Choosing the Right Words

"A book is a wonderful present. Though it may grow worn, it will never grow old."

-Jane Yolen*

Courtesy Bookplate Ink

*via SCBWI Tumbler

K is for Kelly Murphy

K is for Kelly Murphy*

Oops! "K" should have posted yesterday. So sorry.

I hope you can still enjoy this art spotlight a day late. Thanks for your patience.

I love to browse the library and bookstore shelves for hidden gems. I confess, I still prefer to judge a book by its cover. (I'm pretty good at judging by the spine too!) Anyway, One day about 8 years ago, I spotted this little beauty. Ooooo, how that cover made me grab it from the shelf and dive between the covers.

At the Sign of the Star,
by Katherine Sturtevant.
Cover by Kelly Murphy

I loved this book. Set in England in the late 1600's, this novel follows the bookish life of 12-year old Meg. She may be a bit of a feminist, but the characters, settings, and historical details made this an engaging read.


It turned out the cover was painted by Kelly Murphy. I didn't know her back then, but you'd be hard pressed not to know her now.  Below you'll find a few of her more heralded projects.

The Miniature World of
Marvin & James,
by Elise Broach 

The Mouse With
the Question Mark Tail,
by Richard Peck

Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters,
by Jane Yolen

It is no surprise that Kelly's signature style has been honored by the Society of Illustrators, and that her books have garnered so much attention. Neither should it surprise you that she counts Edward Gorey and Shaun Tan among her heroes. Take a look at these fantastic pen and ink illustrations.

Kelly Murphy from Behind the Bookcase

 

Courtesy Kelly Murphy

You can hear more about Kelly's work on Mark Steensland's Behind the Bookcase.




You can find another interesting interview including her process at EMU's Debuts.

Of course, Kelly has her cuddly side too.

Mother's Day Card, by Kelly Murphy

Visit her at www.kelmurphy.com/

*Follow the A to Z Challenge.

PPBF: Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

Follow the link to 

the A to Z Challenge.

Today's Perfect Picture Book Friday pick helps celebrate National Poetry Month.

Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night
Written by Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Rick Allen
Houghton Mifflin, 2010
Poetry and Non-Fiction, grades 3-6
word count 2604

Themes:
Poetry, Nature, Animals


Opening:

To all of you who crawl and creep,
who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep,
who wake at dusk and throw off sleep;
Welcome to the night.

To you who make the forest sing,
who dip and dodge on silent wing,
who flutter, hover, clasp, and cling:
Welcome to the night!

Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze,
come smell your way among the trees,
come touch rough bark and leathered leaves:
Welcome to the night.

The night's a sea of dappled dark,
the night's a feast of sound and spark,
the night's a wild enchanted park.
Welcome to the night!


Synopsis:
        Dark Emperor & Other Poems is a beautiful blend of poetry and non-fiction over the backdrop of a forest at night. Each left-hand page has a poem. Some about the night itself. Most are about animals which roam the night: raccoon, snail, cricket, baby porcupette. The right-hand page has a description of the animal and its habits. Half poetry, half nature guide, this lyrical book made me feel as if I were in the woods at night, everything stirring around me. No wonder it won a Newbery Honor.
       Rick Allen's superb relief prints illustrate the poems in stunning detail. Though the prints are beautiful in themselves, they also act as a perfect compliment to the text.


What I Love:
I like poetry. This book makes me LOVE poetry. This book makes me love non-fiction picture books.
It begins with a wordless double-page spread which works almost like an endpaper. The illustration shows an owl swooping out of the forest at dusk. Rick injects a bit of whimsy too as an orange eft makes his way across each page. My favorite poem is Oak After Dark - just lovely.
After the last poem, the hauntingly beautiful  Moon's Lament, this book closes as it opened, with a double spread of the forest. This time the illustration shows the breaking dawn. The whole forest, the whole night, captured between the covers of a picture book.

Bonus:

1.The author has an available reader's guide.
2. You can find an interview with Joyce on Seven Impossible Things.
3. You can purchase prints from Kenspeckle Letterpress.

From DisneyBaby.com

4. There's an interesting peek into the illustrator's process on Challenging the Bookworm..
5. Enchanted Learning has some educational materials on nocturnal animals.
6. Visit a zoo to see the animals up close, like San Diego, Philadelphia, or The National Zoo. If you can't be there in person, most zoos have informative websites.
7. NuggetsOfGold has posts basic diorama instructions which can be modified to depict nocturnal animals.

8. Oreo owl cupcakes are a delicious treat for storytime.
9. Here are some other Perfect Picture Books you might enjoy.

Posted by Kristen Larson

Posted by  ClarBoJahn

Posted by Heather Newman

Posted by Laura Renauld

Posted by Kelly Korenek

Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday for April 4, 2014 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's excellent blog.

Word Choice

"Words are never too big for children, as long as they are the right words."

-Jane Yolen*

AutoLithography by Karel Benes, 2004

* Courtesy SCBWI

PPBF: Tam Lin

Today's Perfect Picture Book Friday pick

Tam Lin by Jane Yolen and Charles Mikolaycak

Tam Lin
Written by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990,
Fiction, grades 3-5

Themes:
Folk Tale, Bravery, Magic

Opening:
"There was once a strange, forbidding castle with ruined towers on a weedy piece of land called Carterhaugh."

Synopsis:
This is a retelling of the ancient Scottish ballad, Tamlane. Jennet is the heir to a Scottish castle which has been put under a faery spell. On her sixteenth birthday, she goes to claim her birthright, and discovers a boy who was stolen by the faeries over a hundred years before, the doomed Tam Lin. Jennet must withstand the magic of the Faery Queen if she is to regain her land and save Tam Lin.


What I Love:
This book is classic late 20th century picture book gold. The hefty word count and stylized illustrations draw the reader again and again. Jane Yolen tells the harrowing adventure in vivid language.
"His hand still held hers, but his fingers had grown cold as snow."
"On Hallow's Eve Jennet stole away from her house. She wore a skirt and bodice as red as human blood."
"The queen and her troupe turned back through the mist and rode silently over the moonlight like so many shadows."
They just don't publish many picture books like this anymore.
The illustrations are by master picture maker, Charles Mikolaycak. His bold colors and limited palette set the mystic mood. His use of graphic black shapes is as magical as the story's events.
I cut my teeth on these feasts for the imagination. 25 years later, and I still love them.

Interior art by Charles Mikolaycak, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil

Bonus:

1.Read the original text of the ballad, on which the story was based.

By Jane Yolen and
Susan Guevara

2. Jane Yolen has written many collections of folk tales and authored many picture books. Why not start an evening tradition of telling tales by the fire? Try Not One Damsel In Distress, Tales of Wonder, or Once Upon a Bedtime Story.
2. Charles Mikolaycak designed the Scottish tartans for the clans featured in the book, and combines them into a third for the married couple. Design your own family plaid online or with crayons and paper.

3. A rose is the magical object which summons Tam Lin from under the Green Hill. In warmer climates you can plant a rose bush of your own. Here in Pennsylvania, I'll have to be content with a mini tabletop rose available from the local garden center.

Dress your little fey
in play scarves from Magic Cabin.

4. Get in the highland mood. Check out the library's collection of Scottish music, bagpipe and drum, or compositions by Scot William Wallace on CD.
5. This story would be great fun to act out. You'll need some fabric for kilts and mantles, a rose, a small bottle and a handful of dirt, and the animal costumes for the conflict with the faery queen. I recommend snake sock puppets, a yarn lion hood, and silk scarves for the fire. (tissue paper works well too)




Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for January 17,2014, available on Susanna Leonard Hill's excellent blog.

PB 300 March Update

Here are a few of the picture book titles I've been reading this month.

The Book of Jonah,
by Peter Spier

Teacher's Pets,
by Dayle Ann Dodds
and Marylin Hafner

Drawing Lessons
from a Bear,
by David McPhail

Owl Moon,
by Jane Yolen
and John Schoenherr

Dragon Dancing,
by Carole Lexa Schaefer
and Pierr Morgan

The Trouble With Elephants,
by Chris Riddell

A Knot of Toads

I have hardly mentioned chapter books in any previous post, so I thought it time to highlight a few.

Newberry Award winner,
Frog and Toad Together
by Arnold Lobel

No childhood would be complete without the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel.  Days With Frog and Toad is the first in this lyrical series of adventures.  In simple but engaging language, Lobel gets us to smile as these two friends  fight and laugh their way through everyday activities:  planting a garden, taking a ride, flying a kite.  These books are an absolute must for the illustrations alone.  Especially geared to readers grade 1-3, but appropriate for toddlers to adults.

Garden State
Children's Book Award
winner, by
Jane Yolen

Master storyteller Jane Yolen is better known for her picture books or middle grade novels, than for her easy to read chapter books.  Nonetheless, the Commander Toad series for readers 6-9, has equal appeal. Bruce Degen's humorous characterizations of the crew of the Star Warts and the galactic oddities they encounter are the perfect compliment to the writing.  Commander Toad books are a sure-fire way to turn reluctant readers into bookworms.

On an interesting aside, Bruce Degen lists Arnold Lobel as an early influence on his work.

For more amphibian adventures, check out Tuesday by David Wiesner.

And for a challenging quiz, test your knowledge at FunTrivia: Animal groupings with a twist.