Two Letters, A Single Word, A Single Note

With every tick of the clock, the opportunity for change is present regardless of the previous minutes, days, weeks, months or years in the past.  We are six days into a new year.  Anticipation fills the air.  People seem more determined than ever to pursue a difference, a difference for the greater good and ultimately for them.

Throughout social media people are selecting one word to guide them through the year.  These words are highly significant for them.  The explanations they offer for their choices are heartfelt and inspiring.  La La La: A story of hope (Candlewick Press, October 3, 2017) written by Kate DiCamillo with illustrations by Jaime Kim has been on my desk next to my computer since its release.  With each reading the reminder to readers, to me, to reach out with our voice is strengthened.  And sometimes when a single word is lifted in song it resonates more beautifully.

La

A little girl opens her mouth and releases a word into the world, not once, not twice but three times.  She waits for a reply.  She tries again.  There is still no response.

Slightly discouraged she walks until leaves drift down toward her.  She sings her word, hoping for an answer.  The leaves lead her to a place filled with natural splendor.  She continues to send the one-word melody toward a rock, a tree and all the branches on the tree.  She runs along a pond, singing.  She is greeted with silence.

Darkness has fallen. The leaves beckon her back into the special spot.   A strong light illuminates the surrounding area in a beam as it rises in the sky.  The little girl sings.  She does everything she can believing this marvelous moon can and will sing back to her.  The only sound is the stillness of the night.

Sad and a little bit mad, she drags the object she used to get close to the moon back and sits.  As she drifts off to sleep, a soft, gentle La leaves her lips.  A loud musical note wakes her up. In wonder she watches, she runs and a quiet, joyful nighttime conversation dispels her aloneness.


In her singular use of words to express an idea or a belief Kate DiCamillo takes one word, one very small word, and depicts the value in courage and persistence.  She allows us to see how the child does not give up even when exhaustion wraps around her.  Kate also reminds us to wait.  Sometimes the answer we seek takes time to arrive.  It usually appears when we least expect it.  When it makes its presence known, it's much better than we imagined.


Look at the child, hands clasped, foot lifted in a little dance, eyes closed and mouth open in song.  There is something heartwarming and endearing about her facial expression, clothing and stance.  You want to know her.  You want to be her friend.  We are not privy yet when looking at the dust jacket as to the source of the circular light around her but the colors selected suggest a warm connection.  As the shade of rose red bleeds to the spine it leads us to the darker shades of purple indicative of nighttime on the back.  Leaves and stardust frame the words:

What if you were
able to connect with someone?

What if you were
able to sing?

The book case expands on the presentation on the jacket back.  Both sides are covered in purple with star dust.  Extending from the spine are mirror images of flowers and leaves.  The opening and closing endpapers are a silvery blue, like dusk.

Rendered using watercolor, sumi ink, and digital techniques Jaime Kim elevates the narrative to a magical realm.  The type of paper, heavier without any gloss, allows the child, the leaves and additional elements to cast a shiny reflection when tilted in the light.  They seem to move on the pages.  It's a masterful technique.  When the special spot covers two pages, the illustration literally glows.

As the child moves from point to point our eyes follow her flawlessly.  We are completely intrigued with her movements and secretly cheer for her success as Jaime Kim adds new delicate details.  Readers will be captivated by the significance of the leaves.

One of my many favorite illustrations is at night.  The little girl is getting closer and closer to the source of the song she heard.  She steps through tall grasses, parting the plants.  The moon is reflected in the water in front of her.  Stardust and leaves tumble in the air.  Vegetation borders the pond.  A tall tree extends from the right side.  As an inset, Jaime Kim has added a small framed picture on the right side.  It's a close-up of the child's face.  Her mouth is forming an "o" in awe of what she sees.


No matter how many times you read La La La: A story of hope written by Kate DiCamillo with illustrations by Jaime Kim, it will leave you deeply moved and inspired.  Children have many lessons to teach us if we keep open to all they have to offer.  Kate DiCamillo and Jaime Kim both speak at the close of the book.  I highly recommend you place this title in all your collections.  In case you might be wondering about the power of the single word sung, I started singing La La La from my office.  My puppy, Mulan, two rooms away came running.

To learn more about both Kate DiCamillo and Jaime Kim and their other work, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  At Penguin Random House you are given a peek at several interior pages in the book's beginning.  At Candlewick Press there is a teacher's guide about using wordless books in the classroom.  For the introduction of the book trailer Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher, interviews Kate here and Jaime on the following day at Watch. Connect. Read., his blog.

No To No Noise

Most living creatures make sounds; some are either too high or too low for humans to hear.  Squirrels chatter from the safety of a branch if you invade their space.  Crickets announce the approximate temperature by chirps made from rubbing their wings.  (You have to do a little math but it works.) Male birds sing in the morning with more clarity and frequency often to attract potential mates.  The bugling of a bull elk will stop you in your tracks.  It is eerie and magnificent at the same time.  Purring in cats can signify happiness, be a call for attention and promote healing.  Dogs bark for a variety of reasons.  Rest assured they will teach you what each bark means.

The point is all these beings make their sounds instinctively.  It's a part of what makes them who they are.  If they are silent when they should not be, then something is not quite right.  We humans make sounds for more reasons than we can possibly list.  What would we do if silence was demanded of us without question? The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet (Scholastic Press, January 31, 2017) written by Carmen Agra Deedy with illustrations by Eugene Yelchin explores the idea of silence, noise and the choice to be one or the other.

There once was a village where the streets rang with song from morning till night.

Inside and outside homes the sounds rang out from human voices, animals, and machines.  Of particular interest was every last soul sang in the shower.  As you might think, La Paz was anything but peaceful.

All this noise started to bother the residents of this village.  They blamed the mayor and promptly dismissed him.  In his place Don Pepe was elected on his promise of complete quiet.  How would he accomplish this feat?  He passed laws, lots of laws.

La Paz was not only peaceful; it was utterly void of any sound.  People who loved to sing left.  Others who stayed, sang in a whisper of a whisper.  Seven years passed.

One day a rooster, his ten chicks and hen strutted into town, roosting in a lovely mango tree.  As a newcomer he knew nothing of the laws, so when the sun rose in the morning he crowed.  Where do you think that mango tree was planted?  It was right underneath the mayor's window!

Not once, not twice, not three times but four times, this mayor took away what made the rooster happy to get him to stop singing but he would not.  Nearly out of his mind, the mayor issued a final threat but the rooster was ready with a reply.  It will make you want to stand up and sing.


No matter how many times a story is read if it stays wrapped around your heart and finds a permanent place in your mind, it changes you.  Perhaps the shift is slight giving strength where needed or maybe it will reverse your thinking.  This is the power of the words written by Carmen Agra Deedy in this book.

Initially as she writes we see a village completely change per their desires but you can't help but wonder if she is asking us to remember to be careful of what wishes we make.  Each time the mayor intimidates the plucky gallito with an ultimatum and action, his answers create a rhythm.  This back and forth series of sequences gradually build tension leading us to the inspirational conclusion. Here is a passage.

"Still singing?" snapped Don Pepe. "You have no tree.  Remember?"
"I have no tree," said the gallito.  "But I have my hen and chicks.  How can I keep from singing?"
"Will you sing if I throw you in a cage---alone?" threatened Don Pepe.
"I may sing a lonelier song," said the stubborn gallito.  "But I will sing."
And he did.  


On the opened matching dust jacket and book case Eugene Yelchin uses bright cheerful colors to announce the title and the character of the plucky gallito.  It's our first hint of the courage this bird reveals in the story.  The illustration seen on the front (right) extends over the spine to the back, including the hen and the rest of the chicks.  It's important to note the attention the chicks are giving their parent.  They are listening.  They are learning.  One is singing too.

One of the blue hues from the jacket and case covers the opening and closing endpapers.  The words, the song of the rooster,

Kee-kee-ree KEE! 

are placed in a pattern in varying sizes across the pages.  Beneath the text on the title page the rooster strides in confidence.  He appears again in the same pose, chicks and hen behind him, across the verso and dedication pages.

These pictures

rendered in oil pastel, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic

are spirited and in superb synchronization with the narrative, enhancing it with Eugene Yelchin's special techniques.  He uses single page images opposite a page of text and double-page pictures surrounding words.  His color choices and lines are altered to reflect the mood of the story.  His depiction of the mayor, Don Pepe is marvelous.  He looks as dastardly as he is.  The contrast between this man and the rooster is utterly perfect.

One of my favorite illustrations of many is the first one.  Across the upper portion of the single page picture is a brilliant deep blue sky with an orange sun and pale golden clouds.  Beneath them on a hill is the village, stucco buildings and tile roofs with spires of churches rising up.  This is the upper third of the illustration.  The hill is a series of fields and roads with grazing horses, cows and goats.  A single bicycle rider is moving down the main road to the village.  The wonderful thing is Yelchin has placed large musical notes and a staff over the fields, incorporating them into the pattern of the rows.


This book, The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet!, written by Carmen Agra Deedy with illustrations by Eugene Yelchin is essential to every collection, professional and personal.  This story is powerful and timeless.  I expect and would welcome a chorus of crowing after each and every reading.

To learn more about the work of Carmen Agra Deedy and Eugene Yelchin please visit their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  They both feature interior images from this title at their sites.  Make sure to stop by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson to view some artwork and read her words about this title.  This book is included on a list of 2017 titles at Latinxs in Kid Lit.  Carmen Agra Deedy is featured at Time For Kids and KidLit 411.  Eugene Yelchin is showcased at Publishers Weekly and the International Literacy Association.   I hope you enjoy the video with Carmen Agra Deedy speaking about stories as much as I did.