Westward Ho!

Dear Blog Readers,

For the moment I have taken over my Mom's computer.  (You would be surprised how creative and clever I am.) For ten days Mom and I did something we have never done before; we took a trip...a long trip.  I knew something was up as soon as I saw bags being packed (a whole bag for books). My dog dishes, my food, lots of bottled water, my arthritis medicine, my bed and blankets were loaded into the car.  When my Mom makes up her mind to follow a dream, she does it.  She also said Hattie Big Sky over and over.

First we headed north toward the Mackinac Bridge.  Little did we know but the bridge was under construction causing us to change lanes several times with only one lane open for traffic each way.  I heard quite a bit of words repeated with reverence.  We made it to Wausau, Wisconsin our first day on the road.

I decided I didn't like my dried dog food any more so Mom had to call my vet and have them fax a prescription to another vet in St. Cloud, Minnesota during a torrential rain storm.  The canned food is much more to my liking.  Going through St. Paul/Minneapolis was a tad bit tricky.  We got to walk along the Lake Woebegone Trail at Avon, Minnesota and discovered a Little Free Library right on the trail.

Friends had advised us that the Badlands in North Dakota were as good as if not better than those in South Dakota.  I know Mom agrees with them!  We walked along the trail at Painted Canyon in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  I heard many exclamations of joy.  We made it to Jamestown, North Dakota our second day on the road.  They have an amazing park and cement walking path.

For some reason once we got to Montana Mom would not let me walk in the grass at the rest stops.  It might have had something to do with all the signs she read.  Grass is grass as far as I am concerned.  When we first saw the snow-capped mountains, Mom stopped the car.  There were more exclamations of joy.

It was dark by the time we were going up and down through the mountains toward the city of Missoula, Montana but Mom kept on going.  We finally arrived, stopped and called for directions.  We stayed in a pretty nice hotel for two nights but our friends wanted us to move in with them for the remaining three nights.  I really liked sitting in their grass at the top of the hill looking at the mountains.

We found a great park in the city for all kinds of sports including a great walking path around the perimeter.  You are surrounded by mountains on all sides.  We even went down a trail along a rushing river back into the woods one day.  They have a great public library. Missoula is the home of the University of Montana.  It was heavenly.  One day blended into another of peaceful bliss.

Before we knew it, we were back on the road again.  This time we took a more northerly route.  The first two days were uneventful but day three, Friday the thirteenth and a full moon worked their spell.  At one point I heard Mom say we were on our way to Canada.  Oops! I heard many more words said with reverence when we went over a bridge in Duluth, Minnesota going to Superior, Wisconsin.  All in all we were about three hours late getting to the Mackinac Bridge. 

Mom remembered reading that Mackinac Bridge provides drivers for people who are afraid.  This is an amazing service without cost 24/7.  A really nice guy named John drove our car over the bridge.  There was no praying heard in the car this time, only polite conversation.  Mom did put her hands over her eyes.

We arrived home very early Saturday morning.  Mom has not stopped hugging me and telling me how good I am.  I have a feeling she is up to something; planning special blog posts for the week.  It might involve canines...lots of dog books.  As far as I'm concerned, that is paw-sitively wooferlicious!

Best to all of you and your pets (even cats),

Xena

   

What's In A Name?

I've been told I'm named after my Mom's best friend and one of her favorite cousins.  My middle name, Marie, is the same as my mother's middle name.  I have to admit, even after decades, I still cringe when I hear my full name, Margaret.  I can't get the image and mannerisms of the character from the Dennis the Menace comics, Margaret Wade, out of my mind.  Fortunately for most of my life, I have been called Margie.

Wanting to be known by another moniker, other than the one given to you, is as old as time.  There is a certain curiosity associated with the origins of names; giving those books in libraries a well-loved look.  The Change Your Name Store (Sky Pony Press) written by Leanne Shirtliffe with illustrations by Tina Kugler happily follows a girl on her quest to switch things up a bit.

A smart feisty girl
named Wilma Lee Wu
liked climbing trees and
chasing frogs too.

Among all the things Wilma Lee Wu did like, there is one thing she longs to replace, her name.  Determined, map in hand, she searches her town for a shop unlike any other.  The storekeeper, Ms. Zeena McFouz, welcomes her with a smile and a single rule.  Searchers need to wear a chosen name; realizing all each includes.

In a jiffy Wilma finds a name she feels will fit, French with flair.  In mere seconds the rule is abundantly clear.  Looking around she is amazed to see she is standing in Paris with different attire.  Somehow this doesn't seem quite right, so back to the store she goes.

Oh, yes, this next one is simply the best except for... the heat.  Hurricanes are not much to her liking either.  Landing at night surrounded by animal eyes makes her question this fourth choice.  Is there a name for her?

Down in the dumps, our young globetrotter doesn't know what to do.  Wise Ms. Zeena McFouz, classy curator, offers Wilma an exclusive collection.  Yes!  There it is!  This suits Wilma Lee Wu; no other will do.


Not forced but flowing and playful this tale told in rhyme is loaded with learning and laughter.  Leanne Shirtliffe has created characters in Wilma and Ms. Zeena McFouz readers will admire.  You empathize with Wilma's courageous attempts.  You understand the wisdom of Ms. Zeena McFouz giving freedom to her shoppers, the rule and the special drawer.  In true storytelling style Shirtliffe includes a repetitious refrain Wilma says on each return.  Here is a single passage.

Without time to add that magic word "please,"
she found herself on a big hill in Belize.
The beauty amazed her, the friendliness too...
But she opted to leave when a hurricane blew.


Who wouldn't want to walk through a town like debut picture book illustrator Tina Kugler features on her matching dust jacket and book case?  Young readers will appreciate the inclusion of familiar buildings; a market, public library, bank, pet shop, The Change Your Name Store and ice cream shop.  Little details like a cat cozily sleeping in an upstairs window, a mom and her daughter on a bicycle built for two, books stacked on the back chatting as they ride and Ms. Zeena McFouz waving at Wilma and her constant canine companion as they pause in front of the store.

When readers see Wilma smiling, her gap-tooth grin on display, with her dog, tail wagging wildly on the title page, it's instant love.  With a page turn there she is hanging upside down from a tree limb with a frog tucked in her overalls pocket as her pooch partner places his front paws on the trunk.  Smaller insets, single pages and double-page spreads in full color alternate, complimenting the narrative.

Interesting details like the feather on Ms. McFouz's hat (signifying achievement, a feather in your cap), Wilma's dog changing into a poodle when she visits France, the famous people gathered around her in France, the I ♥ Names mug and the names everywhere in the store (you could look at these for hours, days) make for absolutely charming illustrations.  Each place Wilma visits is a true reflection of the culture, flora and fauna; a tapir and toucan are swirling in the wind when she leaves Belize.  You have to wonder if Ms. Zeena McFouz is not a traveler herself based upon all the containers in her shop.

It's truly hard to select a favorite illustration; warmth, compassion and happiness are evident on every page.  Three special illustrations, to me, are the first page, the last page with Wilma, her dog and frog jumping for joy and when Wilma selects her first name.  She is standing on a stack of books pointing, her dog is looking eagerly at her and Ms. Zeena McFouz is smiling with hands clasped.  This picture exudes potential.

Written by Leanne Shirtliffe with illustrations by Tina Kugler, The Change Your Name Store showcases diversity and self-acceptance.  Cheerful pictures partner with the rhyming story perfectly inviting reader participation.  I know readers will be scanning the streets of every town they visit in the future, looking for this fascinating shop.

Be sure to visit the websites of Leanne Shirtliffe and Tina Kugler by following the links embedded in their names above.  Leanne Shirtliffe has several wonderful additional resources, a great teacher/educator's guide, and numerous activity pages.  At Tina Kugler's site is an engaging interview about this title and the upcoming book she is making with her husband plus more links.  Julie Falatko, author of Snappsy The Alligator (Did Not Ask To Be In This Book) Viking 2015, reviews this title on Katie Davis's Brain Burps.

UPDATE (June 17, 2014) After returning from vacation, Tina Kugler was generous enough to briefly explain her illustrative process to me in a couple of emails.  Here is what she had to say:

I work 100% digitally, from sketch to finished color, with a Wacom Cintiq tablet and an iMac. I try very hard to make my work look non-digital, I prefer a messier, hand-drawn look, if that makes sense. The major advantage for me in working digitally is that I can save a project and go back to it at any time, without worrying about paint drying or anything like that. I have three boys, so my work is frequently interrupted-- I have to get up and stop them from hitting each other or goodness knows what else (see my NAME STORE dedication). My background is in storyboarding for television cartoons (and I was a film major in college), so I tend to look at my picture books more like a film: a spread is a pan, a page turn is a cut. 

Tina also mentioned there is a sequel in the works. Oh happy day!  The title is No More Beige Food.  Look for it in the fall of 2015.  Thank you so much Tina.  For those of you who have not read the book, the dedication mentioned above is unlike any other I have seen; laughter guaranteed.

Colorful Creativity

Have you ever heard something wondering what it could be?  From wondering your mind goes to possibilities.  If the noise is repeated possibilities leap to certainty.  This conviction as to the source can trigger emotional responses; laughter, happiness, unease, fear, sadness, astonishment, or inquisitiveness.

There is great power in imagination.  It's an Orange Aardvark! (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers) written and illustrated by Michael Hall chronicles five carpenter ants who are trying to determine the cause of a singular sound.  Among the quintet opinions range from positive to negative and everything in-between.

Boom! Rumble, rumble.
Did you hear that?
What was it?
Uh-oh...
Yawn.
Huh?

Following this speculation the silence is broken.  One of the more adventurous ants is making a hole in their home, a stump.  The need to see outside is strong; curiosity is not going to kill this cat...er...ant.

Several of the other residents give replies in support of his endeavor.  One does not.  This particular ant is the exact opposite of the window maker.  This particular ant is certain an aardvark is lurking outside ready to gobble them up as an entree.  The three, who earlier liked the idea of an exterior view, switch sides backing the prophet of doom.

When the luminous color of orange gleams through the opening, the naysayer is positive it's an aardvark.  With sure knowledge he proclaims

Aardvarks turn orange when they're hungry for ants, you know.

Not to be deterred in his quest, the industrious insect constructs another cranny.

Into this latest peephole a brilliant blue fills the space.  You-know-who has an answer ready; still convinced an aardvark is watching and waiting.  In his description not only does the aardvark alter skin tones when desiring dinner but wears bedtime attire at the same time.

As the bold bug continues boring through the wood, six holes expose six different hues.  The contrary character never shifts his opinion as each shade shines; not even when the four discover the radiant truth.  Who knew aardvarks like grape juice?


Lively language forms a rhythm at each page turn.  Michael Hall assigns responses to each of his animated ants; one likens the colors to another thing, another gives one word descriptive reactions, a third keeps adding shades to his answers as the fourth envisions their worst nightmare.  Repetition of three exclamations after each gloomy guess, adds to the participatory fun of this cumulative tale.  Here is one passage.

Thunk!
Ah! It's orange and blue.
Blue like the ocean.
Cool!
Oh no, no!
It's worse than I thought.
It's an orange aardvark and ...


The entertainment begins when readers first glance at the matching dust jacket and book case.  Michael Hall's bold palette, not to mention the orange aardvark, is certainly eye-catching.  On the back the insects wearing construction hats feature the trio of repeaters along with the spunky craftsman.  Compiled digitally using acrylic-painted textures and torn paper, the illustrations begin the story four pages prior to the title page.

Each time a hole is made in the text, a hole appears on the page aligned with a new color.  The personalities of each ant pop off the page as their eyes, mouths and legs change.  Readers will be unable to contain their laughter as the persistent pessimist adds to his perception of the perceived adversary outside.  Hall's layout and design with his combined colors are marvelous.

One of my favorite illustrations is the two-page spread of five colors revealed.  Four ants are on the left with four holes cut away.  The productive ant is on the right amid five circles of shaded color with five holes.  Even with the one ant beginning his warning, this page is filled with exuberance.  You can feel something good is about to happen.


Cheerful and charming, It's an Orange Aardvark! written and illustrated by Michael Hall is one of those books that are pure delight from cover to cover.  I can already imagine reading it aloud speaking in a particular voice for each ant.  I can already hear listeners requesting it again and again.  I can already picture early readers sharing it with younger friends and siblings.  This book is a treasure.

Please follow this link embedded in Michael Hall's name above to visit his official website.

Born To Be...

Family vacation memories are full of the ongoing battle of my Dad versus the raccoons.  Ingenious designs, guaranteed fool-proof contraptions were no match for the hands and minds of these nighttime marauders.  We laughed ourselves silly as we watched evening after evening.

From time to time humans have been known to replicate certain skills exhibited by these bandits from the wild.  In her newest title, The Troublemaker (Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), author illustrator Lauren Castillo tells a turnabout tale bursting with humor. A brother has met his match.

I was bored.  
Everyone else had something to do. 

In conversation with his toy raccoon, Rascal, a boy decides the best thing to do is play a game of pirates.  Exhibiting well-known characteristics of these buccaneers is imperative to a successful adventure.  The appropriate accessories are a necessity.  As a final key element, a hostage is essential.

Of course, this boy pilfers many items from his nearby younger sister, blissfully holding a tea party on the lawn.  His effort to send her stuffed bunny out to sea doesn't go as planned.  When the bunny disappears again, the boy is quickly accused of thievery.

His reply of innocence is not trusted.  Confined to the garden by his mother, he and Rascal gather tomatoes to place in his boat.  In a flash Rascal, the boy's boat and paper sailor hat vanish.

Dusk settles over the scene with the boy wanting to find his beloved friend.  Bedtime is lonely for both siblings.  Morning brings a chilly surprise to the boy.  A crafty culprit needs to be caught.  One lesson may have been learned but there is no changing a career criminal.


By using the brother as narrator Lauren Castillo warmly welcomes readers into the story.  Simple sentence structure and easily understood word choices allow us to view the world through his thoughts and speech.  What Castillo chooses to say in her text adds to the comic contrast with the illustrations.


Setting the boy garbed in his pirate gear, Rascal at the ready, with the real raccoon peering at them from the safety of a tomato plant prepares readers for certain hilarity.  On the back of the dust jacket a smaller oval illustration is set in a darker background.  The head of the masked scamp looks directly at the reader over the top of a basket of tomatoes.  Beneath the jacket the book case in a rich vegetable red features the black outline of the raccoon watching, to the right, someone or something unseen to us.  Opening and closing endpapers are patterned in a black and white diamond motif; a single tomato centered in the white space.

On the title page Lauren Castillo has pictured the two toys, the bunny and Rascal, sitting side by side in the grass.  She begins her story on the verso and dedication pages with the raccoon anticipating his next adventure.  Using pen and ink with acetone transfer, assembled digitally, Castillo's artwork broadens the meaning of the text.

Her heavier black lines add emphasis to the color palette and details of her visuals.  Shifting the size and shape of her illustrations increases interest.  To depict some of the story's moments as silhouettes is brilliant.

One of my favorite illustrations is the close-up of the sleeping raccoon in the tree outside the boy's bedroom window.  Draped in the missing blanket, cuddling the two beloved stuffed animals in each arm, nestled in the boy's boat with his two toy dinosaurs nearby is laugh-out-loud funny.  Even though the raccoon is the real rascal, you can't help but feel empathy.  This is one of those both aha and aw pictures.


Lauren Castillo has given readers true wealth in The Troublemaker.  It can be read as a humorous story, a tale of understanding between brothers and sisters and an honest depiction of the maneuverings of the notorious wily raccoon.  This is destined to be a favorite among the intended audience and those of us fortunate to read it to the bedtime or story hour crowd.  I can't stop smiling when I think about it.

Please follow the embedded links in Lauren Castillo's names above to go to her website and blog.  Here is a link to one of the blog entries about the creation of The Troublemaker. This is a recent interview of Lauren Castillo on John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Here is another review/interview of Lauren Castillo by Julie Danielson over at Kirkus. Julie follows up with more artwork the following week on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Here is an interview at Publishers Weekly: Q & A with Lauren Castillo. Enjoy some of the tweets Lauren Castillo so graciously posted on Twitter.

A very early, teeny tiny version of #TheTroublemaker @HMHKids #bookdummy #kidlit http://t.co/ZruZRbm8fy pic.twitter.com/pzCpsHVyIv
— Lauren Castillo (@studiocastillo) May 2, 2014

From The Troublemaker sketchbook~June 2012. pic.twitter.com/dPXe2rriLb
— Lauren Castillo (@studiocastillo) May 6, 2014

The first and the final #TheTroublemaker @HMHKids http://t.co/vqnxWS3gYE pic.twitter.com/QKShOVOfIa
— Lauren Castillo (@studiocastillo) May 12, 2014

Excited to see The Troublemaker in this @HornBook article about sassy siblings! http://t.co/DxRV3Zebwl @HMHKids
— Lauren Castillo (@studiocastillo) May 21, 2014

Bravery Comes On Four Feet

You will have to look long and hard to find loyalty as strong.  In a heartbeat they will put themselves in harm's way to protect you.  Their love is flawless; unfailing until their final breath.  All humans fortunate to have canine friends know this to be true but each time a story is told or written and read, respect for them swells.

To know all these traits continue even on the battlefields of war is incredible.  Award-winning nonfiction author, Ann Bausum, shines the light on the accomplishments of a four-legged hero in Stubby The War Dog: The True Story of World War I's Bravest Dog (National Geographic, May 2014).  The best things do come in small packages.

The dog came out of nowhere.
No one knows the details of his breeding or birth.   No one knows whether he had looked on anyone else as master, how long he'd wandered without a home, whether he was lost or abandoned.  No one knows whether he'd ever had another name.

As recruits from New Haven, Connecticut trained on the grounds of Yale University in 1917 in preparation for entering the fighting in Europe during World War I, a new member entered their ranks.  Clever and quick, he swiftly attached himself to one particular solider, 25-year-old J. Robert Conroy. All summer wherever the soldier was Stubby was there too.  When word reached the 102nd Infantry of their deployment overseas, the dog decided to hop aboard the train taking them to Newport News, Virginia.   Affection for Stubby having grown, Conroy with help smuggled his pal aboard the Minnesota.

Among the first Americans to arrive in France, the Yankee Division (a nickname), including the 102nd Infantry, continued to refine their skills as they waited for more troops to arrive.  Stubby stuck by Conroy adjusting to their new environment honing his own abilities.  He learned to sit up on his two back legs, and raise his right front paw in a salute.  It is said he could detect the sound of incoming artillery fire, barking out a warming.  Rightly so, Conroy feared for Stubby's safety during gas attacks. He was fitted with a special mask.  Using his unique capabilities he would sound the alarm prior to these strikes by the enemy also.

His presence was a beacon of hope and comfort to all those soldiers.  In fact sadness settled over the group during his absence for several months after being wounded.  In and out of the trenches Stubby proved himself repeatedly to be as useful as his human counterparts.  As the American troops advanced he gave assistance in finding enemy soldiers or seeking out the wounded after battles.

At the conclusion of the fighting, every decoration a soldier received could be found on Stubby's uniform.  Yes...he had a uniform, a coat of sorts.  Upon their return home, Stubby and J. Robert Conroy were seen together in parades and in a vaudeville show.  He was even nominated and received a new award by the Eastern Dog Club, Hero Dog.

As Stubby's fame continued to expand through the efforts of his human, so did the scrapbook documenting his life. Sometime during their duty overseas, Conroy started to save visual and written mementos. The bond between this amazing animal and the man he choose is one to remember.  It's a piece of American history preserved forever in an exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington, D. C.


This outstanding nonfiction book begins with a forward by Curtis Deane, grandson of J. Robert Conroy.  In this writing Deane concludes with

His deep-seated attachment and respect for Stubby lasted a lifetime:  He never raised---or was raised by---another dog again.

Ann Bausum continues with an introduction and body of work which explains the basis for this statement by Deane. To tell you the truth once I started I could not stop reading this title.  Ann Bausum's research is impeccable; wide and deep.  Her ability to glean information and present it to readers as a story is remarkable.

In telling readers about the relationship between J. Robert Conroy and Stubby she centers it among descriptive circles of information about World War I and a past United States.  She skillfully provides enough facts to engage her readers without overwhelming them in details; connecting us to this title as if we are participants.  Here is a single passage.

In January of 1918 Col. John Henry Parker became the commander of Conroy's regiment.  This seasoned veteran of other American wars had earned the nickname "Machine Gun" Parker because of his expertise in the use of these rapid-firing weapons.  Parker knew Stubby because Conroy served in the colonel's headquarters company.  It was later reported that "Stubby was the only member of his regiment that could talk back to him and get away with it." When it came time for the 102nd to head to battle, Machine Gun Parker ordered Stubby to go, too. Now Stubby was the mascot for Conroy's entire regiment, not just its headquarters company.

The patriotic starburst background on the dust jacket behind Stubby in his full military regalia is repeated at the beginning of each chapter highlighting a photograph and quote. A full two-page illustration spans the book case, zooming in on Stubby on the left with several sets of men legs in uniform and the butt end of a rifle showing to his right.  The opening and closing endpapers are a blown up photograph of Stubby swimming with his pal, Conroy.

The design and layout of the actual images, newspaper clippings, quotations and text, especially the green backgrounds are mirroring that of Stubby's scrapbook.  Image sizes are varied to enhance and support the text.  I concur with the author in her assessment of one of the most personal photographs of Stubby and J. Robert Conroy.  The two are standing beneath a tree.  Conroy in uniform is starring down at Stubby, smiling, as he places his two front paws up on Conroy's thighs gazing upward.  They are frozen in time, a love not forgotten.


Will dog lovers like this book?  Absolutely.  Will readers who like to read war stories like this book?  Without question.  Is Stubby The War Dog: The True Story of World War I's Bravest Dog by Ann Bausum a book anyone can enjoy?  Yes. Yes. Yes.

At the book's conclusion Ann Bausum includes a two-page Time Line, several pages of Research Notes (Acknowledgments), a Bibliography, Resource Guide, Citations, an Index, and Illustration Credits.  Please visit Ann Bausum's website linked above in her name.  She provides lots of educational and interesting extras.

This post is several days late but I would not miss the 2014 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge held at Kidlit Frenzy each week.  I have benefited from this weekly fun hosted by Alyson Beecher.

Dear Blog Readers

I want you all to know how much I appreciate the numerous visits to my blog each and every day.  I am going to continue to have a post for each day, Monday through Friday.  I truly enjoy writing them; hosting those books and websites which I find to be the best.

Some of my posts might be a day or two late in the coming weeks but I will have five up; sometimes there might be two in one day or a day with none.  Stay with me.  Things will get back to a new normal soon.

Thanks to all of you.

He's Big, He's Bad and He's Back...Again!

Some villains simply can't take a hint.  Faced with defeat they retreat only to come back for more.  They cave to their cravings; especially if it involves meat.  One could say they never really learn; or do they?

Such is the case with the wily wolf that faced the proficient porkers in The Three Ninja Pigs (G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., September 27, 2012).  Giving credit where credit is due, he is crafty enough to realize he needs to sharpen his combative skills along with his teeth.  Author Corey Rosen Schwartz and illustrator Dan Santat have returned in a collaboration of fractured fairy tale frenzy titled Ninja Red Riding Hood (G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), July 10, 2014).  Hold on to your gi.  This Red of the Riding Hood will have you shouting whoopee!

Once upon a Ninja-filled time,
a wolf couldn't catch any prey.
He kept getting licked
by the dinner he picked
and was growing more ticked by the day.

What's a hungry carnivore to do?  Disguise himself and enroll in a martial arts school.  Practicing to perfection, his plan is complete.  Into the darkened woods he goes, hoping for something good to eat.

Along comes Little Red on her way to Grandmother's house.  He leads her astray with a promise...the louse.  Sneaking to Gran's he's surprised to discover the old lady is gone; he quickly goes undercover.  Suspicious at seeing her dear relative looking odd, Hood asks familiar questions giving the original tale a nod.

Just as the beast is springing for his first bite, Red Riding takes a stance ready to fight.  It seems the brute has been a fool; of course she went to Ninja school too!  When it looks as if the conflict will never conclude, in walks Grandmother in a bit of a mood.  Who wins on this day?  I'll never say but out of this duel comes a new rule.  It's vegetables all the way.


How can you not begin the think in rhyme when reading the rhythmic words of Corey Rosen Schwartz?  This writer scores a splendid symmetry between her use of language and weaving a narrative stuffed with suspense and surprise.  The verbal exchanges between Red Riding Hood, the wolf and Grandmother are feisty, fresh and just plain fun.  Here is a sample passage.

"And those biceps! My gosh, they look massive.
And your triceps and delts are immense."
"The better for hugging,"
her grandma said, shrugging.
"Dear Red, that's just plain common sense."


One look at the colorful dust jacket and book case, a determined Red Riding Hood ready to execute her ninja moves with the conniving creature lurking behind a fan, is a clear call to readers looking for action. Using Sumi brush work on rice paper, completed in Adobe Photoshop, illustrator Dan Santat continues his skillful cleverness on the opening and closing endpapers.  On the first Red Riding Hood is crossing a bridge going right into the forest, golden glows of early morning in the background.  Hues of blue highlight the wolf crossing the same bridge going in the other direction to the left on the final set.

On the verso and title page Red Riding Hood enters the forest, a poster picturing the wolf hanging on a bamboo tree.  Each of the illustrations, whether a full two pages, a single page or pages divided into panels, are bold and lively.  Santat literally brings readers into the action with an enhanced perspective.  It's like a force field surrounding you as you read.  Facial expressions on the wolf, Little Red and Gran tell their own tale accentuating personalities; bringing in the special Santat humor.

Of many favorite illustrations the ones which stand out for me are those depicting the conversation between the wolf and Ninja Red Riding Hood when she questions "grandmother".  He looks so innocent and beguiling in a distinctively wolfish way as her wariness grows.  You can feel the tension growing.

Come one, come all.  Gather near to hear the tale of Ninja Red Riding Hood written by Corey Rosen Schwartz with illustrations by Dan Santat.  It's the best kind of once upon a Ninja-filled time you've read since The Three Ninja Pigs.  Red Riding Hood and company never looked so good.

Please follow the links embedded in the author's and illustrator's names to get to their official websites.  Enjoy the book trailer below.