The other morning it was too icy and too cold to walk our normal route. When my canine companion and I roamed around the backyard, two chickadees swooped into a bush right next to us. For several moments their cheerful chatter banished the bitter winter chills and wind.
Their presence brought back memories of other encounters with fellow chickadees, one brave enough to land on the tip of a cross country ski pole. There are also those magical marvelous minutes too near a bull elk. His haunting bugle echoing over me alone in the deep snow of Pigeon River State Forest forty years ago. Some things stay with you forever.
These unplanned meetings are a reminder of our stewardship toward this planet we share with a myriad of living creatures. So many wild beings are in need of our assistance and protection. They are not alone, though, as Sanctuary: A Home for Rescued Farm Animals (Clarion Books, January 31, 2023) written and illustrated by Julia Denos shows us. Her thoughtful text and heartwarming artwork are a precious ode to those animals who might be overlooked in our endeavors to make life for all those on our planet better.
It is dark, but I can see your light.
The voice of a child speaks to an animal, reassuring them about the security they seek. They need to look no longer. Another child tells a group of animals, they are to be given names rather than numbers. Here they matter.
In this space, all are free to be themselves. Animals can simply live for the sake of living. They need not worry about supplying others with any form of food. Their bodies are safe from harm. They and their young can grow to oink, moo, and cluck to their hearts' content.
In this place, humans will heal, not hurt. In this place animals can sleep without worry. In this place, dreams do come true.
Sometimes, adults cannot believe children see things as they are, but they do. They do see things as they are and they open their hearts and minds. Nothing is more honest, valuable, or formidable than children who know their hearts and minds. Their words become actions.
Through the voices of five children, author Julia Denos offers hope, hope for the rescued animals, hope for the children who love those animals, and hope for healing in our world. Each of the children offers comfort and expected joy to the animals who arrive and live in the sanctuary. The word here is used repeatedly as reinforcement and a promise. Its use does precede a soliloquy by the final child. Here she shares the truth all the children believe. It is an opportunity for readers to participate in the same truth. Here is a passage.
Here is home. Where you can be
who you were born to be, just like me.
Let's feel the earth, stretch our legs,
lift our hooves, and spread our wings!
The child featured on the right, front, of the matching dust jacket and book case, is nuzzling nose to nose with a new guest at the sanctuary. The light between their heads signifies the connection between those giving love and those in need of love. The field filled with dandelions (and their wishes), tiny forget-me-nots, and clover stretches across the front and the back.
The girl's body crosses the spine and her blue jean-clad legs extend to the far left side on the back, left, of the jacket and case. Near the girl's waist are two, fuzzy yellow baby chicks. On a hill behind her graze a cow and calf and a sow and piglets. At the top of the hill is a barn. There are sparkles of light around the barn and a ray of light coming from the barn. Julia Denos has pinpricks of light on the entire image.
On the opening and closing endpapers, the backgrounds and patterns on each are reversed. Left becomes right and right becomes left. On the one the background hues are rose and golden yellow washes. On the other, shades of blue, and a bit of green and yellow color the canvas. On each are different prints made by the animals' feet. Amid the tiny dots of light are dandelion seeds, a dandelion and dandelion leaf, clover leaves, a four-leaf clover, feathers, a butterfly, a bee, and the stalk of another flower.
On the dedication, verso and title pages, a single illustration shows readers the rolling hills, flowers, birds and the barn of the sanctuary. A beautiful blue sky fills most of the two pages. These pictures rendered in
graphite, watercolor, acrylic, and digital paint
are double-page visuals, single-page illustrations or two images on a single page.
Most of the single page images are loosely framed with liberal white space bordering that framing. The animals are realistically portrayed as are the children. It is the use of color, lines, and brush strokes which give them a softness, a welcome gentleness. This invitation asks readers to pause, looking for delicate details like a honey bee resting on a clover blossom, a butterfly poised on the tip of a horn, a spider hanging from a web in the barn as animals curl against each other during a rainstorm or the heart-shaped earrings one of the girls is wearing.
One of my many favorite illustrations (besides the final, double-page picture) is the one for the above-quoted text. It is a two-page visual. On the left side, beneath a blue sky, one of the children dances with a pig near one of the barns. In front of them is barnyard dirt stretching left to right. In front of the dirt is meadow grass filled with clover. Among the clover on the left are two bunnies, one brown and the other white with brown spots. On the right side just above the meadow grass, a white, feathery turkey stands with wings outstretched, some feathers drifting down to the dirt. Happiness and contentment radiate from this scene.
This book, Sanctuary: A Home for Rescued Farm Animals written and illustrated by Julia Denos, is an exquisite treasure. It could be used in animal studies or discussions about the care of our planet and its inhabitants. At the close of the book, Julia Denos writes a moving two-page letter
Dear Caregiver,
This letter is about animals and children, specifically farm animals. It speaks about how human society has treated the farm animals. At the close of the letter, she lists seven
small ways you can make big changes
before she signs
I'll be dreaming with you.
Julie
At the bottom of the first page of the letter, in small print, Julia Denos asks readers to look for nine wild plants in her illustrations. On the back jacket flap, it states that Julia Denos has always been a lover of animals. In 2017, she became vegan. She has a rescued cat and dog and likes to visit animal sanctuaries. This book is certain to find a permanent place in readers' hearts, hearts championing for animals. You will want to place a copy on your personal and professional bookshelves.
To discover more about Julia Denos and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website. Julia Denos has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She is most active on Instagram.
When you are part of a family with parents like my parents who loved their flower and vegetable gardens, you find yourself gardening with the same optimism and hope. Even today with both my parents gone, I find myself continuing to overturn the soil, plant the tiniest of seeds, and know with proper care a flower or vegetable will push through that dirt and make something beautiful. Regardless of knowing the science behind seeds and the plants they produce, it is still a miracle to me.
Together as a family we took avocado pits and grew avocado trees. We planted fruit trees, nut trees, shade trees, and a blue spruce twenty-six years ago in memory of my father. For every year my sweet Xena has been gone, I have planted a tree to commemorate the joy she gave me. The thing is when you plant something, it is an act of faith.
Author Anne Wynter and artist Daniel Miyares have collaborated to bring readers a book, Nell Plants A Tree (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, January 31, 2023), that shows this optimism, hope, and faith. A single act causes something to happen. Some might say what happens is expected and ordinary. There is nothing ordinary about the sight of a majestic tree or the generations of family bound to that tree, each weathering the storms of life.
Before a grip on a branch
and a fall to the ground
and a scrape
and a leap
and a reach for the top, . . .
A child, a little girl, named Nell finds a seed. Another child, a little girl, does reach near the top. She and two other children limb by limb scale that same tree to watch in wonder as three tiny birds crack open their shells. Before those children embrace that tree, Nell takes that seed, now sprouted, and covers it with dirt.
The children use the tree as a goal for racing, racing to see who is the fastest runner. Sometimes, it is the perfect spot to avoid irritating noise and too-much discomforts. The trunk of the tree supplies strength and support.
In the right season, the ground beneath this tree is dotted with pecans. Their shells are opened. They are used to make the best kind of pie. Around the tree is a space for discovering natural treasures . . . and something pushing between a partially opened pecan shell.
Before these children, grandchildren, race, find solace, pick pecans for pie, and find riches, Nell tends to the sprout giving it water and sun. When it is large enough, she digs a hole and plants it. The tree grows. Nell grows and so does her family under the branches of a seed that sprouted, was given tender care, and planted.
It is hard to read the words written by Anne Wynter in silence to yourself. You can hardly finish the first five phrases without knowing these words need to be read aloud. She masterfully combines two stories in one. She moves flawlessly from the present day activities of Nell's grandchildren to Nell's finding of the seed and her subsequent role in it becoming a magnificent pecan tree. Anne Wynter begins each portion of the children's moments with the word before. She then lyrically describes what they do, followed by a simple statement about Nell. Here is another partial portion.
Before sacks of pecans
and a crack and a crunch
and a roll and a press
and a mix and a pour
The first thought in my mind when I opened the dust jacket was oh my goodness! What Daniel Miyares has done is combine several perspectives in this single image. On the front, we see the girl reading her book in the nook between the trunk and branch of the tree. The family home is in the distance. Notice the hues of the leaves in this tree and of the trees around the home. The lighting is exquisite.
Rather than have the entire tree cross the spine of a dusty, steely blue, leafy branches bridge the front and back of the jacket. On the back, underneath the boughs of the tree, a grandmother and her grandchildren pluck pecans from the grass and place them in a basket. We view this as if looking at them from the branches over their heads. The colors of the leaves in this scene are darker in browns and greens not touched by the light.
One of the hues used in the dust jacket, a golden cream, covers the book case. A darker golden orange is used for the spine. The left side of the book case is bare. On the front is a small stenciled silhouette in one dark color. It is of the girl seated next to the tree, reading her book. Between the center branches, now moved to create a space, sits the house.
For the opening and closing endpapers, Daniel Miyares has fashioned a patchwork of fabric and colors found in his interior illustrations. On one of the pieces on the right side of the opening endpapers is the sprouted pecan. On the right side of the closing endpapers, that pecan is now a fully-grown patchwork tree, leafy and grand. To the left of the tree are the author and illustrator notes.
Rendered using
pen and ink, gouache, and collage
these images by Daniel Miyares are both timely and timeless. His title, verso and dedication pages show a panoramic view of a grassy area, the pecan tree, and the home in the background on the right. The children run, arms outstretched, from the left toward the tree.
He alternates between double-page illustrations, single-page pictures surrounded by wide, loose frames, full-page visuals, edge to edge, and two groups of smaller vignettes on a single page. His viewpoints vary, but ultimately invite us into the settings. Everything calls to the child in us, the sheer joy of being near a grand tree, climbing that tree, resting against that tree, finding wonders in it and around it. Daniel Miyares's depictions of Nell are tender and honest. And Daniel Miyares brings us full circle with his final piece of artwork.
One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture. The sky is drenched in orange and golden hues seen at sunset. These colors touch the tops of trees along the bottom of both pages. On the far left side, branches crossing the gutter to the right and bleeding off the top, is the pecan tree. Standing on one of the higher boughs on the right is the girl clad in a white t-shirt and overalls. Her left hand clasps a branch. Her back is to us as she stares into the distance.
Now, more than ever, the value of a tree is essential to life on our planet. In Nell Plants A Tree written by Anne Wynter with artwork by Daniel Miyares, we clearly understand this, but we also see how one seed planted generations ago can grow into something around which an entire family is built. It is as if the strength of that tree lends itself to the families. They nurture each other. This is a title you certainly will want on your personal and professional bookshelves.
To learn more about Anne Wynter and Daniel Miyares, please visit their websites by following the link attached to their names. Anne Wynter has accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Daniel Miyares has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Daniel and Anne are interviewed at Maria Marshall's Making Nature Fun. At Max's Boat hosted by Ratha Tep, Anne and Daniel are interviewed. There is a bounty of images to be enjoyed.
By studying history, the results can be illuminating, often heartbreaking, and more times than we wish, heinous. This does not mean we get to set aside the facts that are heartbreaking and heinous. For ourselves, we need to accept them and use them to be better, to do better, and stand up for better. This is what history should and needs to teach us. As educators, we owe our students the truth . . . all of it.
Enslaved people from the continent of Africa were brought to the American colonies in the early 1600s. President Abraham Lincoln issued the official Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States abolished slavery. It was adopted on December 6, 1865 after being ratified by Georgia. (We know the chains of slavery, all kinds of slavery, still exist today in other forms. This is one of the reasons you might want to stay informed about the Abolition Amendment.) In a memorable new title, An American Story (Little, Brown And Company, January 3, 2023) written by Kwame Alexander with art by Dare Coulter, readers are told the truth in powerful, poetic words and striking poignant images.
How do you tell a story
that starts in Africa
and ends in horror?
The narrative continues by telling us of people, men, women, and children, living in Africa. We learn of their daily activities, a combination of work, play, and storytelling. All the time we learn of these people in Africa, others are waiting, waiting, waiting to take them away in shackles to be sold in America. Then, we find ourselves as readers, momentarily, in a contemporary classroom where students make a statement and ask a question.
As this American story continues, we are told how these men who profited from the sale of human beings placed these stolen people below deck on their ships in spaces too small and too hot. There were deaths because of these too small and too hot spaces on those ships. And sometimes, when these people were taken on the decks of those ships, they jumped in shark-filled waters to be free. There is now more commentary from the present-day classroom students.
We move to the plantations growing cotton and sugar and the too-long days of labor without pay. We read of children forced into labor who watched the children of the plantation owners free to play, attend school and wear good clothing. Learning to read and reading for enslaved people was strictly forbidden. They toiled in the fields and in plantation homes doing numerous and varied tasks day after day without pay. Yet again, a student hearing this story asks a question.
We read of the resilience, the unbelievable resilience, of these enslaved people. They refused to lose their humanity. They refused to forget stories, all stories. Some escaped. Some did not. Some never saw their fathers, mothers, sons, or daughters again. At this point, the teacher reading this story stops, unable to continue and apologizes to her students. The children, her students, respond in words filled with the strength they have learned. In the concluding phrases, we are asked about telling and hearing and the final sentence is a potent response.
In that first question, author Kwame Alexander delivers a stunning opening. Page turn by page turn, his words convey the intimately personal terrors and injustices experienced and endured by enslaved people from Africa. His use of the word waiting three times adds an eerie element of foreboding before the people are stolen. By inserting the questions and comments from students in a present day classroom and the voice of their teacher throughout this story, the relevance, impact, and essential value of this telling is depicted with veracity. His final words are unforgettable. Here is a passage.
A story about mothers
fleeing in the wind
wading in the water
conducting freedom.
About fathers
fighting back
stealing away
chasing liberty.
As soon as you see the open dust jacket with the American flag spanning left to right, back to front, you pause. You pause not because of the flag but because of the hands holding it. These are the hands of an enslaved African. These are hands that have seen hard labor. The wash over the colors of the flag denotes time, a long time.
Beneath the jacket on the book case, interior images have been placed on either side of the spine. On the back, left, under a cloud-dotted sky, a row of enslaved people bend; their backs making a row as they work planting seedlings in dirt and water. The color of their clothing seems to have captured rays from a rising or setting sun. On the front, right, is a boy picking cotton, a sack slung over his shoulder. Other slaves work in the background and a horse waits patiently on the right. The enslaved boy's eyes look right. He is watching children his own age playing before going to school.
The opening endpapers feature a star-studded sky at night. A full moon shines amid a layered circle of clouds. It is as if the clouds are holding the moon like cupped hands. On the closing endpapers is a vast sky filled with glowing golden yellow and bright red-orange hues. In the lower, left-hand corner rests a glowing globe.
The artwork for this book by Dare Coulter is explained at the back of the book like this.
The illustrations in this book are mixed media and were created with a combination of spray paint, acrylic paint, charcoal, graphite, ink, and digital painting on wood panel and watercolor paper, and also using Procreate and Adobe Photoshop. The sculptures are both ceramic and polymer clay with added materials and were painted with acrylic paint and spray paint.
The illustrations begin on the double-page dedication page and continue on the title page with another two-page picture. It shows a single home in an African setting surrounded by native flora and other homes glowing with lights at night. Each piece of artwork, whether its a full-page visual or a double-page image pulses with certainty.
Forthright, emotional, and deeply moving are only a few ways to describe these illustrations. When the text brings us into a contemporary classroom, Dare Coulter pictures the students and their teacher against a golden background with elements drawn in shaded shades of black. Her final piece of artwork paired with Kwame Alexander's words will take your breath away.
One of the many moving pieces in this book is with a background of water fading to a paler blue toward the top. Across the center of the illustrations are the hands and wrists of three people. Their fists are clenched as a row of shackles hold them together. Tears fill my eyes when I look, really look, at another picture. This is a portrayal of the enslaved people jumping off the slave ship toward certain death . . . and freedom.
This book, An American Story, written by Kwame Alexander with art by Dare Coulter, is an essential title to share often and widely. There is an author note and illustrator note at the end of the book. I can't think of a single reason why this book should not be in your personal and professional collections, especially as an educator.
To learn more about Kwame Alexander and Dare Coulter and their other work, please access their websites by following the link attached to their names. Kwame Alexander has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. Dare Coulter has accounts on Instagram and Twitter. Kwame Alexander is interviewed for the cover reveal by Shelley Diaz at School Library Journal. Dare Coulter is interviewed with five questions at The Horn Book. This is an excellent article about her research and artwork. Here is a conversation at a Barnes & Noble site between these two creators. There was an event at the Jacksonville Public Library last month about this book with Kwame Alexander and Dare Coulter. The article talking about this has some interesting insights from them. The video below is a television interview prior to the event.
If any individual's story ends in triumph, should we not cheer outwardly, or at the very least, inwardly for them? Are we not glad for their success, whether they are known to us or not? They might be someone from the past or present who spent or are spending time on this planet. They might exist because of someone's imagination. And if this individual is one of a group, a group bound together by history, culture, and resilience, we should exalt their accomplishments.
Each time All Because You Matter(Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., October 6, 2020) written by Tami Charles with illustrations by Bryan Collier is read, you find yourself saying in your heart of hearts, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" You repeat that word of affirmation because of the truth and power in the words you've read and in the artwork you've seen. This same collaborative team released the second book, We Are Here (Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., January 3, 2023), in this trio as our new calendar year started. It is as compelling and eloquent as its predecessor.
The journey of who we are
stretches beyond
rivers,
roads,
mountains high-fiving
blue skies.
This sentence is followed with a reminder that this is the way it has always been and always will be. This unseen narrator speaks with joy and purpose. They say as seeds our roots go deep, pulsing with potential. That potential has been realized repeatedly in the achievements of others.
Their marks have been made in space exploration, building and music made with instruments and voices. Those voices rang out on stages, steps, and in stadiums. They still do.
This journey being taken is reflected in the array of food prepared, seasoned, and eaten. Those walking on the path break barriers, heads held high at points around the world. They are understood by all, talking in a universal language. They march placing one foot in front of the other so no one is forgotten. As long as your story is told, you will be remembered.
Even a condition that swept around the world, bringing everything to a standstill, did not stop these courageous people. This child is told by this narrator that these courageous people did not stop because
we have always been heroes.
Hold tight to your promise regardless of what others might say. You are remarkable in every respect.
The author's note by Tami Charles begins with this sentence.
For a long time, I have wanted to write something in honor of my daughter, whom I didn't get to meet.
Word by word, each rhythmic phrase builds something beautiful and . . . strong. The voice in this narrative speaks to this beauty and strength created over time and seen in the determination of a people to be the best of the best. The imagery fashioned by the words of Tami Charles are something to see with our eyes and hold close regardless of the ups and downs life has and will deliver. A precious daughter has indeed been honored. Here is another passage.
We are joy!
Igniting the world,
like stars caliente and bright,
like trumpets blaring at
midnight!
You hear that?
Skit-skat-
caddy-wack!
Even if you had not seen his name on the dust jacket and book case, you would know by looking at them the artwork is by Bryan Collier. His color palette first seen on the matching and open jacket and case is rich like royalty. See how the color of the text, the girl's headband and shirt contrast and complement the deep blue and purple hues. The use of light and shadow is exquisite.
The opening and closing endpapers are a pattern of portions of row houses. In the illustrator's note, Bryan Collier explains this choice. The dedication, verso, and title pages use the sky and circular elements seen on the jacket and case as a background.
Rendered
with collage and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on 300lb. Arches watercolor paper,
these images each span one and one-half pages. In many of the pictures, the child seen on the front, right side, of the jacket and case is featured. She is shown with her family, very close to us so we see only a portion of her face, and we look, like a gliding bird, down on her as she builds something.
Subsequent illustrations highlight Black Americans showcased in the text. Those row houses appear many times. We see Bryan Collier's use of rays. In four of the five final pictures, the girl returns. Careful readers will see the balloon shown in the first picture appear again and again. The artwork of Bryan Collier for this book lifts up the beauty and strength of the words until you want to shout it out loud.
One of my many favorite illustrations is the girl standing outside the home shown in the first picture of her with her family. We are very close to her. The upper portion of her body fills most of the space with the home and the vibrant blue and purple sky behind her. She is leaning toward us. Her lips are shaped to blow air toward the wand she holds in her right hand. The wand has been dipped in a solution to make bubbles. They float in front of her and to the right.
This book, We Are Here written by Tami Charles with artwork by Bryan Collier, is a song to be sung to Black children (to all children so all children will know). You can sing it out loud like a choir or softly like a lullaby. This is a heartwarming, inspirational, exhilarating, and hopeful title. There are seven paragraphs at the close of the book dedicated to those honored in these pages. There is a short glossary. Be sure to read the author's note and illustrator's note. You will want to share this often and widely by having it in your personal and professional collections.
To learn more about Tami Charles and Bryan Collier and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites. Tami Charles has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Bryan Collier has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
In less than twenty-four hours, the ALA Youth Media Awards will be live-streamed. They will begin at 8:00 am Central Time in New Orleans where the LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience conference is being held. In reading the press kit for this event, at least twenty-two awards will be given. Some will have multiple honorees or only a few in addition to the top title for each category. It is a day for authors, illustrators, publishers, and all those who have supported the authors and illustrators along with millions of readers to rejoice with the recipients. It is also a day to send out love to all those authors and illustrators who are not recipients, for their books have touched readers in wonderful ways we can never know.
This is why I am writing my fourth post in this series to draw attention to the final eleven books in 2022 too good to miss. These are books, if you will recall my first post, that I was unable to showcase with individual blog posts. Due to time constraints, I will be shortening what I include in the listing of each book.
Each one will receive one little word. I will link to the author and illustrator websites or one of their active social media accounts. A link will be attached to the publisher's name, also. If there are additional resources at the publisher's website, that will be noted. The first few sentences in the book, a short blurb of my own, and comments about the words and artwork will be provided. If there are other resources I believe to be helpful, like articles or videos, I will include them.
This is the longest series I have ever done, fiction and the previous nonfiction posts, about 2022 books I want to honor before blogging about 2023 books. It has been joyous to reread all these books. Their impact is even greater than the first time they were read. This is a sign of a great story. Happy reading fellow readers!
At the publisher's website is a list of the best books of 2022 on which this title appears. Co-authors Betsy Bird and Julie Danielson of Wild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature with Peter D. Sieruta, both showcase this book on their respective sites, A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal and Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Jules' post contains lots of process art and an entire guest post by Sophie Blackall. It's a treasure of a final post for the incredible Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. In addition to visiting her website, you might want to visit Sophie's Instagram account for a collection of visuals with reference to this book. Colby Sharp chats with Sophie Blackall on The Yarn about this book. This episode is truly mesmerizing. There is an author's note at the end, words when read that feel as though you can hear Sophie's voice softly speaking them to you. There are also photographs of the farmhouse, inside and outside. These two pages are the closing endpapers.
Over a hill,
at the end of a road,
by a glittering stream
that twists and turns,
stands a house
In this farmhouse, twelve children lived with their parents. They were all born there and stayed until they were ready to go. Their growth was marked on the wall near the stairs. They made the colorful shapes on the walls using carved potatoes and paint. Painting the cat might have been involved. Some of these children were sent to their rooms for this prank.
These rooms were places of learning from books. Dreams grew there, too. Collections were stored. Secrets were whispered. Games were played.
This was a farmhouse so the cows were milked twice a day by two of the children. Depending on the weather or the season or both, this chore was either enjoyed or dreaded. They did all the other chores necessary on a dairy farm, but still found time to fish in the nearby stream.
They gathered together for dinner, thanks and soup and bread freely given. In the evening, they did not rest but did small things to keep everything as it should be. One day, the youngest of twelve, now old, left the house. She was the last to leave, ready to make a dream come true. Time and the elements would have their way on the now silent home until on another day an author illustrator walked inside.
Even without a single piece of art, this narrative, a single sentence by Sophie Blackall, will soothe places in your soul you didn't know needed soothing. Word by word and phrase by phrase she builds the lives of the children and their parents in this farmhouse. She elevates the ordinary to something poetically beautiful. It is their story, but like all our stories, worth retelling over and over.
When you open the dust jacket, the remainder of the house crosses the spine with the rolling hills extending to the left. The artwork behind the windows is varnished to give the effect of glass. The title text is raised to the touch. On the book case is a cut-away of the home, showing the family living their lives in the rooms which are revealed one by one inside the book. It is exactly what you see through the windows on the dust jacket. The opening endpapers feature materials used in the artwork.
There are interior images to see at the publisher's website. Maria Marshall, host of her site, Making Nature Fun, interviews the creators about this title. There is an author interview at Only Picture Bookswhere Caron Levis speaks about her work including this title. At the end of the book is an explanatory author's note. Several resources are mentioned.
Rain or shine, Klepetan and Malena explored every season together.
When spring bloomed and hopped,
he inspected everything closely--klep klep, hmm---
and she jumped into it all with wings wide open.
Through all the seasons, these two storks did everything together until one day Malena was injured. A kindly gentleman devised a method so Malena, who cannot now fly, could nestle in their new nest with her partner, Klepetan. This new nest was on top of the man's home. The storks, the man, and even his cat became a family.
Soon, the shifting seasons dictated Klepetan should migrate from Croatia to South Africa. The two had never been apart. One day, the flock soared south with the villagers watching. Klepetan and Malena would not stop looking at each other. Klepetan adapted in the south and Malena built a nest inside the man's home. It was not the same, though. Each stored away stories and jokes to share later.
When the flocks in the south started flying home, Klepetan was blown off course by a storm. Malena was frantically searching the skies until one day, one last stork landed on the roof by their nest. That evening the telling began.
With great care, Caron Levis fashions the world of these two birds. In this way readers are able to understand the astonishing relationship they maintained even though they were separated every year by Klepetan's migration. She demonstrates the strength of their bond by providing us details of their daily lives and adding in the jokes Klepetan tells and the stories Malena weaves at bedtime. Caron Levis repeatedly uses
"Whatever the weather, we'll weather it---"
"Feathers together!"
to secure each portion of the narrative into links on a fabulous chain.
The illustrations for this book were made with digital brushes and love. Those brush strokes and that love by Charles Santoso radiates from every image. The sky behind the two storks on the front of the dust jacket spans over the spine and to the far left side. On the book case an interior illustration is presented. It is the first time Klepetan arrives back from the south. He and Malena are standing apart (until she rushes to him). The shifting perspectives of the birds alone in varying habitats, together in the other seasons, and in flight are gorgeous and perceptive.
At the publisher's website, you can see the opening two-page picture. There are additional resources, an educator's guide, a poster, and a ten-page storytime kit. At Penguin Random House, you can see the opening and closing endpapers. There is an additional two-page picture at the illustrator's website. This title is featured at The TeachingBooks Blog with a collaborator chat and other resources. Maria Marshall interviews both Carmen Agra Deedy and Brian Lies at her site, Making Nature Fun. Read about Carmen Agra Deedy, her writing and this book at Rough Draft, Atlanta.
Wombat was not worried.
No, not a little. Fire had passed over his
burrow before.
Wombat might not be worried, but before too long he realized his neighbors were very worried and rightly so. As he was about to settle with tea and his quilt, Wallaby knocked on his door seeking shelter. Inside, Wallaby curled under the quilt and fell asleep.
Door knock after door knock revealed a cast of critters needing sanctuary. Kookaburra, Platypus, and Koala followed, the latter dragging in a huge branch of eucalyptus. They quickly made themselves at home, enjoying Wombat's creature comforts.
When Sugar Glider arrives and causes chaos, Wombat nearly loses his temper, but thinks maybe this would not last long. He was wrong. After days, Wombat noticed a difference. Checking outside, he knew it was time for his guests to skedaddle. And they did, except for one. Who was it?
With her gift for story, Carmen Agra Deedy introduces us to Wombat. As each guest arrives, he welcomes them with a five-line rhyming refrain. This is an invitation for readers to participate. Through text, conversation, and Wombat's thoughts, each of the animal's personalities are presented in their uniqueness. This is a masterful tale for reading aloud or a reader's theater.
Before the story even begins, behold the artwork of Brian Lies. Wombat on both the front and back of the dust jacket welcomes neighbors into his home. On the inside of the dust jacket is a cut-away of Wombat's home, his rooms underground. On the left inside flap is a quiz to test your knowledge of wombats with the answers.
On the book case is Wombat's door. Eyes and a finger poke through the postal flap. The opening and closing endpapers show the ground leading to Wombat's welcome mat. Each image regardless of its size is carefully rendered in acrylics and colored pencil on Strathmore paper, making use of light and shadow with excellence. Each page turn, a captured moment, asks us to pause and we do.
VERSION
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc, October 18, 2022) retold by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Jon Klassen
Publishers Weekly hosts the cover reveal with a conversation between the creators which is hilarious and informational. Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen are interviewed by Betsy Bird about this title on her A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal.
Once upon a time,
there was a bridge.
And beneath that bridge,
there lived a troll.
By the next page turn, you know exactly who this troll is and what he likes to eat. Then, you turn a page to find out he is nearly starving and eating things that will have you laughing out loud. This troll is in dire straits.
Soon, the smaller of the goats starts to cross the bridge. The troll calls out with his refrain. The troll is beside himself with delight at discovering it's a goat wanting to cross. He starts imaging aloud all the delectable delights he can have with goat meat.
As we all know, the little goat strikes a bargain with the troll. While congratulating himself on his ingenuity, the troll hears the bigger brother crossing the bridge. A similar scenario follows. (You'll be laughing so hard you can hardly breathe.)
When the third brother arrives, readers, like the troll, will be shocked. What happens to the troll is genius, a trio of trouble. Where are the goats you ask? The last line says it all.
All I can say is Mac Barnett must have had the grandest time writing this version. His knowledge of the tale is without question, but his interpretation is what we readers need. Laughter. It is delivered in spades with masterful pacing.
Jon Klassen's distinctive artwork initially leaves no doubt in readers' minds as to the grossness of the troll. We see him in his residence on the front of the dust jacket. On the back of the jacket his space is empty. The book case tells the twisted shocking truth. The opening and closing endpapers exhibit the dark and dreary world of the troll. The perspectives by Jon Klassen and the images' size are excellent, elevating the witty text.
Jon Klassen's illustrations were created with inks, watercolor, and graphite and compiled digitally.
At the publisher's website, you can view interior images including the open dust jacket. There is also a guide to using books about feelings and emotions and activity sheets.
Walter had a best friend named Xavier.
They shared favorite activities together like hiking and painting. They knew how to be quiet together. Their friendship meant everything to Walter.
One day, though, without Walter quite understanding what was happening, Penelope walked past Walter and Xavier. Xavier, without fanfare strolled away from Walter, seeming to prefer her company to Walter's. They did invite Walter to a ball game, but something had shifted in the relationship between Walter and Xavier.
Walter was despondent. He no longer went hiking or did any painting. And the quiet was haunting. He couldn't be mad at either Xavier or Penelope.
Then, one day, without Walter not quite understanding what was happening, the sun's rays warmed his heart. He decided to go hiking on a different trail. A voice called to Walter. That was all he needed.
When Deborah Underwood writes, she takes simple declarative sentences and imbues them with emotion. Her repetition of several words allows readers to see how change can slowly happen, but still have a huge impact. Deborah Underwood understands feelings and expresses them lovingly through her characters in this book.
There is no mistaking the artwork of Sergio Ruzzier. His use of pastel colors and whimsically rendered characters add an element of otherworldliness to his work. And yet, we identify with his depictions. The facial expressions and body postures on the characters in this book heighten the text. His smallest details, like the X + W on the back of the boat the duo is seated in, bring us closer into the story.
At the publisher's website, you can view interior illustrations. Enjoy a six question and answer interview with the author at author Erin Dealy's site.
On Monday, it starts to snow.
Silent swirling.
How high will it go?
On Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday, on Friday, and on Saturday, it snows. It gets deeper. The mounds get steeper. On Sunday, the snow stops but not before almost burying a very large animal
Another question is asked of readers? For each day of the week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the sun shines, it rains and the sun shines, again. The snow amounts begin to lower.
Each of the animals we met as the snow fell, a mouse, rabbit, fox, wolf, deer, bear, and moose, begin to appear again as the snow fades.
Hello!
It looks like spring is about to arrive or is it?
This book is a read-aloud gem with the patterns that are established by Kristen Schroeder. Days of the week are part of the first sentence beginning each passage, they are followed by a two-word alliterative statement, and then the question. This cadence reverses with the question asked when the snow stops. We have the days of the week in the first sentence, again followed by a two-world alliterative statement, but then the animal is noticed and greeted. When it seems like winter is shifting into spring, Kristen Schroeder cleverly adds a twist.
These illustrations by Sarah Jacoby made with
watercolor, chalky pastel, and Photoshop
pair superbly with the story. Their soft texture welcomes us into the animals' world. They are playful and animated, giving us a glimpse of their personalities as the snow falls, getting deeper and deeper. (If you go to her website, you can see the fabulous picture of the bear climbing a tree during the storm.) And, the expression on the bear's face when the twist is introduced is priceless.
IMAGINATION
Izzy Paints (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, November 8, 2022) written and illustrated by Tim Miller
At the publisher's website, you can download a teaching guide. Please visit Tim Miller's Instagram account to view interior pictures and some process artwork for this book.
Izzy likes living in a big city.
There is a lot to explore.
This little koala notices a museum in the big city. There in the large central hall, Izzy begins to walk around noticing paintings and sculptures of all kinds. (Some look very familiar.) Izzy feels inspired. It influences her.
Traveling home, Izzy starts to think. She is thinking she could be an artist. She opens a closet at home and selects her medium and tools. She is ready to make art!
Looking at the blank canvas has her stumped. What should she paint? Seeing the sun shining outside is just the motivation she needs. She dips into one color after the other, using a variety of painting techniques, scribbles, drips, dots, and on and on.
Izzy lets everything she feels on the inside come alive on the outside when she paints. Wow! She knows what to do next.
The short simple sentences of Tim Miller invite all readers into the story. His statements take us step by step into Izzy's awakening and the results of her artistic expression. Through his pacing we understand the difference between looking, seeing, feeling, and listening to art.
The artist used time, critical thinking, problem-solving, imagination, creativity, lots of paper, brushes, ink, watercolor, acrylic gouache, and digital hocus-pocus to create the illustrations for this book.
The bold, bright colors with the black lines are uplifting. We know this story is going to be wonderful. Careful readers need to notice the names of the businesses and what people are doing in their apartments. Inside the museum, they might see characters from other books. (Is that Snappsy? Or maybe a relative?) You might find yourself bursting into laughter at the menu in the museum restaurant. Look at the license plate on the yellow car. Readers will be rewarded when they remove the dust jacket to view the book case.
At the publisher's website, you can download four activity sheets. At the close of the book is a letter to readers from the author. She tells us the importance of letter writing in her life.
I love hugs.
I've been told I am really good at giving them.
This girl lists the kind of hugs she gives and tells us of the one hug she can't give. It is to her grandma Gertie who lives miles away. They chat on the phone and the computer, but it is not a hug.
There is a way to send a hug, though, she tells us. She gets a proper writing utensil, paper and other supplies for drawing pictures. You can make any combination of writing and drawing when sending a hug. It is your choice.
You fold the hug, place it in a jacket (envelope), address it and put on a ticket (stamp). You need to take it to a place where its trip starts. There is an assortment of those, but the
Hug Delivery Specialist
is the one who takes your hug and sends it toward its destination. At many of its stops there are a lot of hugs that need sorting and sending.
As she waits for her hug to be received, the girl thinks of all the hugs around the world and how they will be delivered and who will get them. She knows the best part of all----when they arrive and are opened and read. Okay, the very, very best part of all is getting a hug back!
Readers will be endeared to the character through the words penned by Hayley Rocco. By telling this story in the first person, we see the act of letter writing, sending a hug, through the mind, heart, and eyes of a child. What's not to love about a child that calls an envelope a jacket and a stamp a ticket? The girl's entire process is told in careful, explicit language. Sending a hug is an act of love.
Throughout the story, this little girl who lives in the country with a pond in her front yard has a goose for a companion. John Rocco is telling us she has a gentle soul. To enhance her voice in telling us how to send a hug, he has her look directly at us sometimes. His wordless double-page picture of the interior of a large postal sorting facility is fabulous. Banners and signs inside the facility refer to
hug delivery.
The opening and closing endpapers are vibrant childlike drawings in crayons and markers. On the bookcase is an interior image from the story showing people from around the world under a rainbow reading their hugs. Over and underneath the rainbow are hand-written letters. This is very moving.
At Penguin Random House, you can see the opening endpapers. This title is showcased on NPR Special Series Picture This. There are several interior images to view there. You will enjoy this article in Publishers Weekly about the collaboration when the cover was revealed. At Shelf Awareness, the two illustrators chat about their own friendship and their collaboration on this title. At the close of the book on the two dedication pages, the illustrators have notes you'll want to read.
I really don't care what you think of my hair
or my eyes or my toes or my nose
I really don't care
what you think of my boots
or if you don't like my clothes
These two girls with every page turn talk about not caring what the other thinks about them. They talk about singing, drawing, physical traits, houses, siblings, parents, and lunches. Then, it starts to become apparent that maybe, just maybe, the two can be friends.
The tone of their banter is getting friendlier. They start to tell each other what they do care about them. They start to point out the good in each other. Their compassion for one another grows.
They care how the other is feeling. They care about sharing. They care more about together than apart.
It is very easy to imagine two children speaking to each other with the words author Julie Fogliano has written. Their remarks are very personal. Julie Fogliano's ability to make this conversation rhyme is genius. It is almost as if they are chanting this to each other. With her writing, the shift in their attitude toward each other is subtle, but it is there. It is then we see that their banter was really a prelude to the symphony of friendship.
The artwork for this book was created with linocuts and graphite on paper.
The open dust jacket depicts the beginning and ending of the story beautifully. On the front we see the girls back to back, each standing in their own color. On the back they are holding hands and their color shapes are higher and overlap between them. On the book case on the left is the blue and white polka-dotted boots pattern of the one girl. On the right is the yellow and white flowered dress pattern of the other girl. The opening and closing endpapers also mirror the changes, going from graphite to a hue from the blend of blue and yellow. The lines and shading of each illustrator, Molly Idle and Juanita Martinez-Neal, are distinctive, but also share a similarity. As the story progresses the tree between the girls is no longer a barrier. It becomes a shared space. We see a shift in their relationship in the art first. There is a tiny yellow flower on the blue side and a blue pencil on the yellow side. The final image, of just the bottom of their legs and boots hanging over the tire swing in which they sit, is perfection. This is on the dedication pages.
At the publisher's website, you can view interior images including the covers of all three books.
Did you know that
we goblins can be
quite secretive?
We lurk in the shadows.
Yes, friends, Gilbert the goblin has returned. He is currently extolling goblin attributes but pauses to wonder why people are more fascinated with yetis! They might be mysterious, but there are lots of other mysterious things like what does the tooth fairy do with all those teeth?
Gilbert is going to take the mystery out of yetis by finding one and capturing it on his polaroid camera. As he climbs the mountain, he keeps seeing what he thinks is a yeti, but ultimately it is not. All the time he is doing this, yetis are watching him and following him. The higher Gilbert goes up the mountain, the weirder are the objects he finds that could be a yeti. A meditating mountain goat? A snowboarding unicorn in a puffy coat?
Gilbert at the top of the mountain gives up and shouts the title text causing an avalanche. He gets swooshed into a
secret yeti hideout.
What he sees down there will have readers rolling on the floor laughing. And they will ask you to read it again or they will read it over and over themselves.
Told entirely in dialogue (Gilbert's), the keen sense of humor of Alex Willan bursts off the pages. Gilbert's nonstop commentary and his logic propel the story to hilarious heights. Of course, in his never-ending wisdom Gilbert brings the story to a close saying he was right from the beginning . . . or was he? You might want to think twice about reading this aloud before bedtime because your listeners will be laughing too hard to sleep.
Has a goblin ever been featured as hilarious-looking as Gilbert? His huge eyes and large ears will bring on the giggles immediately. Alex Willan uses full color images, some in panels, others like the Yetis! map across two pages, and full-page pictures, edge to edge. The opening endpapers are a snowy background with blue yeti footprints in it. On the closing endpapers is a collage of polaroid pictures of Gilbert with the yetis.
At the publisher's website, you can download an educator's guide. The creator's maintain a shared website titled The Stead Collection. You will want to visit the creator's shared Instagram account to view art for this book and process art videos. Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead are guests on Kansas Public Radio Conversations with host Dan Skinner.
A mule,
a milk cow,
a miniature horse,
standing in a barn door
waiting for the sun to rise.
They stand there in companionable silence surrounded by silence. They then believe the sun is late which makes the farmer late and the miniature horse thinks they should check with Barn Owl about what they should do. That is what they do. Barn Owl is resting on the peak of the chicken coop.
So they won't miss breakfast, Barn Owl speaks to them about a quest they must take to the edge of the world. He also tells them to take Rooster. Mule, Milk Cow, and Miniature Horse are deeply concerned about this quest and the courage they will each need.
As they pass by each special marker Barn Owl mentioned, they start to speculate about dreams. Mule gives answers but is not really sure if they are correct until the final one. Mule knows the farmer's dreams are like their dreams.
This narrative by Philip C. Stead reads like a poem. Prior to each new shift in the story, he lists
a mule, a milk cow, a miniature horse.
This establishes an enveloping cadence. There is a soothing blend of narration by an unseen observer and the dialogue of each character. This story is an exquisite look at what is reality and what is not.
The artwork for this book was created with watercolor, pencil, and colored pencil.
The color palette chosen by Erin E. Stead gives a completely atmospheric luminescence to each illustration. When silence is spoken of in the story, her artwork is the essence of silence. Her animals are enchanting in their innocence and gentleness. She alternates the image sizes from full page with large white/cream borders to page and nearly one-half creating a column for the text and full-page pictures edge to edge. She enhances the text when necessary fashioning a fence with sheep stretching the entire width of two pages. She does this two more times in sequence when Barn Owl is speaking. This book cannot be read without a calm being created from the artwork alone, but the artwork coupled with the text is a thing of beauty.
