Forever Together

Sometimes it's hard to believe twenty-four years have passed since I lost him.  Not a day goes by without something he said, something he did or something he taught me finding its way into my thoughts.  He was well aware of the strength a woman, regardless of her age, needs in this world.  Much of the freedom and independence I enjoy is a result of him. 

Fathers, even when they age and even with their faults, are giants in the eyes of daughters.  Debut author illustrator Soosh presents a uniquely warm and loving relationship in Dad By My Side (Little, Brown and Company, May 8, 2018).  The voice of the child tenderly tells us of the importance of her father.

With Dad by my side,
there's nothing we can't do.

This man knows how to create laughter regardless of how ridiculous he looks.  He loves enough to value the time with his daughter over all other things.  The two of them are champions at venturing into new worlds. 

This dad offers compassion in times of sadness.  This daughter understands she needs to lend support for her dad, too.  Even when they are apart, they are together.

But he doesn't miss a single lullaby,
even when he's far from home.

Each of them is teachers and learners.  When they need to rest, they snuggle.  The stories this dad tells will linger in this daughter's memory for the rest of her life.  He has an uncanny ability to use any space to share time with her.

Like any Dad he dons the persona of superhero when monsters linger in the bedroom at night.  Each of them is helpers for the other.  Together, wherever they are and whatever they are doing, they are two halves of a wonderful whole.


Each lovingly crafted sentence by Soosh speaks to the simple truth of a daughter's affection for her father.  Their relationship is a true partnership based on unconditional love, each for the other.  The everyday activities in their lives are elevated to elegance through her words.  The narrative fashioned by these sentences asks us to appreciate those things we might not otherwise note.  Here is another sentence.

Eggshells in our omelets
don't bother us at all.


Rendered in watercolor on eggshell textured paper the illustrations seen on the opened dust jacket and throughout the title (I am working with an F & G generously supplied by the publisher.) kindle a feeling of compassion certain to envelope and stay with readers long after the story is completed.  Both of the pictures, the dad reading the newspaper with the girl and her doll on his back and the girl comforting her father as they sit on a bench (Their backs are to us.) to the left on the back depict an unbreakable bond.  The size difference between the dad and daughter further demonstrates symbolically and literally how an adult can understand the true nature and heart of their child.

The opening and closing endpapers replicate the walls in their home.  On the first one the daughter has drawn a picture of them with a bird and flowers.  It reads DADDY   ME.  On the final endpapers, author illustrator Soosh speaks to readers about this book.  Beneath the text on the title page the dad is floating on his back, swimming, with his daughter seated on his generous stomach.  Both are wearing red baseball caps with their suits.  She has a pennant with a skull and crossbones on it in her hand. 

Each image, no matter the age of the reader, will reach out and find a spot to rest in their heart.  The delicate details, the soft colors, the body positions and the activities represented are familiar and familial.  There is not a single one not worthy of framing. There is not a single one which will not offer the opportunity for discussion.  By placing most of the visuals on a white background, our eyes are immediately drawn to the daughter and her dad.  Sometimes Soosh will have the text opposite the illustration or above or below it.  The font color throughout is red.

One of my many, many favorite pictures accompanies the sentence about them cooking omelets.  They are working at a long table shown with a thin top, two legs and a single shelf.  On the shelf are a pot, pitcher and a cup.  Other utensils are visible.  You can see a stool on the left side of the table stacked with books.  The daughter used it to climb on top of the table.  She sits there wearing a chef's hat like her dad and holding a wooden spoon inside a bowl.  Three eggs are near to her.  Her dad also has a wooden spoon in a bowl to the right of her.  They are looking at each other.  A broken egg is on the floor.


Without a doubt, Dad By My Side written and illustrated by Soosh is going to be a much-requested favorite.  It honors the relationship between a father and his daughter with unmeasured gratitude and abiding affection.  You can almost hear the sound of the girl's voice as she chats with us about her and her dad.  You are going to want to have this title in your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Soosh and this book, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Once there you can visit her YouTube channel to view her videos about her work.  Then you will get lost in the wondrous images on her Instagram account. 

Summer Gold

Two meals were consumed today on the gray, weathered steps of a wrap-around porch on the front of a large log home.  It was like being a turtle on a log soaking up the spring sunshine beneath a startling cloudless blue sky.  A chorus of chickadees supplied a cheery song from the nearby woods.  Clusters of daffodils scattered on the front lawn nodded in the wisp of breeze.  The promise of summer was in the air.

The work of insects is beginning but their jobs will start in earnest when all the buds burst forth with blossoms.  One of the most welcome sounds is the familiar buzz of bees as they gather nectar.  To see, touch, smell and taste Mother Nature's ambrosia is sheer heaven.  Honey (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, March 27, 2018) written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein is a delightful complement to the first title, Leaves, featuring Bear.

It was his second year.
"I'm back!" he said.

After his long winter nap, Bear was hungry.  As he was looking for a meal or even a snack, his mind thought of honey.  Every single aspect of honey, every descriptive phrase, floated through his conscience.  He had to have honey!

Peering in the hole in the honey tree yielded no results.  It was not time for honey.  As he tried to banish honey from his immediate attention, it seemed as if everything reminded him of it.  He ran to look at the tree one more time.  No honey.

The heat of summer warmed his world.  Storms crashed in and out.  He remembered how much he enjoyed the rain.  It felt wonderful.  He checked the tree again.  No honey.  And this time he paid the price of sticking his nose into an active hive.

To find relief from the heat he played and relaxed in a pond and a waterfall.  The days of the summer season were passing.  One day Bear heard a glorious sound. He could not get to that tree fast enough.  There was HONEY!  All the sensations associated with this sweetness returned. One grateful bear was filled with joy, memories and of course, honey.


A cadence as sweet as honey is supplied by the word choices of David Ezra Stein.  We completely understand Bear's desire for honey.  Everything in his world reminds him of its deliciousness.  David builds anticipation with the repetition of the word honey and

But it was too soon for honey.

His introduction of other summer activities assist Bear in temporarily forgetting about the liquid gold.  We gladly share these moments with Bear who finds joy in all he does.  Here is the passage describing rain.

With a rush came the rain.
He had forgotten how good a rain could be.

It splattered on his head
and shivered down his back.


The magic associated with seeing a familiar face on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case is going to have every reader smiling.  The curiosity on Bear's face watching the bees buzz around the honey tree is like us watching a pot of water come to a boiling point. The title is varnished and raised for emphasis.  The loose lines and soft watercolor washes are signature David Ezra Stein.

To the left, on the back, on a canvas of white is a small interior image beneath the words:

Celebrate the gifts of the seasons with Bear!

Praise for Leaves (5) follows.  The blue shown on the front becomes the color on the opening and closing endpapers.  An island, Bear's home, is shown on the title page.  Spring is pushing through the remaining mounds of snow.  On the verso page we move in closer to the top of the island.

David continues using a crisp white background for all of his illustrations rendered using a bamboo pen, watercolors, and a hint of white acrylic.  Most of his images appear on a single page; some with a loose frame and others with no frame.  His two-page pictures are sure to have readers smiling at the way Bear embraces his life.  You can't help but fall in love with Bear through the portrayals of his daily adventures.  His body postures and facial expressions are full of merriment and completely up-lifting.

One of my many favorite images is when Bear is remembering all the excellence of honey.  In this particular single page picture he is seated in a tree in full bloom.  He has plucked a flower, admiring its smell.  David Ezra Stein has a variety of shades of pink, orange, red, yellow and green embracing Bear.  Three bees are buzzing around the blossoms.  It's as if Bear has sunk within a feather bed.  The words beneath this visual, reading like poetry, are:

spicy, aromatic,
sparkling with sunlight--- 


For a theme or discussion about the seasons, summer, bears, honey or appreciation for the natural world, I highly recommend Honey written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein.  David's depictions of Bear will find a place in your heart.  His words will have you reaching for the nearest jar of honey and longing just a little bit more for the soothing days of summer.  I hope you will place a copy of this in your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about David Ezra Stein and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  David has a lot of extras at his website as well as a link to his Facebook page. At the publisher's website you can view a single interior image.  David is interviewed at The Children's Book Review regarding this book.

Capturing His Culture

If there is ever any doubt in your mind about one person's ability to effect change in the lives of many, all you need to do is read a picture book biography.  Authors writing picture book biographies and illustrators creating the artwork for these volumes, immerse themselves in a particular person's life, taking note of the historical context in which they lived.  Everything must be as if we are stepping back in time.  And when we do step back in time through the pages of a book, we are captivated and amazed.

To know these people walked among us during our lifetimes, or the lifetimes of our parents or within Earth's history is to hope atoms of their essence have found a place, even a very tiny place, within us.  You have to wonder about the inner spark which inspired them and fueled their passion.  Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art (Candlewick Press, February 13, 2018 written by Barb Rosenstock with illustrations by Claire A. Nivola is one of those picture book biographies which will leave you astounded at the accomplishments of a single human being. 

On the continent of Asia, near the mighty Himalayas, in the Punjab region of long ago, sat the tiny village of Berian Kalan, the place Nek Chand Saini called home.

As a child Nek Chand Saini played as did the other children in his village.  His father and mother wove stories in and out of his life no matter the season.  His sisters and brothers filled his mind with visions of magical geese and fierce jackals and chattering monkeys.  And during celebrated holidays traveling storytellers told their tales.  These stories became a part of his art when he took what nature provided fashioning great buildings and landscapes fit for the characters he knew so well.

Nek grew up becoming one of many moving through life in his village.  Farming was his trade.  Tragedy struck in the form of a split in his beloved country.  Part of his country became India and the other part became Pakistan.  Hindus were not welcome in Pakistan so Nek and his family left everything behind traveling for twenty-four days to the new India.

Farmers were not needed so Nek worked his way forward to becoming a government road inspector and with this job he moved to Chandigarh.

Twenty-six villages were bulldozed flat to build Chandigarh, a sharp-edged city of colorless concrete.

Nek's heart was still in his village.  He longed for that life.

Without the knowledge of the government (it was not permitted); he began to clear an area, a half-acre, outside of the city.  He built a small hut and began to collect found objects, remnants from the previous villages.  He did this for seven years!  Then he started to build, recreating those places he remembered and loved.

No one knew of Nek's kingdom for fifteen years.  When government officials found it, they threatened to destroy everything. People can sometimes surprise you.  They did surprise Nek.


With each reading of this book my admiration grows for Nek Chand.  Barbara Rosenstock takes factual threads of his life weaving them into an eloquent portrait.  Her sensory words draw us into his world.  The use of specific details heightens the authenticity.  Here is a passage.

On the banks of the village stream, Nek built a world of
his own.  He dug silt palaces and spilled waterfalls, molded clay
goddesses and planted stick kings.  He found rocks shaped like
jackals, monkeys, and geese, and made them pounce, scamper, or fly.


The delicate flora with fruit, birds and a monkey nestled in the leaves framing Nek as he rides his bike on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case offers a hint of events to come.  It also generates questions.  Who is this man carrying an oil drum?  Why are there broken pots, a bicycle wheel, and other abandoned items in this clearing?

To the left, on the back, a photograph of a portion of the secret kingdom is shown to readers framed in a very fine blue line and surrounded by pristine white.  This same blue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Between areas of text on the title page one of Nek's statues is displayed with three birds resting on the arms and head.

Each illustration rendered in watercolor and gouache by Claire A. Nivola is an intricate, elegant work of art.  Readers will find themselves pausing at the two-page pictures and single page images filled with details.  Sometimes several smaller visuals will be grouped across two pages to convey the passage of time.  Emotion is conveyed in the selection of colors for each depiction.  A breathtaking four-page gatefold will have readers gasping in awe at the illustrator and Nek Chand.

One of my many favorite pictures is the one accompanying the noted text. A pale blue stream winds from the right and down across the bottom and up along the left side of a two-page illustration.  On the sandy banks on the left two women are washing their vibrantly colored clothing.  On the remainder of the sand Nek has made a city with elements found in this area.  His attention to every single element is astounding.


To know this man was alive for most of my life causes me to feel a great gratitude for author Barbara Rosenstock and illustrator Claire A. Nivola for making Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art.  Without their efforts I might have never learned about this man's passion for art and his inspiring deeds.  I highly recommend this for your professional and personal collections.  You will want to share this as often as possible.  There are two pages dedicated to an author's note and to an extensive bibliography.

To learn more about Barbara Rosenstock and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  At both Penguin Random House and Candlewick Press, you can view interior images.  Candlewick Press has a link to biographical information about Claire A. Nivola.  Barbara Rosenstock wrote a post for the Nerdy Book Club, A Book's Job.  She also wrote about this title at PictureBookBuilders, Sculpting a Picture Book.  You'll want to check out the links included for projects connected with this title.  At author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson's blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, she chats with Claire A. Nivola in one of her famous interviews in 2011.  The link to the Nek Chand Foundation is here.



Don't forget to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected this week by those participating in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

If You Build It . . .

For some children making and having friends is no easy endeavor.  For any number of reasons some of them are more reserved.  Others are louder than any situation warrants which tends to drive people away (but there is usually a reasonable explanation for the high volume).  There are girls and boys who struggle to find like-minded people.  They are indeed marching to the beat of a different drummer which is a good thing but it can be lonely.

Sometimes watching the friendships of others flourish offers hints on how to acquire friends.  Mary Had A Little Lab (Albert Whitman & Company, March 1, 2018) written by Sue Fliess with pictures by Petros Bouloubasis is an ingenious twist on the classic nursery rhyme and song.  When the line between wanting and needing becomes blurred, the mind can make marvelous masterpieces.

Mary had a little lab.
She tested and created.
While other kids were at the park,
she built and calculated.

One day Mary momentarily tired of creating and wanted to spend time with a friend.  To her dismay she had no friends.  Watching a group of children with their pets gave her an idea.  She rode her inventive mode of transportation to a farm.  She tucked a bit of wool into a test tube and went home to her lab.

Mary worked and worked building a contraption she named the Sheepinator.  It had a bunch of buttons, tubes, wires and levers.  It was powered by a bicycle (of sorts).  The wool and a special concoction were added with care.  Mary spun the wheel with the strength of her legs and feet.

After several notable loud noises filled her lab, a creature came forth from the machine.  Mary finally had a friend, a soft, cuddly sheep.  Now this sheep was no ordinary sheep.  It was loyal and extremely helpful.  He followed Mary to school (which is no surprise).

The teacher and students loved that sheep as much as Mary.  The other children wanted one too.  Back at the lab the Sheepinator was busily making sheep.  Wait!  The Sheepinator was malfunctioning.  There were sheep everywhere.  Resourceful Mary with the help of her new friends knew exactly what to do.  She also had a new theory to try.


Even children not familiar with the majority of nursery rhymes and songs will most likely have sung with joyful abandon the words to Mary Had A Little Lamb.  Sue Fliess spins a tale within an unlikely setting giving us a reason for the origin for the sheep and continues with an invention gone awry.  In her character of Mary all readers will connect to being lonely and wanting a friend.  Children will admire the manner in which Mary uses her love of science.  Each of the stanzas, poetic portions, rhymes on the second and fourth lines, each linking to the next flawlessly.  Here is a stanza.

The sheep assisted in the lab
and often helped with chores.
He carried all the groceries
and buffed the kitchen floors.


As soon as you see Mary with the quizzical expression on her face on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case, you know something is not quite right.  And on closer inspection one of the sheep does happen to be wearing protective glasses.  Mary's abundance of curly red hair, lab attire, complete with rubber gloves, the pens tucked into her pocket, and the lab glass with the pink brew inside present an intriguing premise.  (You might want to take note of what one of the sheep is eating.)  Mary and the text are varnished.

To the left, on the back, the tiled classroom floor provides a background for two tables and chairs.  The four students can hardly believe a sheep is sitting next to Mary at her table. On the opening and closing endpapers the tiled floor pattern is done in green with some white squares.  Beneath the text on the title page is a picture of Mary's lab.  It looks like a charming cottage except for the gizmos popping out of the window, the wall and roof.

Each illustration, some on single pages and others on double pages, are brimming with a blend of tiny, delicate lines and bold colors.  The color palette selected by illustrator Petros Bouloubasis reflects warmth and cheer.  He alters his perspective to enhance the narrative.  Everyone will love those woolier than wooly sheep with the spindly legs and small heads.  You can't help but smile and you might even laugh out loud when you see them.

One of my many favorite illustrations is on a single page.  The background is the rose walls of the lab.  In black, like a silhouette, a machine is featured.  All the details on the machine are in white.  Hanging overhead is a single lightbulb.  Mary is wearing her signature blue lab shirt and coat, rubber gloves and glasses.  She is also wearing a construction helmet.  Her tongue is out of her mouth as she concentrates on the job at hand.  Her sheep is next to her on the left and also wearing protective glasses.  He is holding a wrench in his mouth.


To use when talking about science, innovation, friendship, nursery rhymes and songs (fractured and original), Mary Had A Little Lab written by Sue Fliess with pictures by Petros Bouloubasis is an excellent choice.  Mary is sure to inspire scientists and others who admire imagination.  I believe this book would be a delightful addition to professional and personal collections.  You might want to pair this with Mary Had a Little Glam (Sterling Children's Books, August 2, 2016) written by Tammi Sauer with illustrations by Vanessa Brantley-Newton.

To learn more about Sue Fliess and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  At the publisher's website you can view several of the beginning interior pages.  The book trailer for this title is premiered at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  You will really enjoy the conversation between the two of them.  Mary, the featured character, is interview by Podcast Bunny Presents #5. Teacher librarian Matthew Winner helpfully hosts.

Nighttime Numbers

Like a beloved lullaby there are favorite bedtime books.  The combination of words and illustrations sing to a sleepy soul.  Each phrase is a melody gently wrapping around the reader or listener.  These books are as important to a good night's sleep as a fluffed pillow, a cuddly stuffed toy or a soft blanket.

If you walk into a bedroom, next to the bed on a shelf or nightstand, they will be stacked in a place of honor.  Sleep Train (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, April 3, 2018) written by Jonathan London with illustrations by Lauren Eldridge is one of those special titles.  As an engine pulls the cars down the track, a reader begins a ritual sure to lead to slumber.

Sleep Train
Jiggling down that track.

Ten sleepy cars
going clickety-clack.

Our narrator, a boy reading this book, states with the assurance of someone who has read these lines multiple times; one of the cars is his car.  One by one he names the cars and gives them a number.  First and second are the tender and the boxcar.  They are attached to cars numbering three and four.  Each of them has a specific use.

As the train rolls through the countryside the sounds of cows mingling with the sounds of the train make a tune all their own.  Two more cars, a hopper and a gondola, are recognized by the reader.  One has a color so brilliant, it's worth noting.

With eagerness numbers seven, eight and nine are listed.  All those sleepy cars are followed by the caboose,

a moonlit red.

Where is the reader?  Is he in number ten? Yes, he is!

He's in a particular place for those numbering the cars of a Sleep Train.  He counts and he counts, getting sleepier and sleepier.  Good night.


No stranger to appealing text for the intended audience, Jonathan London (the Froggy series) sends a soothing note to readers with his first three phrases.  His rhyming rhythm recreates the swaying of a train as it moves down a track.  It gently lulls us.  The repetition of key words enhances the peaceful cadence.  He also gives readers practice in counting from one to ten as well as acquainting them with the names of cars which can be found between the engine and caboose.  Here is a passage.

There's a flatbed car (that makes seven!)
and a coach with seats.
And there's a dining car
where everybody eats.

Now so far . . .
that makes nine---
nine sleepy cars 
rocking down that line.


When readers open the matching dust jacket and book case on Sleep Train they see spread before them a glorious nighttime sky replete with stars, a shimmering cloud of smoke from the engine's stack highlighting the dimensional title text.  When your eyes move to the left, on the back, the remainder of the cars and the caboose stretch behind.  A full moon hangs in the sky to light the tracks, train and waving prairie grasses.  The color palette here, and throughout the book, is rich with hues of blue, purple and red as the sun sets, dusk begins and darkness descends.

The opening and closing endpapers are a muted rose in two shades.  A pattern of tiny stars cover the background. The title page features the narrator, a boy, snuggled with his toy rabbit on his bed and holding this book.  Through his window we can see city buildings.  The dedication and verso pages showcase an image stepping back, giving us a larger view of his room.  Lauren Eldridge, illustrator, has tucked some wonderful Easter eggs in this scene.  Be sure to look at the child's bookshelf.

In an informative paragraph Lauren talks about how the illustrations were meticulously created by hand using such materials such as cardboard, paper, plaster cloth, acrylic paint, polymer clay, wire, wood, and acrylic eyeballs.  The boy's pajamas were hand sewn. She goes on to say:

Each environment is composed largely of household items, including an upside-down patio table, faux fur, Dixie cups, and washers.  The images were shot with a Nikon D7200 35mm and 10-24mm wide angle, and digitally manipulated.

All the illustrators span two pages, page edge to page edge.  We, like the boy and the train, are on a journey.  Each setting is photographic in detail. Birds fly across a sky gorgeous with the setting sun.  Cows rest and graze next to the train tracks.  A station master lifts a hand as the train travels past.  Each of the cars bears their correct number.  When we see the child in his car on the train, it's a blend of reality and a dream world.  The final single page image is like a sigh.

One of my many favorite pictures is of the train passing by an old grain elevator.  The elevator is set slightly to the left of the center on the right side.  The perspective moves closer to the engine on the left with cars numbering one, two, three, four and five getting smaller and smaller as they pass by the elevator.  A group of birds soars in the sky as if following the train as it makes its nightly trip.  The sky is shown in shades of blue, pale purple, pink and orange.  It literally glows.


Whether used with other counting books, titles about trains or a treasure to be tucked among other bedtime books, Sleep Train written by Jonathan London with illustrations created by Lauren Eldridge is a marvelous ode for all those seeking sleep.  The illustrations elevate the lilt of the text; together they are a tune to remember.  I can't imagine a professional or personal collection without this title.


To learn more about Jonathan London and Lauren Eldridge and their other work, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  At the publisher's website you can view an interior image.  You will want to read the interview of Lauren at Brightly.  It contains information about her process.  She also chats about this book and her art at Publishers Weekly.  Lauren has an account on Twitter and Instagram.

From The Sea

When you get into the groove of a daily routine, you usually fail to notice some worthy sights in the scenery of your world.  We tend to focus our thoughts on the past or the upcoming future instead of living in the present. We also are not looking for anything out of the ordinary.

We would never expect to see a giraffe loping along the side of the road in the northern Michigan woods.  It would be a rare happening to see an alligator strolling down the street in Times Square, New York City.  The debut children's book of author Lucy Branam with illustrations by Brazilian artist Rogerio Coelho, Roof Octopus (Sleeping Bear Press, March 1, 2018), is a marvelous, imaginative exploration in the unexpected.

It started with a tap at the window that woke Nora up.  Out she looked and there it sat.

It was not a pigeon.  It was not a bald eagle.  It could not fly.  It was not anything anyone would normally see on the roof of an apartment building in the middle of a city.  It was a HUGE octopus!

She rushed into the kitchen to tell her parents.  At first they did not believe her but then a tentacle came into view outside the window.  Down at street level all the neighbors and Nora's family were looking up and offering a variety of opinions as to the reasoning behind an octopus occupying the apartment building roof.

Nora, unlike the others, befriended the octopus.  It's liked Nora too.  Ignoring the octopus did not cause it to leave.  It was there all day and all night.  It started to help the neighbors with their daily chores.

The thing it did which the children loved the most was when a tentacle would curve in the air and provide them with a swing.  One day, filled with joy and affection for the octopus, Nora asked it to come to her school for a visit on the following Friday.  Can you wonder how she felt when it said yes? Can you understand how shocked she was when the octopus was gone the next day?  Would she ever see the roof dweller again?


There is nothing so welcoming to readers as the beginning of a narrative which quickly leads them to a stunning situation. Author Lucy Branam does this with complete ease taking us into the story with her realistic descriptions and perfectly normal dialogue.  Readers will readily identify with Nora's acceptance of an octopus on her apartment roof.  Adults will knowingly nod at the adult characters' assessments of the current state of affairs.  Here is a passage.

Nora cleared her throat.  "Excuse me, there's an octopus on our apartment."

Her father stopped pouring batter and looked out the 
window. "An octopus ON our apartment?"

Her mother looked out too.  "I don't see anything."  Then a 
tentacle dropped down from above and wrapped itself
around the fire escape railing.


If you don't gasp when you look at the matching opened dust jacket and book case, you're not looking closely enough to the intricate artwork and excellent design and layout.  The placement of the other buildings, the arches in the windows on Nora's apartment building, the curled tentacles on the octopus and the crescent moon all contribute to a glorious first look at this book.

To the left, on the back, on dark blue is an interior image.  It's a more panoramic view of the building with the octopus on the roof.  The neighbors are attempting to ignore it.  The opening and closing endpapers are a pristine white.  On a white background the text on the title page is a shade of purple.  Beneath the words are a row of rooftops in a variety of colors with the sun touching the tops, giving them a glow.  On the book's final page those buildings continue along the bottom.  Above them is the publication information.  There are three tentacles curled down from the top.

All of the illustrations span two pages.  Readers will stop at every page turn, astonished at all the tiny elements in each image replete with elaborate details.  Everything inside and outside the apartment building is colorful, reflecting a beautiful and stylistic architecture.  Rogerio Coelho alters his perspective giving us a more far-reaching view and then bringing us close to the characters.  Both of these approaches bring us deeper into the story.

There is a special uniqueness to the shapes of the people heads and their facial features.  It does not detract but enhances the narrative.  Rogerio Coelho presents us with people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.  It enriches the telling of this tale.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the octopus stays on top of the apartment roof all day and all night when it first appears.  Rogerio Coelho gives us a bird's eye view of the cityscape with the buildings, streets and cars.  Birds glide through the air during the day on the left.  At night the crescent moon hangs in the sky on the right.  Nora's apartment building begins in the middle of the page on the left, crosses the gutter and continues about a third of the way on the right.  The octopus is sitting on roof, covering it completely with tentacles dropping over the edges and curling.  With a smile on its face the octopus is sleeping.  The colors shift from left to right from day to night.  It's a very clever way to portray the passage of time.


There won't be a single child reader who will not believe this story is the absolute truth.  They have a gift of suspending reality in the best possible manner. (And adults will wish it would happen, too.)  Roof Octopus written by Lucy Branam with illustrations by Rogerio Coelho is sheer delight.  At the very least you'll be checking your roof more often.  And you will be much more aware of living in the moment.  Otherwise you might miss something extraordinary.  You will want to have a copy of this on both your professional and personal bookshelves.


To learn more about Lucy Branam and Rogerio Coelho and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their website and blog respectively.  Lucy maintains an Instagram account. Rogerio Coelho has several interior images on his blog.  At the publisher's website you can view the first eight pages.  Lucy Branam is interviewed at Chapter 16, a community of Tennessee writers, readers & passersby.

Girl Power Graphic Novels---The Blog Tour

Being asked to participate in the First Second week long event showcasing graphic novels championing female characters is indeed an honor.  During this five day tour twenty sites are offering posts about one or more individual titles or new titles in a current series.  All readers will find something to like about these stories and the lively individuals coming to life within the pages.

Machine parts, candles, Jell-O and desserts are made using molds.  This does not work well when applied to people.  In fact the idiom, they broke the mold, implies uniqueness in characteristics.  Certainly when one follows their passion, building on their gifts, and loves doing this, they have probably stepped outside any predetermined role for them.

In the spring of 2012 readers were introduced to a young girl, a character, who most definitely does not conform to expectations.  She, her brother and best friend burst on the children's literature scene in Giants Beware! (First Second, April 10) written by Jorge Aguirre with illustrations by Rafael Rosado.  The entire crew plus royalty numbering seven returned in Dragons Beware! (First Second, May 12, 2015) written by Jorge Aguirre, illustrations by Rafael Rosado, story by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado and color by John Novak.

The third book, Monsters Beware! (First Second, March 13, 2018) written by Jorge Aguirre, art by Rafael Rosado, story by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado and color by John Novak continues The Chronicles of Claudette with a powerful edge-of-your-seat adventure.  Claudette, her brother Gaston, who loves almost nothing more than cooking and Marie, the daughter of the Marquis who does not want to go to finishing school, are selected to represent Mont Petit Pierre in the Warrior Games due to Claudette's clever and quick thinking.  No one at this time is aware of the extreme danger the entire kingdom is facing.

A long time ago,
in a town not too 
far away . . .
A young girl from the Mountain Citadel
moved to Mont Petit Pierre.

Because of her undeniable battle skills . . .
. . . she was chosen to represent the town
in the elite WARRIOR GAMES, along with a
boy named Augustine and a young marquis.

Gaston is reciting this story of his mother who through saving the lives of the two boys gets Mont Petit Pierre banned from the Warrior Games until now.  What the reader will learn is she married Augustine, Claudette's and Gaston's father, but later was lost.  Eight teams are competing in the games.  All the members of the teams appear to be ready, willing and able except for Gaston and Marie.  Claudette, on the other hand, is brimming with confidence, enough for all three.

Hilarity begins on the first day when instead of battling monsters the event is butter churning. The Marquis's wife has persuaded him to change the events due to their daughter's participation.  As the day closes the mystery begins.  It seems the team from The Great Lakes Kingdom has vanished.  That night Gaston (and readers) witnesses a horror.

The next day during truffle hunting the danger to everyone escalates at top speed.  No one, not even Claudette, believes what Gaston and now Marie have seen.  Evil is lurking under disguise.

A final competition changes everything for the trio after Claudette makes a hard choice.  But oh, readers this is not the end.  The captivating conclusion will leave you breathless and cheering.


From beginning to end, every single conversation, every piece of dialogue, crackles with excitement, humor and the strength of friendship and family (good and evil).  Jorge Aguirre writes with the sure knowledge of his audience weaving his story to reach as many readers (and listeners) as possible.  You can't help but feel as though you have been invited to participate in the tale.  This third book, full of unexpected twists and turns, will find a special place in your heart.  Here is a passage.

Can't you convince the Marquis to pick me for the Warrior Team?
Please, Poppa! Please!!!
I could win the games
for our town.
I'm a winner.
Winning is my 
thing.
  
There are more
important things than
winning, Claudette.

Sure...
There's also
honor, glory,
and bashing
monsters for
the fun of it.
But winning is 
my main thing.


There's no doubt about the personality of Claudette and her determination to be a champion when you view the front of the cover.  We know evil is lurking in the foreground but we're not sure what (or who) is there yet.  Marie, Gaston and Valiant, the dog, let us know whatever it is; we might want to think about running.  This is what illustrator Rafael Rosado conveys with excellence.

The panels range in size to depict superb pacing.  Sometimes smaller images are placed within a larger picture.  Speech bubbles contribute to the emotions of the characters in each sequence.  Point of view enhances those moods.  We move from humorous to absolute fear in seconds.

One of my favorite illustrations of many is a small panel among four on a single page.  Claudette is looking completely aghast at the fact they are looking for truffles instead of battling monsters.  She is wide-eyed and downcast sitting next to an overturned wooden bucket.  She is leaning on the top.  Valiant is on top next to her arm.  It's her expression which will have readers laughing out loud.  Rafael Rosado is a genius with facial features.


Once you start Monsters Beware! written by Jorge Aguirre with art by Rafael Rosado, story by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado and color by John Novak you won't be able to stop.  These characters and their adventures are like family.  I highly recommend this title and this series for both your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado please visit the series website by following the link embedded in Jorge Aguirre's name.  At the publisher's website you can view interior pages. There are many others links in the blog post about the second book referenced above but this interview at The Beat Comics Culture is not included.




If you thought you might be through with monsters, you are most certainly not. Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter (First Second, April 3, 2018) written by Marcus Sedgwick with art by Thomas Taylor is about an orphan girl whose famous monster hunter parents were killed in action.  Her problem is she is not allowed by decree of the Royal Academy for the Pursuit and Eradication of Zoological Eccentricities to hunt for monsters.  She is too young.

Midnight . . .
The Academy has announced that another monster is on the loose.

I really think you ought to put your seat belt on, Miss Hart.

Scarlett is riding in a car affectionately called Dorothy with her butler named Napoleon.  He resides with her and Mrs. White the housekeeper and cook at Ravenwood Hall.  They do indeed encounter a monster who favors gulping down humans but before they can nab it and claim the reward, their nemesis, The Count, gets a picture of the monster claiming the kill.  Why didn't Scarlett get it first?  She saves a human child at the scene.

If Scarlett is caught hunting by the Watch (police) they could lose everything.  Does that stop her from hunting or Napoleon from going to T. R. A. P. E. Z. E to get word on the next monster?  It does not.  Each time they track down a monster, they know it could be their last time.

One evening Napoleon mentions a secret book called The Codex Monstrorum which explains why the monsters came.  The story hints it might offer an explanation about Scarlett's parents' deaths.  What Scarlett discovers about the book and the dastardly person who possess it, could spell disaster for their entire city.  There's more than one kind of monster.

Marcus Sedgwick does not disappoint as a graphic novelist.  At his website, a link which is attached to his name, you can access a micro-site for Scarlett Hart Monster Hunter which is wonderful.  Don't miss the site of illustrator Thomas Taylor.  He has lots of links relative to the artwork for this title.  You will be leaping from your seat at seeing some of the scenes.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images. 

This title is full of non-stop action from the first page as a monster gulps down an unsuspecting sailor on the docks and it rarely stops until the surprising ending.  You will read the final word and smile and hope there is a sequel being written.  Readers are going to gobble this up like monsters.




More than half way through The City on the Other Side (First Second, April 24, 2018) written by Mairghread Scott with art by Robin Robinson I can safely say I might stay up all night to finish it.  The time is not long after the huge earthquake in San Francisco on April 18, 1906.  We humans attribute it to scientific causes BUT . . .

There is a war being fought in the land of fairies between the Seelie and the Unseelie Courts.  It is quickly easy to understand why one side needs to win over the other.  It is the timeless battle between good and evil.

A girl, a human, discovers she has the ability to pass through the veil from her world into the realm of fairy.  She is the key to stopping the war.  She has a quest to complete.  She has allies, one unexpected but she also has powerful enemies.

Readers won't want to miss this title.

Please follow the links embedded in the creators' names to access their websites.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Mairghread Scott and Robin Robinson are interviewed at Book Riot, Comicosity, and The Beat Comics Culture.