**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.
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.
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