Wee Wonders

Perspective and point of view shape more than we are aware.  Numerous times student discussions lead to a whole new approach to a lesson.  These students present a thought, or an idea previously not considered.  It is refreshing and mind-blowing.  What's not to love about that?!  It is apparent we need to continuously and consciously alter how we see things, the grandest landscapes, and the tiniest elements in those landscapes.

Early this year a cast of characters drove into the children's literature realm.  Road Trip! A Whiskers Hollow Adventure (Candlewick Press, February 9, 2021) written and illustrated by Steve Light takes us into a tiny community within a woodland world.  Four friends travel toward a desired necessity.  Points along their path disclose more than destinations. 

 

It was a beautiful day in Whiskers Hollow,

more beautiful than a hubcap shining in the sun.

Bear rambles down the road in his trusty truck.  Usually a good driver, Bear crashes into an acorn resting on the middle of the branch.  Now, he needs a new headlight.  

For this, Bear races toward Rabbit's house.  He asks his help in finding a new headlight.  Rabbit would rather eat, regardless of the time of day.  Bear assures him a snack is in his future.

Bear and Rabbit speed to Mouse's house.  Bear requests Mouse's assistance.  Mouse is a tad bit anxious.  He agrees to go, bringing his tried and true first-aid kit.

When they arrive at Donkey's house, he is ready to go.  Donkey, a perpetual optimist, leads the way on his scooter.  He knows how to find Elephant's Old Junk Tree.

Nothing stops the foursome, even when they reach Elephant and his tree full of treasures, discovering there is no headlight for Bear's truck.  As long as they are there and together, they have fun.  An unexpected slip, a muddy plunge, and a watery solution are revealing. Sometimes when looking for one thing, you are reminded of something else just as essential.

With four words, nearly as powerful as once upon a time, at the end of his third sentence, author Steve Light, opens our minds and hearts to the approach of a charming storytelling event.  Declarative sentences and equally straightforward dialogue, welcome us into the story of these four friends.  Repetitive phrases link phases of the narrative together fashioning a comfortable cadence.  In these companionable conversations, much is shown to us about the personalities of Bear, Rabbit, Mouse, and Donkey.  Here is a passage.

The three friends arrived at Donkey's place.

"Let's go---road trip!" said Bear.  "I need a new light for my old truck.

Can you help us find the way to Elephant's Old Junk Tree?"

Donkey knew the way because Donkey loved junk.

"Follow me friends!"

When you open the dust jacket, one of the first things you notice is the image spans from left to right with a break for the spine placement.  On the back, left, a large gray tree trunk is the canvas for portraits of the four friends, introducing them to readers.  On the branch which extends into the center of the right side hangs a sign.  This sign offers pictorial directions to Elephant's Junk Tree.  Two tiny crickets are seated on the top corners of the ISBN.  One is reading.  

On the front, the four are driving with haste to find a replacement headlight for Bear's trusty truck.  They all lean into this journey, following Donkey.  Notice the body posture of Donkey filled with calm confidence.  It is here we come to understand how small Whiskers Hollow and its inhabitants are.

On the book case, illustrator Steve Light presents a series of roadways tree to tree, tree branch to tree branch.  They pass by windows and doors in multiple homes.  There are stoplights, tow trucks, and vehicles of all shapes and sizes.  You will notice a large portion of activity revolves around the removal of the acorn responsible for Bear's crash.

On the opening and closing endpapers is a muted spring green.  Carefully labeled and drawn with intricate detail is a map of Whiskers Hollow in black.  All these sites hold infinite possibilities for future excursions.

With a page turn, a double-page image shows us on the left a cutaway of the interior of Bear's Den.  Above it a tree branch stretches to the far right.  Bear drives with quickness on that branch on the title page.  In the O of Road an acorn is shown.  An acorn is used for the dot on the exclamation point.

Rendered 

in pen and ink and gouache

the illustrations, ranging in size and perspective, are a study in the art of exquisite elements.  Fine lines take us deep into Whiskers Hollow.  We leave our world behind, shrinking to miniature.  Each page turn is an invitation to pause and study the image(s) before us.

One of my many favorite pictures is a single-page illustration.  It is framed with wide white space and a thin black line.  The color palette is spare.  There are hints of blue, yellow, and brown, black and white.  The four friends are sitting together on an enormous pile of junk.  They are enjoying snacks, beverages, and each other.  It is a scene of peace in the presence of those who love you just as you are.

Whether read with a large group or one on one, this book, Road Trip! A Whiskers Hollow Adventure written and illustrated by Steve Light is an precious possession to be savored repeatedly.  Readers will wish they could step into this marvelous world and enjoy all it offers along with the four friends, Bear, Rabbit, Mouse, and Donkey.  You'll want to add a copy of this gem to your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Steve Light and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Steve Light has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter.  Interior pictures can be viewed at Penguin Random House.  Steve Light chats with author, reviewer, and blogger Julie Danielson about this title at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  You will love, love, love the conversation and artwork.  The virtual launch was held at Books of Wonder.

Instead of shifting to a tiny world within our world, a small creature decides to collect everyday human items.  To her, what we take for granted is a gift.  Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter (Candlewick Press, July 6, 2021) written by Jamie Michalak with illustrations by Kelly Murphy is certain to have you looking at your surroundings with new eyes.  You might decide to start your own assortment of special objects.  

IN THE GREAT, BIG CITY,

in the great, big museum,

a clock tick-tocks past midnight.

Doors are locked.

Guards keep watch.

All is still, until . . .

From the shadows, an individual moves.  It's a mouse.  Her name is Dakota Crumb.  She is a hunter of treasures.  Tonight, she carries a map.  Tonight, is the night she will locate with courage a 

famous priceless treasure.

She needs to carefully move past ancient warriors.  Wait a minute!  Someone has left a remarkable painting (stamp) which she adds to her bag.  In a room filled with gigantic beings from lore, she spies another forgotten figure (It looks familiar.)

Past a caretaker, intrepid Dakota moves, map in paws.  In the Egypt room, a wicked cat is seated, guarding all the ancient articles.  Behold!  There is the treasure of all treasures, exactly where it is supposed to be.  (It tastes like grapes.) 

As a new day dawns, silent paws take this gatherer home.  Does she sleep?  No, she does not.  Today is special.  To her friends, by day, she is Miss Crumb, proprietor of Mousehole Museum.  As the great big city sleeps, by night she is a hunter of the greatest gifts left behind.

With each page turn readers are more attached to this character and her exploits.  Author Jamie Michalak uses simple sentences for maximum results, creating a mysterious pacing.  Alliteration, rhyming and sound effects add to the suspense.  Verb choices elevate the nighttime atmosphere.  Here is a passage.

Whoosh!

WHOA!

Too slow.

Dakota escapes by a whisker.

Heave ho!  Into Dakota's sack it goes!

Tick-tock goes the clock.

But where's the treasure?

Dakota checks her map and travels on.

Dakota Crumb's wide-eyed look on both the front and back of the open and matching dust jacket and book case gives us a clue to her inquisitive and persistent nature.  Standing on the edge of a framed human masterpiece, she is ready to swing into action, looking to make sure it is safe.  The graduated color of the title text heightens the tension.  It partners with her sweater shade.  The main title text is varnished.

To left, on the back, on the pale teal background, Dakota is swinging through the air like Indiana Jones.  Her body posture and facial expression indicate her confidence and joy.  On the opening and closing endpapers is a muted midnight blue.  Prior to the title page, on a crisp white background, Dakota Crumb is next to a magnifying glass, her bag, a treasure, and her "grappling hook".  This image is tucked into the lower right-hand corner.

On the title page, a double-page picture gives readers an overview of the great, big city.  The museum is on the right.  Purple hues are prevalent.  Golden yellow lights glow in windows.  A large white moon hangs down from the top edge on the left.

Many elements, other than those, Dakota Crumb, finds are shown in the illustrations.  Do you notice any objects which seem out of place?  The double-page visuals give us an overview of the museum interior, take us close to Dakota Crumb, and offer a variety of perspectives.  We look down on a scene.  We look up toward the ceiling. We scurry, climb, and scamper next to Dakota Crumb.  Rendered by Kelly Murphy using

pen and ink, colored digitally  

these pictures convey a real sense of time and place.

One of my many favorite pictures accompanies the text above noted.  Across the left side and most of the right side a tense moment for Dakota Crumb is showcased.  On the left, she quickly scoops up the statue and puts it in her bag.  A broom sweeps up other debris and perhaps other treasures.  On the right we see the feet and lower portion of the legs of the caretaker.  In the low light shadows increase the anxiety Dakota must be feeling.  In the lower right-hand corner, we move into another moment.  Dakota Crum holds her map, figuring out her next move.

Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter written by Jamie Michalak with illustrations by Kelly Murphy is a puzzle, a scavenger hunt, and a memorable midnight excursion fraught with exciting moments.  Readers will be guessing what her next discovery will be as they notice other possible collectibles in the illustrations.  At the close of the book Dakota Crumbs proposes readers return to the story and locate more than forty other objects.  This book is certain to be a story time favorite.  Be sure to have a copy in both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Jamie Michalak and Kelly Murphy and their other work, follow the link attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Jamie Michalak has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Kelly Murphy has accounts on Behance, Instagram, and Twitter.  At the publisher's website there is an eleven-page activity kit you can download.  At Penguin Random House you can view interior images.  At teacher librarian, lecturer, and author John Schumacher's Watch. Connect. Read., Jamie and John chat about this title.  Jamie is also interviewed at GoodReadsWithRonna.  Jamie Michalak has a guest post at the Nerdy Book Club regarding this book.

All The Colors In-Between

No matter the amount of planning given to a story time for the youngest of gals and guys, it is always infinitely better than imagined.  Their responses are genuine and straight from the heart using all their senses without reservation.  The spontaneity of these children is a never-ending source of delight.

For them the world, even on a cloudy day, is bright with possibilities.  Black Bird Yellow Sun (Candlewick Press, March 6, 2018) written and illustrated by Steve Light invites us to take an avian day trip.  We perch, glide and walk from one colorful experience to the next.

Basking in the golden glow of a sun, black bird contemplates his next stop.  Sharing the tree branch with him is a tiny orange worm.  An array of leaves, a lighter shade of the worm's color, provides a canopy from the heat of the day.

Plucking ripe fruit from hanging bunches supplies noontime nourishment.  A stroll through green grass gives Black Bird's wings a rest.  It's time for an afternoon snooze.  A fright causes him to take flight.

Large rounded gray rocks signal a pause.  On the next stop a hue envelopes this bird in calm.  His creeping companion finds solace on another bloom.  After the sun sets and night cloaks the world in darkness, a special moon casts a blue light.  Sweet dreams Black Bird and orange worm.


Throughout the day and into the night Steve Light moves this bird and this worm from one vibrant space to another.  At each place readers learn a color and an object; totaling eight colors and eight objects.  Both the primary and secondary colors are included.  The repetition of Black Bird prior to the color and named item gives readers and listeners a cadence which welcomes participation and without a doubt finger snapping, hand clapping and toe tapping.


This sturdy board book when opened reveals to the left, on the back, eight circles of color on white, four above and below these words:

From morning's yellow sun
to evening's blue moon,
Black Bird discovers 
the colors of the day.

The textures as shown on the front of the case cover are sure to have readers ready to reach out and touch the book.  Steve Light uses a technique not seen in his earlier books for these illustrations.

By employing collage and by printing cardboard shapes with ink he creates images ideal for younger readers.  With this simplicity in the color palette and design the little gals and guys are able to focus on the black bird, the worm, the colors and elements in each scene.  Steve Light alternates the side of the double-page pictures on which the bird and worm appear enhancing the pacing and guiding our eyes.

The shapes used for the black bird are graceful, particularly when the bird is flying.  The worm is always in motion, inching along branches, leaves, fruit, blades of grass, the ground, a rock or flower.  Readers will look to the bird's eyes to determine where its attention is directed at a particular place.

One of several favorite illustrations is when Black Bird is flying toward the cover of the orange leaves.  His body with wings outstretched is placed over the word bird on the left.  Large orange leaves, some with veins branching out from a center line, cover the top of the page on the left and nearly every space on the right.  This is a wonderful study in perspective.  Near the top-left of the right side, the worm crawls along the edge of a leaf.


Whether read one-on-one or shared with a group, Black Bird Yellow Sun written and illustrated by Steve Light is a gem to enjoy.  Certainly there will be multiple requests for read it again.  With each repeated reading the listeners' knowledge of the colors, named items, Black Bird and his worm buddy will grow. I believe this title will pair well with Lunch written and illustrated by Denise Fleming.

To discover more about Steve Light and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  At the publishers' websites here and here you can view interior images.  At Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read., Steve Light premiered the book trailer.  Besides introducing the book to us, he gives a wonderful account of how he made his art for this book.  In an earlier post Steve Light visits with John Schumacher about his other books and artwork on August 18, 2017.

A Gentle Giant In Hiding

They might be found under a bed, in the closet or only in your head.  Mostly big and tall, they're not very scary at all.  If one should flee (they do like to explore), don't worry.  They're fairly easy to see.

Some are red. Some are blue.  Some are yellow.  Some are a mix and match of one or more hues.  In a companion title to the popular, Have You Seen My Dragon (Candlewick Press, April 8, 2014) author and illustrator Steve Light invites us on an amusing adventure.  His young character is in search of her purple pal in Have You Seen My Monster? (Candlewick Press, April 7, 2015).  With the introduction of each possible place, we come to learn about this monster's likes, county fairs and shapes.


Have you seen my monster?
No?  Maybe he's already at the fair. 

As the little girl stands outside the entrance, her monster is hitching a ride on a vendor's cart, passing under a blue sign.  Will she spot him spinning among statuesque steads?  He might be in the food tent given his appetite for sweet treats.

Is that him wandering among the giggling gals and guys in a house with mirrors, whirling wheels and ladders?  Maybe he's looking for someone as hairy as he is.  He'll need to walk gently among the unhatched newborns and through the farm animal pens.  Let's twirl up high, to see if he can be seen.

Tractors and trucks might be an attraction but so can sliding with speed.  Is that him racing and weaving among the bumper cars?  Let's go round and round to the tip top, hoping to spy the merry monster.

He's very clever.  Perhaps he took first prize in a competition.  Is he marching to music?  Is he waiting for a big ding? It may be he is nestled with some stuffed animal friends.  There is now a sliver of moon in the sky.  A monster is needed to walk hand in hand with a friend.


Summer heralds the arrival of traveling carnivals and county exhibitions but with the words of Steve Light, we can enjoy the experience any time of the year.  Most children in the company of their parents value the addition of their own personal monster elevating the fun of the fair.  For those unfamiliar with the sights and sounds to be found, Light takes us on a tour through a series of simple queries and observations by the little girl.

In this hunt fashioned with words by Light we are looking for a cherished companion and forms.  For each of the visited spots, a shape is highlighted with text and color. Here is another sample passage.

Maybe he went to see 
the livestock.  I hope he
doesn't scare the animals.

square

You'll want to step right into the pages of this book once you've seen the illustration spanning the front and back of the dust jacket.  With no stretch of your imagination you'll hear the call of the merchants and ticket sellers along with the music of the carousel mingled with the laughter and screams of the riders.  The Ferris wheel crosses the spine joining other tents, a merry-go-round, a gigantic roller coaster and the flying chair ride.  On the book case the purple of the monster provides a background for the black outline drawings of the little girl and her buddy at a tea party and playing dress-up.  On the opening and closing endpapers, Steve Light has drawn a map in black on white with red arrows tracing the path the monster and girl take through the fair.  At each place a different color indicates the shape showcased.  A compass rose is in the upper left-hand corner.  In the lower right-hand corner framed in carnival decor are the girl and her monster, hands raised in joy.

With a page turn the little girl is playing beauty parlor placing ribbons in the monster's hair on the verso page.  Opposite, in full color, she rides piggy-back on his shoulders next to and under the title.  Rendered in 

ink using a Mont Blanc 149 with a B nib that *flips* to a fine line...then colored using Platinum Mix Free inks

the twenty illustrations are spread over two pages each, edge to edge.

Done entirely in black and white the details are elaborate and intricate.  The perspective is altered depending on the vantage point of the girl.  Readers will need to turn the book to view a vertical picture as the girl uses all her muscles.  Positioning of the girl and the monster is astutely done, so they are never too far from one another.  Spot color is used to identify the shapes within the illustrations.  In the upper right-hand corner of each image Light has placed the form in white on a black rectangle naming it.  

One of my favorite illustrations is beneath the tent riding the dodgem cars.  You are well aware of the activities on the outside but your eyes are drawn to the motion on the floor, the bumping and racing.  The faces on the children show disappointment, happiness and determination.  Our monster is running away from one particular driver with a glint in his eyes.


Have You Seen My Monster? written and illustrated by Steve Light welcomes reader participation.  It's a day at the fair.  It's a search for a missing but not so missing monster.  It's a shift in point of view looking for small shapes in larger places.  With much to relish on these pages, this title will have the loved look quickly.  As a read aloud it will make for a lively story time.

To appreciate more about Steve Light and his work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  This link will take you to the Penguin Random House website to view interior images.  A completely different picture is available at the Candlewick Press site.  They have also created an activity kit.
UPDATE:  Steve Light was a guest at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson.

Who's Missing Now?

Have you ever had that feeling of total panic when two seconds have passed, you turn around and a child or a pet has vanished?  Heart racing you back track as quickly as you can, looking in all the possible places either might be.  Thankfully what seems like minutes is usually less than one, when they are found or reappear.

Granted, depending on where you are during this vanishing act or on the size of the beloved being, it may be easier to locate them.  Have You Seen My DRAGON? (Candlewick Press, April 8, 2014)) written and illustrated by Steve Light traces the path of a boy looking for his faithful (but wandering) friend.  Finding a dragon among the busy cityscape is much harder than you think.

Have you seen my dragon?
No? I will look for him.

Traveling to seek his pal, a young boy's first stop is a street vendor selling a favorite food.  He can't see his dragon but we can.  Lots of people travel to the city center on a bus but his dragon does not.

Let's go to the harbor to see if the dragon is riding the waves.  Is he thirsty enough to seek out the water towers on building tops?  Is he feeling playful enough to swing with the monkeys in the zoo?  He may be doing his good deed for the day.

Perhaps his fiery breath is causing problems above and below ground.  Or, best of all, he may be reading a book.  Let's take a look there, on the scaffolding of a painter or among the pigeons roosting up near the sky.

Is he ready for a cool treat?  Will the dog walkers or gathered children notice his presence? How is he moving through the streets?  How is he getting from place to place?  Where is the dragon?  Oh...there he is.


Steve Light addresses the fantastical thoughts held by many children (or children at heart) of having a dragon for a best friend.  He introduces readers to all the many opportunities and symbolic modes of travel, places to visit and structures found in a large city.  Clever readers will easily see which city this is even though there is no mention of a name.

As the boy looks for his adventuresome chum, each statement or question he poses to the reader is accompanied by a number from 1 (dragon) through 20 (lanterns) traveling from point to point.  We follow him because we can identify with his need to be reunited with the dragon.  We follow him because he is speaking directly to us; including us in his search. Here is a single passage.

I want ice cream!
Maybe my dragon wants some, too.


It's impossible to simply glance at the opened dust jacket of this book.  A single intricately detailed illustration extends from the back to the front.  Done entirely in black and white except for spots of color on the dragon and his boy, it invites closer consideration.  The book case is a solid spring green with black outline drawings of the boy with his dragon, different for the front and the back.  A map of the city, again in black and white, arrows drawn from each of the points to the next, are numbered in colored circles on the opening and closing endpapers.  The same colors appear on the pages within the book.

All of the pictures, rendered

in ink using a Mont Blanc 149 with a B nib that"flips" to a fine line,

are double-page spreads; one even requires the reader to turn the book to view it vertically.  The items being numbered are the only color on the pages.  Every visual is an exquisite exploration of a specific area in the city.

Even though the boy is unable to find his dragon in any of the pictures until the final one, we readers seek him out, finding him tucked into each of the scenes.  He is an active element in each of them.  He may be on the roof of the street vendor's cart ready to take the hot dog out of an unsuspecting customer's hand, posing as a fountain inside the monkey's cage, blowing smoke through the underground tunnels forcing it out a manhole cover or peeking around a tree with a ball in his mouth, ready to give it to a grateful dog.

Xena's favorite illustration is for the number 14-Dogs. With the city buildings and a bridge as a backdrop, dogs on and off leash are scampering through a park.  Squirrels are taunting them in the trees as birds chirp away. Dogs greet one another as humans look in opposite directions.  Humans greet one another as dogs look in opposite directions.  Barking dogs, birdsong, chattering squirrels, the laughter of children and quiet conversation can easily be imagined.


This book, Have You Seen My DRAGON? written and illustrated by Steve Light is one to love on several levels.  Captivating illustrations with a conversational narrative make it a wonderful kind of story to share.  The spot color, the hiding dragon, and the counting are captivating and participatory.

To discover more about Steve Light follow the link embedded in his name to access his official website.  This link is to a great interview with many sketches and illustrations about this book at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by Julie Danielson.  Here are links at the publisher's website for A Note From Author-Illustrator Steve Light and an activity kit.  Have fun with this book everyone!