Certain Truth

First thing in the morning and the last thing at night and many times in-between, seven white wooden letters spell a word hanging vertically on my bedroom wall. This word reminds me in the vast expanse of our natural and cosmic world, each and every one of us has a place and a purpose.  It reinforces accepted truths upon which each year of my life has been lived.  It challenges me to be my best self.  It comforts me in times of uncertainty.  It is a source of strength.

Distinguished illustrator and master paper-engineer Robert Sabuda (Ten Horse Farm) uses this word as the title for his newest book.  Believe: A Pop-Up Book Of Possibilities (Candlewick Press, April 9, 2019) presents to readers six opportunities.  They are seeds, beginnings and youthful endeavors laden with promise.

When I grow up

An unseen narrator invites participation as each of the six statements begins.  These sentences start small but reveal a larger outcome.  They allow readers to see how size does not determine majesty, splendor or great accomplishments.

When we see pine cones on the ground, is our first thought of the mighty tree from which they fell?  Pine cones house multiple seeds on each of the woody scales.  How many trees reaching to high heights will come from a single pine cone?


It has become increasing clear another small being determines bounty.  The honeybee, struggling to maintain its population in many places, spreads pollen to pollinate flowers, vegetables and fruits.  Like them, readers are asked to savor the benefits of their labors.

Three items, one cracked, yield a flurry of feathers.  From play in the bathtub, one can ride the waves on oceans reflecting the sky.  You can grow from a beach architect to building spires stretching into the clouds.  No beginning is too small, if you believe.


With the same two words, When I, starting each sentence, except for the final statement, Robert Sabuda supplies readers with a gentle cadence.  It also presents a questioning pause before the page turn.  It is after the page turn readers are given a declarative answer along with the marvelous illustrative pop-up.  We are, without being aware, being led to the final soaring possibility.


On the front of the book case we are given a soothing scene of rolling hills meeting the sea with a ship calmly sailing past us.  Readers will discover four of the possible outcomes are included in this setting.  To the left, on the back, a sneak peek of the first pop-up, a gigantic evergreen tree among other small trees unfolds in the center.

No space is wasted by Robert Sabuda.  As we open the book case two shades of forest green, one on the left and the other on the right, cover the two pages.  In white the pine cone is placed in the lower right-hand corner.  These two greens are used again in the pop-up, done in crisp white.

For each of the six displays the two initial colors are found in the pop-up, either covering the two pages or as one of many elements.  This heightens the expectation as each revelation is made.  The concluding pop-up spans the final two pages.  Each pop-up is fashioned in heavier white paper, giving us a breathtaking contrast to the colors on which it is placed.

All six representations are exceptional but one of my favorites is for the words, When I strive for my goals  I will savor the outcome.  A dotted white line loops through the gutter on two hues of blue paper.  The line ends with a honey bee in flight on the right.  At the page turn the pop-up is gasp-worthy.  Five three-dimensional sunflowers among seven rise and curve to the right.  Three clouds on the far right add perspective.  The details in these flowers are exquisite; layers of petals circle out from larger centers with multiple dot cut-outs.


It is guaranteed this title will inspire readers of all ages.  The word choices, when and will, leave no doubt as to the outcome.  Believe: A Pop-Up Book Of Possibilities written and illustrated by Robert Sabuda is one you must have on your personal and professional book shelves.  This is a book you will want to gift to many other people.

To learn more about Robert Sabuda and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  With a link, he gives viewers many how-to instructions for engineering pop-ups.  At the publisher's website you can see an interior image.  The publisher also provides us with an informative Q & A with author/artist Robert Sabuda about this book.  Please enjoy this lovely book trailer.

Equine Excellence

Their domestication is inherently tied to human history.  With their presence in our way of life, everything moved faster and more efficiently.  There are still places on this planet where transportation by horse is the quickest method of travel. (On Mackinac Island in the state of Michigan the only way to move from place to place is by walking, bicycling or by horse-drawn carriage.)

Several years ago, a master illustrator, a paper engineer, acquired a parcel of land with an old barn.  It was previously home to ten horses that lived on this property in New York's Hudson Valley.  Today with the help of a crowd funding campaign it is now the 10 Horse Art Center.  Ten Horse Farm (Candlewick Press, April 10, 2018) written and illustrated with breathtaking paper engineering by Robert Sabuda is a remarkable tribute to this farm and the marvelous animals who lived there.

Racing

Single words, with the exception of the final text, describe the actions of a different horse or horses in ten dazzling displays. In the first a brown horse is galloping from left to right, tail and legs extended past the boundaries of the book.  A dog races alongside the horse, tongue hanging out in total bliss.  Next, head bowed and resting, a second cream-colored horse quietly watches playful kittens in a field of flowers.

A rooster takes flight as a dark horse soars over a set of bars and off the top of the illustration.  A wind mill seems to spin high above a horse nearly blending in with rows of wheat.  Is that a goat playing tug-of-war with a horse?  Whoever washed those clothes is in for a surprise.

A tiny mouse cautiously watches a gray horse kick its legs skyward.  The entire animal is off the top of the page except for the front legs.  Two horses with markings like large spots of paint nibble on apples in communal contentment.  On the final visual Ten Horse Farm rises above the page framed by trees.  All ten horses are featured and tucked into the pastoral scene.  You'll need to turn the book to seek and find them all.


By employing the technique of a single word for each image, Robert Sabuda accomplishes several things.  He introduces and defines nine verbs for readers.  He also allows his spectacular pop-up paper engineering to extend the meaning of those words through the actions of his horses.


Whether this is your first Robert Sabuda book or your tenth-plus title, as soon as you look at the front and back of the book case, you know you are holding something extraordinary.  Notice the color of the spine and the rope detail.  On the back the picture for the word Pulling is highlighted.  We receive an invitation to notice the different horses and other animals on the farm.

Full-color resonates from every page turn.  The majesty and movement of the horses draws our attention immediately.  Presenting us with other farm creatures in some of the scenes, Robert Sabuda provides us with fun, humor and the beauty of the landscape around the farm.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is for pulling.  In this scene a horse, a Clydesdale, is pulling a farm wagon down a portion of two pathways edged with stones.  The horse is prancing at the top of the page on the right.  To the left the wagon, with wheels looking as if they are spinning, is full of all the farm animals we have seen. The rooster is crowing on the back with the mouse sitting near him.  Kittens are lounging on crates behind the goat.  The duck is attempting to fly away.  At the front the dog seems to be calling out to the horse.


Each time you turn a page and view the pop-up pictures in Ten Horse Farm written and illustrated by Robert Sabuda, you are astounded at the meticulous artwork.  Each image opens and closes with ease.  These three-dimensional masterpieces are certain to inform and entertain readers of all ages.  This title is a must have for your personal and professional book collections, especially for readers who appreciate and love horses.  (With care this volume will last multiple readings.)  This book would be wonderful paired with Tony, An Otis Christmas, If A Horse Had Words, and for older readers, Some Kind of Courage.

To learn more about Robert Sabuda and his other beautiful work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  At the publisher's website you can view an interior image.  I know you will enjoy this book trailer.

In A Little Town In Bethlehem

It's the day and evening before Christmas Eve 2016.  It would be a fairly accurate estimate to say I've read or had the Nativity story read to me several hundred times.  Although different interpretations by a variety of authors and illustrators shed new light on the heart of a religious and holiday celebration, the essence remains the same.  It was and is an unprecedented event.

On my personal shelves is a small collection of pop-up books, numbering just over thirty.  Half of them have been engineered by Robert Sabuda.  This year his newest entry honors The Christmas Story (Candlewick Press, September 27, 2016).  It's a luminous presentation in both images and text.

LONG AGO, in the town of Nazareth, there lived a young woman named Mary.  She was soon to marry a carpenter named Joseph.

Mary was visited by an angel with news, unexpected news.  She was to give birth to the Son of God.  Faithful to the Lord she humbly replied,

"I am the servant of the Lord."

After Mary and Joseph became husband and wife, they had to make a long journey to the town of Bethlehem, birthplace of Joseph.  A census had been ordered by Caesar Augustus.  With so many people traveling to Bethlehem for the counting, by the time the young couple entered the city, all places of rest and refreshment were full.

They spent the night in a stable.  Joseph made his wife as comfortable as possible on a straw bed.  She gave birth to a son surrounded by the animals lodged in the humble shelter.  Nearby angels came to a group of shepherds caring for their flock.  They announced the birth of the child in Bethlehem. Far away a bright star guided three wise men.  They sought a King.

The shepherds arrived.  The three wise men found the stable delivering their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Mary and Joseph were astonished but the words of the angel sent by God resonated within their hearts.  This was a night unlike any before or after.

For each of the six displays Robert Sabuda has engineered they are accompanied by beautifully worded paragraphs.  In most of them Sabuda has included exact Biblical quotes.  He draws attention to the human element.  He makes this extraordinary event accessible to readers of all ages.  Here is a portion of one of the paragraphs.

Mary wrapped the baby in a warm blanket,
and Joseph laid him in a manger filled with
fresh, sweet hay.

On the front of the book the circles of light around Mary, Joseph and the Child as well as the star are embossed in gold.  Along the spine the Star shines in gold foil above the title also in foil.  The contrast of deep rich royal blue with the pristine white is striking.

With a page turn a pale blue background highlights an angel in the upper, right-hand corner, wings spread.  Gold trims the neck, sleeves and waist of the angel's attire.  Mary, on the left, looks from one of two arched windows.  Doves are present.  Jars hold small growing trees.  With this first scene we are reminded of the masterful talent of Robert Sabuda.  His intricate details are nothing short of amazing.

When you open the pages a vista or a small vignette rises in front of your eyes; the hills and rolling sands of the desert landscape with buildings in the distance, animals peering at a man, woman and child or three men riding camels with a star reaching high above them.  Gold foil has been placed on portions of all the pictures for emphasis.  The backgrounds are different in all of the depictions.  Unlike the majority of the elements done in white, the clothing worn by the three wise men is a textured pearl color.

These six portrayals are all stunning but one of my favorites is the angels visiting the shepherds.  Eight sheep rise on the dusty green canvas on the left.  On the right two shepherds kneel in front of their fire.  A sheep is to the left of one of them.  Three angels, two playing instruments, speak to the men.  The angels have been placed above a swirl of clouds.


The Christmas Story interpreted and portrayed in a glorious array of pop-up pictures by Robert Sabuda is a book you will want on your personal shelves as a title to be shared every year.  As I have done in my professional collections in the past I would recommend its inclusion.  These books are well-loved quickly but they are most appreciated.  I thank Robert Sabuda for this title and for Candlewick Press for its publication.

To learn more about Robert Sabuda and his other work, please follow the first link attached to his name.  The second link takes you to a page his devotes to the making of pop-ups.  You can also further acquaint yourself with Sabuda through this NCCIL essay, an interview at Best Pop-Up Books, Four Questions for ... Robert Sabuda at Publishers Weekly, a video interview at Reading Rockets and a guest appearance at All The Wonders, Episode 308 with teacher librarian Matthew Winner.

A Different Point Of View

There are authors' and illustrators' books, no matter the topic, when read you know you will learn something new.  There may be one fact on a subject, a subject in which you thought you were well versed, which will make you gasp in surprise.  From that moment on, you will become the proverbial sponge, going backward and forward, reading the text and pictures.


Last year I highlighted several books illustrated and written by Steve Jenkins, one in collaboration with his wife Robin Page.  My First Day by Robin Page and Steve Jenkins (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, January 2013) chronicles twenty-two newborn animals.  The Animal Book: A Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest---and Most Surprising---Animals on Earth (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, October 2013) by Steve Jenkins is a masterful work on all things animals.  Little did I know that in-between those two another stunning publication, Animals Upside Down (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, August 2013) was released.

What do spiders, bats, and birds of paradise have in common?  Along with many other creatures, they turn upside down.  A few of them, in fact, spend most of their lives this way.

Twenty-six known or unknown creatures, depending on where you live, are the object of this interactive introduction.  Readers pull tabs moving animals and sliding windows, open flaps, turn pages to reveal pop-ups and spin circles; each one an intriguing  revelation.  On land or water, readers travel the globe to explore and wonder at the amazing adaptability of each living thing.

While I am more than familiar with the abilities of a striped skunk, I was unaware of the darkling beetle's capabilities to duplicate a similar response in defense.  A fire-bellied toad is aptly named changing colors to ward off predators; the poisonous skin is a pretty good deterrent too.  Playing dead works well for a hog-nosed snake, a pale green weevil and opossum.  One even takes it to the extreme, passing out cold in fright.

Being able to move in the opposite direction, while looking at different angles than most, comes in handy for the nuthatch.  Lots of tail action on the part of a harvest mouse, an armored pangolin, a monkey skink and a woolly monkey aid in movement and feasting on food.  You have to appreciate the cleverness of the net-catching spider lowering the woven trap on its next meal while hanging above it.  As many times as I've watched hummingbirds, I've yet to see one upside down to get nectar.

When you've grown up boating on the water for pleasure or fishing, it's not uncommon to see mallards or other ducks, tipping their bodies to put their heads in the water for food.  But what the sparrowhawk does in flight to capture an unsuspecting bird is not something I have ever seen.  There's more than eye-catching pink to the traits of a flamingo.  Their beaks are nature's own strainers.

Turning around to leave a specially built home, hanging from a branch like a dead leaf, and being the only bird to sleep upside down assist each of these three in staying alive.  All of these creatures either originally or evolved to exist "outside the box".  Their point of view makes all the difference.


For the most part two sentences, sometimes three or four, define the unique characteristics of these animals.  They are clearly understandable, written with a choice of words to convey place and purpose, matching beautifully with the illustrations.  The name of the animal is displayed in bold text to focus the reader's attention.  At the back of the book two pages are devoted to thumbnail pictures of the animals with short paragraphs providing further information usually including size and geographical location.  (Who knew skunk spray could go not one, not two but twelve feet?)

Here is a sample of text.

A hungry trumpetfish lurks, head down.  Disguised as a piece of soft coral, this stealthy fish waits for its prey to come close.  


The contrasting blue, brown, gold and red on the book's cover with the bat looking straight ahead on the front and the spider about to catch an unsuspecting fly on the back, is a direct invitation to the reader.  The endpapers are a part of the book, every bit of space is an element.  A warm bright white supplies the background for Steve Jenkins' lively cut and torn paper collage illustrations which pop off the page even without the paper engineering.

Alternating the action taken by readers, pulling a tab to bring a change into a pre-cut gap, opening a flap, pulling a tab to slide sections into creating a new image, pulling a tab to make an animal's body move, opening pages to reveal a pop-up or spinning a circle to make an creature shift position, contributes to the constant interest, the solving of a marvelous mystery.  Purposeful placement of the animals on the pages serves to add to the overall excellent design.  Text is located next to or around each creature.

One of my favorite illustrations is of the weaverbird's nest formed of woven grass and palm fronds hanging down from the top of the page.  The bird, in bright shades of golden yellow, peeks from the narrow bottom.  When the tab is pulled most of his body comes out, upside down.


Reading this book is like going on a treasure hunt; each page turn adding to the bounty we call knowledge.  No matter your age Animals Upside Down (A Pull, Pop, Lift & Learn Book!) written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is a fascinating look at these twenty-six individual living beings.  Its colorful pictures, enlightening text and sturdy construction on heavy paper make for a lasting book to be enjoyed repeatedly.

The link embedded above in the title is to Steve Jenkins' website.  It gives you a look at four of the pages, dissolving into the changes.  Enjoy the trailer.  


I am excited to be participating in Alyson Beecher's 2014 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted on her blog, Kid Lit Frenzy, each Wednesday.  I love filling in my nonfiction book gap with many great titles, new and old.