Every Little Bit . . .

Each morning Mulan, my canine companion, and I take the same route on our morning walk.  More than half of the route is without sidewalks and when there are sidewalks, we tend to stick to the edge of the roadway due to other walkers, runners, and dogs.  Without fail, there is one driver each day who not only ignores the posted speed limit, but comes so close to us that we have to move off the road or jump aside.  They drive as if their hair is on fire and they are the only person on the planet.

Despite this one soul without regard for other living things, there are multiple drivers who slow down and nod, wave or smile.  Those small acts of kindness when added together have a huge effect on our morning walks.  Those people are used to seeing us and respond accordingly.  I have no idea who they are, but I consider them friends.  The mutual respect we have for each other has established a community of sorts. Today is the book birthday for a title, One Small Thing (Beaming Books, May 9, 2023) written by Marsha Diane Arnold with artwork by Laura Watkins, which presents the practice of rising above ourselves to assist others.  Every little bit helps and does not go unappreciated.  

All the animals in Brightly Wood were talking about what happened.

During a storm the previous night, lightning struck Raccoon's home.  All that remains are ashes.  Squirrel, Badger, Beaver, Mouse, and Rabbit are recreating the event in their conversation. In addition to the loss of his home, Raccoon has suffered burns on his feet and his cricket companion is missing.  In the concerned comments made by Raccoon's friends, readers get a hint at their personalities.  

Beaver wonders where Raccoon will live now.  Rabbit hardly knows Raccoon. Mouse is so little and this problem is huge.  Badger, seemingly a curmudgeon, wonders where the 

silly cricket

is.  Squirrel is overwhelmed by the sadness of this event.  They all leave for their respective homes except for Badger.  Badger heads to the darkest part of the forest.

Squirrel, Mouse, and Rabbit start on tasks exemplifying their talents.  Beaver knows she excels at home construction, so she works all day to build another home for Raccoon.  As Squirrel sips her tea, she begins to think.  As Mouse hangs herbs from his rafters, he begins to think.  As Rabbit nibbles on honey bread with honey,  a single thought pops into Rabbit's mind.  The four friends find Raccoon and snuggle inside the new house drinking tea and eating honey bread with honey.  Mouse rubs a balm made from his herbs on Raccoon's feet.

Where is Badger you ask?  Is Badger lost among the shadows of Brightly Wood?  That thunderstorm created a major loss, but much was found the next day because Beaver, Squirrel, Mouse, Rabbit and Badger decide to do . . .

A bit of a mystery introduces us to this narrative with the first sentence.  Author Marsha Diane Arnold has piqued our interest.  She leads us, as she does so often, to examine our hearts as each of her characters do the same.  By having each of the animals offer an opinion several times, she establishes a rhythm to her story.

As we follow their actions and thoughts, we see how each personality works through a tragic event and responds as they are able.  Readers will see themselves in one or more of these characters' reactions.  The title of the book is beautifully woven into Squirrel's, Mouse's and Rabbit's ultimate decision. Here is a passage.

Beaver stepped back and looked at her work, then hurried off to find Raccoon.

All the other animals hurried off to find Raccoon too.

Except Badger.  He kept wandering through Brightly Wood, muttering,

"Where is that silly cricket?"

A single, full-color image extends from the left edge of the book case to the right edge.  It is the dawn of a new day in Brightly Wood.  Mouse, Squirrel, Rabbit, Badger, and Beaver, eyes closed in affection, offer a group hug to their friend, Raccoon.  We can see by Raccoon's eyes, this hug is needed.  Everything about this scene, the brightening sky, soaring birds, glowing sunlight reflected on the grass and calm breezes, suggests warmth and connection.

A pale lemon yellow covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page is a close-up of Raccoon's mailbox secured to a tree.  Careful readers will see with the opening single-page picture, artist Laura Watkins uses the background sky to indicate weather and time of day.  She continues this throughout the book.  The colors in her outdoor scenes tend to not only reflect the time of day and weather, but the mood of the characters.

The facial features and body postures on each of the animals reveal their emotional status and personality traits.  While their physical characteristics are realistically portrayed, there is also a quality about the animals that depicts them charmingly enough that you might want to hug them. Two of them are more motivated to immediate action, while the other three tend to mull over circumstances.  This is mirrored in Laura Watkins's art.

As the pages are turned, Laura Watkins moves from single-page pictures to groups of vignettes, and to large double-page images, one, a bird's eye view of Brightly Wood.  She also shifts perspectives to enhance the text.  Within Squirrel's, Mouse's, and Rabbit's homes, readers will be fascinated by the attention to detail.  They will also come to understand how a certain moody friend can walk unafraid into the less inviting portions of Brightly Wood.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a two-page picture.  Beaver has found Raccoon seated on a log near the river, soaking his burned feet in the water.  The river mirrors the sky as the day comes to a close.  There are hues of orange, golden yellow, and purple in the sky, silhouettes of trees and trees near the river.  Beaver is seated next to Raccoon on the fallen tree, embracing her downcast friend.  

This book, One Small Thing written by Marsha Diane Arnold with illustrations by Laura Watkins, is a quiet but compelling tale reminding us that we are never too small to effect change or an action we take for good is never too small to make a difference.  It demonstrates how like single snowflakes can combine to make a blizzard that many small things can create a huge shift in someone's life.  It might be fun to do this as a reader's theater.  You will want to have a copy of this on your personal bookshelves and in your professional collections.

To learn more about Marsha Diane Arnold and Laura Watkins and their other work, please visit their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Marsha Diane Arnold has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  Laura Watkins has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  There is a wonderful thirteen-page activity guide at the publisher's website for you to download.

Of Capes And Courage

Some people carry an object with them believing it inspires them when they need it the most.  There is something intrinsically reassuring about reaching into your pocket to rub your fingers over a treasured memento; its value known only to you.  Others wear a specific article of clothing to ensure good luck is with them during a particular day or a specific event.  

Remembrances are attached to certain outfits hanging in our closets.  We recall some as gifts, or the place it was purchased or the spectacular circumstances we enjoyed while wearing it.  Super Manny Stands Up! (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, July 4, 2017) written by Kelly DiPucchio with illustrations by Stephanie Graegin speaks to the superhero in all of us.

Every day Manny put on a different cape after school.  

Each colored cape represented his ability to conquer those beings who wished him or others harm.  They also made a very special trait within Manny rise to the surface.  Donning his blue cape made battling unsavory sea creatures easy.  Manny was fearless.

His red, yellow, purple, and green capes helped him defeat zombie bears or forest giants.  He could be brave or powerful depending on the foe and the cape he wore.  His most important cape was the one saved for school.  It was his

top secret undercover cape.

No one could see this cape but Manny knew it was there.

Mutant monkeys on the playground and giant squids in the cafeteria were no match for Super Manny.  One day at lunch a voice boomed above the general hum.  Tall One was teasing Small One.  Manny knew he should do something but his capes were at home.  Then he remembered his

top secret undercover cape.

Manny left his seat and spoke.  Tall One immediately turned his attention to Manny questioning his words.  Our invincible raccoon spoke louder.  Tall One was surprised and not pleased with what happened next.  A cape spread courage from one to many.


With her first sentence Kelly DiPucchio welcomes us into the story.  We are already asking questions.  Why does Manny put a cape on after school?  Why does he have different capes?  As each color is depicted a narrative rhythm is established with the introduction of the dangers and the corresponding trait in Manny.  The distinctive characteristics are shouted by Manny in speech bubbles.

During the disruption in the cafeteria all those imaginary evils Manny has fought and conquered are listed in his mind again along with a mantra of his attributes.  This technique asks readers to participate in the tale of Super Manny.  Here is a sample passage.

When legions of alien robots with laser-beam eyes invaded, Manny tirelessly fought them off in his purple cape.

I AM POWERFUL!


Now I ask you, how can you resist the proud, happy raccoon standing on the front of the dust jacket? (I am working with an F & G.) His confidence radiates as strongly as the stars blasting forth behind him.  The title text, Manny, and the stars are varnished.  Each individual star is textured with raised glitter.  To the left, on the back, we see the same hill on the blue background.  This time Manny is facing away from us.

On the opening and closing endpapers illustrator Stephanie Graegin is giving us a hint of happenings to come in the book.  On the first set Manny is wearing different colored striped shirts with different colored capes.  All the poses (40) are altered.  The final set has an addition to the rowed pattern.  (My lips are sealed.)

Rendered in pencil and ink and then assembled and colored digitally the illustrations span two pages, single pages and smaller images on a single page.  For those smaller ones on single pages, Stephanie Graegin usually has a circular shape.  Sometimes the elements will extend outside this frame.

When Manny is facing each of the collective foes they appear in the color of his cape superimposed over the normal activities of the other characters.  When the angry army of zombie bears attack, it is in the middle of his sister's tea party.  Her disgust at his roaring is typical and funny.  Manny is beating the forest giants in a game of croquet as his mother and sister work in the garden.

The layout and design of these images is superb.  The details will have readers pausing to look; the title of Manny's sister's book, the kind of books Manny likes to read, and the cat holding chopsticks in the cafeteria.  Body postures and facial expressions are as exactly as you would expect and are sure to produce smiles in all readers.  Readers will want to join Manny in his exploits.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the unsavory sea creatures appear.  On a crisp white background Manny is behind a fish bowl looking at the regular fish inside.  The outraged sea creatures are beginning to float from the top as water splashes.  This shift in perspective heightens the pacing.


Readers will count this title as one of their favorites on having the courage to speak up against those who are being unkind to others.  Super Manny Stands Up! written by Kelly DiPucchio with illustrations by Stephanie Graegin is an inspiration to all readers.  One person can make a difference especially if they are wearing their invisible cape.  Make sure you have a copy of this title on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To discover more about Kelly DiPucchio and Stephanie Graegin and their other work please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images. Kelly DiPucchio maintains a blog.  Dylan Teut, director of the Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival in Seward, Nebraska, interviewed Kelly DiPucchio on his blog, Mile High Reading.

Honoring A Pact

In many cultures animals were and still are integral to pourquoi tales, legends, myths and religious beliefs.  It was believed in earlier times animals moved among humans talking with them.  It's much harder now to understand what they are trying to tell us.  We must be keen and quiet observers.

Many years ago in the solitude of several summer days I journeyed to a world fashioned by the words of Brian Jacques in his Redwall series.  I still remember how captivated I was by those mice and the other animals populating their lives.  Books like Jacques' titles alter your perspective.  (I have since made sure every home of mine is mouse-proof.  I can't bear the thought of harming one.)

Imagine my happiness at reading a dedication in one of my most recently read books:

To Brian Jacques, whose books made me a reader,
and to Mr. Xanders, who made me read them.

This first book in a new series, The Wild Ones (Philomel Books an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), August 25, 2015), written by C. Alexander London takes me back to those summer days in an extraordinary new adventure with a young raccoon as the central figure.  It's a doorway into a realm of wondrous possibilities.

Of all the alleys beneath the Slivered Sky where the animals of fur and feather make themselves at home, Ankle Snap Alley was the most notorious.  It was known far and wide as a den of thieves and crooks and cheats.  In Ankle Snap Alley, honest folk were rare as roses in winter, and a decent house pet from a good home would never set foot in such a garbage heap.

In the dead of night two animals, part of the crew The Flealess, house-dwellers, meet to carry out a treacherous plan.  A miniature greyhound, Titus, and an orange and white cat, Sixclaw, wearing a purple collar with a tiny bell, have murder on their minds.  A raccoon couple has acquired the means to locate the Bone of Contention, the proof of an ancient pact.  More than seven hundred and seven seasons ago a promise of peace was made giving the Wild Ones full rights to live without fear in Ankle Snap Alley.

After tragedy strikes Kit's warren in Big Sky, he finds himself running for his life toward an uncertain future in the city of Slivered Sky and Ankle Snap Alley.  An encounter with a pickpocket and two con-artist raccoons has him seeking help from other creatures who may or may not be trustworthy.  Barely escaping with his life a third time, he, his new friend Eeni, an albino rat, and his uncle, Riky Two Rings, try to formulate a plan.  Before they can, a clear, soft ringing announces the arrival of a terrible enemy.

Rescued by Martyn and his followers, the young raccoon and his rat friend, are led to a frightening meeting.  An appointment made generations ago must be kept.  Here Kit learns of a riddle.  As he leaves he finds himself and his friends in a treacherous predicament.  A life and death bargain is forged.

Beneath the city in the sewers Kit uses all his newly acquired wiles to persuade an alligator with an appetite to let him complete his search in order to save the Wild Ones.  Regardless of all Kit's achievements, a turncoat turns the tide and a battle still needs to be won.  As tensions build one thing becomes perfectly clear, the least shall lead and all need to work in tandem or all is lost.

Within four parts, thirty chapters and two hundred forty-one pages, you will be left breathless over and over again as the adventure plays out like a roller coaster ride.  C. Alexander London has artfully and beautifully used language to make us wish we could be part of Big Sky and Slivered Sky.  The personalities of his characters are splendidly full of life; villains and heroes alike.  The names, Azban, the first raccoon, Brutus, Duke of Dogs, the Rabid Rascals, the Blacktail Brothers, and Gayle the alligator are only a few.

Captivating chapters are linked by openings and closings which compel you to turn pages as quickly as possible.  Through indicative dialogue and vivid, detailed descriptions of place, Ankle Snap Alley replaces your immediate surroundings.   The comments and thoughts of the animals are as valid as if uttered by humans with all the wisdom or connivery of the ages.  Here are a few of my many, many marked passages.

"I'm not a mouse," Kit tried to give him the pamphlet back, but the mouse didn't take it.
"We are all mice in the eyes of history," the mouse said.
"We are all of one claw if you scratch back far enough. This is why history must be remembered! This is what makes mice believe.  Only history will show us the way to the future!"

Sometimes telling a story hurt worse than living it, but sometimes telling the stories that hurt the most was the only way to survive.

All eyes shifted from Kit to the turtle, whose pale green face looked paler and greener than ever.  After a pause that felt as long as winter and twice as cold, the turtle spoke.
"Brave words for such a young lad," he said suddenly speaking as fast as anyone.  His whole slow-talking thing was just an act that fell away when he got mad. "I'll need some proof you can do what you say."
"I told you what the Rat King said," Kit explained.
"Words ain't much good as proof," said the turtle.
"Words are cheap as dirt and twice as useless.  Anyone can use words to say anything they want.  But deeds, Kit. Deeds are a rare thing.  ...

"Don't scare the lad, my brother," Shane replied with a sarcastic smile. "Alligators can smell fear.  You aren't afraid of giant teeth that lurk below the sewer filth, are you, Kit?  You aren't afraid of massive jaws and terrible fangs, are you, you mole-faced tick-for-brains?


C. Alexander London is a marvelous wordsmith enveloping his readers with a timeless story.  The Wild Ones touches on what composes a family and a community and how an individual regardless of size or age can make change possible when it looks hopeless.  Having read portions of this title repeatedly, I highly recommend this title.  It makes me wish when I walk out on my deck tomorrow the magpies will greet me with a cheery hello and a request for water or the deer will thank me for their latest meal on my newly planted flowers and bushes.

To discover more about C. Alexander London please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  At Scholastic's Ambassador for School Libraries John Schumacher's blog Watch. Connect. Read. visit the post for the cover reveal and more words by the book's publisher.  John also links to the first guest post by London on his blog.  Be sure to read the Publishers Weekly article, London's 'The Wild Ones' Inspired by Redwall.  You absolutely need to stop by this Nerdy Book Club post, C. Alexander London Shares the Illustrations for The Wild Ones .They are drawn by the gifted Levi Pinfold.  Enjoy the videos!

Shhhhh...Can You Keep A Secret?

Truthfully, I can't remember a time when I did not like pizza.  Growing up I can still remember the thrill of knowing a pizza night was close at hand when the Chef Boyardee box showed up in the pantry after Mom went grocery shopping.  As I got older my homemade pizza dough from scratch was a household favorite.

Say the word pizza party to a group of students and watch what happens; eyes will light up and a quiet buzz will spread around the room.  The team that brought readers Those Darn Squirrels (Clarion Books, 2008), Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door (Clarion Books, 2011), Those Darn Squirrels Fly South (Clarion Books, 2012) and Dragons Love Tacos (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012) have a new title guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.  Secret Pizza Party (Dial Books for Young Readers) is a ring-tailed rascal's quest for this mouth-watering, gourmet, doughy delight.

Poor Raccoon.
All he wants in life is some pizza.

Peering into pizzeria windows and invading trash cans, does not seem to be working in his favor.  As the narrator extols the virtues of all things pizza with apologies to the forlorn, frustrated Raccoon, a plan is suggested, a plan which must not be revealed to anyone.

Lest Raccoon needs a refresher on the true meaning of secret, the conspiratorial voice explains to him and the reader the advantages of keeping mum.  There is one problem though; how to get the pizza delivered to Raccoon.  I mean...after all...he is wanted for pizza theft.  But what's a party without the main course?!

Who's that in the trench coat, boots, wide-brimmed hat and glasses?  Shhhh...it's Raccoon.  He's going in to pick up a pizza.  Money?  Wallet?  He's got to run now on what promises to be a challenging, rather than a perfect, route back to his home inside the tree trunk.

Now it's time for the secret pizza party.  Wait a minute...there's the sound of voices, many voices, bright lights and a distinctive odor coming from outside Raccoon's home.  And he's off...


Adam Rubin reels readers right into the story with his snappy narration; a voice acting in partnership with Raccoon while providing readers with the inside scoop.  Lead by contemporary word choices loaded with humor we willingly follow the path, collaborators in the plan.  His descriptions of the pizza, his comparisons between regular and secret, the rambling escape route and the surprising conclusion combine to make the best kind of story; feeding our desire for a fun-filled adventure.  Here is a single example.  

Hot diggity dog, our pizza party is going to be so much fun!
Call the pizza man and tell him to bring over his absolute finest pizza pie.

Hang on a minute, you don't want the delivery guy to know where you live.

One of my favorite things about the artwork of Dan Salmieri is how his details convey and encompass the theme of a story.  The front jacket and cover done in shades of black featuring Raccoon in his disguise, eyes looking straight at the reader, finger to his mouth asking for quiet, the title done in shapes of pizza in front of the darkened pizza parlor, match the mood of secrecy.  The back jacket and cover feature a wanted poster of Raccoon, REWARD: 1 FREE PIE (NO TOPPINGS), nails holding it in place.  The opening and closing endpapers are patterned in slices of cheese pizza on a white background.

Using watercolor, gouache, and color pencil Salmieri alternates between black and white backgrounds, a variety of picture sizes, double page, single page and smaller vignettes, with his signature characters.  It's in looking at the eyes, the long thin arms, body motions and facial emotions, readers will be hard pressed not to burst into laughter.  Raccoon face pressed against the glass of the pizza restaurant watching people eat,  the decor in his abode, pizza graphics on the walls, a bedspread covered in whole pizzas, a lampshade in the shape of a pizza slice, and the page without text showing him full figure in his undercover garb, are top-notch hilarity.


I love the minds that pair raccoons, those notorious nocturnal raiders, with a favorite food.  Secret Pizza Party written by Adam Rubin with illustrations by Daniel Salmieri is a passion, no... an obsession, gone wild.  I know readers will enjoy hearing this story read to them with the same frequency they enjoy eating pizza, every meal, every day.

Please visit the author and illustrator websites linked to their names above.