"Fall-ing" for Books About Autumn

Because November is here, and the weather is turning a bit (although not fast enough for me), I pulled  fall-themed books for a seasonal display. When I placed these particular books on the cart, I remembered how much I enjoyed them, and then realized that they were all connected. 

The main character in this picture book (a fox) has noticed that the leaves on his favorite tree are turning brown, and he is very concerned. He turns to his mother, and she tells him  that the seasons are changing. Fletcher is determined to take care of this tree. 

Little Tree likes fall and doesn't want things to change. As you read this book, you see that it is about the fear of growing up and how we don't want things to change. (Little Tree is holding on to life as it is!) Just as Little Tree needs others to motivate him to move on, so do we! 

Like Little Tree, a yellow leaf holds on, afraid to let go. Afraid and unsure, he waits. But then another leaf joins in -- and the yellow leaf has a friend. Friends help us be brave, don't they? Read the book to see how it turns out! (I love the shape and orientation of the book: tall, just like a tree.)

All three of this books have lovely artwork -- and all three will be on display in my library this fall.

But these lovely books are more than just about the seasons. They are about taking a chance and setting out on our own.

Go check out some fall books from your library and see what connections you make!

Interview with Author/Illustrator Julie Kim: WHERE'S HALMONI?

My previous blog post was my review/blog talk of the graphic novel/picture book Where's Halmoni? Click here to read the post. Today, I am sharing my interview with the author/illustrator of this book, Julie Kim. I always enjoy hearing the creators of children's literature share about their process, and I know you will enjoy this interview today. My questions are in bold print, and Julie Kim's follow below. 

1.) The picture book/graphic novel format of WHERE'S HALMONI? is what struck me first about your book. I think it works on so many levels! Can you tell about your decision to do this? 

I love colors and the lushness of fully painted illustrations. I also love the graphic novel format because it lends itself to expressive detailed story telling. So, like ice cream, if I can't choose between two flavors, I end up getting both. And in this case luckily for me, picture books naturally lends itself to the graphic novel format and it worked out in the end.

2.) Your art is filled with energy. I also appreciated your use of color. Please tell us about how you create your art and your style. 

 For me, colors always embody certain types of energy, like musical notes or a melody with all its emotional triggers. When I paint, it always feels like I am composing a musical score with all its crescendos and kazillion notes. My eyes are my ears, emotionally responding the same way as I compose my paintings. Sometimes it all comes together in glorious harmony, and other times it falls flat. For this particular book, my inspiration was the traditional Korean Folk Art with its vibrant joyful colors that defied what I considered a harsh and unforgiving society for common folks of Korean Chosun era. And since this book was about bridging two cultures past and present, it was natural that I combined the styles of both Old Korea and contemporary U.S.

3.) I enjoyed all the Easter eggs in the book. Why did you decide to place these in WHERE'S HALMONI?

Actually, the Easter eggs often act as the Act II of the story, filling out the story in greater detail and richness as you go back and reread. It makes the reader ask questions and wonder beyond the written story, opening more doors to the imagination.

Thank you, Julie Kim, for appearing on my blog today, and many thanks as well to Little Bigfoot Books! 

WHERE'S HALMONI? by Julie Kim

Kim, Julie. Where's Halmoni? Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2017. Print.

I blog about picture books often because the art fascinates me. Mix this with my readers' insatiable appetite for graphic novels, and you will know why I am blogging about this particular book today.

Where's Halmoni (Sasquatch Books, 2017) is an ingenious blending of these two forms.

Before I begin to tell you about the story, I must comment on the physical awesomeness of the book:

The orientation is tall and rectangular, mirroring the doorway in which the tiger appears. A red spine ties in with the cover. The absence of a dust jacket is appealing and suitable for the art. It is as if the tiger is lurking at your own front door.

The title is raised while the author/illustrator's name is embossed in red. Open up the book and look at the back cover, and you will find the two main characters of this book, facing the tiger.

The front endpapers begin the story (in red print), while the back endpapers add a final note. don't quite think I have ever seen this before in a book, but I will do my best to look back and notice this now (P.S. I also LOVE endpapers.)

The book's title page is integral to the story. As I advise the readers in my library, pay attention to it!

The colors are soft yet vibrant. Some are in panels and some are full spreads, glorious and engaging. I fully appreciate the use of color, and followed the interaction between text and art with interest and wonder.

Kim incorporates characters from Korean folktales, with four taking part in the story: the moon rabbit, the tiger, the dokkebi, and the fox. Back matter provides insight into each.

Once the art brings you in, the story keeps you in it -- the tale of Noona and Joon, searching for Halmoni, their grandmother. They visit her seemingly normal home, until they enter a panel that sends them into a magical land with sapphire mountains and the afore-mentioned creatures. Brother and sister encounter each, armed only with their liveliness and a backpack full of candy! Do they find Halmoni? What secrets is Halmoni keeping? Read this graphic novel/picture book to find out!

Tomorrow, I will feature an interview with Julie Kim, the creator of Where's Halmoni? Make sure to come back to learn more about this book!!

AFTER THE FALL by Dan Santat

Santat, Dan. After the Fall. New York: Roaring Brook, 2017. Print.

I am always interested in fractured fairy tales or retellings of nursery rhymes. But this picture book is not that at all. This is a sequel to the original -- to that story we have all heard -- about the unfortunate Humpty who fell off the wall and broke so badly that he couldn't be repaired.

After the Fall tells us what happens after Humpty takes that famous tumble. It's the second verse, told within the pages of a picture book. And, thankfully, it fleshes out a bit of what the first one left out.

Caldecott Winner Dan Santat gives us a bit of Humpty Dumpty's bio in his latest picture book, and the clues are in the illustrations. (See the wall hanging on the 2nd page spread). And through the story, Santat also shows us just how much Humpty's accident has shaped his life.

At the beginning of the story, we learn that Humpty's unfortunate fall was indeed "great"-- having a profound effect on his current reality. He has never forgotten it, and it has changed how he does things (such as not sleeping on the top bunk, and forgoing anything on the top shelf of a grocery store). He has tried to make do.

But Humpty had a dream, and the force of it is strong. Soon, he pursues it once more. He pursues it with perseverance and courage, narrating his struggles honestly. And in his sincerity, we connect with him, especially after seeing all he has gone through to get here.

After the Fall is poignant, and may be a bit melancholy. And, ingeniously, though it is melancholy, this nursery rhyme sequel is also inspiration, motivation and encouragement -- and will find its readers with those who have a tough goal ahead, or had a bad break, or who never quite overcame that obstacle in their path.

We may not have known how much we wanted to know about Humpty afterward, but we did! And we all root for him here.

Santat's art gives us lush layers of story: the grandness of the wall (told through scale), the things he can no longer enjoy (told through color), the faraway-ness of the dream (told through perspective), and the effort put forth to reclaim his dream (told through panels). All of these done well.

But it is Santat's storytelling and crafting that make this book a must-read.

Read this book to hear the rest of the story, and to once again, enjoy the brilliance of Dan Santat's work.

(P.S. I wrote this post from the advance copy provided by Macmillan Kids. I can't wait to get a final copy! After the Fall celebrates its book birthday today. I have been waiting for this day for awhile!)

FLASHLIGHT NIGHT by Matt Esenwine and Fred Koehler

Esenwine, Matt. Flashlight Night. Illus. by Fred Koehler. Honesdale, PA: Boys Mills Press, 2017. Print.



When you were a child, did you ever sneak in some extra reading time under the covers with a flashlight? I did.

This memory came rushing back to me when I first read the picture book I am featuring on my blog today, Flashlight Night. 

As I am writing this post, I am walking through the book, pointing out what I want to share:

The adventure begins on the title page, as three kids walk toward a playhouse in the dead of night, one gripping a stack of books, one a sleeping bag, and the youngest towing a teddy bear and "blankie".

The endpapers, appropriately, are black -- symbolizing the night's darkness!

With a flashlight poised under his chin, the leader of the trio begins the adventure, telling tales of beckoning woods, rushing waters, ancient ruins, and grand imposing tombs! Along the way, his friends follow along, part of the story, following the narrator's vivid storytelling and becoming characters in the story themselves. The flashlight's beam is our guide, and as it widens, it becomes a metaphor for the way our own worlds expand as we travel via a book, harkening back t Sendak's classic, Where the Wild Things Are.

Suddenly, the backyard is a holding place for all of those settings we have loved in books-- pirate ships, rushing waters, castles, and mountain tops. And here, readers see the true gift of this book as it becomes a reminder of why reading is treasured. Reading indeed helps us go beyond where we are, and makes it possible for for those cannot travel to do so, limited only by pages and time.  Perhaps it also shows us why books remain, even as devices, technology and inventions abound.


And now that I have told you about the book, let me tell you about the creators of Flashlight Night: 

Matt Forrest Esenwine, author of Flashlight Night
Image courtesy of Boyds Mills Press 

I first became familiar with the work of Matt Forrest Esenwine from The Poetry Friday Anthology series (Pomelo Books). And the text in this book is indeed poetic, creating a reader's playground with vivid, imaginative language. 

Fred Koehler, illustrator of Flashlight Night
Image courtesy of Boyds Mills Press 

And I first knew of Fred Koehler from his picture book One Day, the End: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Stories (Boyds Mills Press, 2015). His detailed, pencil illustrations bring out Esenwine's text masterfully, but also, "shine" the light on the power of reading to make our own worlds grander through books. 

Enjoy this picture book again and again, perhaps with a flashlight of your own, in a treehouse, or in your backyard. Wherever you read it, you will be transported, if only for a moment, to a place of imagination and adventure.

Picture Books Express: A Quick List of Titles I Have Read (and enjoyed) Recently

I had the honor of co-hosting #txlchat tonight! The topic? One of my favorite things to talk about EVER: picture books!

I decided I wanted to compile a quick list of picture books I have read recently. I have plans to blog about and review some of these, and some I have already shared on Twitter.

We ask our students to reflect on their reading. It is a great idea for us to do as well! As I look over these titles, I realize how fortunate we are to have these authors and illustrators create these works of art and story for us!

Keep checking my blog in the next few weeks! I will be telling you more about my appreciation of these books.

WHEN'S MY BIRTHDAY? by Julie Fogliano

Fogliano, Julie. When's My Birthday? Illus. by Christian Robinson. New York: Roaring Brook, 2017. Print. 

Children love their birthdays! At least once a week, a student will come up to me and tell me that their birthday is near! Do adults do this, too? Probably not -- or if so, not with as much enthusiasm. 

As I read this picture book, I felt as if I could hear the voices of the children in the book speaking to me, reading these lines. The text has no capitalization (only exclamation marks and question marks), and is filled with repetition -- in some ways mirroring the way kids breathlessly speak when they are beyond excited and just can't wait for something amazing! 

At first, the narrator impatiently asks how far away their birthday is and its season. Different voices chime in, each child wanting something different for a gift. One would like a cake, one would like "tiny sandwiches with soup" - my favorite request in the book. The narrators go about inviting everyone to their party, and then going to sleep. The end of the book means the end to the wait, and the children can finally celebrate. 

The text is poetic, rhythmic, playful, and lively. (I am also a fan of Fogliano's When Green Becomes Tomatoes, And Then It's Spring, If You Want to See a Whale). I turned the pages with the same excitement the children expressed in the verses, drawn in to the fun, and also truly excited to see the work of Christian Robinson (Last Stop on Market Street, School's First Day of School). His illustrations are filled with energy, and each child's face exudes either joy, delight, or a sense of expectancy. Using acrylic paint and collage, Robinson includes grand cakes, tall flowers, a giraffe, a sloth, and even a horse with a necklace! The party at the end brings it all together sweetly, and readers will no doubt feel like as if they are celebrating with the children, too! 

When readers first pick up the book, they should note the tall orientation and shape. My theory is that this space is needed for birthday candles, giraffes, and huge presents! Also, be sure to look under the dust jacket! Robinson has give us gift of an embossed foil stamp and spine. Truly delightful! 

This picture book about birthdays is a gift to readers! I can see it as a read-aloud at many birthday parties and celebrations to come. 

Read more about Julie Fogliano here. 

Read more about Christian Robinson here.