Rafael López : Guest Blogger on TeachingBooks.net

From TeachingBooks.net Guest Blogger: Rafael López describes his illustrative process, developing art for Monica Brown's Tito Puente Mambo King/ Tito Puente Rey del Mambo due from HarperCollins in 2013. I love the textures in Rafael's paintings and the abundance of rich color. There's magic there too. I like that his art is public -- he's done stamps, murals, posters, as well as books.

Review -- Nature and Nonfiction

I'm not a real bird enthusiast, but possess a casual interest. There's a pair of horned owls at our RV park and I don't tire of listening to their eerie sounds or trying to catch a glimpse of them nesting in the palm trees.  I've become more acquainted with birds of the desert as the park is full of doves, cactus wrens and, my favorite, Gambel's Quail. These three titles about birds caught my casual interest.

The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: a birder's journal 
by Sallie Wolf, designed by Micah Bornstein
Charlesbridge 2010
Hardcover Nonfiction
Ages 9-12

This is a lovely book of poems and more about bird identification and behavior, a textual and visual record of observations designed like a actual journal. The poems are brief, only a few reach 16-18 lines, and are mostly descriptive with some thoughtful, emotional overtones. The ink drawings and watercolors leave an immediate, ephemeral feel as if they were swiftly done rather than studied. Quick but not sloppy. The arrangement is by season, beginning with spring. Alongside the free-verse poems are an occasional haiku, lists of birds seen, and short notes such as "April 23 -- First sighting of a white-throat -- I've been hearing them for about 3 days." The poems appear in a traditional serif font, while notes and lists are hand-written. The journal-like feel is carried throughout. A note reads "Illustrations done in watercolors and pen and ink on Sallie's original journal pages and on handmade paper, then scanned and manipulated in Photoshop." I appreciate the author sharing her love of nature in such a creative way.
from one of my favorite poems "Robins Take a Bath"
Fluffy fledglings preen their feathers.
Four birds fly away.
Freshly groomed and tidy robins,
finished for the day.

Nest, Nook and Cranny
by Susan Blackaby, illustrated by Jamie Hogan
Charlesbridge 2010
Hardcover Nonfiction/Poetry
Ages 9-12

This one's only peripherally about birds, really. It's focus is animals and their habitats. The chapter headings -- Desert, Grassland, Shoreline, Wetland, Woodland -- each have a double page spread illustrating representative animals in the habitat. The untitled poems are a combination of free verse and various forms. Rather than noting the forms on the page where the poem appears they are noted in the back matter in a section titled "Writing Poetry" which also includes useful information about ideas and writing techniques like alliteration. The effective, black & white illustrations, done in mixed media and pastels and charcoal, complement and don't overwhelm the poems. One I like begins "The sweetest home sweet home must be a hive,/Humming with activities of bees. They never wipe their feet when they arrive;/They track their tacky nectar where they please." A gratifying melding of science, art and literature.

An Egret's Day
by Jane Yolen, photographs by Jason Stemple
Wordsong/Boyds Mills, 2010
Hardcover Nonfiction/ Poetry
Ages 9-12

Here's another appealing combination of science, poetry and art informing readers about the striking Great Egret, a migratory bird of the heron family. Double-page spread include a poem, short paragraph of factual information, and one or more stunning photographs of the bird in flight, on trees, in the water. As the title suggests the finely-crafted poems follow egrets from morning through evening and provide thoughtful observation. "Close-up" begins "As conscious of his beauty/As any Hollywood star,/The egret poses." and is accompanied by a head-and-shoulders shot of the bird, white feathers tinted with a rosy glow. The image, words and design work beautifully together. This is Yolen's and Stemple's fourteenth book together and they are a fine team.

Thanks to Charlesbridge and Raab Associates (for Jane Yolen's title) for providing review copies.

NYT Best Illustrated

The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2009 were announced today. I think they’re great choices – I usually do. But sometimes, while I feel the choices are marvels of illustration, I wonder about real child appeal. Not so with this year. Several of my favorites are listed, including the gem All the World. The only title I don’t know is White Noise, but David Carter is known for some incredible pop-ups.

Review -- A Tree for Emmy

A Tree for Emmy
Written by Mary Ann Rodman and illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Peachtree, hardcover, March 2009
Picture Book

A simple story about appreciating the wild natural world and the satisfaction of realizing one’s desires.

Emmy loves trees of all kinds, though it’s the mimosa tree at Gramma’s that really grabs her. Her imagination is ignited by the mimosa’s strong low branches, its fuzzy pink blossoms and the rattling seed pods. Best of all the mimosa is “stubborn and strong, and a little bit wild. Just like me.”

Emmy decides a mimosa of her own is a perfect birthday wish and her parents do their best to find her one. But mimosas are considered wild and so they’re not available at garden centers. Disappointed, the family visits Gramma and unexpectedly Emmy finds her own mimosa, a seedling growing wild and free. The last page presenting an older Emmy watering her beloved tree (now taller than her) is a testament to time passing, patience and a nurturing heart.

Lovely designed papers used for just the right amount of collage add whimsy and create visual interest and texture against the watercolor art.

Thanks to Peachtree Publishers for providing a review copy.

ALA Midwinter or Keeping Warm in Denver

I had a very pleasant flight to Denver yesterday and was relieved I didn't require snowgear but happy I brought along gloves. I had a meeting this morning, then walked over the convention center and spent the afternoon walking exhibits, collecting galleys. I don't think I've seen half the children's and ya publishers but I collected enough galleys to fill a bag and a half. I sorted through them tonight and 3 titles have risen to the top of my pile: Fetch by Laura Whitcomb (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic); and Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev (Feiwel and Friends.)

I read samples of many picture book titles I hope to get review copies of:
Button Up!(Petra Mathers has long been one of my favorite artists)
When Its 6 o'Clock in San Francisco
The Travel Game
Steady Hands
Bubble Trouble
Darwin
Red Sings From the Treetops
Little Panda
OK GO!
Only a Witch Can Fly
Big Cat Pepper
A Chair for Always
All in a Day
Hello Baby
Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude
Song of Middle C

A fine year is ahead of us!

On the Wing

Monarch and Milkweed
by Helen Frost and illus. by Leonid Gore
Atheneum/S & S, hardcover, $17.99
ages 4-8

A couple of years ago I did a project for an author who had written a children’s book about butterflies and so I have more than a passing knowledge of the many butterfly books out there, worthwhile and not so.
Monarch and Milkweed is special for many reasons – its story; the masterful pairing of text and art; the book’s design. Listen to the beginning – yes, read it out loud – “In a patch of dirt behind an old red barn,/ Milkweed stretches into warm spring air./ Its roots reach deep and wide,/ its stem points to the sky. (Next page) Monarch spreads her wings and rides the wind --/ past white and yellow daisies, across a creek,/ heading north.” And that lyricism continues throughout as the story describes the symbiotic relationship between host plant and butterfly, neither overshadowing the other. The illustrations of acrylic and pastels are mostly full page, with some spot art contributing to the book’s pleasing design, and in a larger-than-life scale that pulled me in. The natural colors are muted and there’s a textured effect (from the type of paper?) that I really liked. (The cover image distorts the color some.)
The author’s note tells us the story begins with the final generation on one northern journey and ends with a monarch in the next generation, as that monarch is leaving Mexico to begin the journey north the following spring. In addition, the endpapers illustrate the monarchs’ migration patterns north and south. Monarchs continue to fascinate us because of their beauty and mystery. While this title illuminates that mystery for young ones, it also retains some of nature’s wonder.

Get Along, Little Doggies

Buster goes to Cowboy Camp
By Denise Fleming
Henry Holt

I read this book out loud to our road dog Molly to see what she thought. She loved the colorful pictures, and she always likes to look at other dogs, but I have to say she wasn't fond of the subject matter in this one. It's about a cute dog named Buster, whose owner is going away and so decides that Buster will go to "cowboy camp" at Sagebrush Kennels. (Molly doesn't even like to IMAGINE being away from us two - her pack).

Well, Buster doesn't like the idea either, and he is lonely and homesick at first...but guess what? He smiles at another dog one morning, eats some breakfst, does some canine arts and crafts and plays some games - before the reader can say "Yee Haw!, Buster is having a fantastic time.

Obviously kids can relate to this toddler-type separation anxiety, so it's a great book for that, but it's also just a good solid story to read aloud. And I can tell that Denise Fleming had great fun doing the pictures, showing the dogs playing Buckaroo Ball, gathering sticks for a fire and "paw painting" their very own "Wanted" posters.

Third One's the Charm

The day's half over here in MST and I'm just getting around to posting a review for Nonfiction Monday. However, I discovered that my first choice, Women Daredevils was already included in the roundup (well done Fuse#8!)and my second choice, Pale Male as well (likewise A Patchwork of Books). So I cheated a bit and grabbed a previously-written-but-not-posted-on-the-blog-review.


Little Lions, Bull Baiters and Hunting Hounds: a History of Dog Breeds
written and illustrated by Jeff Crosby and Shelley Ann Jackson
Tundra Books
Ages 7-12

This richly illustrated overview documents how world history and culture, geography and human needs have shaped the many domesticated breeds we know and love today. Over fifty breeds are discussed and pictured, grouped by four main categories, according to their original purpose. Within the categories – hunting, herding, working, and companion – many well-known breeds appear as well as more unusual ones. Did you know that Puli, whose thick coats form cords like dreads, will jump on top of sheep and run across their backs in order to get to the other side of the herd? Or that Neapolitan Mastiffs were used as gladiator dogs in ancient Rome, but now make a gentle, loving family pet? Along with the interesting descriptive histories are beautiful paintings of the breeds in their natural surroundings. This book is great for browsing whether it’s because you love dogs or you’re thinking of adding a dog to your family.

Stars in My Eyes

My Friend, the Starfinder
written by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Atheneum/Simon and Schuster
ages 4-7

I've been reading George Ella Lyon's stories for a long time and so many of them are "keepers" for me, both picture books and longer novels. I love her use of language -- the way her poet's voice comes through -- and her unique characters always come alive for me through her words. Anyway, you can tell I'm a big fan and her newest picture book leaves me tingling.

In it a young girl has a good friend – they dance together and she listens as the old man tells incredible stories from an old green porch. “The stranger they were/ the truer he looked/ and I believed every one.” Her narration is straightforward, though never letting go of wonder, as she tell readers about the time he found a falling star “. . . warm and smooth/ as an egg straight from the hen” and another time a rainbow “. . .color pouring/ over him/ cool/ warm/ striped/ air”. Gammell’s illustrations are some of his finest, using splatters, drops and washes of bright colors on the pages showing the elder and the girl contrasted with black and white pages infused with light on the pages illustrating the finds he made as a younger man. Read and hold tight to stories, friendship and wonder. Read it out loud.

Oh, one more thing. There's a real Starfinder in George Ella's life whom she talks about at the end of the book.

Nonfiction Monday Review

Down the Colorado: John Wesley Powell, the One-Armed Explorer
Written and illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray
Frances Foster Books/FS & G
Ages 8-10
Map, author’s note, chronology, bibliography

I'm joining the many bloggers in Nonfiction Mondays, a roundup found at Anastasia Suen's blog Picture Book of the Day.

Art and story present a portrait of one of the great explorers of the west. A series of brief chapters (a full page illustration and facing page of text) relate in straightforward language Powell’s early life as the son of an abolitionist preacher; his home-schooling by a self-taught naturalist and growing love for the outdoors; his late teens and 20’s spent teaching and as a student of the natural sciences; time fighting in the Civil War and losing an arm; and his first trip to the Colorado Rockies leading a university field trip. A second trip to the Rockies and exploration of the Upper Colorado led him to his plan for exploring the river’s unknown canyon. Preparations and then the exciting, dangerous journey make up the second half of the book with dramatic paintings adding to the adventure and capturing the unique landscape of narrow canyon walls and river rapids. Excerpts from Powell’s writings add another historic layer and also personal nature to the story. After 99 days, 1000 miles and 500 rapids Powell and his remaining crew of five men arrived at the mouth of the Virgin River in Arizona. He made a second expedition down the Greene and Colorado Rivers, later served as the first director of the Bureau of Ethnology and Director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

I’m writing this at a campsite in Zion National Park with the Virgin River 20 feet behind me. It’s a different canyon with different challenges and explored earlier than the Grand Canyon but it lends some perspective on this incredible feat and I acknowledge as the author does, the courage, determination, and strong need to explore the unknown that these men had to complete such a expedition in small wooden boats.

Some Book Reviews

Superheroes, written and illustrated by Maxwell Eaton III, Knopf/Random House,early reader
The adventures of Max (a boy) and Pinky (a pig) continue in this second episode. They decide to play superheroes, first practicing the right moves and dressing the part, and then becoming Mighty Max and his sidekick. “Wait, ‘stubby sidekick’?” Pinky gets mad over his second rate status and quits, but when he discovers Max in trouble, he’s able to prove just what a first rate superhero he is. The text is laugh-out-loud funny with much of the humor taking place via speech balloons. My favorite is while they’re trying on superhero outfits and Max asks “How come you get the good hat?” (Well, you have to see the illustration!)The bold, brightly colored art and black outlined figures add to the fun. Kids will relate easily to the ups and downs of these “best buds”.

Samsara Dog, written by Helen Manos and illustrated by Julie Vivas, Kane/Miller Book Publishers, picture book
Few picture books combine sadness, suffering, love and joy like this one. Based on the Buddhist concepts of Samsara and Nirvana, the many lives of Dog are presented as a natural process that children can easily grasp and understand. When we first meet Dog he’s living on the streets, loving and trusting no one. In later lives his circumstances vary – he’s with a motorcycle gang, a mountain rescue team, a juggler, four lively, young girls – and the relationship he has with each owner shifts a bit. Lastly, Dog learns the most important lesson of all as he lives a full and happy life with a boy who loves him and depends on him throughout the boy’s adulthood. Julie Vivas’ soft watercolors capture the emotionality of each of Dog’s lives, significantly adding to the story.
It was hard to read this without an “adult” head or without some anthropomorphizing on my part -- I’m such a dog person. Each reading brought tears because there’s no denying this is a sad book but there’s hope too, and I felt such comfort and joy knowing that Dog knew compassion.



Front Porch Tales and North Country Whoppers, written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, Putnam/Penguin USA, picture story book
DePaola celebrates his love of northern New England in this modern tall-tales collection of stories and jokes. The humorous tales are arranged by season and each section ends with a cartoon-strip depicting a tourist’s interaction with the locals. DePaola’s familiar illustrations appear throughout, focusing on the beautiful landscape and the taciturn, practical people. His use of regional dialect like “fahmah” and “hewse” adds to the down home flavor of the tales. You don’t have to be a New Englander to enjoy this collection!

Congratulations!

Today I learned from the CCBC list serv that Vera B. Williams was chosen as the recipient of the 50th Regina Medal. Happy congratulations to her! I love her work for it's honesty and inclusiveness; her understanding of children; her use of color and emotive art. "More More More!" Said the Baby has remained at the top of my favorite picture books list for years and Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart is exceptional.

Wild About Books

We kicked off our plan to visit as many children’s bookstores as we can during our RV travels with a stop in Kansas City at The Reading Reptile. Wow – what a fantastic store! Large scale paper mache characters from favorite children’s books abound, hanging from the ceiling or resting on the floor -- Peggy Rathmann’s Gorilla, Cassie from Tar Beach, My Father’s Dragon, a Giving Tree. There’s a HUGE map of the US on the ceiling, each state brightly colored. A spacious room is divided into smaller spaces through the arrangement of bookcases, tables and chairs, as well as the giant characters, and there are many alcoves brimming with unique touches and decorations – dioramas embedded in the shelves, sticker and bead trimming , a small table lacquered with illustrations and verse from Eloise Greenfield’s Daydreamers. We’ve never seen a store with so many personal touches that reflect the owners’ sensibilities. Many titles were displayed face-out, inviting easy browsing. I discovered a new title by Patricia Maclachlan and her daughter Emily, Fiona Loves the Night ; a delightful picture book with pitch perfect rhythm matched with bold art. Bobbie was pleased to find a copy of Byrd Baylor’s I’m in Charge of Celebrations which she was just talking about the day before. She read the passage about coyotes aloud to me.

We introduced ourselves to Pete who owns the store with his wife Debbie. He told us we could see Chris Crutcher the next day if we were in town. Darn! We need to continue heading west to make it to Reno in time for the AASL conference. He gave us bumper stickers anyway.

The store is so welcoming to both adults and children and creative in both appearance and programming. Be sure and visit the web site for more info and the irreverent musings of Bitterman.

Parades and the Zoo

Picture books featuring a spontaneous parade are not a new idea but The Great Doughnut Parade written and illustrated by Rebecca Bond (Houghton Mifflin) seems wholly original. Billy and his doughnut collect all manner of people and animals, rendered in watercolors with an old-fashioned senisibility, the white space becoming more and more crowded as the story builds. It's a delighted and delightful bunch, "all jumbled and tumbled with snortles of laughter,"and you can see how the language captures the pure joy of the assembly. Billy happily slips away for his original purpose; a quiet fit ending. Why do I like this picture book so much? The simplicity of the story, its spirit aand joy, and language that begs to be read aloud.

Adam Rex made me laugh out loud with Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (Harcourt) and my 9 year old nephew thought it was one of the best books I've given him. His new title, Pssst! (Harcourt) is funny in the same dry humor kind of way. A young girl visits the zoo and as she walks through various animals request different things -- odd things -- from her, bats want flashlights, penguins ask for brightly colored paint, and sloths need bicycle helmuts. "Lucklily there was a store across the street that sold everything." What all this is actually used for is a surprise (believe me!) The conversation with each animal always begins with "Pssst!" and a page of dialogue panels follows. Alternating are two-page spreads of line drawings and limited spot color, showing the girl meandering through the zoo. The signage is hilarious, though some of the references may be lost on kids. Look for "Camel-lot" and "I am the Walrus (koo-koo-kachoo)" What an inventive lark!

Little Books

I spent time on the weekend packing, due to an upcoming move. Books take forever to pack up, don't they? I'm incapable of moving books from shelf to box in one smooth motion; instead I need to thumb through pages, or read a forward, or look at illustrations. I remember when I first read a title (or maybe why I didn't) and consider re-reading some. Time passes.



I dusted off and packed up a collection of little books, some miniature, a few chunky board books and tiny boxed sets. I haven't collected these, they're titles I've acquired because I liked the size, the way they fit in my hand or just because I liked the story. They sat on the top of a high bookcase, nestled between a pair of funky bookends with smallish versions of Mudge, Strega Nona, Max, Lilly, Wendell and others sitting about. Reminds me of a bookshop. There's the Nutshell Library, Peter Spier's Little Cats, Emily Mouse's Garden, I Like You, Good Night Little One, and one of my favorite books of all -- The Animal Family. I know I'll read that one again and again.

more practice. . .

Here I'm trying to populate labels for posts -- some of the common ones we'll use often. Of course we'll talk about books here; what we love and why; and what we're reading. The We in We Love Children's Books are Laurina Cashin and Bobbie Combs, and we're both fortunate to work with many different people in the children's book industry -- publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors and illustrators, publicists, staff with wholesalers and associations. We like our broad perspective.

Our reading sometimes overlaps but generally I read picture books and young adult fiction, whiles Bobbie gravitates more to middle grade and younger ya. Bobbie steers clear of edgy and problem novels, I can't abide those chick-lit series and we're both cautious with novels in verse. We both read fantasy, though Bobbie is more widely read than I. I just finished an ARC of The Crow (Books of Pellinor) by Allison Croggon, Candlewick, which I will re-read it because I read it way too fast. These books -- Crow is the 3rd of four I believe -- are stellar, and while I read quickly to find out what happend, the story and writing deserve more time. Our nonfiction reading takes us all over the Dewey map. We hope to step up our audio listening when we begin our road adventure -- more on that in a later post. We love movies and happily attend movies made from children's books. We saw Stardust the other night and thought it was wonderful -- well-acted and a good adaptation. And we will be first in line for The Golden Compass.