Defying Societal Expectations: Red and Wolfie

Red:  A Crayon's Story, written and illustrated by Michael Hall.  It's really impressive how much emotion Hall brings to this story (narrated by a pencil) about a crayon defying expectations...and the label slapped on him.  The crayons have no faces but the emphatic text and the crayon's evocative child-like drawings help give the book a poignant immediacy.  The titular character has been labeled "red" but its attempts to draw, say, a fire truck or strawberries, go wrong because in fact inside he is actually the color "blue."  The other crayons of various colors, representing other students and the crayon's patient yet concerned parents, try to help to no avail.  Soon the crayons become downright gossipy, and Hall has a ball with the spreads showing them exchange comments about our misunderstood hero.  A real sense of melancholy enters the tale when a pair of scissors, masking tape, and crayon sharpener try to fix what might be 'broken inside."  Just when all seems lost, Red meets a new Berry-colored crayon friend who sees him for who he is and it all leads to an ending that soars, quite literally.  This beautiful book about self-discovery resonates, and has already emerged as one of the strongest picture books of the new year.

Wolfie the Bunny, written by Ame Dyckman, and illustrated by Zachariah Ohora.   This nervous charmer of a book also stars a character, a wolf, who rises above stereotypes and defies societal expectations.  The story begins when a rabbit family (loves Mom's cool glasses and Dad's hip hat) discovers an adorable baby wolf in a basket on their doorstep.  Horrified, their daughter Dot warns about taking the abandoned cub in, shouting that he will eat them all up, but her parental units ignore her and adopt the furry creature with big teeth.  This new addition scares Dot's friends, follows her around, and makes her life rather miserable.  But of course a sweet resolution allows Dot to not only accept her new sibling, but protect him as well (helping her defy some societal expectations as well).  Dyckman's lively concise text pairs beautifully with Ohara's bold acrylic paintings, creating a memorable tale of newly found friendship that begs to be read again and again.  The many fun touches in the art (I love the sloth with a broom in one drawing, the smiling carrot on the Carrot Patch store window, the rather scary shadow on the wall behind Wolfie's head accenting Dot's fear of him, and so on) invite playful investigation and provide a satisfying emotional arc.  A winner!

2 Great Bear Stories: The Bear Ate Your Sandwich and Goodnight Already!

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich, written and illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach.  So you left your sandwich alone and when you returned, you discovered that someone has gobbled it up.  Who was the culprit who devoured the tasty delight?  A narrator (unseen until the final 2 pages) spins a hilarious and unlikely convoluted yarn blaming a bear who somehow made a wild trek from its beloved forest all the way to the urban park bench where your sandwich sat, waiting to be eaten.  Using acrylic paint and pencil, Sarcone-Roach creates illustrations that are both comical and lovely, with striking spreads capturing the bear's journey in the back of the truck (packed with delicious berries) all the way to the park and then returning home in a boat.  The bear emerges as one delightful character, playing on swings, going down a slide, and also--quite dramatically--gulping down the sandwich.  The author/illustrator gives the reader a great surprise ending that shows just who this narrator actually is, and this reveal brings the book to a whole other level of fun cleverness.

Goodnight Already, written by Jory John and illustrated by Benji Davies.  Excellent comic timing is hard to pull off, which makes this hilarious look at a duck keeping its bear pal from going to sleep all the more impressive.  Davies' illustrations set the tone right away, with a lovable bear yawning, holding its pink stuffed bunny, on the title page.  A flip of the page shows a small house with a yellow light in its window on the left side of the book, and a much bigger house looking dark, ready for nighty night.  And then we turn the page and on the left, a bright yellow page shows a duck reading "101 Ways To Stay Awake" and drinking what is probably the strongest coffee in the world.  On the right side of the book, we see a more somber drawing of the bear telling the reader about how it could sleep for months.  What follows is an amusing conversation, written with finesse by Jory, between the two friends--the beleaguered bear keeps trying to sleep, and the persistent duck attempts to keep the bear awake.  The duck bombards the bear with questions like "Wanna play cards?" "Watch a movie?"  "Start a band?"  and the bear answers each query with "No."  The book has a great comical rhythm, and Davies shows the duck in various positions and guises.  After these rapid fire exchanges, there's a beat with the duck relenting...but not for long.  Fresh and funny from start to finish.

Picture Book Star of the Day: Author/Illustrator Lauren Castillo

Nana in the City, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo (2014).  Castillo deservedly won a 2015 Caldecott Honor for this lovely, humanistic first person story about a boy who loves his Nana, but does not love the noisy city where she lives.  When Castillo first introduces the child, she gives him a look of constant worry and fear, although Nana looks comfortable, smiling all the while.  We see the urban milieu through his eyes though:  graffiti, a booming jack hammer, crowded subway.  After the grandma makes him a red cape designed to make him feel brave, he dons the new article of clothing--instant courage!  One of my favorite spreads shows him twirling his fancy new cape, looking braver by the second.  Now, as they walk together, the boy smiles, runs, and sees the beauty of a city park, people playing music, friendly dogs, and--in one cool drawing--a dancer break dancing.  Nana also teaches him how to help a person in need.  Castillo's brilliant watercolors capture the child's emotional journey from fear to delight, with one spread of a sparkling downtown bursting off the page.  It all leads to a poignant ending that promises more adventures with Nana.

The Troublemaker, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo (2014).   Castillo had not one, but two great books in 2014.  In this hilarious charmer, she uses pen and ink with acetone transfer to tell the tale of a boy, bored out of his wits, who decides to play a game of pirates with stuffed raccoon toy Rascal.  However, this game involves stealing his sister's toy rabbit, blindfolding it, and sending in a boat off to sea.  Mom finds out and is not happy, asking him to hand the now soaking wet bunny to the angry sibling.  The presence of a REAL raccoon brings the story to another level--this furry creature steals the rabbit but when the boy says "Wasn't me", the other characters, strikingly presented in shadow in one spread, don't believe him.  The rascally raccoon starts stealing other objects too, causing distress.  Awww, what a moment of sadness there is when we see the boy missing his toys and the sister missing her bunny.  Will he ever find the thief?  Castillo gives readers a very funny ending.

Melvin and the Boy, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo (2011).  Using acetone transfer with markers and watercolor, Castillo gives young readers a sweet look at pet ownership and respecting nature.  A boy asks his Mom for a dog, pointing at a hipster guy struggling with a large pooch on a leash, and she replies "Too big" (love the city landscape the author/illustrator creates).  On the next spread, we see the boy at a zoo and laugh at a monkey that has grabbed a man's hat.  When the child asks for a monkey, his dad responds "Too much work."  The kid sees pets all around him, and Castillo has fun with this idea--we giggle at a spread that shows children walking not just dogs and a cat, but a llama and a hamster as well.  The story's main drama kicks in when a turtle the boy meets at the park starts following him.  The creature seems just right, except things don't work as the boy had hoped after he adapts the turtle, now named Melvin.  And a gentle lesson about keeping wild animals in the wild follows, delivered with grace and in a child-friendly manner by Castillo.

Alfie Runs Away, written by Kenneth M. Cadow, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (2010).  When we first meet the boy in this funny story, he is already in a foul state.  Cadow's protagonist does not like a lot of things (baths, setting the table, eating potatoes) and now Mom has crossed the line:  she wants him to give up his favorite shoes that he has now outgrown.  Castillo does an excellent job capturing his sadness and then his rebellious nature--he is going to run away--WHILE WEARING THOSE SHOES!  Cadow's words and Castillo's illustrations work together beautifully here, giving us a situation that becomes more and more comical as it goes on with the mother helping him pack all the objects he will need for his journey.  She knows (and the reader knows) he won't get too far.  It all leads to a moving ending.

The Reader, written by Amy Hest, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (2012).  Castillo has shown in her work that she can masterfully design landscapes both urban and rural.  Here she helps create a nice cozy, wintry vibe when illustrating Hest's very sweet look at a boy, accompanied by his beloved pooch, who travels through the snow on a special mission.  What is he trying to accomplish?  He has a sled.  He has a suitcase filled with something special.  He is heading for a high hill.  The dog Castillo introduces might be one of the most adorable ever in a children's picture book--I love the spread with the canine jumping, playing in the snow, chasing a rabbit, carrying a stick.  You can feel the animal's happiness bursting off the page.  After the boy lugs that suitcase up the hill, we discover the reason for the journey, and it's a beaut.  Hest's charming words and Castillo's brilliant ink and watercolors give the reader moments of pure beauty and joy, and then an ending that soars with triumph.

Picture Book of the Day: Bunnies!!!

Bunnies!!!, written and illustrated by Kevan Atteberry.  In this wonderfully silly romp, a horned creature becomes overwhelmed with ecstatic joy when it sees a bunch of multi-colored bunnies (so excited the title merits three exclamation points).  Atteberry first shows the lovable monster-like protagonist saying hello to a tree and a bunny-shape cloud, and then a butterfly the color of the puff at the tip of its tail.  Then the creature sees something amazingly monumental.  When we flip the page, it yells "Bunnies!!!", thus startling four adorable rabbits (and the aforementioned butterfly, now spiraling out of control thanks to the creature's outburst).  Atteberry keeps the prose simple.  As the hero chases after the bunnies, it simply shouts "Bunnies!!  Bunnies!!  Bunnies!!" but when it loses them it then sadly mutters "Bunnies?  Bunnies?  Bunnies?  No, bunnies."  And yet it's extremely hilarious (we see the bunnies hiding as the expressive creature mopes, looking dejected).  Of course it all leads to a happy resolution but then a surprise ending that will have children saying "uh-oh."  Pair this giddy delight with Hug Machine and Katie Loves the Kittens. 

Two New Gems: Around the Clock and Stormy Night

Around the Clock, written and illustrated by Roz Chast.  I recently read Chast's brilliant and painfully honest graphic novel memoir hybrid Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant?  and marveled at her ability to capture comical shock.  Her cartoon figures would suddenly look alarmed at something being done or said, and Chast does this thing with their eyes, making them all buggy with little squiggly lines surrounding them, that causes you to laugh and almost jump at the same time.  In this absolutely hilarious and neurotic (and less sinister) tribute to Edward Gorey's A Is for Alice, Chast travels through the hours of the day while introducing us to several bizarre people doing unusual or not so unusual things.  We start at 6am, and we see that from 6 to 7, "Pete is up, drinking from his favorite cup" and pictured is an illustration begging to be explored by young eyes of a rather bug-eyed caffeinated man? boy? surrounded by an extreme mess (please note that the blender is still whirring and overflowing).  As we go through the day, we meet Deb who from 9 to 10 has forgotten "Are unicorns real, or are they notten?" (love the unicorn saying hi to Deb in a cartoon bubble) and, my favorites, Ann throwing a tantrum in the grocery store from 3 to 4 (look at those Chastian onlookers with their shocked eyes) and Dave from 11 to 12 when no one can see him, planning a sock museum.  Each cartoon is a madcap delight.  I have gone through the book several times now and the jokes I laughed at the first time still seem fresh, and I am discovering new laughs in the background.

Stormy Night, written and illustrated by Salina Yoon.  A far more earnest (without being cloying) treatment of nocturnal worries and rituals, this sweet, sweet, sweet gem captures the highs and lows of a little bear trying to weather out a scary night-time storm.  Yoon's colorful illustrations with their bold outlines express so many varying emotions as the little bear sings to his toy bunny Floppy to comfort the little guy as the storm rages on outside.  However, big booms cause the bear to hop under the bed.  In a nice attempt to calm their child, the bear parents come in and pretend to be afraid the storm.  In a fun example of reverse psychology, they have the preschooler sooth THEIR nerves with a kiss for Mama and an ear tickle for Papa.  Reading a book together also helps in calming the nerves.  A huge BOOM! (a dramatic spread, startlingly presented by Yoon) startles the cub once more, but there's nothing that mama's kiss and papa's ear tickle cannot cure.  This is a great story time book with crisp, clear illustrations that will play well to a big crowd, lots of sound effects, a soothing lullaby, and a very happy resolution.

A Shout Out to Three 2015 Picture Book Winners

Throughout 2014 I had the pleasure to blog about several great books!  And these three went on to win some major awards on February 2nd at the ALA Midwinter Conference.  Here are my original capsules from my blog!  Congratulations to the winners! 

 

The 2015 Caldecott Winner (capsule review originally posted April 17, 2014):

 

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, written and illustrated by Dan Santat. This magical and highly imaginative charmer offers illustrations packed with lovely and humorous details that readers will enjoy exploring. The story feels inspired by Miyazaki, yet it is its own unique self. The tale begins with the little marshmallow-like (with legs and friendly waving hands) creature being born on the island where imaginary friends wait to be beamed up to the real world, paired with children. But no kid dreams up this poor little guy. Instead of giving up and waiting around, he takes matters into his own hands and travels "through unknown waters" to the real world, one that perplexes the critter. Santat then gives us human society through the protagonist's eyes, and he gives us moments that are both sad and satirical.   Will Beekle ever find a child who will embrace him as an "imaginary friend"? Santat has illustrated many fun books for children, but this might be his finest achievement yet as a picture book artist. Funny, poignant, rich in detail, a real keeper.

 

 

The 2015 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner (capsule review originally posted December 8, 2014):

 

 

Firebird, written by Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers. Myers' vibrant illustrations leap off the page in this inspirational ballet book written by the legendary American Ballet Theatre soloist (the second African American soloist in ABT's history and the first in more than two decades). The opening shows a young girl feeling anxious because she wishes she could excel as a dancer, and Myers' expressive work conveys her feelings of fear and hope. Copeland appears with a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder and to tell her "...don't you know/you're just where I started." The author then says that with hard work and dedication, the girl (a stand-in for the reader) can achieve her dreams and "learn how to fly" and soar like a swan, a firebird "for sure." A final note from the author offers a photo of Copeland in her amazing Firebird outfit, and Myers' brilliant drawing of her in this role lights up the facing page. A striking work. 

 

 

2015 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award (capsule review originally posted on September 25, 2014):

 

Viva Frida, written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales, photography by Tim O' Meara. This is a truly unique celebration of the artistic vision of brilliant artist Frida Kahlo. Using spare bilingual (Spanish/English) text, Morales presents a playful and sensitive Kahlo who embraces life, love, and her imagination. Beautifully composed photographs capture a Frida figurine in motion, interacting with animals such as a monkey and a dog. Then Morales inserts a haunting dream sequence done with masterfully composed paintings as Kahlo flies and comes to the aid of a wounded deer. This lovely creature joins the Frida figure in the real world, inspiring one of her pieces of art. Diego Rivera makes a special appearance, too! The final triumphant spread with the words "Vivo! I live!" gives me goosebumps every time I look at it. A stirring, wondrous creation with excellent back matter.