There's Magic In The Air

When it snows the pine boughs are frosted in downy white.  When it snows we are reminded of the diversity found in our world; no two snowflakes are alike nor is any individual.  When it snows we realize Mother Nature is in control.

Walking down a snow-covered road, as the flakes fall, footsteps softly crunching, the sliver of moon dimly shining through clouds, it feels like anything is possible.  In his debut picture book, When It Snows (Feiwel and Friends), released late this summer here in the United States, Richard Collingridge asks us to step into a world transformed by winter and imagination.  We follow a boy with his teddy bear companion on a special solstice stroll.


When it snows...
all the cars are stuck and
the train disappears.

Deep, deep snow means there is only one thing to do if you want to find your way, follow the tracks of those who went before you.  If you choose this path it might lead to other means of transportation; like riding on the backs of polar bears.  Even not being in a hurry, stopping to romp and frolic, you still will arrive at a spot you thought only existed in your dreams, the home of snowmen.

As the day ends, the light of the sun is replaced with a glowing ball, guiding your way through a darkened forest.  It brings you to the magnificent Queen of the Poles.  She in turn takes you to a place of marvels and delights.

You discover the gleaming orbs are more than they first appear to be.  You discover thousands of beings and creatures of magic living in this icy realm.  The best discovery of all... waits for your return home.

With his first set of words Richard Collingridge lets us know this snowfall is no ordinary snowfall.  No, this snowfall, of epic proportions, is extraordinary.  It opens the door into those possibilities we all feel when surrounded by a world covered in winter white.  There are only eight sentences in this book but the use of language is enchanting page after page with impeccable pacing.


I don't know about you but when I open up the jacket and cover of this book, I want to be where the boy is, seeing what he is seeing. I know with every fiber of my being that from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, he is filled with the warmth of true happiness.   The opening and closing endpapers are a solid color, the soft rose found in the boy's scarf.

A single page illustration by Richard Collingridge precedes the title pages.  It pictures a window filled with a warm light, shutters open, an unadorned evergreen tree stands in one corner, a single wrapped package beneath its branches.  In the other corner is a box with wrapping paper and tree trimmings.

The title pages begin the story; a quiet town, windows darkened, and snow falling as the sun rises.  The little boy with his teddy bear is shown in the lower left-hand corner.  All of the remaining pictures are also edge-to-edge across both pages; luminous, dreamlike, alternating in perspective and stunning in their execution.

The final single page takes readers back to the beginning.  Now the shutters are closed.  The tree is decorated; lights shining in the room, and one singular glow off to the side.  The box has been replaced with a small table; a glass of milk and a plate on top.  I would love to tell you about my favorite illustration but I don't want to spoil the story for you.


After reading When It Snows written and illustrated by Richard Collingridge, I guarantee you'll always be wondering and waiting to visit the same places, beings and creatures as did the boy and his teddy bear.  Maybe, just maybe, you will be able to do that very thing.  This is one of those titles you can expect to hear the words "Read it again".

If you follow the links embedded in Richard Collingridge's names you will be taken to his website and blog.  This link takes you to the United States publisher website which provides pages for viewing and an activity guide.  This title has been nominated for the recent CILIP Kate Greenaway Award.

Christmas "Cat" astrophe

Day by day the holidays are approaching.  Plans are being made for cookie baking and meal making.  Thoughts are drifting to gift giving, light stringing, tree decorating and hanging of the greens.

Households are full of festive fun with much to be done.  When you are Fuddles, one of the most coddled cats in creation, it stands to reason you believe all is being done for you and you alone.  Readers who were introduced to this chunky feline in Fuddles (Aladdin, May, 2011) will be delighted with his return in A Very Fuddles Christmas (Aladdin) written and illustrated by Frans Vischer.

Fuddles was a fat, pampered cat.
His family spoiled him endlessly.

When the napping Fuddles is awakened by a tantalizing smell, he naturally follows it to the source.  Greeted by the sight of a table laid with food fit for a king, Fuddles can hardly wait to pounce with pleasure.

"No, Fuddles! That's not for you!"

What!? Not for him?  How can this be true?  No matter...he scurries into the living room to discover wrapped presents, gingerbread treats and lights waiting to be put in place.  Every gesture he makes, every exploratory move, elicits negative exclamations.

When Fuddles beholds the beauty of the decorated tree, he is overwhelmed with desire, a desire to scale that magnificent model of glowing greenery.  Timberrrr....  Uh, oh... In a furry hurry, Fuddles heads out of the room straight to the out-of-doors.

Dumbfounded by all the whiteness, he wonders what happened to the grass, flowers  and leaves.  The temperature is much too chilly for Fuddles' taste.  To his frustration the door is closed and no amount of yowling can get his family's attention.

In an attempt to locate the back door (perhaps it is open) Fuddles meanders around the yard getting colder and hungrier.  When a couple of troublesome squirrels shake a pile of snow on him, that's the last straw.  Hot on their tails, Fuddles goes up...up...and up...right into more trouble.  You can be sure this is one Christmas Fuddles will always remember.

Using his family's cat as inspiration, Frans Vischer writes a narrative as someone who knows how the feline mind works; cat attitude, fears and feats are portrayed in comedic truth.  Fuddles may be pampered, but when he's on the move there's plenty of action.  Descriptive phrases, individual words, paint precise pictures as Fuddles' latest escapade is told.  Here is an example.

Whoops!
Whoosh!
Bump!
Like a pioneer frontiersman, Fuddles bravely faced the elements...
through the bitter cold and biting wind...


Taking a single look at the matching front and back, jacket and cover, you can feel the corners of your mouth curve upward into a big grin.  Tangled in a string of lights, wreath about his neck or popping out of an open Christmas box with the tree topper firmly attached to his head, Fuddles clearly is up to another adventure, a holiday adventure.  Paw prints travel across the verso to the second, primary title page showcasing a contented, smiling Fuddles sitting next to a plate of cookies.

Illustrations created digitally by Frans Vischer, in full color, depict Fuddles in all his feline glory.  With adept ease, Vischer transitions from a full page visual to small vignettes to two page spreads with a layout designed to hold the reader's attention page by page.  The body language and facial expressions on Fuddles are completely giggle inducing; just thinking about his overly plump stomach makes me grin.  I burst out laughing at the first page, Fuddles lying on his purple settee, red pillow under his head, quilt covering his body, cucumber slices over his eyes, assorted desserts on the table next to him, all by a roaring fire in the fireplace.  My favorite illustration is a series of six looks and body positions when Fuddles is clearly in a precarious spot.  I could look at it over and over.


Whether you are a lover of cats, Christmas or both, A Very Fuddles Christmas written and illustrated by Frans Vischer is a title you will want to add to your shelves.  This book delivers the best gift of all, laughter.  Please stop by the links embedded above to access the Fuddles website, Frans Vischer's website and blog, and my review of Fuddles.  By following this link to the publisher's website you can get a glimpse of a couple of interior pages.  UPDATE:  Here is a link to Carter Higgins's blog, Design of the Picture Book, where she highlights this title and interviews Frans Vischer.

Gifts of December

It's the first full week in November. We had snow, hail and sleet off and on for days last month and more has arrived today. We've had our first Winter Weather Advisory and Lake Effect Snow Advisory along with the accompanying Gale Warnings.  Winter won't officially be here for another forty-four days on December twenty-first but Mother Nature has plans of her own.

Despite all our advancements in weather predictions, the potential for surprises still exists.  In no time at all, an event can materialize when we least expect it.  Winning a forever place in our hearts, announcing his presence with  putt puff puttedy chuff, the courageous little red tractor has returned in An Otis Christmas (Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.).  Written and illustrated by Loren Long, Otis reminds us, as he did in Otis, Otis and the Tornado and Otis and the Puppy, where there is a will, there is a way.


It was wintertime on the farm where the friendly little tractor named Otis lived.  Snow covered the hills, church bells rang through the cold wintry valley, and Christmas was almost here.

Around the farm, the farmer has been busy decorating with strings of lights, wreaths and ornaments, even on the tree outside.  Otis' love of Christmas is multiplied this year; the mare is about to deliver a foal.  His excitement at welcoming a new member into his circle of friends has him putt puff puttedy chuffing in joyous anticipation.

When Otis thinks life could not get any better, it does.  On Christmas Eve the farmer gifts Otis with a brand new horn.

"A special tractor needs a special horn."

As the snow begins to fall, announcing the beginning of the predicted storm, our marvelous mechanical friend drifts off to sleep.

The sound of talking, worried voices, awakens Otis.  There is trouble, serious trouble, with the mare who is now lying on her side. The farmer and his helper both agree she needs Doc Baker to live through the night.

When the farmhand attempts to drive the truck through the piles of snow, he ends up stuck in a drift.  With determination and bravery Otis sets off into the stormy night taking a short cut to Doc Baker's house.  Snow makes the woods look different; Otis realizes he is lost.

This is Christmas Eve though, the night of miracles. A path is taken. A gift sounds a call for help.  As dawn breaks on Christmas morning an extraordinary new sight is there for all to see.


With a single sentence, Loren Long reaches out a hand which readers gladly hold, as he takes us back into the world of Otis and his farm family.  Paragraph by paragraph he brings us into the rhythm of life on the farm.  Much like the storytellers of old Long's words surround us; we get a true sense of the sights and sounds.  We can hear the animals enjoying their Christmas Eve feast, we understand the worry filling the heart and mind of the farmer, and we travel with Otis through the cold, wind and deep snow.

This life on the farm is not without its problems, but in the character of Otis we have a champion.  When you think about it, imagine how tractors have changed the face of farming, not only for the work in the fields but for the numerous tasks they accomplish on a daily basis.  I'll wager they've saved the day more than once on farms throughout the country.  This is Otis, a friend who sees a need, does the deed no matter what the risks may be.  Here are a couple passages from this book.

The horse was pacing back and forth, breathing heavily, and swinging her head up and down.
Something was wrong.

The truck lunged forward, fishtailed this way and that, and promptly slid down the hill, plunging into a snowdrift. Otis watched as the farmhand spun the tires deeper and deeper into the snow.


On the matching jacket and cover, Loren Long sends out an invitation for readers to join Otis in this special holiday.  (Gold foil is used for Christmas on the jacket.) On the back he features an illustration from inside circled in red; Otis is getting his gift from the farmer.  As in the other titles a tiny Otis is racing toward the ISBN barcode.  Cool blue endpapers compliment the jacket and cover, matching the chill of winter.  Using ample white space the empty tree, shadow falling across the snow, with two geese gazing upward and scattered ornaments, a red ribbon, a gift card and the horn, are the sole illustrations on the two separate title pages.

Throughout this title as we shift from inside the barn to the outside on the farm and outlying areas, Long alternates his palette shades to reflect a warmth, a soft glow of light seen in the barn windows, the closeness and familial feeling among the animals and their human caretakers in contrast to the same color as on the endpapers, predominant when we are out in the winter weather.  When you turn the page to the first illustration, there's Otis putt puff puttedy chuffing through the snow, the calf and puppy at his side.  In the distance is the bull by the barn, the special tree, tiny on the hillside.  All the stories are brought together in this picture.  We feel at home immediately.

That's the loving skill of Loren Long, using gouache and pencil, to bring his readers another story of Otis.  Whether double page or single page pictures framed in those thicker black wavy lines, each one draws us deeper into the world of Otis, enhancing the narrative. Details define the setting further, puffs of smoke coming from Otis and chimneys, snow spitting out from tractor tires as Otis climbs, tiny colored lights strung around a porch roof, large snowflakes against a stormy sky or light from the barn casting shadows on the snow.  As in the other books, it's nearly impossible to select a favorite illustration but the close-up of Otis admiring his horn in the barn is joyful and charming.


In An Otis Christmas Loren Long honors the genuine meaning of Christmas, the bond formed between family and friends and the heart-warming spirit of a single tractor always ready to do the right thing.  After meeting Loren Long at the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition this summer, the gentleman working with him invited me to look at the F & G of this title.  There amid all the hubbub swirling around me, I was able to step inside the book leaving it all behind.  Then and now, I am deeply touched by this open, simple and sincere story.

Please follow the link embedded in Loren Long's name to access his website.  There you will find drawings and paintings from this book.  Otis has his own website now.  Enjoy these and the video below.