Spaces In Our World, Places In Our Hearts

Each morning a stroll through the gardens reveals the presence of night visitors.  Their tracks are embedded in the dirt.  Stalks and branches from flowers and shrubs lay on the ground, nibbled and left.  Other plants have been eaten to their roots.  There is an abundance of white-tailed deer in our neighborhood.

Truthfully, watching them wander through the apple trees across the street or seeing them stop and stare at us as we walk in the morning never stops being magical. Sharing this space with them is a gift.  Masterful, award-winning author illustrator Yuyi Morales made a new book, Bright Star (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, September 7, 2021), for us.  In this title we, using a blend of Spanish and English, are presented with beauty, borders, barriers, and the value of all individuals.

Child,

you are

awake!

Breathe in,

then breathe out,

hermosa creatura.

You are beloved.  We hold your light in our hearts.  The world has many things to notice, some easily seen and others more of a challenge.

Exploring together we will find flora and fauna, rich and rare.  Wait!  Pay attention, something is amiss.  For now, stay hidden.  Stay safe.

If we get separated, we still hold your light in our hearts.  If you are fearful or restless, let those around you know of your fright and frustration.  You will be heard.  Then, be still.  Use your senses to make discoveries.

If those discoveries pave a new path, follow it.  Using your mind, fashion a different tale, your tale.  It will be a tale told by those who always hold your light in their hearts.

With each page turn, one to four sentences, simple but thoughtful and intentional, written by Yuyi Morales warmly welcome us into the narrative.  The Spanish and English words are perfect partners in this lyrical dance.  The use of punctuation provides an added liveliness.  We willingly participate in listening to the words and reading them aloud.  Here is the passage we read after a page turn.

So you search!

You are ready,

cosita pequena.

Let's go!

Vamonos!

Looking at the background on the open and matching (reversed images) dust jacket and book case is like being enveloped by an autumn sunset sky.  On the dust jacket, it and the entire image, extend flap edge to flap edge.  The white-tailed deer, a fawn, peering between the cactus on the Sonoran Desert is still, observant.  What does it see?  The rays around the raised title text are embossed in gold foil.  The author illustrator name is raised on the textured fabric.  

The cactus crosses the spine and another one frames the face of a little girl.  She is looking directly at readers.  It is as if she is asking us a question.  On the book case, the image on the back of the jacket is on the front and the front image moves to the back of the book case.  The fawn and the child are one and the same.

The fabric shown on the front of the jacket covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Yuyi Morales has woven threads in golden yellow and forest green along the top and bottom of the pages.  She has embroidered five large stars, made by crossing perpendicular lines.  They are in earth colors.  On the far-left edge on the opening endpapers and on the far-right edge on the closing endpapers is a mass of pink sewn dots, mirroring the color of the cactus flowers.

On the title page, a double-page picture features cactus on either side and a hummingbird on the right.  

The artwork for this book was created using acrylic paint on paper,

photographed textures, digital painting, as well as weaving and embroidery.

Each two-page image in this book asks us to stop.  They are a complete sensory experience.  The representations of flora and fauna are breathtaking.  The backgrounds in the illustrations indicate the narrative mood as well as the time of day.  What do we see in these visuals?

As she did with her words, each element in these images is arranged with intention and considerable thought.  The scene of the destruction around the building of the border wall and the animals wondering how to continue with their instinctive journeys is particularly poignant.  The placement of a wordless picture is perfection.  For the final two page turns, the fawn becomes the girl child.  Deer are embroidered on the front and back of her shirt.  In the last visual, several of the children have featured animals on their shirts.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the text above cited.  The sky and desert floor are nearly identical in color, as so often happens on a clear, calm morning.  Cactus and small shrubs are peppered on the sand.  A roadrunner, a jack rabbit, a ground squirrel, and a lizard join the fawn and its mother.  Several insects and birds are present.  One of the birds is the hummingbird.  On the left the fawn stands eager to move.  It jumps three times with a blur of movement; until it joins its mother on the right.

At the close of this book, Bright Star written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales, in an author's note are eleven supportive statements and paragraphs beginning with

I made this book because . . .

In reading this book, you realize Yuyi Morales has accomplished her reasons and more.  This book is deeply moving and timely.  You can't read it once.  You will want to share it often and widely.  Be sure to have a copy on your personal and professional bookshelves.  At the close of the book in an acknowledgment is a list of videos and films, books, online sources, organizations, and people that assisted in the creation of this title.

To discover more about Yuyi Morales and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Yuyi Morales has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.  The cover reveal and conversational thoughts by Yuyi Morales and Neal Porter was hosted by John Schumacher, librarian, lecturer at Rutgers University, and writer, on his Watch. Connect. Read. site.  Yuyi Morales is showcased at Publisher's Weekly where she shares the process for making this book.  At the publisher's website are additional bonus materials.  At Penguin Random House you can view the endpapers.  Here is a link to Yuyi Morales reading her book aloud on video at KidLit TV.  If you are interested here is a link to an event with Yuyi Morales speaking about this book.

Taking Care Of Home Cuidar El Hogar

There are pockets on our planet, special spaces, unlike any other spot.  The plants and animals residing there are unique, survivors of distinctive habitats, weather and climate.  Some of them are found only in this one place.  Seeing these specific plants and animals in these particular locations for many of us will be an unrealized dream.  You have to wonder if perhaps this is the best possible outcome for these areas.

One of these regions is the Galapagos Islands, set in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador. Galapagos Girl Galapaguena (Children's Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc., September 18, 2018) written by Marsha Diane Arnold with illustrations by Angela Dominguez and translated by Adriana Dominguez explores an island and one girl living there and loving everything the island offers her.  Through her discoveries we come to understand enchantment reigns in this island realm.

Valentina was born on an island formed by fire, surrounded by blue-green sea.  

Valentina nacio en una isla formada por el fuego y rodeada de un mar azul-turquesa.

One child among eleven brothers and sisters Valentina saw Sally Lightfoot crabs on the island of Floreana among the lava rocks.  She swam with inhabitants of the ocean, even penguins.  Birds, tall and pink, butterflies, blue and delicate and sneezing iguanas caught her attention.

The sounds of the water and bird calls were like music to this child of the island.  She couldn't help but dance along with the movements of the animals.  A story told to Valentina by her Papa set the course for her future.

He told her how he brought the two tortoises, Carlitos and Isabela, to their island.  He explained the threat to many of the animals on the Galapagos Islands.  Valentina knew they needed her pledge to protect them and preserve their way of living.  When it came time to leave her beloved island to further her education, she spoke aloud from the boat and made a solemn vow.

Whenever there was a break at school, Valentina came home and worked on various islands learning as much as she could about every living thing.  As a biologist she returned to act as a guide for visitors, bringing her knowledge lived and learned to each.  Those who came and left were connected to the Galapagos Islands with the same commitment and passion as their guide. 


When Marsha Diane Arnold writes we first read silently, but we can sense a lyrical quality to her carefully chosen words, asking us to read them aloud.  So we do.  In the text for this book the beauty of a place and its inhabitants is superbly woven into the day to day fascination of a little girl.  She embraces her environment with joy and respect. 

The research conducted by Marsha Diane Arnold is apparent in the details.  This is a deeply personal story about Valentina Cruz and the Galapagos Islands.  Readers like the visitors to the islands cannot help but feel a kinship to this remarkable place and this girl. 

Several times in the narrative words in Spanish are used but this is further enhanced with the matching bilingual text in Spanish.  This makes this story accessible to a larger audience.  Here are some passages.

She listened to waves crashing like cymbals against rocks.
Albatross trumpeting above steep cliffs.
Finches trilling piccolo notes.

Escuchaba las olas, que sonaban como platillos
cuando estallaban contra las rocas.
El graznido de los albatros sobre los escarpados acantilados.
Los pinzones trianado como flautines.

"But, Mama," she protested.  "I am a Galapagos girl.
I belong here with the sea lions and penguins."
"You are ready to learn about the world beyond," said Mama.
"Like the sea, you are strong and free."
"And like our islands, you have a heart full of fire," said Papa.

--Pero mama--protesto--.  Soy galapaguena.
Mi lugar esta aqui, con los lobos marinos y los pinguinos.
--Estas lista para aprender sobre el mundo mas alla de Galapagos
--dio mama--.  Eres fuerte y libre, como el mar.
--Y como nuestras islas, tienes un corazon de fuego--anadio papa.


When you look at the opened dust jacket (I am working with a digital copy.) the pure happiness exhibited by Valentina extends to the reader.  The inclusion of waved albatross, blue-footed boobies, and the marine iguanas alerts readers to a few of the species found only on the Galapagos Islands.  This spirited ocean scene extends across the spine to the back.  On the left, two sea lions bask on rocks as an albatross flies overhead.  The first sentence in the book is placed in the white bank of clouds above the grassy hills. 

Tiny images are placed on the end flaps, Valentina swimming with sea creatures and Sally Lightfoot crabs crawling on rocky outcrops.  Blue-footed boobies dance beneath the dedications, both in English and Spanish.  On the title page, between Spanish and English text, Valentina strides among blue butterflies.

Each full-color visual, rendered in pencil on illustration board with digital color, is as lively as the creatures and Valentina.  These illustrations by Angela Dominguez span two pages or single pages depending on accentuating the pacing of the text.  When Angela portrays the animals she displays their essential endearing characteristics from the dancing of the blue-footed boobies, to the graceful swimming of sea lions and the sneezing of the marine iguanas.  (They are getting rid of the salt in the water.)

One of my many favorite illustrations is of Valentina and the penguins.  It spans two pages, edge to edge.  On the left a swimsuit-wearing Valentina is upside down doing a cartwheel.  A single animated penguin is next to her.  Her blue mask, snorkel and flippers are on the sandy beach.  To the right on rocks on three more spirited penguins.  A blue-green ocean stretches behind them beneath a pale blue sky spotted with clouds.


In an Author's Note Marsha Diane Arnold says

Valentina's and my hope is that after reading this book, you too will say, "We will help to keep them safe."

In Galapagos Girl Galapaguena written by Marsha Diane Arnold with illustrations by Angela Dominguez and translations by Adriana Dominguez this expressed hope is realized.  The rhythmic poetic words, buoyant, vibrant illustrations and Spanish translations create a book reaching numerous readers on several levels.  We are introduced to a valuable woman in the preservation of the Galapagos Islands, we see unique creatures in their natural habitat and we understand on a new level the importance of conserving this habitat.  After the Author's Note, pages About the Galapagos Islands and Fun Facts About the Galapagos Animals You Met in the Story further acquaint readers with this marvelous place on our planet. There is also a lengthy Bibliography.  Everything is in both English and Spanish.  I highly recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Marsha Diane Arnold and Angela Dominguez, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  They both have links to blogs from their websites.  Both Marsha and Angela are on Twitter.  Angela and Marsha have an account on Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images, including one of my favorites.  On September 20, 2018 Marsha Diane Arnold visited this blog as part of the tour for this title.  Her excellent guest post is informative and insightful. 

Finding Friendship

There are those who believe not speaking the same language is a barrier.  All those individuals need to do is enter a gathering of children in a classroom, a library, cultural center or other meeting place to understand the error of this logic.  Children find a way to communicate.  They listen and watch with intention. 

Without fail they appreciate the musicality of hearing a language other than their own spoken aloud.  They find joy in knowing the meaning of one or more words.  How Are You? Como estas? (Henry Holt And Company, March 13, 2018) written and illustrated by Angela Dominguez marks the return of two giraffes introduced to readers in How Do You Say? Como se dice? (Henry Holt And Company, November 8, 2016).  These giraffes saw the value of friendship regardless of the language they spoke.  Now a new bird is listening to their words.

Welcome!

Bienvenida!

The two giraffes have issued a greeting to the ostrich, which looks straight at readers with a perplexed expression.  They next ask the bird about its current emotional state.  It's unable to reply before they continue with their questions.

With one giraffe speaking Spanish and the other speaking English, they want to know how this creature feels.  Is it shy?  No.  Is it hungry?  No.  Why does this bird seem to be in no particular state of mind?

After making several other queries, they repeat their original question.  Finally the ostrich can tell them the truth without interruption.  It quickly prompts another query from the giraffes.

The ostrich can hardly stand still as it answers.  Neither can the giraffes.  Merriment fills the air.  There is only one thing left to do.  The trio does it with great celebration.


As a friend or an individual desiring to be a friend, it's essential to place the well-being of the other first.  This concern or caring shows a commitment to the relationship.  This is why the giraffes ask so many questions.  Angela Dominguez acquaints us with words used to define an individual's current mood based on feelings often portrayed by the intended audience.  When we are quiet it might be due to shyness, hunger, fright or tiredness. 


The gentle humor present throughout this book is evident on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case.  The ostrich is looking at readers as if to say, "Who is this giraffe?"  "Does he want to be my friend?" "I'm not exactly sure how I am at this moment."  To the left, on the back, on a canvas of white the conclusion of the story is revealed.  It's when we know how everyone is feeling.

On the opening and closing endpapers Angela Dominguez has placed three rows of circles on the left and on the right.  In an alternating pattern, the head of the ostrich appears twice in one row and once in the next row.  The colors of purple, blue and green are used as light and darker pastels.

On the verso page at the bottom left one of the giraffes is speaking.  At the top all we see are four giraffe legs.  To the right on the title page the ostrich is stepping into view.  With each page turn the giraffes and the ostrich are placed expertly to provide pacing in combination with the phrases and single word replies. 

Their expressions and where they are, especially the giraffes, convey the emotional inquiry.  For shy one of the giraffes is attempting to hide behind a rock.  For tired one of them is completely flat on the ground.  In contrast the ostrich is casually standing until the end.  Throughout the conversations you can't help but feel this is building to something wonderful.  All three of the characters are happy.

One of my favorite illustrations of many is when the giraffes ask the ostrich

Annoyed?
Irritada?

In this image, as on all of them, Angela Dominguez uses white space as an element to draw our attention to the characters.  On either side of the gutter she brings us close to first one and then the other giraffe.  Their mouths, eyes and eyebrows indicate definite irritation.  It is hilarious to see them like this.  In the background on the right the ostrich is saying

No.

The sense of calm usually exhibited is momentarily absent.


Children (and children at heart) are going to gravitate toward How Are You? Como estas? written and illustrated by Angela Dominguez as much as they did her first book with the giraffe characters.  This bilingual tale is sheer delight to both Spanish and English speaking readers.  I recommend again using this for reader's theater.  You will want to place a copy in both your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Angela Dominguez and her other work, please follow the links attached to her name to access her websites.  You can also follow a link to her blog.  Angela maintains an account on Facebook and on Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior pictures.

Cultural Bridges Through Language

On Monday morning January 23, 2017 the American Library Association Youth Media Awards will be announced.  Of the awards announced that day, one is the Pura Belpre Award.

The award is named after Pura Belpre, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library.  The Pura Belpre Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

 As I have said before, there is hardly a day that goes by when I do not thank my Dad for encouraging me to study the Spanish language from junior high school through college.  It opened my eyes to a culture different from my own, enlarging the small world in which I was raised.  As an educator working with English speaking children, their enjoyment in hearing another language spoken, regardless if they understand the words, never ends.  Perhaps they recognize it for more than it is.  It's not just a language but a song of a people.

Two outstanding titles in 2016, both written and illustrated by Latina women, are bilingual.  Both women are recipients of multiple Pura Belpre Honor awards for their work.  The first 2016 title, How Do You Say? Como se dice? (Henry Holt And Company, November 8, 2016) by Angela Dominguez explores a growing friendship between two individuals who do not speak the same language.  It presents simple words and phrases as they share a day together.

Ooh
Aaah

Food!
!Comida!

Snacking on leaves, they share an appreciation for their delectable taste.  Then they decide it's time to exchange greetings, informal and more formal. After their nibble fest, their thirst is quenched.

Well, there is nothing better than good food and good drink, so the duo is feeling about as good as they can.  They express this freely.  It's time now to ask a question.  They both give the same answer at the same time!

With growing joy they do what anyone would do.  They celebrate! All this activity has drained their energy.  Sweet dreams amigos, dulces suenos, friends.  Again the giraffes reply identically.


For younger readers of either Spanish or English or for anyone desiring to learn another language, Angela Dominguez has written an utterly charming title.  We along with the giraffes are looking at the little, everyday pleasures in life and enjoying them. Single words and short phrases in English on the left and Spanish on the right are punctuated to express emotion.


When you look at the matching dust jacket and book case, besides the display of different languages, you see two happy giraffes on the right and left sides.  The back uses one of the interior images when the twosome is at the height of their merriment.  The opening and closing endpapers are a close-up of the distinctive giraffes' coat pattern.  On the title and verso pages one giraffe is looking up and over at the other which is looking down and over but from the top of the title page.

Angela Dominguez uses liberal amounts of white space as an additional element in her images rendered with pencil and tissue paper on illustration board, then colored digitally.  She places her subjects at different points on a page, coming in from varying edges of the pages.  Sometimes she brings us close to the giraffes as in when they are joyously talking about food.  Or she gives us a larger perspective as in when they are drinking from a pool of water by the tree.

The giraffes, their surrounding area and the text are done in realistic color but then Dominguez brings in purple to heighten the glee.  The eyes and mouths convey a full range of moods.  At one point their front legs are used to express perfect jubilation.

One of my favorite illustrations is for the word Delicious! !Sabrosa!  On either side of the gutter long branches of leaves hang down like a vine and come together toward the bottom.  The giraffes on either side have their eyes closed and long tongues extended out to the leaves.  They look like gourmets tasting their most beloved dish prepared by a master chef.

Certainly every professional and personal collection will want a copy of How Do You Say? ?Como se dice? written and illustrated by Angela Dominguez.  It's a delightful peek at the fun of learning new words and meeting new friends.  I can see developing it into a reader's theater.

To learn more about Angela Dominguez and her other work please follow the links attached to her name to access her website and blog.  To see four interior illustrations follow this link to the publisher's website.  Angela Dominguez has been featured on KidLit TV twice; StoryMakers and Ready Set Draw!  Angela Dominguez was one of three illustrators showcased at Latinxs in Kid Lit.





The second book takes us into another world.  !Olinguito, de la A a la Z!: Descubriendo el bosque nublado Olinguito, from A to Z!: Unveiling the Cloud Forest (Children's Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc., February 15, 2016) written and illustrated by Lulu Delacre is a tribute to the discovery of the olinguito and a stunning presentation of the wonders in this creature's world.  Let's travel to the Andes with a zoologist from Washington, DC.

Alto, alla arriba en los Andes
High, high up in the Andes

A forest lush and green is colored with bromeliads.  It provides a residence for creepers, crawlers, fliers, hoppers and the elusive olinguito.  This place is teeming with life; flora and fauna of all shapes, sizes and colors.

Fig and coffee trees grow together.  Ginger flourishes flowering alongside rivers.  Lizards, tanagers, monkeys, butterflies and moths mingle.  Have you ever heard of spectacled bears?  They live here too.

A tiny hummingbird pauses as a quetzal watches.  The marvelous glass frogs call the cloud forest home.  They share this space with toads and salamanders, too.  There are tarantulas, tiger cats and blueberry bushes.  Yes, blueberry bushes!

After the sun sets and the sky darkens, a full moon rises.  The zoologist from Washington DC catches a glimpse of a modern day miracle.  He lifts his camera.  Click!


For each letter of the alphabet the combination of words penned by Lulu Delacre in Spanish is an alliterative melody. In English the descriptions are lyrical.  In both languages the information, as it is presented, takes us deep into the cloud forests examining the residents and their surroundings.  We get a real sense of how the experience must have been for those searching for the olinguito.  Here are three more combinations of phrases.

brilla un bosque bordado de bromelias...
blooms a brilliant forest embroidered with bromeliads...

y de undivino olinguito, de dia dormidito.
and a dozing olinguito dreaming the day away.

Lagartija sobre liquen, loritos en las lianas y llovizna leve, leve...
A lizard lies on lichen, tanagers line the vines, and the lightest drizzle...


Created using mixed media the illustrative beauty found in this title begins on the matching dust jacket and book case.  The olinguito placed in its natural setting framed in the title text is a varnished image on the jacket.  A specialized technique on the framing is like the atmosphere found in the cloud forest.  To the left, on the back, is a panoramic, bird's eye view of the cloud forest of the Andes.  A deep green covers the opening and closing endpapers.

A smaller version of the framing is set in a replica of the back illustration for the title page.  This smaller frame becomes the holder for each letter of the alphabet.  Each page turn is a single, double-page illustration.  Authentic scenes in realistic color replete with details depict the every aspect of this unique space. You expect to hear the sounds of this living, breathing place at any moment  

The text is set in a border created with the layering style employed by Delacre.  Carefully readers will note the change in the sky from sunrise to moonrise as the narrative moves from A to Z.  It's amazing how much we can see in a single day!

One of my favorite illustrations is for the letters K and L.  On the left a river slowly swirls past banks full of greenery and kermes-colored ginger blossoms.  On the right a branch covered in lichen hangs over the water.  A lizard rests on this branch as tanagers gather on vines.

Olinguito, de la A a la Z!: Descubriendo el bosque nublado Olinguito, from A to Z!: Unveiling the Cloud Forest written and illustrated by Lulu Delacre is the best kind of nonfiction with appeal to all readers regardless of their previous knowledge about cloud forests, the olinguito, Spanish and English.  So many glorious things about our world can be found in the pages of this book.  It will educate, entertain and inspire.  At the conclusion Lulu Delacre includes several pages in Spanish and English about the Discovery of the Olinguito, The Cloud Forest, The Illustrations and hints about being an explorer.  There are thumbnails of the specific flora and fauna discussed in her narrative along with the scientific names and brief descriptions.  There are More Helpful Words and the Author's Sources.  

If you desire to learn more about Lulu Delacre and her other work please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  A list of honors and awards already given to this title are listed on a special page along with a teacher's guide. At the publisher's website you can view interior images, access an activity kit, and other STEM resources.  Lulu Delacre has been interviewed at Reading Rockets in a series of videos.

Heart To Hands, Hands To Heart 's

Let's fill the tables in a room with scraps of brightly colored fabric and paper, scissors and glue.  Let's open the doors of that room to a group of children.  It will get messy but the results will be extraordinary.  Each item will be fashioned from a mind without boundaries straight from the heart.  What if each child is allowed to bring a favorite person to watch them work?

Let's reverse this scenario filling tables in a room with an array of patterned cloth and paper, scissors, glue and a needle and thread.  This time those cherished children will look as the objects are being created by a beloved mentor.  What results will be different and what will be the same?

I am fairly certain if an exchange is made, those gifts will be treasured.  Maya's Blanket La Manta De Maya (Children's Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc., August 15, 2015) written by Monica Brown with illustrations by David Diaz is a story presented bilingually.  It's a tale of creativity motivated by a willingness to make the best with what you have.

Little Maya Morales had a special manta that she loved very much.  That blanket was blue and green, with purple butterflies that Abuelita had stitched with her own two hands when Maya was just a baby.  

La pequena Maya Morales tenia una manta especial que queria mucho.  La manta ere azul y verde, con unas mariposas moradas que Abuelita le habia cosido con sus propias manos cuando Maya ere solo un bebe.

Maya slept with her blanket every night until it was worn, believing it magically protected her from bad dreams.  With the help of her Abuelita Maya used her own two hands to make something new from the old blanket.  It was a dress which she wore to her cousin's celebration, her quinceanera.

Even though she danced and danced with abandon the dress kept her upright.  To her dismay though she spilled red punch on her dress, staining it beyond repair.  The two, granddaughter and grandmother, working together, made a skirt.  When Maya wore that skirt she could jump rope lifting her higher than the other children.

As time passed Maya grew and the skirt no longer fit her.  As a shawl it cast a spell on the children playing games, making sure everyone was treated equally.  When vigorous fun shortened the shawl's life and size, the duo fashioned a scarf from the remnants.  For some reason on the coldest and windiest days, Maya stayed safe and warm.  With each change in size the material still held magic until it became an object so small she lost it.  It simply could not be found.

With inventiveness born from the altered uses of her blanket over many years, Maya was able to make one more thing with her two hands.  Perhaps red punch would be spilled on it, or it might get worn out or even lost but it no one would ever outgrow it.  The magic would still be present when it was shared by another mother and her little girl; a little girl who had something special.


When the final sentence on the first page is read, readers will feel a tickle in their story memories which is confirmed in Monica Brown's author's note at the book's end.  Sparked by the Yiddish folk song, I Had a Little Coat, and her Jewish and Latina ancestry, Brown adds richness to the original incorporating the magical element each item brings to Maya.  The repeating phrases

with her own two hands and Abuelita's help...that she loved very much

tie the transformations together.  Each time something new is made all the previous things are named again.  

On the left the story is read in English with the object first named in Spanish.  In the course of the narrative the English name is revealed.  On the right the text is shown in Spanish.  Both are beautiful when read aloud.  Here is a sample passage.

So with her own two hands and Abuelita's help, Maya made her vestido that was her manta into a falda that she loved very much.  She wore the skirt to the park, and it bounced as she hopped and skipped rope with her friends.  With her magical falda, Maya could jump higher than anyone else.

Asi que, con sus propias manos y la ayuda de Abuelita, Maya convirtio el vestido que habia sido su manta, en una falda que queria mucho.  Se la puso para ir al parque, donde se balanceaba mientras Maya brincaba a la cuerda con sus amigos.  Con su falda magica, Maya podia brincar mas alto que cualquiera de ellos. 


The matching dust jacket and book case created using mixed media by David Diaz is stunning.  It's a single illustration across the front and back of both.  The blanket extends over the spine to the left.  The blues, greens, and purple with the golden glow about every element are indeed magical.  Each of the orbs looks like tiny stained-glass windows. The butterflies seem to move on the blanket.  Indeed there are several flying on the back.

The opening and closing endpapers are patterned in large butterflies.  On the first it's purple on a blue-green background.  On the later it's blue-green on a lighter purple canvas.  The verso and title page is one image, a flow of the blanket topped with the colors in Grandmother's coat from the jacket and case.  Butterflies are moving among the magical spheres.

Eleven marvelous two-page images extend and enhance the text in a display of eloquent, colorful hues and patterns.  I nearly gasped when in the first illustration the Grandmother is wearing a rose.  It reminded me of December by Eve Bunting which Diaz illustrated. He supplies the same wonder in this book as he did in that title.

Each pictures flows from left to right, filled with happiness.  Details offer further explanation; the fifteen on top of the cake, the tiny words in English and Spanish of a familiar chant woven into the moving jump rope, the soccer shirts numbered in succession, and what appears to be the cover of The Yearling on the top of Maya's book stack.  As Maya grows up, her puppy, shown in the first picture, grows too, always by her side.

One of my favorite illustrations is when the blanket has become a scarf.  A turquoise sky highlights the lacy bare tree branches.  As Maya walks from her home in the background to school with two friends wind and snow swirl around them.  One companion is lifted off his feet, his book opening and blowing in the air.  Maya and her other friend are in the foreground moving along safely.  The scarf is securely tied around her lower face generating its magic.


This story, Maya's Blanket La Manta De Maya, written by Monica Brown with signature illustrations by David Diaz is book to be added to your personal and professional bookshelves.  It speaks to using something beyond its intended purpose by using your mind, hands and heart.  The love between generations makes this a perfect read aloud book.  Students will beg you to hear the English and the Spanish.  This book makes you want to create something for someone you love, over and over again.  At the conclusion is an author's note in English and Spanish along with a ten word glossary providing the translation of Spanish words into English.

To learn more about Monica Brown and her other books, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website. At Kirkus author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson chats with Monica Brown about this title and other exciting news.  At Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Jules's blog, illustrations from this book by David Diaz are shared.  David Diaz is interviewed at KidLit411 in early 2014.  At the publisher's website you can view more interior illustrations.

Animal Observations And The Music of Language

Early this morning fog and clouds shrouded the mountains as snow fell.  Walking from one room to another something caught my attention; a shadow moved behind the shades still down over the window and door opening to the back deck.  The small tree (Xena's tree) was still lit and twinkling.

It was a large doe moving as lightly as the falling flakes.  In search of food she got through the snow and ate what grass she could find.  I know when spring and summer come she will try to enjoy my gardens.  It will be a challenge as we share the same space but today she was beautiful. 

Author illustrator Julie Paschkis combines her notable skills, her acquired love of the Spanish language and perceptions of the animal world in her newest title. Flutter & Hum: Animal Poems, Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales (Henry Holt and Company, August 18, 2015) is a harmonious tribute to the beauty of written and spoken words.  It seeks and finds joy.

Snake

Slithering

through the grass

the sinuous snake

is writing

a slippery poem

with his body. ...

La Serpiente

Deslizandose

por la hierba

la serpient sinuosa

esta escribiendo

un poema resbaloso

con su cuerpo.

Fourteen animals and fourteen poems, each in English and in Spanish, feature characteristics, imagine possibilities, describe moments, and pose questions.  It's not usual to think of snakes as authors but it does make a kind of sense when you wonder about the marks they leave behind.  We know the turtle's shell is a portable home but there might be other treasures carried too.

As a heron takes flight a picture alters.  Even on a rainy day a single crow manages to find a bit of sparkle.  A cat sleeping and awake can explore named points apart on our world.  A field is not a field to a cow but a ready restaurant.  Do the dogs wag their tails or does sheer jubilation?

A tiny fly, a flashy parrot and a silent deer feast, demand and peer.  Perhaps they will travel to watch sea giants waltz with waves.  A haunting hoot pierces the dark as moths and fireflies seek and give light.  Under and on water fish weave a lullaby.

From every place on our planet the familiar become extraordinary as Julie Paschkis uses language like a magician makes magic.  Onomatopoeia, repetition, rhyming and free verse in English are mirrored in the elegance of the Spanish translation.  She has the ability to see beyond the obvious and make us gasp in admiration at her perspectives.  Here is another sample portion.

Owl
The moon is a lantern
in the branches.
A shimmer.

A shadow whistles
through the grass.
A whisper.

El Buho
La luna es un farol
en las ramas.
Brilla.

Silba una sambra
por las hierbas.
Un susurro.


Rendered in Winsor & Newton gouache on Arches paper all the illustrations throughout are as stunning as the two on the front and back of the dust jacket.  The earth tones on black are a gorgeous pairing.  On the back, to the left, a male deer, a buck, is looking directly at us from among the trees.  As you will note letters and words in English and Spanish are blended into the illustrations.  This adds a creative, innovative dimension to each image.  The book case is identical to the interior illustration of the heron.  A grass green covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Some of the elements from the dust jacket appear on the title page.

All of the visuals span edge to edge across two pages.  Intricate details invite you to pause at each picture.  Sometimes Julie Paschkis draws us directly into the presence of the animal.  Other times we move back and see them within a larger landscape.  Her color palette varies in relationship to the animal and the time of day.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the poem Dog.  Among a swirl of yellow flowers and leaves red balls bounce.  On each side a furry brown dog jumps in joy.  The words bump, bounce, abound, red, ruff and ready and tonto, junto, juego, pronto, redondo, rojo, ojo and rebote appear on the leaves and balls.


Flutter & Hum: Animal Poems Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales written and illustrated by Julie Paschkis is a cheerful frolic among animals, wild and domestic.  I highly recommend this title for reading aloud in either or both languages.  In an author's note, in English and Spanish, Julie Paschkis tells us these poems were first written in Spanish, then English.  Don't wait until National Poetry Month, use this all year long for writing, a study of languages or animals.

To enjoy learning more about Julie Paschkis and her other books please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  If you visit the publisher's website you can view eight interior images.  They are absolutely lovely.  Julie Paschkis was a guest at Jama Rattigan's blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup.  You will enjoy the additional illustrations and the interview.


While some might argue the use of this title for the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy, the use of two languages and animals plus the classification is enough for me.  Please visit the blog to see the other books selected by other bloggers this week.

To water, To life Al agua, A la vida

Back in October teacher librarian extraordinaire, John Schumacher, and blogger at Watch. Connect. Read. began compiling a 2014 Best Books Lists.   To have all these selections in one spot is invaluable in directing the reading lives of your students, colleagues, friends and you.  It gives you a chance to compare what you have read and what you might need or want to read.  When the New York Public Library released their Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2014 earlier this week, one title in particular, already on my pile, caught my attention.

Having spent my life in a state whose motto is Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice, If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you, water, streams, rivers and lakes, is an inescapable part of my immediate world.  Water Rolls, Water Rises El agua rueda, el agua sube (Children's Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc., October 1, 2014) written by Pat Mora with illustrations by Meilo So and translations by Adriana Dominguez and Pat Mora is a respectful tribute in free verse, in both English and Spanish, to all forms of water.  It reminds us how this essential element connects people all across the planet.

Water rolls
onto the shore
under the sun, under the moon. 

El agua rueda
hacia la orilla
bajo el sol, bajo la luna.

As I walked along the sands of Lake Michigan this morning, even though it was dead calm, it was easy to identify with the words in this first verse.  The play of the wind on the waves along any shore anywhere is a continual constant.  If you have not witnessed these same waves crash upon the shore or climb skyward in a wild wind, it is a sight you need to see. Who has not felt the fingers of fog?  Who has not felt this water cloak days and nights?

Water shapes walls of rock as it wanders or is directed through walls made by man.  Deeply dug wells hold it.  Slight shallow streams guide it.  Loud storms release it.  It is a sculptor, a quencher of thirst, and a composer.

Water gathers in natural containers.  Water provides a home for nature's residents.  Water makes music as it moves.  Silent, speaking softly or roaring water seeks and finds our attention.

More than seventy per cent of Earth's surface is covered in water.  In all its forms the sensory experience of water is priceless.  It sustains life.


As each of the fourteen lyrical lines is read, we are fully aware of the beauty water creates.  Reading them aloud in English and Spanish (thankful my Dad gently pushed me to get a minor in Spanish); we recognize the care Pat Mora gave to her word choices.  She begins slowly with words like

rolls, rises and weaves.

She gives water as fog human qualities readily identified by readers; a hand brushing cat's fur.  If you close your eyes, listening to her use of language, visuals of wild water, quiet water, nurturing water, dancing water and water like a mirror easily come to mind.  Mora excels in her use of alliteration and onomatopoeia.  Here is another sample verse.

In the murmur of marsh wind,
water slumbers on moss,
whispers soft songs far under frog fee.

En el viento susurrante de los pantanos,
el agua duerme sobre el musgo,
murmura suaves canciones bajo patitas de ranas.


With the first two images on the front and back of the dust jacket and book case, Meilo So with sweeping lines evokes the sheer magnificence of water's natural displays.  Within a few page turns younger readers will continue to be fascinated by the variety of landscapes water inhabits.  Older readers will begin to feel as though they are being taken on a world tour as familiar sights appear in the illustrations.

This is exactly what So has done; each picture takes its inspiration from sixteen places around our globe as disclosed in the back matter.  Point of view is modified to generate reverence in the reader or to represent the significance of water in our daily lives.  For the first verse we see waves making their way toward a beach as seagulls fly overhead.  Several groups of people are engaged in activities or simply enjoying the view.  For the other verse I showcased we are closer to the water.  Geese are flying low, ducks are swimming and a frog sits on a lily pad.  Two children are poling a skiff through the reeds.

Her choice of color, its boldness or softness, is dictated by the words of Mora.  Each two-page illustration throughout, rendered in mixed media, will elicit an emotional response in the reader.  It's as if her visuals are a gift to water.

One of my favorites is of the women and children dipping their buckets into a well for water.  We are the water looking up at them as they look down.  The majority of the lower section of the pages is of splashing water with pails tipped to gather what they can.  It's a stunning depiction.


This bilingual ode of gratitude to water, Water Rolls, Water Rises, El agua rueda, el agua sube written by Pat Mora with illustrations by Meilo So and translations by Adriana Dominguez and Pat Mora is elegant and eloquent.  It most certainly will leave readers more appreciative of this invaluable resource but will also promote thoughtful discussions and research.  This is a book not to be missed.  A short author's note is included at the end.

For further information about Pat Mora and Meilo So and their other work visit their websites by following the links embedded in their names.  Pat Mora has a discussion guide which can be used in other subject areas as well as language arts.  This link will take you to a series of video interviews of Pat Mora at Reading Rockets.  Author Julie Danielson and blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast highlights this title at Kirkus and her blog.