A Pair of Funny Nonfiction: Shumaker and Powell Partnership

Creative partnerships are magical things when they work out well. In the case of these companion nonfiction titles, it's a match made in publishing heaven. Debra Kempf Shumaker writes concise, informative text in crisply rhymed phrases while Claire Powell's illustrations offer comically creative impressions of the wide array of creatures described. Along with the joyful fun conveyed, each critter-image reveals key scientific facts about each species.

RUNNING PRESS KIDS, 2022

RUNNING PRESS KIDS, 2021

Their two titles I'm excited to share are  FREAKY, FUNKY FISH: Odd Facts About Fascinating Fish  and PECULIAR PRIMATES: Fun Facts About These Curious Creatures. These are both valuable additions to any home, classroom, library, or school collection. They will leap off the nonfiction shelves, inviting the lucky finder to dive deeply into the rich details embedded in each and every page. Details and curiosity-sparking facts are included in the endpapers and title pages. Back matter in both books invite further learning with author notes, category listings, maps, resources, and links and charts. Those expressive characters spark curiosity and convey complexity beyond simply naming and showing any particular species. The flow of main text makes reading front-to-back a wonderful experience, especially reading aloud. The secondary text surrounding critters might be added details, or speech/sound effects, and more. All in all these stand up well in  repeated visits and are useful as reference sources for exploring specific animals or groups of animals further.

This post is an intentionally short and enthusiastic one about two books that deserve plenty of time to examine, share, and tell your friends about. Do it soon, okay? 

WIND IS A DANCE: Poetry Meets Meteorology

 I've been a fan of WATER IS WATER (by the talented creators, Miranda Paul and Jason Chin) since it released more than a decade ago. Its lightly lyrical (and brightly rhymed) text dances across gorgeously illustrated pages while revealing the stages of the water cycle as the emotional and essential role of water on this planet and in our lives. This offering did not include side bar expository text, but it did provide informative back matter. It has been a consistently popular book, and it should be.

Kids Can Press, 2024

To compare this new picture book to WATER IS WATER is high praise indeed, and I don't do so lightly. WIND IS A DANCE is written by Debra Kempf Shumaker and illustrated by Josée Bisaillon. This extended poem (unrhymed, but liltingly lyrical) moves from page to page through metaphorical comparisons of wind to familiar experiences and encounters. 

Wind is a dance...

Wind is a supportive teammate or ornery opponent...

... a whisk    ...a top    ...a feather  

and more. In each case a few comparative or descriptive phrases follow. On most pages, a brief inset box or bubble is included to name the types of winds (tornado, hurricane, etc.) with a bit of scientifically accessible details. 

The back matter includes a chart that clearly reveals that accelerating and sustained wind speed is a crucial factor in the escalating ways wind can be named and can affect the physical world. The chart also has a column to  describe/name each level, and to note impacts on land, and on sea. On the facing page is a brief description of wind-measuring instruments and sources (both websites and books). The author's "more about" section provides great explainers about various wind phenomena and where they generally occur.

The above are all well and good. I'm a fan of gorgeous writing and also of authentic, accessible science to explain our world experiences. But these are elevated further in several ways through well-suited illustration. The colors used are eye-catching but natural, feeling familiar and safe. The impacts of various winds, though sometimes dramatic or even scary, are mitigated by elements that anchor the metaphors in images- and excited puppy (which we all know can cause havoc!), a spinning top, a whirling whisk, or a delicate feather. Each wind expression allows for reasonable resolve, as is always true in our lived experiences. 

Within those images are effective movement elements: flowing hair, dancing children, swirling leaves, and snow-drifting blizzard. Within each spread, individuals shown are delightfully diverse in skin tone, body size and shape, gender. As a full experience (the way in which EVERY picture book should be read in a first round, and in many successive readings) this offers a beautiful and satisfying experience. The fact that this book also provides information and resources to return to for science and nature investigations is a bonus that should not be ignored. 

Overall, I genuinely encourage you to read this book and share it with young readers across man ages. It will blow you away.