Two Wordless Wonders: Something Special for Every Age

Candlewick Press, 2021

The creative pairing of author JonArno Lawson with illustrator Qin Leng was inspired. Both are listed as being residents of Toronto, but I tend to imagine them as being residents of a single mind. I first met their shared brilliance in OVER THE SHOP. This wordless book tells a gradually unfolding but complex story of the transformative power of openness, positivity, curiosity, and inclusion. A young girl lives with her curmudgeonly-grimaced older adult. He's likely, but not necessarily, her grandfather, and they reside together above his shop.They each seem well-established in daily routines, but with different demeanors. When making a stack of breakfast pancakes, his expression is as down-turned as it is when a cat intrudes on his grocery display outside the shop.The girl, however, is intrepidly intent on doing her own chores while noticing and engaging with the cat and other occurrences. She is NOT  relentlessly grinning or apparetnly a 'chipper" child, but is attentive, patient, and respectful of the space others need to feel safe. 

This, after multiple scenes, sets the stage for the "plot": a second residence above the store is available to rent. The apartment has little going for it, as the first potential renter (and reader) observes before making a speedy exit. Then a series of potential residents are shown coming... and quickly going. When a mixed-race young couple arrive, the owner's scowl is even deeper than usual, despite his obvious need for renters. The child intervenes, and he grudgingly concedes. A happy ending, I'd say.

But wait, the story is only half over. 

This is a transformative story, in which the young couple demonstrate gently that they are not only hardworking but eager, friendly, greeting even the fellow on the porch next door, who notes but does not respond to their greetings. As they dig into deep cleaning and restoration to a livable space, the girl joins in their effort, chasing away the hungry cat who threatens the birds nesting on the balcony. 

This is a highly realistic story. Change is not achieved overnight, but small signals of investment of care into the place gradually bear fruit. The tiny trail of cat tidbits that eventually play a role feel symbolic of the overall small steps leading to the gradual taming of the owner, celebrating the infectious power of caring, kindness, and community in warm and wonderful everyday acts.

Whew! Look at all those words up there! Lawson is a poet and poets use words very sparingly. ALL of the above words are mine. This poet, this master of the "just right word", managed to convey his story wordlessly! That means he somehow created and described all of this  in a way that allowed the illustrator ample space for her own creative interpretation, knowing the intent was a wordless story that captured his original creation. And Leng accomplished that with grace and nuance. Each time I "read" this story i note added visual details that enhance it further- from the setting details in the shop, residence, apartment, and neighborhood, to the clothing, body postures, and facial expressions of the central characters and the ones who appear only on a page or two. The story as a whole and in its particular parts and details is fantastic and offers something for every age. The same is true for this subtle and persuasive message.

Candlewick Press, 2022

Their second wordless collaboration is A DAY FOR SANDCASTLES. This, too, displays the nuance and visual appeal of OVER THE SHOP, but takes a very simple premise and conveys a full emotional arc in a circle story about a family day at the beach. A family alights from a tour bus unloading eager beachgoers. The adults set up at the edge of dunes, while the three children head to water's edge to build a sandcastle. Time after time they achieve, or nearly achieve, that goal, only to suffer setbacks from many angles (not just the predictable incoming tide). In this story the fun is in those visual details, noting subtle cues, predicting what could come next, imagining what they will do now (or what the reader might decide to do!). But then ... several factors in quick succession send them all back aboard the bus for a weary but satisfying sunset ride home. It's hard to imagine a more perfect purely-summer picture book! 

Once again, I wondered just what words Lawson might have used to set the stage for these remarkably familiar yet specific and fascinating  images, revealed in a  combination of full spreads, horizontal panels, and comic-style quick sequences. Whatever they were, and whatever editor and/or art director orchestrated these two wordless/visual narratives, they achieved timeless brilliance with both. 

Lawson has paired with other illustrators, notably with Sydney Smith in the multi-award-winning wordless book, SIDEWALK FLOWERS. That's a favorite of mine, one I featured in an earlier post while serving as a Cybils panelist a few years ago:

"This wordless book uses color, detail, subtle facial and body expressions in black/white illustrations with the spot color contrast to lead readers through an emotionally complex story. It is accessible to the very young but offers content to spark potentially intense discussions at any age about relationships, personal expression, and pursuing that often-referenced "in the moment" awareness in daily life."

It was this picture book that alerted me to Lawson, and I've been delighted with where that attention has led. I hope that my small spotlight on these books will bring them to your attention, too, and you'll share them with others!  Wordless books, like these, are accessible to the very young, but carry meaning for every age.

What Is A Family? What Is A Kid? Changing Up Those Back-To_School Activities

 During my long teaching career, it was increasingly obvious that all kiddos (from preschool to teen) are  very different people, from very different families; ones that may not look or live like  the cookie-cutter, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER world in which I was raised.

It's wrong to believe that those familiar back-to-school, get-to-know-you questions are as comforting as we assume, whether in open discussion, on pre-printed posters, or in assigned essays. Families can be among the most loving and supportive ones, but still have young members who hesitate because their beloved family has a very different configuration or connections than a perceived "normal" family. The thought of describing or drawing a picture of one's family may be more stressful than positive.

Groundwood Books, 2019

That's why I urge anyone and everyone who will be interacting with "kiddos" in a back-to-school or get-to-know-you situation (that means ANY age) to get your hands on these two picture books and launch your discussions with these companion books by a gifted pair of creators.

Sara O'Leary is the wordsmith (evidence will follow) and Qin Leng is the brilliant illustrator. The first title, A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY, launches this diverse and friendly-looking group into a classroom in which a single first-person voice responds with concern to the seemingly-safe teacher question- What makes your family special?

"I went last because I wasn't sure what to say. My family is not like everyone else's"

Moving on, page by page, each child's response is unnamed but recognized through quotation signals and delightfully distinct voices as child after child recounts a family in which love is secure but characteristics are distinct from others. The diversity on every level reveals families with few or MANY children, same-sex parents, blended families, divorced parents, extended generations until, finally, that hesitant speaker repeats what their foster mother said when asked which were her "real" kids. 

“Oh, I don’t have any imaginary children,” Mom said. “All my children are real.”

Each simple quotation and brightly depicted spread reveals child-centered persepectives, voices, and experiences. Like the line above, and like this:

“Because I live with my grandmother, people sometimes think she’s my mother. She’s not. She’s

my everything.”

The text alone would have won me over, and yet the illustrations deserve equal praise for their simplicity, personality, and individualism. They incorporate the full panorama of humanity in size, shape, style, skin tone, age, physicality, and expressions. The kids themselves are indistinct in age, allowing a wide spectrum of audiences to find themselves within the pages. Throughout each scenario, there is plenty of white space to imagine (and sense) the strength and extent of love that is present in each family. 

Groundwood Books August, 2021

With wide praise and three starred-reviews, it's no surprise this delicious and important  book now has a companion book, hitting the market just this month. A KID IS A KID IS A KID leads us into a celebration of individuality and community, beginning with the exuberant cover. But first, a similar opening anxiety is captured in perfect kid-speak and with exactly the right voice:

“Being the new kid is hard,” a child in the school playground tells us. “I can think of better things to ask than if I’m a boy or a girl.”

That sensitive reflection is followed by (again) unnamed quotations whose identity and personality are vividly evident in illustrations and voice. Each begins with "I get asked..." or something similar, relating the kinds of seemingly innocent (but insensitive and NOSY) questions that wound, or annoy, or even infuriate. 

Revealing both expected and unexpected diversity, the speakers embrace their identities or welcome those who speak out on their behalf. Then they propose a variety of BETTER questions to ask kids, like:

“Ask me what I can do, not what I can’t!”

“I wish you would ask me about my grandmother’s house. I was so happy there.”

The structure of this new title is an opportunity for an ideal shared reading experience of ways we feel, and can make others feel. It (entertainingly) offers ways we can reframe and imagine kinder, more welcoming questions. As with the original picture book, the individual kids display physical, social, and emotional diversity on spreads that will feel like "home" to "kids" of all kinds and ages. I won't spoil a perfect ending by giving away the final line and page turn, but only because I am counting on each and every one of you who reads this to get both titles and read them, too.

Don't disappoint me. The books won't disappoint you, I promise!