To The Dogs #2

If you want to have a complete sensory experience, consider a canine companion.  Their heightened abilities will alert you to something long before it registers in your ears, eyes, or nose or before you venture to taste or touch it.  Dogs walk through their surroundings ready to react.  You learn to observe their every look, twitch of their nose, or swivel of their head.  When they stop, you need to stop.  

Sometimes, they are alerting you to something.  Sometimes, they are telling you about themselves.  In Hot Dog (Alfred A. Knopf, May 24, 2022) written and illustrated by Doug Salati, his first as both author and illustrator, a pup is collapsing under the weight of summer in the city.  Fortunately, his human finally understands.

City summer

steamy

sidewalks

concrete 

crumbles

sirens

screech

A dog and his human make their way down city streets, she with a list of errands in her hand.  After their first stop, the dog is increasingly bombarded with a series of loud sounds compounded by the heat.  After visiting the third building, the pup is nearly frantic with sensory overload.

Unable to take another step, the dog stops right in the middle of the road.  The woman, awareness dawning, kneels down in the crosswalk, nose to nose with her furry friend.  Picking up the dog, she yells for a taxi.

From taxi to train and then to ferry, they get farther and farther away from the city and the heat.  They are closer and closer to a cool light wind and the salty scent of the sea.  They arrive at an island with tall grasses, long stretches of sandy beach and white foamy waves.  The dog runs in pure ecstasy.  

There are hours of digging, barking, shaking, sniffing, finding, rolling, and romping.  As the shadows lengthen, the pair enjoy the last rays of the sun and the soothing sound of the water washing on the shore.  Under the light of a moon, they make their way home retracing their previous path.  Cuddled together at their city apartment in their bed by a window, they fall asleep.  Can you guess what fills the dog's dreams?

Spare, vividly descriptive text written by Doug Salati draws us deeply and immediately into this narrative.  Two word alliterative phrases build toward a critical moment for the dog and his human.  As the story shifts, the phrases are longer; longing is replaced with a wondrous reward.  Concluding words lull readers, the pup, and his person into blissful dreams.  Here is another phrase.

sun sinks down, swallowed by the sea

On the front, right side of the open dust jacket, the dog is in a state of bliss, away from the heat of the city, cooled by the sea.  The closed eyes indicate a serene mental moment.  In its mouth is a found treasure from hours of digging.  To the left of the spine, on the back, on a canvas of sandy yellow is a picture of the dog looking at readers through their window in the city apartment.  A double window fan supplies relief for them in their home.  Beneath this image words by two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall read:

"An utter joy from beginning to end!"

Across a hot orange background on the open book case is an extended scene from the book.  It is the point where the woman goes to her dog stopped in the crosswalk in the middle of the road.  They look into each other's eyes, nose to nose.  Lines of the crosswalk spread from left to right.  On the left, a pigeon flies away from a piece of half-eaten pizza and a paper plate on the crosswalk.  Traffic sounds in a variety of fonts spread across the book case.  This is a tender moment with the woman holding the dog's mouth and nose in her hand and a raised paw in her other hand.

In shades of reddish pink, the dog is drawn in numerous poses on the open and closing endpapers,  In only one of the poses is it completely colored.  The filled-in pose is different on each set of endpapers.  On the title page, we see the dog in the apartment window.  Its back is to us.  This is a reversal of the viewpoint from the back of the dust jacket.  On the verso the dog and his human are leaving their apartment building

These full-color illustrations 

created using a combination of pencil and gouache on paper and Photoshop

are placed like panels on pages (horizontally and vertically) with sketchy outlines for framing with white space making columns for text or fashioning space between two images on a single page. The pictures are highly animated and intricately detailed.  At times people will be only sketches on the edges of illustrations.  Prior to the duo leaving for the beach, there are a lot of warm colors in the city settings to indicate the heat and the frustration the pup is feeling.  For dramatic effect, there are several single-page pictures, edge to edge.

Once the pals get to the sea, the borders are loose and indicative of breezes.  There are six pages of wordless pictures of all sizes which speak volumes.  You want to cheer for this dog and his woman.  She loves that the dog is loving the beach.  As they return to the city, the framing is a blend of the hot day visuals and the breezy sea images.  Careful readers will notice one new item the woman is carrying home.  It is a promise.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture, edge to edge.  It is after the woman stops in the crosswalk in the middle of the street to kneel down to her dog.  In this image on a hot orange-red background with yellow radiating lines, the woman stands, her one arm raised as she cries

"TAXI!!"

Her large straw hat and large blue-rimmed glasses frame her face and hair, hair the same color as the dog's fur.  In her other arm she carries her pup, yellow leash dangling down.  The dog is wide-eyed and smiling.  

At times all individuals are overwhelmed by their surroundings and current situation.  This is when it is time to take a break.  In Hot Dog written and illustrated by Doug Salati, two friends find solace by the sea.  Renewed they return to the city, ready to sleep and ready for their next adventure.  I highly recommend this book for both your personal and professional collections.  The words and illustrations provide a partnership as perfect as that between the dog and the woman.

To learn more about Dog Salati and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Doug Salati has an account on Instagram.  At the publisher's website, you can view interior images.  Doug Salati and this title are showcased by Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  There is process art and final art as well.

Dogs like humans have distinctive personalities and characteristics.  After time spent together, you begin to understand them and they begin to understand you.  You, as a human, come to accept there are things you will never change about your dog.  You, also, realize they have wisdom beyond your capabilities.  The thing is, this wisdom is not always applicable to a human's world.  With over-the-top hilarity in words and pictures, author Dev Petty and illustrator Mike Boldt bring us Don't Eat Bees (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog)(Doubleday Books For Young Readers, May 31, 2022).  This dog is all dog.

I am a smart dog.

I am only 7, but that is practically

50 in person years, so I already know

several important dog things.

To begin, Chip relays his opinions on cats and litter boxes, burying bones, and the unbelievable array of dog sizes and shapes.  He then shifts to his most favorite thing in the world, eating.  He loves chewing socks, but advises to avoid bees.

Paper, especially homework by his younger human, is one of his delectable delights.  It keeps them with him longer when they have to redo their work.  He also loves the Thanksgiving turkey. (Or is it the chase?) At all costs, he reminds us to avoid bees.

Grandpa's teeth are tasty.  So is the cat's food.  In fact, there is not much that Chip won't consume, except for bees and a couple of other yucky things, like fire.

By now you might be wondering why Chip is so persistent about not eating bees.  It is a secret secret which this writer will not reveal.  And of course, the cat is seeking revenge for the loss of its food as the comedic conclusion unfolds.  Oh, Chip!

Told from Chip's point of view, this story penned by Dev Petty is laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to the end.  Chip's initial claim of being smart followed by his commentary and logic is a constant cause of giggles and grins.  Dev Petty's use of do and don't and a pro tip create a rhythm as the narrative is read.  It invites us to keep turning the pages, so we can keep laughing.  Here is a passage.

Do: Eat the cat food.

Just because you can.

Who's a dumb dog

now, Mittens?

Not me.

I don't eat bees.

How can you look at the front, right side, of the open and matching dust jacket and book case without laughing?  Wide-eyed Chip who loves to eat everything is seriously thinking about gulping down the bee buzzing around him.  The dotted yellow line indicating the path of the bee appears whenever Chip mentions not to eat bees.

On the back, to the left of the spine, on a turquoise canvas is a retro menu of 

Chip's

DINER

Since 7 Years Ago

Under the headings of appetizers, entrees, and dessert are listed those items Chip mentions loving to eat in the story.  Paw prints appear on the menu and as part of the menu heading.  In true Chip fashion, the lower, left-hand corner of the menu has been bitten off.  The ISBN is part of the menu.

Above a flower-covered field along the bottom of the opening and closing endpapers is a wide blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds.  The clouds are not the same on each set of endpapers.  In a different path on each set of endpapers is the yellow dotted line of a bee's path.  This path continues on the verso and title pages.  Chip, on the left, eyes the bee with extreme caution as it flies toward a flower on the right.

These lively, humorous pictures by Mike Boldt are placed on a variety of backgrounds and make excellent use of white space.  Most are single-page pictures, but for dramatic effect (and maximum hilarity), there are five double-page pictures.  The facial expressions, the eyes, and body postures like Chip's pointing paw add to the comedy.  

The placement of Chip on the page and his size in the scene further contribute to the fun and funniness of this book.  When Chip is speaking about Mitten and the litter box, all we see of Chip is the upper part of his head along the bottom of the page, looking up as the cat walks away from the smelly box.  When Chip is running away with the Thanksgiving turkey, we are privy to the entire chaotic event of the table tipping, chairs falling, dishes crashing to the floor, and adult arms reaching toward Chip as he scampers away on the right of this two-page image.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a single-page picture on a bright yellow canvas.  Chip is front and center with a tilted head.  He is wearing a goofy grin exaggerated by the presence of Grandpa's false teeth.  We see Chip's head and a small portion of his upper body.  Around him, laughing are the daughter, Grandpa, and the mother.  The daughter is hugging her stomach.  Grandpa is crying, he is laughing so hard.  And the mother is holding her phone, either because she has taken a picture or will take one soon.  Chip's eyes are crossed.

Whether you are a dog person or not, everyone loves to laugh.  This book, Don't Eat Bees (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog) written by Dev Petty with illustrations by Mike Boldt is so funny, you know parts or all of it are probably true. (I don't dare take my dog anywhere a bee might be.  As we take our morning walks, if a bug comes near her she snaps it right out of the air and swallows it.)  You'll want to add this title to your personal and professional collections to hear the sound of laughter ringing out as you read it.

To learn more about Dev Petty and Mike Boldt and their other work, including their previous collaborations, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Dev Petty has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Mike Boldt has accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube.  At the publisher's website, you can view interior images.  John Schu interviews both Dev Petty and Mike Boldt about this book on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Dev Petty stops by author Tara Lazar's blog, Writing for Kids (While Raising Them), to chat about writing this book.

UPDATE:  Dev Petty is a guest author at the Nerdy Book Club, July 12, 2022, in a post titled The Space Between: Why Humor Matters in the Dark.  This title is part of the discussion.

Seeking Calm And Connections

Sunday morning, standing outside on the hill, clouds were at the beck and call of the wind.  Wispy smoky clouds, barely above the horizon, were moving to the west and larger fuller clouds, higher and above them, were moving to the east.  Birds were enjoying the benefits of a heavy earlier rainfall.  After an overcast day, as dusk settled crickets chirped their evening chorus.  Large wild rabbits, fur darkening, froze like statues, nearly blending in the tall weeds dying as autumn approaches.

Two recently released books ask readers to enjoy each and every moment pausing to consider our place in an infinite whole.  Here and Now (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 3, 2019) written by Julia Denos with illustrations by E. B. Goodale (Windows Candlewick Press, October 10, 2017) explores finding the marvelous in minutes.  It asks us to think of what others are doing in those same minutes.

Right here,
right now,
you are reading this book.

Where exactly is this book you are reading?  You might be holding it.  Another person might be holding it.  You might be sitting, standing or snuggled into a cozy spot.  If you are seated, what is under you or what is above you?  Go all the way down and go all the way up.

You and everyone on this Earth are moving through the stars and among other planets, and orbiting the sun in a vast universe.  As you are reading this book, what else can you see?  (I see fog blanketing grass, leaves, tree branches and rolling hills.)

Somewhere, a telephone is ringing.

Extend your vision.  Extend your thinking.  There is more to be seen.  There is a future to be dreamed and lived.  There are creatures, wild and domestic, everywhere.  All kinds of things are growing and mending.  Can you name things growing?  (I have a big bruise and a bump that doesn't hurt as much.)  There is much we cannot see, but that doesn't mean it isn't expanding, improving and evolving to be its best.  Extraordinary.


There are many things we fail to think about, important things, but author Julia Denos reminds us of those items, circumstances and possibilities and invites us through her words to participate.  Beginning with this very book, she asks us to center ourselves and then reach out to other surroundings and people.  This is how she connects us to each other.  In her sentences, this is how we find the marvelous in the everyday items, circumstances and possibilities.  Here is a sentence.

A friend you haven't met yet is sitting down to dinner.


Rendered in

ink, watercolor, monoprinting, and digital collage

the artwork by E. B. Goodale begins on the open dust jacket stretching from left to right, back to front.  The golden grass and flowers start in the upper left-hand corner extending over the spine to make a gentle curve on the front.  The sky on the back is darker and scattered with stars unlike the front.  Beneath the grass on the back is a cross-section of what is underground.  We see a chipmunk's home, bones, rocks and a box marked secret.  This ground stops at the spine to become the pond on the front.  The use of white on the front of the jacket is brilliant.  The child seeing her reflection is also noticing how ripples spread like we do when we walk through life.  Everyone has an impact.

Lifting the dust jacket to the book case, we are shown a hand on the far left and a hand on the far right, holding the book.  The canvas is in hues of blue, brushed in parallel and even strokes like floorboards.  On the opening and closing endpapers the fabric from a quilt on an interior image is used to cover them both.  Characters from the illustrations are shown gathered beneath the text on the title page.  One of them is holding this book.  Ants and an airplane figure in the picture.

Each illustration, spanning two pages or a single page with text on an opposite page or woven into the picture, is a poetic presentation of the text.  Children from different racial backgrounds explore and appreciate what is offered to them.  Readers will see themselves in their activities and the expressions shown on their faces.  A sense of calm permeates with every page turn.  Easter eggs are there to be found by careful readers.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  A walkers' bridge crosses over a small river from left to right.  A cityscape can be seen shadowed in the distance behind it.  A flock of birds flies over the bridge on the right.  The four characters featured are shown on the left; two are standing on the bridge.  The oldest is seated on the ground with the youngest near a tree.  A butterfly is landing on their dog's nose.  Another two people are relaxing on a blanket near the riverbank, their dog curled up and sleeping.  This element begins on the left, moves over the gutter and completes on the right.  Ducks, Canadian geese, squirrels, pigeons, rabbits, more butterflies, a bee, a mouse, ants and a spider web are depicted among the humans.


Peace, mindfulness and respect for each other and those things around us are guaranteed when reading Here and Now written by Julia Denos with illustrations by E. B. Goodall.  Julia Denos includes an author's note at the end.  One of her sentences reads:

Meditation is just another way of noticing, and noticing is a little bit like magic.

I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Julia Denos and E. B. Goodale and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Julia Denos has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  E. B. Goodale has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Author, reviewer, and blogger, Julie Danielson hosts several illustrators including E. B. Goodale on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  You will enjoy the showcased illustrations.  In this video Julia Denos and E. B. Goodale speak about the process for creating this book.





Author Holly M. McGhee and illustrator Pascal Lemaitre who earlier collaborated in Come with me (G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, September 5, 2017) work together again.  Listen (Roaring Brook Press, September 3, 2019) welcomes us into the art of finding connections.  Each one of us is a vital link in the chain of life.




Listen

to the sound of your feet---
the sound of
all of us
and the sound of me.

We should next pause and take a peek at the sun which shines all around the world on all of us.  When the sun sets, stars sparkle all around the world above all of us.  Inhale the air which is necessary for all of us.  Savor your food.  When was the last time, you put your hands into the dirt, feeling its richness and how it gives life to many?

As we use our senses for these experiences, we are asked to do so through the filter of our hearts . . . our wonderful hearts.  Our hearts are powerful, performing feats for us.  They are our guardians and our storytellers.  They allow us to see what is alike between everything rather than focusing on the differences. They take us back to the beginning.


Repetition throughout the narrative by author Holly M. McGhee supplies a beckoning cadence.  We find ourselves immediately engaged in the sensory suggestions.  Each time we are prompted to focus on others and on all of us.  In a wonderful technique, we close the narrative with the same words but with an altered rhythm.  Here is a passage.

Dig

in the earth.
Your roots are mine,
my roots are yours,
the roots of all of us
are the same.

Yet you are you and I am me and we are we.
Us . . .


On the open and matching dust jacket and book case a small child quietly observes a tiny red bird among the flowers and overhanging branches. (This tiny red bird is shown throughout the book.)  The rising sun shines on them both.  To the left, on the back, on a canvas of white, the same child is leaning their head against the trunk of a tree, arms to either side of the smooth bark.  Their eyes are closed.  A washed, loose, blue circle frames most of this picture with the sun low in the sky.  Each scene is as if a collective breath is being held.

A washed spring green covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Loose, fine lines by artist Pascal Lemaitre present pastoral scenes during daylight and nighttime.  Changing background colors reflect these varitions.  We feel the gentle breeze blowing leaves as a deer leaps away.  We feel the warmth of the sun.  We see stars reflected in the water as we float on a pond.

Each image requests readers to stop.  We need to notice the tiny details.  Can you see the ants, snail and rabbit?  Do you see all the bees buzzing over the sunflowers?  (Are the sunflowers there because of the Van Gogh quote at the book's beginning?)  What word is fashioned from the tree roots underground?

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages. (They are all double-page pictures.)  It is night and purple shades are used to color everything starting with a lighter color at the top and darkening near the horizon and into the water.  Stars shine in the sky and in the water as reflections.  The landscape, flowers, grass and trees, the dock and boat are etched in black.  A lily pad and shadows of fish are shown.  The child is leaning over the edge of the boat looking in the water.  The tiny red bird is singing, perched on the tip of the bow of the boat.  The child and bird have a glow about them as does one of the stars.


Peace and admiration for yourself and all others envelops you when reading Listen written by Holly M. McGhee with illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre.  Each page turn is like walking into open arms and being embraced by all that is good.  Wonderful as a read aloud or read silently to yourself, this book is highly recommended for your personal and professional collections.

To discover more about Holly M. McGhee and Pascal Lemaitre and their other work, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Holly M. McGhee has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Pascal Lemaitre has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  The publishers have created a special site for Listen which includes an activity kit and interior images.  John Schumacher, Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, hosts the book trailer premiere on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  It includes a chat with both the author and the illustrator.  At Kathy Temean's site, Writing and Illustrating, Holly M. McGhee talks about this book, her career and her friendship with Pascal Lemaitre.

The Fabulous Five

If you were asked to name your top three favorite things, what would come into your mind first?  Consistently my three are children, books and dogs in equal measure.  I have the deepest affection for them and what they teach me.  For more years than I can remember the trio have been woven into the days of my life, more than once at the same time.

One of the many gifts children and dogs give is their joy for life.  They have an ability to embrace everything they do with their entire being.  All their senses are used in each situation.  It's a total experience for them.  This approach asks adults (me) to slow down and savor the moment.  Rachel Isadora (Caldecott Honor and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor for Ben's Trumpet) invites us to do the same with her newest title, I Hear a Pickle (and Smell, See, Touch, and Taste It, Too!)(Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House L. L. C., January 12, 2016).

HEAR
Tweet tweet!
I hear the birdie.

Buzz buzz!
I hear the bee.
Uh-oh!

I don't hear the worm.

Six pages are devoted to I HEAR, I SMELL, I SEE and I TOUCH.  I TASTE is given four pages.  Little children from various ethnic backgrounds explore their surroundings with curiosity.  They respond to their discoveries with wonder, delight, frustration, fear, disgust, puzzlement, gratitude and hope.

They walk through the woods or along a sandy beach.  They roam in their homes, make snowmen and play baseball.  They look at food anxious to eat or not sure if they want to eat.  They get colds.  A barnyard harboring a cow or field full of flowers is where they tip toe carefully and find treasures.

Up high or down low sights are revealed.  The shift between light and dark makes a huge difference.  Wishes are made, words are read, a ball is thrown and a balloon is set adrift.  Some little critters can be touched, others cannot.  Textures are felt or avoided.  Accidents happen and a wide circle is given to trouble.

Flavors are favored, spicy, salty, hot, cold and sweet.  You'll never be sure if you like something unless you try it.  Aren't shared treats the best?  Yum!


Simple, short sentences easily understood by younger readers define these children's awareness of their senses.  Rachel Isadora writes as if she is a child hearing, smelling, seeing, touching and tasting each of these things, perhaps for the first time.  The children express a fascination in the commonplace which in my mind is a little bit magical.  Here are several other sentences.

I smell the rain.

I smell the grass!
It's so fresh!

I don't like to smell cow poop.


The liberal use of white space seen on the matching dust jacket and book case is continued throughout the book.  It accentuates the delicate lines in ink and soft shades of watercolor rendered by Rachel Isadora.  A glossy sheen is on the title text, CRUNCH!, the pickle, the jar of pickles and along the pickle-filled spine.  To the left, on the back, are the words

Let's 
celebrate
our
five senses!

On the right each sense is listed as it is on the table of contents page in a vertical column with a tiny interior illustration to the right of the words,

I HEAR
I SMELL
I SEE
I TOUCH
I TASTE

The opening and closing endpapers are in pickle green.  Beneath the words on the title page is the jar of pickles.

On each of the two pages, Isadora has placed four, five, six, seven or eight small images of children enhancing her text.  Their clothing and hair styles are appropriately adorable as are their facial looks and body postures.  They are completely engaged in their activities so they are rarely directly facing the reader.

Each picture looks as though it's been plucked from a living moment.  Each little boy, girl, adult, dog or cat is placed in a complete setting.  When the child does not hear snow, they are standing in front of a snowman amid falling flakes.  A little girl who smells pizza is standing outside a shop gazing through a window at a pizza with the sign JOE'S PIZZA hanging in the window.  Behind her people are walking down the street.  A car is parked by the curb.  When a little boy kneels to smell flowers they are all around him.  A kitten is playfully reaching for two blue butterflies behind him.  Careful readers will notice changes at the top of the pages as the book is read.

One of my many favorite illustrations is of two girls playing with bubbles.  The one on the right is blowing them outward with a jar in one hand and the wand in the other.  To her left the other is standing on her tiptoes reaching to pop them.  A puppy is between them on his/her two back legs trying to catch one.  This scene is marvelously normal but beautiful when depicted by Isadora.


I Hear a Pickle (and Smell, See, Touch, and Taste It, Too!) written and illustrated by Rachel Isadora has convinced me that I need to start a list of books that are huggable.  Readers and listeners will be compelled to do so even before they've heard a single sentence.  Look at the front dust jacket image!  I also predict the entire book will not be finished without readers or listeners thinking of similar experiences or wanting to add other things they hear, smell, see, touch and taste.  You might want to have a huge jar of pickles handy too.

To learn more about the art work and books created by Rachel Isadora please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Her dancer paintings are lovely.  This title was part of a NPR episode, The Children's Bookshelf, on Central Michigan University's station. They have some activities and discussion questions listed at the end.

UPDATE:  February 4, 2016 Author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson interviews Rachel Isadora at Kirkus today.