A Grin, A Worldwide Win

It's an indisputable fact the older we get, the more wrinkles we have.  Many of mine can be attributed to too much sun. Others around my eyes and mouth I wear with a sense of peace.  Those are my smile wrinkles.  Wherever I go, I carry this gift with me, a smile, knowing it's worth giving.

I have another gift... for myself.  I call it The Smile poem.  You know the one I mean.  It's one of those poems you can keep in your pocket.  Here are the first three and the final two sentences:

A smile costs nothing but gives much.  
It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give.
It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever....
Some people are too tired to give you a smile.
Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile as much as he who has no more to give.

That is the simple beauty of a smile.  You have no concept of its impact on those who experience your wordless cheer.  In Because Amelia Smiled (Candlewick Press) David Ezra Stein, winner of a Caldecott Honor award for Interrupting Chicken and author/illustrator of Love, Mouserella, has created a book brightly, beautifully portraying his view of the significance of a single unintentional act of kindness, a smile.

Because Amelia smiled, coming down the street...
Mrs. Higgins smiled, too.

Running in the rain with her parents, Amelia's joyful exuberance is contagious.  Her smile ignites an unbroken chain of unanticipated events.  When Mrs. Higgins smiled her grandson came to mind.  She bakes cookies, sending them to him in Mexico.  Sharing them with his students, he decides to teach them a song in English about cookies.

These smiles go from one person to another; a kickboxer, a ballerina, a dancing child, a queen of rumba, a former clown, a high-wire artist and more.  Geographical boundaries are non-existent.  Traveling around the globe, landing in places such as England, Israel, Paris, and a small community in Italy, it creates a teacher, lulls a child to sleep, and rekindles a long ago love.  

The lines between age, gender and culture blur.  Connections strengthen and memories are stirred.  It is with the release of a flock of pigeons Amelia again has cause to smile; her delight has journeyed and returned.

When reading this book, as each page is turned, readers will feel their own smile grow larger and larger.  I know mine did as I felt the stitches of my life become part of a greater whole.  David Ezra Stein's technique of using the word because as a link between people and their actions tightens the story as it circles the globe, bringing it back to Amelia and to the title.  It is in the descriptive, spare, everyday-life narrative that emotions seep from between the lines, encircling readers, binding them to each person in the story.


It's interesting to note Stein brings the last illustration in the book to the front cover slightly shifting characters, enlarging its perspective.  With this we again feel the continuous circle made by Amelia's smile.  The initial title page is a pigeon's eye view of a segment of New York City.  Zooming in for the second title page and verso the intricate detail prevalent throughout the book becomes abundantly clear.  

The many shades and hues of color happily shout, "To life!"  Many of the two page spreads bleed to the edge with the text tucked in the picture.  Other times these spreads will have a white border on the bottom providing a frame, background, for the story lines.  When a single page is placed on the right, the left features two smaller spot visuals surrounded by white.

For the illustrations in this title David Ezra Stein developed a unique skill using pencil, water soluble crayon, and watercolor.  The effect is magical, marvelous.  I want to frame the close-up of Amelia and her parents running in the rain and Gregor buying flowers for Phyllis. (This illustration with the text is dear, heartwarming, and absolutely charming.)


Because Amelia Smiled written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein is like your favorite memory.  You never want to let it go but you want everyone to know.  It's pure bliss.

These are the videos with David Ezra Stein explaining his illustrative technique for this title.  It's in a word, amazing.






Head over to John Schumacher's blog at Watch. Connect. Read. to view the book trailer and to enter his giveaway for a copy of this book.  

I have embedded the link to David Ezra Stein's website in his name above.  Here is a link to Inspiration Kits with Because Amelia Smiled.  The link for David Ezra Stein discusses the story behind the story of Because Amelia Smiled is here.

Here is a link for World Smile Day held the first Friday in October each year.

It's going to rain here again today.  I think I'll going running in it, arms outstretched, smiling.  You never know what will happen.

Monster Moments

What is it exactly about monsters that kids find so fascinating, scary and most of the time, fun?  Books about Nessie and Bigfoot are rarely on the shelves, constantly checked out as soon as they are returned.  At Halloween one of the most popular stories I tell to my older students is The Night of the Sasquatch.

Monsters, more home-grown, are said to be in closets or under the bed.  Oh, yes, I remember the days of not hanging any portion of my body over the bed at night; you couldn't be too careful.  Monsters come in all shapes, sizes and dispositions but the best kind of monsters are full of surprises.

Patrick McDonnell, Caldecott Honor winner for Me...Jane, illustrator of the popular Mutts comic strip and other books containing those irresistibly lovable characters, has written and illustrated a new title for us to enjoy.  The Monsters' Monster (Little, Brown and Company), recently released, is one of those stories where sometimes what you want is not what you need.  You never know, based on the exterior, what the interior will reveal.

Grouch, Grump, and little Gloom 'n' Doom thought they were monsters.

If living in huge, gloomy castle perched on a tall, formidable mountain casting a shadow on a charming village below counts as monster criteria, these three fit the bill.  They're loud (smash, crash and bash), constantly cranky and definitely negative; no being their favorite word. Whining about nothing, having fits of anger, moaning in woe, and fighting about who is the most monstrous of all has their calendar filled in month after month.

Then the trio hatch a plan to construct---

The biggest, baddest monster EVER!

In true Frankenstein style, during a dark and story night, their wrapped giant is lifted into the air, lightning striking him into life.  Amid the elated cheers of Grouch, Grump and little Gloom and Doom, this colossal creation staggers forward arms outstretched.  Uttering two words which completely flabbergasts his new companions, he gathers them up in a group hug.

The Monster opens the window letting in the sunny morning light, he greets all the creepy crawlies in the room and in a burst of true gratitude crashes through the wall.  Oh boy, the threesome are gleeful now; this is true-blue monster behavior.  They follow him down the mountain, down the street and wait restlessly outside a shop.

Where are the screams and moans of despair and fright?  In silence he leaves, bag in hand.  Like cars on a train they follow him to the beach. In the stillness of the sunrise they receive his treats, speaking what they have learned and...being monsters is the last thing on their minds.

The cadence of Patrick McDonnell's narrative sometimes using repetition, rhyme, a series of  questions or a single word, all carefully selected, is magical. The sentences and phrases roll right off your tongue into your storytelling heart, a smile beginning to form on your face.  Readers become a part of the tale so much so that when it ends, they want to stay.

Opening up the book's jacket on the back the three little troublemakers are hopping around, arms raised  wondering what they could possibly have done.  The gray on the jacket is deepened on the cover with only a single, different visual on the front taken from the book.  The orange with black endpapers suggest storm clouds in the front and a sun rising above the sea in the back.

I love the heavy paper used in making this book, beginning with a gray tone background which becomes lighter, warmer near the end.  Despite the dusky, muted hues for most of the book, there is a playfulness present in the splashes of black ink, the monsters' movements and facial expressions (some will elicit peals of laughter).  Full page closeups, two page spreads, small vignettes, go hand-in-hand with the text, complimenting every descriptive thought, action or piece of dialogue.

Patrick McDonnell has written and illustrated a story filled with the improbable becoming possible; a peek at what an attitude of gratitude can bring.  The Monsters' Monster is a visual joy filled to the brim with zip, zap and wow.  For Halloween this title is perfect but really any time of the year will do, because readers just can't get enough of those monsters.

Here is a link to an interview with Patrick McDonnell about this book at Publishers Weekly.