  They are absolutely wonderful conversations and Petr's is full of artwork and insights into his process.   For a pronunciation of Petr Horacek's name please go to TeachingBooks.net.  Petr Horacek is interviewed at Where The Board Books Are.  Enjoy the videos.







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

What The Eye Cannot See

The exact event escapes me but the memory of receiving a microscope as a gift remains.  Nothing was safe from my scrutiny.  All types of items were positioned on slides, set on the stage and held in place with the clips.  Seeing the most common things magnified was like looking at their essence.

Sitting in the late afternoon sun on the lawn, it's fun to imagine all the minute beings residing on a single blade of grass among thousands, crawling across the leaves or bark on a nearby maple tree and moving about the shiny brown fur of your nearby sleeping dog.  Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes (Candlewick Press) written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Emily Sutton introduces readers to the amazing life forms normally unseen by the human eye.  From this book what might have been previously viewed as mundane is lifted to marvelous; mystery is replaced with awareness.

You know about big animals,
and you know about small animals...

With a page turn readers are asked two questions?  These questions take what is known about an ant and a whale making comparisons as to the number of microbes found on the antenna of an ant.  A single sentence describes microbes as the narrative further explains their population in the millions and billions relative to a drop of water and a teaspoon of soil.

Of particular interest is microbes can live where nothing else does.  They populate on and in plants and animals including humans.  Try not to think about how many are currently on your skin, more

than there are people on Earth,

 or an even larger amount setting up housekeeping in your stomach.

Students of basic biology study the one-celled Paramecium which is humongous compared to the polio virus, one of the tiniest microbes.  Close examination reveals microbes, hungry for absolutely anything, come in an array of shapes and sizes.  They are Nature's chief change agents; rulers in the realm of recycling and reusing.  They definitely have championship status when it comes to making more microbes and doing so quickly.

For this reason, their ability to multiply rapidly, germs and those things carrying them are to be respected.  On the other hand their accomplishments are to be applauded; ever so tiny but together landscapes change.  Minuscule but miraculous.

Nicola Davies begins her nonfiction narrative by talking about two animals, differing greatly in size, in which readers will be familiar. Her goal of increasing understanding and exciting fascination is met and enhanced with her technique of comparing what is known to that which might not be known.  As readers explore the information she provides, in a truly appealing and conversational manner, their appreciation for their world will grow as swiftly as microbes split again and again.  Here is her description of microbes; simple but complete and intriguing.

They don't have eyes, 
heads, or legs,
branches, roots, or
leaves because they
aren't animals or plants.
But they are alive.
They are called
microbes,
and there are lots of them.


Rendered in watercolor, the illustrations of Emily Sutton pair beautifully with the text.  The girl, boy and cat shown on the matching dust jacket and book case guide readers on the journey of discovery throughout the book.  A matte-finished paper provides for a more tactile experience and softens the colors.  Tiny microbes in shades of blue and black pattern the opening and closing endpapers.

A hued expanse of blue picturing a deep sea spans across the two pages for the dedication and title.  The girl, boy and cat are sailing in a tiny boat bobbing between the waves.  On the next two pages an immense blue whale glides nearby, tail splashing the surface.  A branch extending over the water is a pathway for an ant.  Clearly Sutton is extending and enhancing the narrative.

With visuals varying in size, giving weight to Davies's words, Sutton's texture and detail are impeccable.  You could frame her paramecium, the children working in the vegetable and flower garden, the depiction of the starry skies surrounding Earth or the initial whale and ant scenes.  My favorite illustration is the spoon holding a teaspoon of soil coming from the top left corner of a double page spread.  The remainder of the illustration is of a multitude of people in a market place in India, buildings and palm trees in the background.  In a word, this is stunning.


Hand this title to a budding scientist, a curious reader or anyone of any age.  I guarantee they will finish in awe as I did.  Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Emily Sutton is an exceptional work of nonfiction, deserving of a place on any book shelf.

For more information about Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton please follow the links embedded in their names.  Nicola Davies has a great video at her site about her work and an outstanding blog post about the difference between fiction and nonfiction.  Emily Sutton's website was unattainable as of this writing but the first link mentioned and this interview at Bettys should give you insights about her art.  This link is to the publisher's website for this title.

It's an honor to participate each week in the 2014 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy.  Be sure to follow this links to other blogger's recommendations.

Open Your Eyes, Look At Your World

Every summer and fall my Dad would take me fishing; not so much to see what we could catch but to be out on the lake or the river enjoying the sights and sounds.  Each fall we would go bow hunting (me with a camera only), not once ever bringing anything home except knowledge learned about animals, trees and plants courtesy of my Dad.  I came away from all these adventures knowing more about the world in which I live and having some wonderful tales to tell.

Nature for all its strengths, cycles, and inpersceptible changes is fragile; needing to maintain a balance, susceptible to those who should be protecting it.  The more understanding our children have, the more appreciation for our planet will become a part of their everyday thinking.  Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature (Candlewick Press, February 14, 2012) written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Mark Hearld is a narrative and pictorial marvel for all ages.

A series of lyrical observations have been penned for each of the four seasons.  There are free verse poems, poems with words that rhyme and even a new twist on a nursery chant.  Sometimes a numbered list will appear; for chickens or dens.

Recipes follow poems, so do secrets of savings seeds and even a way to help our feathered friends weather the winter.  There is breathtaking, singular beauty captured by words within these pages; musings about water in all its forms, the flight of gulls, songs we hear in summer, ponds and tide pools, night, stars, wind and more.  Nicola Davies uses language like eyes noticing the simple, elevating it in all its majesty.

Here are some lines taken from poems in each of the seasons.

Spring

... Inside its brown coat and layers like an onion,
a tiny pulse beats,
counting out the days like a calendar,
so the bulb knows winter's almost gone...

Summer

The breeze shivers through the barley,
and the sea sighs.
Far away an owl is calling
and a star shines. ...

Autumn

Fresh from the tree
the apple sits in your hand,
cool and round,
and streaked with sunset colors.

Winter

... They look like smoke, or a curtain rippling in the breeze.
Every turn and swoop they make together--
as if their flying is a dance that they all know by heart. ...

When removing the book's dust jacket readers are greeted with a different color scheme; rather than the cool blues and greens of the jacket, the book case is in warm rusts and golds with circular visuals centered, picturing a closeup of a mouse and a frog.  Endpapers are done in a patterned, steely, blue-gray.  (Interestingly enough if you go to Nicola Davies's website linked above you will see that two covers (jackets) were made for this book; one for the United States and one for the United Kingdom.)

Mark Hearld employs mixed media to form what can only be described as stunning pictures.  He is a talented painter, lineoleum block printer and enjoys collecting items, patterned papers, to include in his works of collage. Printed on soft, heavy paper stock readers are treated to two page spreads usually highlighting a single poem.

His eye for color, composition, attention to detail and perspective is truly gifted.  These magical, mesmerizing portrayals of the everyday are a call for us to be aware, to notice the little things.  Under each season if I could frame a single visual (not that any are not worthy), I would frame the illustration for Spring, Flowers and Honey, Harvest and Deer In The Dawn.

Not just a first look at our outside world for children but a work of art, Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature written by Nicola Davies with pictures by Mark Hearld is a must read.  It is 109 pages of pure pleasure to be enjoyed at a single sitting, savored by the seasons or one poem at a time.  There are two different links to the work of Mark Hearld embedded in his names above.  Enjoy the video below of his process and art.



UPDATE:  This video was added in March 2016.