THE OUTSIDE: Laugh and Learn About Prairie Dogs

 Classifying/categorizing books, especially picture books, is becoming harder and harder. When it comes to "labeling" books that provide reliable nonfiction information, but present that material through cartoonish or personalized characters, it's debatable. I find myself turning to library shelving choices or publisher descriptors. Is a particular title creative nonfiction? Or informational fiction? When both story text and sidebar facts are provided throughout, I (and readers) more clearly see this as nonfiction. (See recent post, HERE.) When the story incorporates factual content within anthropomorphized critters, but provides back matter about each of those factual elements, it gets a bit more challenging.

VIKING, 2024

And that's precisely how author-illustrator Gianna Marino left me perplexed but delighted with THE OUTSIDE.  Call it what you want, but take my advice and read it. As you likely know, prairie dogs live in extensive communities, often called prairie dog towns. Whether the extended group is small (as this one is) or massive, their interactions can make a lively and appealing model for many human relationships. 

In this case, the story unfolds with speech bubble narratives, delightful perspectives, and one prairie dog, Earl, who is afraid of going outside. He prefers dig-dig-digging underground where he feels safe. His above-ground buddies are on the look out for predators, but Earl fears rain. Earl's fears (of several kinds) play a role in his rescue of the group. Even so, despite their safe survival, Earl relies on his peer support to find security within himself and among his community. OUTSIDE!

This is an excellent offering for young readers to encourage social/emotional learning and discussion, to empathize with characters, to identify/predict storyline, and to flat-out enjoy a funny story.

The double spread back matter includes labeled illustrations of the ways prairie dogs dig complex intentional underground spaces to survive and thrive. I found Earl & Company to be unforgettable, and I hope you will, too.

Two CROSSING Titles for Nonfiction

There can be no more arguing about the extent of human-caused damage that has been done to our planet, to its resources, and to its life forms. Even those who actively debate what caused what, there is no defense against facts. Human population and development have encroached on, disrupted, and even destroyed the original and necessary habitats of creatures great and small. In that sense, while working on longterm reversals and altered approaches to global changes in sharing our planet safely, some local changes are immediately possible, if only we'd recognize and act on our power to mitigate the damage we've done. 

Beach Lane Books, 2021

One of the many outstanding elementary/middle school  nonfiction nominees for a CYBILS AWARD is COUGAR CROSSING: How Hollywood's Celebrity Cougar Helped Build a Bridge for City Wildlife . Written by Meeg Pincus and illustrated by Alexander Vidal, this picture book is the account of P-22, the famed “Hollywood Cougar,” was born in a national park near Los Angeles, California. When the time came for him to leave home and establish own territory, instincts prove him to—somehow--safely cross sixteen lanes of the world’s worst traffic. This narrative explains some of the ways his natural behavior patterns allowed him to make his home in LA’s Griffith Park, overlooking the famed Hollywood sign. Griffith Park is  busy and sizable space for urban dwellers, but a tiny territory for a mountain lion. Learn more about four-footed celebrity HERE. 

There is power in this true account of the interface of nature and human encroachment on habitats, resources, and species behaviors. While there is hope and celebration in many aspects of this account (empathetic and well-trained specialists, supportive communities that commit to potential solutions), I found myself saddened by the overall picture of what mankind has so mindlessly done to nature. Consider this: the need for, debate points,  and metrics of success involve the annual count of road kill of these remarkable creatures. Young readers will certainly sense the imbalance and injustice of the circumstances described, but are likely to be inspired to make more mindful choices and seek improvements for the future. 

Beach Lane Books, 2020

This account of an individual situation and creature  should surely be paired with a picture book published the year before, also from Beach Lane Books. CROSSINGS: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals is written by Katie S. Duffield and illustrated by Mike Orodan. This oversized and evocatively illustrated book uses the repeating refrain, "Over, under, across, through" to launch passages that first describe the ways human technology, engineering, and expansion have extended our sprawl throughout nature. 

Next lines begin with... "What happens..." to the animals and their potential for survival. Will the physical structures, vehicles, and power services kill them directly? Will the lack of habitat and access to safe movement destroy countless centuries of instincts and behavioral drives?

What follows those challenging scenes is an appreciative look at human efforts to transform our capacity for construction and innovations to create movement options for creatures-- over, under, across, and through-- barriers and dangers. Examples include animals as small as baby turtles to those as large as elk and elephants. With global examples that allow safe travel through treetops, under tunnels, and across multi-lane highways, readers encounter "living proof that opening our minds and hearts can make all the difference." Small information inserts on expansive and colorful pages enhance factual content, with each illustrated spread briefly identified for location and purpose in the final two pages.

I hope you'll give each of these (better yet, both together!) a close look, some deep reflection, and share them with kids of any age. The art and narratives are accessible for even the youngest, and perhaps they hold the greater promise for a better planet in the future-- for every life form.

Warming Up for Cybils Nonfiction Decisions

I'm so excited to be knee-deep in Cybils Nonfiction Nominees for Elementary and Middle Grade readers. (Nominations are still open until October 15, 2019, so click on that link to look over this list and add your own nominee if it is not there!) My library hold list is long enough to wrap a Halloween mummy. My TBR (To Be Read) pile grows and grows. My stack of likely shortlist titles is NOT short at all! 
I had already posted reviews and comments on a few of these nominees earlier in the year when they first caught my eye. I'll share links to those posts next time. After that I'll begin posting new reviews and comments on many of the the other nominees in the coming days and weeks.

WORDSONG, An Imprint of Highlights

For now, though, I want to share one set of titles that combine the glory of informative, intriguing, and unusual nonfiction content about subjects found in nature, but do so using poetic forms. That means that they won't be evaluated in my nonfiction category. In fact, this trio of titles from talented author/illustrator teams were all published before the Cybils 2019 qualifying dates. 
But, oh, they do deserve some attention, and three are wonderful examples of the ways in which nonfiction books can sparkle and shine. 
They provide a closer look at a talented author, David L. Harrison, who writes and successfully publishes MANY books, including fanciful fiction and other appealing approaches to nonfiction content. Illustrator Julie Bayless is also prolific. Her style is hard to characterize, other than being very kid-friendly while incorporating both scientifically accurate details and playful twists on those details. 
For example, their recent pairing wins grins in lyrical nature romps: CRAWLY SCHOOL FOR BUGS: Poems to Drive You Buggy. 
The premise of this clever bug fest is a "bug school" located in a rotting log. Vaguely familiar school issues and relationships unfold, depicting the various personalities of 

"...hummers,

tweeters, 

SINGERS,

diggers,

LEAPERS, 

creepers, 

wingers."

The charming appeal of the rhymed verses  and colorful illustrations is their artful balance between scientific accuracy and anthropomorphized details in expressions and costuming. The premise is established with the school rule: NEVER EAT A FRIEND AT SCHOOL. Then various insects and other bugs each deal with species-specific coping lessons, ranging from ticks with sore bottoms (from being extracted), stink bugs who are unpopular, a wasp who zaps a nosy dog, a school nurse who tends toward drawing blood (mosquito, naturally), and a janitor who happily gathers muck and dung (Mr. D, the dung beetle) to name a few. Smiles are generated on every page, while science slips in as slick as slime.

CHARLESBRIDGE

NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON'T: Poems About Creatures That Hide takes the science a step hider, wider, and deeper. This light-hearted but image- and information-dense collection of verses is organized by animal classes: sea life, amphibians/reptiles, mammals, insects/spiders, and birds.

This title provides the back matter I longed for in the above book, offering common species names and latin labels, with just enough explanation to clarify references in the main text. Each  animal family page also provides a kid-friendly science resource for curious readers. 

The rhymed verses in this title are less giggly and more informative, as are the illustrations. Giles Laroche uses an artful layering of drawing, cut paper, painting, and gluing, with the resulting scenes suggesting an authentic natural world, but one that will likely inspire young artists to explore similar techniques. The verses, too, are laced with intriguing specifics and evocative moods, inviting further observation and investigation. 

CHARLESBRIDGE

A PLACE TO START A FAMILY: Poems About Creatures That Build is another creation combining the considerable talents of Harrison and Laroche. This, too, organizes the information about animal homes in categories: underground, on the land, in the water, in the air, (with a bonus surprise at the final turn). It, too, features the delightful rhymed revelations of familiar and unusual critters and their nesting patterns. Laroche's complex media and layering technique results in surprisingly natural and scientifically accurate scenes. 

The back matter is helpful in this title, too, and the "Learn More" resources noted for each category are ideal choices for curious young minds to pursue. 

When it comes to delivering information, details, and other facts- real facts that can be verified and confirmed- there are many formats to use, for any age. In these books the blend of rhymed verse, skillful art, helpful back matter, and reliable resources elevate entertaining books to learning tools. That's a winning combination for any age. 

Du Iz Tak? Illustrations make all the Difference!

Candlewick Press, 2016

Whether you are new to this blog or a regular reader, the title of my blog should make it obvious that I value picture books far beyond their appeal as entertainment, concepts, stories, or information. I love picture books that accomplish any or all of the above, but especially so when they trigger brainwaves firing faster than any video game or other device could accomplish. That quality, in fact, is the basis for my many arguments that the true, wide audience for picture books is NOT limited to early ages.

Wordless books (examples here) often have that effect, as do books that require manipulation or physical engagement (examples here). In the case of this featured title, hold on to your brainwave caps and prepare for fun. 
DU IZ TAK? is written and illustrated by Carson Ellis. In addition to it's visual appeal and narrative, it's also an homage to communication and communities. In this case it's a community of fanciful, insect-y creatures who share a common language, but not one we would recognize. It works for any language, which I found to be particularly appealing in this image of the cover of the Chinese version, here.
This book received a 2016 CALDECOTT HONOR and starred reviews from KIRKUS, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, and HORN BOOK, among many other well-deserved accolades. I hadn't intended to write a post about it because the glowing commentaries from voices more widely circulated than mine were numerous, and they included so many of the points I would have made here. 
And yet...
When I checked it out of the library for a second time, I realized there were so many rich ways to consider the depth of this book. There are sub-plots and visual narrative threads dealing with life cycles of plants and animals, with predator/prey interactions, with collaboration, communication, creative play, cause-effect chains, observation/inquiry models, and habitats in which communities abide.

Young readers (and older ones) come to various conclusions about how the invented language should be "translated". In general, many have arrived at this conclusion:

"Du iz tak?" translates as "What is that?"  

and 

"Ma nazoot." translates as "I don't know."

But even the use  of traditional punctuation leaves openings for dramatic differences of interpretation. Yes, the little critters' faces and their evolving scenes offer a degree of likelihood as to what they would be saying, but that is minimal. 

Let's just try those two lines with various attitudes attached:

What is THAT? (surprise? fright? excitement?)

What IS that? (revulsion, annoyance, irritation?)

WHAT is THAT? (shock, anxiety, demanding?)

and the possible responses:

I don't KNOW. (reflecting surprise, frustration, concern?)

I don't know. (annoyance, avoidance, confusion, even worry?)

I DON'T know. (denial, argument, irritation?)

And each page turn opens up additional options for assigning personalities and attitudes to each speaker. Which is to say, this is book that has a powerful effect on all readers, from the opening green, life-saturated endpapers to the final ones, and including each spread within the covers. The final spread presents the copyright/dedication but includes the dapper, mustachioed little caterpillar uttering his final "ta-ta!". 
I realized, after repeatedly examining page after page, that it was likely his smugness that drew me back to check it out again. That little dude seemed to know that there is no saying good-bye to this book. I encourage you to read it again, if you are already familiar with this winning book, or discover it for yourself and form your own opinions about these remarkable little chatters.
You won't regret it, and if you translate lines differently, I welcome your interpretation in the comments.