NIGHT WALK: A Dream of a Picture Book

CANDLEWICK PRESS, 2024

Unless you are entirely new to the world of picture books, I'd guess that you know of OWL MOON, written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by John Schoennherr (Philomel, 1987). Both author and illustrator represent lifetimes of remarkable successes, and yet their collaboration on OWL MOON feels to me like a capstone accomplishment.

Yolen has published more than four hundred books for children and youth, many award winners among them. Even so, that title conjures instant memories of the utterly realistic yet magical cold weather owl walk of a child and parent. Through a snow-covered woodland, they stroll quietly, gently, seeking a glimpse of a night owl. 

That's a lovely premise, to say the least. The magic comes in the way a seemingly simple, concrete story transcends the intended goal to depict a timeless yet precious moment between the human pair, christened by the eventual presence of the owl in the title. The illustrations captured and expanded the frozen, heartwarming, minimalist story with Caldecott Award-winning images that engage all of our senses. 

That book is touchstone in storytelling, poetry, voice, mood, and figurative language.

I begin with that homage because I rarely compare other books to OWL MOON, and definitely don't rank other work  alongside that original. This  picture book is an exception to my unwritten rule. NIGHT WALK is written and illustrated by Jason Cockcroft. This is not "another Owl Moon", rather it calls that icon to mind in content and quality. In this case, it's Grandpa waking up Sleepyhead to take a night walk in search of Grandma's favorite place. The text is an extended dialogue between Grandpa and child, reading like direct open verse in exchanges alternating plain font and italic. The child has never taken a night walk, has never imagined how such familiar wild territory could look so different in moonlight.

Together they are on a trek to Grandma's favorite place, with the child noticing countless things they knew were beloved by Grandma. Sometimes the child points them out, other times Grandpa does. Each discovery is viewed as a potential "Grandma's favorite place". Their hike involves fox and owl, fish and hedgehog, The illustrations are richly evocative, with shades and depths of blue, always frosted by moonglow. 

Under the stars, too many to count, watching passing whales, both rest on a hillside and whisper that they miss Grandma. In the fading night, Grandpa finally confirms that THIS is Grandma's favorite place-- as a page turn reveals a spectacular morning sunrise reflected in dawn waters. That, my friends, is a spoiler, but one that I won't apologize for revealing. The progression of story allows that penultimate scene to take your breath away, whether you know it is coming or not. I won't reveal the closing text on the final page turn, but you might anticipate it. 

This quietly elegant and yet simply rustic tale is not one that surprises. In fact it will resonate in each reader with your own special memories, personal losses, hallowed spaces. And with the remaining relationships with those who shared memories and love. I hope you'll take time not only to read NIGHT WALK, but to savor its grace and embrace your own memories and emotional treasures. Within the publishing world it is often repeated that "quiet books" are a hard sell. With this as an example, I doubt that.

Father's Day Reminder

 

Pen It! Publications, 2021

If you happen to have a copy of my picture book, IS IT OVER?, you might pull it out to share on this FATHERS' DAY. Illustrator Rebeca S. Hirsch (now working as R. S. Hirsch) transformed a story of my heart to one with multi-layered characters and powerful imagery. The theme of this book is the power of storytelling to provide comfort, and in reaching out to others who need help we often help ourselves. 

Naturally, that storytelling power is magnified within a loving, trusting relationship, and shared stories fuel memories to strengthen those bonds. 

Another even more recent picture book with a surprise military dad element is WITH DAD, written by Richard Jackson and sensitively illustrated by the multi-award-winning  Brian Floca. It, too, features a memorable shared experience that encompasses and expands the deepest connections between a father and child.

NEAL PORTER BOOKS, 2024

Other suggestions for picture books for this special day can be found in earlier posts HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE or simply type FATHERS DAY in the search box ( over there>>>) to find even more from the archives of this blog. 

Whether your father is still alive or not, is your biological sire or your father by circumstance or choice, is young, old, ill or fit, consider experiences you've shared that epitomize your relationship. I hope that those stories involved trust and deep emotions. If so, consider  sharing a memorable story or two with your dad, if possible,  or with someone who knew them if he is no longer here, or with anyone who knows YOU well. Storytelling is a way of strengthening bonds, and we can all use more of those. They can even become bridges to people who might otherwise not feel close to us. Give it a try, or use one of these picture book recommendations to encourage sharing stories with others. 

A Celebration of Generations: My Baba's Garden

I celebrate many picture books  in these posts, and all are memorable in one or more ways. In this case, through a story born from childhood memories of a beloved grandma, pages of lyrical text and luminous images have imprinted themselves on my mind and heart. That's not only because this is an admirable example of the best in picture books, but it issues a stirring call to my own memories of times spent with grandparents. 

 

NEAL PORTER BOOKS/Holilday House, 2023

MY BABA'S GARDEN is written by poet Jordan Scott and illustrated by Sydney Smith. Using gentle and kid-friendly narration by the young boy (representing the author as a child), Scott  blends a child's view of an odd place with a loving grandma while employing rich free-verse language and metaphor:

"My Baba lived in a chicken coop beside a highway

behind a sulfur mill

shaped like an Egyptian pyramid,

bright yellow like a sun that never goes to sleep."

Smith portrays these opening scenes of dark-sky car trips and simplistic painted art such as a child would produce if asked to "paint a picture of a place you love."

The boy doesn't live with Baba, exactly, but she is central to his daily life. In predawn hours his father drives the boy to stay with her every day before leaving for work. Those early spreads shift seamlessly from primitive art to Smith's remarkable illustrations using atmospheric tones and light-infused figures amid mundane but marvelous details of a kitchen wreathed in love. Baba lived through perilous war years, when every scrap of food meant the difference between survival and starvation. Her residual habits are closely observed by the child: room after room filled with jars and bins, dried herbs and vegetables, frequent urging to eat more. Baba knows little English, but they understand each other through gestures, nods, selected words, and ever-present love.

Baba's garden is her security and sustenance, despite growing under meager conditions. Baba rescues worms in the rain, from rushing gutters, collecting them in dirt-filled glass jar to restore them to a place they can thrive-- her garden. Why, he wonders. Without words, tracing the creases in his palm, she explores the gifts, the powers worms have to aerate, to irrigate, to enrich the soil from which their lifeline foods are growing. 

When Baba's small dwelling is replaced with a big building, she comes to live at the boy's home in the city. Her old garden becomes an overgrown jungle. He cares for her the way she did for him, serving her apple slices and cereal in a bowl you could swim in. Their only garden becomes a few small pots the boy sows with her sun-gold cherry tomato seeds, visible outside her window. Rain reminds Baba to tickle his palm. It's his turn to pace through the rain, eyes lowered to locate and collect worms for the pots.

The author's note before the story begins reveals that this account hews close to his own experiences. Even having read that first, the words and illustrations grace each spread as if reliving the author's experience in a dreamlike state. Smith's skill with backlighting is more than craft, although that is abundantly clear. He infuses each scene with a magical essence that transcends our own experiences and inserts readers into the emotional tones and connections of the characters. 

I was an admirer of Sydney Smith's picture book illustration talent from his Caldecott and other awards and honors, some of which I've reviewed HERE, HERE, and HERE. It was in a more recent work of his that I lost my capacity to avoid naming favorites. I TALK LIKE A RIVER glows with comparable emotional depth and supportive connections in families. That title as well asl MY BABA'S GARDEN hold a high place one my all-time list of  recommendations. Undoubtedly this creative pair brings out the best in each other. I hope this will not be the last of their shared talent gracing picture book pages.

If you missed it, check out my recent review of Marie Boyd's JUST A WORM to celebrate the remarkable gifts and power of WORMS!

Christmases to Remember, and Inspire

 Posting this 2020 Covid-anchored note is, by now, hardly necessary. Although those protected by vaccinations are numbering in the millions, globally, we are cautioned to stay the course in safety practices. The prospect of "normal" is still many months beyond the calendar flip to 2021. With that in mind, I'm offering some look-backs to previous Christmas posts, reminding myself that memories of the past are powerful anchors. And if you continue to the end of the post, there are some recent picture books with holiday joy to celebrate. 

When it comes to nostalgia, it's hard to beat a Patricia Polacco picture book. In a prior post I featured FOUR of her glorious Christmas stories, each drawn from tender memories and illustrated with her trademark joyful colors and details. Check them out, HERE. 

That post includes links to each of the books, and they are truly timeless and comforting, with characteristic elements of humor, struggle, and satisfying resolve.  

Another throwback post also celebrates the treasure of sharing memories. In the case of A NEW COAT FOR ANNA, both the author and illustrator reflect personal insights to World War II survival. We may be feeling the stress of a year that seems endlessly miserable, but war years stretched on for half a decade, followed by years of recovery.  Severe hardships held little hope of relief. This story is a matter of making the best of a talent and  love and hard work. It has a bit of the quality of the short story, GIFT OF THE MAGI, by O. Henry.

Sometimes those who have the least are willing to sacrifice the most to find heartfelt ways to fill the wishes of loved ones. I hope you've witnessed as many examples of that in this past year as I have, and have been inspired by the generosity of others.

Now for a more recent recommendation, one  from 2019. I think of that as coming from the "before times", and it is bringing loads of joy from those times right along with it.

MEERKAT Christmas is created by Emily Gravett. Those who know me well will be grinning at this title and image, since they know I was a meerkat fanatic long before the general public became aware of these durable, social creatures. I was a fan back when anyone hearing me speak of them would ask, "What kind of cats are they?"

So, rather than praise this book personally, I'll share a post by another blogger, HERE. That way you'll know that the recommendation  is not coming from a place of bias. Anyone who knows even a bit about meerkats will find it no surprise that the book is LOADED with surprises, including clever flaps and smile-generating twists and turns. The review also links to several other recent Christmas picture books. 

So, whether you are reading this on Christmas Day or on some future day/year, I urge you to check out all of the above titles. And as you celebrate Christmas or any other winter holiday as 2020 winds down, hold on to hope and humor, generosity and memories. No matter how challenging life can be, each of these may remind you just how resilient WE can be as we move into a better future in 2021, and beyond. 

And keep your eyes peeled for humor and grace and joy.

Making Memories: IN A JAR

This will be brief.
Not because this book deserves little attention, but because it is a brilliant reminder to nurture the life beyond ourselves- in the natural world, but especially in relationships. As soon as possible, get your hands on this book and get busy making memories in real life.

IN A JAR is the recent picture book written and illustrated by Deborah Marcero.

Penguin Books for Kids

Someone I dearly love began, with her first baby's first breath, to whisper the words "Let's make some memories" in that infant's ear. She repeated some version of that mantra preceding the mundane and miraculous, the planned and the unexpected, throughout her kids' lives, including their eye-rolling adolescences. 
Now adults, I expect they'll do the same with their own eventual families.
This picture book is eloquent in words and images, offering that same invitation to the tot audience and to the adult reader, the ones holding books and turning pages. It calls all to be intentional, to be direct and in the moment, to savor and save, and to use those moments to root us in deep relationships. 
Digital screens have value. Our brains (big ones and little ones) are drawn to them. But on the other side of a human-screen relationship, no one is THERE.  No one remembers back. There is no authentic emotional link, no one to smile with, or cry with, or just KNOW us.

There are countless wonderful things about this book, and meaningful ways in which it reveals nature and seasons and life cycles and longing. But mostly, it just might launch someone into making memories.

For more details about this book (and added praise), check out starred reviews from KIRKUS (HERE), and SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (HERE). The Booklist starred review included this:
*”Marcero works magic with prismatic watercolors, ink, and pencil, as her light-filled illustrations chronicle the young rabbits’ exploits and their appreciative wonder of the world around them . . . This joyful account of friendship will charm readers with the notion of capturing wind or a rainbow in a jar, but its deeper message of maintaining relationships over a distance will comfort those who have moved or know someone who has.” —Booklist, starred review