Speaking of Home: ANYTHING Deserves Celebration

 The prior post shared a picture book in which HOME travels with the family, in much the way a turtle carries its home on its back. If you missed it, I hope you will take a look, HERE. The bottom line in that heartfelt story is that HOME is where LOVE is. 

CHRONICLE BOOKS, 2025

ANYTHING is a story by Rebecca Stead (multiple award-winning author who captures the emotional landscape of children of many ages) and illustrated by Gracey Zhang, (also a multi-award-winning illustrator). It, too, explores what and where HOME is, and how to find it.

Change is never easy, and this is a story of change and longing. A family must move, but their beloved home does not come with them. Not even the blue footed-bathtub for Thursday night baths. What, then, will make this new place HOME?

Those who write picture book manuscripts and seek feedback from other writers and editors are sometimes (often) told that their story really begins several pages into the text. What that means is that the first lines and pages are backstory, setting the stage, but not revealing anything important about the problem or characters. Backstory matters, but if a story is well-told, the talents of storyteller and illustrator will combine to reveal this without having to state it in advance. 

This is Stead's first picture book, and I hope it will not be her last. A writer of longer text (novels for middle grades or teens or adults) must come to picture book writing as if to poetry. What is required is trust in the reader to fill in from images and experiences what is not delivered in words. Condensing the luxury of 40,000 words to under 400 words for the entire book is  daunting, to say the least. In this case, though, Stead demonstrates expertise and appreciation for the elegance and absence of words in the best of picture books. 

In brief, a young girl and her dad are in day one of a move to a new apartment. Dad is deeply aware of the stress of moving and of his child's struggle with change. The first line is:

"The cake was chocolate."

Yep. That's it.

But just look at what that does to the opening.

Interior opening spread: ANYTHING, Chronicle Books

The illustrations are mostly backline drawings, some sketchy and some darkened and overlaid to focus attention and give weight to the scene element or characters. Isolated items carry attention through color (cake, rainbow, imagined wishes). The ANYTHING of the title refers to Dad's effort to make a hard transition more welcoming. Blowing out the candle on the cake allows for wishes for ANYTHING. (Even three wishes for ANYTHING, no matter how hard those wishes might be!)

The ensuing pages reveal a child with an aching heart who keeps some wishes to herself, a dad who knows his child well and provides safe spaces to share the wishes and help build a new home together. This is a full-sized book with loads of white space and minimal art and text. All the better to focus readers on that art and those well-chosen words. 

I won't spoil the deeply loving relationship, challenges, and resolve of this new release, because words I'd use would never do justice to the minimalist-richness of a book that is bound to be in the running for awards and praise in this calendar year. Beyond that I see this as a classic for years to come, ideal for Father's Day, for moving day, for change and loss, for discussions of HOME and what matters most, and as mentor text for writers and illustrators everywhere. 

A delightful note is that the first person narrator is sketched at such an age and with medium length hair and generic clothing so that they could visually read as a boy or girl. The lack of color and detail in character images means that readers can assign their own skin tones and identifiers to the characters if they wish, although they tend toward Caucasian. 

May I challenge you to get this book and consider carefully what it means to write what matters, but ONLY what matters, and to draw WHAT MATTERS. Like poetry, picture books like this make it clear that words without pictures fail, pictures without words often fail (though there are certainly some unforgettably fabulous wordless picture books), and both require an attentive, invested reader. That human element, with the right words and the right images, simply SOARS!

TOGETHER WE RIDE! A celebration of Learning, Dads, and Joy!

Chronicle Books, April, 2022

Short and sweet, but loaded with love. That's my approach to this post, since it is also a perfect description of a new picture book by the very talented  pair, author VALERIE BOLLING and illustrator KAYLANI JUANITA. 

The nearly universal childhood milestone of learning to ride a bike (a two-wheeler!) is at the center of this joyous, rhymed text with lively illustrations. Using fewer than thirty rhythmic words, Bolling captures the sequence of eager excitement and preparation, tentative attempts, troublesome struggles, and eventual, jubilant success in TOGETHER WE RIDE.

By featuring  the young child and her father from beginning to end, this is a relationship story, an homage to the invaluable role of dads in such life experiences. Along with the evident emotions of the little biker, Dad's reactions express the ambivalence of instilling confidence while remaining safely positioned to extend help and provide cheers. The ultimate scene with the whole family on a bike trek through the neighborhood provides a deeply satisfying conclusion.

With only a word (or two or few) per page, young audiences will be chiming in quickly, in requested repeat readings or even in the first round. Sparse text is perhaps the most challenging kind of writing, sine each word carries huge importance. Bolling accomplishes this with text that is expressive, active, and delightfully rhymed and never burdensome.

Note the release date is April, 2022. With a book that's as ideally suited for spring weather (AND FATHER'S DAY!) you'll want to preorder to guarantee availability when the time is right. Make sure to share this welcome contribution to outdoor stories, joyful Dad-kid experiences, and inviting early reading offerings. If you've heard that "BLACK JOY" is a much needed theme to expand book offerings to the publishing world, this is a superb example. For every reader, everywhere.

Another DAD Book, With Links To More!

 With Fathers Day looming, I tend toward nostalgia with a spritz of melancholy and a truckload of gratitude. Same thing happens around Mothers Day. Like a magnet, these days draw me to the phone, to the card section, and to writing. The blessing in all of my missing parents long since gone from the globe is that I was raised by two loving parents whose memories flood me with joy. That's not to say they were perfect or that our very borderline middle class lives were easy, but we were safe, protected, respected, and always sure that something fun was possible. 

Whispering Coyote Press

In this short post, I'm featuring a book from 2009, a small press, and apparently no longer in print. No worries, you can always get it at your library, or purchase it from a secondary source. And if you, like me, had a father who knew how to make magic out of nothing, you will want to do that. 

DANCING WITH DADDY is written by Willy Welch and illustrated by Liza Woodruff. the nostalgia of this book is undeniable, from the title page featuring an old fashioned console radio to the clothing and standard-white-people cast. In fact, though, the story quickly moves form the specifics to the emotional impact of those memorable moments when a little girl (or boy) puts their feet on their daddy's shoes and they dance the night away.

The magical extension within this story/song is that their music moves into the wild, leading to a contagion of toe-tapping mimicry among animals of land, sea, and air. All the way to the carry-off-to-bed and tucking in, this is a book of love.

Carolrhoda, 2020

For a look at another more recent book that showcases dads around the world, of every age and race and ethnicity and social situation, check out this review on my website blog, HERE. DADS offers photographic examples of other familiar (universal) ways in which fathers-dads-daddies-papas "show up", making memories and making a difference. 

While you're at it, check out this prior post featuring TWO books with the same title, I AM A BIRD. And two more from a couple of years ago, each of which celebrates the little ways in which dads (and dad-surrogates) deserve their special day, but also bring boundless love and strength in every day of young (and older) lives. 

I hope you'll take a look at any or all of the above. If your dad is still around to do it, give him/them a hug- in real life or virtually. Just do it.

Two Titles: Two Different Delightful Days with Dads

I suppose I should save this for Father's Day, but then, I tend to reject herding wonderful books into narrow opportunities like theme months and designated days. So, I'll double down and share TWO remarkably similar yet distinctly different picture books with the identical title: 

I AM A BIRD.

CANDLEWICK, 2021

First, I AM A BIRD is written by Hope Lim and illustrated by Hyewon Yum. In this case Daddy takes his imaginative daughter to school each day on the back of his bike- or is that a bird perched behind him? She waves her arms and sings out her birdsong, until she spots a certain older woman with a bag and a frown. Her sudden silence signals wariness, until the day when she discovers what is in that bag and finds a kindred spirit. There is much to love about this.

"Each day, a rosy-cheeked girl rides to school in the booster seat on the back of Daddy’s bike, pretending to fly and sing like the many birds in their coastal town... It’s a simple tale for the youngest set of readers, written around an overt message of not judging too quickly and finding connections in unexpected ways... Yum’s soft colored-pencil illustrations complement the words with a pleasant atmosphere, setting the tone through gently bright colors and the simple, smiling features of her characters... A sweetly serene story with a useful lesson."
—Booklist

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021

But then...a different  I AM A BIRD is written by David Walrath and illustrated by Jaime Kim.

This story unfolds with minimalist text progression, each short statement leading to a new, interpretive round, always generating exuberant physical demonstrations and interpretations of beach life: 

"I am a bird, I fly. // I am a fly. I land // I am land. I stretch to the sea."

Children will notice the progression and quickly engage with the thought-provoking page turns, gently settling into the  small-hand-friendly spreads of sea, sand, waves, and wonder. 

    From Indiebound:

"Celebrate the bonds between fathers, sons, and nature with this lovely, sun-drenched debut picture book.

I am a bird. I glide
into arms open wide.
I’m the hands that hold
and the eyes that shine…
when it’s you
and it’s me
and the sea.

A boy and his father spend their day at the beach, exploring the shore, the sand, the water, and everything in between. The result is a warm, elegant celebration of nature, connection, and the myriad relationships formed all around us."

There are many similarities between these, but each merits its own attention and celebration of time spent together, of imagination, and of deep emotional connections. Enjoy!

Need a Virtual CAMPING TRIP? Pack This Picture Book!

Candlewick Press, 2020

 Jennifer K. Mann has created a stunningly brilliant picture book about camping, and about SO MUCH MORE! In THE CAMPING TRIP , her words and art are as welcome as a sunny summer day at the lake. 

Mann has written and illustrated this delightful book in a blend of formats and image styles, including full spreads, panel art, charts, labeled objects in endpapers, irresistible line and collage art, and perfectly timed shifts from color to black-and-white/gray tones.These combine to produce a seemingly simple book that, in fact, provides wise tips for actual camping trips, tickles funny bones, and opens readers' hearts,.

The first person narrator (Ernestine) is excited to learn that her Aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha, both experienced campers, have invited her to join them for a CAMPING TRIP! She's relieved that Dad agrees, but worries that he will miss her while she's gone. 

This subtle emotional projection of her own nagging misgivings are overcome by the joy of PREPARATIONS! With a few important purchases and Aunt Jackie's thorough list, she manages to be ready and waiting... and waiting... and finally loading and saying 'bye to Dad. With comic-style art, Mann has masters the angle of an eye and shifts in body postures to convey entire stories in each panel. These enhance and expand the story at each rereading. 

There will be many of those.

The pages that follow evoke recognition, humor, and awe. From the mundane (it takes a lot of stuff to go camping), to the practical (when you get sweaty putting up a tent, why not go swimming?), to stressful (Ernestine swims well, but there are FISH in this lake!). Each of the challenges Ernestine faces during that weekend take her on a journey from excitement, to struggles, to unexpected wonders. Her discoveries throughout hiking, eating unfamiliar foods, and sleeping in a tent (or trying to sleep but feeling homesick) lead to several pages of beautifully effective art using stark darkness and light. 

In that short weekend camping trip, Ernestine travels a longer and more significant journey than the road trip that felt like forever. On the surface, this story encompasses four characters, two days, and one night. On the surface, it's a comic book style with familiar people and circumstances. On the surface, it is Ernestine's story.

It is, but it is so much more.

With only a few moments of reflection, it is a celebration of Dad-Daughter love, of the power and joy of trusted people in our lives (especially extended family), and the expansive wonder of nature, (from massive redwoods to the tiniest banana slugs). It affirms every stage of recognizing and preparing to face challenges, including the bumps and bravos, and satisfactions of persisting. 

There are many (including me) who welcome books with #BlackJoy, stories in which Black readers, especially young ones, can recognize themselves with an open embrace of positivity, potential, and empowerment. Click the tag above for an excellent list of suggested titles that offer more of these experiences. This is such a book, but speaks to readers of every identity and skin color. There is so much to enjoy about this book, and kids return to it for many purposes-- to examine the items pictured on the end papers, to join the cousins under the night sky, to savor that final page turn, which I will not spoil by describing it. 

Don't miss this one, in midwinter, on Father's Day, in the middle of summer, and every day between. Share it with dads, favorite cousins, and everyone else.