The One and Only May Amelia

As you can imagine, I have a pretty large collection of children's literature.  I tend to collect books and authors I really love and hold onto them.  But three years ago, my family began a pattern of moving once a year, and I had to start giving away books "to better homes".  But I held onto the book Our Only May Amelia.  But as time went on, the story became more hazy, and I became less sure of its value in my collection.  When the sequel, The Trouble with May Amelia, came out last year, I decided to reread the first one as well, in order to decide if it should stay or go.  After reading both books together, I am keeping the first one in my collection.  I will look at both of these books as an ongoing story and as historical fiction.

Our Only May Amelia was published in 1999, and won a Newbery Honor for that year.  The action takes place in 1899, on the Nasel River, in the state of Washington.  It is written from May Amelia Jackson's perspective, and she is a spark plug.  She introduces her brother Wilbert on the very first page, giving an indication of her personality as much as his.  He is her "favorite brother which is something indeed since I have so many brothers, more than any girl should have." (p.1). She has seven brothers.  May Amelia is the youngest, but has never been looked at as the baby of the family.  She is twelve years old, but does just as much farm work as her older brothers.  But she is also always in trouble - she doesn't always think before she acts, she is curious and wants to explore.  Her father declares "We're living in wilderness, May Amelia , and you girl have got a Nose for Trouble.". (p. 134).  May Amelia talks back when she believes she is right, and like the rest of the Jackson family, she is stubborn.

Life in 1899 rural Washington state isn't easy.  You have to be tough and creative to survive.  Each member of the family is cognizant of the need to survive financially.  The boys, all in their teens, find work when and where they can, including at the logging camp upriver.  But they are also part of a immigrant Finn community, and they are highly involved with also helping the entire community survive.  May Amelia's mother is heavily, uncomfortably pregnant, but besides caring for her own family, she delivers all the community's
 babies.  When an aunt cannot afford to take her son with the rest of her family as they move looking for work, Kaarlo is adopted into the Jackson family.  He is counted as one of the brothers.

While their life has moments of fun and hilarity, their strength is really shown through their enduring struggle to survive.  It can be unrelenting, but this family shoulders their burden and continues forward.  They value education and send the younger children to school, but if they are needed at home, there is no protest.  And Holm shows all of life on the Nasel River, the good and the truly terrible.  One of the most excruciating episodes has to do with Grandmother Patience.  Grandmother Patience has moved in with the Jackson family, and she is cruel, crotchety and outspoken.  She does not approve of May Amelia and the way she has been raised.  One terrifying episode happens with Grandmother Patience sends May Amelia back repeatedly for the correct cup of tea. 

 "She [Grandmother Patience] bangs the floor with her cane. But I've had all I can take.
There isn't any more honey you Greedy Old Witch! I shout.
She stands up to her full height and shakes her cane at me.  She is big, bigger than I thought and she is full of fury.  Her mouth is twisted in an evil snarl.
How dare you defy me, you little brat, she says.  Go and make me a Cup of Tea." (p. 104)
This woman is truly a villain.  Yet May Amelia finds ways to stay true to herself.  There is an awful consequence to the incident I quoted above, but that isn't the worst of Grandmother Patience's behavior.  And it isn't the worst of what May Amelia will face in this book.  But like the rest of her family, May Amelia knows that life must go on and move forward.  And she does as well.

There is an author's note at the end of this novel describing where Holm got the idea for this novel.  It came from the journal of her grandaunt, Alice Amelia Holm.  Jennifer Holm did a lot of research to supplement family stories, and it is written so beautifully that the research doesn't show.  The chapters are illustrated with photographs (some of which are from the author's own collection).  The sepia tones of the pages and the historical photographs add to the authenticity of this novel.

The Trouble with May Amelia was published in 2011, and it is billed as the sequel to Our Only May Amelia.  However, when I got around to reading it, I read it first, without rereading Our Only May Amelia and it does stand very well on its own.  The action in this novel takes place about six months after the last novel has concluded.  While Holm spends some time re-introducing the Jackson family and their life on the Nasel River, it doesn't feel awkward or forced.  Grandmother Patience, who caused so much strife in the first novel, has died, and in one last stroke of cruelty has left her money to one of May Amelia's uncles, even though her family cared for Grandmother Patience selflessly.  Money is still an issue, and in this book it is a real focus.  Holm also writes about the issues surrounding immigration in this era.  A man comes to meet with May Amelia's father, to talk with him about investing in making Nasel a real town with more business, a developed port and increased financial gain for those people willing to become stakeholders.  Her father only speaks Finn, and asks May Amelia to do all the translating for him, both verbally and translating the documents he must sign.  May Amelia sees this as a pivotal moment in their relationship - that her father finally sees her as truly ready to contribute to her family.  So after May Amelia translates everything, her father decides to take a risk and mortgage the family farm to invest.  Others in the community who also do not speak English fluently base their decisions to invest on the Jacksons' risk.  This is a close-knit community.  It is fairly isolated, and even the children who go to school will not speak English.  They rely on each other and go out of the community very infrequently.  And family members continue to immigrate from Finland, making this group even more prone to rely on each other.

Unfortunately the insularity of this community comes back to haunt them in the end.  It ends up that the man who has convinced the town to invest is a con man.  Families up and down the river blame their unimaginable loss on the Jackson family's decision.  And in an unforgivable turn of events, May Amelia's father blames the con on her.  He believes she should have understood better, should have translated more clearly.  The family is powerless in the face of his anger and helpless when confronted with his stubborn refusal to see reality.  He is stunningly cruel to his only daughter.

Much like the events of the first novel, these events show quite a bit about this family's resiliency, their spirit and strength.  This novel is based on events from Holm's great-grandfather's life, and sadly, these events are true.  Holm writes about this with compassion and a historian's eye for details of the family's despair.  And yet from the truly terrible springs hope and innovation.  This family creates a new venture that will bring prosperity.
I did say earlier that these novels could be read alone.  The events of the second book are affected by the events of the first, but Holm gives the broad strokes of the Jackson family history in a very natural way in the second book.  But when you read these books together, you begin to see a more complete story.  In Our Only May Amelia, Holm focuses primarily on family events.  She does introduce some neighbors and community members, the book examines each of the family members closely.  Readers get to know each one of them - their personalities, their stubbornness, and how May Amelia feels about each one of them.  In the second book, Holm is looking at this family within their community.  As I mentioned, she looks at the immigrant community and how they operate as a unit.  Readers still spend time within the family, but they get to know more of the neighbors, the hope a potential new town brings to Nasel, and the devastation left when this hope disappears.

One of the things I believe works best about this pair of novels is the way Holm crafts her historical fiction.  She creates May Amelia as a lively character, one who is easily relatable to readers and is full of spunk.  She is very much a girl of 1899, but she bucks against tradition and expectations.  There is a family secret that May Amelia isn't privy to at first, although she can sense something isn't being said.  When her brothers finally come out with the secret, the explanation is "You're a girl, May, he says.  We didn't want to scare you.
Nothing scares me, I say. " (Trouble, p. 75)  In her overalls, she is constantly being called a boy and indignantly correcting people: "I ain't no boy!" (Trouble, p. 49).  Yet Holm also fills these novels full of the information that gives readers a feeling of the time period.  Some of the events take place in and around a logging camp, a dangerous place for all of them.  But the money is good, and all of May Amelia's brothers long to work in the camp.  There are also scenes in the fish cannery in nearby Astoria that highlight both the terrible status of immigrants and the workforce in such grueling, low-paying jobs.

I could go on and talk about work in these novels, or education, but you get the idea.  These novels are rich in family and period detail, but their episodic nature and May Amelia's strong, sympathetic character will keep readers enthralled.  One of the other things that I noticed throughout both books was Holm's beautiful, original way of describing things.  She describes objects using easily digested language that brings pictures to the reader's mind.  From Our Only May Amelia, she writes "the Nasel is as calm and smooth as the inside of a clam's shell." (p. 24).  And in The Trouble with May Amelia, Holm describes May Amelia's mother's interaction with a younger cousin: "Mamma spends hours braiding and brushing Helmi's hair until it gleams like fresh milk." (p. 81).  She brings these ideas to life by using pictures that transcend the historical time period, making them appropriate both to May Amelia and the reader.

These books are compelling, whether read together or separately.  I recommend you find them and acquaint yourself with May Amelia.  She's a keeper.

Our Only May Amelia.  Jennifer L. Holm.  HarperCollins, 1999.
The Trouble with May Amelia.  Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Adam Gustavson, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011.

both borrowed from Lewis and Clark Library

Scientists in the Field, part two

In 2011, I wrote a post on two books in the Scientists in the Field series.  I am a huge advocate for this series - I have raved about it to multiple people and at conferences ever since I first discovered it.  But I haven't written about other books in the series, even though I have continued to explore the series ever since.  I haven't written about them because I haven't found ones that were different from the series formula I had already discussed.  That doesn't mean this is a bad formula.  On the contrary, this is an well-constructed, well-thought-out formula.  All I can wish is that every middle school science classroom had the complete set on their shelves to inspire young scientists.  They show fascinating careers and scientists of all ages and cultures who are passionate about what they do.  Most importantly, they talk about the world around us in interesting ways without trivializing the science involved. The scientists profiled and the authors who create the books take the science seriously and take the time and effort to create something readable but also informative. However, I've read two contributions to the series lately that I believe should be recommended, and I want to talk about those here.

The Elephant Scientist won a Nonfiction Honor from the Horn Book magazine this year, and it is well deserved.  One of the interesting things about this book is that the scientist herself is one of the authors of the book.  Caitlin O'Connell has also taken many of the photographs of her research and field station that are featured in this book.  O'Connell has been studying elephant communication in Namibia, in Southern Africa.  She has been observing elephant behavior with a research team in hopes of deciphering the elephants' calls as well as how they are able to detect noises through vibrations in the ground.  Some of what she is researching has a very practical aspect - farmers in Namibia are frustrated because there is no way to keep elephants out of their farms, where they destroy crops both by eating them and trampling them.  O'Connell believes that elephants' calls may hold the key to protecting the farmers' crops in a non-threatening, inexpensive way.  She has been studying elephants and their behavior for quite some time, and she and Donna M. Jackson (the co-author for this title) find ways to include this incredible knowledge about elephants along with her research and methodology.  Her group creates an incredible field station, and Jackson and O'Connell describe how this field station must function in order to produce credible research, but at the same time, it must not attract negative attention from the animals they are researching.  O'Connell and Jackson also discuss elephant behaviors in this book.  One of the sections discusses male elephants (bulls) and their social structure.  While we tend to think of bulls as aggressive, they also have affiliative (bonding) behaviors and comfort behavior.  The older bull elephants help raise and guide the younger elephants, just as in the female herds.  O'Connell's love and fascination for these animals shines through on every page.  It gives this volume an almost unparalleled intimacy.

In the other volume of this series that I have been thinking about lately, Sneed B. Collard III goes to a reconstructed prairie in Iowa.  I just met Collard at the Montana State Reading Conference a couple of weeks ago.  At that time, I had this book to re-read and review on the blog, and it was hard not to mention it to him.  The grassland that was created in Iowa was the dream of Congressman Neal Smith, who believed that children should be able to see a prairie in their own state, something Iowa had very little of at that time (in the 1980's).  They created the prairie meticulously.  It was a true community effort - there are photographs here of local people helping to sow native grasses and dancing those seeds into the ground.  One of the most unique things about this book is its community - Collard doesn't just profile one scientist in this volume - instead, he emphasizes how many people maintain responsibility for this delicate ecosystem.  There is Pauline Drobney, the National Wildlife Refuge's biologist who carefully monitors the plants and native grasses of the prairie.  There is Dr. Diane Debinski, who searches for one specific butterfly (the Regal Fritillary) on the prairie.  There are the managers who keep the prairie's bison herds healthy, the volunteers who collect and provide seed... this is an ecosystem, and Collard looks at all its working parts in a very compelling way.  This story is one man's dream, but it is the community responsibility, and it brings science to life in a different way than some of the other books in the series.

One of the things that I love most about this series (and if you know me, this is no surprise) is its backmatter.  I believe strongly that students must be able to read a nonfiction title and springboard to additional resources on that subject or related subjects.  I love the bibliographies in these books.  They respect the reader - giving the reader plenty of opportunities to move past this particular volume.  And both books offer readers a diversity of materials - adult books, books written for young readers, web sites and Internet resources, and in The Elephant Scientist, DVD's too.  There are glossaries, indexes and maps to help readers visualize the subject they are learning about.

One of the other things I like most about this series is its design.  The creators of the series are very cognizant of making these books interesting to look at.  The authors and editors present information in multiple ways to readers.  There are sidebars, text boxes and extensive photo captions to pique readers' interest along with the ongoing narrative.  All books in the series are true, contemporary research projects, and as such, are illustrated primarily with rich, vivid photographs.  This choice also brings readers directly into the scientific environment.  These are high-quality books about terrific subjects.  I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

The Elephant Scientist.  Caitlin O'Connell and Donna M. Jackson; photographs by Caitlin O'Connell and Timothy Rodwell.  Houghton Mifflin, 2011.
The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands.  Written and photographed by Sneed B. Collard III, Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

The Elephant Scientist was loaned to me by a friend; The Prairie Builders was borrowed from the Lewis & Clark Library

Picture Book 10 for 10

About two months ago, I asked to participate in the Third Annual Picture Book 10 for 10 event and was happily accepted.  I had gotten as far as pulling my list together, getting ready to write the post for August 10th when I got sick.  Really sick.  Kidney stone misery. And I passed the 10th in a haze which left me unable to write or even speak coherently.  So I set the list to one side and tried not to think about it again.  Except I kept coming back to that list of my top 10 picture books and I was pretty proud of it.  I wanted to share it.  So with my apologies for the very late entry to Mandy and Cathy, here is my list.  It's mostly my favorites, but I included a couple recent favorites of Frances and Gloria, too.  Some of these are ones I've already blogged.  Some of them I will describe here for the first time.  I'm going to count down to number one, just for the thrill of it.

10. My Little Sister Ate One Hare - Bill Grossman; illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.  Have you ever read this book?  If not, here is a sample: "My little sister ate 3 ants, she even ate their underpants.  She ate 2 snakes.  She ate 1 hare.  We thought she'd throw up then and there.  But she didn't."  Hilarious.  Gross.  It's a counting book with a touch of sibling pride - the unseen sibling cannot believe all the things the sister digests...and then what she doesn't.  While the clever rhymes and gross eating are terrific (I can recite parts from memory!), Hawkes' illustrations are brilliant too.  Set as a stage show, the sister sits above the stage lights.  Children gape at her from the audience - amazed, horrified, transfixed - much as we might think of watching the tattooed woman in a sideshow.  Rich vivid colors add to the overall craziness.  I used to love to read this one at storytime, and listeners loved it too.

9. The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred - Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Rafael Lopez.  My original review is here.  I have blogged about this book before, so you can go there and read my gushing about it.  Last week I presented at the Montana State Reading Conference and this was one of the books that I brought with me to share.  It just reminded me how much I love this one.  I love the story, created around "The House that Jack Built" but with rice pudding.  I love the sun-drenched colors and the creative combination of the nursery rhyme with Hispanic culture.  Samantha Vamos, do you have anything new coming out soon that I can gush about?

8. I Stink! - Kate & Jim McMullan.  This is very definitely a Frances and Gloria favorite.  I've always liked it fine, but trucks aren't my favorite thing.  Then the girls checked this out of the library (along with the stellar Weston Woods/Scholastic video) and away we went.  They love the trashy alphabet (including dirty diapers, puppy poo and ugly underpants).  Gloria likes to watch our garbage truck, which comes to our complex around the time we leave on Wednesday mornings, and recite parts of the book.  We bought a board book copy for a young friend this summer, and it is definitely too long to read to a one year old.  But the garbage truck's brash personality and matter of fact work habits have become endearing to me.

7. Press Here! - Herve Tullet. This is a book I blogged about last winter, and we have looked at it again many times since then.  It truly is a magic book - the way Tullet gets engagement from the listeners is genius.  I can't believe how quickly Frances and Gloria will leap to do what the text instructs them.  The bright, primary colors set against the white page are striking, too.  It combines for an impactful book.  But it's fun, too.  We love this one!

6. The Gentleman Bug - Julian Hector.  Another book that I need my own copy of (along with Cazuela).  I talked about this book at my presentation last week and I hope people continue to love this one.  The Gentleman Bug is perfectly fine with who he is until a new Lady Bug comes in to his garden, making him believe he needs to become someone else to impress her.  There are several things that resonate with me about this story. I love the message that the Gentleman Bug is loved most when he is himself, not trying to be someone else.  I love the connection to reading and literacy.  And I love the intriguing world of bugs Hector has created.

5. Good Night, Gorilla - Peggy Rathmann.  I can't believe I've never written about this book before as it is one of my very favorites.  I have loved this sweet bedtime story about a zoo for a long time.  Then I saw the Weston Woods/Scholastic video and saw some details I had been missing in the story.  I couldn't believe a movie had added to my understanding of this story.  First of all, I love reading this story aloud.  It's a perfect example of how to read a wordless book aloud.  I love when the zookeeper's wife sleepily says good night, expecting one good night, and ends up with her eyes popping open in surprise at all the animals in her house.  I love all the small details in this book - the colored keys that match the locks on the cages, the Babar and Ernie dolls, that mischievous gorilla.  This is one of those perfect books, and multiple readings don't make the jokes any less effective.

4. Pete's a Pizza - William Steig.  This is one of Gloria's favorite books.  I love the ingenuity of the fun game the family plays.  If you don't know this one, it is a stormy day and Pete had plans to go to play outside with his friends.  In an effort to cheer him up, his parents start to make him into a pizza.  They roll him around on the table, "stretching him this way and that".  They cover him with pretend cheese, tomatoes and pepperoni.  His parents try to cook him, and when they are ready to eat... the whole book is funny and comforting at the same time. Both of my girls think this book is hilarious, and I love how free the parents feel to play with their son.  I like the simplicity of the story and how Pete's mood changes long before the weather outside.

3. Dinosaur's Binkit - Sandra Boynton.  I first met this book when I babysat for a family on Nantucket with a toddler son.  He loved this book, and soon so did I.  It isn't uproarious, totally silly humor, like many of Boynton's books.  The rhyming text is soothing and sing-song..."Dinosaur, O Dinosaur, you fuss and fret and yawn.  It's time to brush your dino teeth and put your p.j.'s on."  But the dinosaur who is being soothed to sleep will have none of it: "I NEED MY BINKIT."  He is insistent, the motherly voice persistent.  Then the binkit is found, in time for the dinosaur to curl up and go to sleep.  This story has flaps, textures and things to touch, which adds to the youngest reader's enjoyment.  I continue to give this book as a baby present.  Our copies (and yes, we have multiple copies) are tattered, but we still read them (and I can recite this from memory at the drop of a hat).

2. The Frances books - Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams, Lillian Hoban.  I am probably cheating by including all of these picture books here, but I can't help it.  As you know, these books are near and dear to my heart.  After all, I even nicknamed my girls after those stories.  And I can't even say I have one particular favorite.  I love Bedtime for Frances with the father threatening Frances to get her to go to bed, clearly at the end of his rope.  I love A Bargain for Frances, with that coveted blue china tea set.  I love Best Friends for Frances, with the amazing picnic their mother packs for Frances and Gloria.  These books with their gentle lessons never go out of style.  In fact, they are necessary reading at our house again right now for some reminders of how to behave.  Another set of books I talked about last week in my presentation.

1. I'm sure you have been holding your breath, waiting to see my number one book...and here it is.  Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown

This is another book I am surprised I have never mentioned on my blog before.  I have a deep, abiding love for Margaret Wise Brown.  I love her books and Goodnight Moon is my favorite of all.  At my last children's library, I read this at the end of every pajama storytime, with my voice getting softer with every page.  I read this to Frances every night while I was pregnant with Gloria, and Gloria still can be soothed by this book at four years old.  It is a magical, cozy tale, with the perspective getting more and more focused as the objects become more and more abstract.  This is the perfect good night book, and my perfect number one. Goodnight noises everywhere.

Cybils Panelist

I am so excited to post here that I will be a Cybils panelist for the Nonfiction Picture Book award again this year.  If you don't know about the Cybils, it is a group of awards for multiple types of books, given to the books that best combine literary merit and kid appeal.  The panelists and judges for this awards are children's and young adult book bloggers.  This group has a ton of expertise and a ton of enthusiasm.  It is fun to read for all of these awards, but as you can guess, I have a special spot in my heart for Nonfiction Picture Books.  While I liked them before last fall, I really fell in love with them over the course of my reading.  I read more than seventy books last year, and can't wait to read more!

If you are wondering about this procedure, it goes like this: between October 1st and October 15th, you can nominate books to be considered.  Rules are available at the Cybils website as the nomination period is opened.  Then the first round panelists (of which I am one), begin reading.  We read everything that is nominated, folks!  Then beginning around Christmas, we begin debating.  The panelists look at books and discuss them together, trying to narrow the books down to a shortlist.  The shortlist is passed on to the second round judges, who come up with a final winner in each category by Valentine's Day.

It is an incredibly fulfilling process for me, and I cannot wait to get started again.  You will be seeing reviews of some of the books I love as the fall goes on (last year I reviewed books here, here, and here, among others).  I will use the same post labels as I did last year - Cybils and Non-fiction picture books - if you are interested in looking at all of the related posts.  I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I will!

Homer

I used to be the head of the Weezie Library for Children on the island of Nantucket.  It was a wonderful time in my life, in some ways very like a story.  I was very lucky to meet a family early on in my time there who became my second family.  I babysat for their children, shared adventures with them, spent time at their house...I even lived with them for a while, sharing a bedroom with their middle child.  They had the best yellow lab, named Bucky.  He was enormous, sweet, and good-natured, a real friend and companion to all of us.  When the whole family would go off-island for a vacation, Bucky would come stay with me at my apartment.  He would jump up and stretch out on the bed next to me at night.  Bucky was a sweet old dog.

Homer reminded me of Bucky in a great way.  The book begins with Homer, a big yellow dog, laying on the porch, looking out over the ocean, nose up to sniff the air.  The sun is just rising, and the day seems full of possibility.  Cooper's text is brief, but sums up the dog's experience so honestly and lovingly.  As the entire family (including a whole passel of dogs) tromp past him, he rests contentedly on the porch.  He's right at the edge of the stairs, where he can survey everything.  Everyone who passes offers Homer things to do - chase and race around the yard, swimming in the waves, running to the market.  But Homer demurs, saying "No, no, I'm fine right here."

The day passes, and soon everyone is back.  As they pass Homer on their way back inside, they all report on their activities - the chase and race was tiring, the waves were big and wild, the market trip produced great things to eat.  Homer is the family's touchstone.  As the sun sets, they all gather on the porch around him, evidence of their day spread around Homer.  The sweetest moment come when the father asks if Homer needs anything.  Homer answers no, that he has everything he wants.  Cooper shows Homer in a series of panels getting up slowly, a little stiff from a day on the wooden porch, going into the house, and settling into an oversized chair.  He is surrounded by the family again, and you can see Homer's calm, his love and peaceful demeanor.  Homer truly has everything he needs right around him.

This story is heartfelt.  Cooper has written a paean to the heart of the home and a beloved dog.  You can tell how everyone regards Homer - they pat him, one of the little girls tucks a hydrangea flower behind Homer's ears.  Even the other family dogs stop for Homer's approval before moving on.  Cooper cuts through the sweetness of these scenes with other techniques.  There are details in each illustration that show the life of the family, things we can all relate to.  Some of these details are humorous - in the picture of the dogs barrelling past Homer on their way to chase and race, a Scottie flies off the porch, all legs extended.  Though one of the parents clearly has the door opened wide to let the pack out, a basset hound chooses to go out through the doggie door.  There is also some bittersweetness to this book - Homer is clearly getting older, no longer needing to romp and burn off energy like the other dogs.  Instead, he is content to stay at home, sniffing the air and monitoring everyone's activities.

The CIP for this book says that Cooper used watercolors and pencil to create the artwork.  First I want to say that mentioning the way the illustrations were created are so important to me.  I am actually not sure why EVERY picture book doesn't include this information.  It celebrates the art that was made for that book, and that's what it is - art.  Could you imagine going to a museum, finding something framed that you really liked, and having no idea how it was created?  I think this is a valuable learning opportunity.  Even after all of these years reviewing picture books, I am still astonished at the way picture books are created.  I still quite often need a reminder of the methods that were used, especially when there are multiple methods used.  Especially as art classes are cut all over the United States, the artistic method seems like crucial information for readers to have.  I love seeing how a technique works best, and speculating on why an artist chose something particular.  Okay, rant over.  But if you are a publisher, please consider including this every time.

This time Cooper's choice suits the illustrations perfectly.  The pencil helps delineate soft, puffy clouds and the fur all over Homer.  The watercolors are precise, rich and beachy without being too pastel - they remind me of the natural beauty of Nantucket.  In the first illustration, Homer is the exact color of the morning sky and a path to the beach.  He is a part of the scenery, even though he remains slightly apart from it.  Most pages are paneled - with one or more panels framed with crisp white.  There are two double-page spreads, both showing the whole family, busy with their own activities yet all within Homer's eyesight.  Your eye catches on many details as you scan, but these pictures are filled with love.
There is no getting around the love in this book, both within the family and for Homer.  Homer is the elder statesman of the family and graciously accepts the respect that is his due.   This book really struck a chord with me because of my beach experiences, but I think anyone who has experienced the love of a dog will love it just as much.  On the last page, Cooper focuses tightly on Homer's loved, loving face - all is right in his world as he falls asleep.

Homer.  Elisha Cooper.  Greenwillow Books, 2012.

borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Puffling Patrol

If you know this blog at all, you know how much I love children's nonfiction.  And I'll say something here that I've said before: I am a fairly recent convert to children's nonfiction.  I thought of it as something I should read to round out my blog, not because I had any strong feeling for it.  And over the last two years (including a stint as a Cybils judge on a picture book nonfiction panel), I find myself really struggling not to focus my blog almost exclusively on children's nonfiction.  There are so many great books out there.  So just know for every book I've written about, I've read two or three other great ones.  This book, however, is one you can't live without.

I first saw this book at our local library and was drawn to the sweet puffling on the cover.  Then I saw that it was written and illustrated by Ted and Betsy Lewin.  This husband and wife are both Caldecott Honor winners, which is an amazing thing.  Their illustrative styles are so different, and I was interested enough to take a closer look at their collaboration.  I am always fascinated by collaborations - picture books, nonfiction, chapter books.  I love to look at how different authors (or illustrators) "fit" together - one of my favorite collaborations being Will Grayson, Will Grayson (John Green and David Levithan).  You can hear each author's voice yet also see the overarching plot and themes.  Each author's contribution meshes seamlessly.

This book was strong from the very first page.  The Lewins created maps to orient readers immediately.  The larger map is a close-up of the island of Heimaey (off the coast of Iceland), where the story takes place, giving landmarks to help readers picture where specific events take place.  A smaller map shows the entire world, with Heimaey and Iceland shown in perspective to help readers see how small this island really is.  There is a note on the facing page describing the Lewins' interest in this island and its importance for the puffin population.

Then the text begins.  One of the most notable things is how well the Lewins are able to incorporate facts into their travel narrative.  The Lewins have come to Iceland in August, when young puffins (called pufflings) are ready to venture out on their own for the first time.  The adult puffins have already abandoned their pufflings to return to their lives on the ocean.  The pufflings have to begin to fly, but their wings aren't always strong, and they become disoriented by the lights of the small town on Heimaey.  They fly down onto the streets, and are unable to take off again.  The pufflings can become victims of predators like dogs, or be hit by cars since they are so helpless.  This is where the children of Heimaey come in to help.  They are enlisted into the Puffling Patrol, and go out at night to rescue pufflings before they are injured.

The Lewins introduce readers to Dáni and Erna, eight year old twins who are in the Puffling Patrol.  It is compelling to see the rescue efforts through these children's eyes.  The twins are all business, capable and confident in their task.  They stay up late during their stint as patrol, and their father tells the Lewins that Dáni "rescued twenty-seven pufflings in one night", so you can visualize the importance of their task.

While the children are the eyes of the story, the entire island is focused on rescuing and caring for many kinds of seabirds.  The Lewins go out on a boat with researchers who are monitoring puffin burrows.  They visit the Natural History Museum to see the pufflings measured and weighed before being released out into the ocean.  At the time of year when pufflings are taking the first flights, the island is dedicated to puffin rescue.  It is rewarding and dramatic when Dáni and Erna release the pufflings into the ocean.

Ted Lewin creates full-page watercolor paintings, and the most dramatic illustrations (the cover picture of a puffling caught in a spotlight, the pufflings being thrown up and out into the sea) are his.  The colors are rich and saturated.  There are black volcanic beaches created by sparkling lava, warm red light shining on wet pavement, an azure blue ocean.  But for all the drama of his paintings, Betsy Lewin gives the puffins personality.  She has created smaller spot illustrations that add details to the text.  One of my favorite illustrations accompanies text about the researchers who must scale a cliff to see puffin burrows.  When they return to the boat where the Lewins are watching, they must leap in while the small Zodiac bobs on waves, since there is no dock.  Betsy Lewin shows a researcher leaping wildly (and almost missing the boat) while they watch.  It is funny and terrifying at the same time.  She also provides small closeups of a puffling gulping a fish and other endearing puffling activities.  Their different styles add interest and diversity to this fascinating text.

And you know one of my requirements for strong nonfiction is high-quality back matter, and this book is exemplary.  I've already mentioned the maps and explanatory note at the beginning of the book.  There are also two pages of Atlantic puffin facts (along with more of Betsy Lewin's expressive illustrations).  The Lewins have included a page on a five month long volcano eruption on the island of Heimaey which caused total evacuation of the island.  It is a fascinating addition to the story of the pufflings.  There is also information about the declining puffin population, a bibliography, and a glossary and pronunciation guide...whew!  I also loved the note with the authors' sources, with a citation for Bruce McMillan's Nights of the Pufflings, which first introduced this island to readers.

This book is beautifully constructed from start to finish.  I loved the topic (who doesn't love puffins?), and I loved how integral the children of Heimaey are to the survival of the puffins.  It is a story that children will relate to, with plenty of facts to encourage further research.  I hope this one will be considered come awards season.

Puffling Patrol.  Ted and Betsy Lewin.  Lee & Low Books, 2012.

borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Maya Makes a Mess

I don't usually talk about graphic novels for children for one simple reason - my public library doesn't carry them!! When I worked at the Glendale Public Library in Arizona, I had librarians on my staff with excellent graphic novel taste (this book was written by one of my staff) and I honestly could not imagine living in a place without graphic novels for children.  Now I want my girls to begin reading some graphic novels, and I can't get my hands on them - it is frustrating!

One of those series is the innovative easy-to-read comic book series produced by the Candlewick Books imprint, TOON Books.  TOON Books is remarkable for being a collaboration between Francoise Mouly (art editor of the New Yorker  among other accomplishments) and Art Spiegelman, who is a celebrated, award-winning comic book creator.  They have taken many famous comic book and graphic novel creators and artists and have them create books designed specifically for emergent readers.  Comic books can help young readers "crack the code" of literacy - the illustrations and text help guide them from left to right, and from the top to the bottom of the page.  Also, even though these are beginning readers, they are great stories as well.  One of my favorites, Little Mouse Gets Ready, was written and drawn by Jeff Smith (who created the uber-popular Bone series).  The books are leveled, so parents and teachers can tell at a glance what would be most appropriate for their reader.

TOON's backlist is very strong, but there are a couple of books that are coming out this fall that I wanted to draw your attention to.  I am interested in seeing A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse, by Frank Viva.  Last year I read his picture book, Along a Long Road.  What is remarkable about that book is that it was created as one enormous piece of art (from the book: "created as a single continuous thirty-five-foot-long piece of art using Adobe Illustrator").  It had a retro yet modern feel to it.  I cannot wait for this new title from him - I think he will only continue to become more innovative.

But I'm really here to tell you all about an opportunity to get a new TOON books Fall 2012 title for yourself.  TOON Books is celebrating the publishing of the book Maya Makes a Mess with a very fun giveaway.  This book is written by another high-quality graphic novelist - Rutu Modan won a Eisner Award for Best New Graphic Novel for her first published work.  She has written about a topic that is very familiar to parents - Maya, who has atrocious table manners, is suddenly invited to dine with the Queen.  Will the Queen find Maya's manners lacking? I don't want to give too much away, as I plan to blog this soon.  But TOON Books is offering copies of this title to the readers who are the messiest eaters.  I hate to tell you this, but bad manners are encouraged here!!  Follow this link to see how to enter (but basically all you have to do is email a picture - what could be easier?).  While you are there, check out some hilarious pictures of TOON staffers making...well, a mess.  It is a fun way to encourage reading.  If you win a copy, you'd better let me know!  By the way, don't wait to enter - this giveaway ends August 15th.

Watch for my review of Maya Makes a Mess coming soon.  I hope that more reviews of great graphic novels and comic books for children will convince the children's librarian at our public library to reconsider.  For now, look for TOON books at your library and enjoy them!

Little Mouse Gets Ready.  Jeff Smith.  TOON Books, 2009.
A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse.  Frank Viva.  TOON Books, 2012.
Maya Makes a Mess.  Rutu Modan.  TOON Books, 2012.