Noticing Nature #2

Across the street is a large vacant lot.  On either side is a row of trees and shrubs.  To the west is an occupied home.  To the east are two unoccupied houses.  Behind them are rows of mature evergreens.  It is a forest in a neighborhood.  By chance, several days ago, I looked up from working at the kitchen sink out the windows at that vacant lot.  Gasping, I watched a fox in the middle of the day running from one side to the other.  Now, when out walking with my canine companion, she stops, sits and raises her nose sniffing as soon as we are near that wooded area.  She knows.

(And then just minutes ago, yes today, November 16, 2021, as we rounded that familiar corner close to our home on our walk, the crows were more vocal than normal.  Out of a row of trees on our left, the fox ran, stopped on a grassy area, crossed the road in front of us, and stopped on the lawn of a house on the right before disappearing into those woods. He was gorgeous, red and with lots of bright white on his tail.  I was trying to get my phone out of my pocket to get a picture, but also gaze at him at the same time.  Mulan, my dog, just stood silently and watched.)

Wild animals, regardless of where we live, are a part of our world.  Living with them is wondrous.  We never know when they will cross our paths or we will cross their paths.  We All Play kimetawanaw (Greystone Kids, Greystone Books Ltd, May 25, 2021) written and illustrated by Julie Flett explores the commonality and bond between animals and children.

Animals hide

and hop

and sniff

and sneak . . .

Rabbits, foxes, a turtle, and eight owls show a group of gals and guys how they play.  Next, we find ourselves in and near water.  Here whales, seals, and a mother Canada goose and her babies squirt, bend, and chase.  Nearby, children enjoy the same activities.

Back on land, snakes slither through grass.  Buffalos thunder across the plains.  Bears act like acrobats.  Snow has fallen.  Bundled in their winter wear, a hill provides the same possibilities for the girls and boys.

After a day of being constantly on the move, the animals start to slow.  They look for a space to be cozy and to cuddle.  Together, they rest.  Do the children snooze, too?

The words author Julie Flett has selected are like musical notes in a song.  Their alliteration envelopes readers, inviting us to participate.  With every page turn, the melody increases taking us through the seasons and days of play.  Three times with three different animals, we watch and listen as they play, then the same refrain, the title, ties the animals to the children.  It is here that the Cree language is used with the English.  Here is another portion of a passage.

Animals . . .

and wiggle

and wobble.

On either side of the spine, the grasses extend on the cream canvas.  As the children chase butterflies, the bobcat youngsters calmly watch on the front, right side.  You can, in your mind, hear the children laughing.  Their exuberance is contagious.  On the left, back of the dust jacket, two children are lying in the grass, feet to feet.  Their arms are raised.  A butterfly glides just out of reach.

An interior image of seals enjoying a swim is placed on the book case.  The background is the same rich cream color.  Bubbles rise from each of the three and along the bottom.

On the opening endpapers is the green used for the grasses.  On the closing endpapers is a rusty red of autumn leaves.  On the title page, the image from the front of the jacket is replicated.  Opposite this is the dedication page.  Here illustrator Julie Flett speaks of her father, Clarence Flett, Swampy Cree, Red River Metis (1936-2019).  

Rendered in pastel and pencil, composited digitally

these illustrations, each double-page image, depict joy in its purest form.  Animals appear and leave on page edges, left and right, top and bottom, breaking the frame.  Tiny details are tucked into visuals, Insects jump with the rabbits.  The geese walk among a patch of clover.  Beetles are busy as the buffalos rush past them.  Paw prints fashion a trail past the bobcats.

One of my many favorite illustrations accompanies the text above noted.  Here three bears enjoy an early snowfall.  Their warm brown bodies against the snow is a pleasing contrast.  On the left, one of the bears is on its back, feet curled up.  On the right, another bear is sliding down on its stomach toward the first bear.  A smaller bear is on the back of the sliding bear.  If they spoke our language, they might be saying

yippee!

Asking us to be aware, see, and respect what nature supplies us, We All Play written and illustrated by Julie Flett celebrates the antics in the animal world we mirror in the human world.  No matter how many times you read this book, the happiness will heighten your own happiness.  At the close of the book is a list of animals in English and in Cree.  This is followed by an explanation of the Cree 

used in this book.

There is also a Dear Reader note from Julie Flett.  I highly recommend this title for all your collections, personal and professional.

To learn more about Julie Flett and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Julie Flett has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. Julie Flett was highlighted this past May on two websites, Art Of The Picture Book and Let's Talk Picture Books.  At the publisher's website is a guide for educators and parents and an audio pronunciation of the Cree words.  At School Library Journal, The Classroom Bookshelf, this title is featured with multiple resources and educational ideas.

We All Play by Julie Flett from Let's Talk Picture Books on Vimeo.

Color conveys and connects to us, as do light and shadow within those colors.  In her two previous phenomenal books, Green (March 27, 2012) and Blue (September 25, 2018), Laura Vaccaro Seeger presented colors to readers with fresh eyes.  She elevated our awareness of colors' effects on us.  In her new book, Red (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, October 5, 2021), Laura Vaccaro Seeger tells of being lost and found, heartbreak and humanity.  It is about a fox.  It is about a girl.  It is about all of us.

dark red

light red

lost red

During a move at dusk, a young fox gets separated from its group.  It sleeps, awaking and realizing it is lost.  It safely crosses a road by a railroad tracks during the dark of night.

While roaming, the fox notices a girl in the yard of her home.  She watches the fox watching her.  Continuing its explorations, the fox finds other signs of humans, eventually injuring itself on a rusty nail.

It seeks food and discovers other obstacles, some high.  The fox moves through the woods and into a field.  Readers will recognize the vehicle and a box from a previous scene.  Hungry, the animal is unaware of the danger ahead.

Human and animal clash.  Compassion and confidence blend in another animal and human encounter.  Steps by steps, previous settings are revisited until there is a flash of . . .

Each word placed before the title word by Laura Vaccaro Seeger reflects a time of day, an emotional feeling, a description of place, a foreshadowing, a physical characteristic, or homecoming.  At times every other word will rhyme.  Sometimes for emphasis words in succession will rhyme.  And those words, in turn, rhyme with an earlier word.  There is a bit of alliteration to enhance the cadence.  It is an ingenious working with words by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. 

When you first look at the swirl of red shades on the open and matching dust jacket and book case, the image extending from flap edge to flap edge, what do you see?  If you look closely above the raised title text on the front, right side, there is the head of a fox.  When you look at the entire jacket and case, you can see the whole body of the fox running.  Above and below this fox are other foxes.  What would it be like to see a group of them running together?

On the opening endpapers, which is also the title page, we are deep in a forest.  Tall trees, undergrowth, and patches of grass span page edge to page edge.  Through the tops of trees is a brilliant blue sky.  Three foxes briskly walk toward the right side beneath the title text.  On the left, behind them, another fox strides toward them.  With another page turn, the woods are darker.  We see the first die-cut leading us to the next double-page picture.  On the closing endpapers are words from the author illustrator, a dedication and the publication information, all on the left.  On the right side are three vertical panels, one green, one blue, and the third, red.  (I got goosebumps reading the author's note.)

Using acrylic paint on canvas

Laura Vaccaro Seeger takes us on an intense journey.  Through her artwork and the placement of die-cuts, it is a sensory experience, abundant in detail.  We are walking through darkened woodlands.  We are waking on a cliff overlooking an expanse of forest as the sun is partially shown on the horizon.  We are curious.  We are hurt.  We need food.  We need help.  And most of all, we need to find our way home.  

Between the final two-word phrases, Laura Vaccaro Seeger breaks from her double-page pictures.  On these two wordless picture pages, first on the left, are three panels.  There are two squares over a rectangle.  On the right side is a full-page picture.  Then, it is guaranteed you will sigh at the sight of the final two-page image with the last two words.

One of my many favorite pictures is for the two words, rose red.  At the base of the two-page visual, among the grass and roses, the fox, on the right, looks forward.  In front of the fox is a sturdy white fence, made of posts and a single row of rails.  The setting is framed on the left by oak leaves and acorns, and on the right by a blooming red and pink bush.  In the upper portion of the picture on the left, the girl is picking up a ball.  She and the fox look at each other.

As soon as you finish reading Red written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, you'll read it again and again.  Then you'll go to your bookshelves, or the nearest library to read the two previous books in the trilogy.  You might read all of them together more than once.  You certainly need a copy of this book for your professional and personal collections.

To discover more about Laura Vaccaro Seeger and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name. Laura Vaccaro Seeger has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.  At the publisher's website are an event kit with activities and an educator's guide with discussion questions.  At Penguin Random House you can view the first double-page picture, the title page.  This book and her other work is discussed with Laura Vaccaro Seeger at Publishers Weekly, Let's Talk Picture Books and Critter Lit.

As we get older, we see the world with a wider and deeper perspective.  For many adults, but not all adults, it is clouded by past events and life experiences.  What we need to retain is the constant curiosity and bliss we had as children in investigating the world outside our homes.  Dear Little One (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, November 2, 2021) written by Nina Laden with illustrations by Melissa Castrillon is a love letter to our natural surroundings and all the minute marvels they hold.

Dear Little One

Your time on

Earth has just

begun. 

A small child and their dog walk along the shoreline, peer into the water, and touch its surface.  The child is encouraged, as they walk into the woods, away from their home, to look, listen, and inhale.  They are asked to appreciate the flowers, bees, and trees.

Insects abound in sheltered nooks and crannies.  It only takes a minute to seek them out and observe their work.  Plants, from seeds to stalk, reveal secrets.

Speaking of secrets, what can you find by digging through the dirt?  There might be treasure, natural or human.  As the child and her canine companion walk through the woods, they need to remember their purpose in keeping our planet alive.  Each animal found along the way is part of a vital unseen web.

It is important to remember to venture farther than our home.  We must develop a respect for large bodies of water, sand, and tall mountains.  Wind, calm or wild, rain, snow, and the sun each are essential.  Be sure to gaze at the stars and have their endless expanse embrace you.  You are a caretaker of this Earth, now and always.  

You know from reading the first word Nina Laden is addressing someone with, at the very least, respect.  As the narrative continues, you realize, through her lyrical rhyming text, the speaker is building a loving relationship with the child.  They ask the child to be aware, to be grateful, and to be responsible.  Sentence by sentence we get a sense of building toward something extraordinary.  The final three words are our answer.  Here is a passage.

Hike in the forests.

They make the world green.

Their leaves act like lungs

to keep the air clean.

Two lavishly framed and illustrated scenes greet readers on the back, left, and front, right, of the open dust jacket.  The exotic plant life, flowers and leaves, twine around a three-lined gold foil border on the front and a golden yellow border on the back.  The child, on the front, is already heeding the advice of the speaker in looking at the beetle.  Other insects and small creatures are curious about her.  How many more can you see?

On the back, the child and their dog are perched on a branch.  It is placed near the top of the image.  They are looking at something to their right.  Beneath them are ferns, flowers, and a single bee.  

The book case is done in several hues of deep green.  There are less elements in the scenes on the back, left, and the front, right.  The child is only shown on the front.  There is more gold foil in addition to the borders.  Both the jacket and case are stunning.

On the opening and closing endpapers is a fan pattern with evergreen trees, tree branches, birds and leaves.  It is done in green and cream.  The child with a backpack is standing in a corner with their dog, ready to explore.  With a page turn, we see bees in cream on green on the left.  On the right, the child is smelling a flower as their dog runs behind them.  The child is wearing a red jacket and yellow pants.  The dedication, publication information and title pages are a two-page picture.  A close-up of leaves and flowers surround the text.  There are a few small critters.

Each of the two-page pictures, full-page pictures and smaller pictures grouped on a single page

were rendered in pencil and then colored digitally

by Melissa Castrillon.  The delicate lines and intricate details welcome closer inspection.  The invitations found in the text are enhanced by the artwork.  The breathtaking color choices amplify the enchanting images.  Shifting perspectives make us a part of the adventure.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture at night.  A portion of the moon hangs low in the sky in the upper left-hand corner.  Evergreens bend in from the left and right sides.  The sky is peppered with stars, some of them shooting comet-like tails.  On a small hill in the center is a tent.  Close, but not too close, a small fire burns.  Next to it is the child and their dog.  They have a new friend, either a coyote or fox, joining them.  All of them are looking to the stars.  An owl dozes in one of the trees.  The colors are cream, purple, and green, with the exception being the child's clothing and the orange red of the tent and fire.

In a word, this book, Dear Little One written by Nina Laden with illustrations by Melissa Castrillon, is splendid.  The heart-warming letter paired with the striking artwork makes this a book to treasure and share often.  Your personal and professional collections will not be complete without a copy of this title.

By following the link attached to their names, you can learn more about Nina Laden and Melissa Castrillon and their other work at their websites.  Nina Laden has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  Melissa Castrillon has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website, you can view interior images including the open dust jacket and book case.

Happy Hearts

For those who stand or sit with stillness in their yards, open meadows, shady forests, or next to cheerful streams, nature will send rewards. She sends hummingbirds to sip sweet nectar from flowers in your gardens.  She sends two scampering red squirrels, so caught up in fun, they nearly run right into your legs.  They chatter at you as they find sanctuary in nearby trees.  They see you as a challenge.  You see them as a gift.

Our animal friends carry on their lives as they have for generations, adapting to changes and honing their instincts.  When we see them with happy hearts, and intent on frolic, they are also becoming their best selves.  Play in the Wild: How Baby Animals Like to Have Fun (Roaring Brook Press, June 30, 2020) written and illustrated by Lita Judge is a companion title to her Born in the Wild: Baby Animals and Their Parents and Homes in the Wild:  Where Baby Animals and Their Parents Live.  It's a lively exploration of animals and their antics.

Pounce, leap, chase, and slide.
Young animals like to play.

In the first of nine sections pertaining to animals and their play, we are given lively examples of head butting, running in circles, wrestling, and winter fun.  The otters, red river hogs and red pandas are seen embracing moments of joyful abandon.  In the subsequent eight sections, more specifics are noted.

So animals are aware that advances are playful rather than fighting, they have techniques for inquiry.  Kelp held in the mouth of a swimming sea lion pup is an invitation to another pup.  Play is a means for locating a meal.  Arctic foxes jump, jump and jump some more in anticipation of leaping up and coming down to catch food scurrying beneath the snow.  Various forms of play abide by certain rules.  Some things are allowed, others are forbidden.

In some animal communities play strengthens the group.  In gray wolf packs, youngsters master skills through play which will later allow them to work together as adults to survive as a single unit.  Some of their play continues for the rest of their lives.  Play is practice for attracting and keeping a mate.  Many males will fight each other as adults, so their pretend fights as babies are a prelude to securing a mate.

If during play, one animal baby hurts the other baby, they have learned to say they are sorry.  If a gorilla bite hurts another gorilla, the injured party will stop until the other one comforts them.  Play builds stronger bodies, thus insuring a greater chance of endurance and continuity.  In conclusion readers are told, animals do play for the sheer joy of it.  You'll know this is true if you ever notice a raven and a coyote doing something extraordinary.  The raven dives at the coyote.  The coyote chases the raven.  If the coyote is not fast enough, the raven waits.  Aren't animals wonderful?


Using spirited language replete with action verbs author Lita Judge acquaints readers with animal play.  For each portion there is a short introductory sentence or two.  The capers of three other creatures, in detail, are offered in support.  Lita Judge is well aware of her intended audience for this book, selecting those facts most likely to remain with her readers.  These pieces of information many times coincide with the play of children.  Here is a sample of a section title, its introduction and one of the animals.

Play can be practice for finding a mate.

Male animals often have to compete with one another
to breed.  The competition can be fierce, so many young
animals develop important skills through play-fighting.

Nubian ibex kids spring vertically in the
air, jump on each other, and knock heads.  These
rounds of "King of the Mountain" may prepare
male billies for the challenges they face in
adulthood.  Adult male ibexes compete for a 
mate by crashing their long horns into each
other like battering rams.


Your heart will fill with happiness simply by looking at the open and matching dust jacket and book case.  The baby elephant splashing through the water, birds flapping to avoid her, is learning to celebrate when goodness is presented.  To the left, on the back, along the top three otters slide down a snowy slope.  Two are starting on the left and all we see of the third is the back legs and tail on the right.  At the bottom center of the image, a fourth otter is staring at readers as if to ask us to join in their sliding.

A dark bird's egg blue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the initial title page, two baby cheetahs climb over a patient parent.  On the verso and title pages a double-page picture features a grassy scene with a pale blue wispy sky.  On the right a wolf cub playfully grasps a tail in its mouth. 

Lita Judge's paintings span two pages, full pages and smaller three images are grouped on two pages.  Lightly brushed backgrounds or white heighten her exquisitely detailed depictions of each of the animals and the settings in which they are placed.  She brings readers close to the activities giving us a sense of being in the moment.  All the animals are in motion.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is on a single page.  It takes place in a snowy setting.  Here two red pandas are wrestling.  On the left, the one is rolling on the ground, legs and arms moving to keep the other one away.  The one on the right is standing upright on its back legs.  Its arms are outstretched.  It is ready to leap on its playmate.  Their faces signal their merriment.


Readers will enjoy every single moment of the information, conversations, and artwork in Play in the Wild: How Baby Animals Like to Have Fun written and illustrated by Lita Judge.  It's a delightful new nonfiction book by a gifted person clearly dedicated to presenting the animal world with meticulous care to her readers.  At the close of the book are five pages of more information about each of the twenty-seven animals.  This is followed by a glossary of twenty-three words in which readers might not be familiar.  There is a list of written sources and recommended websites.  I highly recommend this for your professional and personal collections.  You could pair this title with Play Like An Animal!: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl, and Chase by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Mia Powell.

To discover more about Lita Judge and her body of work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Lita Judge has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.  At Macmillan's website you can view multiple interior images.


Even though educator Alyson Beecher is taking a much-deserved hiatus from her blog, Kid Lit Frenzy, please take a few moments to view previous blog posts about the 2020 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Cavorting Creatures

Standing still in a sunny meadow or cool, shadowed forest offers more opportunities than calm.  It is a generous gift, a means to observe animals without them being frightened of your presence.  It may be watching a squirrel practice throwing skills as the ground is blanketed by its tossing of un-opened pinecones.  Two wild rabbits running in circles with little leaps as part of their routine is a sneak peek at a bunny ballet.

Animals are fully aware every moment of every day.  Their lives depend on this understanding.  They are wise enough to know work and play are necessary for balance.  Play Like An Animal!: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl, And Chase (Millbrook Press, April 7, 2020) written by Maria Gianferrari with illustrations by Mia Powell is an exploration of the lively antics of animals.

DASH!
     HIDE!
SPLASH!
     RIDE!
You love to play!
Animals do too!

They have diversions like you do, but their play is for a purpose.  It's a planned situation to hone their skills for survival. They are training for their futures.

Rolling around in the mud is more than displaying a love of dirt.  For collared peccaries and rhinos, it is a means of protecting themselves from sun, heat and pesky bugs.  Being able to leap with ease from tree to tree is not training for a trapeze act, but it builds agility in running from those who want you as a meal.

If you watch animals in the snow, what may seem like foolishness is increasing their abilities to seek solutions to problems.  We count ourselves fortunate if we witness dolphins or elephants enjoying themselves in their natural water parks.  Even watching them on videos we can see how they do this in unison.  Why is this important?

Other creatures play at fighting, wrestling, tug-of-war or tag. What is this teaching them?   Each activity, though pleasurable, is conditioning these animals like athletes or performers.  It can mean the difference between life and death for them.  It can mean having a life shared with others in harmony or living in isolation.  Did you know Keas, a parrot living in New Zealand, can make their own toys?  The next time you play, which animal are you imitating?


What readers will notice first about the writing of Maria Gianferrari in this title are her one-word action verbs.  This definitive use of language invites participatory reading.  These verbs precede a single sentence about the animals and what they are doing.  This is followed by a short explanatory paragraph placed in a separate box.  This approach supplies readers with a rhythm bringing them full circle, from the beginning to the end.  Maria Gianferrari also uses alliteration and rhyming to enhance this cadence.  Here is a passage.

JUMP, WHIRL!

BOUND, TWIRL!

Ungulates love to leap!


(Note:  I am working with a printed PDF.  My copy of this title has not arrived yet.)

When looking at the dust jacket, front and back, right and left, there is no doubt in your mind of the joy to be had by animals and humans alike when they are engaged in play.  On the front, each of the featured animals is in motion in their natural habitat.  It's a glorious blend of water, land and air.  On the back, a sunny hillside highlights the cavorting of children from various ethnic backgrounds.  They are happily leaping, running, jumping in the mud and twirling.  A single rabbit is at rest, looking ready to race away.  Two dogs are enjoying the puddle with their humans.

The opening and closing endpapers are patterned in tiny portraits of animals at play.  They showcase wolves, giraffes, rhinos, elephants, monkeys, gorillas, and ungulates.  The landscape, a green grassy canvas, is dotted with trees, shrubs and water.

Rendered

using paints, handmade textures, and digital media

the illustrations by Mia Powell are wonderful displays of play.  Her humans and animals are highly animated.  All of them express delight at their activities.

The images, double-page pictures and full-page illustrations, place the animals in the environment they relish the most.  Mia Powell, in order to show captured moments, includes a series of horizontal visuals on a single page.  At times we are close to the movements of the animals and then we step back to get a larger view.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture of a rhino.  Most of its body is below the surface of a muddy hole or shallow body of water.  There is some vegetation behind it and on the sides.  Several leaves float near it on the surface of the mud and muddy water.  All we can see of the rhino is its head and horns.  Its wide-eyed look indicates pure bliss.


This title, Play Like An Animal!: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl, And Chase written by Maria Gianferrari with illustrations by Mia Powell, is loaded with fun and facts.  At the close of the book sections named:  Why Play?, Play By The Rules, Like These Animals Do!, Play Like These Animals . . ., More Fun Animal Facts, and Further Reading provide us with additional information.  This is an excellent book to include in your professional and personal collections.  It's certain to be a highly requested read aloud and supply circumstances for further research or readers' theater.

To learn more about Maria Gianferrari and Mia Powell and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Maria Gianferrari has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.  Mia Powell has an account on Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images as well as read an excerpt.

UPDATE:  Maria Gianferrari is interviewed in a podcast at The Lerner Blog

Maria Gianferrari's childhood playground was nature: climbing trees, playing hide and seek in the cornfield and slapping cow patties for fun!  Nowadays she tries to keep the spirit of play alive in her writing.  She enjoys playing Dominion with her family sans the curse cards, and her late dog, Becca, was always ready for a game of "catch the flying biscuit."


(From the jacket flap)
Mia Powell is a mixed media illustrator based in the United Kingdom.  She draws digitally but likes to incorporate handmade textures and elements into her artwork as well.  Mia loves to play with her dog, and she has drawn him in the pages of this book.  He is black-and-white and loves to chase, especially squirrels.





Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to enjoy the other titles selected this week by participants in the 2020 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.