August Dog Days... Time For HOT DOG by Doug Salati

 Late July and early August has always been seen as the hottest of weather (in the northern hemisphere), tagged as "Dog Days". (Click to learn more about the history of this phrase and the patterns of summer in Almanac.com.) I spent several of those "dog days" viewing the annual (now virtual) SCBWI summer conference. A featured creator was Doug Salati, the author/illustrator for HOT DOG, winner of the latest Caldecott Gold Medal and the EZRA JACK KEATS gold, both for picture books of extraordinary visual narratives.

Albert A Knopf, 2022

In a conference keynote, Salati described his creative process for HOT DOG. Those who might assume that making a picture book is a simple process should have heard his account. Click his name above to see the many books he has successfully created/illustrated and you'll note that he features both artistic talent and undeniable skill at visual storytelling. Even his covers indicate reveal what lies under the covers and also the celebratory nature of his colors and lines. You might have assumed that this was a smooth creation story. 

It was not.

His persistent efforts to bring this little dog's beach romp to readers required many revisions, major and minor. Ultimately, the little canine becomes an unforgettable character. Opening endpapers feature  line sketches in the many poses a dog adopts to begin its day, while final endpapers sketch those just-before-well-earned-sleep poses at the end of its long, hot,  joyous day.

As you might imagine, an apartment-dwelling city dog would welcome a leash walk to help its busy person while doing chores on hot urban streets. Minimal but superb text:

"concrete 

crumbles

sirens 

screech"

and wonderfully intense vertical panels of "street scenes" positioned as Triptych or Diptych images draw readers right onto those streets. Waiting is hard, surfaces are scorch-y, and this hot dog is overwhelmed by a steaming, screaming city that is"

 "too close! 

too loud! 

too much!"

HOT DOG, 2022. Interior spread

Some who are reading this will recall exactly those same reactions. Certainly small children will! The transition from being a tag-along companion for adult business shifts early in the book when dog puts its foot down (actually, belly down) in the middle of a crosswalk. Nonverbal communication is superb. Only then does the woman at the other end of the leash gain her new perspective. The remainder of the book reveals a spontaneous taxi ride and train/subway journey to arrive at space, sand, water... relief! 

The jubilant dog romps and revels, then locates and shares countless bits of this landscape with the woman, who savors the relief of sea breeze and boisterous joy by treasuring those tokens, presented with such wagging love.

I hope this summary, in more words than Salati used in the entire book, will entice you to take a look for yourselves. Have no fear that I've spoiled the plot, since that slim text and those rich illustrations hold many surprises, including a very satisfying and heartwarming ending. And yes, even on the hottest city streets, a story like this will chill your mood from the initial intensity so that warming your heart is a welcome reaction. 

Jagged nerves, weariness, and furry-bodied exhaustion find their ideal antidotes in the pages of this book. I am convinced you will, too. With such stellar awards to its credit, you can be sure I'm not alone in singing its praises. I hope you will join the chorus.

While HOT DOG may sound like the ideal summer review, I'm months overdue at sharing it here. Please don't delay even a bit in getting your hands on it and sharing it widely, sooner rather than later.

Anchoring this post in Covid19: beginning 10th week in Safe-at-Home time.

Since the happy news that my public library is now allowing active hold requests with safe curbside pick-ups, I'm elbow-deep in titles I've been seeking for several months. My challenge is to approach each remarkable picture book on its own, resisting the temptation to plow through the stack and write multi-title posts. So far, the books I've read (and read again) each deserve their own attention and praise. 
So, I may be posting here a bit more frequently than is typical until I get caught up. 
I hope you don't mind!

HarperCollins, October, 2019

I adore outstanding picture book biographies, stories revealing hidden history or seldom-told stories, especially revelations that celebrate the successes of underrepresented individuals. 
BAM!
IT BEGAN WITH A PAGE: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way, written and illustrated by Kyo Maclear, is an absolute winner on all counts. I'm
excited to share the book itself and the accomplishments of the incredible artist Gyo Fujikawa with any and all who will listen. 
Her childhood story is especially appealing to me. I was an eavesdropping child, too, and an early feminist. In this case I wish I had the artist's talent, but I didn't endure her frequent encounters with racism and exclusion throughout life. 
Her successful college admission and development of her talent as the only woman in her art classes were impressive. Those accomplishments fed her determination, steeling her spine but not resulting in bitterness. 
The story reveals the impact of Japanese internment on her family, and limitations on her own choices while living on the East Coast during WWII. It isn't often that a picture book, even a biography, portrays a character struggling to overcome depression/malaise, but this one treats it with balance and eventual hope.

Despite her extensive success in art, illustration, and design, Fujikawa noted the utter lack of diversity within the pages of picture books in mid-century America.Though publishers initially rebuked her effort to show the diverse and universal qualities of "BABIES", she held firm: "We need to BREAK the rules". 

I loved the information in back matter. Among many impressive accomplishments in her creative life, her insistence on diverse representation in picture books parallels that of groundbreaking Ezra Jack Keats (Snowy Day) in changing the existing standards within the publishing business. She was adamant about providing families and children an authentic and playful look at themselves on the page.
There are many ways she carried her innovative thinking and independence into her profession for the good of other women, other artists and illustrators, and creators in general. She was never bound by the status quo.

The illustrations by Kyo Maclear reflect Fujikawa's sure but light hand, artistic style, graceful line quality, color, movement, and page awareness. 

Image from IT BEGAN WITH A PAGE: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way (HarperCollins, 2019)

It's my hope that you will have a chance to examine this book for yourself, sooner rather than later. 

With this extensive time at home, even after things gradually reopen, many opportunities for kids to explore their own artistic interests are readily available. Click on the names that follow for YouTube tutorials that are both instructive and entertaining. Getting tips from the creators they admire will build confidence and enthusiasm. It just might lead us to the next Gyo, 
Mo Willems, Jeff Kinney (Wimpy Kid),  Jarrett Krosoczka (Lunch Lady series),and many more. 

Multicultural Children's Book Day: January 27

Here's a heads up on another one of those special days (weeks, months) that focus on a particular theme or topic of value. It's the kind of frustratingly time-specific, fleeting event that drives me up a wall, in case you haven't read any of my prior rants.  The painful reality is that these are topics, theme, and issues that deserve our attention 24/7/365. 

But I'll take what I can get.

The good news is that the minimal representation of cultural diversity in all children's literature, picture books included, has been on ongoing topic of discussion this past year among social media literati.

Read more about MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN'S BOOK DAY here. With the annual Black History Month just around the corner, classrooms and social media will be overflowing with suggested readings on African American history, largely centered on the periods of the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. While there are significant numbers of picture books on these topics, they are too often relegated to back shelves or boxes when the month ends. Please, resist the urge and keep those books prominent, circulating, and under discussion.
Ezra Jack Keats was way ahead of the curve in creating timeless books with universal appeal using images not often seen at the time. Maurice Sendak shook things up even earlier in his collaborations with Ruth Krauss. His were some of the first picture book illustrations to portray diverse, middle-European children instead of the typical blond, blue-eyed stereotypes.

"Sendak's dark, moody illustrations were a shocking contrast to the usually light and happy fare found in a typical children's book of the time. The main character Max, like many of Sendak's protagonists, acted like a real child, not some idealized version of youth." 

Titles featuring characters with ethnic or cultural heritage beyond the mainstream as anything other than sidekicks or background images are few and far between. The ever-helpful KIDS READ blog shares this single link to prior posts with some suggested titles.  By the way, can we all agree that "mainstream" should be seen as a massively broad flow, one large enough to include all humans?
As for me, I refuse to wait for designated months or days to celebrate great resources for kids. Here's  a link to my resource pages for BLACK HISTORY TITLES and APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES.

I hope you'll suggest some titles with similar diversity and share them with kids.
Throughout the year, throughout their lives.