Sweet Dreams #2

For some reason, the move from daylight savings to standard time has been a struggle in 2021 (and 2022) for some individuals.  It seems the canine community, in this home and in the households of neighbors, is refusing the necessary adjustment.  Waking, walking, eating of meals, and sleeping remain on daylight savings hours.  This makes their humans' schedules a tad bit off every single day.  

This situation, coupled with my dog's acute awareness when a deer, fox, or rabbit happens to be nearby, has diminished our actual time of rest.  There is nothing like a dog's loud barking to make you sit upright out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night. . .or is there?  After reading Everybody In The Red Brick Building (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, October 12, 2021) written by Anne Wynter with illustrations by Oge Mora, it is apparent we are not alone. Uninterrupted bedtime rest is not necessarily the norm. 

Everybody in the red brick building was asleep.

The slumber of the people in the red brick building was suddenly disturbed by a loud vocal outburst by Baby Izzie.  It did not go unnoticed by Rayhan.  He was decidedly worried about his parrot. The startled bird let out a boisterous screech.

Those two unusual noises instigated a late night game by three pals during a sleepover.  (Did Natalia just shoot a rocket out her bedroom window?)  In short order, a cat made a mad dash from her sleeping space to the top of a car.  This action triggered the car's alarm.

Parental responses were swift.  The participants in these nighttime romps began to settle to a new set of sounds.  A street sweeper and falling acorns combined to begin a symphony.

A breeze created another melody.  A dozing feathered friend added harmony.  Like the very best of stories, this one circled back to the beginning.  

Author Anne Wynter writes with the sure knowledge of a storyteller.  Each time a new character is introduced, a clamorous noise is associated with them.  This noise is repeated with the additional commotions, adding layers and building toward the loudest sound, the car alarm in the street.  This technique is employed again as we circle back to the beginning.  Readers cannot help but participate in this late night awakening and lullaby.  Here is a passage.

Woken up by a WaaaAAH!,

a Rrack! Wake Up!,

and a Pitter patter STOMP!,

Natalia dropped from her bunk to

launch her brand-new light-up rocket.

As soon as you look at the matching dust jacket and book case, you wish you lived in the red brick building.  The entire image spans from flap edge to flap edge on the jacket and edge to edge on the case. The characters in the windows on the front, right, of the jacket and case are lively.  The hint of nighttime sky we view on the front extends across the back, left, in brush strokes of shades of blue.  Beneath this expanse, colorful homes line the bottom, windows dark.  The text on the front of the jacket is varnished.

A pale turquoise covers the opening and closing endpapers.  The night sky is the background for the title, publication information, and dedication pages.  In this night sky, stars leave white-line trails behind them.

Artist Oge Mora 

used acrylic paint, gouache, china markers, patterned paper pastels, and old book clippings to create the collage illustrations for this book.

The selected colors reflect the more subdued lighting of nighttime, yet they are still a vibrant blend of hues. Each double-page picture calls out to the reader, asking them to stop and notice the detailed depictions.

The facial expressions on the characters convey each mood superbly.  We see upset, worry, glee, triumph, and fright before calm settles over each individual.  Closed eyes and whispered conversations signal calm.  For most of the images, we are close to the actions of the characters.  Sometimes a group of smaller insets are on a double page spread to indict the quick passage of time and shift in events.

One of my many favorite illustrations shows readers four windows in the red brick building.  The first four windows, on the left, give us a peek inside the homes where the parents have intervened.  This is a huge shift in the progression of the action.  The parrot squawks a goodnight, a father clicks off a flashlight, a mother comforts a fussy baby, and a girl reclaims her rocket as her mother presses the off button on her car alarm.  The next set of four windows on the right are dark.  The lights are off, but we can still see elements from the earlier pictures.  Wonderful.

In a universal sense and on an everyday level this title, Everybody In The Red Brick Building written by Anne Wynter with illustrations by Oge Mora, allows us to see that the world or our home, family, or friends send disruptions to what we consider normal.  And, despite those disruptions, peace is restored.  I highly recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Anne Wynter and Oge Mora and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Anne Wynter has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  Oge Mora has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website there is a Home and Community Classroom Kit which includes this title and three other books.  Anne Wynter is interviewed at Picture Book Builders and Kidlit in Color with respect to this title. This book is showcased at We Need Diverse Books with an interview of Oge Mora.

Sometimes, thankfully not every time, something unforeseen or annoying can keep us from falling into much needed sleep.  A branch rubbing against your window by a shift in the wind's direction is bothersome.  You make a mental note to trim it as soon as morning arrives.  In Awake (Roaring Brook Press, October 19, 2021) written and illustrated by Mags Deroma something unforeseen happens to a little girl and her furry friend, Oscar. Something usually not in her bedroom has taken up residence.

In a big, big city, on a busy city street, there is a pretty tall

building.  At the tipity-top of that tall building is my bedroom.

Just before turning out her light, a very sleepy girl and her dog are suddenly not so sleepy.  The girl notices a spider.  It's surprising how you can go from dead tired to eyes-wide-open awake in a flash.

Sleep is impossible when you share your room with a spider.  There is nothing available to end its life.  It cannot be thought away.

Still, the girl persists in imagining all manner of options to rid her room of that spider.  Her schemes, in her mind, grow larger and larger.  Wait!  The spider is moving.

Quick as a wink, the glass on her nightstand is grabbed and encloses the unwelcome guest.  It is then, on closer examination, a change occurs.  With understanding, fear leaves and is replaced with compassion.

With the protagonist as narrator, author Mags Deroma encourages readers to identify deeply with the little girl.  The words in her sentences fashion a welcoming cadence.  Her descriptions of place and time are those easily identified by many of us.  Here is a passage.

I know!  The WATER SPOUT!

Just like the RAIN,

I'll WASH the spider out!

But

then out comes

the sun . . .

and dries up 

all the rain . . .

and that big hairy

spider CANNOT come 

up the spout again,

thank you very much!

The limited color palette used throughout the book is introduced to readers on the dust jacket.  These muted shades lend a warmth to the darkness of night.  The use of red here and in the interior portions of the book is highly effective.  On the front, both the little girl and Oscar, her dog, have their gaze on the intruder.  The placement of the text, spider and the characters is marvelous!

To the left of the spine, which replicates the red-and-white stripe of the little girl's pajamas, is a sky dotted with stars surrounding the tall building.  In the front and to the right side of this building, street lamps glow.  The only other light we see is from the arched window of the little girl's bedroom.  She is petting Oscar.

The book case is entirely black with one exception.  On the front are only two very large eyes.  They are the eyes of the spider.

On the opening endpapers amid what could be a horizon at dawn or dusk are lines of hues of orange.  On the right side in a column are phrases to ponder.  The word OPEN is used three times.  It is followed by symbols of eyes, mind, and heart.  The final three words say:

TO BE AWAKE.

On the closing endpapers amid a starry sky are seven cut-out pieces of paper.  They advise readers on how

TO RELOCATE a SURPRISE GUEST.

Readers are instructed on the necessary materials, giving the guest a name, 

(TAKE A

DEEEEEEP

BREATH!), 

and the step-by-step process.  

On the title page, on the right side we are close to the little girl as she brushes her teeth before bedtime.  Through the doorway we see Oscar, nose to the floor, next to the spider.  On the left side, the verso, on black is the dedication and publication information.  The publication information is in the shape of a spider web done in white.  Clever.

These illustrations by Mags Deroma were

made with paint and soft pastels on a gazillion pieces of cut paper, all collaged together.

Each picture is full of details, asking us to absorb the atmosphere in each scene.  Some are more highly charged emotionally than others.  There are double-page illustrations and single-page visuals.  Sometimes we are brought close to the action and other times we stand back to view the city, the little girl's bedroom, or all her ideas for eliminating the spider. 

At one point we are slightly above the capture of the spider.  All we see is the little girl's arms and hands on the glass over the spider.  There is the top portion of her head.  And a bit of her emotionally charged movement flickering in the lower, right-hand corner.  A single word is on this two-page illustration.  This, in turn, opens to a gatefold, four pages of a spectacular view of the city.  There are layers of buildings, bridges, and a city street shimmering with lights.  On the street directly in front of the tall building, the little girl's home, we can see the names of the businesses.  Along the bottom of the page is the window sill of the bedroom.  The spider peeks out through the glass.  On the right side, in the corner, is a spider web.  (Earlier in the story, careful readers will notice Oscar as he tries to give a specific book to his little girl.)

One of my many favorite illustrations accompanies the third sentence in the book.  It is the second double-page picture.  On the left, the little girl is kneeling on her bed, wearing her pajamas, ready to pull the chain on her bedside lamp sitting on her nightstand.  Oscar is lying on the wood plank floor, with his eyes closed.  Around her bed are several books and a round bin holding treasures.  Other items are hanging on her wall.  They seem to indicate her sense of adventure and imagination.  On the right is the wall with two arched windows in her bedroom.  We can see a small section of an easy chair.

There is nothing more off-setting than discovering you are sharing your bedroom with a creature not to your liking.  Awake written and illustrated by Mags Deroma describes this event to perfection as well as taking us through the thought process of the little girl as she tries to resolve her problem.  That she shares this experience with Oscar makes her and her story more endearing to readers.  This book will promote discussions galore and will be asked to be read often.  Plan on placing a copy on your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Mags Deroma and her other work (This is her picture book debut.), please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Mags Deroma has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. At the publisher's website, you can view interior illustrations.  

Awake by Mags DeRoma from Let's Talk Picture Books on Vimeo.

Every babysitter, sibling, parent or caregiver is aware of the myriad of challenges faced when shaping children into a bedtime ritual.  Having them follow that ritual is an even harder challenge.  Just when you think everyone is starting to snooze, there will be the sound of bare feet on floors or giggles or the classic asking for a drink of water.  Forty Winks: A Bedtime Adventure (Abrams Books for Young Readers, October 26, 2021) written by Kelly DiPucchio with pictures by Lita Judge is a lovable, engaging and humorous view of patient parents and their thirty-eight mouse children settling down to sleep.

"It's time for bed!" the Wink parents said

Their routine was the same every night.

Mama and Papa lined up their big brood,

all thirty-eight children in sight. 

Each child is called by name, thirty-eight alliterative, rhyming names.  First, the entire crew enjoys a drink and two kinds of snacks.  They eat at different speeds and with different styles.  From there, as you can imagine the mess, they head to pails full of suds for their nightly baths.

Now spotless from head to toe, they dress in cozy flannel pajamas.  Brushing of teeth ensues, two mice at a time at the sink.  Mama reads each of the Winks a book.  (Whew!)  Of course, they want one more.  

Prayers are said as they snuggle into bed, some more quickly and quietly than others.  As a whole they are restless, not ready to rest.  Some moments later, Mama and Papa believe they are all slumbering when someone asks for a drink of water.

How many of the Winks do you think then need a drink?  Later, much later, as they burrow into their bedding, all forty of the family of Winks fall sound asleep.  Outside their home, sunlight brightens the horizon, until . . .

By the time you get to the third page in this narrative by Kelly DiPucchio, you find yourself smiling.  That smile stays with you until the end of the book, and then, a little bit longer.  The rhyming rhythm of the words, especially the thirty-eight names mentioned twice, wraps around you and lifts you up.  Alliteration is in abundance.  Here is a passage.

The loud, hungry pack was served up a snack

of cider and crumb cake and cheese.

Some sipped and some slurped,

some gobbled and burped,

while others said "thank you" and "please".

From left to right on the open dust jacket, artist Lita Judge, has featured all forty of the Winks.  They are all in their pajamas . . . well, most of them are.  Some are wearing fuzzy slippers.  Their antics are hilarious as you can see by the front of the dust jacket.  A couple of them are already asleep.  Having them climbing among the title text mirrors their energy throughout the bedtime routine.  The text and the mice are varnished.

On the book case, an interior illustration is used. We are looking down on most of the sleeping Wink mice.  Continuing in full-color, we see them nestled in beds, single, double, and bunk, a large stuffed turtle pillow, a toy airplane, cars from a train, and in the basket of a floating air balloon.  A circus tent is there for them to play and sleep inside.  Slippers, toys and some stuffed toy animals are on the floor.  Many of them are holding stuffed toy animals or each other.  Some of their artwork hangs on a string stretching across the round window.

On the opening and closing endpapers all forty Winks are showcased in portraits.  The frames around them are pale yellow.  They are a fantastic complement to the watercolor washed sky-blue background.

On the verso and title pages, the entire family is spread along the bottom with the exception of several mice in the airplane, balloon basket, and climbing down a ladder from the balloon.  They are, as is to be expected, highly animated and happy.  These illustrations in a variety of sizes

were made with pencil and watercolor.

The physical characteristics of the mice are realistic as Lita Judge nursed a baby mouse left on her doorstep, by a concerned neighbor, back to health.  Their facial expressions conveying their moods and their body postures depicting total exuberance are certain to have readers stopping to be sure not to miss a single intricate element.  Every line made and every color chosen work together beautifully.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture.  Ten of the Wink youngsters are gathered around a table, devouring their snacks of cider, crumb cakes, and cheese.  Most are seated on stools, one is on the floor, and another is standing on a stack of books on a chair.  A blue cupboard is behind them to the right.  Something has spilled on the floor.  One of the little mice, walking off the page to the right, has stepped in it and leaves footprints.  Readers will pause to look at their clothing.  One of them is wearing an outfit that looks like a tiny bear cub. 

 

This book, Forty Winks written by Kelly DiPucchio with pictures by Lita Judge, is assuredly an enchanting extension of the title's definition.  It presents an everyday event multiplied by thirty-eight.  It is a read aloud treasure.  I wonder how many of the names you will remember when asked to list them at the end.  Your collections, personal and professional, won't be complete without a copy of this title.

To learn more about Kelly DiPucchio and Lita Judge and their other work, please access their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Kelly DiPucchio has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Lita Judge has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior illustrations.  There is an article about this book in The Oakland Press (Michigan).

For the first post in this series, Sweet Dreams, here is the link.

Not A Single Solitary Sound

You have had this wish, this yearning, for as long as you can remember.  You have thought about it every single day.  You have longed for the moment when all the essential details fall into place making this dream come true.  Finally it's going to happen but the opposite of what you have imagined transpires.  Everything goes horribly wrong.

When your deepest desire vanishes like a puff of smoke and not always all at once, but little by little, it can be downright discouraging.  In the case of this newest title, BE QUIET! (Disney Hyperion, April 4, 2017) written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins it can be out-of-this-world frustrating.  Three rascally rodents we met in Hotel Bruce (Disney Hyperion, October 18, 2016) are back in their own book.

FINALLY!  I get my very own book to star in.  This is going to be great!

I'm going to make it a wordless book.  They are very artistic.

This book will have NO WORDS at all.  Starting...NOW.

Beginning on the endpapers the story opens.  It continues with more but most definitely, according to Rupert, the final text on the title pages.  The bespectacled mouse with a mustache is sure this is going to be wonderful until a familiar friend strolls up asking him what he is doing.  Nibbs can't stop talking about not talking.  Rupert is clearly getting agitated.  When Thistle walks up Nibbs speaks but Rupert is silent.  His body posture signals deep irritation.

The more Nibbs and Thistle converse about not speaking and the value of wordless books, the angrier Rupert gets asking them to be quiet!  Then they start a discussion about the merits of pictures in wordless books.  Rupert mentions strong illustrations.  This is all the talkative twosome need to go off on another tangent.

They introduce strength in images.  Is that a grumpy bear we know as Bruce?  The sweet cuddly kitten turns out to be a very risky idea.  A green vegetable, a serious portrait and potatoes...yes potatoes make an appearance.  The invention of a silent superhero with the appropriate sound effects has Rupert stomping his feet and shouting.  Nibbs's and Thistle's misunderstanding of Rupert's words will have you laughing out loud.

He is sure his two pals have no comprehension about the meaning of be quiet.  An exploration of

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

by Nibbs and Thistle causes Rupert to erupt in a rage.  (A chainsaw and a felled tree figure prominently.)  Completely clueless and a narrow, determined vision don't work well together...or do they?


Ryan T. Higgins sense of humor is evident on every single page, even as early as the dust jacket.  His pacing provides us with anticipated and delivered hilarity.  The contrast between what Rupert wants, which truthfully is a simple request, compared to the misdirected musings of Nibbs and Thistle is comic perfection.  The entire narrative is told in dialogue with short, simple but meaningful sentences.  Here is a sample passage.

Yay!  This book is going to be so fun!
Quiet, you! This book will be more than FUN.  It will be visually stimulating.

What does "vishery strigulating" mean?
I think it means we're going to poke our readers in the eyeballs with pictures. ...


I don't think it's possible to look at the opened dust jacket without laughing.  Rupert is already in a rage and Nibbs and Thistle are on a totally different mental plane.  Nibbs with the chain saw making a hole in the tree, cleverly placed on the spine, foreshadows a turning point in the plot.  The two figures on the back will be revealed in one of the conversations.  Note the detail on the chain saw blade.

The opened book case is a peaceful scene in the forest.  Fallen trees have made a bridge over a brook.  Rupert is on the left side peeking from behind one of the logs.  On the opening endpapers as he walks along the top of the log, he speaks to readers about his hopes for a wordless picture book.  On the title page one of the geese from Mother Goose Bruce and Hotel Bruce is flying in an airplane pulling a sign with the title text.  The goose appears again on the closing endpapers, seated on the ground, in another woodland place with Nibbs and Thistle chatting about the book.

This book was hand-lettered by the author... And the images were rendered using scans of treated clayboard for textures, graphite, ink, and Photoshop.  Bold black lines but also tiny details are a signature style of Ryan T. Higgins.  He uses a full color palette in keeping with the setting of his story alternating between single pages, edge to edge, a single image loosely framed with white space, and two page pictures for heightened comedy.

The facial expressions and body postures of the characters enhance the humor.  There is never any doubt, regardless of the text, as to the mood of Nibbs, Thistle and Rupert.  When Rupert looks directly at the reader near the end, we know he has reached the end of his proverbial rope.

One of my favorite of many illustrations is at the beginning when Nibbs first approaches Rupert.  The two of them are standing on the log bridge over the brook.  We have zoomed in close to them.  Nibbs has his paws over his mouth horrified that he is talking about talking.  Rupert is assuming the hands-on-hips posture in disgust.  His book is already in jeopardy.


When I first read this book it was aloud as an F & G to a classroom of third grade students and their teacher.  We laughed ourselves silly.  Now in the possession of a hard copy of Be Quiet! written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins, it's funnier than ever, even after multiple readings.  The humor does not lessen.  Every classroom and school library will want at least one copy.  I highly recommend it for your personal collections too.

To discover more about Ryan T. Higgins and his other work please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  At the publisher's website is a set of activity pages.  Ryan is interviewed at Jena Benton, Writer & Illustrator.  Matthew C. Winner, teacher librarian, chats with Ryan at All The Wonders, Episode 346.

No To No Noise

Most living creatures make sounds; some are either too high or too low for humans to hear.  Squirrels chatter from the safety of a branch if you invade their space.  Crickets announce the approximate temperature by chirps made from rubbing their wings.  (You have to do a little math but it works.) Male birds sing in the morning with more clarity and frequency often to attract potential mates.  The bugling of a bull elk will stop you in your tracks.  It is eerie and magnificent at the same time.  Purring in cats can signify happiness, be a call for attention and promote healing.  Dogs bark for a variety of reasons.  Rest assured they will teach you what each bark means.

The point is all these beings make their sounds instinctively.  It's a part of what makes them who they are.  If they are silent when they should not be, then something is not quite right.  We humans make sounds for more reasons than we can possibly list.  What would we do if silence was demanded of us without question? The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet (Scholastic Press, January 31, 2017) written by Carmen Agra Deedy with illustrations by Eugene Yelchin explores the idea of silence, noise and the choice to be one or the other.

There once was a village where the streets rang with song from morning till night.

Inside and outside homes the sounds rang out from human voices, animals, and machines.  Of particular interest was every last soul sang in the shower.  As you might think, La Paz was anything but peaceful.

All this noise started to bother the residents of this village.  They blamed the mayor and promptly dismissed him.  In his place Don Pepe was elected on his promise of complete quiet.  How would he accomplish this feat?  He passed laws, lots of laws.

La Paz was not only peaceful; it was utterly void of any sound.  People who loved to sing left.  Others who stayed, sang in a whisper of a whisper.  Seven years passed.

One day a rooster, his ten chicks and hen strutted into town, roosting in a lovely mango tree.  As a newcomer he knew nothing of the laws, so when the sun rose in the morning he crowed.  Where do you think that mango tree was planted?  It was right underneath the mayor's window!

Not once, not twice, not three times but four times, this mayor took away what made the rooster happy to get him to stop singing but he would not.  Nearly out of his mind, the mayor issued a final threat but the rooster was ready with a reply.  It will make you want to stand up and sing.


No matter how many times a story is read if it stays wrapped around your heart and finds a permanent place in your mind, it changes you.  Perhaps the shift is slight giving strength where needed or maybe it will reverse your thinking.  This is the power of the words written by Carmen Agra Deedy in this book.

Initially as she writes we see a village completely change per their desires but you can't help but wonder if she is asking us to remember to be careful of what wishes we make.  Each time the mayor intimidates the plucky gallito with an ultimatum and action, his answers create a rhythm.  This back and forth series of sequences gradually build tension leading us to the inspirational conclusion. Here is a passage.

"Still singing?" snapped Don Pepe. "You have no tree.  Remember?"
"I have no tree," said the gallito.  "But I have my hen and chicks.  How can I keep from singing?"
"Will you sing if I throw you in a cage---alone?" threatened Don Pepe.
"I may sing a lonelier song," said the stubborn gallito.  "But I will sing."
And he did.  


On the opened matching dust jacket and book case Eugene Yelchin uses bright cheerful colors to announce the title and the character of the plucky gallito.  It's our first hint of the courage this bird reveals in the story.  The illustration seen on the front (right) extends over the spine to the back, including the hen and the rest of the chicks.  It's important to note the attention the chicks are giving their parent.  They are listening.  They are learning.  One is singing too.

One of the blue hues from the jacket and case covers the opening and closing endpapers.  The words, the song of the rooster,

Kee-kee-ree KEE! 

are placed in a pattern in varying sizes across the pages.  Beneath the text on the title page the rooster strides in confidence.  He appears again in the same pose, chicks and hen behind him, across the verso and dedication pages.

These pictures

rendered in oil pastel, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic

are spirited and in superb synchronization with the narrative, enhancing it with Eugene Yelchin's special techniques.  He uses single page images opposite a page of text and double-page pictures surrounding words.  His color choices and lines are altered to reflect the mood of the story.  His depiction of the mayor, Don Pepe is marvelous.  He looks as dastardly as he is.  The contrast between this man and the rooster is utterly perfect.

One of my favorite illustrations of many is the first one.  Across the upper portion of the single page picture is a brilliant deep blue sky with an orange sun and pale golden clouds.  Beneath them on a hill is the village, stucco buildings and tile roofs with spires of churches rising up.  This is the upper third of the illustration.  The hill is a series of fields and roads with grazing horses, cows and goats.  A single bicycle rider is moving down the main road to the village.  The wonderful thing is Yelchin has placed large musical notes and a staff over the fields, incorporating them into the pattern of the rows.


This book, The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet!, written by Carmen Agra Deedy with illustrations by Eugene Yelchin is essential to every collection, professional and personal.  This story is powerful and timeless.  I expect and would welcome a chorus of crowing after each and every reading.

To learn more about the work of Carmen Agra Deedy and Eugene Yelchin please visit their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  They both feature interior images from this title at their sites.  Make sure to stop by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson to view some artwork and read her words about this title.  This book is included on a list of 2017 titles at Latinxs in Kid Lit.  Carmen Agra Deedy is featured at Time For Kids and KidLit 411.  Eugene Yelchin is showcased at Publishers Weekly and the International Literacy Association.   I hope you enjoy the video with Carmen Agra Deedy speaking about stories as much as I did.

Nighttime Nuisance

When your house is surrounded by woods in a neighborhood surrounded by woods, as the nights start to get cooler with the approach of winter, you can usually expect uninvited guests.  Regardless of applying foaming filler in every nook and cranny, they find a way into your humble abode.   As they make their presence known and your canine companion chooses to ignore them, you do too.  It's a sort of a live and let live philosophy.

There are times though when lying in bed reading, their skittering and scampering in the walls is downright distracting.  The new release, Good Night Owl (Disney Hyperion, April 19, 2016) by Geisel Award-winning author/illustrator Greg Pizzoli (The Watermelon Seed) has one of our nocturnal, feathered friends struggling to enjoy total peace and quiet.  His night is anything but good.

Owl was settling into bed 
when he heard a noise.

It wasn't very loud but it was a tad bit weird.  He thought someone might be at the door but when he checked there was not a soul in sight.  Owl decided to tuck himself back into bed and wish himself good night.

Mere seconds later, he heard the same sound again.  Perhaps it was inside the house.  He not only looked in a cupboard in the living room but took every object off the shelves until they were bare.  There was no noise there.

Back in bed he tried to go to asleep.

SQUEEK!

Oh, no!  It was the noise.  Where could it possibly be?  Grabbing his tool box he set to work.  It was not under him.  Can you believe it?  Owl heard that noise a fourth time as he was trying his hardest to have a good night and to sleep tight.

Getting more and more frustrated, determined to locate the source of the sound, he became even more industrious.  He found himself able to gaze at the night sky...from his bed.  At this point Owl was beyond frazzled.  He waited for the sound.  And he waited some more.  Any thoughts of sleep were gone.  And then it happened.  You might get what you expect or you might get more.


When you long for sleep, the slightest sound, especially a new noise, can jolt you into restlessness faster than caffeine.  This is a universal truth.  Greg Pizzoli uses this to excellent advantage.  The blend of narration and dialogue expands our involvement.  He creates a story cadence with Owl settling in, hearing the noise and trying to locate it.

Each time he attempts to eradicate the presence of the noise, his actions escalate.  They become more and more extreme which increases the comedy of the entire situation until the final episode when readers (and the noise maker) are not quite sure what Owl will do.  This moment is marvelous.  Here is a sample passage.

So Owl went back to bed.
"Good night, Owl," he said.
And then he heard the noise.
SQUEEK!


When you look at the front of the dust jacket, you are not quite sure what is bothering Owl but his wide-eyed stare lets you know everything is not right in his world.  The grinning mouse leaning over his headboard gives you the smallest clue.  You might also wonder why Owl seems to be in his bed under the stars.  To the left, on the back, of the dust jacket a small circle of white in placed on the darker starry canvas.  Mouse is standing there, finger to lips, telling us to be quiet.   The colors seen on the dust jacket are used throughout the book.

The book case is a close-up of the walls of Owl's home, a soft shade of gray.  On the right is a cross stitch Home Sweet Home picture Owl has hanging on his wall.  This, when you consider what is going to happen, is hilarious.  On the back of the book case is the underside or back of the sewn picture.  The opening and closing endpapers are the same pattern as Owl's bedspread; crisscross lines making diamonds, some filled with pastel hues.

On the title page Owl is peering at us out one of the windows in his home.  Mouse is looking out the other.  Many of the illustrations are single page, framed in a wide white border.  For emphasis Pizzoli uses larger images.  The text appears alone on a page, beneath and above pictures and sometimes with small images on a colorful background. To create further tension Pizzoli does have a series of four visuals framed in a black line zooming in closer to Owl's face with each one.  Careful readers will see small details giving a nod to his other titles as well as the passage of time.

I have many favorite images in this book.  Each one accentuates the narrative.  One of them is Owl going back to bed for the fourth time.  His eyes are closed as he sleeps on his side.  Wearing a grin Mouse is leaning over the headboard.  You know with every fiber of your being, Owl is going to hear the noise again.


Will this title be a bedtime favorite?  Yes!  Will this title be a storytime favorite? Yes!  Will Good Night Owl written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli be an anytime favorite?  YES!  We can easily identify with both of the characters.  We will love to laugh at every new incident.

To learn more about Greg Pizzoli and his other work please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Greg Pizzoli maintains a blog here.  Nick Patton chats with Greg Pizzoli at All The Wonders, Picturebooking Episode 53.  It is totally fascinating.  Enjoy the book trailer.

Clamorous Calamity

Your best of what you do best has been done all day long.  The last little bit of light bows, ushering in twilight.  All the items on your mental checklist have been completed.  You look forward to a nice, long rest.

Without warning a sound shatters your solitude.  Bustling bat wings, what's that?  Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep (Creston Books, April 12, 2016) written by Robin Newman (The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake A Wilcox and Griswold Mystery) with illustrations by Chris Ewald introduces readers to a clever, rather charming, witch with a dilemma demanding her undivided attention.

There's a little-known secret about Hildie Bitterpickles.  She needs her sleep.

As regular as sunrise and sunset Hildie runs through her bedtime routine.  Snuggled, cozy and comfortable with her cat, Clawdia, she is rudely disturbed.  A new arrival in the neighborhood is raising a ruckus.  A fee-fi-fo- fum friend from the land of fairy is operating an elevator of the vegetable variety.

With a quick exit and an equally quick return, she puts an end to the noise but low and behold, it's back the next night with a new addition.  You-know-who living in a shoe with a horde of guys and gals has moved in next door.  There is no slumber for Hildie as they engage in their favorite pastime during the darkest hours hitting home runs against the side of her residence.

A wolf with exceedingly bad aim misses the mark on the new pigs' place and Hildie finds herself without a roof over her head.  At her wit's end, Hildie has to locate somewhere else to live.  Monty, the real estate rat, does his best to accommodate her demands.

Nursery rhyme characters create a commotion in one new abode after the other.  In a quirk of fate Hildie finds it necessary to use the previously mentioned cleverness and consummate charm.  A little bit of mix-and-match hocus-pocus may bring about the solution our weary witch is seeking.


Like her created character Hildie, Robin Newman weaves a masterful spell with words.  Employing a classic and much-proven storytelling technique of events in threes she forms a cadence, a sense of expectation, for her readers.  An extra layer of rhythm is supplied with the repetition of a key phrase which welcomes us all to participate.  More fun is found in the onomatopoeia of noisy neighbor characters from well-known folklore.  Here is a sample passage.

"I need a quiet house," said Hildie.  "WITHOUT NEIGHBORS!"
"You've come to the right rat!" said Monty.  He scampered through his files.
"This farmhouse with three blind mice seems promising."
"Are they quiet mice?" asked Hildie.
"Quiet as church mice!"
Hildie and Clawdia move in.



The atmospheric front of the book case with a worried-looking Hildie searching for help by reading, her trusty cauldron and potion-filled flask next to her, will cause readers' curiosity to heighten.  You can already see evidence of the attention to detail provided by Chris Ewald, debut picture book illustrator, in the placement of the tiny cobwebs.   On the back, to the left of the opened case, are a blurb and two recommendations above a sleeping Clawdia underneath Hildie's hat.

The opening endpapers depict a close-up view of Hildie's magical work space, glass vessels, a closed and open book in her own handwriting with a drawing, a skull and a tail belonging to an unknown creature.  The closing endpapers reveal the results of Hildie's ingenuity.  Ewald shifts his image sizes to enhance the text while enveloping readers in every fantastical and funny moment.

There are single pages, edge to edge, double-page pictures, edge to edge, two smaller images with elements extending into the other visual and small groupings framed in white space with a color palette reflective of the time of day.  Perspective is altered also to increase the intensity of a selected scene.  Readers will find themselves pausing at every page turn to notice all the extra items Ewald has included; a cow clinging to a crescent moon, classic flamingo yard ornaments in front of the shoe house, the hip old woman has vivid green tennis balls on her walker, the dish and spoon grinning as they sit on a cabinet in Hildie's house and Humpty Dumpty (as a mover) wearing two band-aides on his forehead.  The facial expressions on all the characters are the crowning comedic glory.

One of my favorite pictures is when Hildie and Clawdia have moved into a cottage with a bunch of black sheep, supposedly quiet.  By the glow of candlelight they are crowding into the room with our duo, all wanting to sleep in the same bed.  The expression on Hildie's face and the placement of Clawdia's paws tell a tale all their own.  Someone who has lost her sheep is peering in the window.


Look for knowing nods from listeners as Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep written by Robin Newman with illustrations by Chris Ewald is read aloud; famous fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters replete in the narrative and images.   Get ready for bursts of laughter and requests for read it again. Have a witch's hat handy and a friendly black cat for company.

To learn more about both Robin Newman and Chris Ewald and their other work, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names. By following this link you can access another site maintained by Robin Newman.   For a peek at one of the two-page images access the publisher's website.  Robin Newman is a guest at KidLit TV in an interview loaded with information and activity ideas.  Here is the link to a twelve page teacher's guide for Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep.  Enjoy the videos!