Pumpkin Potential

It's that time of year when the stalls and tables at farmers' markets, are replete with the color orange.  Small, tall, round, squat and large, pumpkins form into an assortment of shapes and sizes.  People scan the rows looking for one, two, three or more pumpkins which will be used as an ingredient in a favorite recipe, an autumn display or as a spooky greeter for trick-or-treaters.

Some pumpkins are not for sale.  These pumpkins have been grown as part of a competition that circles the globe, the quest for the largest pumpkin.  Last year the biggest ever recorded was grown in Rhode Island.  It weighed 2009 pounds!  Author illustrator Wendell Minor's newest release, How BIG Could Your Pumpkin Grow? ( Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.) plants the "what if" seed taking readers on a marvelous journey.

At the pumpkin farm,
we pick the perfect pumpkin.
Some are little,
some are big,
and some are GIANT-sized.

From the farm to the festival, the pumpkins are getting bigger and bigger.  Skimming over the water as boats, people paddling toward a goal.  Knee-high to the legend and his ox of blue, pumpkins are growing.

If we had seeds, not ordinary seeds, but magic seeds, imagine the greatness these gourds could achieve.  We might see one among all the hot-air giants floating in the sky at the Balloon Festival in New Mexico.  We might see another standing watch along the sandy coast of North Carolina, light shining through a jack-o-lantern grin, matching the height of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

From a bridge connecting one borough to another, to a historic oil field and on to the tallest roller coaster in the world, these pumpkins are traversing the country; their size ever increasing.  Washington, D.C., South Dakota and California are only three of fourteen stops on the tour.  Whether it's natural wonders carved by the hands of time or structures designed by the minds and hands of men and women, nothing is too great for the pumpkins coming from seeds charmed by one's imagination.


You can only wonder at the fun Wendell Minor had researching and writing the narrative for this book.  For each of the places showcased, a different synonym of big is used in the sentences.  Light, informal and with a slight cadence each sentence, each paragraph, makes us feel as if we have traveled to the same time and place as the pumpkins.   Readers are treated to the descriptive power of word play and the creative use of language.  Here is a single sample.

Would it rise as
HIGH
as hot-air balloons
at the 
fall fiesta fair?


You can feel the exuberance of the two children atop the enormous pumpkin on the front of the matching jacket and cover.  The warm autumnal colors found there glow throughout the title.   All the two-page illustrations rendered in gouache and watercolor issue a friendly invitation to readers.  Come.  Let's see how big these pumpkins can grow.  Let's see where they will appear next.

Wendell Minor is a master illustrator, bringing each of the visited vistas, from their respective places on the map into the reader's world.  His lively paintings picture exquisite details, the label on the scarecrow's bib overalls, the rower wearing a pumpkin hat, the vine on a pumpkin top, a tiny U. S. flag on the bridge, eyes on monuments moved to look at a pumpkin or a small plane pulling a Pumpkin for President banner. For each of the "big" words he changes font type as a reflection of the area in which the pumpkin sits. The smiles and gasps of awe are an ode to happiness, to the greatness not only of the pumpkins' sizes but to the points of interest in our United States.  One of my favorite illustrations is of the Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico.  The vivid colors, the perspective focusing on the balloons, the wide-eyed pumpkin with all the much smaller people and tents below, make me feel as if I am there.


Wendell Minor informs, delights, questions and entertains us with his words and illustrations in How BIG Could Your Pumpkin Grow?  You will be hard pressed to find a better title that encourages readers to envision places of interest they might visit, to explore word choice and to develop their powers of creativity all while appreciating pumpkins.  Additional information about each of the national places of interest is included at the book's end.  To view additional artwork found in this title visit Wendell Minor's website by following the link embedded in his name above.  I would pair this book with The Pumpkin Circle: A Story of a Garden by George Levenson with photographs by Shmuel Thaler.

Enjoy the book trailer plus another video about large, very large pumpkins.

 

Which One Is Which?

I have a deep and abiding respect for any animal in the wild, being keenly aware of the precarious place in which many find themselves with the diminishing areas left for them to live on our planet.  Although I long to see some in their own habitat, free from the encroachment of human population, I wish to do so from afar.  I've been told crossings are being made from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Lower Peninsula when the lakes freeze over in the winter.

Wolves, cougars and black bears have been sighted in the tip of the Mitt but not by me.  A black bear decided to take a stroll within our city limits several years ago.  Fortunately there are authors and illustrators who are dedicated to informing readers of those animals unlikely to be observed by most.  If You Were a Panda Bear (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers) by Wendell and Florence Minor takes us on a trip around the globe so we can met eight members of the bear family.

If you were a panda bear,
Guess what you would wear?

Pandas don a coat patterned like no other and enjoy snoozing when not eating a bunch of bamboo.  Their timid nature is something young readers will understand.  I wonder why the sloth bear has those long claws?  Why is their hair so long?

Blending with the color of snow, a polar bear peeks through a hole in the ice.  Perhaps a next meal will be spotted.  You know it's true but sometimes you forget to look up, up in a tree for a black bear.

It's a sliver, a sliver of the moon, that's printed on the moon bear's furry chest.  His brother the sun bear is smaller.  To get his sweet treat, his tongue is different than most.

Salmon is a tasty meal but I don't think I want to ask a ten foot grizzly bear to share.  Meeting a new friend within the pages of a book is the best.  I wouldn't feel shy about wearing my glasses around a spectacled bear.  There is one bear, of course, the most well-known and treasured of all.  Can you guess what it's called?


Geared toward younger readers but equally enjoyable for any age, Florence Minor writes a series of four-line poems about each of these bears.  Woven into the cheerful, rhyming verses are facts about physical characteristics, diet and habits.  Beginning each with the words, If you were a... , encourages reader involvement; after the first couple of poems listeners will be adding their voice to the opening line.  The rhythm created by these poetic introductions invites repeated readings. (I've read it at least four times already.)


The realistic, spectacular paintings of Wendell Minor begin on the matching jacket and cover.  Walking in a row showing the difference in shape, color and size are four of the bears beneath the initial title page.  (All are shown in this manner across the final two pages, Bear Fun Facts.)  Beneath the title on the following two pages, all eight bears are facing forward, lively and intent, mainly their heads and upper bodies.

Throughout the body of the book, double page spreads are dedicated to the bears; sometimes two sets.  The texture, the softened quality, of each painting is remarkable.  Minor's dedication to showing his subjects in their natural setting adds to the authenticity of his artwork.  Readers will believe at any moment, the bears could come to life.  One of my favorites is the close-up of the sun bear, tongue extended licking the honey, bees swarming about, one enlarged bee coming straight toward the reader.

If You Were a Panda Bear by Wendell and Florence Minor is a lively first look at bears known and unknown.  While facts are included in the poems and at the book's end, this is the type of nonfiction book which promotes further investigation.  I can see posting a world map and locating the natural residence of the bears; perhaps by making a Popplet.  As more information is discovered students could write their own four line poems to include what they've found.  Bear Sources and Websites, a short bibliography, is the final page in the book.  I highly recommend this title.

The New England Independent Booksellers Association recently named Wendell and Florence Minor the recipients of the President's Award for a lifetime achievement in arts and letters.


Please follow the link embedded in Wendell Minor's name above to access the couple's website. There you can view more pages from this title.  This link is to the publisher website.  They offer inside views of the book and a simple activity sheet.  Enjoy the book trailer.

Soaring The Skies...

Without fail their very presence gives one pause.  Gliding through the air without a sound or sitting in a tree or nest like a silent sentinel, they are the essence of royalty.  With a wing span between six and eight feet, the bald eagle is one of nature's most impressive creatures.

We nearly lost all this beauty.  Thankfully for now and future generations there were people who recognized the dangers; doing what they could to save this magnificent bird.  In The Eagles Are Back (Dial Books for Young Readers) written by the late Jean Craighead George with paintings by Wendell Minor, readers follow the efforts of one boy; seeing the difference a single individual can make.


Years ago a boy climbed to an eagle nest in an old tree by a remote lake.

He is worried about two adult bald eagles he has named Uncle Sam and First Lady; not having seen them for some time.  As he peers down into the nest he sees two crushed eggs.

The boy knows his friend the ranger is worried about their diminishing numbers.  The boy knows when the bald eagle was chosen as our national bird there were a half a million populating this great nation; a huge part of an ecological food chain.  Now there are only 450 pairs left.

Hunters, loss of habitat and the use of DDT (since banned) are all contributing factors.  Not having eaglets to watch this year will be strange.  Two things happen to the boy as he is leaving the forest; Uncle Sam swoops down to get a fish and his friend, the ranger, has a special treasure to show him.

Another ranger in Alaska sent him an eagle egg. He is hoping Uncle Sam and First Lady will adopt it. In order for this to work though the boy's help is necessary.  Called to duty in another park the ranger asks the boy to watch the nest.

If the pair of eagles do not return to the nest within four days, the boy's duties will no longer be needed. Day one, he whistles. They do not come. Day two, he whistles. They do not come.

On the third day the boy calls to them all day until the sun is setting.  Without warning they suddenly appear, flying to the nest.  The boy watches as first Uncle Sam, then First Lady take a turn sitting on the egg.  They've made the egg their own.

Waiting and watching, watching and waiting, the boy helps as he best knows how. A egg, a pair of bald eagles, two park rangers and this boy turn hope into reality, so that some day a father can bring his son to see more than thirty eagles.  The skies never looked so good.


Over the years reading the works of Jean Craighead George one can't help but fall under the spell of her words; words taking us deep into the natural world, giving us a great respect and appreciation for those creatures sharing our planet.  She informs by weaving what is known to be true into her narratives as well as inviting us to look further, igniting an interest.  In this particular title I was curious to know how close to the truth the story was, so I sent an email to her friend of twenty-two years and collaborator, Wendell Minor.

Mr. Minor's response was:

Jean Craighead George's older twin brothers, John and Frank, were the first raptor keepers in the United States, and were indeed involved in saving eagles.  "The Eagles Are Back" is based on their endeavors, but is told through the fictional character of a young boy."

In the conversation of this email he also informed me there will be one more title released in 2014 illuminating their shared talents, Galapagos George.  He closed the email with good news just received this week about Jean Craighead George.







Wendell Minor welcomes readers to this title with his matching jacket and cover  rendered (as are all the paintings) using

Winsor & Newton designer's gouache and watercolor with pencil on Strathmore 500 bristol board

in rich, warm colors.  The back illustration is taken from within the body of the work; the boy is tossing a fish he caught to the eagle to feed the eaglet.  A close up of an eagle in flight spans the title page followed by the verso and dedication with a two page panoramic view of a valley overlooked by the eagle pair.

Minor alternates his painting sizes as a reflection of the text.  All of the double and single page spreads go edge to edge to give the reader a sense of wonder but also an intimacy with the story.  When text appears opposite a one page illustration a wide border is formed with a fine golden line; each of these pages featuring a smaller inset painting.  His perspective, lines, and brush strokes combine to create a living breathing texture; a truly realistic rendition.


The Eagles Are Back by Jean Craighead George with paintings by Wendell Minor portrays the importance, the beautiful unbroken chain, that was and needs to be protected and preserved.  It is meant to and can be enjoyed by all ages.  Please visit the author and illustrator websites via the links embedded in their names.

An illustrator's note on the verso explains the research process Wendell Minor used prior to beginning his paintings. There is a short bibliography of websites on bald eagles at the conclusion of the book.  Mr. Minor and his wife, Florence, were gracious enough to include two additional images in their emails which are shown below.