Nature Knows

Hours spent walking in the woods of northern Michigan, the past thirteen years with my canine companion, Xena, have taught me to be aware of her perceptions of our surroundings.  A sudden pause, nose uplifted, a refusal to walk in one direction or growling barks heighten my attention, my guard.  A unusual silence without insect chirping, frog croaking or birdsong is also a very clear signal.

For the sake of preservation creatures in our natural world are instinctively aware of shifts from the norm; keen observers every one.  Thousands of years ago in a small town located in Judea our feathered flying friends knew uncommon events had transpired.  Author/illustrator Tomie dePaola has written and painted a profoundly respectful portrayal of The Nativity for younger readers, The Birds of Bethlehem  (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Group).

Every morning, 

the birds of Bethlehem

gathered in the field to

glean any corn that might

be left from the harvest.

Pairs of birds, named for primary colors, a mix of same and the absence of color, have paused in their eating to share news much like their modern human counterparts gathered at the local coffee shop.  Yesterday extraordinary events were noticed, pieces of a greater whole.  Green bird and his mate relate how they have never seen such a long line of people walking along the hilltops.

Each bird in turn with their partner has a tiny tale to tell; yellow bird, blue bird, red bird, brown bird and white bird.  Perhaps due to the gathering of people it was noticed the town's inn was full; so full a man and his wife were taken to a stable.  According to red bird and his mate, an Angel appeared to a group of shepherd's tending their sheep, bidding them to go as fast as they could to Bethlehem to see a child lying in a manger.

Two more, roosting in the same tree, that same evening heard and saw a chorus of Angels proclaiming joyful news from the Heavens.  Amazed by the sight, the final pair of birds, the white birds, followed the shepherds to the stable.  Tied together, these tiny tales, create a remarkable story; a story which cannot be ignored by the flock who seek to see its ending.


If readers were to think of birds and their place in the scheme of the animal kingdom, they might assign them the duty of messenger; greeting the sunrise with song, sounding the alarm when predators approach young or their noisy chatter in flocks racing to their roosts at night.  Tomie dePaola's use of birds to tell his story feels exactly right.  His simple narrative is like a whispered conversation, an expectant hush falling over the gathering as each recounts the wondrous things they have seen and heard for the very first time.


Tomie dePaola's artwork is uniquely his own.  The silver foiled letters on the front jacket sparkle like the stars, the Star, on the Holy Night.  Rich shades of midnight blue, stars scattered across the pages, cover the endpapers.  Illustrations rendered in opaque acrylics on handmade watercolor paper have a texture to them; sand, wind, dry dusty heat.

Although his birds are green, yellow, blue, red, brown and white, the shades he has chosen for each are more those one might associate with the Mediterranean area.  All of the illustrations are two page, left to right, edge to edge, a panoramic sense, alluding to the greatness of this story.  The details of the arched window over the checkered base, the small figures of Joseph leading Mary on the donkey in the line of people on the hilltop, the heart-shaped leaves on the trees and the Star looking like a rose window over the stable contribute to dePaola's rich rendition of The Nativity.


Tomie dePaola's The Birds of Bethlehem shines as brightly as the stars on that night so long ago, eloquent in its simplicity.

Please follow the link embedded in Tomie dePaola's name above to enjoy all the extras at his website.  This is a link to the Community of Redwoods Monastery recipient of dePaola's dedication along with one of the residents, Sister Veronique.

Brrr...Zero?!

From seven o'clock this morning until seven o'clock tomorrow night the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for fifteen counties in northwestern lower Michigan.  With snow falling in some places to more than a foot, the cold will follow quickly on its heels with the wind cranking up to near blizzard conditions.  While we Michiganders are used to wintry weather, it's been so mild to date, this is going to be a shock.

With the knowledge of an impending storm there is an air of urgency and preparation in the businesses in our small burg.  There is also a sense of anticipation; the anticipation of what this weather will mean for inside and outside activities.  When you combine the talents of author Eileen Spinelli with those of illustrator Marjorie Priceman, a beautiful but chilly book like Cold Snap (Alfred A. Knopf) results, taking a look at another small town caught in Mother Nature's grip.

It was snowy cold in Toby Mills.
Ears tingled.
Cheeks were frosty pink.
Toes, too numb to wiggle.

It begins with piles of snow inviting the inevitable snowball throwing, making of snow angels and sledding down T-Bone Hill.  Exhausted, wet and cold the children are forced to head home as evening approaches.  This is Friday.

By Saturday newspaper headlines feature the weather front and center.  Soup and stew are the local diner's entree of the day.  Being inside is distinctly more appealing.

Even long underwear worn under dresses, earmuffs, scarves and cuddling with the church cat cannot keep the cold from coming inside the church on Sunday.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday find the thermometer dipping lower and lower each day.  The icicle which began as a drip on the tip of General Toby's nose is close to touching the ground.

The endeavors of the citizens of Toby Mills have gone from enjoyment to survival, complaints to the mayor's office mounting.  It's his clever wife who hatches a nighttime surprise, gathering the entire town on top of T-Bone Hill.  Young and old alike, all the names readers have come to know, meet and greet each other rejoicing in what they have missed.


Chronicling the days of a week, Friday to Friday plus one, person by person, Eileen Spinelli makes readers feel as though they, too, are members of this close-knit community.  We are privy through her descriptive phrases and word choices (puffballs in the frigid air, slogged through the slush, huddle-cuddled) of the cold getting colder and the townspeople's reactions to this frosty turn of weather events.  Our collective knowledge of cold, what we would be willing to do when faced with similar circumstances, even though Spinelli assigns specific actions to specific people, binds us to this story.  Her technique of measuring the cold by the length of the icicle on the statue's nose paints a picture in our minds.  Not without humor, the mayor's wife brings him his pink bunny slippers and blue bathrobe to wear at the office, we begin to feel a distinct chill in the air.


Beginning with the front jacket, two-time Caldecott Honor award winner, Marjorie Priceman, using gouache on watercolor paper, whips up a batch of icy, snowy, blowy painted pictorial pieces of Toby Mills. The perspective shown to readers when first picking up this book, overlayed with the rough, sandpaper-like feel of pressed shiny snowflakes, leads readers into this winter's tale.  Brightly colored endpapers, the town thick with snow, provide an invitation, a bird's eye view of the place and its people.

A two-page visual extending across the gutter to page edge tucks publication information beneath a snow-covered hill, wind howling as a person walks up and over, snow shovel sticking up behind with the title above.  Throughout most of the book the illustrations, covering two pages, provide readers with a rare richness, color choices pulling them into the story despite the cold.  Single page visuals are faced with a page of smaller pictures text above or below.  Extra details reveal emotion, motion and shivers from the cold that gets colder and colder.  While many of the illustrations are worthy of framing my two favorites are of the children snow-play weary going home at night through the village and of the mayor's office, the Moffat home and the movie theater advertising Long Hot Summer and Little Miss Sunshine with B. Y. O. B. (bring your own blanket).


Cold Snap penned by master wordsmith Eileen Spinelli with vivid illustrations by Marjorie Priceman is a first choice for snow day reading.  Whether you winter in this type of weather or have never seen a single snowflake, there is "snow" doubt you will wonder why you now feel a cool breeze passing.  The blended skills of two masters has created a perfect picture....a book for readers of all ages.

Please follow this link to the publisher's website for more illustrations from this title.

Interactive Imagery

One of the best lists I look for each year is The Best Web 2.0 Applications for Education gathered by Larry Ferlazzo, educator and blogger at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... An application he listed was also mentioned on Twitter in November by Heather Moorefield, Education Librarian at Virginia Tech and former chair of the American Association of School Librarians Best Websites for Teaching and Learning committee.  Believing a picture is worth a thousand words, only limited by the viewers imagination, past experiences, and access to information, when a web 2.0 application for using a single image becomes available, I am anxious to give it a try.

At the site Marqueed's stated goal is to aid the creative process by simplifying the sharing and discussion of images.  This service is free of charge and open to those who are 13 years or older (as long as they are human).  Features are:

• easily add multiple images
• add collaborators
• markup and discuss images
• activity feed keeps track of progress
• quickly grab images from other sites
• real-time notifications
• works with tools you already use
• snapshots of web pages and
• labels and descriptions keep you organized.

Click the orange SIGN UP, IT'S FREE! to begin.  Enter in your first and last name, email address and a password.  You can also sign up using your Facebook or Google account.

Upon signing up you are greeted with a three step pop-up window; upload images from your computer or grab from the web, add annotations and markups and invite others to collaborate.  When you close this window your dashboard appears.  Across the top are icons representing:  

• Collections Home
• Notifications
• Invite Friends
• Bookmarklet
• Add Marqueed to Chrome and
• Profile, Settings, Upgrade, Help, Bookmarklet and Sign Out.

Beneath these is a banner listing the number of your private and public collections.  To create my first collection I typed in a title and clicked the blue CREATE button.  Your collection workspace window appears.  

In the upper left-hand corner you can change your default setting of private to public.  On the right side names and email addresses can be added for collaboration and viewing of your collection.  To insert images on the board by uploading from your computer,  click the blue ADD IMAGES button on the right.  Images can also be brought in from the web by entering in a URL, from a Dropbox or Google Drive account.

Click on an image to begin annotating and marking.  (Before and after an image is altered, it can be edited (title, description and labels) or deleted by mousing over, forcing the icons to appear for each action. A new window opens for annotating and marking.

In this new window you can draw on the image (pencil icon) or create a box around it.  After you select a portion of the image, a text box pops up so you can add comments. (Note: Do not use the return key to add extra space.  Your comment will submit.) When your comment is submitted, another box appears underneath it; perfect for collaboration.

In the comment section if you wish to add a link to a website or to a YouTube video, it becomes active.  When you wish to share your project click on the green SHARE button in the upper right-hand corner. You can share via an email address, direct link or on Facebook. 

After you have closed the enlarged working window, you are taken back to the initial collection page.  All your added images are shown as well as the activity feed on the right.  Here is the link to my one image collection.

I enjoyed using Marqueed.  It could not have been simpler to use.  In the comments when website and YouTube video links became active, I was thrilled.

Students could use it as I did to highlight author or illustrator websites attached to a title.  If there is a book trailer for a title, add it in too.  Images of maps or places of interest could be annotated for projects.  I can see using this for author studies, genre exploration or maybe even for a Mock Caldecott project next year.   This is an exciting application and I highly recommend placing it in your virtual toolbox.

Batter Up!

It may be the middle of December, decades may have gone by, but the memory is as fresh as if it were yesterday.  One of the best days of my life was shopping with my Dad for my first and only baseball mitt.  Ever the practical man, not wanting my glove to get lost or blend in with the others, mine was black.  Many an hour was spent caring for the leather and placing a ball in the glove's pocket, fingers tied to form around the shape.

Softball season year after year made for sensational summers; me loving the thrill of throwing a ball to home plate from third to snag the out or running to catch a pop fly.  When Brothers At Bat:  The True Story Of An Amazing All-Brothers Baseball Team (Clarion Books, April 3, 2012) by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Steven Salerno, garnered a spot on the 2012 Nerdy Book Club Award Nominees list, I knew I had to read it.  It boggles the mind to think all the team members were from the same family.


WHEN WINTER'S CHILL melts into spring, back doors swing
open and slap shut as kids just home from school run outside---
mitts, bat, and balls in hand.

At the Acerra house the back door did not open and swing shut once but twelve times as all the brothers ran outside for a game of baseball.  Four sisters were part of this family, but never played ball.  It was the 1930s.

With a family of sixteen children their outhouse was a three-seater, beds were shared and dinner was like a church potluck, each looking for the first available seat.  But baseball...baseball defined their lives.  After playing high school baseball, in 1938 the oldest nine started their own semi-pro team with their father as coach.

Game after game, year after year, members of the team, the brothers, made their mark in the annals of baseball history; hitting home runs into the Atlantic Ocean, having a knuckleball no one could hit, or never competing against each other, a team in every sense of the word.  During the 1939 New York World's Fair this incredible family from New Jersey was honored, flown to the fairgrounds.

The downside of life did intrude in the form of a bad accident on the field and World War II.  But the Acerra family endured supporting one another even when separated by distance and time.  Finally reunited again, playing again and making history again, the Acerras drew huge crowds for each and every game until their last in 1952.  In 1997 their accomplishments were recognized on a national level, much to their amazement.


In her author's note, Audrey Vernick explains how she came to hear of the Accera brothers' story, how one evening she found herself having a spaghetti dinner with Freddie and Eddie.  I can only imagine the excitement of spending time talking with two of these brothers.  Her passion for their story, her skill at recreating the past for her readers is clearly evident on each page.

You can almost hear the sounds of ball on bat or glove, a runner sliding into a base or the narration of an announcer as Vernick writes in a friendly, one-on-one conversational manner.  Her inclusion of perfect points is what makes this a standout biography, enjoyable for all readers. She makes the family, the brothers and their brand of baseball live again.


Looking at the illustrations rendered with black crayon, gouache, watercolor and pastel with added digital color using Adobe Photoshop, by Steven Salerno one word comes to mind---stunning.  His blend of mediums, color choices, layout and perspective make the reader feel like they are surrounded by the past.  It's as if you've stepped through a time portal.

Shades of blue, green and golden yellow are prominent but Salerno does not hesitate to modify this if the narrative requires him to do so. Opening the story with a two page spread, he follows with a grouping of four smaller pictures and then two single pages changing his size to enhance the text.  Most of his visuals go to the page edge except for the small insets found with the text.

Salerno's ability to create New Jersey neighborhoods changing with the decades is first-class.  His four pages about the six brothers going to fight in World War II are brilliantly conceived.  While I have many favorites in this title, the last two pages showing the three generations playing ball, like the background, is golden.


Brothers At Bat: The True Story Of An Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team written by Audrey Vernick with illustrations by Steven Salerno is an outstanding picture book biography for several reasons, the easy, familiar accounting, the design, detail and skill used in the illustrations, the blending of the text with the pictures but most of all for the warmth the reader feels when they become acquainted with these brothers.  Reading this title makes you want to read more about the Acerra brothers, baseball, World's Fairs, or World War II because the past is so vividly brought to life.  I know for a fact I'm going to try to find my baseball glove.

Please follow the links to the author's and illustrator's websites by clicking on their names.  Steven Salerno has a fantastic display of illustrations from this title on his site.  Here is a link to A Classroom Discussion and Activity Guide.  Audrey Vernick had a special day at The Baseball Hall of Fame; article is linked here.  The video below was posted on YouTube by Audrey Vernick. It is actual footage of the brothers playing a game.

Carrot Craving Creature

A very special place exists on our planet.  Of the mammals living there, eighty percent are found nowhere else on Earth.  It has been proposed these unique forms of life thrive due to geographic isolation and climate.

This special place, home to these unique mammals, is, of course, the continent of Australia.  Calling the island their home are wombats; small bearlike creatures with a backward pouch for holding their young, diggers and herbivores.  Australian author Jackie French and illustrator Bruce Whatley introduced Mothball to readers first in Diary of a Wombat (Clarion Books, 2003), followed by Diary of a Baby Wombat (Clarion Books, 2010).

To the delight of fans of the two previous titles, Christmas Wombat (Clarion Books) was released in the United States two months ago in time for this holiday season.

I'm a wombat.
I live in Australia.
My home is a hole in the ground.
I enjoy sleeping, scratching, and eating.
Especially eating.
Especially eating carrots.

Wombat's usual routine of sleeping, scratching, more sleeping, feasting on grass and taking a meandering stroll is interrupted by several new objects and unusual critters but most of all...by the smell of carrots.  These aren't carrots recently picked from a garden.  These are carrots specifically left for the strange creatures, reindeer.

Wombat is not in the mood to share.  No siree, Bob.  A battle is waged with Wombat the victor.  Full of the crunchy orange goodness she settles in for a nap...on the runners of Santa's sleigh!

Home to home, those tasty treats are all hers again and again.  Chimneys don't seem to make the best wombat holes though.  Touring the world, finding the strange creatures can come in handy and not quite believing there are so many carrots, Wombat is delivered back to her hole where she falls into a belly-filled, wombat-style deep sleep.


Demonstrating the power of a simple phrase or a single word, Jackie French immediately invites readers to follow Wombat on her extraordinary journey.  The succinct deadpan narrative is in character with French's real life observations of wombat behavior.  From page one the humor begins and continues until the final word.


Relying on extensive use of white space Bruce Whatley's acrylic paintings on watercolor paper highlight Wombat flawlessly as she moves through her daily routine.  Showing her various positions as she sleeps, scratches, eats, strolls and runs are downright hilarious.  Movement is shown by following her routine from left to right ending with only her back-body portion shown on the edge as she strolls on.  At the turn of page we see her front-body portion as she gets her first whiff of carrots before breaking into a speedy advance.

Attitude and emotion are conveyed with an ever so subtle change in the eyes of Wombat and the reindeer, a shift in the pupil or eyelids.  Rich colors add further warmth to the story as do the little details of autumn leaves on the sleigh runners, holiday patterns on stockings hung on the mantle, Wombat holding a toucan's beak and the ribbons and holly decorating the reindeer at the close of the evening's ride. There are only two pages, side by side, where Whatley uses full color bleeding out to the edges; a starlight sky above the Earth, a portion of the sleigh with Wombat fast asleep, feet raised, on the runners.  It is one of my favorite illustrations in this title.


This Wombat knows and goes exactly where her nose takes her in pursuit of carrot cuisine.  Beginning with the front and back jacket and cover with carrots of all sizes wrapped in paper and bows, Christmas Wombat by Jackie French with illustrations by Bruce Whatley is a seasonal delight.  A perfect marriage of text and illustrations makes it nearly impossible to read without grinning from ear to ear or letting out a giggle or two.  I'm also wishing Santa would leave me a stuffed toy Wombat in my stocking to cuddle when I'm reading this book.

In Memoriam

Deeply saddened by the loss of life in Newton, Connecticut yesterday, my heart broken for all those families, Twitterville Talk #79 will not be posted this week.  Next week two posts will be on the blog.

The candle in this image is handmade by one of my students.  It was a gift to me at the end of school last year.  Today is the first time it has been lit.

No Ordinary Boy, No Ordinary Dog

Listen...did you hear a loud ka-boom?  Did a boy wearing a lab coat go running past?  Did that dog just talk?

If you answered yes to all those questions you have entered the world of Mal and Chad, an inventive guy genius and his talking canine companion.  Creations of graphic artist, Stephen McCranie, their third adventure was released on December 6, 2012.  With every turn of page Belly Flop! (Philomel Books) brings readers closer into the lives of this perfect pair of pals.


This episode begins with one of Mal's inventions going slightly haywire.  The small arm meant to come out from the top of his alarm clock and wake him up with a gentle tap on the head, pops out swinging.  Luckily Chad hits the snooze button before Mal ends up all black and blue.

Barely making the bus on time, he arrives at Einstein Elementary to sit in his favorite spot, the base of the large bust of Albert E outside the school.  It seems that his major crush (who barely acknowledges him), Megan is handing out birthday party invitations.  By the end of the day it looks as if Mal's awkward social skills will prevent an invite until his chivalry toward Megan attracts attention.  He's going to the party!

The dilemma of the quintessential gift, how to afford the purchase price, the use of the weather cube to do chores backfiring, getting caught on a windmill blade, a too-close encounter with his super-duper glue and an embarrassing dip in a pond, leave Mal feeling very un-cool, down in the proverbial dumps.  Never fear...Chad to the rescue.  Satisfying his craving for snow cones, Chad has been busy with Mal's weather cube.  One snowball fight, snow angels and an ice castle later all is well...or is it?

Still trying to win Megan's attention, or more, Mal masters a magic act for an entry in the school talent show.  A fiasco ensues involving a tarantula named Susan, a levitation mishap and a blizzard. Will Mal make it home in time to save his best bud from the out-of-control giant snowflakes and lightning hail?  What's a Musketeer doing in the middle of the blizzard?  Friendship, the true-blue-forever kind, in all its shapes and sizes triumphs.


Stephen McCranie's skills as a writer are obvious in the dialogue between his characters exhibited realistically, full of life and emotion; each statement revealing the speaker's personality.  Through conversations between Mal and Chad readers are privy to the deep affection and loyalty they share, one for the other.  The pacing from one speech bubble to the next is smooth, fast and completely engaging.


McCranie is an absolute master at designing the layout of his panels.  The panels on each page are placed together like pieces on a puzzle, the pages becoming pieces in the larger puzzle of the story. Alternating size to accommodate the moments, events and action and shifting perspective generate a pleasing whole.

Portions of the items in a panel move outside the edges to add interest, movement and enhance the flow of the narrative.  Lines in the text and visuals increase in size, width and boldness for emphasis.  Liberal use of sound words, onomatopoeia, draw the reader into the story.


My new copy of Belly Flop!: Mal and Chad 3 written and illustrated by Stephen McCranie is filled with dozens of small sticky notes extending from the pages marking dialogue and visuals I deem as memorable, outstanding in their delivery.  To be sure, the action, even in the day to day events at school, is non-stop.  But there are moments that will touch your heart and leave a mark.  This particular inventive guy genius and his canine companion have become treasured characters in my literary life.  Well done, Stephen McCranie.

Please follow the link embedded in Mal and Chad above to access the official website.