Witnessing Winter

Last night the only supermoon of 2017 provided a treat for skygazers.  Shortly before 11:00 pm portions of a huge ring around this moon could be seen in southern Michigan.  This usually means a storm is coming.  It's already sweeping across the northern and western regions of the Midwest.  Winter storm and blizzard warnings are being issued as wild winds, heavy snow and bitter temperatures rage through the region.

With a fifteen to twenty degree temperature drop here between Monday and Tuesday, winter is assuredly arriving.  Snow Scene (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, November 7, 2017) written by Richard Jackson with pictures by Laura Vaccaro Seeger encourages readers to become keen observers of seasonal shifts.  Every time we step outside Mother Nature supplies hints for us.

What are these?

An unseen narrator, our guide throughout this narrative, directs our attention to specific elements or small pieces of particular items in the surrounding scene.  First we are asked to look closely at tall study columns of white and black.  By stepping back we can see they are trees, birch trees.

To our right dark forms move on the snow.  Feathers fluff and glossy bodies glide.  They gather near another riddle.  It's stretching from a sturdy truck.  A coating which crackles in the slightest breeze covers it.

Now children walk in the woods.  Both the girl and the boy carry clues of the season as part of their current physical characteristics.  They have spent hours in the wintry weather creating other snowy companions.  A setting sun and days ahead yield more evidence of the passage of time.

A landscape bare except for white soon shows us bits of fresh life poking through the snow.  A different form of precipitation, lush floral vistas and the awakening of animal families mark first one and then another season's arrival.  If we lift our eyes and watch, mountain peaks herald the cycle beginning anew.


No phrase is longer than five words; most of them are only two words.  With this simple, limited use of language Richard Jackson takes readers on a seasonal, sensory journey.  In the form of questions, he asks us to discover the world in which we walk.  This query and response, the noticed indications, technique provides a rhythm as subtle and gentle as the transformations from month to month.  The rhyming words at the end of these phrases supply readers with possible answers. Here are some phrases.

And those?
Shadows.
Of crows.


Caldecott honoree (twice) and Theodore Geisel honoree (twice) Laura Vaccaro Seeger's remarkable artwork is evident on the opened, matching dust jacket and book case.  The bright colors and texture in the elements welcome readers as participates in the story.  The snowman on the front, right, extends over the spine to the back, left.  Behind him a small grove of trees lift into the clear blue sky.  No space is wasted in this title.

The opening endpapers feature a two-page picture of a snow-shower sky with flakes drifting down.  On the far right a birch tree provides a border.  To the left of the trunk is the text for the title page.  With a page turn the first of each two-page illustration rendered in acrylic paint on canvas begins a visual interpretation.  The closing endpapers, a wash of golden yellow, is a background for the publication information.

Laura Vaccaro Seeger takes us close to a particular object and then asks us to step farther back to reveal the secret.  A few strands of hair disclose a girl building a snowman, her hair sprinkled in snow.  Dressed in winter garb, she's talking and smiling as she works.  A deer walking off a page on the right changes into a frosty nighttime vista, a blend of the woods and a home in the country.  The same deer from the previous page watches the house, windows aglow with light.

With infinite care, Laura includes tiny elements from one image in the following illustration.  What appears on the right edge is extended to the left edge with a page turn.  A row of fence opens to another nearby landscape. A field of daisies leads to a rabbit running.  An eagle perched on an outcrop takes us to a mountain top.

One particular image of several favorite pictures is of the two snowmen.  On the left the one made by the girl fills the entire page.  We see a portion of his head and body including his eyes, mouth, carrot nose, red and white, striped scarf and row of buttons.  With a change in perspective, across the gutter, the snowman made by the boy is seen in its entirety.  He is wearing a red and yellow, striped scarf and a black top hat. Two stick arms extend from his body.  The boy is behind him putting some finishing touches on his body. In a darkening sky, snowflakes are falling.  Along the bottom, on the right of the picture, footprints are shown.


Snow Scene written by Richard Jackson with pictures by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is a lively look at our world.  Puzzles generate and welcome reader involvement.  Two masters collaborate to deliver this worthy gem.  This is a wonderful explanation of the change in the seasons.  I can see additional activities inside and outside asking children to observe and then write about what they have seen.  You will want to add this title to your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Laura Vaccaro Seeger and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  At the publisher's website you can view five interior pictures.  At Bookology there is an interesting interview with Richard Jackson.  Several years ago Laura Vaccaro Seeger is interviewed at Publishers Weekly.

No Matter The Weather

You're walking back to your car after a quick stop to purchase a few items.  Suddenly the voice, growing more persistent of late, tells you to stop and look up. (Read Now by Antoinette Portis and you'll know what I mean.)  This is why on a blazing hot afternoon on the first day of August you find yourself taking pictures of clouds with your phone while standing in the parking lot of a big box store.  You hope with all your heart, they are a prelude to much-needed rain.
 

Rain will soften the ground, hard as cement.  Rain will ease the stress of the wild animals needing to quench their thirst.  Rain will help the towering trees whose leaves are drifting down far too early for lack of water.  This Beautiful Day (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, Atheneum Books For Young Readers, August 1, 2017) written by Richard Jackson with illustrations by Suzy Lee reminds us of the magic to be found in a joyful heart with a little help from music.

THIS beautiful day...

Three siblings are lounging inside on a dreary rainy day with their dog accompanying them.  Clearly they are at a loss of what to do when one of them reaches to a radio twisting the dial for a bit of music.  He then leans forward in his bean bag chair arms raised and ready.  Before you can say let's dance, they are twirling and turning to the tune.

Hats and umbrellas are grabbed as the trio opens the doors and continues to lift their legs and gallop to the beat.  To them this day is filled with possibilities as they splish and splash through puddles, hooting and hollering with glee.  Certainly all the fun they are having is sure to draw the attention of others.  And it does.

Other neighborhood children carrying colorful umbrellas follow the lead of the brother and his sisters.  All the celebratory noise they make gets the attention of the sun.  It pushes the clouds away.

Eight children and one dog are cheering, laughing and playing as if this is the best day of their lives.  And isn't this the way to live?  They all tumble home, for snacks and a little bit of relaxing.  Come on Mom!  Join the jamboree!

Oh, the uninhibited elation these words written by Richard Jackson generate for readers.  His use of this beautiful day repeatedly ties his happy-go-lucky verbs together in an uplifting tempo.  To complete his symphony of delight lines end in rhyming words. Here is a continuation of the first line.

has everyone dancing

and spinning

and swinging around,

has all of us stamping

and stomping

our feet 

on the ground. ...

When you open the dust jacket, which matches the book case, you will be thrilled to notice that Suzy Lee continues the image on the front to the edge of the flap.  There we read the words:

COME ON IN,

the weather's

fine!

To the left, on the back, two of the siblings and the dog are leaping into the air as clouds scatter on a blue sky.  A single red umbrella drifts toward the right hand corner.  The opening endpapers are black, gray and white.  Rain pours from smudgy rain clouds.  On the closing endpapers the ending of the story continues.

With a page turn from the opening endpapers Suzy Lee starts the story opposite the title page.  The younger sister sits in a cardboard box staring out the window at the rain.  The older sister is slumped in boredom in front of a sketch pad and crayons.  This is done in black and white as is the first wordless image opposite the verso.  The dog sleeps in front of the French doors as the brother turns on the radio.

All of the illustrations span two pages.  As the children begin to dance the color blue is added to the black, gray and white.  The more fun they have, the more blue there is with pale green appearing.  As the clouds vanish more color is used.  

The depiction of the children, their facial expressions and body movements, is marvelous to the point you will find yourself wanting to join them.  Every single line and brush stroke is pulsing with pure jubilation.  When the umbrellas rise into the sky it's as if they are moved by this wonderful emotion.  

One of my many favorite illustrations I will let you discover for yourselves.  Suzy Lee takes us into a brief bit of suspended reality, a touch of magic.  Another of my favorite pictures is when the three siblings are splashing in the puddles.  The two older ones with the dog in the middle are jumping with total merriment, laughing and holding their umbrellas high.  Behind them the younger sister is marching and kicking out water in front of her as she holds her umbrella.  The dog is standing on its hind legs, leaping with its head raised, ears flapping and front paws close to its chest.  There is not a single person who can look at this without smiling.

This book, This Beautiful Day written by Richard Jackson with illustrations by Suzy Lee, is bursting with energy.  Readers will not be able to sit still when reading or listening to this.  Be ready to dance, rain or shine.  You will want to have a copy of this on your professional and personal bookshelves.  You have to read it...repeatedly.

To learn more about Suzy Lee and her other work please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images. Please enjoy this interview with Richard Jackson at Bookology.  Author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson features Suzy Lee on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

In The Darkening Wood

If you stand perfectly still and wait, wonder comes to you.  As the day ends, twilight descends.  Soon the only light comes from the stars or the moon depending on the date.  A world populated by nocturnal creatures begins to stir.

They call to those in their family and other residents of the forest.  You step into this nighttime realm when reading All ears, all eyes (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, March 7, 2017) written by Richard Jackson with illustrations by Katherine Tillotson.  The haunting beauty of their words and pictures linger enveloping you.

What sails?
What flies?
Those...these
Down low
nearby
far off...
up high
Who listens?
Who looks?
Who hears?
Who sees? 

These lyrical lines lead us into the woods.  An owl calls and notices two raccoons playing and feasting.  Nearby a prickly porcupine quietly moves as a bat soars above a deer.  If you listen closely, you can hear them.  If you look with careful eyes, you can see them.

Wings rubbing send out chirping.  (Wise listeners can tell the temperature from these sounds.)  Who is barking?  Who is harking?  Fireflies signal on and off, calling out for companionship.

Eyes adjusting to the dark, searching for woodland critters find some and miss others.  The owl continues to hoot.  What messages are being sent?  A lone tree frog replies with a familiar song.

The wind of the day calms but then starts again, pushing branches and leaves with unseen fingers.  All forest life is wide awake alternately moving and still, quiet and loud.  Good night.


Not silent but comforting are the words written by Richard Jackson.  We explore with eyes wide open and ears tuned to the music only heard at night.  Words rhyme.  Lines are brimming with alliteration and onomatopoeia.  As the animals go about their activities and communicate they remind us to rest easy.  Here is another passage.

What scoots
between roots?
All ears
a bat flies,
wings whirring

as light falls
and night rises.


Looking at the fox running through the deep forest falling into darkness under the watchful eyes of the owl and framed in the text is like an open doorway into this book.  The design choices are superb as are the selected hues.  To the left, on the back, of the matching dust jacket and book case is a large portion of white, a place for interior text.  Above it is a portion of the woods.  On the opening endpapers, in the same crisp white, a scattering of leaves drift from the upper left-hand corner to the lower portion of the right side.  Fewer leaves lift upward on a background of darkness and shining stars on the closing endpapers.

The introductory lines prior to the title, verso and dedication pages appear on a continuation of white with leaves and several birds in flight.  They are the remnants of day as the sun sets.  On the title page we step back with a more panoramic view of the woods before the verso and dedication pages which follow.

The illustrations rendered using a combination of watercolor and digital techniques by Katherine Tillotson all span two pages in breathtaking splendor.  They flow taking our eyes from left to right.  Leaves either frame or take center stage in all of them, further connecting each image to the next one.  The color combinations, greens, blues and purples, deep golden yellow and orange with purple and brown, an array of greens, pinks, blues and purples and more are gorgeous.  The method of layering asks us to pause after each page turn to savor the words and pictures.

One of my favorite of all the images features a canopy of leaves across the top in purples, blues and greens, some of them drifting down the right side.  Several tree trunks are highlighted in the foreground.  An owl is perched on a branch on the left.  A bat floats overhead as the fox continues to run.  A mouse sits quietly on a branch on the right side.  And nestled on the forest floor is a design close to my heart.  Can you see it?  I wonder if there are others.


Peace will settle over your soul as you read All ears, all eyes written by Richard Jackson with illustrations by Katherine Tillotson.  It takes us gently by the hand through the forest blanketed with the night.  I highly recommend this for your professional and personal bookshelves.  Read it aloud whenever you can with love; for surely this is how the words were penned and the artwork created.

To discover more about Katherine Tillotson and her other work please visit her website by following the link attached to her name. At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  This is one of the titles showcased by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Deborah Kalb interviews Katherine Tillotson on her blog and Katherine Tillotson appears on Kathy Temean: Writing and Illustrating.   Bookology has an interview with Richard Jackson and Katherine Tillotson.