THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST

 Blue jays are hard to ignore, but who would want to do that? Some folks with feeders are slightly snobbish, even resentful about greedy squirrels, swarms of starlings, and loudly aggressive jays. I, for one, adore jays, whether on the feeders or JAY-ing away in the tree tops and nearby foliage. During my years working at bird rescue and rehabilitation, I came to know and love jays quite well. Their personalities vary, but they are consistently entertaining, comical, and enormously clever. That's why the title alone had my attention for this new picture book.

PEACHTREE, 2025

THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST is written by Lynn Street and illustrated by Anne Hunter. I included an extra large cover image for this post because, if the title hadn't hooked me, the cover certainly would have. Add oaks, acorns, and autumn to a pair of blue jays and I'm a goner. In addition, there are inviting endpapers with various small spot illustrations of trees, acorns and jays, on land and in the air. One more page turn reveals an opening map of the "before" scene, indicating an established old growth oak wood and a nearby mostly bare field. 

This delightfully thorough nonfiction picture book begins, as it should, with an oak tree. After all, giant oaks from little acorns grow. A full page spread of one massive tree allows little readers (and old ones, too!) to notice how jays and squirrels busily interact within the abundance this one tree offers. Along with acorns, they find shelter, nesting potential, insects and other food potentials, and a natural playground. 

Within just a few facing lines, the plant science is described: Oak seeds are acorns, which need water, sun soil and room to grow. Acorns, though, are too heavy to be whisked into new locations by the wind. Those that drop and remain below, as some are pictured doing, have less chance to become full grown oaks. The acorns require a full summer to ripen, but once they do, it's time to feast! Squirrels and jays eagerly crack and devour, until full. Then, with instinctive wisdom, they begin to store seeds for the long, cold winter ahead. Jays can tote up to five acorns at a time (revealed in simple, accurate text and with a fantastic double spread illustration.) The flights of jays back and forth from the woods to the field develop a fascinating and compelling rhythm and urgency. 

Jays, like squirrels, stow their acorns one at a time, choosing locations with some landmark or other as memory cues to make them easier to relocate and consume under winter snow cover. Meanwhile, the race is on to gather and store enough while other critters compete for the bounty: turkeys, chipmunks, mice, deer and more. The back-and-forth of many jays on similar missions allows readers to recognize the urgency, efficiency, and even danger of this pattern. 

With the next several page turns we see the success of this effort during winter, the sprouting oaks from those missed during winter searches, the spring nesting and feeding times when other foods are more suited for hatchlings, and then fall cycle returns. Try to imagine the many human generations that have passed since that enormous oak was planted by some distant-in-time jay. And then imagine the years and generations of jays that will take part in planting a new oak wood just across the river, transforming a bare field into an entirely new ecosystem. As the concluding text says 

"The jays and oaks.

The oaks and jays.

Thrive.

Together."

Back matter includes five spreads of further informative facts, as well as acknowledgements, a glossary, and  resources. This is a colorful, clear account of a widely observable pattern that is often overlooked. It will entertain and enlighten, perhaps even winning more fans for those streamlined squawkers. It invites readers of any age to pay more attention to the fine feathered fiends who share our environments and, in fact, create them!

A Trio of Terrific Cumulative Books

 Three remarkable creative teams have released three separate picture books that each achieve something very challenging. Cumulative text, especially rhymed text following a familiar traditional text, requires a level of innovation and respect for the form. That can become stilted at worst or at least slightly awkward unless brilliantly executed. To have three such stellar examples release in a single year is worth noting. To be clear, I have nothing but praise for the illustration side of each of these wonder-books, but the text itself demands most of my attention. I've read enough examples of this approach in picture books to know that most are appealingly fun, but not enough to capture my public praise. Still others are at least slightly cringe-worthy. These take an often-used pattern and elevate their stories through unique topics and excellent execution.

BORZOI BOOKS/ Alfred A. Knopf, 2023

First up, it's CREEP, LEAP,  CRUNCH: A Food Chain Story is written by Jody Jensen Schaffer and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal.  I've sung the praises of Schaffer's books in the past, HERE  and HERE, with an interview HERE. Her ongoing success, and the outstanding output of illustrator Neal can be found easily with a search of their names. In this case, their pairing has produced a delightfully creative nonfiction version of a food chain, including those who consume, and those who are eaten... or escape! 

My delight in this title is not only in Schaffer's  fluent, lyrical rhymed text that naturally reflects the rhyme and rhythm schemes of THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY.  (Click on that to hear Judy Collins sing the song with the muppets!) The original is a silly-sort-of food chain verse, but Schaffer's take is an authentic approach in a nature scene including familiar animals and inserting a realistic but exciting twist at the conclusion. Another aspect I adore (absolutely adore) is her successful adherence to this structure that honors the source of all of Earth's food  in her opening spread. This is repeated throughout (instead of the old lady's "perhaps I'll die"):

"There was a blue sky with a bright shining sun,

a glorious, life-giving, fiery sun.

The day had begun."

From that introductory verse the patterns of life and food move to plants and trees then to plant-eating insects, celebrating that global gift before any predators appear:

"The cricket munched grass

far beneath the tall trees

that blew in the cool 

of a blustery breeze. 

They made their food

with the help of the sun,

the glorious, life-giving, fiery sun.

The day had begun."

I don't usually include such extensive quotes, and won't do so again for this book or the others. (Maybe just a little.) This example felt important  to demonstrate the joy of ready text in this style that appears effortless and yet must have involved countless hours of adjusting and modifying words and syllables to remove any stumbles or stutters or clunkers. I've reread this book multiple times, silently and aloud, and never encountered a single stumble to disrupt the meaning or the flow or the magical bouncing beauty of the narrative. 

Shaffer's food cycle is confined to a meadow/deciduous woodland habitat that will be familiar to many readers, from the glorious, food-producing sun-source through to an apex predator, a black bear. The back pages include a glossary that sustains the large open font in accessible vocabulary with full-sized illustrations, including not just the animals but a description of a food chain and reference to the reality that many prey do escape, living on to sustain their species and the stability of the food chain. This is a "take-off" title that stands fully on its own, including the language, the information, and the illustrations that delight and inform. Please devour it!

SIMON & SCHUSTER BYR, 2024

Next I'll share my praise for THE QUIET FOREST, written by Charlotte Offsay and illustrated by Abi Cushman. In this cumulative tale, the author seems to have begun with a story to tell, and an interest in rhyming and gathering the elements along the way. In this case, though, I did not detect an adherence to a particular example of  familiar verse. To me, this felt like a wise decision that freed the story to soar. The author relied on lyrical language, including mouth-and-ear-pleasing word choices (as is true for Schaffer's work), and leaning into humor and personalities of the various wood land creatures whose habits and antics are entertainingly portrayed by Cushman. 

Candlewick Press, 2024

Switching scenes, THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT is written by Randi Sonenshine and illustrated by Anne Hunter. As the title and cover suggest, this creative non-fiction narrative is based on both the concept and patterns of  THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT .(Link is to the old original rhyme and a bit of its history. Full early lyrics included.) This approach reveals accurate facts regarding the ways in which Octopuses (that's right, back matter clarifies the official plural form) live, thrive, and interact with their ocean-floor habits. Both the style and the details of the illustrations provided readers with better understanding of the text as well as broader appreciation of the lives of octopus and other underwater plant and animal residents.

Despite my note above that I would not insert extended passages, here are a few lines to indicate the many aspects of octopus survival patterns beyond building a den:

"This is the algae with unblinking eyes,

or is it a cephalopod in disguise

swaying near the den that Octopus built?"

Octopuses are "having a moment" in popular culture, and various posts have revealed surprising things about the species and varieties. Despite that, I learned a great deal about from this book in the narrative, as well as in the back matter. When writers are  pursuing both research and revision of nonfiction titles there is powerful temptation to include every countless fascinating details that have been uncovered. Sonenshine manages that challenge successfully by providing and organizing back matter to answer some questions that might arise, along with a glossary. The informative text is lightly lyrical, made even more appealing by wonderful watery illustrations that add humor and understanding. If you are already octopus-curious, you'll race to get this book. If you thought you had no interest in this rarely-studied critter, read it to see how surprisingly interesting you will find it.

Do yourself a favor and  check out all three of these cumulative text successes.