Keep Going By Keeping Together

It was a frequent topic of conversation.  When it was not being directly referenced, our way of life mirrored the past experience.  We used everything.  Very little was discarded.  Somethings were made from nothings. We had a huge vegetable garden.  Food was preserved.  If you left a room after dark, you turned off the light.  Water was never left running, ever.  Purchases were made with cash or not made at all.

The lessons learned during The Great Depression after the Stock Market Crash by my mother, then nine-years-old, and my father, at ten-years-old, carried forth into their adult lives. You don't forget those circumstances, but truthfully, I never heard either of them complain about those lean years.  In a tender tribute based upon the childhood of her grandmother, Home In The Woods (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, October 1, 2019) written and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler allows readers to see the strength and worth of familial love and ingenuity.  Season by season the impossible becomes probable.

This is my family.
Marv (8)
Rich (10)
Ray (14)
Mum (34)
Bea (12)
Dal (2)
Eva (3 mo.)
Lowell (4)
This is me.
Marvel (6)

Marvel's family has lost a father and a husband and their home.  It's summer.  They find a dilapidated, one-room shack in the woods.  There is a nearby outhouse.  Their mother reasons they might find glad surprises inside this barely standing house.  Inside is a table, a couple of empty wooden crates, an oven, potbelly stove, and some box springs. Amazingly enough two of the siblings locate a trap door.  It leads to a cellar with shelves filled with glass jars, a pail, a stack of cloth rags and a hand pump that works, giving them fresh clean water.

As the children and their mother work to clean and ready the shack for living, two other siblings make another discovery.  The dirt on the forest floor after years of falling leaves is dark and fertile; perfect for gardening.  To the children the woods reveal animal pathways, a creek brimming with trout, and lush berry patches.

Autumn signals the need for other tasks.  Words are written on paper slips and siblings complete the assigned work stated on the slips they select randomly.  For money their mother walks into town to assist other families with their household jobs.  The root cellar shelves are slowly filled with the fruits (and vegetables) of their labors.  Only able to afford essentials during visits to town, the siblings, now home, invent their own game of buying whatever they want.

Like the woods outside their home, winter brings indoor activities except for Ray and Marv who daily hunt in the snow and cold.  Success makes for a lively celebratory feast.  A mother watches outside a window deep into the chilly night as her children lay nestled next to her.

The first fresh breaths of spring announce new hope.  Homemade goods are exchanged for milk and eggs at a nearby farm.  Wildflowers and returning birds decorate the woods with color and song.  As Marvel looks at the shack, she marvels at the changes the seasons can bring on the outside and on the inside of her.


The voice of six-year-old Marvel reveals truth in short, poignant thoughts and sentences.  Three different voices are heard when Eliza Wheeler includes dialogue four times.  It raises the authenticity of those moments.  During each of the seasons, we are aware of all the activities inside and outside the home through beautifully described events, simple but eloquent. It's as if we are members of this family.  Here is a passage.

Bea huddles in the lamp's glow.
Mum teaches her that scraps,
put together,
make colored patchwork.

I huddle by the warm stove.
Rich teaches me that letters,
put together, make words . . .
and words, put together, 
make stories.


As you look at the front of the dust jacket, you find yourself drawn into the scene by the delicate details and natural framing of the woods.  Although the family is engaged in chores, there is a sense of peace and accomplishment, too.  The tree trunk you see on the left, continues on the other side of the spine.  When you open the jacket, the continuation is flawless.  The foreground remains darker and brighter and the background fades to near white as your eyes move left.  This space provides an opportunity to talk about this book and Eliza Wheeler's Miss Maple's Seeds.  The title text is slightly raised and varnished.

Beneath the jacket, the book case gives us another view of the shack.  It is winter.  Marv and Ray are walking away from their home to go hunting, their footprints leaving a path in the snow.  We are standing farther back from the clearing as a panoramic view spreads out across both the back and the front of the case.  You get a very real sense of the stillness, cold and probably the crunch of footsteps in the snow.

On the opening and closing endpapers, in soft shades of green, Eliza Wheeler, artist, has created a bird's eye view of the shack and surrounding woods.  Important places and points of interest are labeled.  Many of these spaces are visited by the children and their mother in Marvel's story.

Rendered in

dip pens, India ink, watercolor, acrylics, and pastel pencils

all the illustrations, in intricate, fine lines and superb use of light and shadow, portray people and places in which readers, regardless of the time period, can identify.  Many of the images are full-page pictures, double-page pictures, visuals crossing the gutter to fashion a column for text or another picture or small illustrations grouped on a single page.  In addition to the narrative text, Eliza Wheeler adds explanatory short captions.  The facial expressions viewed are those of people you wish to know.  In a word, every page turn discloses, exquisiteness.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It is probably very late at night or early in the morning during a bitter winter.  On the left we are inside the shack.  The children are stretched out from their mother, Mum, who leans against the window holding the youngest child.  All eight are under a quilt.  We can see the faces of five children.  The other two have their heads at the other end of the bed.  All we see are their feet covered in socks.  Light from the stars and moon shine on the mother's upturned face. Eliza Wheeler cleverly takes the wall on the inside of the shack and turns it into the outside wall as it crosses the gutter.  Drifts of snow sparkle under the stars among the trees in the woods.  Here is the final sentence in the passage for this picture.

But Mum stays awake
into the night . . .

. . . whispering
to
the 
stars.


This book is filled with hope and potential.  For all who read Home In The Woods written and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler you can see how resilience leads to success, and how hope guided by love leads the way.  The potential found here is for a multitude of discussions with readers.  On the final page in an Author's Note Eliza Wheeler speaks about the inspiration for this book, her grandmother, Marvel.  Today four of the children are still alive including Marvel.  Eliza Wheeler also invites readers to talk about their family stories.  I highly recommend this book for your professional and personal book collections.

To learn more about Eliza Wheeler and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  There are multiple resources related to this book.  Eliza Wheeler has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view the title page.  I know you will love reading this article in the Southwest Journal about the journey to write this book.  I did.  I might have been a bit teary, too, at the end.

UPDATE:  On December 10, 2019 Eliza Wheeler visited PictureBookBuilders to chat about this book.  It's a wonderful post with loads of information.

UPDATE:  Eliza Wheeler uploaded two videos about this book.  I believe you will enjoy them.

An Act Of Charity

There truly is power in the written word.  There is our initial reaction upon first reading it or hearing it read.  It can be revisited again and again, giving us time to reflect on possible meanings, forming and revising thoughts and opinions.  No matter when written its purpose can extend far into the future, a future yet to be imagined.

On April 7, 2017 a master in the use of language passed away from our earthly realm.  There is no possible way to number the countless individuals who benefited from her written words.  What Is Given from the Heart (Schwartz & Wade, January 8, 2019) written by Patricia C. McKissack with illustrations by April Harrison is the last book by a beloved author and the debut picture book of a renowned artist.  The value of what these words and illustrations convey will not fade.

It was a rough few months for Mama and me.
We were already poor, but we got poorer last April, when Daddy went to sleep on the front porch and never woke up.

By the first of summer James Otis and his mama lose their farm and move to a tiny house, with rooms one behind the other in a row, in a low- lying area of land.  Their lives seem to go from worse to much worse.  One day their home is flooded, and the boy's dog runs away.  They survive through the holidays until February arrives.

In church on a Sunday near Valentine's Day, Reverend Dennis announces love boxes will be delivered to those in need.  People in the congregation are asked to give what they can.  One family in particular recently lost everything in a fire.

On the chilly walk home James Otis and Mama talk about what they can give.  The little girl, Sarah, is only seven, two years younger than James Otis.  He wonders what people with nothing can give to others with nothing.  That night in bed possibilities wander around in his mind but he dismisses all of them as he falls asleep.

In the morning James Otis is moved by his mother's act of love for the Temple family.  Every day he wonders what he can give.  Nothing seems exactly right until he remembers one of his cherished possessions.  Can he do the same for Sarah?  On the Sunday of the presentation to the Temple family a response warms all hearts.  A circle of charity (love) is completed when James Otis and Mama near their home.


Children, all readers, will wholly identify with the poignant voice of James Otis as his tale unfolds.  When Patricia McKissack writes this story allowing us to see the world through a child's eyes, it enters our hearts and stays there.  Specific sentences define the poverty with heart wrenching clarity. 

Mama cried and cried, 
'cause Daddy didn't have a suit to be buried in.

Strength of character is revealed in the words of Mama as she speaks with James Otis.  It's not just her words that move him, though, but her actions.  Patricia McKissack shows us how love evolves through the ponderings of James Otis as he struggles to find a gift for Sarah.  Here is a passage.

As time flew toward Valentine's Day, I fretted more and more.
I considered giving Sarah a puzzle.  It didn't bother me that two pieces
were missing but it might bother her.  Unh-unh, that wouldn't do, 
not even with a bow on it.  And neither would my capeless Superman
Halloween costume.


Looking at the open and matching dust jacket and book case readers are given views, two different views of expressed love.  Rendered

in mixed media, including acrylics, collage, art pens, and found objects

artist April Harrison through a blend of bold and delicate lines, various textures and muted, earth tones brings a natural warmth to her illustrations.  By featuring Mama and James Otis on the front, we can see how her strength literally and figuratively envelopes him.  To the left, on the back, a picture of Sarah allows us to see the gift James Otis gives her and her happy reaction.

The marbled background seen on the jacket and case is replicated on the opening and closing endpapers, verso (dedication) and title pages.  The images, full-page and double-page, bring a very real sense of place and time to the readers.  Details, a calendar and family photographs on the walls, artwork on the refrigerator and a blue ribbon hanging in James Otis's bedroom, further our connection to the characters.

The affection between a son and his mother is shown in their frequent embraces, facial expressions, and general physical closeness.  April Harrison brings us close to James Otis and Mama for some of the illustrations and moves us farther away in others.  This gives us an idea of the place where they reside. 

One of my many favorite illustrations is on the first evening when James Otis is awake in bed, thinking about what to give Sarah.  On the wall next to a tiny, narrow window hangs his blue ribbon and a family picture.  On his small dresser sits his shiny rock , whistle, and several books.  He is covered with a quilt made by his mama.  On a rug on the wooden floor is his puzzle, missing two pieces.  James Otis looks worried.  How many of us have spent hours in bed thinking and worrying and trying to figure out what is best?


When a book like What Is Given from the Heart written by Patricia C. McKissack with illustrations by April Harrison is read, it brings to each reader a message.  For some it will be the same and for others, it will be different.  What is certain is that this book will be remembered.  Love remains.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Patricia C. McKissack and April Harrison and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Patricia C. McKissack has several videos at her website you will enjoy watching.  April Harrison has an account on Instagram.  Here is the link to The New York Times obituary for Patricia C. McKissack.  The artwork for this book is highlighted at author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  You can also view interior images at a publisher's website.

Trashed Treasure

Readers will be grabbed by the very first sentence in this book, Trash (2010) written by Andy Mulligan.  My name is Raphael Fernandez and I am a dumpsite boy.  Beginning in his third year Raphael has been picking through mountains of trash in the rubbish-town of Behala near the sea working alongside his friend, Gardo.

As they are sifting through trash one day a bag called a special is dropped down from the crane.  That name is given to an unbroken bag from an area where the rich reside.  Among all the various valuables a small, coffee-ground covered pouch falls into Raphael's hand.

A peso-filled wallet with a few photographs and an ID card, a folded-up map of the city and a key inside the map are the only contents within.  Quickly putting these items down his shorts Raphael and Gardo continue sorting so as to not draw attention to themselves.  But

We were both excited and we were right to be, because that bag changed everything.  A long time later I would think to myself:  Everyone needs a key.  With the right key, you can bust the door wide open.  Because nobody's going to open it for you.

Desperate to uncover the truth the two friends seek the assistance of another boy living in the dump, Rat.  Troubling times are ahead for the trio of teens who search to unravel the mystery surrounding these items.  Using alternating voices of characters for each chapter this tale pits them against seemingly insurmountable odds in this third world country fraught with corruption at every turn. Death shadows them as the slightest misjudged decision could end all.

With the clock ticking toward The Day of the Dead this compelling thriller will have pages being enhaled by breathless readers as the action speeds toward the soul satisfying conclusion.  Beneath all the escapades of these young men the heart of the story beats steadily guiding everyone toward the larger social issues portrayed.

Andy Mulligan  is an author to be admired and appreciated for his superb storytelling skills. Now I need to get my hands on his other book, Ribblestrop, but quick.

Andy Mulligan talks about this book at The Guardian, Andy Mulligan Talks Trash.  Here is a link to the author's website for more information about this book specifically.  There is a wonderful series of pages on Andy Mulligan's blog with chapter summaries and loads of other information.