Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, Mirror was a book I have heard about for more than a year.  I read reviews and pre-publication discussions about it, I purchased it for the library I worked for, my library consortium added it to their mock list...and still I didn’t actually read it.  After 2010 was over, Mirror, Mirror was on a best of the year list, and that finally spurred me to read it.  Now that I have, I am angry I didn’t read it earlier so I could have advocated for this book all year long.

I am a big fan of poetry, but Marilyn Singer has really done something magical in this book.  Singer uses fairy tales as her framework for this collection.  But she uses a unique form of poetry in this book, called reversos.  Singer uses the same words in two poems, set back to back on the page.  These poems have the exact same words, but the second poem is an exact reversal of the first.  Some of the punctuation may change to reflect the different meanings of the words, but otherwise the words are exactly the same.  It is truly jaw-dropping to see how carefully these poems are constructed.  I can’t imagine the work that went into adding and subtracting words to get the balance and meaning just right.

Not only are these poems exquisitely constructed, but they also turn familiar fairy tales on their ear.  Singer amazingly takes fairy and folktales that we all recognize and reverses the tale just as she does the words of the poem.  For instance, in the pair of poems called “Cinderella’s Double Life”, Cinderella begins the pair of poems bemoaning “Isn’t life unfair?” before describing her stepsisters gaily going off to the ball.  At the end of the second poem, where Cinderella is the belle of the ball, dancing gaily with the prince, she asks “Isn’t life unfair?” in more of a triumphant manner.

I was so awestruck by Singer’s work that I can’t even name a favorite poem in this book.  However, Frances can.  She loved “Longing for Beauty” about Beauty and the Beast.  I actually didn’t set out to share this book with Frances.  But she happened to walk by as I was reading it.  Frances immediately sat down and made me start at the beginning and read it all to her.  While we have read plenty of books with rhyming text, I’m not sure we’ve read an entire book of poetry, and I didn’t think she would be interested through the whole book.  But she was transfixed.  She correctly identified the tales from the pictures and titles and listened intently.  When Gloria walked by after we finished, she told Gloria excitedly “Gloria, look at this book!  It has Cinderella in it!”.

Part of my daughters’ interest in this book was definitely the illustrations.  We have loved Josee Masse’s illustrations before, and once I began to recognize her technique in this book, I felt she was a perfect choice to illustrate these poems.  Her paintings on peeling, striated, cracked wood bring an ethereal, old-fashioned touch to these poems.  She incorporates familiar elements into the paintings (the gingerbread house laden with sweets in the Hansel & Gretel poems), but her characters have a spark of independence, competence and whimsy about them.  They are modern and old-fashioned at the same time.

I can’t rave enough about this book.  It is perfect and I can’t believe it wasn’t more popular with award committees last year.  I would have voted for it over and over!

Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse.  Marilyn Singer; illustrated by Josee Masse.  Dutton Children’s Books, 2010.

Borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Ooh La La Polka-Dot Boots

Who hasn’t wanted a pair of polka-dot boots?  They are a staple of fashion for little children everywhere.  I quite often talk in my reviews about Frances, who is four years old, and the books she is interested in.  But this is a book that Gloria, who is almost three and introduces herself as “the guy who reads books”, adores.  She calls this book “the polky-dot book” , and I’d like to look at some of the things that made this book such a hit with Gloria.

Each double-page spread has four children on it, each wearing a specific item of clothing in a different way.  Shirts, sweaters, pants and many other items are all depicted with individual flair.  There is a little girl wearing a small shirt (its button popping off), a boy wearing a silver spaceman hat, a boy in front of a silo wearing country pants (overalls) and many, many more.  The description of each of the children’s clothing is brief – two words per child, each piece of rhyming text dancing above the child’s head.  Inset into each double-page spread is a page about the third of the size of the rest of the book.  When the smaller page is flipped over to the left, it reveals each of the children wearing some form of polka-dot boots. 

While the text is brief, the descriptions are extended by the vivid, individual portraits of the children.  Engel’s illustrations are diverse and carry all the energy young children have inside them.  None of these children are sitting still, hands folded daintily.  They are all moving, running, full of fun and joy.  Gloria loves to pore over the details – the girl riding a scooter and showing off her peacoat, the girl painting a tree on a wall.  Engel also does a great job interpreting “polka-dot boots”.  They are rainboots, cowboy boots, sneakers and slippers.  Each child is unique, and that’s what makes the book so fun.

The great portraits combined with the short text make this book very accessible for young listeners.  After having the book read to her once, Gloria could “read” it herself.  She may not use the exact vocabulary  (she says “crazy coat” instead of “zany coat”, for instance) but she knows that each spread has all the same type of clothing.  She also knows that when you flip the smaller page over, it all looks better with polka-dot boots.  Gloria likes to point out the shoes that are not technically boots, especially the slippers.  She spends lots of time with this book, and I have found the book all over the house.

One of the things I really like as a parent and a book-lover is its durability.  The pages are coated and seem stronger than most other picture books.  They feel more like a thin board book page.  Even the smaller pages are tightly bound in, so after multiple readings (our copy has been owned by our public library for 18 months), it still looks brand new.  It is so well-made that I don’t have to worry about Gloria taking it in her bed, where pages get crushed and folded down on a daily basis.

I was sorry to learn that Tricycle Press, the publisher of this great book, closed earlier this year, so access to this book may be limited.  I still highly recommend it and hope that you are able to find a copy at your local library or in a bookstore.

I think this book would work very well in a preschool setting.  Preschools and daycare centers often have weekly themes, and this book would work well in a clothing theme for sure.  The brief text and engaging pictures are perfect for young attention spans, and the flip pages make the book very interactive.  We like to look at the children’s feet before and after the polka-dot boots, laughing at the variety of bare feet, colored socks and boots.  The enthusiasm and energy in this book are really infectious.  I’m not sure Gloria will allow me to return this book to the library.  I may have to sneak it out of the house!

Ooh La La Polka-Dot Boots.  Olson-Brown, Ellen; illustrated by Christiane Engel.  Tricycle Press, 2010.

Borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Okay for Now

When I began hearing Gary D. Schmidt’s Okay for Now mentioned over and over as a potential Newbery winner this early in the year, I can’t say I was very surprised.  After all, he’s won the Newbery Honor Award twice (as well as a Printz Honor and other awards).  I think you would be foolish to count him out.  But I am going on record as saying if this book doesn’t win the Newbery (and possibly a Printz Award too), I’d be very surprised.  It is a multi-layered  narrative, combining history, family, coming-of-age and a little bit of romance and mystery.  It also bridges the divide between Newbery and Printz age groups gracefully.

Schmidt takes a character from The Wednesday Wars (Doug Swieteck) and moves him from Long Island to Marysville, New York.  Doug, who is going to start eighth grade, comes home one day to find out that his father has been fired after a fight with the owner of the lumber business where he works.  In Marysville, Doug’s father has a friend who can get him work at the paper mill, so off they move.  Doug’s father is a tough man, the kind who blusters, thinks he knows better than anyone else and isn’t afraid to let you know it.  He is a drinker and there is abuse in Doug’s household.  He is capable of amazing cruelty to his family, which the Swieteck boys see every day.  Each of them deal with this differently, and Doug mostly handles it by keeping his head down or disappearing when it’s a “wrong day”.

When they get to Marysville, Doug happens across the Marysville Free Public Library on a Saturday, the only day it’s open each week.  And it’s there that he sees the most amazing picture of a bird he has ever seen.  A librarian, Mr. Powell, tells Doug the book is Audubon’s Birds of America and Doug is mesmerized.  His regular visits to the bird portraits in a glass case lead to Mr. Powell teaching Doug how to draw.  He practices his skills using the portraits of the birds.  As Doug learns the techniques Audubon used to create the birds, he also learns to observe closely and to analyze exactly what makes the drawings so compelling.  The chapters are all named after birds Doug sees and draws, and I found it very helpful that reproductions of the plates are included in Schmidt’s book.  Many of the birds were not familiar to me, and as Doug describes their magnificence, readers can go back and see what he is describing for themselves.

There are so many tightly-woven details that make up Doug’s story, and I don’t want to ruin the experience for you.  Suffice to say that every story Doug retells and every detail included in this narrative counts.  Doug’s oldest brother, Lucas, is serving in the Vietnam War when the novel begins, helping to set the historical period.  But what I believe is one of Schmidt’s greatest skills is his ability to totally craft a historical era, along with period details, but allow the narrative’s themes to be very contemporary in feel and tone.  Doug is also telling the story to the reader, which feels more contemporary to me.  His tough-guy demeanor (learned at home) gradually gives way to a different way of talking to the reader as the novel moves on, and it is a good indicator of the changes in Doug.

One of the themes in this coming-of-age novel is judgment and how that can be accurate or inaccurate.  The Swieteck boys are perceived as no-good troublemakers when they arrive.  Or at least, the middle brother, Christopher, is.  He is repeatedly questioned by the police about a series of burglaries.  It does seem as if there is some evidence pointing to his involvement, but Christopher always insists he is innocent.  In the meantime, Doug is judged by his teachers, the principal and other townspeople just because he is the brother of a troublemaker.

Another theme in this book is faith – not the religion type of faith, but faith in Doug.  Because as the year goes on, more and more townspeople begin to show faith in Doug.  It begins with Mr. Powell , who sees something in Doug’s careful viewing of Birds in America that makes him take Doug under his wing, so to speak.  There is Doug’s science teacher, who tells Doug directly that it doesn’t matter what his brother does, it matters what Doug does.  There is the police officer’s family on his grocery delivery route who asks Doug to babysit their children.  This is a town full of people who get to know Doug and see his potential.  And as he is recognized for his good qualities, you begin to see a change in Doug.  He begins to break out of the mold he seems destined for at the beginning of the novel.

This book is breathtaking, both in its cruelty and its hope.  You root for Doug from the beginning, but as you get to know his family and the town of Marysville, you want them all to succeed.  I strongly believe this should be on every Mock Newbery and Printz list (Glendale Public Library, I’m talking to you!) this year.  Its combination of historical fiction, coming-of-age story and layered family narrative are compelling and exquisite.  Read it now – don’t wait until it wins a medal.

Okay for Now.  Gary D. Schmidt.  Clarion Books, 2011.

Borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets

I think it’s natural that when I read middle-grade and teen fiction, I prefer to read books with girl main characters.  After all, as librarians know very well, we tend to be drawn to books that look as if the main character is their particular gender.  Boys will choose books with boys on the cover, and girls are attracted to prominently featured girls.  This is why I think even the title Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets is so genius.  Just with six words, Eric Luper has indicated that this book will satisfy both boys and girls.  And when readers look at the cover, they see both Jeremy and the Cupcake Cadets prominently featured, along with a neutral blue background.  Everyone on the cover has their arms crossed, showing their readiness to fight.

First – Jeremy Bender.  He’s an average 6^th grader with a couple of big problems.  First, there’s his problem at school.  The problem’s name is Paul Vogler, and he is a bully who picks on Jeremy and his best friend, a skateboarder named Slater.  His second problem is much larger.  Jeremy believes that he can show his father how responsible he is by meticulously caring for his father’s prized Chris-Craft boat.  But when he and Slater bring sodas on board the boat…let’s just say there is one very sticky mess.  He needs $450 to fix the engine before his dad tries to take the boat out next summer.  But Jeremy doesn’t even have 450 pennies to his name.

This is where the Cupcake Cadets come in.  The Cupcake Cadets sponsor a model sailboat contest with a $500 prize.  The only catch?  You must be a Cupcake Cadet – and a girl – to enter and win.  Jeremy and Slater plunge right in, dressing as girls to infiltrate the Cupcake Cadet troop.  While the Cupcake Cadets seem sweet and innocent, they are not always that naïve.  The Cupcake Cadets’ song says it all “I’ll use teamwork and cooperation, and innovative thinking.  I’ll use caring and sharing, and a bit of vanilla frosting.”  While the Cupcake Cadet troop fosters all of those traditional girl qualities – caring, sharing, cooperation- it also looks for innovation.  The troop rewards creativity and intelligence.  While they may not recognize Jeremy and Slater for the boys they really are (and many of the girls either go to school with them or have met them before), they reward the boys for working hard and teamwork.

And while Jeremy and Slater aren’t technically allowed to be Cupcake Cadets, they actually fulfill the tenets of the troop.  One of the biggest examples of this is a car wash the boys hold to sell their cupcakes.  The cupcakes are the Cadet equivalent of Girl Scout cookies, only much less tasty.  The boys have a lot to sell, having been manipulated into taking another Cadet’s portion along with theirs.  The boys are having a terrible time getting rid of them, until they hold a car wash, “giving” the customer a free cupcake with each wash.  They eventually get their whole troop involved in the car wash.  Slater is a good example of cooperation, caring and sharing.  After all, while he helped make the mess that landed them in the Cupcake Cadets, dressing as and impersonating a girl goes above and beyond the call of friendship.  By the time the sailboat competition comes around, the boys are far more invested in the troop than they expected.

What I love about the girls in the Cupcake Cadets is that they are smart, competitive and tough.  The Cadet who Jeremy and Slater spend the most time with is Margaret.  Margaret has won the sailboat competition for years running, and has taken an aerodynamics class this year in order to create the best sailboat.  Not only is she competitive and smart, she is ambitious as well.  Margaret is the Cadet who gets Jeremy and Slater (they are known as Jenna and Samantha within the troop) to sell all of her cupcakes along with their own.  There is a rival Cupcake Cadet troop, whose leader is out to get their troop’s leader, Mrs. Rendell.  And Jeremy’s older sister, Ruthie, an ex-Cupcake Cadet (where else would the boys get the uniforms and wigs?) is savvy and sharp.  She spends most of the novel on the phone, dispensing advice to Jeremy while cultivating gossip from everyone in her class.  Trust me, these girls are more spice than sugar, just the way we like our main characters.

Jeremy  and Slater’s predicament is laugh-out-loud funny.  It is also suspenseful.  We keep reading to find out when someone is actually going to look past their uniforms and wigs to see them for what they really are.  Among the other memorable characters is a very cool children’s librarian who is always complaining about the other librarians who don’t like children.  Librarians always appreciate seeing a great librarian character in the novel they are reading!

By the end of the book, there are resolutions to both of Jeremy’s problems, but they may not be the solutions you expect.  While the bullying issue is handled with a light hand, the boys are genuinely leery of Paul, and I believe readers will be able to empathize with their problem.  I appreciate that the solution to the bullying doesn’t include bribery, hiding out or adult involvement.  Luper gives readers another solution to dealing with bullies, and this one will resonate with kids.  All in all, this is a satisfying read for both boys and girls.  It has something to appeal to everyone!

Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets.  Eric Luper.  Balzer & Bray: HarperCollins, 2011.

FTC Full Disclosure: I was given this book by the publisher, hoping I would review it.

Just One Bite

As a rule, I wouldn’t have said that I am a nonfiction reader.  In fact, if I had to describe my “grown-up” reading habits, I would say that I primarily and heavily read fiction.  But in reality, I do read a lot of nonfiction, including biographies and nonfiction about reading.  I wouldn’t say it is my favorite thing to read – give me a good story anyday – and I’d suspect others would say the same.  But that rule goes out the window when it comes to children’s books.  I gravitate towards nonfiction for young readers, and if you look at my blog, you’ll see many nonfiction books come off the “new nonfiction” shelf at our local library.  I find authors who specialize in nonfiction have such an enthusiasm for their subjects and a passion for making it easily accessible to any reader.  That’s one of the things I loved about working in the youth department of a public library.  I loved introducing a subject to adults by using books aimed at young children.  You can find out the basics about anything in books for young readers, and then adults can decide whether they want to learn more.

Another reason I like these books is that they often make their subjects so cool!  Just One Bite brings animals’ eating habits to life.  Each double-page spread illuminates one animal (life-size, of course) and what they will eat in just one bite.  It ranges from a tiny speck of dirt for a worm to an enormous sperm whale devouring a giant squid.  The information is impactful, and Schaefer’s way of delivering it makes it even more exciting.  Her text, in combination with Geoff Waring’s illustrations, make this a perfect introduction to animals for preschoolers.  There are only one or two lines of text per page, and Schaefer has to distill the facts about that animal and their prey down to just a few words.  Those words have to pique kids’ interest and keep them reading.  The subject (animals) and the life-size concept are very reminiscent of the successful Steve Jenkins books, and I think they are a terrific conduit to those books for young readers.  But this book is designed to appeal to younger readers and thinkers than the Steve Jenkins books.

 To balance the spare text, Waring’s illustrations are simple, eye-catching, and truly life-sized.  He has simplified each animal down to its strongest lines without sacrificing the textures and features that keep them recognizable to young children.  The backgrounds are bright and basic, which makes the animal and its one bite stand out even more.  The animal and its food or prey are realistically drawn, but Waring isn’t tied to the same rules when creating the background.  I think this is a good thing – the backgrounds are primarily solid-colored, and many of these animals would become camouflaged against their natural background.

The last spread, with the sperm whale devouring the giant squid, is appropriately a large fold-out spread.  This gives children such a sense of the enormity of the sperm whale, which is really only indicated by its teeth and a little bit of gray mouth because it is so large.  This last spread made me realize how artfully Schaefer had organized the book.  It begins with that worm’s eraser-sized dirt clump, and moves up to a mouthful that cannot fit on even a double-paged spread – wow!   Readers may want to read the book more than once – the first time through for the information included, the second time to really examine the size of the animals and their particular mouthfuls.

While this is one of those books that boys will connect with because of the weird and gross things that are sometimes eaten (the komodo dragon eats a vicious-looking snake), I think this book would be equally successful in an elementary school classroom.  The illustrations can easily be seen from far away because of Waring’s design choices, and Schaefer has included additional information about all of the animals and their eating habits at the end of the book.  She does an excellent job defining some of the creatures’ unusual habits in context.  For instance, the common octopus drills a hole into its prey’s “shell with its radula – a toothed tongue.”.  This gives eager readers more information to wield.

I would strongly recommend this book to preschoolers and young elementary school students.  Not only is Schaefer’s enthusiasm visible throughout the book, but they will be able to go back and refer to the information over and over again.  I first checked this book out two months ago, but returned it when we went on vacation.  When we came back to Montana, I had already started this blog, and knew I wanted to finish it, so I checked the book out again.  My girls are still just as fascinated by it as I am.  In fact, Frances wants me to read it again right now!

Just One Bite: 11 Animals and their Bites at Life-Size! Lola Schaefer; illustrated by Geoff Waring.  Chronicle Books, 2010.

Borrowed from the Lewis & Clark Library

Fancy Nancy: Splendid Speller

When I was “just” a children’s librarian, I will freely admit that Fancy Nancy was a little too…fancy for me.  I’d show families where they were on the shelf, buy the latest copies for the library, but I’d leave the reading to them.  Now Frances is four years old, and we’ve read our share of Fancy Nancy titles – she loves the glitz and glamor of Nancy’s outfits, and I do admire her sophisticated vocabulary.  So when I got a box of books from HarperCollins to review, there was excited shrieking when Fancy Nancy: Splendid Speller emerged.  Both Frances and Gloria looked at it several  times then, and afterwards I hid it away to review it later. 

When the girls and I went on vacation a few weeks ago, I stashed Splendid Speller in Frances’ carry-on backpack so we could read it on the plane.  Due to missed connections, we ended up spending 8 hours in the Seattle airport, and boy, was I grateful to have Fancy Nancy in tow!! She stood up to repeated readings that day and has been in rotation ever since.

In this title in the series, Nancy is faced with her first spelling test.  She’s sure it will be a breeze because she is such a splendid speller.  Nancy studies all week, but during the test her confidence wavers on a word.  She looks at her friend Bree’s test paper for confirmation, and then realizes that she might have done something wrong.  This moral dilemma (to confess to the teacher or not) colors the rest of the story, but don’t worry, Nancy solves her dilemma in typical fancy style.

First things first – this book is a level one reader, which HarperCollins defines as beginning reading.  The back cover adds that level one books include “simple sentences for eager new readers”.  Because of Nancy’s impressive vocabulary, I would suspect that the first time through, a beginning reader would need some help reading words like splendid, memorize, bravo and impressed.  However, one of the things I like best about Fancy Nancy is that O’Connor does a terrific job of allowing Nancy to define new words in the context of the story.  Sometimes she’ll explain the word’s meaning in parentheses “(Splendid is even better than great.)”.  When she spells the word chien, not only does she give a meaning, but also gives the pronunciation to help out.  Again, I think the pronunciation would need an adult reader’s guidance the first time through before the reader has confidence to tackle it themselves.

This book is firmly rooted in first grade, and I imagine it would be very comforting for a first grader to read.  While Nancy has confidence in her spelling ability, when the spelling list is announced, there are children in the class who look anxious and worried.  Not everyone in the class thinks spelling is easy, but for children for whom spelling is a problem, the book shows Nancy using study skills to memorize the words.  She draws pictures that are labeled with the spelling word and practices the words aloud.  Nancy doesn’t just rest on her belief that she is a great speller, but takes the test seriously.  Their teacher is kind, concerned and sparkly – someone who readers will gravitate towards.  They will feel Nancy’s anxiety when she realizes she may have cheated by looking at Bree’s work.  They’ll also be relieved by Ms. Glass’ discreet, comforting handling of the situation.  Nancy isn’t “in trouble” and has the confidence to make it right.  She has to decide if it is better to have her splendid reputation intact or to be honest about her shortcomings.

The illustrations are as girl-centered as ever, and I mean that in a good way.  The pictures are packed full of curlicues and flourishes and all the things little girls hold dear.  Nancy and Bree’s hair are packed full of baubles and barrettes, and their clothes are just as fabulous as ever.  And the rest of Nancy’s family is reassuringly plain and restful to my adult eyes.  I appreciate that Nancy isn’t depicted as wearing all pink or all dresses – that other colors and styles can be equally fancy.  And Ms. Glass is in turns accessible and stylish – just the sort of teacher we’d envision for that Fancy Nancy.

All in all, I think this book is well-created for the young elementary school reader.  The ethics of cheating are handled naturally without being too didactic but still staying true to the character.  There is a glossary of Fancy Nancy’s Fancy Words to help the unfamiliar words stay fresh in children’s minds.  Fun and thoughtful, too.

Fancy Nancy: Splendid Speller.  Jane O’Connor; cover illustration by Robin Preiss Glasser; interior illustrations by Ted Enik.  Harper: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy, hoping I would review the book.

I Know Here

Frances and Gloria and I have been traveling for the past three weeks across the United States to visit family.  Since we moved to Montana, Frances has spent a lot of time observing what is going on around her, and equating it with what she has known previously.  “In Phoenix, there was a Chuck E. Cheese, but in Montana we don’t have one.”  “Remember in Phoenix we went to swim school?  Why don’t we go to swim school here?”  As we then began to travel across the United States, she has done the same thing – “Is there an airport in Helena?”  “Can we get this kind of fruit snacks at home?”  Life changes as children move from community to community, and while they adapt to new things (“We didn’t have snow in Phoenix”), they spend a lot of time comparing their new lives with the security of their old lives.

That is exactly what happens in I Know Here.  The young girl is on her way to school when her brother gives her the news that they will be moving to Toronto. Their father has been building a dam in a remote area, across the North Saskatchewan River.  There are only ten trailers along the building site, and the girl’s teacher only teaches nine children.  This area is all the little girl has ever known, and it will be a complete change to move to metropolitan Toronto.  She is visibly worried about the change until her teacher gives her a way to take her memories with her.

I Know Here came to my attention through the Horn Book’s 2010 Fanfare list.  We didn’t get it at our local public library, most likely because it is from a small press (Groundwood).  While this book is based in a remote area of Canada, the little girl’s worries about moving and bringing her experiences to a new place are very universal.

Laurel Croza is a debut author with an amazing poetic, lyrical style.  The little girl watches a truck jouncing toward her on the rutted dirt road, “bits of gravel jumping up and dancing under the tires.”  She can recognize a fox’s “damp fur smell” behind another trailer. The young girl has learned this place well – she has experienced everything it has to offer, just as most young children do.  The sensory memories the little girl holds dearest are what her teacher assures her will move with her.  What she knows, what she loves, is the comfort she will take to a new home, and her appreciation of the nature around her will shape who she will be forever.

Her teacher tells the little girl to draw all the things she loves and wants to remember.  Matt James is the illustrator who brings all the young girl’s memories to life.  His illustrations are varied, creative, but most importantly, child-like in perspective.  The teacher, Miss Hendrickson, stands tall over the students.  The girl’s younger sister, Kathie, waits to catch an enormous, page-filling frog, whose tongue curves over its own back, lazily aiming for a fly.  James’ acrylic paintings are luminous, and echo the dam’s wooded setting with star-filled nights and gray cloudy skies.  But the paintings have a twist – an airplane flies overhead on improbably skewed wings, a forest all leans to one side, that impossibly large frog.  The endpapers are decorated with a whimsical map of Canada, including a red star marking Toronto.

The combination of Croza’s descriptive language and James’ creative illustrations bring rural Canada to life for readers here.  They might look at the things that are unfamiliar to them – the moose the girl spots, the lone television for the community broadcasting outside under the stars.  But they’ll also hold on to the things they find familiar about their own communitiies.  Just like Frances did when we moved, this young girl will bring the best of her old life with her.

I Know Here.  Laurel Croza; illustrated by Matt James.  Groundwood Books, 2010.

Borrowed from the Williamsburg Regional Library.