A Wonderful Year

The talented Nick Bruel has turned his attention from his "Bad Kitty" series (of which I am a huge fan) to compose a picture book on the seasons. If you think that means Bruel has forsaken his wicked imagination for a boring concept book, think again. A Wonderful Year has all of his trademark humor and off-kilter take on life.

Broken into four "chapters," each section focuses on a specific season and features an unnamed girl protagonist. We start in winter, with snow falling. Inside, as the girl hurries to play outside, she's told by her parents to wear her boots and earmuffs. Then the family dog and cat chime in, instructing her to put on her snow pants and scarf. Next she hears from a purple hippo named Louise, a tree, the refrigerator, and even a can of beans. By the time she's completely swaddled in outerwear, it's spring and time to undress. In "Spring Splendor," the girl cavorts outdoors with her frisky (talking) dog and the pair finagle a grouchy cat into playing with them. By summer, it's so hot that the girl is melting--literally. She becomes a puddle of blue liquid that Louise the hippo slurps up  and shoves into the freezer to cool off. Fall finds our heroine relaxing under a tree while reading "a book of stories about a girl and all the wonderful things she does throughout the year."As it starts to get cold again, the tree gives up its last leaf to the girl for her to use as a bookmark and the story come full circle with the girl running off to put on a sweater.

Alternating between full-bleed spreads and comic-book-style panels, A Wonderful Year is an enticing introduction to the seasons, one that beginning readers can dip into again and again in the coming months.

A Wonderful Year
by Nick Bruel
Roaring Brook Press, 40 pages
Published: January 2015

Happy Birthday, Mr. Dodgson!

Today is the 183rd birthday of Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland.

This year is also the 150th anniversary of that children's classic. To celebrate this momentous occasion, many organizations are putting on special exhibits. Here are a few of the more notable ones you might like to add to your calendar.

February 12 to Spring 2015 (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Vassar College: The Age of Alice: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Nonsense in Victorian England.

June 26 to October 11 (New York, NY)
The Morgan Library & Museum: "Alice: 150 Years of Wonderland"

July 4 (Oxford, UK)
Alice's Day at Oxford

September 15 to November 15 (New York, NY)
Grolier Club: "Alice in a World of Wonderlands"

October 9 to October 11 (New York, NY)
Lewis Carroll Society of North America: "Alice in the Popular Culture"

October 14 to March 27 (Philadelphia, PA)
Rosenbach Museum & Library: Alice in Philly-land" and "The Dream of Wonderland: Alice at 150"

For additional exhibitions and performances, check out the events database here.

And in you'll like to read more about Lewis Carroll and his most famous creation, here's a link to my book on the topic: Alice's Wonderland: A Visual Journey through Lewis Carroll's Mad, Mad World.

And to make this day even more special, here is a link to a video podcast of my interview with Mr. Media about my book: What Did Alice Know and When?

Puppy's Big Day

Nick Bruel is back with another book in the Bad Kitty series. This time, though, the story doesn't feature our favorite ferocious feline. It's Puppy's turn to shine in the spotlight.

Kitty is having a bad, bad day and no one in the household knows why. Uncle Murray comes over to save Puppy from Kitty's wrath and the two go off for a walk in the park. If only things were that simple. Uncle Murray runs afoul of the law (no leash, no poop bags, no dog tags) and then, horrors, Puppy and Petunia, a bulldog friend, run off and end up in the pound. There Puppy meets two other strays, Gramps, an elderly lhasa apso, and Hercules, a hyper chihuahua (are there any other kind?). Luckily, Uncle Murray comes to Puppy's rescue and adopts the other dogs. And what was causing Kitty's bad mood? Puppy provides the answer.

As in the previous books, the story is interspersed with info spreads, this one narrated by Bad Kitty herself. Readers will discover why dogs need to be walked, why they sniff butts, and why they lick faces. (I didn't know the answer to the last one.)

All in all Puppy's Big Day provides readers with the series' usual combination of mayhem and mirth. A must-read for all Big Kitty and Puppy fans!

Puppy's Big Day
by Nick Bruel
Neal Porter, 160 pages
Published: January 2015

Three Outstanding Picture Books from 2014

2014 was a stellar year for picture books. Here are three that I particularly like.

Bobby's teacher is a monster. Or so it seems to him. Ms. Kirby won't let him fly paper airplanes in class and she stomps and roars to get her point across. When the pair meet up by accident outside the classroom, in a park where Bobby has gone to forget his teacher troubles, neither is pleased. But after Bobby saves his teacher's favorite hat, he sees another side to Ms. Kirby and the pair end up enjoying their time together. Peter Brown humorously shows Ms. Kirby becoming less and less monstrous as the day progresses. A book that is sure to resonate with the school-age crowd.

Who as a kid hasn't attempted to dig a hole deep into the earth? Most, myself included, give up after a few shovelfuls of dirt. Dirt is heavy! But Sam and Dave are made of stronger stuff. They aim to dig until they "find something spectacular." As they go deeper, they can't see--but readers will--the enormous gem that is often mere inches away. Unfortunately, the boys always choose to dig in another direction and so they never unearth the treasure, although their dog comes close. As they continue their way downward into the bowels of the earth, they at last stop for a rest. The dog, digging on for a buried bone, causes all three--and the bone--to free fall until they land in their own yard. Or is it?

In this wordless picture book, a farmer watches as a circus train zooms along the bleak landscape. To his surprise, a small clown falls from the train. The farmer and clown return to the farmer's spare home, and after the pair wash up, the farmer sees that underneath the child's grinning mask is a very unhappy child. As the farmer does this best to keep the child entertained--juggling eggs for him at one point--the two form a strong bond. One that comes to an end when the clown-child's family returns for him. A touching story about the power of connection, one just right for the holiday season.

Dory Fantasmagory

Think of the many characters in children's literature who we thrill to meet on the written page yet would steer clear of in real life: Pippi Longstocking, Tom Sawyer, Ramona... Add to that list another name--Dory, aka Rascal.

Rascal is a wonderful creation from the fevered brain of Abby Hanlon. She's concocted a six-year-old who rings so true that she is equal parts exasperating and endearing. Rascal, you see, has been blessed (or cursed, depending on your viewpoint) with an extremely vivid imagination. While your average kid creates an imaginary playmate or two, Rascal cooks up up a whole cast of characters. Her favorite is Mary, an impish monster who enjoys being towed around the house in an empty laundry basket and who is always ready to play. Her willingness is a boon because Rascal's older sister and brother want nothing to do with her.

The siblings' insistence that Rascal acts like a baby is what sets the plot in motion. The pair invent Mrs. Gobble Gracker, a scary witch who steals baby girls, to keep Rascal in line. Their plan misfires spectacularly. Rascal conjures up Mrs. Gobble Gracker almost immediately and spends all her time trying to escape from her clutches. At one point she decides to fool the witch into thinking she's not a child but a dog. To her delight she finds that her brother has always wanted a pet. She gets some much needed attention from him as she does tricks for him, goes for walks on a leash, and eats from a bowl. That it's exhausting to be parent to such a child is made clear when Rascal (now Chickenbone the dog) accompanies her mother to the doctor's office for a check-up that goes hilariously afoul. By the final chapter, readers will be gratified to see how Rascal finally gets her heart's desire--playtime with her sister and brother.

The illustrations add to the high-jinks and readers will delight at the cartoony images of Rascal, her imaginary friends, and her sole enemy. Mrs. Gobble Gracker is spindly with a long nose and vampire-like fangs, while Mary is a friendly-looking creature with striped horns.

In Dory Fantasmagory Hanlon has given us a character whose personality is a force of nature. Like a mighty typhoon or a hurricane, she can't be stopped. Let's hope that Hanlon writes another book about her soon.

Dory Fantasmagory
By Abby Hanlon
Dial, 160 pages
Published: October 2014  

My Heart Is Laughing

Like My Happy Life, Swedish author Lagercrantz's latest offering is a heartwarming and affirming peek into a child's small world and all the drama it entails. In this fully realized sequel, Dani is adjusting to life without her best friend, Ella. Even so, in school she keeps the seat next to hers empty for when Ella returns. When her teacher reminds her that Ella won't be coming back, ever-hopeful Dani replies, "You never know."

In addition to missing Ella, Dani faces new challenges. Two girls bully her after they discover a boy they like prefers Dani. In a truly upsetting scene the pair pinch her arms until Dani fights back with a squirt bottle full of sauce. What differentiates this book from many others about bullying is the subtle way Lagercrantz explores her young protagonist's heart. Dani isn't even fully aware that she's being picked one. Upset at what she's done (she also squirted her teacher), she runs home and locks herself in her room. When her father finds out about her transgression, she refuses to talk to him or explain why she was provoked. It isn't until her father sees her bruised arms that he suspects the truth and storms off to the school, Dani at his heels.

Young readers will be both relieved and surprised at the ending. While the villains of the piece (two girls who in superficial ways resemble Dani and Ella), never apologize for their actions, Dani magnanimously forgives them. With gentle humor, Lagercrantz gives us an optimistic protagonist who refreshingly chooses to see the glass life has handed her as half full rather than half empty. Eriksson's appealing line illustrations perfectly complement Dani's rosy worldview. Highly recommended.

My Heart Is Laughing
By Rose Lagercrantz
Illustrations by Eva Eriksson
Gecko Press, 120 pages
Published: 2014

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny

In my family not one but two of my sisters are black belts. All four of my nephews have studied various martial arts, and my 13-year-old niece is a kick-ass student of tae-kwan-do. Me, I stick to yoga. All this is to say that through the years I've become acquainted with the tenets behind martial arts. And that's why I can highly recommend Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny, a beginning chapter book featuring Isabel, the BEST bunjitsu artist in her school (dojo).

Isabel encapsulates the underlying philosophy of martial arts. As she eloquently states, "Bunjitsu is not just about kicking, hitting, and throwing….It's about finding ways to NOT kick, hit, and throw." Each short chapter demonstrates a Zen-like lesson that is thought-provoking rather than didactic. In "The Challenge" a big and burly jackrabbit dares Isabel to meet him in the marsh for a fight, vowing to hit her so hard that she will "fly to the moon." He waits and waits, but she never shows up. Max finds her and asks if she lost on purpose. But she didn't lose, Isabel tells her friend. "He did not hit me." This is not to say that readers won't find some serious fighting in the book. In "The Pirates" Isabel battles a boatload of foxy pirates, while in "Bearjitsu Bear" Isabel seemingly takes abuse from a boastful bear until she shows him who's boss.

Author  and illustrator John Himmelman, a martial arts instructor, based Isabel on one of his students.  Since girls often get short shrift when it comes to combat sports, Isabel's feisty attitude is an especially welcome addition to the world of chapter books.

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny
By John Himmelman
Henry Holt, 128 pages
Published: October 2014