Those Bells Are A Jingling

They can turn the gusty wind, bitter cold and falling snow into something magical.  In the movies they can be deliriously happy, worrisome and wild or pleasantly romantic.  Other than the appropriate amount of snow, a willing and cooperative horse is a requirement...along with a sleigh, of course.

More than ten years ago, readers laughed as they followed a girl and her dog attempting to travel down a river in One-Dog Canoe (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, March 2003).  Along the way first a beaver, then a loon, wolf, bear, and moose decided to join, filling up the small red boat.  When a frog hopped on, the scales were tipped, throwing everyone into the water.  Returning for another memorable trip in One-Dog Sleigh (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) written by Mary Casanova with pictures by Ard Hoyt, the gal and her puppy pal are in for more surprises.

I hitched up my pony
to my little red sleigh.
My dog wagged his tail.
"I want to play!"

"You bet," I said. "Just me and you
in a one-dog sleigh."

Traveling through the woods, the duo is enjoying their ride.  Within minutes sailing through the air like a trapeze artist, Squirrel decides he wants to play too, landing in the sleigh.  They are barely underway again when a flap of wings and a series of hoots grab their attention.

Even though the girl recommends Owl join them on a different ride, he does not take no for an answer.  The occupants now number four.  It's getting decidedly crowded.

Lynx wakes up.  Deer hears the bells.  Bear looks down.  Three more want to join the lively trek.  With the deepening snow and the heavier load, Horse can barely move.  In fact, the sleigh comes to a complete stop.

In the blink of an eye, up jumps Mouse.  Tears springing to her eyes, the girl knows this ride is doomed.  Never fear...the small one takes charge as all others push and pull.

At the top of the peak, the group knows without a doubt, their sleigh has become a sled as a crazy downward plunge begins.  What's that?  A bump, you say? Oh, no!


More than one person lately has remarked how snow seems to energize their canine friends, so it stands to reason Mary Casanova, a longtime resident of northern Minnesota, would place her characters on a wintry ride.  As she did in the companion title, rhyming phrases and delightful wordplay, introduce other forest residents into the narrative.  Dog's initial request of

"I want to play!" 

is repeated by each one before they end up in or on the sleigh.  Descriptive active antics and onomatopoeia abound.  Here is a single example.

But with a SMACK, CRACK, KA-WHACK!
Bear balanced on the back.


For a first sleigh ride, I hope to be part of a group as happy as the threesome on the matching jacket and cover of this title; you can almost hear the delighted sighs of the girl along with the yipping pants of the dog as the runners slide through the snow.  The only clue to the events to come appears on the back.  Dog is looking curiously at a speaking mouse.  Ard Hoyt begins the story on the title page with the girl and pup looking inside the barn doorway at the sleigh and horse.  A two page illustration stretches from right to left joining the first page with the verso featuring the best friends about to set off on another adventure.

While Mary Casanova gives the book its enticing beat, Hoyt brings exhilaration and joy to the tale.  A full range of colors highlights the events, cooler background shades of white, blue, gray and green, swirl around the characters giving you a feeling of a brisk winter's day and movement.  Each picture whether on one page or two, shifting in perspective from a bird's eye view or zooming in for a cozy close-up, is full of humor.  It bursts off every page especially in the facial expressions of those already in the sleigh wondering how another will possibly be able to fit.

I think my favorite illustration is toward the end of the story.  Across two pages, Ard Hoyt has pictured the red sleigh going full tilt down the hill, filled with all the animals...yes, even the pony.  All are looking rather wild-eyed as they speed down the hill except for the girl, horse (he has on blinders) and the mouse who are smiling with glee.  The squirrel is hanging on for dear life to the dog.  Grasping the horse's mane like reins, the mouse is having the time of his life.

Some titles are meant to be shared by reading them aloud to one or many.  One-Dog Sleigh written by Mary Casanova with pictures by Ard Hoyt is one of those books.  It's brimming with merriment.  Will the girl and her furry friend have another escapade?  I certainly hope so.

For more information about the author and illustrator please take time to visit their websites.  Links for these are embedded in each of their names.  Here is a link where author Mary Casanova speaks about the collaborative relationship she has with illustrator Ard Hoyt. To view more pages from the book follow this link to the publisher's website.

I think it would be fun to pair this with Lita Judge's Red Sled or Jan Brett's The Mitten.

Mathematical Cure

We all have those nights when sleep alludes us despite our heartfelt endeavors to drift off to dreamland.  When soaking in a hot bath, warm milk with a touch of honey, relaxing music or reading a favorite or current book does not entice the sandman to visit, there is only one thing left to do.  As a last resort counting sheep, as one by one a seemingly endless line leaps over a fence, may cure your insomnia.

We know from his two previous titles, Dog Loves Books (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010) and Dog Loves Drawing (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012), our small, white, perky canine pal is usually able to accomplish whatever his heart desires.  In his newest undertaking, Dog Loves Counting (Alfred A. Knopf), written and illustrated by Louise Yates, Dog knows the proper amount of rest is important.  For whatever reason, on this particular night, this bookworm extraordinaire can't fall asleep.

Dog loved books.  He loved reading
them late into the night and didn't like
to leave them for long.

Needing to sleep Dog tries counting sheep.  When this technique fails, he wonders if counting some other animal might be the solution.  Looking through the books surrounding him on his bed, he begins with a very special title.

What he sees first is one egg.  After cracking open, a dodo is standing next to Dog.  Now there are two.  They go off to discover another creature.

When the sloth waves, Dog notices his three claws.  This number game is going very well.  The three explore further to find a fourth.

A camel from the desert, a lizard under a log, and an insect snagged from the air have the growing group up to the number six.  Number nine is reached with help from a nighttime marauder, an arachnid, and a sleepy armored mammal.  A sandy shoreline yields their final friend, the number ten.  Dog is having so much fun, he is disappointed when they reach the camel's home; no animals are visible.

Not to be discouraged, Dog suggests they begin counting from the beginning.  To their surprise number one has disappeared.  Whether counting backward or counting by hundreds, Dog and company realize, like the grains of sand beneath their feet, numbering some things could go on forever.


Louise Yates' writing style in her storytelling is light, uplifting.  Her combination of narrative, thoughts and dialogue are utterly charming.  Though simple in structure, each sentence conveys intent, curiosity, the desire for companionship and to help Dog fall asleep.  Dog's compassion and kindness are reflected in each of the animals he meets. Here is a single example.

Inside was a baby dodo.
"Hello, little one," said Dog.
He looked around, but
the dodo was
all alone.
"I'll look after you," said Dog. "Together
we are two.  Number One, follow me---
we must find Number Three."



I don't know about you but the matching jacket and cover of this title make me smile...a big smile.  Even if you are not acquainted with Dog from reading the two previous books, this illustration, filled with happy animation in the body language and facial expressions, introduces characters you will be glad to meet.  To reinforce the title by having them carry the bright blue numbers is brilliant.

The same blue is used to color the opening and closing endpapers.  A lighter shade depicts a starry-patterned night.  The first set of endpapers shows connections between the stars forming numbers; the end set also shows connections but of the animals who participate in the story.  As I have noted before Yates uses every part of her books to tell her tale.

Louise Yates luminous watercolor illustrations may extend across two pages or even for most of a single page with loose flowing edges but for the most part white space serves to focus on the individual elements in each picture.  As the animals are presented to readers their number and name are written near them, like in a naturalist's sketchbook.  Yates enhances the text further with random acts of kindness and humor; Dog carries the sloth due to his slowness, the skink spits the fly back out of his mouth to count its legs, and the spider spins a web between the armadillo's ears.  Dog sitting on his bed, holding a flashlight with an open book laying on his legs, surrounded by piles of books, is one of my favorite illustrations.


You have to love the way Dog approaches everything in his life; how books are central to each and every adventure.  Dog Loves Counting written and illustrated by Louise Yates pursues Dog's yearning for sleep by bringing numbers and animals together in an enlightening escapade.  Wouldn't it be fun to find other animals and the numbers they might represent?

With each Dog book I love this little guy and his friends even more.  Where will he go?  What will he do next?  I can hardly wait.

I invite you to visit Louise Yates' website by following the link embedded in her name.  Dog Loves Counting is on the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2014 nominations list.

Count? Where Are They?

We all go through life with expectations, some more obvious than others.  In the northern climes we expect to see the seasons change.  When the wind rises, lightning flashes and thunder booms, we expect to see falling raindrops.  After planting corn seed, we expect to see tall stalks with juicy ears lining the field.

When we are asked by a friend to put the silverware on the table, we expect to see forks, spoons and knives in the drawer, not screwdrivers, wrenches and hammers.  I'm here to tell you, readers, when you open the cover of Count the Monkeys (Disney Hyperion Books) by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Kevin Cornell, you can take any expectations you might have and throw them out the window.   You are lured into the pages of this book expecting to count...well...monkeys.

Hey, kids! Time to count the monkeys!
It's fun.  It's easy.  All you have to do is turn the page...

Gasp.  There are no monkeys.  In fact, a gigantic king cobra has ripped the Monkeys This Way-> sign out of the jungle ground with his dangerous tail.  This one snake, a very scary snake, is definitely not a monkey.  We are asked to turn the page ever so gently.

Instead of monkeys what do we see?  We see two mongooses chasing the slithery serpent away.  We are also asked to vote whether the plural is mongooses or mongeese by raising our hands.  What kind of book is this anyway?  And where are the monkeys we are supposed to be counting?

We turn the page hoping finally to see some monkeys but no...we see three crocodiles.  Are we ever going to see any monkeys?  Each two-page spread features a creature who banishes the previous being.  Bears, bees, beekeepers, wolves, lumberjacks, more lumberjacks and the oddest musical rhinoceroses to ever grace the pages of a book appear.

We count from one to ten and back to zero again but the monkeys we anticipated seeing have not made an appearance by the book's final page.  Perhaps we should write a letter to the author or illustrator or publisher about this visible mistake.  Or maybe we should turn the page and look at the...!


When it comes to the unexpected, when it comes to humor, Mac Barnett knows exactly which words to place on each page.  In this title it's as if he is carrying on a personal conversation with the reader.  We are not only counting everything but monkeys, we are reading his comments barely able to contain gales of laughter.  Every effort is being made to follow his instructions to the letter.  This narrative is a fine example of the participatory give and take readers love between themselves and an author.


Get ready for howling hoots and snickering snorts, Kevin Cornell's illustrations are jam-packed with characters on the move.  For starters the jacket showcases eight scampy monkeys who, if you listen closely, are making all kinds of noise.  The jacket back features the Monkeys This Way-> sign.  Different illustrations on the cover highlight eight of the critters and four frightened lumberjacks.  Apparently they don't like their proximity to the grizzly bear.  Opening endpapers usher readers into a lush tropical landscape in hues of green.

Each of the numbers is given a double-page spread alive with bold colors.  The comic expressions on the characters' faces, smiles, frowns and eyes, draw the reader into the unfolding, rollicking romp.  Added touches such as the numbered running shirts on the mongooses, top hats, canes and vests on the crocodiles, a bottle of Picno Bismal by the gulping, guzzling grizzlies, the Scottish attire on the rhinoceroses and the placement of a childhood toy, unseen until the final page, all contribute to the nonstop fun found in this title.


It's a given multiple copies will be needed.  It's a given this book will be read over and over.  It's a given Count The Monkeys written by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Kevin Cornell will be a favorite no matter the age of the reader.  Double thumbs up and high fives all around.

There are a couple of things which came to mind when reading this book.  One was this would make an outstanding readers theater.  I can see using handmade puppets or representative props.  There are enough characters so every student could participate more than once.

What continuously popped into my mind as I was reading this, based upon the unanticipated circumstances found on each page turn, was the old television show, Candid Camera.  Here's one of the older shows for your end-of-the-week, Friday enjoyment.

Birdsong, Lifesong

One of the best things about the advent of spring until the first chill days of autumn is the sound of birdsong beginning every morning.  Even as I write this post I can hear the cheerful tune of one of the male cardinals taking up residence around my yard this year.  Our lack of regular rain has been hard on our feathered friends. I find myself filling up the birdbaths twice a day.  They flock and fluff their feathers in the sprinkler stream when I'm watering my gardens.

For decades people relied on more than their musical melody or flash of color to brighten their day; canaries specifically were used to detect gases poisonous for the workers in coal mines. Their unique ability to sense danger prior to its harmful effects on humans was vital.  In her first novel for children, Madelyn Rosenberg (Happy Birthday, Tree!:  A Tu B'Shevat Story) vividly creates possibilities in Canary in the Coal Mine (Holiday House) set in the Great Depression era of West Virginia.

Bitty flattened himself against the back of the cage as the Gap-Toothed Man reached his fat hot-dog fingers through the front.
"Here, birdie, birdie," the man said. "Come on, birdie. Hurry up, now." The meaty fingers opened and closed.  Bitty swerved right, then ducked low. He didn't duck low enough.
"Gotcha."

Bitty, Chester, Alice, Uncle Aubrey and Aunt Lou are some of the canaries living in a cage called the Big House cared for by a miner's son, Jamie Campbell.  Each day they are taken into the No. 7, a coal mine, as insurance against bad air.  None of them have ever known life outside of a cage, never flown in freedom around or beyond the mining community of Coalbank Hollow.  Bitty, small in stature but not in heart, is about to change all that.

After reading a newspaper article lining their cage, an idea forms in his mind, a plan to escape, and a goal, when accomplished, which will better the lives of the miners and the canaries.  Smart enough to be afraid, but strong enough to escape, Bitty finds himself a passenger on a train to Charleston, West Virginia, riding on top of a coal car.  It is there he meets the first of several friends who will help him in his mission.  Eck, one of a large group of mice employed at the Gilmer Inn in Charleston, is a cat trainer, making sure they get the proper amount of exercise each day.

At the Chesapeake & Ohio station Bitty finds a place to rest at the end of the each day with Clarence, a pigeon, his family and friends, company birds assigned to care for humans.  A group of grackles, led by Viper torment and tease, seagulls, Gladys and Phil, making their home in the local dump, offer support and connections, and Dolly, a chimney swift, knows every, well almost, place in town.  Added to the mix is an unwanted guest who followed Bitty from Coalbank Hollow, Cipher, a hawk who loves to taunt before the kill with the haunting words, fee, fi, fo, fum.

As the narrative progresses the tension in the storyline builds momentum.  One setback, and even tragedy, after another plague Bitty and his friends; illness, destruction of his carefully constructed communication, a deadly attack and the horrific happenings on the home front.  How is it possible for one tiny bird to succeed in bringing the inventor of the Whatchamacallit and a bird-loving legislator together? Can a single act make a difference?


As I read Canary in the Coal Mine I found myself gently, slowly drawn into the story.  The more I read the more I became involved in Bitty's adventures and his commitment, developing an emotional attachment to the tale and the characters, animal and human.  Madelyn Rosenberg constructs a world within our world wholly believable through lyrical description, dialogue and Bitty's thoughts.  It is a world populated by beings good and bad exhibiting kindness and cruelty, unexpected heroics and steadfast friendship.  Here are some passages from the story.

"I respect history; I just don't want to be history.  I'm going to make things better.  You'll see."   As Bitty said it, he couldn't help thinking of everyone---the union men, his own father---who had tried to make things better but had ended up the worse for it.
"Do you think you'll be warm enough?" Aunt Lou asked.  She dropped her voice to a whisper. "And Bitty, do be careful of that hawk.  She's crazy as a bedbug.  There's something about her that's not quite right."

The train passed through woodland, other coal camps and a burning slag heap---the waste left after the coal had been mined and sorted.  The houses seemed to get smaller and poorer until there were no houses at all, just a neighborhood of tents that made the Campbells look like millionaires.  One family sat by a fire, but they weren't cooking over it.  A baby wailed, her voice so sharp that Bitty heard it over the chugging of the train.
"Hard times," Eck intoned. "Someone once said: 'If you keep hope in your pocket you will lose it.  It's best to keep hope in your heart.' "

Bitty looked up at the night sky and drew in a breath.  Back home, he could see only a few stars, shining like cut glass on the small strip of sky that was visible from Jamie's bedroom window.  But here?  Bitty couldn't even count them all.  There must be hundreds.  Thousands! He felt as if he could fly up and touch them.  He felt as if he could catch them like the summer fireflies that sometimes glowed from a Mason jar on Jamie's nightstand.


Madelyn Rosenberg was gracious enough to expand on some of the comments left in her acknowledgments and an author's note at the book's end via a series of emails.  Ten years ago when she began work on this story she did do some research but for the most part the story was completed before  she went back and looked further in earnest.  As a newspaper reporter she conducted interviews with miners giving her a background.  Oral histories, newspaper articles from the late 1920s and early 1930s, visits to West Virginia, books on coal strikes and the history of West Virginia, digging into patents and coal mining equipment, all contributed to the historical sense the reader gets from this title.


Canary in the Coal Mine written by Madelyn Rosenberg is a work of fiction which will lead readers to the facts.  It is the quest of one small being, aided by conviction and friends, to make his corner of the world safer, better, for those living there.  It is on the last page of the book, when asked where they are going next, that Bitty utters a single word, a word which expresses the essence of this story..."Up".

Follow the link embedded in Madelyn Rosenberg's name above to gain access to her website.  Here is a link to the publisher website containing an excerpt of the book's beginning and activity sheets.  If you think the artwork on the cover is familiar here is a link to more illustrations by Chris Sheban.

Enjoy the book trailer.

And The Winner Is...

Beginning with my youngest patrons' first visit, through song, dance and hand motions, I introduce letters and numbers explaining, one will help them find fiction (even if organized by genre), the other will give them direction in locating nonfiction materials.  I tell them repeatedly year after year, if they know their letters and can count, they will be able to locate the correct book in any library.  The two systems, alphabetical and numerical, work together to create addresses for every item in the library.  Their school library is a lively practice field for using the public library, moving them toward independence.

In this respect numbers and letters or letters and numbers have equal importance.  But in that wonderful world of "What-If", what happens when letters and numbers arrive at the same place at the same time believing themselves to be the guest of honor?  What happens is 1 2 3 versus A B C (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers) written and illustrated by Mike Boldt.

Hello! I'm so glad you chose to read this book about Numbers!

Hi! I'm so happy you chose to read this book about Letters.

So begins the book and the debate between the number one and the letter A.  The crowd and volume grows as additional numbers and letters chime in the lively discussion.  Whose book is this anyway?

Matters escalate when one distinguished, briefcase carrying alligator appears.  He's wondering what to do as he has been asked to be in the book.  Number grabs him because there is only one.  Letter takes him back because alligator begins with A.  The fun really starts when two bears arrive in cars now numbering 3.   2...3...B...C  Oh, boy...hang on readers.

An explosion of letters and numbers start to fill the pages; four dinosaurs carrying five eggs, six frogs delivering eight hot dogs to seven gobbling geese along with nine ice-cream cones.  Yikes!  It's a letters and numbers jamboree! Letter A and Number One are really getting in the groove as more animals arrive with items galore.

As the numbers and participants continue to grow, the two of them are actually starting to realize the absurdity of the whole predicament, especially when a pile of twenty-five balls of yarn appear.  Now let's see...  The duo reach a simultaneous conclusion strolling off, arms around their shoulders, until.... What's he doing here?


Not missing a beat, Mike Boldt begins the spirited dialogue on the double-page title spread.  Speech balloons hold one, two, three or four sentences, phrases or words depending on the fervor of the speaker and their desire to make a point.  You can feel the tension and speed of the quick-witted banter increase as the numbers get higher and the end of the alphabet gets closer.  The best part of the entire conversation is the fun the two are having trying to gain an advantage.


Opening the jacket and cover to see the entire matching illustration, the confused alligator is on the left (back) wondering if this is a book about numbers or letters and where is the front cover anyway?  Using Corel Painter Boldt digitally creates a colorful cast of characters.  His numbers and letters, like cartoon personalities with stick arms and legs, move freely among the animated animals.

It's the attention to detail coupled with the narrative which will have readers returning again and again to look over each and every page.  On one two-page spread readers can see a goose balancing two ice-cream cones on their bill, a frog sporting a black bow tie taking an order with notepad and pencil, and four dinosaurs delivering not just plain eggs but decorated Easter eggs.  By the time Number and Letter are up to 16 and 17, Pigs and Queens, the two are seated at a table, wearing headphones like two sportscasters.  Each illustration is alive, in motion and just plain fun.

1 2 3 versus A B C with words and pictures by Mike Boldt is an alphabet and counting book all rolled into one rollicking good time.  It is the perfect book to use as creative drama with students.  In fact as I was working on this review this conversation took place on Twitter.

#Bookaday I re-read @MikeBoldt's 123 versus ABC. It's a perfect read-aloud for the first week of school. http://t.co/anO5a9xmdU
— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) July 5, 2013

. @MikeBoldt's 123 Versus ABC is perfect for readers' theater. http://t.co/anO5a9xmdU
— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) July 5, 2013

@MrSchuReads That book looks awesome! Let's do it! I will get a copy. :)
— Niki Ohs Barnes (@daydreamreader) July 5, 2013

Wouldn't it be fantastic to get a whole class of upper elementary students to act the book out for younger students?

By following the link embedded in Mike Boldt's name you will be taken to his website.  The second link is to his blog where he talks about the process for making this book.  This link is to the publisher website and a one page activity sheet. Plus you have to love a book with a dedication that reads:

For my wife, Natalie, who is #1 and A+ in my book.

Look...See...Beneath...Below

When the Mock Caldecott election rolls around every year in school and public libraries, it's fun to to imagine the conversations taking place about the varied techniques employed by the illustrators in the rendering of their pictures.  Each year within my own building the discussions were lively about color, composition, detail, how skillful the particular artist was with their medium of choice and how the visuals contributed to and enhanced the storyline.  Once an explanation was offered about the means used by an illustrator to create their visuals, it was exciting to see the look of wonder on the students' faces.

One of the more popular, unusual illustrative styles is that of 1994 Caldecott Honor award winner, Denise Fleming.  With nineteen books to her credit including the newest title, underGround (Beach Lane Books), her work is easily recognizable and distinctive.  As described in the verso:

The illustrations were created by pulp painting---a papermaking technique using colored cotton fiber poured through hand-cut stencils.  Accents were added with pastel pencil and copy transfer.


Low down.
Way down.
Under ground.


High in the branches of a tree a robin watches rabbits on a garden plot.  He swoops down among the carrot tops spying a worm to tug up.  On the dirt beetles and ants are crawling as grubs nestle beneath the soil.

On top a rabbit munches as a mole meanders below.  A small child examines ants as readers see all the activity he cannot.  Chipmunks carry a feast of nuts to their tunnels as a groundhog snacks on a grassy treat.

As the story proceeds a mixture of animals above and below are highlighted busily going about their day.  The child's dog buries a bone among others deeper down.  A cherry tree is planted, carrots are picked and the two companions scamper away.


Denise Fleming's skill at using the least amount of words for the biggest impact is highly evident in this book.  Her crisp phrases relying on alliteration and rhyme convey constant motion.  It's like she's issued an invitation to everyone, "Come closer...look here, over there. Now, put on these special glasses.  Can you see beneath the above?  It's full of life, too."  When her three closing sentences match the first three, the circle is complete, but continuing.


The array of energetic greens and browns with touches of royal blue, orange and brilliant red shown on the jacket and cover are carried throughout the book.  Identical opening and closing endpapers are textured with marbled layers of dirt, lost treasures strewn about; a thimble, a bit of chain and a wrench.  A turn of page begins the story as the title, author and publishing information is shown underground with the rabbits in the garden greenery above, ants and bees joining them.

Another page turn shows a child and their dog running toward a red wheelbarrow carrying trees for planting, more publication information tucked on the far left side.  Page after page reveals lush portrayals beginning on the left spread across to the right, bleeding out to the edges, for the entire book.  Perspective, detail and the texture of the pictures makes you want to reach out and participate with more than your eyes.

At the story's completion Fleming takes readers on a short informative tour, Creature Identification.  Twenty-one small, captioned pictures set against a rusty, pebbled background feature additional facts about the critters found in this book.  It's the final jewel in a treasure chest filled to the brim.


Denise Fleming's gift is to draw our attention, to focus, on a specific aspect of our world.  In underGround we are able view the activity of above and below at the same time with an uncommon closeness.   This title is another example of why most of her titles have found a place on my personal shelves.

Enjoy the book trailer.



I've used this video with great success, especially the part where she takes viewers into her studio
to demonstrate the pulp painting process.  It is nearly forty minutes in length.