ELECTION DAY!

 

Stock image, 2026

As important as picture books are to me, (and if you don't already know how much that is, I've got more work to do here!)  it's even more important today to focus on GETTING OUT THE VOTE!

More people than usual have voted early in this midterm cycle. I voted on the first day of early in-person voting. More than usual numbers have requested absentee ballots. If your responsibility and rights have already been completed in the voting realm, take this last day of eligibility to drive someone to the polls, to encourage those still holding absentee ballots to drop off TODAY, or take a drive past a polling place and SMILE!

Once all that can be done has been done, you may want to sit back and learn about a few of the many titles celebrating how this crucial right and responsibility came to be taken for granted. (It never should be, as we see today more than ever.) A good place to start is with the remarkable story of how POX nearly cost us our revolutionary war, making all of this a moot point!  Several recent releases exploring the topic were featured HERE, while earlier titles have not lost their potent messages HERE, and some fun twists on voting are featured HERE. Some profiles of activists and leaders cast spotlights on folks who are still fighting the good fight in today's political contests, HERE.

Whatever else you do today, please make sure you've stepped up to the plate to cast your own vote- for whoever or whatever rings your bell. And, when possible, speak up in support of the process and others who might face struggles to get to the polls. Then, regardless of whether the results are what you hoped for or not, raise your voices to say that the results are safe, trusted, and a consequence of citizens exercising their rights to make choices. 

HOW A BEAR BECAME A BOOK: POOH!

 I've recently added commentary about text structure to my reviews of nonfiction titles. Narrative approaches present factual content within a storytelling style, as with biographies and others, HERE, HERE, and HERE. Expository approaches present facts within various texts patterns, always as a sort of user-friendly direct instruction. Examples are HERE, HERE, and HERE. But there are OTHER approaches, and those are few and far between. When well done, they elevate an information book to magical proportions.

HENRY HOLT and COMPANY, 2026

HOW A BEAR BECAME A BOOK: The Collaboration That Created Winnie-the-Pooh is written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray. There is no shortage of books about the legacy of Pooh, about the characters, origin story, creators, spin-offs, and more. I was looking forward to reading this, but was knocked off my feet by the originality of the approach and the excellence with which it was delivered. 

The choice here was neither narrative nor expository, although both play a role. The style is something of an homage to the original style of the works (something I often appreciate) although that is not the overall structure. Nor is it epistolary.

Its topic is exactly what the title says, but actually about so much more. Endpapers often augment the contents of the book, and these do that superbly. Almost poetically. The opening endpaper offers a blurred silhouette of a Pooh-shaped and Pooh-colored bear gazing out a rainy window. The closing endpapers use that same window setting and cozy blanket but provide full images of Pooh and his friends on that ledge, fully formed. These bookends frame the story, mirroring the progression of the contents of the main text. 

A Pooh-ish image interacts with a boy-narrator who strikingly resembles Christopher Robin. They engage in dialogue from the first page turn. The next several turns reveal the pair in a plan to tell the story of WHO the Pooh-ish being actually is and where he came from. I love the early awareness by the bear that he is a creation of words. But... another turn reveals the title page, with shadowy images of the two romping hand in hand through the pages of a book. So, we're just getting started? what were those early pages about? Set-up, yes, but more.

Seriously... This alone is a brilliant launch of boy-explaining-book-making to readers through the eyes and heart of Pooh. Just as the title says. The boy's words are in standard font and bear's words appear hand-written and honey-colored. Bear's responses are often carefully selected excerpts from actual Pooh conversations in the original books. Our understanding of how the books came to be sets up a parallel for Bear's understanding of himself and his embracing of his full personality. And as that progresses, his shadowy image acquires identifying lines and featu

(Pause here to consider that children's picture books in the 1920s were barely illustrated at all, and certainly not in the interactive, full spread, kid-friendly way that we now know. The wild success of the POOH books set the stage for a revolution in books for children.)

The exchanges feel like we are observer/participants with this appealing pair in an ongoing conversation (not sounding at all like "dialogue"). Bear learns about his own history through editors, illustrators, art directors, and more. The more Bear learns of his origins and development, the more defined his image on the page becomes. He acquires his Pooh-ish personality until there is no mistaking who this is. On the final spread of the main text, the whole Pooh crew is romping through their familiar fields. The closing words carry a significant message, although not the only one.

"Sometimes words need pictures 

and pictures need words.

When they find each other,

characters spring to life."

This delightfully suited style has informed readers while winning their hearts. But, as they say in so many infomercials, WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

What would typically be labeled back matter continues in the voice and style of the main text in first person voice, labeling various those text blocks with the Pooh-patterned language;

"IN WHICH WE LEARN MORE ABOUT ALAN, ERNEST, AND THEIR EDITORS"

I've never yet encountered back matter details presented in a way that made me more eager to read on. The spot illustrations continue and the creators who brought this timeless cast and their stories to the world leap off the page every bit as much as the originall ones did. Further pages use this same approach for other information about the creation, success, and impact of these books. The "In Which We Learn... " labels continue to share bios/notes about the author and illustrator, followed by notes about the team members that brought THIS book to all of us, and even the citations and sources.

So, even though this has a read-again magnetism to it, though it is heartfelt and huggable, it is also deeply researched, thoroughly accurate, revealing and recognizable in its language/style, and accurate in both the historic and current players who produce picture books. It is a celebration of collaboration of the highest order, which reflects Christopher Robin and Pooh in their community of friends and problem solvers. The structure used may not work as well for any other information as well, but it suits this effort perfectly. The point is, the approach of style, voice, and text structure served the purpose of information-sharing better than any other I can imagine. 

I wish I had imagined this. It's brilliant. ***Great idea for holiday gifting!

 

KALEIDOSCOPE OF HOPE: Brilliant Butterflies

There are plenty of ways that a picture book distinguishes itself from others with similar topics or themes. Something I celebrate most about the rich array of modern picture books is the ways children's sections for today have positively exploded in comparison to the tiny corner children's works claimed in my childhood library. This doesn't mean someone somewhere is just cranking out books to fill expanded shelf space. Rather, expanded shelf space is required to display the amazing and innovative ways creators are producing books, even about familiar topics, that are masterful and amazing.

Consider monarch butterflies. A quick topic search in my metro library list yields more than three dozen titles with publication dates in the last five years, and that doesn't include related topics of life cycles, habitats, and more. Yet each provides distinct perspectives and other features to attract attention while offering choices to kids eager to learn more. And more.

GREENWILLOW BOOKS, 2026

Miranda Paul is an author whose interest in monarchs (and all nature) goes back decades, as does her experience in writing for children. In the case of her latest release, KALEIDOSCOPE OF HOPE: How Butterfly Life Cycles Reflect the World, that intersection of experiences reaches a gorgeous and unique crescendo. 

For a moment, let's aside the incredible illustrations and page designs, but we will return! The text structure and writing are remarkably novel and engaging. Anyone who has ever peered through a kaleidescope will recall that obsessive, emotional response to cascading crystaline magic that keeps the device attached to your face. An unusual and appealing text structure elevates this informational content, told with lively lyrical prose. Information is organized in repeating facets of facts and relationships. Patterns shift relative to each other and to what has come before.

White space backgrounds allow the words and their significance to shine, just as backlighting makes kaleidescope chips glow like glass. Using (and defining) five seemingly generic or abstract words as the components of the cycles described (HOPE, GROWTH, CHANGE, PREPARATION, EXPLORATION)  sets the stage for readers to come full circle in understanding how butterflies of all kinds experience similar cycles while being marvelously distinct. And vulnerable at every stage. The abstract is rendered vividly specific and concrete.

Two added kaleidoscopic discussions, NOTHING and ACTION, offer alternative endings. One is unthinkable but possible: extinction. The other is immediately accessible in our own lives and yards, window sills and community gardens: ACTION. The structure itself compels attention, drawing readers to their own conclusions that taking action is an imperative, not a choice.

The benefit of back matter allows Miranda to comment on her personal experiences in raising and studying monarchs and swallowtails, and the impact of information books that launched years of engagement. Photo-insert how-to examples of making local resources encourage participatory support of butterfly survival. 

Despite my glowing praise for the text, the illustrations in this book stand on their own merit  to intrigue anyone of any age or language or interests. The keyword pages (as noted above) portray kaleidoscopic arrays of stages of butterfly life cycles as well as those two human options, NOTHING and ACTION. As the cover reveals, the swirls and cascades of individual images are as mesmerizing as they are informative while underscoring the cycles, sequences, and circles of life. Illustrators HARI and DEEPTI provide a double spread of detailed steps involved in creating the dimensional replicas of each item in the final illustrations, formed from paper, glue, paper clay, and water, along with tracings and photography and incredible talent. The scenes, circles, and replicated creatures in different stages seem alive enough to crawl off the pages or cling to your fingers. The illustrators, too, encourage young readers to make a try for themselves at using simple tools and materials to make art, inviting close observation and assuring that accuracy often benefits from enlargement (a kid-friendly tip!).

Autumn is migration season for monarchs and many other butterfly species. In only a few days from now the Mexican DAY OF THE DEAD will honor ancestors and loved ones who have moved on ahead of us. Monarchs play a huge and symbolic role in those celebrations, as described in GHOST WINGS, mentioned in this earlier post. Just when we in the northern climate bid farewell to the last of the monarchs as they fly incredible distances on fragile scaled wings, the safe harbor forests of Mexico are welcoming them home. Learn more about Dia de Muertos, November 1 and 2. 

Rooted In Wonder: Trees of the World!

 In a recent post I mentioned attending a writers' conference. It was located in an historic area of central Wisconsin, where the land itself and the conference/complex are both rooted in the past. Trees embraced every view and were reaching glorious Fall color stages, reflected in the luminous lake. My session with Kirsten W. Larson explored narrative nonfiction. (An exemplary title of that format was reviewed HERE.) The other approach to nonfiction we considered is expository, meaning that informational content is directly presented rather than incorporating it into language and structures resembling storytelling.

MOONBIRD,  2026

ROOTED IN WONDER: Celebrating the World's National Trees is written by Michelle Cusolito and illustrated by Marya Wright. The cover itself reminds readers that any discussion of trees MUST consider the flora and fauna supported by trees. Not to mention their incomparably important below ground structures and functions: stabilizing soil, affecting water flow and filtration, interacting with other root systems, and more. The subject matter lends itself less to storytelling and more as outreach to readers with content of high interest. 

This expository approach suits it well and the creatives forces behind this book achieved a keeper. 

Many of my prior posts featured TREE books, some of which are HERE, HERE, and HERE. Each is nonfiction and each is outstanding in  unique ways. In the case of ROOTED IN WONDER, attention is due for the appeal of its contents and the ways in which the text and illustrations take readers on a global tour they might never have imagined. 

End papers provide a welcome anchoring of the information that follows, providing a simple map and a border-parade of the featured trees. This allows for a scaled comparison of their size, type, and distinctive elements, from baobab's bulbous base and seemingly dead appearance to banyan tree's sprawling growth system that generates itself into a virtual forest. The tiny quinoa tree appears unimpressive but it's tagged "fever tree" not for its imposing size or shape but for the life-saving bark used in medicines.

Each of these and more is a "national tree", some designated as such by multiple countries (OAK is claimed by England, Ireland, and the United States). 

Short expository passages about each appear on a double spread in reader-friendly font and size, overlaid on informative illustrations that expand understanding of key traits as well as global locations and related residents of the habitat.

Back matter includes additional short sections of text, each with a spotlight image cut from the featured pages. This and direct prompts encourage readers to look back and explore further. The closing pages of main text require reorienting the book to vertical, displaying a scientific illustration of a tree with labels and cutaways to reveal common elements of all trees. 

The platform I so often preach from is that picture books (good ones) can often serve audiences and populations far wider than those designated by publishers. In this case the range of trees and locations will delight little listeners and expand understanding of basic concepts about trees, while elementary readers can launch research and reports on other trees using this as mentor text. Uses and appeal of this book reach into  older grades and even biology classes to consider and compare text structures as well as biological structures. 

If you are a fan of trees (and if you aren't, why not?) you will want to puruse this expository nonfiction picture book (and care not a whit about that lengthy label). Instead, you'll immerse yourself in a virtual world tour and find not only old friends (oaks, maples) but also meet delightful and unfamiliar rooted-residents of this planet we all share.

VOTING RIGHTS: Two Serious Stories of HEROES

HARPER, 2022

Without apologies, I'm continuing a discussion of the incredible value of the right to vote! Moving from a recent post featuring the significance of VOTING as a central identifier of democracy, HERE, this post offers two biography-nonfiction picture book titles that celebrate heroes of past and present. Heroes of voting rights and celebrating voices for all citizens, including those who have been silenced and marginalized. Denied, by social patterns, and even more so, by intention.

 STACEY ABRAMS and the FIGHT TO VOTE is written by Traci N. Todd and illustrated by Laura Freeman.

Stacey Abrams first gained national prominence by LOSING her election race for governor of Georgia to Brian Kemp, who was then Secretary of State. In that elected role, kemp was charged, why oath, with assuring safe and fair elections in their state. But the actual events of the elections included countless ways in which the full power of ALL voices was not fully heard... including the closing of polling places, purging names from eligibility, locating the remaining poll stations where they were harder to reach, and more. Stacey called it the "Great Silencing". While she acknowledged that Kemp would be certified as the new governor, she called out the absurdity that he and his offices had actively reworked voting processes to make it harder for his opponent to win. 

Before the election Abrams had led a statewide drive to register voters, and that mission resumed in full force after the election ended. 

The remarkable part of this youth-to-present-day account of a modern day civil rights and political leader of national note is not just its lively writing and compelling illustrations, but also the way in which women's rights/voting rights leaders of history appear on the pages and throughout Stacey's efforts to inspire and uplift all voices. It is both biography and history, both recent events and nation-changing figures of the past. 

The vibrant and inspiring illustrations reflect the compelling impact of Abrams's words and actions. The ethereal, ghost-like images of earlier women heroes are in no way depicted as frail or outdated. Rather, their continuing impact is carried through text, quotations, and celestial surroundings of their determined gazes.

Backmatter offers further details about Abrams as well as clarifying foundational information about  Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Septima Pointsette Clark, and Fannie Lou Hamer.

A further feature is the two page timeline spanning 1776 to 2021, focused on the legal and social standing of voting rights for women and those who are not white.  A selected list of references and bibliography gives reliable sources for those anyone/everyone who is inspired to learn even more.

Christy Ottaviano Books
Little Brown and Company, 2024

Thankfully, the name Ida B. Wells is widely recognized today, but the details reflected in this picture book will captivate and further inform readers across many ages. IDA B. WELLS Marches for the Vote is written by Dinah Johnson and illustrated by Jerry Jordan. In it hard truths are revealed, but always secure on  the scaffold of Ida's determination and irrepressible will. This account assures us of her progress and ours, even when not totally successful. 

There's plenty to celebrate in her life as well as in her legacy of activism and strength, celebration  that her decisions and actions deserve. Oil on canvas spreads include soft-edged exuberance and an encouraging vision of the Wells family's constructive efforts to make the most of transition from slavery to emancipation. This fully supports the direct and accessible narrative of Ida's life.

She took on early responsibilities for her orphaned siblings, and these were only the first of the many ways in which she faced challenges with practicality and authority. That tone and attitude shaped the voice she found in writing and speaking, which became the foundation of the woman whose historic achievements we know of today.

The sad truth is that despite the general acclaim Ida had received for her leadership among Black citizens and speaking out for civil rights, she faced racial discrimination when it came to the fight for women's suffrage. Leaders of that movement, white women, shamefully, did not wish to include Black women in their fight. One particular story of Ida's response is dramatic and  satisfying, although the entire trajectory of her accomplishments is warmly and realistically on display throughout the pages of this biography. Back matter includes archival photos and an author note, followed by an impressive timeline of Ida's life and accomplishments. I urge everyone to read and share this book.

CALKINS CREEK
Imprint of ASTRA BOOKS, 2022

And I can't resist mentioning a third nonfiction title that I featured in an earlier post, here. EVICTED: The Struggle For the Right To Vote is written by Alice Faye Duncan with art by Charly Palmer. This thorough account and illustration of the story behind Black citizens of Tennessee risked all (loss of jobs, homes, and fundamental safety in their effort to cast ballots. the lengthy text makes this an ideal source for established/older readers, including the very extensive backmatter to support the text and encourage further reading and understanding. 

The illustrations are masterful, executed with the sweep and depth that characterize Palmer's works. The intensity of the situations portrayed are balanced by the strength of the individuals who literally stood up for their rights and beliefs. Contrasts of light and shadow in each spread suggest the dramatic balance between the powers of existing social forces and the powers of characters and determination. For more, read the link to my prior post above, but please don't overlook the importance of this remarkable account.

ESCAPE: An Age-Old, HUMAN, Story

LANTANA, 2021

 Can you name twelve synonyms for, or words related to, ESCAPE? 

(Take a moment to try.)

 The authors of ESCAPE: One Day We Had To Run managed to do so, using those words to structure a dramatic nonfiction picture book on the topic. Ming & Wah wrote the text and Carmen Vela illustrated the dozen accounts of ESCAPE with a variety of colors and tones, with sweeping scenes and emotionally packed shadows and angles. 

The twelve words they used as a table of contents?

CLING...DART...DEFY...DISGUISE...FLEE...FLY...PEDAL...RAFT...SPRINT...

STOWAWAY...SWIM...TUNNEL

Each of these launches a double page spread devoted to a single escape account spanning three centuries. Refugee stories in Western culture alone are timeless, going back to Moses parting the sea and even back to Adam and Eve being ejected from the Garden. Escaping persecution, trauma, unlivable condition, war, and expulsion is a human conditions that has occurred as long as there have been humans. The authors share twelve dramatic, actual events that reveal a wide range of people, causes, times, and places. 

Each double spread treatment uses the featured word, followed by a line or two. That, and a page of explanatory narrative, sprawl across an illustration that exposes and expands the harrowing accounts described. The first example is 

CLING: Syria to Greece, 2015. 

                                DON'T LET GO. HOLD TIGHT. NEVER GIVE UP.

The last steps to safety for two girls traveling with family and more in an overloaded boat takes them from Turkey to Greece. To avoid swamping the boat, the girls CLING to the sides of the boat, propelling and guiding it to their destination despite extreme cold and being ignored by passing boats. I particularly appreciated how often the refugees were described in years following their escapes, revealing their successes and contributions the their receiving nations.

These 2015 escapes were current events and came back to me in reading them here, although other accounts were more distant memories or even unknown. For example, DISGUISE: Scotland to France, 1745, is the account of Bonnie Prince Charles who, having failed to secure the British crown, fled for his life to France. Yes, disguised as a hooded woman. The remainder of his life was spent in various disguises as he fled and hid throughout Europe. 

The illustrations capture the tone and settings of each true journey with minimal figures, perspectives, geographic elements, and varied tones and depths. Opening and ending spreads were particularly helpful. The book concludes with the brief text from the UNIVERSAL DECLARATiON OF HUMAN RIGHTS, Article 13 and 14. Freedom, emigration, and asylum in safe countries are broadly agreed upon rights of every human, and yet societies and power groups make such journeys futile, or tenuous at best. Immigration and asylum claims are treated as current or even recent problems when every one of us knows this is not true. 

This book helps to share the global and timeless experiences of such desperate escapes. The opening spread helps in that, offering a minimalist double spread global map. The expanse of water as our planet's dominant feature is evident, and map details are few, allowing readers to note the twelve migrations indicated across our shared geography. In addition, the suggestion of an eastern sun and western crescent moon emphasis the passing of time during these journeys, and a subtle suggestion of the northern and southern jet streams suggest the never-ending forces of tides and winds and weather. 

Overall, this collection of escape stories provides perspective on the truth about human escape and need for safe harbor. It will be invaluable in classrooms, homes, and libraries when shared with children, ranging from young to teen. It also offers adults a chance to step away from headlines and recognize the WHO and WHY of current refugees and of our own personal and social histories. After all, the PILGRIMS came as a persecuted group, seeking a new home.

It could happen to any of us again.

Meet FIRE CHIEF: The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle

 Stories can come from endless sources- cloud shapes, playing with pets, personal drama, or a fertile imagination. Nonfiction content, especially narrative nonfiction, begins somewhere and sometime long before anything goes to press. It might be sparked by an encounter with some surprising information. Or it can begin with an "I wonder" question, a casual observation, or with a keen interest and investigation of facts that somehow involves a path to a picture book.

CLARION BOOKS, 2025

Author Sy Montgomery's nonfiction books have long been favorites of mine, because they have captured the attention and curiosity of so many students of many ages. A picture book authored by Montgomery will always be on my to-read list. That's why I waited patiently on library hold to get a chance to read THE TRUE AND LUCKY LIFE OF A TURTLE, written by Sy Montgomery and illustrated by Matt Patterson. With the kind of luck and support FIRE CHIEF has had in his already long life, he could still be chugging along when everyone reading here is a grandparent, or even a great-grandparent.  He is currently estimated to be about sixty years old, still a young adult in turtle lifespans when all goes well.

Yes, that means that FIRE CHIEF's projected lifespan will be greater than any human's. That presents a challenge to tell his story in a way that spans his longevity while making his present and past feel immediate and important. But that challenge was met and exceeded by this creative team. (More about the author and illustrator below.)

The accuracy of illustrations, from birth through early development and throughout his story, allows curious readers to experience the vulnerability of a just-hatched turtle trying to follow instincts and survive. Author notes make it clear that the discussions of early egg/hatchling depictions are conjecture, based on knowledge of turtles and the geography in which Fire Chief lives.

Using these assumptions to suggest this turtle's early life allows readers to invest in and marvel at survival and its determination to reach a small pond. To do so, it crossed a dirt road near a fire station and makes its way to its next home. There it continued to face threats across years of slow growth and learning. Over the course of a human generations, the local community of firefighters and their families observed a sizable turtle sunning on a log. 

They dubbed him FIRE CHIEF.

They and their families enjoyed his company, including observations of his annual road-crossing return to a larger pond, better suited for winter hibernation in the deep mud. Across years of time the families and firefighters grew older, as Fire Chief did. As the community did. And as the road grew, was paved, as traffic increased, as the crossing became more dangerous. 

Okay- that's all I will say. 

Just remember the title- this is a turtle with a LUCKY life. 

And know that the two talented folks who created and share this TRUE story of a REAL turtle with the actual name FIRE CHIEF came to know about this turtle and its story directly. They are neighbors who both volunteer with a turtle-rescue organization that plays a role in Fire Chief's life (okay, spoiler). The author and illustrator collaborated on two earlier turtle books based on their many years of expertise and education on the topic of turtles. FIRE CHIEF's life and story launched this book, and the factual content is indisputable. Resources and credentials, including back notes, photos, and backstory provide entertainment and education on their own.

The magnificence of this book (and I chose that descriptor intentionally) is in the success of showcasing FIRE CHIEF as an individual, and as an individual with a specific life, a survivor of its species, as a lived and living example despite the many ways in which nature restricts their survival, and as human development/encroachment on habitat does. It also reveals practical ways in which human attention and intervention can contribute to survival, during crisis and also proactively/preventively. 

Through it all, FIRE CHIEF shines through not as a caricature or cartoon, nor as a mascot or pet. This creature has dignity and value. As such, he serves as a reminder to us to take closer looks at all living things, to avoid mindless damage or development. To seek balance and respect in our choices.

On a side note, I actively link to the authors and illustrators of each book featured in posts, hoping that readers here might check out more about them and their other works. In this case, do yourself a favor and click on the links to Montgomery and Patterson.Their websites are an education in a range of topics and will offer links to their other books as well. 

WOODY'S WORDS: Remember WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS?

 The author of that timeless novel for young readers was Woodrow Wilson Rawls, the "Woody" in the title of this picture book. WOODY'S WORDS: Woodrow Wilson Rawls and WHERE THE RED FERN RED FERN GROWS is a biography of the author, but also a celebration of the power of reading and writing. Actually, the focus is on a boy-grown-to-man and his drive to tell stories. Reading books changed his young life, and he vowed, "I don't care how long it takes me or what I have to do. Someday I will write a book, and it will have a dog in it." That powerful quotation appears on the title page in this picture book written by Lisa Rogers and illustrated by Susan Reagan. 

CALKINS CREEK BOOKS, 2025

I can hardly imagine that anyone raised in this country has not read (or heard aloud, or watched on film) WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. It is, indeed, a book, and it does, most certainly, center on a dog ands a boy. Woody's ancestors were Cherokee, and he grew up on family land assigned to those ancestors when they were relocated from their own territories. 

His education was at his mother's knee, and not only in simple reading and writing and arithmetic. When she first read a novel aloud to him, (The Call of the Wild) it transformed his sense of purpose. The simple and accessible narrative text  in this biography reveals Woody's deep engagement in rereading that book and then in writing and rewriting the world as he lived it, even when his available tools were limited to scratching words into soft mud with the point of a stick. For anyone who says it takes time and patience to become the kind of writer and storyteller who can win hearts, they could have been speaking about Woody.

Woody grew up in hard times and spent many young (and later) years bumming from town to town, from jail cell to jail cell, suffering from a lack of food or money but never lacking a good heart. No matter where or in what conditions he found himself, the stories moved through his mind and onto the page, even when those pages were soiled paper bags. He kept his attempts for many years, until he met and married.

He was so ashamed of what he considered his poor efforts that he burned all of the saved writings rather than show them to the woman he loved. After eventually confessing his need and desire to write a book, Sophie worked with him, correcting spelling and polishing some sentences. That finally-ready manuscript became a book, and he wanted people to read it. In his folksy, plain-spoken way, he visited schools and libraries and met readers where they were. Once he talked about his youth and his effort (over forty years) to produce a story of a boy, his dog, and life in the country, readers sought out his book and joined him in the story.

The account of Woody and Sophie and their eventual success is both heartwarming and inspiring. Back matter provides more details, as well as photographs of  moments before and after his book became an all-time success.  His next book, SUMMER OF THE MONKEYS, also featured a boy and his dog. Both books sold millions of copies.  Multiple pages of resources and research references attest to the depth of story-searching by Rogers. The illustrator's colors, sweeps of landscape, and suggestions of struggle have captured an authentic sense of rural life in the era and the yearning within a boy/man who had  something to say. It was clear with every word and image that Woody felt inadequate as a writer, but never gave up on his dream to share his stories in a way that made them last. 

Rogers wrote a dedication that hints at how moved she was by the storytelling drive of Rawls: 

"For those who have stories to tell and the librarians who celebrate them" then named several important librarians from her own life.

The structure of this narrative and account of Rawls's life holds no surprises, but the direct and simple language and sequential revelations of his persistence and outreach are best suited to this simple and plainspoken man. It mirrors the steady pace of his personal journey and the glowing satisfaction of his eventual success. 

WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS has been a part of my literary life, but now Woody brings me back to reread it and to wonder at his determination and at the satisfaction he was finally able to achieve. 

A LINE CAN GO ANYWHERE... Come along with Ruth Asawa

 Ruth Asawa is a remarkable American artist, worthy of remembering her name and eliciting examples of her work. If you are already familiar with her, I believe you will adore this account of her life and work for young readers.  If she and her work are unfamiliar to you, this book is even more important to read.

I am a wish-I-could-be-artist who admires and sings the praises of the talents of actual  artists, especially when they are celebrated in picture books. (Put the word ARTIST in the search bar on the right to find any of the many posts I've shared about other artists in the past.) Rarely have I met a child who didn't LOVE to make art, if left undirected or judged. But I have met MANY, across preschool to adult ages, who have precluded even trying to make art by self-assessing that they "aren't good". Others feel that art is only "one thing", whether that is drawing or painting or making identical copies of some image presented to them. Or that art requires a studio or specific materials. If you know anyone (including yourself) who shares those views, this book is a passport to rediscovery of your own creativity and self-expression.

To resist that destructive impulse to limit and turn away from creative impulses or efforts requires a willingness to trust our inner selves, a willingness to give voice to our inner impulses. Ruth Asawa had such a drive, and her inner impulses were wide-ranging, leading to creating work that now hangs or is otherwise displayed in museums. Many of her pieces have been sold for eye-popping amounts. Asawa's art expressions involved two-and three- dimensional images and materials not readily associated with art and she is credited with opening the art world to expand acceptance of, welcoming of, innovative materials and creative insights. 

This variation and expansion of expression began as a child, and her drive weathered injustice and deprivation. She benefited from rare opportunities to learn from masterful artists. That's quite a journey to portray in a picture book, but the lines that marked Asawa's creative life became the thread that pulls readers through this book. 

ROARING BROOK PRESS, 2025

A LINE CAN GO ANYWHERE: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of  Artist Ruth Asawa is a biography written by CAROLINE McALISTER and illustrated by JAMIE GREEN. The author launches the reader into Ruth's life at a young age as this American-born daughter of Japanese immigrants noticed her world before the Second World War. 

Readers enter Ruth's life through her perceptions and fascinations with lines and patterns, as revealed in wagon tracks, agricultural and natural  movements on the land, and geometric waves of horizons and river beds. The beauty and rhythms of what she saw in vegetables, bean strings, calligraphy class. Even the stripes on the American flag spoke to her, called to her, inspired her to mimic and elaborate on the lines and movements in her world. 

You may have guessed by now that she and her family, along with more than a hundred thousand others, would intersect tragically with the unjust incarceration and isolation of Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. I was unaware of that aspect of her background, but reading this explains as much about her eventual trajectory in the art world as anything.

It was her incarceration that limited access to materials but led to interactions with artistic mentors whose careers were halted by movement to the camps. Ruth's awareness of figurative lines were not restricted to straight segments and angles, but frequently incorporated spools and loops, waves and curves, symmetry and asymmetry.applying  traditional skills and techniques to unconventional but  available materials. Crocheting with wire and weaving metals resulted in works that instantly intrigue even though they are utterly original and unprecedented. 

Throughout her life, Asawa heard many nay-saying voices (choose between family life and artistic life) but heeded her own path. She married and raised six children while keeping her art production original and powerfully unique. (To view a brief video of her art, try this YOUTUBE clip.)

Once achieving success, she could have used the most expensive or traditional materials, but she chose to incorporate what was at hand, what suited her inner intent, what contributed to the total impact of her work. Her quote below captures that impulse:

QUOTE credit: Ruth Asawa

Illustrations allow readers to connect with Ruth throughout her ages and stages, while hinting at many of the extended voices and drives which led her to such acclaim. She called the disruptions of her family and childhood "interrupted lines", which are suggested throughout the illustrations, as are other visual details that can find echoes in her masterpieces. 

You'll do yourself a favor to read and explore this picture book biography. It includes back matter that extends information about Asawa's life and art. Both the main text and that added information combine with remarkable illustrations to submerge readers into a life worth learning about. 

JUST ONE OAK: A Nonfiction Treasure

An oak tree is a world unto itself. 

Although it isn't. 

A mature oak is interconnected with everything else, from the animals who use it as residence or food source or more, to the carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange that is so essential to every other life form, including us, to the microbial and fungal lives interacting underground. From the simplicity of  "I think that I shall never see... a poem lovely as a tree" to the nearly overwhelming complexity of that one tree could be a jarring journey if not treated masterfully.

Mastery is exactly what happens in JUST ONE OAK: What a Single Tree Can Be.

BEACHLANE BOOKS, 2026

It is written by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Diana Sudyka. The magnificence of the oak in this story plays the role of honoring all oaks. That parallels the magnificence of this nonfiction picture book with contents of such an extensive topic but such a poetic presence. The facts about this symbolic tree are specific and important, graceful and inspiring. The illustrations have a similarly expansive blend of beauty and details. 

This impressive treatment of a seemingly familiar but bottomless topic is managed by combining the main text in larger, friendly font, with smaller text shadowing the creatures and structures within the image, while more small print appeared in informational insets on various spreads. 

This approach offers a range of science and nature facts with a magical realism that makes the content understandable and intriguing. Shifting perspectives from close-up to distant, from above ground to underground, from leaf to trunk, readers remain focused on that OAK, but in fresh and informative ways. The illustrations allow younger readers to recognize and connect with other picture books about trees and woods and animals, but  the sidebars and image labels invite further reading or returns to these pages over and over. 

Back matter provides resources, additional detailed content, and diagrams. There, too, I admired the masterful decisions about what to remove from the main text, what to include in the expanded materials. This is a great example of a picture book that offers something for everyone at every age, while never losing the celebratory awe conveyed in learning more about ONE OAK TREE.

The first home I owned was built at the edge of an oak wood. I moved in during the winter and welcomed the coming of spring. Because the oaks were now my neighbors, I longed to see them leaf out and show new life. Instead, those oaks were the last of all the plants in the woodland to show any indicators of greenery. I feared that the woods were dead, that a strong storm would bring them crashing down on my new roof. 

Eventually, though, I saw that patience pays off, and the noble oaks were verdant and vibrant, that the related lives shown in this picture book abounded among my oak neighbors, and that those oaks would outlast me and my house. My respect for and love of oak trees and all that they foster in our natural world exploded, and continues to grow. This book allows readers to share that experience and respect. 

MUD TO THE RESCUE! Nonfiction At Its MUDDIEST!

WEB OF LIFE BOOKS, 2025

Take a "down and dirty" look at a delightful and informative new nonfiction picture book. This is a little book with a jumbo title. It presents a seriously important but basic concept in the subtitle:  MUD TO THE RESCUE: How Animals Use Mud To Thrive and Survive. This recent book is written by Tanya Konerman and illustrated by Melanie Cataldo. The boisterous cover illustration suggests a use of mud that we've likely all clicked on as elephants  rollick and romp in mud. 

It's not all fun and games, as this lyrically written, fact-packed book shares with even the youngest audiences. The illustrations range from lively (as the cover) to sleepy (as in hibernating critters) to lounging, as both elephants and hippos are shown to do in those irresistible reels. The text and images reveal that the function of mud ranges from comical to life-saving, with little splashes of informative facts on most pages: 

"Biting bugs are bothersome... ouch!

A nice layer of mud blocks pests and parasites that itch or make elephants and hippos sick."

Mud's role in animal lives (and survival and reproduction) includes being the essential material for nesting (not only for birds!), for home building, for dietary supplement and digestion, and more. These simply-stated nuggets of animal info are kid-sized, in main text and in the "bonus blotch" insets  offered throughout. Back matter provides a simple two-page spread that names each animal discussed followed by a few sentences describing the ways that mud plays an essential role in the lives each creature.

In our part of the world this is the rainy season and plenty of places are getting more rain than they's like, or worse. Even so, after reading this book I'll be looking at mud puddles with a smile from now on. 

THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN: The Story of NASA's Deaf Bioastronauts

Little Brown, & Company, 2026

  I first learned about the remarkable GALLAUDET ELEVEN several years ago when Gallaudet University mounted a fantastic display of their achievements, DEAF DIFFERENCE + SPACE SURVIVAL. If this review or anything about the program catches your curiosity, I urge you to click that  title above and learn more from the wealth of videos, articles, and other resources about these fantastic young contributors to essential space research.

That's what I did at the time when  news was breaking about the G-11 program from fifty years earlier. After watching, reading, and researching more about the program, I contacted two of the original ELEVEN who were active and eager to share the hidden history they had carved. 

During the ensuing years I corresponded and worked with Harry (Sonny) Larson and David Myers, two of the three members of the team who were still alive more than half century after their work ended. Once our manuscript for a picture book was ready to submit, another author had been doing the same research and beat my submissions to a contract. These things happen. Kerry O'Malley Cerra is a multi-award-winning children's author who also happens to be deaf. Her picture book about these unsung heroes released last month. THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN: The Story of NASA's DEAF Bioastronauts is written by Cerra and illustrated by Kristina Gehrmann. 

Cerra's approach launches by indicating the excitement and appeal of early space exploration, including students at Gallaudet College (now University).Those students faced disappointment when it became clear that their deafness would eliminate them from applying  as astronauts.Several pages reveal space race pressures, the dangers of motion sickness, and the need for  understanding and treating motion sickness in anyone attempting to travel in space.  The NASA doctor working on this problem visited Gallaudet College to recruit and test  volunteers for immunity from this effect. Some (not all) Deaf people have damage to the vestibular system in their inner ear. This allows them to experience movement without dizziness or nausea. Eleven men qualified and became decade-long volunteers to undergo tests that would-be astronauts would also take, serving as the baseline goal for tolerating the movement without sickness. 

Spinning, swinging, bouncing, zero-gravity, and living in a rotating room involved measuring eye movements, blood work, and comparing accuracy and speed in operating manual devices. All eleven young men had other jobs and often participated during vacations or by taking time away from work and family. Their days were long and exhausting, with complications that none of the NASA crew used ASL, American Sign  Language. But they committed to serving their country and this important program. They continued for more than a decade while America's first manned flights led to the Apollo moon program and the eventually moon landings and exploration. With the current ARTEMIS Moon program well underway, foundational data from  original G-11 studies, along with the medications and adaptations those tests led to, remain the basis for safety for today's astronauts.

Not unlike HIDDEN FIGURES (Black women who made the calculations that assured safety for these flights), the efforts of the GALLAUDET ELEVEN remained unknown to all but a few until the exhibition was finally presented more than fifty years later. Now this new picture book makes the men and their contributions known to generations old and new. More details are found in back matter, along with an introductory letter provided by Barry before his death. I'm excited to say that the book launch was at Gallaudet University and both David Myer and Harry Larson attended and signed stacks of books for their new-found fans. Our goal all along was to document their program efforts in ways that could find readers of any age.

I hope you'll find and read this new book and become as much a fan of these bioastronauts as I am. This was never a "secret" program, but was an underreported aspect of a very glamorous program. Let's all celebrate the men who quietly and generously dedicated themselves to the program because they had, as Harry says, "The difference they needed."

WHO IS SINGING?

When an important and delightful nonfiction picture book released some years back, I was invited to write a blurb. It was an honor to do so, and this is what I said:

"The author's winning pattern of question/response page-turns combines delightfully with readable bird calls and colorful images, inviting young nature-lovers to listen, observe, and gain confidence in the outdoors. This appealing introduction to familiar bird song patterns and habits offers a sort of 'first book of birding'."

 That's why I was so pleased to learn that this book is being re-released in a larger format, high quality picture book that continues to sing to me.  WHO IS SINGING? is written by nature-focused Janet Halfmann  and illustrated by Chrissy Chabot with crisp, simple images and coloration that are particularly useful for younger audiences at the first stages of bird observation and identification. This new offering is  a sort of "first field guide" for little ones with little hands, big ears, and enormous curiosity about the world. 

Belle Isle Books, 2026

In the northern hemisphere we are in prime season for bird song, with feathered songsters declaring territories, imprinting hatchlings with species pattern calls, and just singing in celebration of  the start and end  of a day. 

Recent studies document the correlation (nearing proof of causation) that increasing screen time with little ones actually rewires their brains, developing a few areas while failing to develop many more crucial patterns of seeing, hearing, and thinking. Yes, screens and their contents are interactive and colorful, but so is nature. Halfmann's informative, well-written, and interactive birdcall/bird-spotting book is an active, outdoor alternative that kids will welcome. 

Here's a link to my full original review. Some of  my initial praise follows and it all remains true:

Halfmann limits her choices to some of the most familiar birds in the midwest (and much of the country), each of which still has large populations that can be found in urban, suburban, and rural locations. She also provides a winning pattern of question/response for page turns. The opening question includes a "readable" translation of familiar birdsong, followed by a page turn that depicts the bird interacting within typical habitat, including food/prey, diurnal/nocturnal settings, and some typical behaviors. 

Interior images used with permission.

Halfmann's text patterns will also have young ones reading along and chiming in as each turn begins with the phrase, "Take a bow... " then repeats the bird's name. Those few lines incorporate the visual content regarding habitat, food, and species patterns.

As is typical in many of Halfmann's nature-focused titles, back matter includes useful learning content and ideas for activities. In this case, the content mentions the ways these "worded" songs were selected, that other wordings exist, and suggests ideas about creating our own versions of recognizable birdsong. It's easy to hear some of thesbirdsonge on YouTube. Just search for BIRDSONG. Share this delightful book with little ones, then take them, and yourselves, out into the wide world and LISTEN!"

StarBright Books, 2010

As with Janet's many other titles, study guides and teaching activities  are available on her website. It's also worth noting that her books are "keepers" in terms of sustained popularity and appeal to young audiences across time. Books like GOOD NIGHT LITTLE SEA OTTER (published in multiple languages) and others have landed on state favorites lists year after year. A great benefit of WHO IS SINGING is the range of familiar and widely distributed birds that are featured, and the accessibility of their songs for imitation. Young folks across the country will find birds they recognize and be able to succeed at interacting with them in song. That's a real-world, screen-free activity that never becomes boring and could lead to endless questions and investigations as readers grow into nature-lovers. 

In a recent conversation with an illustrator I was bemoaning my own lack of art skills. Their comment reminded me of this book. I'm paraphrasing here, but the gist is this: 

Every kid loves to draw, even if they don't think they are good at it. They just want to do it, and the more they do, the better they become. It works for adults, too. Those who develop an interest in birds are likely to find appeal in making sketches and field notes for themselves. An adult version of that is THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES, written and illustrated by AMY TAN. (Yes, THAT Amy Tan!)

On a sad side note, North American birds are struggling to survive, with some estimated population drops in the range of 50% reduction in only the last few years. Some of this is due to habitat loss and climate changes, but some is due to a highly contagious infection that spreads easily through bird-feeding stations. My longtime advice to provide a feeding station is now guarded, adding a note to check with your local parks and wildlife services to see if yours is an area that is discouraging feeders for the coming season. This book provides a super opportunity to still engage young learners to engage with birds in an interactive way while learning about our responsibility to be informed and helpful in maintaining and restoring their populations. We can't and won't protect creatures about whom we know nothing. 

Ready for SOMETHING SPECTACULAR?

 When it comes to picture books about ROCKS, there are many to choose from. Several of those are high on my list of recommendations. I've reviewed several, from classics to newer releases, like THIS, THIS, and THIS. It's not difficult to encounter a kid (or grown kid) who is a fan of rocks. Some scout out specialty rocks (geodes, river rocks, mica rocks, and more). SOMETHING SPECTACULAR: A Rocks's Journey, written by Carmela LaVigna Coyle and illustrated by Carly Allen-Fletcher, provides an origin story for one example of a specialty kind of "found" rock: nature-formed heart-shaped rocks. This vibrant and dramatic account of the transformation of matter spans millions of years and reveals a seemingly dry nonfiction topic through colorful, action-packed, time-travel, a revelation for readers of any age. 

MUDDY BOOTS BOOKS, 2022

The research behind this rock-journey is evident, but is served up in a user-friendly, minimalist style through illustrations, text, and book design. Beginning with the cover, our eye  centers on a non-specific young person, someone fully enthralled with the magic in their open hands. The encircling images appear nearly surreal, of an uncertain period and location. It's the perfect launchpad for an astonishing, ethereal journey.

And yet, open the cover to the endpapers which reveal childlike, crayon-drawn figures. Whose story is this, the rock's or the child's? Then one more turn to the title page features a space-view image of planet Earth more than 300 million years ago, when the planet was a watery home to a single land mass, Pangea, which was evidently geologically active (volcanoes and landmass shifts) as well as spawning plant life.

We're not yet  entering the the narrative as one more page turns, providing publication information and a dedication. Those are wallpapered, corner to corner, with textured swatches and swirls of fiery color and movement. Illustrator Allen-Fletcher has notable works that range from adult to space science to science fiction and fantasy for youth. In the dramatic contrasts within these pages she demonsttrates her range and intentionality. The approach not only sets the stage for a 300,000 million year old geologic transition, but allows each successive stage to also shift across millennia, certain that those floating those end paper, childlike images will anchor to such a nearly timeless tale. The transitions are highly effective, and young readers (even those who can't yet comprehend such large numbers or spans of time) will hold both the story of an imagined child and a chunk of planet Earth that survives throughout time to become a discovery in a field.  It is absolutely brilliant, in my opinion.

That, though, was inspired by what I consider a brilliant narrative to set those parallel journeys in place. A sample of the opening establishes a repetitive pattern for pages:

 (Small heart icon) "272 years before she found it... (small font, color, at top left of page)

(Main text) It began beneath the bottom of a forgotten sea, as part of something spectacular."

Each turn launches a wide spread with an introductory phrase shifting time in millions then thousands of years, referencing time markers and events in the child's day, such as "before she at breakfast"  in relation to those incomparably enormous shifts in geologic time. The illustrations reveal how the planet's forces were impacting the matter that gradually becomes a rock, then is ruptured, rolled, washed, and buried by the forces of nature over time. The time references are both informative and helpful in comparing other long-passage periods that are sometimes confused or merged, such as dinosaurs and buffaloes roaming the earth. The concluding discovery of a heart-shaped rock in a field flips the cover perspective from the viewer's eyes to that of the child, capturing the wonder of it all, now illuminated by awareness of its theoretical journey. 

A special treat is the realization on the closing endpapers. The childlike drawings are discoverable as a map of her own day's travel, providing images to connect to each time-marker throughout her search day (breakfast through to discovery). Whether launching readers onto lifelong heart-rock searches or introducing geologic eras for an adolescent science lesson,  or even as mentor text for generating comparative timelines, this book truly is SPECTACULAR!