What Happened To Happy?

Life is a roller coaster of emotions; up and down, around and around.  As adults the better we know ourselves, the better we can react and adapt to the inevitable lows.  For children sadness can be a strange feeling.  It can sneak up on them without warning.  They find themselves in the doldrums not understanding the cause or the cure.

With their signature skill for perceiving the minds and hearts of children, author Michael Ian Black and illustrator, Debbie Ridpath Ohi return with a third collaboration, I'm Sad (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, June 5, 2018).  Their previous two books, I'm Bored (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, September 4, 2012 and Naked! (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, April 29, 2014) display the essence of both topics with truth and humor.  You will find this newest title as insightful. 

I'm sad.

Will I always feel like this?

Replying with total honesty, the girl on the swing is sure her flamingo friend won't feel this way always.  Chiming in is Potato commenting he was sad once.  Needless to say, Flamingo can't believe a potato can be sad.  

Everybody feels

sad sometimes.

The girl challenges the potato's statement but he assures her it's true.  The trio continues their conversation pondering the state of sadness and why it happens.  Finally, Potato has an idea.  Flamingo needs to focus on cheerfulness.

The girl yells about her most cheerful thing.  Of course, flamingos and potatoes can't enjoy this particular delectable delight.  When Potato roars out his happiest thing, readers will roar with laughter.  A competition ensures with the girl calling out all her favorite joyful things but Potato sticks with his single word.  

Does any of this make Flamingo happy?  It does not.  The three companions continue to talk about being sad until Flamingo asks an important question.  Potato's reply is perfection.  

The beauty of the narrative in this title is the tone created through the words penned by Michael Ian Black.  It's as if he is having a one-on-one conversation with each reader.  He truly comprehends children.  And although this is clearly written for a younger audience, every single one of us will take something important away from this book. 

Another distinguishing feature of Black's writing is how the characters' personalities shine through the dialogue.  Their questions, answers and comments reveal what makes them unique.  Will readers see themselves as the girl, Potato or Flamingo or a mix of them all?

Rendered digitally, the illustrations, lively and colorful, are a welcome invitation to readers beginning with the opened and matching dust jacket and book case.  The three characters, the girl, flamingo and potato are each expressing an emotion and appear to be in conversation.  This is how the story begins, continues and ends.  To the left, on the back, we read:

Brought to you by

Michael Ian Black

Debbie Ridpath Ohi

. . . and a flamingo. 

Flamingo is featured looking downcast.  (Every element is raised and varnished on the lavender canvas on the front.)  The opening and closing endpapers continue with the same background hue. Each character is saying the word SAD but a different mood is attached to the word by the punctuation used.  Swinging from the upper, left hand corner is the girl.  With only a neck and head showing Flamingo appears in the lower, left hand corner from the center.  With his words vertical Potato is looking grumpy sitting on the D.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi uses white space masterfully to enhance her characters, their body positions and facial features.  Her color palette ties the trio together.  On the girl's dress is a pink heart.  In her hair are brown bows.  Debbie adds in green grass, purple swings and the girl's yellow dress and blue shoes.  She includes other spot colors but stays true to the main shades.

Depending on the text, her images may be single page pictures, several illustrations on a page or potent double page spreads.  Another wonderful feature is the different colored text given to each character when they speak.  Readers can easily understand who is talking.  On the final two visuals, Debbie is in soothing sync with the narrative using a silhouette technique.  

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  The girl, the flamingo and the potato have reached an impasse in their musings about sadness.  From the left side to the right side is a mound of sand.  The girl is lying on the left, arms spread out holding her orange sand shovel in one hand.  Stretched across the top with legs down one side and neck and head down the other side is Flamingo.  Snuggled in the sand on the right is Potato.  They all utter a single word. 

Sigh.

Sigh.

Sigh. 

I'm Sad written by Michael Ian Black with illustrations by Debbie Ridpath Ohi is one of those books which you will reread as soon as you finish it.  You have to read it again.  It's that excellent.  The manner in which this book addresses the feeling of sadness is superb.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Debbie Ridpath Ohi and her other work please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Debbie's website is brimming with creative goodness.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior images including one of my favorite pictures.  The publisher also has several activity sheets you can download.  Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher, features the cover reveal and a conversation with Michael and Debbie on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Debbie is showcased on The Blob Blog, Quill and Quire and by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Debbie has Instagram and Pinterest accounts.  Both Michael and Debbie are on Twitter. 

It's Back To The World Of Weird Animals With Cute As An Axolotl Book Trailer Premiere

When you hold a book authored by zoologist Jess Keating in your hands you know you will find yourself fascinated by facts about our animal world as well as being entertained with her approach and insights.  She has partnered with illustrator David DeGrand, who must have a special blend of humor humming through his veins, in two titles in The World Of Weird Animals series, Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, February 2, 2016) and What Makes A Monster?: Discovering the World's Scariest Creatures (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, August 8, 2017). The duo is collaborating on a third book, Cut As An Axolotl: Discovering the World’s Most Adorable Animals (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books).  It is set to be released on August 28, 2018).

This third title features creatures, like the previous two, from all parts of the world.  We journey from Lake Xochimilco, near Mexico City to Western Australian Rottnest Island and Bad Island, to the deciduous forests of North America and to the forests of northern Japan.  These seventeen critters will have your cute meter exploding with preciousness. AND the book trailer premiere is happening here TODAY!

When reading these titles aloud or booktalking them to an individual or a group, readers crave information about the author and her process.  I am happy to have author Jess Keating visiting Librarian’s Quest in celebration of this third book.   Let’s see what she has to tell us.

Hi, Margie! Thank you so much for having me, and for debuting this trailer!

In your first two books, Jess, you focused on color and then on creepiness.  Now you are wowing us with cute. How did you decide on those topics and this third subject?

From the beginning, it was important to me that these books were about more than animals. I’ve always been interested in the relationships between humans and animals, as I think it’s an often overlooked factor in conservation and getting people educated about the natural world. I wanted to use this series as a chance to explore these creatures, but also create an opportunity for readers to shine a light on their biases, prejudices, and judgements. I chose the color pink in Pink is for Blobfish, because it’s such a gendered concept, and conversations about gender expectations are always timely. The second book, What Makes a Monster, focuses on what scares us. Oftentimes, if we don’t understand something, we immediately fear it, so my hope was to gently introduce the possibility that we need not fear something just because it’s different from us. (This doesn’t just apply to wild animals, as we know!)

With Cute as an Axolotl, I turned to appearances. People are very good at compartmentalizing and pigeon-holing. Sometimes it serves us, but often, we miss out on a lot. Cuteness is such a great example of this, because we see very obvious examples in our daily lives: attractiveness and cuteness is everywhere. I want readers to take a look beyond the ‘cute’ and realize that labels like this can miss the bigger picture. This is important from a logical, conservation standpoint, as studies have shown that ‘cuter’ animals get more conservation funding and attention. But I also think that, to be good humans, we need to look beyond appearances across the board.

So, to sum up (this very long answer!) I look for two things when choosing a theme: 1) will this theme explore enough biodiversity to get kids falling in love with nature? And 2) Does this theme bring something human to the conversation?

If I can accomplish both of those things, I’ll move onto the research phase!

Your format is both conversational and factual, Jess.  You peak our interest with several engaging paragraphs as if we are speaking face to face and then you have a more scientific sidebar.  What prompted you to choose this format?

I’m so glad you enjoy this element of the books—thank you! As far as the tone goes, my natural writing voice is very conversational, goofy, and casual. It’s always how I prefer to talk about science, because some people can still be very intimidated by complicated subjects and I never want to scare anyone off. In fact, when I was in grad school, I was asked several times to “tone down the voice” in my academic papers. That’s a big reason I’m an author today! My goal with the tone and voice of these books is to allow the real fun of science to shine through a bit: at its heart, science is just the act of being incredibly curious about cool stuff.

It was also important to me to include the sidebars you mention. I’ve chatted about this before and readers can check out this link http://celebratescience.blogspot.ca/2017/11/the-overlooked-benefits-of-expository.html for more!) I think the value of the expository layouts is really underestimated, especially for kids. Some kids prefer narrative, but a great deal of them prefer to get the facts laid out in a simple format like this. I have my theories about why, but in general, there is a power to having the facts. As a kid, these “sidebar” type facts opened up ways for me to interact with others. I also think it’s important to remind kids that truth, at its core, is enough. It’s a solid thing that they can lean on, and that sort of knowledge can give confidence. It’s so much more than a sidebar to me—it’s a hug to all those fact-loving kids!

You always manage to select animals that are simply amazing?  How do you choose which creatures to include? Could you tell us a little bit about your research process?

This is the difficult part! For each book, I only have space for 17 animals. And for each book so far, the original list of animals I want to include has about 50 species on it. That’s a lot of cutting! I’ve heard fiction authors say they must kill their darlings, but nonfiction authors do as well, and in my case, I often feel guilty on behalf of the poor animals that don’t make the cut!   
When I begin the research for each book, I’ve already got a list in my head of animals that I want to include. Most of these animals were already on my radar previously, from various points in my life as a zoologist and general animal lover. When narrowing down, my aim is to ensure that there’s a great range of biodiversity, pulling from each vertebrate class of animals to start, then peppering in some invertebrate weirdoes as much as I can.

An animal gets cut if it’s too similar to another, and when given the choice of covering a familiar animal versus a more obscure one, I will always choose the obscure one! I also take each animal and create a list of the absolute coolest, most mind-blowing facts I can find. The final step of deciding who is included is taking a broad view of the material, and puzzling together a combination that allows me to balance the most awesome information, the most diversity in species, and the most variety in physical “coolness”. (For example, I’d love to do an entire book about moss animals, but that wouldn’t have the visual appeal needed for this series!)

All in all, it’s a very logical process, but I tend to handle it intuitively. Some animals demand to be included, no matter what arguments I can make to cut them! Others are quieter, but I know they will become favorites for readers if given the chance to shine.

In each of the books as well as this newest one, you extend the premise of the book by asking readers to think beyond the information included in the narrative.  This time you challenge us to ponder the definition of cute. You follow this with many questions for readers and even ask them to make a drawing. I have an idea why you do this Jess, but would you tell us in your own words, please.

Of course! Something funny happens when you start to ask people to look at patterns: the truth has a way of rising to the surface, and once it does, it’s hard to unsee! By looking at all the creatures in this book, most kids will no doubt have their favorites. (Sidenote: a great conversation will happen in classrooms if teachers try this, and notice what class of animals kids choose as the cutest!)

Pondering exactly what elements we find cute, or drawing our own, it becomes much easier to see our own patterns and preferences. Are the ‘cutest’ animals always mammals, for example? Are they creatures that we see as “human-like”, with large, expressive eyes or adorable smiles? If so, are we sending the message that something is more deserving of love or attention if it’s similar to us? What about those that are different from us?

Big questions, for sure. But exploring these biases in a non-threatening, low stakes way like a book about animals is one way to get the conversation going.

For me, personally, my respect and admiration for all animals is heightened with each one of your books but with this book, I am even more excited.  In this book there are two animals if I look with great care, I might find. How many of the animals in Cute As An Axolotl: Discovering the World’s Most Adorable Animals (or the other two titles) have you seen in the wild?

It’s so amazing to hear this! Honestly, when I think about just how amazing the natural world is, and how lucky we are to be a part of it, I get all choked up. I could spend my entire life trying to express the magnitude of awe I feel, and it would never be enough. I’ve seen my fair share of wild creatures out there, but many of them are nearly impossible to find without a lot of time and patience!

Some standouts from Cute as an Axolotl for me are fairy penguins, which I’ve spotted in New Zealand, and of course, our cover model, the axolotl! One creature that I would love to see but haven’t yet is the pangolin—they are such amazing creatures, I can’t wait to meet one in person!

Is there anything else you would like your readers to know, Jess, before we reveal the book trailer?

I hope readers enjoy this book as much as I did working on it! (And my favorite cute animal? I’ll never tell!) Thank  you again for having me, Margie!

On the count of three . . . one . . . two . . . three.

You are always welcome to visit Librarian's Quest, Jess.  It was informative and loads of fun to have you here today. (And I wish you were standing in front of me now.  I could just hug you for some of your answers.)  I know this book trailer is going to get readers excited about all the cuteness to be seen in the pages of this book.  As soon as Mulan heard the word puppies she was looking for them.  (She would never admit it but I think she was completely fascinated with the kittens.)

I hope readers will visit Jess's website by following the link attached to her name.  It's a treasure of information period but you can find out about her books, writing, and the videos she makes for us.  She has two channels, an author channel and a science channel.  She has a monthly magazine you can receive via email.  I look forward to it each month.  Jess is on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. (Jess shares her artwork on Instagram.)

A Restoration

For those of us living in the state of Michigan we are familiar with the power found in the things for which we have no control.  Many, if not most, of our inland lakes and the five Great Lakes were formed during the last glacial period.  Also as a part of the solar system our planet is subject to the effects of the sun and the forces of nature each and every day.

For any number of reasons changes to our landscapes happen, too, due to human interference.  Creekfinding: A True Story (University of Minnesota Press, March 7, 2017) written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin with illustrations by Claudia McGehee follows the efforts of one man to unearth a cherished treasure.  Nature is resilient if we honor our stewardship.

THE CREEKFINDING MACHINE
An excavator is a machine
that chomps dirt.
Excavators dig holes for basements,
trenches for water pipes, paths for roads.

Sometimes excavators help find lost creeks.
How do they do that?

The word lost is generally not applied to a creek.  A creek is there or it isn't but man has powerful tools at his disposal.  With them he can take away what nature has formed.  A creek is more than water running down a path.  It's an entire small world composed of a variety of flora and fauna.

The creek in question did not get up and leave, it was covered over with dirt so a farmer could plant fields of corn.  The spring which fed the creek was buried under layers and layers of soil.  Years went by and the land was sold to a man named Mike.  Mike had a dream of turning the land into a natural prairie.

To Mike's surprise when he was working on his property one day, another man came by to say he had caught a brook trout in the exact spot where they were standing.  Now Mike had a new dream.  He was going to locate that creek regardless of what others said.  One person did not feel Mike was following a task doomed to failure.  He was given an old picture; a picture of the creek.  This was all Mike needed.

Friends with big machines came.  Friends with a willingness to plant came.  A spring bubbled back to life and brought other life with it.  Brook Creek was born.


As you read through the conversational paragraphs penned by Jacqueline Briggs Martin you feel the same marvel she must have felt doing the research for the writing of this book.  In her author's note she states:

I have always been drawn to stories of finding and fixing, stories of patching what has been broken.

Jacqueline Briggs Martin begins by connecting us to the creek.  We feel the loss when it and the plants, birds, insects, and frogs disappear under the dirt from the farmer's bulldozer.  This sadness makes the knowledge of Mike's chance meeting and new dream even better.  Page by page she builds on this excitement.  As the months and years pass she uses specific examples to build our hope for the revived creek, Brook Creek.  In addition to the main narrative, we are privy to further facts about a creek, the plant life around a creek and the animal inhabitants.  This text is italicized and written in a smaller font.  Here are some passages.

Mike and his friends tucked cordgrass
and other green shoots into the creekbanks.
Three summers grasses grew.
When the creek bed needed more rocks
Mike had a problem.

Heavy trucks crossing
to the creek would press
deep ruts into the ground,
kill new prairie plants.
How could he get more
rocks to the creek?

Small rocks protect the soil under the streambed and are home to many tiny plants and creatures.


When you open the matching dust jacket and book case, you have to wonder at the intricate detail achieved using the scratchboard and watercolor artistic technique.  All the elements on the front and the back are telling their own story.  The first picture is issuing an invitation as it promotes questions.  To the left on the back, a close-up of a red-winged blackbird brings us directly to the creek.  Can you hear the birdsong?  Can you feel the soft prairie breeze against your skin or see it blow through the grass?  Can you hear the hum of insects?

The opening and closing endpapers are a gorgeous display of the creek edge; flowers, grasses, and cattails in motion.  The first is as night closes and the sky begins to lighten.  The second is filled with the orange shades of a setting sun.  On the inside of the opening and closing first pages is a diagonal pattern in gray and white of swimming trout.

With each page turn readers are treated to either a single page picture or marvelous two page vistas or a series of explanatory smaller visuals.  They flow flawlessly to supply a soothing but expectant pace.  Claudia McGehee alters her perspectives, sometimes within the same image.

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  It is a full moon night in winter.  Claudia uses a pleasing blend of white, black, gray, purple, spots of brown and yellow to fashion a breathtaking expanse of the creek winding through the prairie.  The creek and the land near it are in the foreground.  Above this is a line of trees and shrubs.  A night sky with a few stars fills the top of the picture.  On the right the moon shines down.  On the left an owl glides over the snow-covered grasses.


Although published more than one year ago this title is new to me and new to my local public library.  I am very thankful to have found Creekfinding: A True Story written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin with illustrations by Claudia McGehee on their shelves.  It is a story sure to inspire readers to never lose sight of their dreams.  It is a story reminding us to care for our planet.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.  Included with the author's note is an illustrator's note and more about Mike.

To learn more about author Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrator Claudia McGehee, please visit their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  Both Jacqueline and Claudia have blogs.  Claudia maintains an account on Instagram.  This title is the recipient of the 2018 Green Book Award, Picture Book category.  It is also one of several books honored with a John Burroughs Association 2018 Riverby Award.  You might enjoy listening to Creekfinding: A True Story About a Creek that was Lost, Found, and Restored on Iowa Public Radio.  Both the author and illustrator are interviewed.  Bookology has an interview of Jacqueline Briggs Martin about this title.  Enjoy the video showcasing the artistic process of Claudia McGehee.

Scratching a magpie from Claudia McGehee on Vimeo.


Please take a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected this week by others participating in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Super Shenanigans

When you spend time in the company of dogs, you realize there is hardly anything they won't do.  When they lock their mind on a goal, consider it accomplished by any means necessary.  They are perfectionists whether it's digging a hole to bury or unearth treasure, chasing annoying critters, searching for unattended food or saving human lives.

Their loyalty is unparalleled.  Author Julie Falatko, who debuted with Snappsy The Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book!) with illustrations by Tim Miller and followed with the companion title, Snappsy The Alligator And His Best Friend Forever! (Probably), has written a chapter book.  Two Dogs In A Trench Coat Go to School (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., May 29, 2018) with illustrations by Colin Jack is wildly funny.  These two dogs unconditionally love their boy.

CHAPTER ONE
Waldo was pacing the perimeter.  He was a small and scruffy dog who smelled like kibble plus something else he'd rather not discuss.

Sassy, the other pouch pal of the household and best buddy of Waldo, is currently taking a snooze.  She loves to sleep and eat.  In fact, those two things are on her mind pretty much all the time. She is quite a bit bigger than Waldo.  These canine companions are experts at keeping neighborhood squirrels as far away as possible.

Waldo and Sassy have noticed their boy, Stewart, has a problem.  His situation at school is far from being ideal.  His vibes when talking about school with his parents are not good.  To the dogs, it smells

like a weird mix of boredom and anxiety.

Their first plan of keeping him home fails at the sound of kibble in their dishes.  Their second plan of following him to school ends at the locked door to the building but Waldo reveals a learned skill.  He can talk like a human!  This leads to plan number three.

By climbing on top of Sassy and donning a trench coat, Waldo looks like a human; a very fur-covered human.  Waldo and Sassy gain entry to the building by pretending to be a new student.  Using the name of Salty Woofadogington from Liver, Ohio they became a member of Stewart's class.  Mrs. Twohey, Stewart's teacher, welcomes them reluctantly. (She thinks "Salty" is a spy.)

Salty's reaction to school is exuberant. Every educational encounter is embraced with joy.  Lunch in the cafeteria is the best part of the day but gym class, music and science experiments are equally enjoyed.  The only thing topping Frisbee football is howling as a vocal warm-up and licking the thigh on the class human skeleton.  Despite brightening up Stewart's hours with their presence, Waldo and Sassy know his growing worry is because of the Big Project and the Information Sheet.

On the night before the presentation, Sassy and Waldo assist Stewart with their expert knowledge.  And if you remember what their main job is, you know Stewart's Big Project and Information Sheet are going to be humdingers.  No one will have foreseen the riotous results.  It may involve Principal Barkenoff barging into the classroom, help from Bax the bully and an uninvited visitor from outside the classroom.  These two dogs (and Stewart) will never give up that trench coat!


You cannot read this book without knowing two things for sure.  Julie Falatko knows humor and dogs and combines them expertly.  From cover to cover, the new view of school, the process of problem solving, the focus on food (and squirrels) and the love and loyalty for Stewart by the dogs supply readers with loads of laughter.  The dialogue between Stewart, Waldo and Sassy and Salty and the members of the school scene and Stewart and his parents, who are oblivious to what is happening, is witty and comedic.  Here are some passages.

Sassy had reached the good part of her nap where the sun was so hot it was like a blanket of fire, plus she was so relaxed she couldn't move.  The only thing ruining this stellar nap was Waldo.  He kept walking by her head and clearing his throat, which sounded like a bullfrog doing a dog impersonation.

They dragged all the patio furniture together to make a ramp, hoping to "run like a gazelle" (Waldo's words) and "leap like a lion" (Waldo again) until "we soar majestically like beautiful eagles to the other side of the fence" (yep, Waldo).  Instead they "ran like hedgehogs until we crashed into the chairs and got our paws caught in the seats while they fell on our heads" (that's Sassy).
Then they napped for a bit.
Finally Sassy realized she was big enough to stand up, put her paw on the latch, and open the gate.
"Well, you would have saved us a lot of time if you'd done that two hours ago," said Waldo.

"I have no idea!" said Waldo.  Maybe we'll be tall enough to climb in through a window?"
"I'm not going to be tall enough to do anything if I don't nap first."
"Fine, fine, I have some important squirrel work to do anyway.  First thing tomorrow, we do this trench coat thing."
"After breakfast, right?"
"Are you kidding me?"  This might be the most important thing we ever do!  Of course after breakfast.  No way I'm doing this on an empty stomach."
"It's a deal."


The artwork of Colin Jack appears on nearly every page and at the very least an image is seen after every page turn.  Even the sketches (I'm reading an ARC for the second time.) are full of hilarity.  The loose lines convey one animated antic after another.

For the most part we are close to the characters and their actions.  Their facial expressions will have you laughing out loud.  The placement of all the elements contributes to the superb pacing.

One of my many favorite pictures is during gym class.  Salty is watching a thrown Frisbee.  Waldo, arms in the coat arms, is leaning into the throw.  Sassy appears ready to snatch it out of the air.  She has parted the coat opening and we can see her head.  Who will catch that Frisbee?


The sign of good humor is its lasting quality.  Even on a second read Two Dogs In A Trench Coat Go to School written by Julie Falatko with illustrations by Colin Jack will have you grinning and giggling.  This perspective of school from the two dogs is hysterical.  First in a series you'll want to have a copy (or two) on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To discover more about Julie Falatko and Colin Jack and their other work please follow the links embedded in their names to access their main sites.  Colin Jack also maintains a Tumblr account.  Julie can be found on Twitter and Facebook.  Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher chats with Julie and reveals the cover of the book on his site, Watch. Connect. Read.  Julie Falatko and author Ame Dyckman chat about humor and illustration at Scholastic.

Listen For The Hum. Listen For The Buzz.

It's still early here in northern Michigan.  A frost advisory was issued for Sunday night into Monday morning.  The hyacinths have come and gone but the daffodils and tulips are still blooming.  Many of the fruit trees are blossoming but the buds on the lilacs are still tiny and closed.  Some of the peonies have large rounded globes waiting for more water and heat before opening.

Still missing is the steady, singular hum of honeybees moving from flower to flower.  Seeing them is becoming far more exciting than sighting the first birds.  Seeing them means much to life on our planet.  The Honeybee (Atheneum Books For Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, May 8, 2018) written by Kirsten Hall with illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault enlightens us as to the daily valuable work of these busy insects.

A field..
A tree.
Climb it and see . . .

Fields of flowers stretch to the horizon.  In the stillness of watching, a soft sound floats on the air.  It's getting closer and louder.  It's like hearing one of the Earth's heartbeats.  It's a honeybee!

Its four wings, two in the front and two in the back, are creating a welcome song.  It searches in circles and loops.  It finally succumbs to the lure of the ultimate flower.  A flower filled with the sweetness of nectar.  First a sip, then the gathering begins.

The pollen hanging like tiny golden baskets from the bee are carried back to the hive.  A conversation and a dance take place with information exchanged.  The pollen, laden with nectar, is chewed and chewed and chewed until it's thick and gooey.

This thick and gooey goo is stuffed into the honeycomb cells.  Four wings on multiple bees flutter like fans to cool and dry those stuffed honeycomb cells.  At last the bees have HONEY!

Spring and summer sun pass and autumn coolness arrives.  A queen beckons to her workers.  Winter descends and residents of the hive rest.  They rest and move to protect the queen, sure in the knowledge when spring comes, their task begins anew.


The words of Kirsten Hall are as if she is holding out her hand, asking us to take a walk with her.  It's a whispered conversation inviting our participation.  Their melodious rhythm and gentle rhyming bring us with admiration into the world of the honeybee.  Here is a passage.

This is the flower the bee has chosen.
This is the flower the pollen grows in.
This is the flower, its color so bright,
its sweet blooming scent calls the fee from its flight.


Rendered using ink, gouache, pencil, and colored pencil by Isabelle Arsenault the illustrations throughout but beginning on the opened dust jacket will delight and invite.  Various hues of golden yellow are prevalent.  The shades of blue, green, red and pink create a harmonious blend.  The honeybee winging its way across the top looks as if he is asking us to follow.  To the left, on the back, the same worker in a field of soft golden yellow is pushing a huge globe of goo toward a honeycomb.  A look of accomplishment is evident in its facial features.  Spot varnish is used on both the front and the back of the jacket.  The honeybee feels fuzzy when touched.

The opened book case covered in deep orange, golden yellow shows the dotted, looping path of the honeybee from left across the spine to the right.  In the upper, right-hand corner it looks at us, smiling.  The opening and closing endpapers are done in a pattern of large black and yellow bands, like a honeybee's body.

Beneath the text on the title page the field of flowers extends from left to right in softer tones.  Isabelle shifts from images spanning two pages to single pages and then to a cluster of four smaller pictures.  She replicates and enhances the movement of the narrative with her illustrations.

We are among the flowers zooming in and out of plants.  We sit among the petals sipping nectar and collecting pollen.  Then we buzz into the darkness of the hive, completing the task and making the honey.  As the seasons shift we enjoy every change with the honeybee.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is inside the hive.  The background is a shadowed black.  It is a single page visual.  Two honeybees are speaking to "our" honeybee.   Larger than life they are asking questions and looking at us.  Every detail is delicate and delightful.  It looks as though they are wearing high white collars tied with a bow.  One of the honeybees is carrying a blue flower and the other is leaning toward the newly arrived, pollen-laden honeybee.


Marvelous to read for the lovely words and illustrations The Honeybee written by Kirsten Hall with illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault is also a loving tribute to these necessary and amazing creatures.  A final page is a letter Kirsten Hall has written to readers listing the attributes of honeybees and how we can help them.  I am already planning on using this book with fiction and nonfiction titles referencing honeybees and bees.  Some titles I will use are Bee & Me, Honey, Please Please the Bees, Bear and Bee, and The Case of the Vanishing Honeybee.  I highly recommend The Honeybee for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Kirsten Hall and Isabelle Arsenault please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Isabelle has an account on Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view interior pages.  School Library Journal includes this title with other books in a post The Buzz on Bees | The Hive, The Honey, The Hope.  Four years ago Kirsten Hall was interviewed on As The Eraser Burns.

The Invitation

As a human being there is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a child alone when a group nearby is enjoying the company of each other.  You see this more often than you would like as an educator.  With gentle suggestions on your part a connection is possible between the group and the boy or girl without a friend.

Wishing for a friend, reaching out to others, is not always easy but the results can be rewarding and last a lifetime.  Night Out (Schwartz & Wade Books, May 8, 2018) written and illustrated by Daniel Miyares takes readers on a magical journey of discovery.  Our dreams can change the course of our lives.

All alone.

A boy sits removed from the other boys at the dining room table at his boarding school.  Later, as the moon shines in his window, the light shows his wakefulness while the others are sleeping.  On a chair next to his bed, his turtle resides in its bowl. 

When the boy next looks at his turtle's bowl, his reptilian pal has vanished.  An envelope sealed with red wax is leaning against the glass of the bowl.  The words beckon to him.  His presence is needed.

Getting dressed, the boy climbs out the window next to his bed, careful to take a backpack.  Placing his helmet on his head, he rides his bike out the open gate of the school.  The path takes him to a wooden bridge crossing a ravine.  In the light of his lantern he is amazed to see his turtle but his size is increased.

Climbing on the turtle's back, they follow the light of the moon to a special cave.  Five other animals, five new friends, are overjoyed to see the child.  He is given a place of honor among them as they enjoy tea and sweet treats.  It's a celebration of friendship found.  As the next morning dawns, the boy dressed in his pajamas again is dispelling his oneness with words.


Carefully chosen phrases, eleven in number, tell an extraordinary story using the power of imagination.  If you are willing to dream, a precious reality can follow.  Daniel Miyares' spare use of text is like the invitation in the book.  It asks us to suspend reality and join in the boy's dream.  We do so willing.  Here are two phrases which follow each other.

A decision.

And a journey begins.


The first thing you want to do when you see the front of the dust jacket is to grab your snuggest, cozy blanket and curl up in your favorite chair.  You know Daniel Miyares has planned another wonderful experience for you.  It's simply perfect that it's a full moon night as shown by the use of the moon for the letter o.  As your eyes drift to the left of the opened jacket, lantern or moon light gives a glow to the opened invitation, envelope and a map.  The words

An invitation to adventure . . . 

appear above those three elements.

The book case continues with the darkened soft black background on both sides.  On the right we are given a close-up of the boy riding his bike toward us from the school, his lantern in his left hand.  The full moon is above his head.  You can feel anticipation growing. 

Daniel Miyares uses the opening and closing endpapers to begin and conclude his story.  The scene, the dining room, is the same but the seating and who is sitting where are completely different. Rendered in gouache and colored pencils on Strathmore paper each illustration is atmospheric leading us into the narrative.  With each page turn a special mood is supplied.  (All of the text is hand-lettered.)

Careful readers will see a sign of what is to come but paying close attention to the details in one of the images.  Daniel changes his perspective to draw us deeper into the boy's nighttime journey.  We are close to him as he climbs out the window but a large panoramic view shows us how far he has come from the school to the bridge.  Readers will be unable to stop from pausing at each picture.  The brush strokes, color palette, and use of light and shadow are breathtaking.

One of my many favorite pictures appears on a single page.  The walls of the sleeping room frame the large window next to the boy.  The twelve panes are placed in a pattern for large windows which open in the center like two doors.  The moon is rising huge and golden filling the entire window.  Fall leaves extended from the branches of a tree outside.  The boy is sitting on his bed looking out the window with his back to us.  The opened invitation is on the bed next to him.  Moonlight forms shadows on his bed and on the bed of the sleeping child in the bed next to him.  This picture is brimming with emotions.


I highly recommend you include this title, Night Out written and illustrated by Daniel Miyares, in your personal and professional collections.  It's beautiful in the gentle tale it tells of friendship and dreams.  For bedtime, a quiet time or a story time about nighttime adventures, this is a book you will want to read aloud.

To learn more about Daniel Miyares and his other marvelous work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Daniel has an account on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view beginning interior images.  To highlight another title, That Is My Dream!, Daniel is interviewed at The Children's Book Review.  Daniel has written an essay, A World of One's Own, at School Library Journal about the writing of this book.

All Toes On Deck

Every culture has its own legends and lingo.  A particular group of people within a separate culture understand every nuance of their spoken words and individualistic body language.  To step into a culture without understanding the separate parts which make it a significant whole is like entering a foreign country.

Members of the surfing community know an A-frame is not a type of home, a Barney is not a purple dinosaur or Fred Flintstone's best friend or in the soup does not mean you are an ingredient in something to eat.  Author Aaron Reynolds (Nerdy Birdy A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, September 22, 2015) and Caldecott Medalist (The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend Little, Brown and Company, April 8, 2014) Dan Santat have partnered to create a rollicking, riotous masterpiece.  DUDE! (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, April 24, 2018) will have you laughing out loud as soon as you read the title.  Surfing and one word take on a whole new meaning.

DUDE!

DUDE!

Two friends, both having a love of surfing, have just greeted each other at the beach.  They can hardly wait to ride the waves.  Running across the sand with their boards firmly grasped in their hands, they yell the familiar word in unison at the top of their lungs.

As they paddle away from the shore to find a wave, they marvel at a pelican scooping up a fish for lunch.  One roars with laughter as the other shrieks with disgust when the pelican strikes again.  Then one of the dangers surfers fear glides toward them.  Beaver utters dude with an entirely different tone.

They are now swimming for their very lives on their boards.  A deep, quiet, tearful voice speaks as a shark towers over them.  Neither of them expects what happens next.

Two bright ideas on the part of the beaver and platypus bridge a frightening gap.  A gigantic wave carries friends having fun, fast and furiously toward . . . DISASTER!  A third brilliant thought solves a problem.  You'll be giggling and grinning louder and louder at the results of the final two scenes.

DUDE! 

With what can only be described as sheer genius Aaron Reynolds imagines and writes an entire narrative using a single word.  He asks his readers to use their best voices to give emphasis to the word based on the situation.  A word most definitely changes in meaning based upon the emotional charge given to it.  There is an art to this form of storytelling.  

As soon as readers look at the front of the dust jacket exclamations will be forthcoming.  The platypus and beaver are happy as can be.  They are doing what they love to do best.  The shark is also grinning. Given the tendency of sharks to be attracted to movement in the water, readers will not be expecting the narrative to unfold as it does.  The water and sky cross the spine to continue to the far edge of the back of the dust jacket.  This leads us to believe the two pals are far from shore.

The bold, bright colors and distinguishing shapes and lines of Dan Santat continue on the book case in red, cream and black.  The three characters, surfboards in hand are crossing the beach as a large sun sets on the red skied-horizon.  It's a stunning display.  Golden yellow covers the opening and closing endpapers.

Dan Santat alters between single page pictures and double-page illustrations depending on the impact needed for the scene and the word, dude!  In several of the settings an animated crab appears adding to the humor.  The color, size and shape of the letters are indicative of the emotional state of the characters.  Elevating the comedy even higher, the facial expressions on the characters and their body postures are absolutely wonderful, 

One of my many favorite illustrations is actually a series of four pictures grouped over two pages.  In the first one the beaver, platypus and shark are frozen in place wondering what to do.  Clearly the two friends can see this is no ordinary shark.  In the next picture the beaver says Dude! as a light bulb appears over his head.  In the next two visuals the platypus and shark are alone.  In the first the platypus is whistling as the shark splashes water.  In the final picture both are starting to think the beaver is not coming back.

This over-the-top funnier than funny book, DUDE! written by Aaron Reynolds with illustrations by Dan Santat, is also a sharp and skillful study in inflection and the power of pictures without words.  It is without a doubt, read aloud gold.  I highly recommend this for your personal and professional collections.  I can hear the laughter already along with requests for read it again.  

To discover more about Aaron Reynolds and Dan Santat please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Aaron maintains a Tumblr site also.  Both Aaron and Dan have accounts on Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior pages.