Julian Hector Lovefest

I first heard about The Gentleman Bug from John Schu.  When I tweeted that I had read it and loved it after his recommendation, John (I hope it's okay that I call him by his first name, but I feel like I know him!) tweeted back his agreement and included the author on the tweet, Julian Hector.  Then a few weeks later, I read about Arthur Levine's new picture book, Monday is One Day.  When I checked it out from the library, guess who the illustrator is?  That's right, Julian Hector!  So I'm taking a little break from all of the Nonfiction Picture Books to enjoy a Julian Hector lovefest - his illustrative style is so appealing, I know you'll love him too!

When I read (again, on Twitter!) about Monday is One Day, it seemed like it would something my girls and I would really connect with.  As a working mother of two young girls, I have a hard time during the week.  Each day is packed full with work, daycare, driving, eating, errands, baths and reading.  We run from thing to thing all day.  As hard as it is on me, it is doubly hard on the girls.  Life can seem like an endless stream of "have-to's" for them.  Clearly Levine has seen the same thing happen in his own home because the daily grind for children is what this book is about.
Levine starts with the soothing reassurance "The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you."  And then the speaker and their child count the days of the work week until they are free on the weekend.  They start with Monday and Levine combines several techniques successfully here. The book goes through the days of the week both by name and by the day's number.  Monday is one day, and so there is one hug that goes with Monday.  As the week goes on (and the exhaustion of the daily grind increases), there are more and more hugs and kisses.  What is remarkable is that Levine creates a space of peace and togetherness in our hectic lives.  It's a reminder to give our children what they sorely need - love and time together.  The book serves as reassurance to the child, and as an important reminder to parents to slow down and enjoy our children daily.

The illustrations bring Levine's text to life.  The colors are bright, primary color washes.  There is an enormous diversity of families shown in this book, so a child will be able to recognize themselves and their own family here.  That in itself is a comfort - to be able to see so many kinds of families all doing the same thing - going to work and returning to show love.  But Hector also shows love in every picture.  A grandmother and grandfather hug a little boy on a tractor while wind-up dinosaurs stomp around them.  The grandparents' faces are lit up, their bodies turned towards the boy.  They are telling him he is the most important thing in their worlds with every part of their bodies.  Work is simply the thing we all have to do.  But Levine and Hector make sure children understand that as parents we spend every moment wishing we were with our children.  It is a book filled with love, and exactly what we needed in our house right now.  I hate to return it to the library.

The Gentleman Bug is totally different and equally lovable.  The Gentleman Bug is a teacher and a reader who is content with who he is.  He isn't the most dapper bug in The Garden, he isn't the most suave bug, but he loves his books and his students.  That is, until a new Lady Bug comes to town.  He tries to attract her attention, but she always seems to be looking the other way.  So he becomes more of a Gentleman Bug (emphasis on the gentleman), but that doesn't make him comfortable either.  The ending is so sweet and perfect that I won't ruin it here.  But it suits them both perfectly and makes the reader smile.

This book is set in a bug version of Victorian England.  Hector has included a winning map on the endpapers of The Garden where this book takes place.  There are such locations as Bugadilly Circus and HoneyHive Palace.  The endpapers also include labeled cameos of other characters in the story.  This is a beautiful added touch - a way to extend the experience beyond the first reading of the plot.  Readers can go back and follow these characters on their own journey.

The colors in this book are more muted, as fits the period setting.  The colors are gentle, just like the Gentleman Bug.  And I hate to say it, but these bugs are all cute!  Even the tick is friendly, with his legs waving around.  I've seen ticks, and they don't look so affable in real life!  You want to just hug the Gentleman Bug and reassure him as he worries.  There are also small details to pore over on every page.  Hector includes texture everywhere to keep readers' eyes moving.  This is a lush book, with a lot of big houses, towering flowers and an oversized queen.  And yet it is a book about bugs, which immediately shrinks your perspective.  But it is so, so winning and sweet.  I already have a copy on my wishlist for Santa!

I can hardly wait to see what Julian Hector creates next.  Count me in as one of his fans.  Check these books out, and you'll be a fan too!

The Gentleman Bug.  Julian Hector.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010.
Monday is One Day.  Arthur A. Levine; illustrated by Julian Hector.  Scholastic Press: Scholastic, 2011.

Borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library.

Keeper

I finished reading Keeper a few days ago, late at night.  But I wanted to think about it, and let it seep in.  I also have had very little sleep for the past few days (Gloria and Frances have been sick) and I wasn't sure I could be coherent about it.  Hopefully now that I've gotten a good night's sleep, I'll be smarter!

Keeper is having a very bad day.  It is a blue moon, and everyone in her small, gulf-side neighborhood is angry at her.  For a ten year old, that is hard to deal with.  Keeper has ruined Signe's gumbo, she has ruined Mr. Beauchamp's night-blooming cyrus and she has ruined Dogie's ukelele.  There is nowhere to turn for comfort except for her birth mother, who is a mermaid.

As you begin the novel, Keeper is already out in the pond which connects to the Gulf of Mexico.  She has "borrowed" Dogie's boat, even though she has been told that it is not sea-worthy.  Keeper has been raised by Signe after Keeper's mother became a mermaid when Keeper was young - or so Keeper believes.  The other people on this small road form an unusual, close-knit family.  In fact, Dogie was going to sing a marriage proposal to Signe that very night...until Keeper broke his ukelele.  Keeper (nicknamed by her mother on their last day together) feels the weight of her actions as they seem to spiral out of her control.  The only person who she believes can fix things is her mermaid mother.

Appelt takes the traditional mythology of the sea and turns it on its ear.  Keeper knows every story about mermaids and the creatures of the ocean, and because there is a blue moon this night, the magic is thick in the air.  Keeper's story is so drenched in mythology, in fact, that readers will be prepared to believe just about anything.  It is a strong introduction  to magical realism for an older elementary school student.  This story is about love and family connections, but it's also about the call of the sea and how you can sometimes mishear it through the waves.

All of this summary and discussion does not do justice to the tension of this novel.  From the very beginning, you know that Keeper is out in a boat, pointed out to sea, in the middle of the night, by herself.  As readers, we know that there is the potential for quite a bit of danger.  Keeper's naivete as she begins her journey is stunning.  She believes her mother will rescue and protect her on this trip, so there is nothing to worry about.  However, Keeper could not be more wrong.

The ocean chapters are short and succinct, building on the tension until you are gulping chapters to see whether Keeper can survive her perilous quest.  But Appelt subtly relieves the tension by interspersing Keeper's chapters with chapters from the other characters' points of view.  While Keeper has certain things that she has always believed about her childhood, the other characters understand more.  Appelt explores the ideas that children hold about themselves and their childhood through Keeper.  But the adult characters show how coming of age often means learning more about what you have held dear.

One of the strongest pieces of magical realism in Keeper involves Mr. Beauchamp.  He is the oldest person living on the beach, and he has been waiting a very long time for the love of his life to appear.  Appelt tells his story with kindness and compassion, as he rejected the person he loved when there was something about him that was different.  Mr. Beauchamp's love is a man, but it is handled respectfully and in a way that a child who wasn't ready to read about it might only see a loving friendship.  And the way this love melds with the rest of Keeper's story is terrific.  I don't want to spoil the plot too much, but I will say that the legends of the sea truly become human in this story in a very fulfilling manner.

All in all, I am surprised that this book hasn't won any major awards this season.  My only complaint about the book is that at 399 pages, it looks a little long for the audience.  However, its small format and short chapters mean it reads very quickly.  The comfort of the ocean setting, the love that comes from Keeper's non-traditional family, the mermaids that swim throughout Keeper's imagination make this a beautiful novel.

Keeper.  Appelt, Kathi.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010.
borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library.

All We Know of Love

Natalie has lived with her father for the past four years, four months and fifteen days.  Since the day her mother walked out the door in the middle of a sentence and never looked back.  This has, of course, totally shaped the teenager Natalie has become.  She is fairly disconnected from her father and has stopped sharing anything real about herself with anyone.  Instead she gives each of the people in her life (including her best friend and boyfriend) little glimpses of herself.  Natalie is surely heading for trouble when she lies to her father about going on a trip with her best friend.  Instead she hops on a bus down the East Coast to ask her mother to complete the sentence she never finished – it was something about love.

Road trips are a classic theme in young adult literature (off the top of my head, one of my favorites is in An Abundance of Katherines).   Many coming of age stories happen during road trips, as the road seems to give teenagers the freedom to really discover themselves, especially when there are no parents around to tell them what to do and how to do it.  All We Know of Love takes place during the 24 hour trip to St. Augustine, Florida.  Natalie doesn’t really plan this trip extensively, and so she has little money, no food, and a cell phone rapidly running out of battery when she leaves.  Her decision not to buy snacks in the Stamford, Connecticut bus station leads to a side trip through Maryland when her bus leaves her stranded at a small diner.  While Natalie is certainly on her own on this trip, she is not without adults to help her complete her journey.

The whole novel is about love – between Natalie and her parents, between Natalie and her best friend Sarah, between Natalie and her boyfriend, Adam.  But I especially like how Baskin gives us a look into other characters’ perspectives on love.  Each of the characters who touch Natalie’s life on this trip reflects on love within different chapters along her journey.  Natalie may not ever hear their backstory, but we are privy to some of it.  For instance, there is the young runaway in the Baltimore bus station, whose younger sister has died, leaving her feeling confused and unloved.  These short narratives within Natalie’s journey influence how we continue to read Natalie’s story.  This is a creative way to keep the story from being told wholly from Natalie’s perspective, thus limiting our understanding of love to Natalie’s understanding.  These characters are all memorable and unique, and add layers to Natalie’s journey.

Another addition to our understanding of Natalie’s trip are the quotes at the beginning of each chapter.  Each quote is about love, but also gives a subtle hint about what will take place .  For example, a dictionary quote on the connection between friendship and love leads a chapter where Natalie betrays her best friend for her boyfriend, and another character reminisces about an old friendship.

This book is delicately written and beautifully told.  You can’t help reading to find out not only what will happen with Natalie’s mother at the end of her journey, but also if Natalie will find herself.  I haven’t really written about Natalie’s relationship with her older, manipulative boyfriend, but you really root for Natalie to recognize her own desperation and arrive at a new place of strength.  At the end of her journey, Natalie doesn’t get the answers she expects, but it is definitely worth the trip.

All We Know of Love - Nora Raleigh Baskin.  Candlewick, 2008. Borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library.