Visit Milwaukee: In Real Life, and in a New Picture Book!

It's summer tourist season and Milwaukee is waiting to welcome you. Ever since I first arrived in Wisconsin to attend Marquette, the downtown area won my heart. In my first years here, Summerfest was launched as a soggy lakefront music festival.  It has since become the annual "World's Largest Music Festival" and anchors a summer-long series of ethnic and themed festivals, drawing millions of visitors from around the USA and the world.

Sleeping Bear Press, 2019

Each and every one of these (and other) events features kid-friendly activities.  Even so, I urge families to check out a recent picture book before and during visits to the city. ROCKY & LULU in MILWAUKEE is written by Barbara Joosse and illustrated by Renee Graef. This talented pair is noteworthy for individual achievements, including many award-winning and classic books (Joosse's MAMA, DO YOU LOVE ME and  PAPA, DO YOU LOVE ME; Graef's many LITTLE HOUSE picture book adaptations, and illustrations for titles in the nonfiction Alphabet series). These two are close and longtime friends from the Milwaukee metro area who enjoy traveling together as much as Lulu and Rocky do. This is their first title in a planned series about other cities, published by reliable Sleeping Bear Press. Because I know them both I was picturing the fun they must have had in doing the background work for this book.

The story opens with an invitation to the pair (and Lulu's friend Pufferton, a penguin) to visit Milwaukee. They meet doorman Norman at the luxurious landmark Pfister Hotel, then spend three days exploring iconic locations in MIlwaukee's city center. 

The characters are all delightfully humanized animals, each more charming than the next, but the sites featured reveal kids-eye-views of some of the best year-round attractions this city has to offer. The text is direct but not simplistic, and Norman's comments offer some fun examples of figurative language from an earlier generation.

The level of detail is "just right" for young readers, with informative labels and enough color and side details to spark curiosity and develop an appetite for exploration. 
This lively pair (and observant penguin) cover a great deal of territory in a short amount of time, which happens on vacations, right? 
Out-of-towners with kids would do well to spend some time with this book prior to a visit and encourage the young ones to state a preference for side trips. Most won't be able to stay at the Pfister, but it does offer tours, including stories about ghostly residents!  Back matter provides accessible details about various high points and icons visited throughout the story.

Once families get their hands on this book the adults will be as enthused about visiting Milwaukee as the kids will be. In fact, I encourage classroom teachers and local families to check it out, too. I'm sadly aware from leading school field trips (for many ages) that there are thousands of people living within a few miles who rarely visit downtown and are unaware of its many treasures. 
Milwaukee offers something for everyone in every neighborhood and district. Summer isn't the only time to explore the city, but it does offer an ideal opportunity to get to know it better, or for the first time.
And there's no better souvenir (or gift of any kind) than picture books!

Mysteries of Life...and Death

Leaves turn, blaze, drop.

Birds flock, feed, migrate.

Animals store, burro, hibernate.

Life cycles.  Instincts.  Mysteries.

Curiosity about these begin early in life. The lucky ones among us never outgrow this curiosity, never cease to be amazed at these patterns and cycles, relishing opportunities to explore and investigate them with children.

Chronicle Books, 2011

A great place to start is with A BUTTERFLY IS PATIENT, written by Diana H. Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long. Check out the Kirkus review, and read it the very first chance you get.

This gorgeous, poetic view of butterflies includes scientifically accurate illustrations, labels, and lyrically described facts as part of the highly acclaimed series of titles by this twosome. The original effort is AN EGG IS QUIET,  which earned awards and acclaim.  Science exploration links for An Egg Is Quiet are offered on many teaching sites. This was followed by  A SEED IS SLEEPY, another acclaimed title. The latest, A ROCK IS LIVELY, is a 2012 release.

Chronicle Books, 2006

Chronicle Books, 2007

Chronicle Books, 2012

Another cycle is evident at this time of year. Halloween pop-up stores fill strip malls, jumbo candy bags overflow on store shelves, and magazine covers feature peeled-grape eyeball snacks, all of which mean that kids will  clamor to share Halloween picture books. Blogs will feature titles from charming to silly to spooky to sentimental, but within a few weeks most will be relegated to closet shelves or holiday storage boxes while Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa books fill displays and blog lists.

Seasonal transitions in nature, especially the highly visible changes here in the midwest,  present perfect opportunities to explore and extend natural curiosity to life cycles, even birth and death. It's an ideal time to share titles like the ones above, titles that can sustain interest and relevance beyond the latest commercial sales push.

Holiday House, 2010

Here are two other titles that are worthy of space on bookshelves year around. THE DAY OF THE DEAD: A Bilingual Celebration, is written and illustrated by Bob Barner, translated by Teresa Mlawer. This is a simple bilingual description of the traditional Day of the Dead commemoration,  including numerous illustration homages to artist Jose Guadalupe Posada's iconic skeletons. The vibrant colors, minimal text, and celebratory images combine with the extended information in the back to make this an interesting and appealing cultural tradition for all readers, and shares Mexican traditions without waiting for Hispanic heritage month in May.
See Kirkus review here.

Chronicle Books, 2001

Every bookshelf should include GHOST WINGS, written by Wisconsin author Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Giselle Potter. As Barbara Joosse always does, she has created a powerful story embedded with rich cultural background. In this case a young girl's close relationship with her grandmother is portrayed in the first few pages. Then the girl deals with stages of grief across several seasons, tying  it all together with the science and tradition of Day of the Dead, monarch migration, and loving memories.  Back matter includes a cultural discussion (with  glossary), science details about monarch butterfly migration,  and a simple guide for adults to explore feelings and activities when reading this book.
Kirkus review here.

In the midst of Halloween sugar highs and strictly seasonal titles, "keepers" like these are the real treat to read,  discuss, reread, and return to throughout the year. After all, death is inevitable, for ourselves and for everyone we care about. Children will be better equipped to deal with the pain and specificity of personal loss when it occurs if they are familiar with the concepts in advance. What better place to find that familiarity than in nature and in books?