RAIN: As Essential As Poetry

Eerdman Books for Young Readers, October, 2019

I'm excited to celebrate the launch of a brand new picture book by Swedish author, illustrator, and poet Anders Holmer: RAIN.  It ticked all the right boxes for me before I even opened the cover: nature, poetry (strongly accessible haiku, in fact), breathtaking art, and a diverse world perspective. 
I don't often post an extra-large version of covers, but in this case it feels necessary. Even at this size, you may struggle to view the minuscule falling particles in the image. These and other suggestions of rain in the various scenes throughout the book are "raining down" on the characters and situations. These characters are as diverse as the locales, and each individual feels to me to be totally absorbed in a distinct story. 
On this cover image, for example, those gray-green slashes poking through the snow are early evidence of lichen underlying an arctic/tundra region. The snow cover, clothing, and transportation methods suggest that the moisture from above may be of the slushy-sleety variety, the type that stings the skin and renders old snow surfaces as slick as ice, literally. 
And yet, after surviving yet another long, dark, frozen season, such a rain swells the heart:

"Calf licking the first

fresh green wedges of lichen.

And soon, butterflies!"

Like this poem, each in this book is finely crafted, adhering to the rigid expectations of Haiku, a traditional Japanese form:

Three unrhymed lines (5-7-5 syllables)

Total of 17 syllables

Strong imagery

Often nature scenes

Capturing a specific moment or emotion in time

In this book, creator Holmer has mastered all of the above while developing a series of global scenes that underscore the universal nature of the moments and emotions portrayed. Young readers and writers will enjoy and be inspired to write their own haiku- a seemingly simple challenge. If that happens, I'd urge you to emphasize content over syllable count. (There are many poetry scholars who accept adaptations to the pattern, although the three line, seventeen syllable total are useful guides.) 

I've shared other haiku collections HERE, and HERE. Themed and cumulative haiku that form a sequential narrative story are easiest to explore for beginners (Dog-Ku and Won-Ton). Holmer declares RAIN as the unifying theme for this series. Rain is unbiquitous in every climate, including desert zones. It offers a common thread among all human experience. The emotional journeys of these scenes also have a commonality to them, with each double spread revealing relationships, struggles, and suggesting open-ended resolutions. Independent writers could well imagine a story from each of the twelve spreads, guided by the haiku text, and then harvest details from images on the page while imagining a before and after related to the scene. 

At this point I'll pat myself on the back because I'm going to resist including any other examples of Holmer's poems, even though I'm eager to share them all. I wouldn't dare include more, though, because doing so without the book in hand would fail to deliver the full impact their power. The conceptual design and flow of emotional content from scene to scene is enhanced by the book's design. The tall trim size allows for double spreads to open as in a landscape display of artwork (which each is). Most use color tones that are subdued but surprisingly intense, whether in the depths of a rainforest river or a petal-strewn Japanese garden. 

The scenes (puffins near a lighthouse, running horses on a plain, a forest fire with fleeing animals, and so many more) unfold with quiet authority, providing enough realism to spark background knowledge of climate zones (and perhaps some geography research), yet they provide a slightly abstracted quality that is inherent in the poetry form, allowing space for each reader to enter and inhabit the pages and the poems. 

Rain is a human experience, as are its consequences (floods, droughts, crops, famine, dismay, delight). It is a resource and a necessity. After reading and re-reading this haiku collection, many times over, and after sitting with the lives revealed in scene-after-scene, I'm convinced the same can be said about the new picture book, RAIN. For your own reading and for young readers of any age, make it a point to get and share this book. Return to it often. It is both a resource and a necessity. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Paul Writes (A Letter): A Chris Raschka Picture Book

It should come as no surprise that I'm a longtime fan of picture books by Chris Raschka. Who isn't? His books, many of them award-winners, are characterized by playfulness, lighthearted humor, affection, and gentle sincerity. This is true in books featuring adolescents (YO! YES?) and books for preschool audiences (IF YOU WERE A DOG, Swenson), whether he authors the book himself or is illustrating the text for other authors. And now he has taken on the incredible challenge of adapting and illustrating excerpts from the letters of Saint Paul in the New Testament. 

Eerdmanns Books for Young Readers

Wm. B. Eerdmanns Publishing Co. is widely recognized for their catalogue of distinguished religious, philosophical, and cultural books for adult readers Their children's imprint, Eerdmanns Books for Young Readers, sets a high bar and publishes many award-winning books but doesn't limit their focus to topics of the parent press. 

You can see in the categorical index on their home page, copied here, that their publishing interests are diverse and they appeal to a wide range of readers' interests and ages. 

In the case of Raschka's recent book, there has been a perfect pairing of artist, content, and publisher. A quick Internet search will link you to hundreds, probably thousands of books aimed at making Biblical content kid-friendly and accessible. 
But PAUL WRITES (A LETTER) is so much more than that. Raschka has produced a book that humanizes and energizes a character whose name graces Christian and Orthodox churches around the world. 
I can't recall ever seeing images of Paul that are not austere, severe, and distant from modern life. A bit of digital digging on my part revealed that Raschka's Paul appears to be a more accurate portrayal of Paul than the many classic images would suggest. Post-conversion, he seemed to view his role as man-of-the-people. Paul was both Roman citizen and Jew, he traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean regions at a time when that was far from common, and he used letter-writing (in Hebrew, Greek and Latin) to sustain and expand a long-distance ministry. In all that, he seems to have foreshadowed today's globe-trotting evangelists and tele-ministry superstars. 
But in Raschka's hands, Paul's whiskered, balding persona is appealing and far from formidable. With slight shifts on facial features and posture, Raschka's Paul reveals a wide range of emotions: peaceful or puzzled, weary or worried, anxious or aggravated. 
The text is not a simple attempt to "translate" or "modernize" established Biblical language. Instead, Raschka has mined the extensive text attributed to Paul and extracted nuggets of wisdom that comprise a story, of sorts. This little book takes even the youngest readers on Paul-the-Disciple's life journey. The passage references at the bottom of each page allow easy referencing, but my feeling is that the blend of casual and classic letter-writing expressions used here should (and do) stand on their own merit. Each double spread begins, as letters should, with a "Dear Friends" greeting, including updates, plans, questions, and advice. 
The authenticity, simplicity, and heartfelt wording that Raschka utilized makes so much sense, and will be readily absorbed by even the youngest audiences. My favorite?

There is faith.There is hope. There is caring for others. The greatest is caring for others.

Words to live by, I'd say. Especially in current times. Raschka's short forward says that Paul used letter writing to change the world. Few could argue the point. But the success of this book is that it offers Paul's wisdom and comfort and advice in ways that invite repeated readings and reflection. It brings Paul into our laps and into our lives, at any age. With those messages comes the possibility that we,the readers, might act to change the world. After all, Paul's epistles follow the book of  ACTS. And it the ACTS of our lives to which Paul's letters are addressed. 

The endpaper maps are clearly labeled, but Raschka's style, the cheerful colors, and portrayal of charming villages, ports, and other details offer a delightful, intriguing, blurry-edged childlike feel to a corner of the world that, even today, suffers many trials and challenges. 
This was true in Paul's day, and in ours. 
In his corner of the world and in ours.
Paul's words, and Raschka's book, offer hope. 

A Bevy of Biographies

Last week the annual American Library Association Youth Media Awards took place. By now you've probably heard that Jon Klassen won the 2013 Caldecott for THIS IS NOT MY HAT, and Katherine Applegate won the 2013 Newbery for THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. Many other awards were announced, including winners and honors and lifetime achievement awards. Watching the live webcast was the next best thing to being there, hearing authors and illustrators being cheered like rock stars.

Now that awards season has ended, the litany of monthly "themes" begins: Black History, Women's History, Hispanic Heritage, Poetry, just to name a few. I've stated my case in the past about the mixed benefits of theme months, so this post is in praise of ignoring the calendar and celebrating excellence whenever and wherever we find it. Back in November there was a National Non-Fiction Day and the next will come November 3, 2013. One day in a whole year? For books that share the truth about our world and those who live in it? Really?
Life stories and inspirational life events lend themselves to the power of picture books, and I won't wait until next November to celebrate these with you.

Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2012

A worthy place to start is FIFTY CENTS AND A DREAM: YOUNG BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, by Jabari Asim, illustrated by Bryan Collier. (Collier won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator award for I TOO AM AMERICA.) 
Washington's drive to read, to learn, to succeed, and to share those opportunities with others is portrayed effectively. The concluding pages point out that he was dismissed for years as too accommodating but has more recently been recognized as a fearless and tireless advocate for equality and justice.
Read more in this Kirkus review.

Scholastic Press, 2012

I recently saw some photos of my grandma with her girlfriends, circa 1910-1914. The images made it perfectly clear that they were a spunky, fun-loving, and adventurous group. A penciled note on the back of one indicated they called themselves the gym-daisies. Reading HERE COME THE GIRL SCOUTS: THE AMAZING ALL TRUE STORY OF JULIETTE "DAISY"GORDON LOW AND HER GREAT ADVENTURE, by Shana Corey, illustrated by Hadley Hooper called those photos to mind. Lively text and muted illustrations describe sweeping passages of time and provide a revealing look at gender stereotyping and social expectations. Everyone should read this.

Eerdmans Books for young Readers, 2012

What a shame it would be to wait for the annual April focus to share poetry and the people who write it.
A RIVER OF WORDS: THE STORY OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS, by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet makes it clear that poetry ran through his life on a daily basis, as it should in ours.
The poetry collection on the endpapers is a bonus to this biography of a poet whose work touches nature, emotions, and the funny bone. I loved that the triple timelines in the back matter span his life and the history/works of that time awhile continuing the incredible collage illustration.
Read what Kirkus says in this starred review.

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2005

The previous titles were all 2012 releases, but will continue to find and engage readers in years to come. This has been true for MUSIC FOR THE END OF TIME, by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Beth Peck. This story of the years French composer Olivier Messiaean spent in a German prisoner-of-war camp inspires on many levels- the drive to create, the potential for humane treatment in the worst of situations, the power of inspiration, and the capacity for music (art) to nourish the soul.

A Kirkus review provides even more detail.

Just one glance at the cover art for these titles reveals the range of styles, moods, techniques and approaches used by the various illustrators. The same is true for the text of each. In my opinion (and that's what a blog is for, right?) they are equally excellent, outstanding, distinguished, and worthy of our time and attention. This demonstrates my mixed reaction to awards announcements. So many fine books deserve accolades, and for each one named there are so many others waiting to be discovered and shared. Speak up if you want to share some recommendations of your own.