Where Are They?

I am a dyed-in-the-wool neatnik.  It's possibly the consequence of having a Dad who had all his tools organized by type and size, even engraving his initials on every single one.  My lifetime love, being a school librarian, could weigh heavily in favor of this particular personality trait.  The influence, over decades, of good ole' Melvil Dewey and alphabetical order is hard to shake.

Despite this, there are times when the most used, the most loved, item will turn up missing.  For whatever reason, my mind has one of its Swiss cheese moments. It's good to discover I share this, the forgetfulness not the neatness, in common with a particularly charming little green duck.  Have You See My New Blue Socks? (Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Sergio Ruzzier takes readers on a comic lost-and-found stroll.


I have lost my new blue socks.

Looking in a box proves futile.  Duck knows, at least he thinks he knows, he put them close.  It's a complete mystery where they could be.

He decides to ask his pal Fox if he has seen his new blue socks.  Fox, knowing Duck well, asks if he has looked in his box.  He also suggests he question Ox about those missing socks.

This is becoming quite the puzzle because Ox has no clue except for inside Duck's box, asking Fox or....wait maybe down by the rocks.  There are plenty there but none are blue.  And blue is exactly how Duck is trying not to feel.

Knowing how the peacocks like to preen and parade Duck thinks they might have passed his lost attire. The three offer a question, sympathy and a solution.  The youngest of the three (and a careful reader) spots the tiniest of clues. Hip! Hip! Hooray!  Duck knew he put them close.


Rhyming couplets and repetition of phrases masterfully conceived by Eve Bunting provide an irresistible beat.  It invites active participation in the reading and the narrative journey. Each turn of page offers new possibilities, building toward a mirthful resolution.


From the matching jacket and cover readers clearly feel the frustration of  Duck having lost his new blue socks.  We also get a sense Duck might not be the best housekeeper either.  The title page featuring a single peacock feather hints at the ending.  A two page illustration, a landscape showing a forlorn duck leaning out the window of his home, follows for the verso and dedication page.

Sergio Ruzzier's adept composition of pen and ink and watercolor pictures done in a palette of delicate blues, greens, yellows, rusts (terra cotta), purple and creams elevates and extends the text.  Fine lines convey personality traits and mood on each of the characters.  Ruzzier's extra touches, those added details, add joy to the story; Duck's unkempt household (items scattered on the floor, hanging from the open window frame and upon the sill), Duck's friend Fox reading a book (Aesop's Fables?) with a plate of grapes from the arbor next to him, Mr. Ox sitting on a bench painting a fruit tree but not quite getting the colors right, the shape of the peacocks bodies, their head and tail feathers and the shoes Duck wears.  Each reading offers new discoveries.


Author Eve Bunting and illustrator Sergio Ruzzier have penned and pictured a precious tale in Have You See My New Blue Socks?  While the story reaching out to readers, the illustrations will pull them in, surrounding them with affection and warmth.  This is one of those books that is best shared, preferably out loud.  It would be fun to extend this with reader's theater or creative drama.

The link embedded in Eve Bunting's name will take you to a series of video interviews at Reading Rockets.  Sergio Ruzzier's official website can be accessed by following the link attached to his name.  Links to several interviews about Ruzzier's illustrative process can be found in a previous review linked here.

Bee-Ginnings Of The Bear-y Best Kind

Out walking in April seeing the first robin after a long, chilly, snowy winter never fails to make me feel like dancing.  It's a sure sign that soon the air will be filled with more than birdsong, the gentle, almost imperceptible, hum of awakening insects will gradually fill the silence.  The telling perfume of skunks, and tracks of turkeys, rabbits and squirrels left in the receding snow are indications spring is coming and coming soon.

With spring comes renewal.  With renewal comes growth.  It has always seemed to make sense for growth to be most successful, understanding needs to be present.  

But if you're a bear whose winter nap is drawing to a close, renewal, growth and understanding are the last things on your mind.  Your big bear belly is telling your brain to find some food and find it fast.  Bridging the gap between hunger and honey Bear and Bee (Disney Hyperion), penned and pictured by Sergio Ruzzier, shows how the right amount of understanding can fill more than an empty stomach.

Moving about as the snow melts, putting on his red sandals, Bear gets ready to venture out.  By the time he leaves his cozy den, stretching to greet the sunny day, flowers are blooming among the green grasses. A treat is hanging from a nearby tree branch.

"I'm hungry," says Bear.

Bear's nose gives him the news a hive filled with honey is ready to be enjoyed.  A tiny being asks him if he would like some of this sweet delectable delight.  Of course he wants some but his fear of the bee stops him.

His reply when asked if he has ever seen a bee is a hearty no and he never wants to either. He believes them to be frightful, big with large teeth and sharp claws.  His small companion points out he is big...he has large teeth...and...sharp claws.

At these revelations Bear exclaims in despair,

"I AM A BEE!"

The ensuing conversation clears up the identity of each.  With that issue resolved Bear's big belly's emptiness prompts a query.  The answer is exactly what Bear and Bee need and want.


Told entirely in dialogue between the two characters, the spare text moves the narrative forward flawlessly.  Pausing at the precise point prior to a turn of page, Sergio Ruzzier elevates interest and ignites humor; knowing what to say and when.  The progression of Bear's befuddlement to bliss contrasted with Bee's complete kindness and knowledge makes this story simply charming.


A nearly matching jacket and cover introduce, in a two-page visual, the characters and color palette. (The cover includes the text from the front jacket flap in the cloud on the back.) Opening endpapers done in a steely navy feature a pattern of snowflakes, each one different.  The next six pages, introductory, title, dedication and copyright, immediately invite readers to the story as they show a passage of time from winter into spring.  It's as if we've heard once a upon a time and we get to begin right away; as it should be.

Ruzzier's expressive pen and ink drawings colored digitally on the heavier matte paper span across both pages in all the illustrations in this title.  The looks on his character's faces and their body movements conveying mood and mannerisms are priceless.  As the day moves toward night the background reflects the peaches and oranges of a setting sun.  Stars are sprinkled across the rich, bluish-purple evening-sky color on the closing endpapers.


If you are looking for a huggable, lovable tale, then Bear and Bee written and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier is the perfect choice; fear is erased with sweetness, literally and figuratively.  Please follow the link embedded in Ruzzier's name above to his official web site.  He has generously provided downloadable activity sheets for this title.

Follow this link to TeachingBooks. net to hear how he pronounces his name.  These two links are to interviews and highlights courtesy of Julie Danielson at Kirkus and Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  On both of these blog posts at Pen & Oink (here and here) more information is shared about the process of creating this book.

"Sergio Ruzzier, we're glad you are an illustrator and an author."