New Season, New Life, New Challenges

It's here!  Today (March 20, 2018) is officially the first day of spring.  It's hard to believe it when you look at the National Weather Service map picturing a nasty winter storm for the east coast or when you recently return home from walking your dog through ice and snow in northern Michigan.  Mother Nature does things in her own time.

It's as if she is the maestro standing in front of the members of a great symphony orchestra.  As soon as she lifts her baton, everything begins anew.  I'm a Duck (Candlewick Press, March 13, 2018) written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Will Hillenbrand follows a newborn uncomfortable with what should come naturally.

When I was just an egg, I'm told,
I left my nest and rolled and rolled.

The wayward egg splashed right into the pond.  Mother duck wasted not a second and dove into the water.  Once nestled in the nest again, the egg, in due time, cracked and revealed one of four baby ducks.

Unlike its siblings this duck did not want to swim in the pond or lake.  No amount of encouragement from its three brothers convinced the frightened creature to join them.  Drowning was a very real worry.

Friendly Big Frog made it very clear the fearful youngster simply needed to get in the water as quickly as possible.  Owl's advice was similar.

" . . .You're a duck.  Use common sense
and try to get some confidence."

Perhaps this duck needed to ease into the water.  Puddle practice and an understanding mother certainly helped but the water terrified this little being.  A friend offered a helping hand but a determined spirit made another decision.  New wondrous sounds rang out over the pond.


With the heart of a child and the wisdom of an ancient mentor, Eve Bunting reveals profound truths in the words she writes in each and every story.  In this book, her most recent release, with a soothing rhythm of rhyming phrases, focus is directed at a fear but solutions are lovingly offered.  By giving the duck the role of narrator, readers can identify more intimately with the challenge and rejoice in the resolution.  Here is a four-line passage.

The pond is waiting there below.
It's whispering, "Come on!  Let's go."
But even though I'm well prepared.
I'm really, really, really scared.


Within the soft hues of blue, green, yellow and brown readers are introduced to the duck.  The quiet setting of the pond shown on the front and back of the matching dust jacket and book case sets the tone for the entire book.  Who can resist loving this adorable child?  With the curve of a wing, the set of webbed feet, large dark eyes and a bill easily conveying emotion, we find ourselves drawn to his story.

A darker shade of his downy feathers covers the opening and closing endpapers.  The initial title page begins the story with an egg splashing and sinking into the pond.  On a background of crisp white the same image as shown on the front of the jacket and case is replicated beneath the text on the formal title page.

Most of the illustrations rendered by Will Hillenbrand using mixed media span two pages. They shift from peaceful panoramic water settings to close-ups of the duck in a variety of scenarios.  Each picture, regardless of the time of day, creates a sense of calm even in the noisier moments.  Each choice by Will Hillenbrand, the color palette, the elements in each image, his use of materials and his lines and details contributes to enhancing the words of Eve Bunting.

One of my many favorite illustrations covers two pages.  It accompanies the text already noted.  From left to right a pale cream canvas extends.  On the far right edge reeds fill the upper corner.  Beneath them the pond is placed from the right, across the gutter and into the lower right corner on the left side.  The duck is standing on the edge of the shore, looking at its reflection.  This visual, like all of them in this title, is brimming with charm.


Winsome in words and pictures, I'm a Duck written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Will Hillenbrand is certain to resonate with readers of all ages.  Who among us has not been afraid to do one important thing?  With the encouragement and love of family and friends, the impossible becomes a reality.  This title would work wonderfully with the themes of courage, spring or ducks.  I highly recommend it for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Will Hillenbrand, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  An older video interview of Eve Bunting at Reading Rockets provides background information.  At the publisher's website you can view an interior image.  At this publisher's website you can see some of the first pages in the book.  In this video Will Hillenbrand chats about his process for this title.

Swimming Away From Fear

As educators we hear revelations either told in a group setting or in confidence.  When something is spoken to us in trust, we have a responsibility to protect what we have heard.  Sometimes though we need to go back and speak with the child, telling them for their well-being this information should not be kept a secret.  It's a fine line, a judgment call, wondering whether these details were shared for the sole reason of the need for another to know or as a cry for help.

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award winners for 2015 (You Are (Not) Small) Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant deliver to readers another delightful tale.  Can I Tell You a Secret? (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, May 31, 2016) explores the dilemma of whether to keep or share a secret.  Some secrets are harder or bigger or both than others.

Pssst!

Yes, you.
Hi.
Could you come here for a sec?

This small green frog asks us to come nearer and nearer.  When he is satisfied we are close enough, he reveals that he has a secret.  You know he wants to tell you his secret but he has to make sure without a doubt you will not tell another single soul.

When he is secure in the knowledge you can be trusted, the truth is shared.  He cannot swim.  He is afraid of the water.  As you can imagine this is a huge problem for a frog.  He's carried this conundrum with him since he was a wee tadpole.

Continuing his conversation with us, his readers, he goes further explaining how he has guarded this knowledge.  Our friendly frog is very clever but getting pretty pooped with this predicament.  His response to a statement lets us know the unseen conversationalist (us) suggests he tell his parents.  This is much easier said than done.

Does he do it the first time?  Does he do it the second time?  Will the third try be the charm?  Montague (Monty) has no idea how his parents are going to respond.  Wonderful surprises greet readers.


Author Anna Kang speaks throughout this story with the sure understanding of a child's perspective.  The conversational exchanges between Monty, the frog child, and the reader are genuine.  The sentences are short and easily understood.  The purposeful punctuation conveys the heartfelt emotion in this set of circumstances. Here are two sample passages.

And I am very sad.
Because I really want to swim.
I'm a frog, after all!
What should I do?

What's that?  You think I should tell someone?
Like my parents?
Are you sure?  POSITIVE?
You wouldn't lie to me, right?


On the matching dust jacket and book case, on the front, readers meet an exceedingly concerned guy.  He stands out to readers with his coloring and expressive eyes on a background of white.  We are also drawn to the red in the title text.  To the left, on the back of the opened jacket and case, an interior image is displayed.  Looking directly at us, posed on a cattail over the resting lily pads in the pond, he asks what we are already thinking.  How can a frog keep this kind of secret?  The opening and closing endpapers are covered in a vivid frog green.

A two page illustration covers the formal title page.  Frogs are lined up on a cattail as if it's a diving board over the pond.  A lifeguard is on duty.  Our frog friend is off to the right side sitting on a rock, looking rather forlorn.

Throughout the title the white canvas works to superb effect highlighting every mood.  Christopher Weyant rendered the pictures with watercolors and ink on 260 lb Arches paper.  His visuals extend the text on either two pages, single pages or two images on a single page.  The eyes on his frogs are pure happiness.  When he zooms in on Monty we can feel the intensity of the situation.  (Attentive readers will spot the Easter egg.)  Weyant closes the book with an illustration similar to the first one but noticeably different on the dedication and verso pages.

One of several favorite illustrations is when Monty is showing us how he maintains his secret.  In a single page image he is clinging to the leg of a heron.  The bird cranes its neck downward, scowling at the young frog.  Another frog peeks out of the water wondering at Monty's tactic.  A dragonfly hovers, watching.  Cattails frame the bottom of the picture, the pond.


You simply can't help but smile reading Can I Tell You a Secret?  written by Anna Kang with illustrations by Christopher Weyant.  The blend of narrative and illustrations is, regardless of Monty's secret, full of joy and compassion.  I have to say I burst out laughing at the last twist at the end.  I can already hear the requests of read it again.

To learn more about Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  After the publication of their first two books, Anna Kang was interviewed at Cracking The Cover.