Inside a Hat

I recently reread an article in Psychology Today written by Pamela Brown Rutledge Ph. D., M. B. A. in Positively Media titled The Psychological Power of Storytelling.  Two phrases from six of her main points which resonate are:

Stories are about collaboration and connection.  They transcend generations, they engage us through emotions, and they connect us to others.

Stories are how we are wired. ... To the human brain, imagined experiences are processed the same as real experiences.

And more recently an article written by Leo Widrich titled The Science of Storytelling: Why Telling a Story is the Most Powerful Way to Activate Our Brains another interesting point is:

When we are being told a story, things change dramatically.  Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are too.

For these reasons coupled with personal experience, I am continually looking for books to excite listeners to the sheer power, the fun, of story.  Sometime during the month of December author Ame Dyckman, Boy + Bot (Alfred A. Knopf) (reviewed here), tweeted about a terrific title she had just read, Mr. Zinger's Hat (Tundra Books, a division of Random House Canada Limited) by Cary Fagan with illustrations by Dusan Petricic.  At the first reading, as each page was turned, I became more and more excited.  You could not ask for a better book about story and storytelling.


Every day after school, Leo took his ball into the courtyard.  He threw the ball high into the air.  It would hit the brick wall and bounce back, and Leo would try to catch it.

About the same time each day when Leo was throwing that ball, a neighbor, a writer of stories, Mr. Zinger would walk in circles around the courtyard where Leo was playing.  One day after school that ball bouncing got a little out of control; the ball soaring too high for Leo to catch it.  It flew toward Mr. Zinger knocking his hat into the air.

A breeze caught that hat, Mr. Zinger called for Leo's help and Leo scurried to get it.  Like a magnet to metal Mr. Zinger's hat settled right on top of Leo's head over his baseball cap.  This ordeal had Mr. Zinger a little frazzled so he asked Leo to sit a spell with him on the bench.

Mr. Zinger questioned why his hat took off like it did, peering to see what might be inside.  His reply was:

"Ah, I see now," said Mr. Zinger.  "It's a story.  A story trying to get out."

Through a series of questions, answers and imaginative musings Leo and Mr. Zinger made a story.  Should the story be about a man or a boy, will he be poor or rich, happy or sad and what exactly happened to this person?  With the story finished Mr. Zinger left to go back to his writing.

As Mr. Zinger walked away Leo's final question to him prompted a reply as true as time.  Least you think the tale is over, think again.  Leo went back to his ball and throwing it against the wall.

That ball went too high again.  A voice called out.  Play.  Bench.  Baseball Cap.  Guess what happened next?


Through word choice, dialogue between his characters, and pacing Cary Fagan manages to make the everyday magical.  The gap between generations is easily bridged through a mutual respect and the exchange of imaginative thoughts.  Using the hat as a receptacle for stories is a stroke of genius; capturing our thoughts, dreams, or ideas.


 Choosing to make Mr. Zinger's hat the focal point of the front and back jacket and cover, the title page, verso and dedication page reinforces the title selection, its importance and, in the reader's mind, a question forms, "What is it about Mr. Zinger's hat?"  All the illustrations in this title are rendered in watercolor by Dusan Petricic.  Large amounts of white space act as frames around the different sized pictures, some single pages, others crossing the gutter, extending across two pages.

Readers cannot help being drawn to the animated features of the freckle-faced, red haired boy side-by-side the older gentleman with bushy white eyebrows, mustache and beard.  The casual bright play clothing, shorts, T-shirt, tennis shoes and ball cap of Leo contrast against those of Mr. Zinger, a dark suit and hat.  Petricic's technique of changing the style of the illustrations, more cartoon-like, to differentiate between the story within the story is a very nice touch.  These pictures, young and old, colorful and classic, soft and bold, enhance the idea of storytelling as a bridge between differences.  My two favorite visuals are the bench scenes; Leo looking inside the hat when Mr. Zinger holds it above his head and Leo holding his baseball cap so his new friend can look inside.


Mr. Zinger's Hat written by Cary Fagan with watercolor illustrations by Dusan Petricic is full of the might, the miracle, of making stories.  It's not hard to picture a group of students walking into an educational setting, being giving a hat as they enter and telling them that today "H is for Story".  The questions and answers will undoubtedly be as varied as the people themselves.  After hearing Mr. Zinger's Hat, I wonder what stories will emerge from inside their hats?

Passionate Potential

There's something magical about the combination of two little words, What if...? with pencil and paper. Whether you are writing or drawing you are only limited by the wandering of your mind as it leaps from one possibility to another.  No matter your age, child, teen, or adult, dreams are a source of endless delight full of potential.

In his E. B. White Read Aloud Winner, If I Built a Car (Dutton Books for Young Readers, May 5, 2005), author/illustrator Chris Van Dusen introduced readers to Jack, a young man with hidden talents and a very vivid imagination.  His new title, If I Built a House (Dial Books, Octber 25, 2012) brings eight-year-old Jack back along with his marvelous musings.  A step through the door into Jack's world is a step into wacky, wild wonder.

Jack, in the backyard, said to his mother,
This house is OK, but it's like any other.
It's boxy and boring and basically bland.
It's nothing at all like the house I have planned.

Jack is thinking leaps and bounds into days yet to come, designing like an engineer with all the cozy comforts of home sweet home.  His mother and dog step into his vision as easily as clients during a real estate tour.

From kitchen to living room to bathroom and bedroom each amazing accessory is duly noted.  There's an astonishing Kitchen-o-Mat to prepare meals and do clean-up, too.  Spinning chairs, a series of trampolines and a pit full of balls provide for playful pastimes in the family space.  A car wash style Scrub-a-Dub-Dub leaves you squeaky clean before you zoom up, up, up to the glass tower for sleeping with a view.

Sliding down from the scenic heights Jack and company have more rooms to investigate.  Yes, there's an Art Room with a wall for drawing, a Flying Room with no gravity at the flick of a switch, a Racetrack Room complete with cars and a suspended route with loops, dips and curves, and a Fish Tank Room completely underwater with creatures of every size and weight.  With a jet-propelled whoosh, one more room is left to enjoy.  Yes, that Jack is quite the boy.


Never forced, flawless, flowing, every two lines of the narrative by Van Dusen rhyme with a rhythm paced to perfection.  His protagonist speaks with an emcee's flair, a knowledgeable guide, leading his family here and there, up and down and all around.  Word choices roll off the tongue, stimulate the mind and create an atmosphere of futuristic fun filled with humor.


Using gouache to render all his illustrations Chris Van Dusen begins to engage readers with his matching jacket and cover; unfolded the back has Jack's dog sniffing a small house with the words, Think big! above.  The opening endpapers picture blueprint miniatures of eleven house designs.  Jack's completed drawings for his house cover the closing endpapers.

A bright, bold color palette reminiscent of the 50s and 60s in turquoise, teal, shades of green, red, orange and golden yellow, cheerfully invites readers to participate.  Items from the title page painting are placed on the dedication page tying the two together.  Details such as bits of Tinkertoy, Lincoln Logs, an Alexander Calder mobile suspended from the ceiling in the living room, and pink and black tile in the bathroom all recreate the feeling of this era. With the exception of the first and last pages the remaining illustrations are spread across two pages; blissful exuberance in every single one.


Readers will be more than happy to repeatedly join Jack, his mother and perky puppy pal as they travel from room to room in If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen.  I guarantee readers and listeners alike will be anxious to plan their own unique spaces replete with gadgets and extras straight from their fertile fields of fancy.  Who wouldn't want to live in a house with all the fascination of an amusement park?

A link to Van Dusen's website is embedded in his name above.  It includes an excellent FAQ.  This is a link to a fascinating video Reading Rockets interview.  International Reading Association Reading Today Online posted an article, 5 Questions With...Chris Van Dusen (IF I BUILT A HOUSE) which offers hints of extras included in his illustrations; nods to another famous author/illustrator.

In The Midnight Hour

In your imagination there are no limits.  You can be anyone, do anything, or go anywhere anytime for no reason whatsoever.  Under the cover of darkness the magic of the mind doubles its powers.

In many a story when the clock strikes twelve, what is impossible in the daylight hours can now be attempted with confidence.  It goes without saying, when one assumes an alternate identity, it is done with the knowledge that success is pretty much guaranteed.  First time picture book author, Barbara DaCosta, has written Nighttime Ninja (Little, Brown and Company) with illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner, Ed Young, inviting readers into possibilities.

The clock struck midnight...

Those four beginning words have the same lure as--Once upon a time...  Already your mind is wondering where, what or who will happen next.  A kind of tension, suspense, has been created.

A ninja, silent as a breath of air, is moving along a rope suspended from one building to another.  Climbing and leaping this native of the night makes a sure-footed landing. Moving into the house, a determination is made.  The family is sleeping.

Weaving along the hallway guided by the moon, listening, he pauses.  In his hands are the tools of his trade.  Then, without warning, the room is flooded with light.  It would seem that even the skills of a ninja are no match for those of a mother.


Having engaged readers from line one, Barbara DaCosta leads us into the story laden with anticipation.  Spare but descriptive text carries us from one moment to the next.  We are with the ninja on his mission, every step of the way.

When the surprise comes balance shifts from dark to light, uncertainty to disclosure with a knowing chuckle escaping easily.  DaCosta has composed a tale moving quietly but cleverly from ninja to boy in a heartbeat. The final dialogue between mother and child are typical then tender.  Who could ask for more?

Step by step he balanced and leapt.


Oh, to sit as still as stone, watching Ed Young work his wonders in his studio, would be a dream come true.  How he fashions his illustrations from cut paper, textured cloth, string and colored pencil, into the beauty we see in this book, is a marvelous mystery; I am in awe.  I could feel a big grin spread across my face when I discovered that the jacket and cover were different; the first eyes peering through the mask in bamboo, the other a close-up of the entire face vertically across the front and back.  A soft black background highlights small ninja figures in various positions moving along a rope on both the front and back endpapers.

After the first two pages with the introductory line, readers are treated to four wordless pages continuing the storyline, creating a bridge to the next narrative text.  Colors throughout are deep, dark and rich, radiating all that is night as well as the culture in which the story is set.  The moon plays a prominent place in several pictures; one in particular is stunning as the silhouette of the ninja crosses its face.

A deep purple widely frames nearly all the illustrations but small portions of the ninja's body extends into those frames adding to the feel of movement.  The paper and fabric choices add depth and texture causing the reader to want to reach out and touch many of the pages.  In fact, the bamboo stalks and leaves on the front cover are raised and rough to the touch.


The collaboration of debut author, Barbara DaCosta, with award-winning illustrator, Ed Young, places Nighttime Ninja on my list of favorite books of 2012.  I can easily see this as a family bedtime favorite or another wonderful addition to titles in an Ed Young author/illustrator study. Readers will be hooked on page one with text and pictures and will sigh when the cover is closed.  Don't be surprised to hear a whispered, "Read it again."


Enjoy these two book trailers.