BIRDS Are Back: Two Great Titles

ROARING BROOK PRESS, 2020

Can there ever be TWO MANY BIRDS? Of course not! Written and illustrated by Cindy Derby, this seemingly simple picture book presents fun for the littlest audiences and insights for teen social dynamics studies. 

A bossy and controlling VIB  (Very Important Bird) restricts access to the ONLY available tree, topping that with arbitrary and rather obnoxious rules. It's entirely (and playfully) predictable that VIB would loudly object to two eggs that hatch, putting the residency count over the arbitrary 100 mark. Despite VIB  grumbles, mother bird and 99 other birds who had made it into the stark branches of that singular tree are celebratory.

What happens next is far less predictable, but packed with visual fun and developments that draw on real world nature as well as "human" nature.

There's much here to enjoy, first, and then to spark conversations. For starters, to provide for everyone it doesn't mean making smaller slices of the pie, but making the pie bigger! (or growing more trees!)

Plenty, too, to spark comparisons of these comical little feathered ones to real birds and their features, reduced habitats, the power of collective responses, and dealing with demanding personalities with arbitrary rules.

These funny "birdbrains" can teach us all a thing or two.

EERDMANS Books for Young Readers
2025

FLY LIKE A BIRD is written and illustrated by OLGA PTASHNIK. This new release takes a direct approach to blending fiction with facts. Although a young chickadee voices parts of the narrative, and is attributed with very human concerns involving growth, change, and readiness to launch, the clarity of which is effectively conveyed.

Nonfiction content about actual bird specifies, flight, and other patterns is printed in blue, while a presumed fledgling is going through a coming-of-flight story with concerns about flying, a transition on which its life depends. This gorgeously illustrated picture book is both impressionistic and realistic in aspects of various birds and their relationships to flight. The narrative for the cautious character will resonate with young readers facing any and all bridges to new frontiers and expectations. |

Double-spread back pages showcase spot images of the eleven birds from the main text with short passages that add interesting  information.

I'm featuring this pair together because they offer a rich opportunity to share and compare picture books in ways that might surprise and delight both the young reader and the adults in their lives. I hope you'll give these a try and then launch them into the lives of kids.

2024 Newbery Medal Winner: THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE

**Click here to read what author David Eggers had to say about getting the NEWBERY AWARD phone call on the morning of the day: DAVID EGGERS.

Since my inaugural post on this blog, my focus has been on picture books. They are produced in the unique format in which the combination of visual and language narratives blend (I'll say it) in magical ways to produce powerful content that is greater than the sum of its parts. 

That remains my focus here, and yet...

I've expanded my view to consider some graphic novels, a similar but specific structure that also combines image and text, but with unique patterns and skill demands, often resulting in more complex storytelling. Certainly longer storytelling.

I've also celebrated the Caldecott Award and Honor winners in many posts. Those very worthy titles get plenty of attention from platforms more substantial than this one, so I prefer to find and share other outstanding offerings. I especially enjoy having featured some of those titles BEFORE the big awards are announced. That was the case with picture book HOT DOG by Doug Salati when (way last August) I raved about it here, months before it was awarded the 2024 Caldecott Medal.

I've even, occasionally, stretched my limited space here to spotlight full text titles. That is the category that's the other jewel in the ALA Awards list, the Newbery Award. As i followed the announcements this year, I waited for the ultimate news to be celebrated. I had somehow not even heard about the winner, THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE, written by Dave Eggers, with remarkable occasional art by Shawn Harris. I ordered it immediately.

Once i had my hands on this remarkable book I devoured it. It is nearly impossible to classify the genre of this Newbery winner for 2023. It offers elements of contemporary realism and fantasy, or perhaps magical realism. After reading, you should make that decision for yourself, and that will likely depend on your deep-rooted sense of the strength and wisdom of nature and its creatures. Although I hadn't heard about it until that announcement,  I can't stop talking about it to everyone, every age. Notable authors' comments on the back cover attest to that. I agreed with them all, but especially with author Annie Burrows:

"...Exhibit A in the argument for children's books being great literature."

Johannes, the four-legged narrator, has a voice for the ages, offering mentor text for ANYONE who writes. Every word, every punctuation mark (or lack of them), captures and reveals the inner workings of his mind and heart. This ranges from the immediate and concrete to social and philosophical. His general attitude about the uselessness of ducks reminded me of the rabbits' disparaging attitude about dogs in Watership Down, as did the deftly interspersed suspense, affection, and humor. 

The author opens with a brief statement that these characters are animals- not symbols for any humans or human themes. He states clearly that the location and animals are not real, and particularly that the animals represent only themselves, despite human impulses to see symbolic or satirical reflections of ourselves and others in any other species. We often impose our superior, more important selves. The author succeeded, since that was my impression walking away. These are truly the voices of the creatures in nature that I have long observed, enjoyed, and even studied. Their inner lives, for a change, have been revealed to me, to all of us.

The role of ART and our innate responses to it plays a vital role in this story, too, and so does the occasional, powerful, full color, double page art revealing Johannes in various scenes. The images are always breathtaking and evocative of his complex character and the sense that the park is a full-fledged character, too.

Another benefit of this book is its layout: slightly larger font, wider line spacing and margins, storytelling that demands both close reading and obsessive page-turning. It was easily a one-night read, and that meant I could read it again and again. Each time I discover new details and nuances, deeper questions, and stronger connections to these remarkable characters and their concerns. It's an ideal read-aloud to younger folks since it does not require endless hours to sustain attention to the end, and young people are even more enthralled by nature and their fellow inhabitants than adults.

Any attempt to share a synopsis could spoil or at least diminish the power of the first read experience. This story, Johannes and his account of life as he lives it and considers it, invites readers to come along and discover for yourselves what his life is like. 

Say yes.

Prolific (and Inspiring) Author PAT ZIETLOW MILLER'S Spring Picture Books

 I began my recent review of HOW CAN WE BE KIND? for toddlers and early readers (HERE) with a brief reference to Pat Zietlow Miller's NYT best-selling title, BE KIND (my Goodreads review HERE). The range of topics, themes, characters, and writing styles embraced in Miller's many picture books is impressive, and inspiring. In May and June alone she celebrates the release of THREE new titles, two of which are featured here. These two are particularly clear examples of her versatility and talent in exploring the intentions, audiences, and purposes for writing to make a perfect landing on the "just right" approach. She doesn't apply a formulaic personal style and yet her expert touch is evident in all her books. In my opinion (which is what this blog is all about, isn't it?) the most recognizable pattern in Miller's many picture books is her success in seamlessly weaving characters, text approaches, and voices into an effective whole. She utilizes these creative and craft skills in each particular book to achieve the story that she wants to tell, the intended impact, and to best reach the children she hopes will read/hear her content. 

QUILL TREE BOOKS, 2022

Both of Miller's new releases are contemporary and yet timeless. I was struck by her choices in point of view and voice for each. NOT SO SMALL, written by Pat Zietlow Miller and illustrated by Paolo Escobar, features young people as the stars. Kids are front and center on every spread, but the action is achieved through a third-person narrator rather than  using a more predictable direct address to the young figures, a "YOU" approach. 

In this manner the narrator uses sentences with more general phrases like "one person", a "small voice", "talkers", "writers", and "walkers". This approach allows space for the illustrator to portray young people of diverse backgrounds in various activism scenes, ones in which every child will feel they are the object of the narrator's message. Physical differences, identities, and demeanors in illustrations naturally extol every child to find  themselves within its pages. Each remains "small", in contrast with enormous buildings and issues. The steps that each ONE can take are stated and viewed in practical terms, but yield a powerful impact as they combine their voices, efforts, and commitments to be "heard". They leave an impact that is "not small...at ALL." 

I grew up in the Viet Nam protest years, which included multiple other actions and causes  involving public demonstrations, petitions, and campaigns, both pro and con. At that time there were few if any young children visible in newspaper or media coverage, except, of course, for teens/college students who populated  most of these events. The noteworthy exception to that were some of the many CIVIL RIGHTS demonstrations, sit-ins, and even arrests which came to include children (See MARCHING FOR FREEDOM:Walk Together Children and Don't Grow Weary, written by Elizabeth Partrtidge: VIKING BYR, 2009). 

There were no picture books addressing protest activity, and certainly none placing children front and center. None that celebrated the strength and authority of young children acting and using their voices to make a difference in an enormous world, yet the one they inhabit and will inherit. The marchers and their causes in this picture book do not advocate for or against, do not specify topics or themes, but allow any young person who feels committed to matters close their hearts to believe in and pursue their ultimate ability to make a difference. This, in fact, is a call to seek out others, to act locally and gradually see their global connections. It is a powerful call to arm themselves with clarity of thinking, collaboration, determination, community action, and commitment. 

Roaring Brook Press, 2022

By contrast, Zietlow's other picture book of Spring, 2022, is SEE YOU SOMEDAY SOON, In this case the author also avoids a predictable direct address, second person voice. This voice would be suited, of course, indicating through narration an understanding of the universal feeling of missing someone special in our lives. 

Instead, the young character is drawn with cartoon-style ambiguity regarding gender and ethnic identity, while their longed-for elder loved one is never named specifically as a grandparent, but is obviously an elder who is loved and deeply missed. The text and specifics are intensely personal, and yet the impact hits the mark directly in the reader's heart. 

Illustrator Suzy Lee is enormously talented at packing seemingly simple scenes with vibrant but not glaring colors, while using her remarkable cut-out skills to showcase key words, doubling the impact of colors, words, and expressions with unexpected reveals and smiles. Missing someone deeply is universally experienced. This small child's first person plea and promise are throughly authentic for the character, resonating with both crushingly real longing and a comfortingly reassuring resolution that has not a syllable or hint of schmaltz. This is a book with a highly specific character speaking in an intimately personal voice. even so, it reads as if it is revealing each reader's personal experiences.

Neither of these picture books is better than the other, and neither should actually be compared to the other, except perhaps in a craft examination such as this has been. Each stands strong on its own footing and with its own integrity and appeal. In fact, each of Miller's titles merits close reading and analysis by anyone hoping to write memorable and remarkable picture books. That, though, is advice for adults, when reading for themselves. These are titles that could well be used in instructional work as mento9r text for voice in writing classes. 

But these are books fully intended for the enjoyment of young audiences, and those audiences are the true test of a successful picture book. Try either (no, BOTH) of these new titles with young readers and see what they have to say. Whatever voice they use, I'm predicting a unanimous round of cheers.

Candlewick   June, 2022

If you recall, I mentioned that Miller has a third picture book that released just a few days ago. This is the first of several she has co-authored with e.E. Charlton-Trujillo: LUPE LOPEZ, ROCK STAR RULES.  Don't miss this new title, since it it the first of several upcoming books starring the irrepressible and lovable LUPE LOPEZ- kindergarten  rock star!

The Power of Voice: Two Picture Book Models

Ask anyone who writes, or teaches writing, and you'll quickly hear that VOICE is the feature of literature that most often captures the attention of readers, editors, and agents. And yet, when speakers are asked to elaborate, their frequent response is "I know it when I read it." 

Well, that's not especially helpful, even if it is true. In my recent review of THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY, (HERE) it was the author's amazing interpretation of a dog's voice that gained my praise. That book  is a fiction offering that reveals important truths about life.

In nonfiction picture books, VOICE also resonates, often through the author's attitude, style, or point of view. That was particularly true in the recent post about THE WORLD'S MOST POINTLESS BOOK ABOUT ANIMALS (HERE). VOICE can capture attention and engage readers, even mentor them in their own approaches to writing with a distinctive voice that evokes   connections and emotions.

VOICE, though, can be quite literal. It can refer to the capacity of an individual to express their identity, their needs, their values. Sadly, in real life, VOICES from outside the mainstream are too easily ignored. These two titles celebrate (and inform us about) readers using those voices, including  children and underrepresented members of society.

Workman Publishing, 2021

HEAR MY VOICE/ESCUCHA MI VOZ : The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States is compiled by Warren Binford and illustrated by Michael Garcia Bochenek. As the title indicates, this resulted from a project meant to assure that at least some of the actual young people who have been/are being detained at our border could speak about the experience from their deeply personal and individual experiences. What's more, the book guarantees that their voices will be heard and will persist across time. As they should be.

With a brief introduction to explain the project, a few spreads indicate colorfully illustrated speakers offering their own names, then their individual homelands. The very natural next lines indicate the HOW and WHY of their journeys, with the accompanying emotional reactions along the way. With speakers ranging from tots to teens, depicted in various detention settings, the emerging questions and concerns are shockingly ordinary. Until they are not. Their simple statements reveal ways in which life in detention is dehumanizing and even terrifying, not to mention leaving them hungry, cold, tired, and even sick. These simply-stated facts combine with illustrations that are slightly comic-style, but with tones and perspectives that enhance understanding and connections of mind, body, and emotions. 

There is a center-switch design, allowing readers to enter the book from the English text or the Spanish text by flipping the book upside down to read again. The contributing voices are named and featured in the alternate-facing center spread, and the words are theirs. The compiling author opens the story (in both approaches) with a vow of truth that sounds very much like a declaration in court. These are the actual words (and voices) of the children (detainees) they interviewed for the project. 

HARPER (HCH), 2021

Next up is SHARICE'S BIG VOICE: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman, co-authored by Sharice Davids with Nancy K. Mays. Narrated in Congresswoman Sharice Davids's first person voice, she reflects on the stages in her life that led to her current elected position. As a Native/indigenous woman she describes the powerful influence of witnessing her mother using her voice in conversation, especially with strangers. Sharice was a talker, too, enough so that it sometimes got her into trouble in school. Even so, her curiosity, her opinions, and her growing awareness of her Ho-Chunk heritage  revealed that their identity is PEOPLE OF THE BIG VOICE. (Learn more HERE).

While studtying in college she had many jobs that required her to problem solve, to listen, and to find resolutions. Those years included training in Jujitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Capoeira, and mixed martial arts, building confidence, her competitive spirit, and reinforcing her mother's example of hard work leading to success. She describes becoming a lawyer, serving Native communities, and eventually working in the White House. Throughout her law career she learned how laws are made and also how rarely those making the laws understand the impact they would have on ordinary people. The closing pages reveal her grassroots campaign to become a lawmaker, leading to her election to Congress where her big voice could speak on behalf of those forgotten people.

Back matter includes notes from the authors, as well as several pages of information about Ho-Chunk Nation. Throughout this simply-told account there are personal insights that will connect with kids (she HATES onions on pizza!). The illustrations by Ojibwe Woodland artist Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley use strong, earthy tones in high-contrast colors, emphasizing geometric shapes and other Native references with bold black lines in powerful postures and profiles throughout.

These distinctly different nonfiction offerings have many important things in common. Both provide intensely personal looks at the power of using voice to gain justice and to resolve problems. Both indicate that using voice does not always result in being heard. Both point out that whose voice is heard can all too often depend on the amount of power they have, or don't. And on the color of their skin.

And both are outstanding nominees for CYBILS AWARDS in elementary nonfiction. 

THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY: A Picture Book You Must Not Miss

 Personal note: Dog books/stories enter my life with a head start, along with a bit of a handicap. I adore meeting dogs on the page, with or without pictures, and yet I open any dog book and turn pages with caution, knowing how easily their stories can break our hearts. Even so, the characters are often memorable, the stories reflect our lives, and the eventual endings often resonate with truths of deep significance. (See a few prior posts, HERE, HERE, and HERE, among many others). I had no qualms about reading and writing about this book, and I'm happy that I did.

Chronicle Books, 2021

My heart was drawn to THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY before even seeing the cover. That title told me instantly that the language would be dog-centered, allowing this first-person-narrator-dog to express himself with unleashed doggy-perspective and language of his lived experiences. Written by Derick Wilder and illustrated by Catia Chien, this achieves the highest levels of narrative and visual storytelling. As the cover suggests, this is a joyful, delightful book, but have a few tissues handy when you read or share it. 

This recent picture book release is a masterpiece, in my opinion, in both visual and narrative storytelling. I delayed writing about this one for more than a week, rereading it countless times. My  dilemma in beginning these notes came from pondering where to begin. I settled on summarizing the story, then tossed a coin to decide whether the author or illustrator would be first in line for the praise that would follow. 

From the opening endpapers to the final ones, an older dog's life and thoughts are revealed, including his exuberant embrace of life- from waking, to greeting his beloved "Little" (his foreverfriend), to walks through the "diggiedirt" into the "tallsticks", to the "gurgleburble", with a satisfying rest at the "smoothstump". Midway through the book our narrator reveals a gentle, happy, and glorious passage to another life, missing his Little and her pack of "twopaws", but thrilled to run and romp with vigor when he realizes that his "oldbones" feel new. Several page turns reveal passing seasons, holding Little in his caring gaze, then thrilling to the conclusion that I will not spoil. This resolution is so satisfying and joyous that I tear up as I type this, offering readers reassurance that it provides in every way both comfort and continuity in the cycles of life. 

Since the above provides samples of the remarkable voice, perspectives, and language of the narrator, "gooddog", its appropriate that author Wilder won the toss, so my praise will continue with his text. l've heard and read countless examples of smile-making word creations by preschoolers, and I've created a few words while playing with my own dogs over the years. I suspect most dog people have done so. I never doubted that my dogs incorporated my normal language as well as these dog-specific word, some with more ease than others. I was always certain that their responses to language revealed remarkable intelligence and understanding. 

Wilder appears to have been deeply connected to such dogs and to their concrete-descriptive-constructions. He speaks/writes in "dog-lish" superbly, with each use producing smiles and nods from this reader. They are laced through the text with a "just-right" frequency and fluency, never disrupting the narrative but rather enriching it with the sensory, innovative, heartfelt voice of the narrator. Readers/listeners of any age will translate automatically and engage with familiar experiences, but more deeply and fully through this voice. Reader immersion in "gooddog"s transitions and perspectives elevate a gentle and sensitive story by providing deep identifying and empathizing with these tender life experiences.

Illustrator Chien deserves equal praise for providing an immersive experience that fully captures the spirit and sensitive flow of this story. The colors, tones, crayon-like edges/fills, and matte finishes stretch across each spread with scenes and images that swirl with specificity and impressionistic style. Each spread sweeps across our view but also invites close examination. The expansive spreads interpret the text perfectly, plumbing the emotional and physical passages while anchoring the story in  the poignant and loving perspectives of "gooddog". 

Some folks caution picture book writers to not stretch such short text across long spans of time, unless intentionally addressing seasons, historic time frames, or are otherwise required to do so. In this case, the text implies a long expanse of time, but Chien serves that quality efficiently and masterfully with visual techniques. The opening endpapers incorporate spot sketches of "gooddog" and Little across years from infant to toddler to early childhood. The closing endpapers mirror that process with a flip I won't reveal. The use of a dayglo orange collar from that initial introduction provides a thread throughout every turn that, consciously or subliminally, carries reassurance and the delight of endless love from cover to cover. 

If my description in any way sounds melancholy or miserable, I have done the text and images an enormous disservice. There are other outstanding picture books dealing with dogs and their Littles and life cycles. I adore, have written about,  and recommend many of those, often. Even so, this exceptional blend of life-laughter-lingering-love, this unforgettable character with an instantly recognizable yet wholly original voice, these vibrant and soothing spreads combine to produce a picture book like no other. 

At the time I post this, THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY has received four starred reviews. With book awards season looming, I have no doubt that it will be seriously considered for and will win more accolades. Now that I've written a review/post about this book, I'll return my library copy. I've already purchased a copy to keep and one to gift, with more likely to pass through my hands to others. I hope the same will be true for you, too.

SMALL in the CITY and TRUMAN- Two Views of Urban Pets

This pair of recently released picture books are treasures when enjoyed "as is", each offering a heartwarming, heart-tugging story, with visually engaging and expressive images and satisfying resolutions. Each will undoubtedly by reread again and again, each inviting readers of any age to pore over the illustrations and expressions and subtle details despite appearing to be pretty simple. And BOTH offer ideal mentor text for older readers for exploration of deep themes, distinct voice, and story structure to build tension and weave clues throughout minimalist text.

Neal Porter Books, 2019

SMALL IN THE CITY is the creative work of author/illustrator Sydney Smith. The universality of the main character is brilliantly portrayed by the illustrator, allowing the clothing, skin tone, and body posture to provide a character who can and will be donned by any and every reader. The first person voice pairs with up-close scenes, in full spreads and frames of various sizes, to present insights about the possible welcomes and dangers of a neighborhood, especially to an implied listener who might be new to the area, probably navigating it alone. Questions arise immediately about who the "you" might be, with various clues allowing for multiple possibilities. Nearing the end, the underlying story emerges, pulling hard at our heartstrings but without manipulation or cheap tricks. The color tones, the subtle details of reassurance, and the agency of the narrator will all be welcomed by very young, but will also serve as an extended analogy for middle grade and older writers who are exploring and developing understanding of deeper themes. 

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019

TRUMAN is written by Jean Reidy and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. Truman is certainly the most appealing, charming, donut-sized tortoise you'll ever meet. He's also very clever, recognizing subtle changes in in his dear friend, Sarah, on the day she prepares to to go to school for the first time. From his window-view tank, Truman's logic leads him on a grand adventure to "be brave" and go in search of Sarah, who he had watched climb ON THE BUS for the first time!
His deep-seated commitment to Sarah, his flawless logic, and impressive determination lead him out, onward, and unwilling to give up, even when feeling overwhelmed.
The consistency of his tortoise-eye-view and mindset allows readers to identify with his fear despite knowing the human side of the story. The bright colors and unusual scale and perspective of the scenes combine a background awareness of the time passage for his adventures to build hope in the reader. An expected happy ending is taken a few pages further to extend the satisfaction level of both Sarah and Truman moving into a new stage of their relationship.

I've been reading many rave reviews about these books and expected to like them, but I was wowed. These seemingly simple books can serve as mentor text for tone, voice, and even for art perspective. Both are books that kids will beg to reread and can do so for themselves at very early ages.When the two are shared together the similarity of rounded images, minimalist line characters with expressive eyes and postures, and voices of the narrators beg comparison. On the other hand, contrasting the two titles for use of color and light tones, seasons, settings, and relationships merits discussion. 
Writers intent on creating remarkable picture books should take a page and explore both through repeated readings and discussions. Don't miss them.

1, 2, 3, JUMP! Author Interview with Lisl H. Detlefsen

Here in the Midwest, we've struggled to string together two days in a row that have the vaguest resemblance to summer. The gray skies, cool temps, and general malaise surrounding this persistent weather pattern felt more like autumn than summer solstice.
But now that July has arrived, summer heat is moving in and kids are plunging into pools, ponds, and lakes. Every child deserves to feel confident and safe around water, making it  a perfect time to celebrate a favorite new picture book from 2019.

Roaring Book Press, 2019

1, 2, 3, JUMP! is written by Lisl H. Detlefsen and is illustrated by Madeline Valentine. Together they've produced a delightful book that blends heartfelt emotions with giggle-inducing charm. 
I'm a fan of second person voice (directly addressing the reader) and Detlefsen displays finesse and mastery with that point of view. 
In this spring release, she approaches a common and legitimate fear with gentle humor while remaining supportive and fun. The illustrations play a critical role in building and resolving this story with the same empathetic and lighthearted touch. In fact, this is the kind of picture book text that feels like it could only work if the author is also the illustrator. Otherwise it  would involve pages and pages of art notes. 
To test that theory, I tried typing only the text and realized that it does NOT require excessive notes, since the voice is so perfectly tuned to the would-be swimmer (reader) in such a way as to invite the illustrator to join in the fun, which Valentine did with zeal!
There's alchemy in the way text, illustration, and book design interact to achieve the miracle of communication that we call picture books. I'm lucky enough to know this author, so I was able to ask her a few questions about that creative magic behind her terrific book. 
When I searched for other interviews to avoid wasting Lisl's time, I found a delightful discussion (here) between Lisl and talented author Jill Esbaum on a blog you should follow, Picture Book Builders. 
Together, Lisl and Jill answered my initial questions and more, including the "story-behind-the-story", exploring Lisl's writing process and progress, and describing what's coming next. It's a fun and informative interview, so I urge you to click and read their exchange. Jill does a great job of introducing Lisl and sharing her personal backstory, too.
Even so, as I reread the book and began making notes I found I still had questions. Lisl was kind enough to answer them so you can learn more about her and this winning book along with me.
Sandy: Lisl, congratulations on this latest picture book. I adore it, and  thank you so much for taking time to share your thoughts about it with my readers. Let's get started.
The “how-to” format and second person voice in this is perfection!  You've successfully written in this voice before, but this story has a sort of omniscient “announcer-y” kind of tone. Were you envisioning someone in particular as the speaker? It doesn’t seem to be coming from the patiently encouraging instructor. I had lots of fun imagining what it would actually sound like and just who it might be. Do you use a particular voice when reading aloud to groups? Do kids ever ask about who is speaking when you are at school visits?

Lisl: Thank you for your kind words about the voice! I love writing in second person POV, and have in several of my picture books now. For this particular story, I approached it as if I were writing a rather tongue-in-cheek “how to” book for kids learning to swim. I especially like reading second person books at school and library visits because it feels so immediate and interactive with the audience. I use a very matter-of-fact, authoritative voice when I read it, then occasionally break from that to ask kids in the audience questions, such as “Are those the right goggles for swimming? No? What are those type of goggles actually for?” It’s been a fun one to share!

Sandy: The humor and word play are an open invitation to the illustrator to have fun, and Madeline Valentine did a brilliant job in elevating a worrisome situation to a giggle-icious delight. Did you include any art notes at all, or rely on your editor Kate to make suggestions to the illustrator, or just take the brave plunge and let it go without suggestions?

Lisl: I’m so glad you agree Madeline’s art is brilliant and adds extra humor to the story! The manuscript was submitted with art notes, particularly in the beginning to make it clear the main character is NOT wearing what the text would indicate and later on to make it clear she is consistently refusing to get into the pool. I often use a lot of art notes while writing for my own benefit. Sometimes that helps me assess if the text is leaving enough room for the art to tell half of the story and double-check for things like the dreaded “talking head syndrome.” 

Then as I revise with an eye toward submission, I pare them down as much as possible, leaving only the ones that help make the plot or action clear for an editor reading without the benefit of the art. I often phrase the ones left in as ideas or suggestions as I know illustrators often have better or more unexpected ideas of their own. Writers are often cautioned not to use art notes—usually for good reason—but my texts tend to be so art-dependent that submitting them without art notes was occasionally causing confusion or not conveying the intended humor. It was my agent who first gave me “permission” to use them when they’re necessary to making the story clear, such as when the art subverts the text for added humor.

Sandy: Speaking of humor, did you try out any of the word-play lines on your own kids? How do they like the finished book?

Lisl: I don’t remember specifically trying out lines on them, but I have to believe I did—they are often my best and most hard to please critics, so I always feel more confident if they laugh at my attempts to be funny! It’s always a lot of fun to share the finished product with them and ooh and aah over the art together. 

An eager and fearless swimmer
who is well-known to Lisl.

Brave plunger #2 among Lisl's
swimming buddies.

Sandy: You’ve mentioned in the past how often your boys provided inspiration in your work. Did either of them ever hesitate before taking a swimming leap (or some other bold step)? Did you?

Lisl: I vividly remember my youngest resisting his first jump into the pool with a swim teacher and—I still cringe every time I remember this!—how she told him she would catch him… and then didn’t! I think in her mind, she showed him how he didn’t need to be caught—which was true, as the water wasn’t deep and he came back up without any trouble—but it broke his trust with her and set him wayyyy back in the learning-to-swim process. I thought of that experience while writing the story and knew the narrator and teacher had to earn—and keep— the main character’s trust throughout to have her (and the readers) feel safe and successful in that final spread.

Sandy: The teacher in me is furious with your son's swim teacher, and delighted with the way you developed the teacher's encouraging and empowering role in this book. Safety and trust are at the center of all learning, in my experience. Not avoiding failure, but providing assurance that someone has your back. That comes through so clearly in this story.

I wonder, did you rely on any of your own experiences with swimming lessons or consult a manual or other teaching tips to enhance your story with such excellent details and sport-specific vocabulary? I can imagine kids having great fun with word play in other direction/how-to steps once they share this book.

Lisl: I relied on my own experience learning to swim way-back-when and my experience as a mom helping to teach my kids, but I also talked to a few swim lesson experts. One of my good friends taught swimming lessons for many years and helped me by giving suggestions for how to have the main character participate in the lesson even while she refuses to get into the water. I also shared it with my niece and nephew’s swim coach at that time, who gave me helpful feedback as well. Even though the book is certainly not a swimming lesson manual, my editor and I wanted the book to be accurate and realistic. It felt especially important for me to have the main character’s victory feel plausible, rather than showing her go from a reluctant swimmer to a gold medal Olympian in the course of one lesson!

Sandy: That comes across very effectively. You’ve been out and about, sharing this with kids this spring. Is there an activity you recommend to enhance the fun?

Lisl: The amazing staff at my local library planned a wonderful launch party for the book, and in addition to the typical reading and book signing, they had a craft station where kids got to make flippers ad goggles out of sheets of fun foam and elastic straps. It went swimmingly! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Sandy: What a clever approach, and I'm betting those lucky kiddos couldn't wait for a chance to get to a pool themselves. 

Thank you, Lisl, for another wonderful book and for sharing your development process with us here. After reading through your replies a couple of times I realized you just condensed your process into a master class on writing picture books!

Notice how Dad stays on the beach?

It feels only fair that I should make a confession right about now. Those who know me, from childhood right up to my current wrinkled status (wrinkles that can't be blamed on too much time in the water), would undoubtedly describe me as independent, confident, perhaps even pushy. Despite that impression, I've been aware of my inner coward ever since my earliest memories. In real life I may have charged ahead and plunged right into that pool, but smack in the pit of my gut I often experienced the same anxious feelings of the little girl in this story.  My siblings and I became water babies thanks to Mom, who loved the water, and Dad, who skillfully disguised his own dislike of water deeper than a bathtub. 
I love the way Lisl's progression of humor and introduction of small steps allowed her  character and her readers to enter into the water play with agency and success. 

I hope you're convinced to make this a summer must-read, must-share book, and while you're at it check out Lisl's other amazing picture books.

And now that books about courage and water adventures are on your radar, be sure to also check out LOTTIE AND WALTER, written and illustrated by Anna Walker. 

While you're at it, check out my notes about JABARI JUMPS, written and illustrated by Gaia Cornwall.  I've written about it several times now, and one post is HERE.

Meanwhile, just because summer heat and swim time have finally arrived, it's no excuse to put reading on hold. There's still bedtime, stay-out-of-the-water-after-meals-time, and frequent library trips to bask in air-conditioned bliss.  Enjoy!