HIKING: Summer Time To Touch Grass

 

This book was released in 2019, just before the Covid lockdown, and it was certainly in the making for years before that. it was also a product of a time before the current "TOUCH GRASS" mantra arrived. THE HIKE, written and illustrated by Alison Farrell, is a testament to the staying power of a picture book at its best. 

CHRONICLE BOOKS, 2019

The target age for this charmer is preschool to kindergarten, and yet it speaks to me from the opening pages. The kid-friendly illustrations throughout invite any reader of any age to dive into the adventurous spirit of childhood and go along for the hike!  

The title page reveals the field guide notebook of one character, Wren, who leads the three sisters from their nature-setting home through a full day of exploration of the bounties and beauties of nature.

The main text is simple, using few but perfectly chosen words: 

"We are going on a hike."

On that same page, hand-lettered labels  reveal names of the sisters and their dog, multiple plants and critters shown in their natural setting, with the colors of nature rendered in simple media including choices that most kids would find in a large set of crayons. Page after page continues the labeling of flora and fauna, sample notes in Wren's field guide, the antics of Bean, and occasional speech bubbles as the girls interact. 

Their roaming consumes the entire day into dusk, but they eventually reach their destination, a mountain top at which each completes her mission. Their return toward a well-lit and welcoming home includes the overhead expanse of stars in labeled constellations. When that happy resolve concludes, Wren's sketchbook offers added spreads and valuable nature information, all presented in child-like speeches and lettering. The model it presents for launching a summer notebook/;sketchbook project for kids at home is both appealing and accessible. 

This is all valuable and appealing on its surface, but the seemingly simple story also resonates with each girl's individuality, with the purposeful and self-directed use of a summer day, with their mutual appreciation of each other and of nature. All of these elevate an apparently simplistic or even scientific choice of story to one that invites return over the days of summer and years of lives. 

To read a prior post featuring two picture books on the power of footloose nature fun, read HERE. 

I recently read two middle grade novels in which the worlds (one incorporating recognizable location names, the other with imagined names suggesting places we now know) are post-apocalyptic from both environmental and political destructions of the resources we too often take for granted. Both include scenes in which characters reflect back, with melancholy, to the people who came before, who failed to appreciate and protect what they had before it was too late. Both, I'll add, are able to offer hope and a suggestion of a better future in various ways, but neither imagines that the harm can be undone. If this sounds interesting to you or young readers you know, check out D-39, A ROBODOG'S JOURNEY by Irene Latham (a verse novel that reads compellingly) and The TEAR COLLECTOR by R. M Romero. My reviews on goodreads are linked to the titles.

August Dog Days... Time For HOT DOG by Doug Salati

 Late July and early August has always been seen as the hottest of weather (in the northern hemisphere), tagged as "Dog Days". (Click to learn more about the history of this phrase and the patterns of summer in Almanac.com.) I spent several of those "dog days" viewing the annual (now virtual) SCBWI summer conference. A featured creator was Doug Salati, the author/illustrator for HOT DOG, winner of the latest Caldecott Gold Medal and the EZRA JACK KEATS gold, both for picture books of extraordinary visual narratives.

Albert A Knopf, 2022

In a conference keynote, Salati described his creative process for HOT DOG. Those who might assume that making a picture book is a simple process should have heard his account. Click his name above to see the many books he has successfully created/illustrated and you'll note that he features both artistic talent and undeniable skill at visual storytelling. Even his covers indicate reveal what lies under the covers and also the celebratory nature of his colors and lines. You might have assumed that this was a smooth creation story. 

It was not.

His persistent efforts to bring this little dog's beach romp to readers required many revisions, major and minor. Ultimately, the little canine becomes an unforgettable character. Opening endpapers feature  line sketches in the many poses a dog adopts to begin its day, while final endpapers sketch those just-before-well-earned-sleep poses at the end of its long, hot,  joyous day.

As you might imagine, an apartment-dwelling city dog would welcome a leash walk to help its busy person while doing chores on hot urban streets. Minimal but superb text:

"concrete 

crumbles

sirens 

screech"

and wonderfully intense vertical panels of "street scenes" positioned as Triptych or Diptych images draw readers right onto those streets. Waiting is hard, surfaces are scorch-y, and this hot dog is overwhelmed by a steaming, screaming city that is"

 "too close! 

too loud! 

too much!"

HOT DOG, 2022. Interior spread

Some who are reading this will recall exactly those same reactions. Certainly small children will! The transition from being a tag-along companion for adult business shifts early in the book when dog puts its foot down (actually, belly down) in the middle of a crosswalk. Nonverbal communication is superb. Only then does the woman at the other end of the leash gain her new perspective. The remainder of the book reveals a spontaneous taxi ride and train/subway journey to arrive at space, sand, water... relief! 

The jubilant dog romps and revels, then locates and shares countless bits of this landscape with the woman, who savors the relief of sea breeze and boisterous joy by treasuring those tokens, presented with such wagging love.

I hope this summary, in more words than Salati used in the entire book, will entice you to take a look for yourselves. Have no fear that I've spoiled the plot, since that slim text and those rich illustrations hold many surprises, including a very satisfying and heartwarming ending. And yes, even on the hottest city streets, a story like this will chill your mood from the initial intensity so that warming your heart is a welcome reaction. 

Jagged nerves, weariness, and furry-bodied exhaustion find their ideal antidotes in the pages of this book. I am convinced you will, too. With such stellar awards to its credit, you can be sure I'm not alone in singing its praises. I hope you will join the chorus.

While HOT DOG may sound like the ideal summer review, I'm months overdue at sharing it here. Please don't delay even a bit in getting your hands on it and sharing it widely, sooner rather than later.

SUMMER IS FOR COUSINS... Of Any Age!

 After recently moving from my career-long home, hundreds of miles from my hometown, I am now located closer to many family members of many generations. In the past six weeks I've had more opportunities to enjoy their company (and their colorful personalities) than I've had in half a century. Most gathering during those visits were limited in time and interactions by focus on weddings, funerals, or annual holidays. In these less formal, more "ordinary" meetings, many recollections are being shared of childhood fun as cousins, of traditional gatherings, of shared (and contested) memories!

ABRAMS BOOKS For Young Readers, 2023

Perhaps that's why this new picture book appeals to me so much. SUMMER IS FOR COUSINS,  written by Rajani LaRocca and illustrated by Abhi Alwar, is vibrant with color, personalities, connections, and extended-family-love. It also resonates with my own memories, of beaches and ice cream outings and shared cabins at the lake and rotating  family turns to cook meals.

In LaRocca's contemporary picture book, these cousin-family traditions are showcased on the endpapers in seemingly-scrapbook-taped snapshots of game night, story time, campfires, broken limbs, identities and and very special cousin friendships. So familiar.

This particular family is, from the start, ethnically different from mine. Grandpa and Grandma are called Thatha and Pati, but I didn't need to speak another language or use Google-translate to know that. The text and illustrations retain distinctly authentic identities, diets, and details while resonating fully with the patterns of family lives that make the meaning immediately clear. Other things are labeled in recognizably generic language, kid-speak. For example, the shared vacation spot is not a wooded cabin or tent, but "a house that's not any of ours", as was our childhood gathering place. Kids leave such arrangements to their parents, yet assume that the summer ritual of gathering and celebrating the season together in a vacation spot WILL occur, even if not in the same place each year. They count on it.

In early pages the children are tagged with names, although not ones as common to my background as "Susie" or "Joey". No sense of distance from my llife, though, because their cartoonish enthusiasm and interactions are universally familiar. Each year's return reveals changes, the youngest no longer the youngest. A special friendship with an older cousin is a  worrying risk to the first-person narrator, Ravi. Could his cousin have outgrown his interest in spending time with Ravi? His voice has changed, he is incredibly taller. Would he still enjoy their favorite flavor of ice cream, or share his older-guy interests, like paddleboarding. 

Amid the many satisfying situations depicted in lively, action-packed illustrations and delightfully direct text, this tension of younger-Ravi's concern/hope is a thread that also recalled my experiences- always seeking the company of the older cousin rather than the younger one, hoping for affirmation that I was worthy of their continuing friendships, or at least their awareness. 

This is much more than a nostalgic mirror of a fun childhood summer, though. The dynamic of these cousins actually forms a dramatic throughline for Ravi to prove his theory that their special friendship has overcome their age/size differences. When the kids claim a night of dinner prep, Ravi sets out to test his cousin, to see if they still share the same favorite flavor of ice cream. I love his proactive approach and also his appealing decision to make the ice cream himself. Foodies, rejoice in this example of kids cooking and turning "making" into play! 

There is plenty to enjoy in this new picture book, for early readers, their families, and even those of us out here on the elder branches of our family trees. Apart from the affirmative values of shared family time, meals at the table, outdoor play, intergenerational activities, and family traditions, this is an ideal example of the power to both provide lesser-published  mirrors for those with non-western identities and open windows for others. It's a potent example of the ways in which "Same": and "Different" are utterly inadequate terms in a complex society such as we inhabit. Ours is a society (*most of USA) in which we live in neighborhoods that are siloed. A book like this takes our occasional and often limited contacts with people we might see only in "roles" at school or in retail or business settings beyond those artificial boundaries into their lives. Lives so much like our own. What a priceless gift that is, to those who rarely see themselves in such books, and even more to those who rarely see those lives in real life. Check it out at your library or invest a few bucks for a book that will be a treasure across generations. You'll be making memories!

For families with older kids, check out Rajani LaRocca's Newbery Honor title, RED, WHITE, and WHOLE, a phenomenal read involving the ongoing stress of strict family expectations in conflict with the immersive social patterns of a broader community. It's another loving family tale, but one immersed in the stresses of daily work and school life with the added burden of serious illness.

Summer Nostalgia: JOY, Then and Now!

Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022

The World Belonged to Us is written by multi-award-winning and widely-admired author Jacqueline Woodson, with brilliantly joyful, time-specific details and action-packed scenes, illustrated by Leo Espinosa.This text is longer than many recent picture books, but every word carries its weight-  although the tone and pace of this book is not at all weighty, characterized by feathery lightness of spirit and tone. The opening words, repeated throughout the book, are presented in larger colorful font and poetic line breaks:

"In Brooklyn

in the summer

not so long ago"

At each appearance, those words launch a past-tense account of the FREEDOM of kids in summer- FREE as sun, FREE as summer! In summer, in those days, things that had bound kids into the braces and traces of daily life were ERASED:

Hairdos, clothing, schedules, playground fences, and even having adults resolve differences. In summer, it fell to the kids themselves to work things out  in ways that preserved their community of play. The compelling drive and array of options, their curiosity, and necessary collaboration sustained the momentum of a single game over several days. Most endeavors involved large numbers of kids, so everyone found their places in the action. 

The threads of shared news, heroes, storytellers, and wishes (ice cream truck, anyone?) meant the bonds ran deep and strong, overcoming occasional issues. 

"Wait! Wait! We want a cone.

Then we shared with the friends with no money

because some days the ones with no money

were us."

Within the span of a long (timeless!) day, play extended to the borders of dusk, street lights glowing, and adults calling from street-lined  windows. While heading indoors, assurances of returning where they left off on the next day were shouted up and down the street. 

A magical ending ensues, and I want to share it, without quotations, because wordsmith Woodson deserves your full attention to the text on those final page turns. As a reader and writer of picture books, I have often noted (and have had my attention called to) stories that are "wonderful", but somehow "too slight", or "just not quite enough". 

As gorgeous as this account is, if it had ended with the cleared streets and lighted windows, it just might have merited that comment. Nostalgia has its place but can only go so far in the minds of young audiences. But at that point Woodson turns her repeating phrase in the opening on its head, with "not just" phrasing. Readers join in a powerful leap off the steps, off the page, and into hearts with a perfectly worded conclusion about the power of those experience to launch kids filled with confidence and joyful anticipation of life.

Lee & Low Books, 2017

The Hula-Hoopin' Queen is written by Thelma Lynne Godin and illustrated by exuberant and joyful  Vanessa Brantley-Newton. This is my own nostalgic nod to a throwback title that deserves a close look.  It offers a recognition that not all is lost in current summer vacation days. This contemporary presentation of "Black Girl Joy" has been on the shelves for several years and deserves another shout-out here. The intense  emotions of a girl who has her heart set on winning a neighborhood competition against her rival, with the designation of HULA-HOOPIN' QUEEN, is magnified when her family responsibilities deny her a chance to even TRY!. 

That is a perfect example of writing a story with specific character, situation, and setting that will speak universally to kids from across the country and around the world. Darn those family chores that "ruin" kids' days- especially summer sun/fun days! That happen everywhere, and to everyone!

But joy is not only powerful, it is contagious. The triggers of rhythm, musicality, and cross-generational love and joy lead to a lively, shared resolution that will have hips wiggling and feet tapping, young and old alike. 

This is a great example of a picture book that "lasts", that remains worthy of celebration and attention, long after the early launch hubbub it also deserved. Track it down, share it, and then dig out your old hula hoops!

Start Summer with STEM Books!

It's an old fashioned concept that summer vacation for kids is a wide-open, free-wheeling, choose-your-own-adventure time. If I were decades younger I'd might even doubt that it was ever true. But I lived that kind of summer. Sure, there were chores, family outings, even some short half-day camps sponsored by church or scouts or whatever. But the bulk of our long sunny days were ours to plan and execute.

Truth be told, I spent lots of my free time reading. But countless hours of summer were improvised, spur of the moment adventures with friends. That might involve cooking, camping out in the the back yard, making up new rules to old games, or packing a lunch for an all day bike trip of undetermined route or destination. (These explorations launched without today's ubiquitous cell phones, just a dime in a pocket in case we needed to use a phone booth.) 

That's certainly not the way of the world today, but here's my suggestion to salvage at least the spirit of what those days were like. Both are STEM books, and both are semi-non-fiction, relying on real events and back matter to blend exciting and fun stories into actual space-based science. 

Penguin Workshop, 2019

First, a suitably small book features little Mars Rover Curiosity as the central character. BIRTHDAY ON MARS is written by Sara Schoenfeld and charmingly illustrated by Andrew J. Ross. In wonderful dusty, rusty tones with a Rover-eye-view, Curiosity voices a first person account of why it is there, an awareness of its friends on Earth, and a sense of purpose. The clever small moments (taking a birthday selfie, peeking under rocks) make it a winning intro to space science for even the youngest. The topper is the blend of humor and fact in the story when it sings HAPPY BIRTHDAY to itself. Then back matter reveals that this little explorer did, in fact, sing happy birthday to itself on it's first anniversary on Mars. 

Roaring Book Press, 2019

I can't imagine a more appealing way to interest kids in space science, unless it is this next book. GO FOR THE MOON: A Rocket, a Boy, and the First Moon Landing is a big, bold opposite to the sweet little Rover book.Chris Gall wrote and illustrated this oversized, heavyweight, photo-realistic story of a space-enthralled little boy whose life mirrors the first moon launch and landing. 
With white-framed, double-spread illustrations readers open to a rear view of a young boy staring out his bedroom window. His walls, shelves, and toys all reveal a childlike but obsessive interest in space. Text is white on the night-darkened scene, emphasizing the full moon glow and the substance of the text:

"In the morning, three brave men will climb inside a giant rocket, blast off into space, and fly to the moon. ... The astronauts are ready for the mission and so am I."

From that page forward this lad duplicates each stage of the process, from his Tang breakfast, to launching his self-built rocket, to suiting up for the moon landing, to entering his cardboard landing capsule. Soon he and family are pictured stretched out in front of their black-and-white, grainy, scratchy console television. I was right back in my own living room, home from college and working a night shift at the hospital. I was able to stay long enough to see the lander touch down and hear the astronauts' voices in the capsule, I saw the door open, and watched that first footstep before needing to leave for work and follow the progress of the landing on the car radio. 
What a night that was. I was overwhelmed as an adult, but viewing it through the eyes of a space-struck boy in this book felt even more powerful. That little boy was the author/illustrator, Gall, and he details his own engagement with rockets and space in the back matter. 
That genuinely portrayed first person insight to the magnificent adventures of  those days is matched by this book's ability to make superlatives kid-friendly. Gall describes the skillful expertise demanded of the rocket-crane operators. (It has to do with raw eggs, but I won't spoil your reading with further details.) He compares massive weights and heights to stacks of elephants, the Statue of Liberty, and other familiar touchpoints.  Inserting science content and accurate descriptions provides informative facts to kids and to the adults who share this with them. 
There is much about Gall's illustrations that remind me of Chris Van Alsburg (JUMANJI, POLAR EXPRESS, and many others). There is much in these two new picture books, one tiny and clever the other massive and moving, to spark curiosity and challenge in young readers' minds. 
10 -9 - 8 -  Let  the summer explorations begin!

Jabari Jumps... With Dad's Help

Candlewick Press. June, 2017

With Fathers' Day barely a blink away, the June release of JABARI JUMPS arrives on bookstore shelves just in time. Author/illustrator Gaia Cornwall has produced a perfect picture book, with natural appeal on the surface, and plenty to discover when you dive below the surface. Mirroring Jabari's exuberant attitude after (spoiler alert) mastering the high dive, readers will want to return to this book again and again to revel in the story, the warmly supportive relationship, and to discover even greater thrills within its pages. 

The generous trim size allows for expansive, sunny, watery, double-page spreads, turn after turn featuring expressive characters with just enough detail to connect with urban readers (skylines) and swimmers, divers, and families everywhere.

I was delighted by Jabari's gusto, bravado, and attention to his cautionary inner voice. Even more so, I was touched by his dad's sensitive awareness and deft responses to affirm, reassure, and encourage independent choice. From the title spread onward, Jabari, his dad, and his toddler sister are portrayed tenderly, energetically, recognizably, and humorously. The images and color choices had me smelling chlorine and hearing the splashing laughter of a summer community pool. 

I'm not the only one to celebrate this new release. School Library Journal's starred review summarizes the storyline and concludes: "VERDICT Jabari’s story will help assuage the fears kids experience when faced with a new and daunting adventure. A terrific seasonal storytime read-aloud that’s perfect for one-on-one sharing."–Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services

A review in The Washington Post featured JABARI JUMPS for young readers in an article focused on books that inspire bravery in readers. I've also read  and recommend the two titles for older readers, GIRL RISING: CHANGING THE WORLD ONE GIRL AT A TIME, by Tanya Lee Stone, and THE HATE U GIVE, by Angie Thomas. But I'm writing here about picture book readers. For Fathers Day bonding and months beyond, read this excerpt from Kathie Meizner's review to see why this is a must-have title:

 "   full of the light blue of summer sky and water and attuned to the perspective of a small boy whose ambition is just a little bit bigger than he is."

Back to that perspective, and the quiet confidence Jabari finds through his dad's acceptance and reassurance. During the summer of 1945, thousands upon thousands of American and other soldiers were in Europe, winding down from their successful effort to defeat Hitler's forces. Most, like Dad, barely made it home for Christmas. 

My dad was among them, waiting  through the months-long process involved in returning home to his wife and baby girl, my sister. That's him in the picture. Those who don't know him might see in this picture a confidant, steady young man. I see my dad wearing a wool uniform on a steamy beach because he would never set foot in the water. I see my dad who was desperately seasick on his  voyage to and from Europe, a man who never lost his fear of water, but never transferred that to the four little waterbugs he raised. 

It didn't hurt that Mom loved the water and taught us each how to swim. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for the water, Dad willingly scraped together his limited funds, patched our old station wagon with duct tape if necessary, and hauled us to our annual vacation in a rented cottage on Lake Erie. There, day after day, he donned his swim trunks, waded out with us into water that he feared, for us as much as for him, while never once allowing that fear to pass from his hand to ours as we bounced, splashed, and reveled in what felt like an ocean. 

Dad  came to my mind as I read JABARI JUMPS, the first time and each time since. Jabari's dad isn't in the water until the later spreads, even then only up to his waist. He never takes his eyes off of his son and is ever-attentive to his water-winged baby girl. What mattered to me won't matter to everyone, and kids will certainly identify with Jabari, not his dad. Yet I'm thinking there will be plenty of kids who could read this and find in the dad's gentle messages the comfort, confidence, and support they may lack in their own relationships. 

And they will be brave.

As Dad was.