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Time for another addition to the Thinking Outside the Box List**














Forest Bright, Forest Night
by Jennifer Ward
Illustrated by Jamichael Henterly
Dawn Publications, 2005
Category: Nonfiction Picture Book

This book looks at forest animals, nocturnal (night critters) and diurnal (day critters). Open the front cover that reads, "Forest Bright, Forest Night" and the bright daytime illustrations show day critters doing what forest day critters do: deer splash, woodpeckers tap, squirrels dash, etc. Read to the middle of the book where you'll find instructions to "FLIP THE BOOK FOR FOREST NIGHT". Flip, close the blook, and then open the new front cover---which was the back cover when you first started reading the book---that now reads, "Forest Night, Forest Bright". Ta da! The illustrations are dark night-time images featuring active nocturnal animals.

Yeah, that's pretty cool. Night/day. . . a great use of the flip-the-book structure. But wait, that's not what bumped this book onto the Thinking Outside the Box List. Look closely at each night page and you'll see that while the focus is on the night activity of one animal, another animal---one of the diurnal critters---is sleeping somewhere in the background, and in turn, a nocturnal animal slumbers in the background on each "day" page.

But...the very cleverest part is that Ward pairs the same animals together in both parts of the book.

Day page: deer active, owl asleep
Night page: owl active, deer asleep

Day page: woodpecker active, possum asleep
Night page: possum active, woodpecker asleep

and so on, and in a beautiful finesse, the pairings appear in the same order, regardless of whether you start with "Bright" or "Night".

The simple, short and punchy text (verb heaven) are uncluttered, allowing the reader to focus on the lush illustrations and the justaposition of nocturnal-diurnal.

Brilliant. Thinking Outside the Box!

The rest of the Thinking Outside the Box List is here.

**Books that break expectations in delightful ways to wow me with their cleverness. Usually ingenious format causes this step out of the norm, but it could also be an oh-so-perfect-whoda-thunk of that treatment involving approach, style, voice, or some other facet. These books aren't just great books, they're blazing new trails.

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Wired
by Anastasia Suen
Illustrated by
Paul Carrick
Charlesbridge, 2007
Category: Nonfiction Picture Book

Another gem I discovered while serving on the CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Book Nominating Panel.

I confess. . . when I pulled this book out of the mailing envelope, I did so with some trepidation. You see, Anastasia is an online acquaintance, and Wired is not only published by my publisher, but was edited by my editor! What if it wasn't any good? What if I didn't like it? As long as I hadn't read it, I could remain honestly opinionless, but once those covers were cracked, there'd be no goin' back. I'd have to say something if writer or editor cornered me with a "So, what did you think?"

I held the book in my hand for a few minutes,

. . . turned it over and read the author and illustrator bios,

. . . noted the pleasant texture of the matt cover.

I wanted to open it, but lining up the nerve was taking some time.

Hmm... I thought, Great cover. Original. Warm, inviting colours. Nifty close-up image (I'm a sucker for those). Nice perspective. And that groovy bent metal title font cleverly reflects the subject matter. Before I knew it, the cover had sucked me in. The book was open.

Well---big relief---it turns out I had fretted for nothing. This book is great. Another fabulous Charlesbridge addition to the collection.

Wired is the story of electricity---how it's created, where it comes from, where it goes, and how it gets there. Electricity isn't a simple concept. I'd be willing to bet that when most adults flip a light switch or plug in the kettle, the source of the electricity and how it travels remains a mystery. In Wired, Anastasia Suen untangles that mystery, laying it all out one step at a time, in clear, simple terms. From the power plant generators right through to the flick of the switch on the table lamp, Suen explains it all and then tops everything off with a catchy poem that threads through the book like an electrical wire. More points for cleverness.

"humming, thrumming,
power's coming
in the wires
in the wires. . ."

Paul Carrick's acrylic mixed media illustrations are a perfect match.

Okay, so Anastasia and Emily, if you're reading this, you don't need to ask, "So, what did you think?" because the answer is: Well done!

The Nonfiction Roundup of blogposts is hosted here today.
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Rough, Tough Charley
by Verla Kay
Illustrated by
Adam Gustavson
Tricycle Press, 2007
Category: Picture Book Biography

Here's another gem I discovered while serving on the Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book Nominating Panel.

Rough, Tough Charley tells the story of Charley Parkhurst 1812-1879---indeed, a rough, tough character---who drove stagecoach in the Old West. Verla Kay, in her signature "cryptic verse" writing style, skillfully plucks events and detail from Charley's life in a way that captures the historical attitudes and gritty feel of the time. Gustavson's wheaty, earthy palette adds even more Old West feel. The stagecoach dust all but poofs out of the book.

Picture book biography is one of the most challenging genres to do well. So many pieces to get right. The author must first choose a suitable subject, high in kid-appeal and relatively free of scandal. . . someone who has accomplished something significant that kids would care about. Bonus if the accomplishment is a logical result of the subject's childhood characteristics or choices, and another bonus if the subject hasn't already been written about to death. Then, the author must decide on an appropriate scope---what goes in, what doesn't. . . the whole life or just a slice, and if a slice, which one and how big---and select representative events that will accurately portray the subject and his/her emotions and accomplishments. Pacing is critical, the writing must be engaging, and the whole thing has to be captured in a few hundred words and fit in 32 pages, while still leaving room for illustration to tell part of the story. Whew! That's a tall order.

Verla Kay delivers on all counts in this book. Her subject is fresh with a great kid-friendly story full of action and topped off with a satisfying surprise ending (which I won't reveal here). The scope is perfect, showing how Charley's accomplishements grew from childhood and adult passions and experiences. The sparse cryptic verse gallops along in pace with the stagecoach---a delicious match. All around...picture book biography well done.

Anastasia is once again hosting the roundup of Nonfiction Monday posts today.
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Now that our shortlist has been officially announced on the Cybils blog, I can talk about it here, too. I'll be posting about the process in later posts, but for now, here are the books my fellow panelists (see my last post for who they are!) and I picked for the 2007 Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book shortlist
(in no particular order):

1) Lightship

AUTHOR &
ILLUSTRATOR: Brian Floca
Richard Jackson Books/Atheneum

The fog seems to waft off the page in this delightful look at the work and life aboard the lightship Ambrose -- a floating lighthouse anchored offshore. The writing is rich and engaging without talking down, and humour permeates both text and illustration. Floca's detailed watercolour illustrations and deceptively simple text sprinkled with sensory language have readers practically feeling the dampness, tasting the sea air, and tilting with the deck.


2) Vulture View

AUTHOR: April Pulley Sayre
ILLUSTRATOR: Steve Jenkins
Henry Holt

Simple conversational rhyme and Jenkins' signature cut paper illustrations provide a lovely early introduction to vultures -- fascinating creatures that don't usually get their own book. The bold palette and interesting, sometimes eerie perspective are a perfect complement to Sayre's kid-friendly text, the rhythm of which cleverly reflects the birds' daily rhythm. Precise meter and rhyme, and the inclusion of some repetition make this a great interactive readaloud.


3) Let's Go! The Story of Getting from There to Here

AUTHOR: Lizann Flatt
ILLUSTRATOR: Scot Ritchie
Maple Tree Press

Distilling thousands of years of tranportation history into a picture book for a young audience is a tall order, but Flatt and Ritchie pull it off brilliantly. Fresh word choices -- those unexpected verbs are a treat! -- and rhyme so subtle, as though folded into the shadows, contribute to Flatt's lovely lyrical style. The fun, kid-friendly illustrations are abuzz with activity, and the text wends across each page to echo the transportation theme.


4) Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed...and Revealed

AUTHORS:
David M. Schwartz
& Yael Schy
PHOTOS: Dwight Kuhn
Tricycle Press

A refreshing selection of ten camouflaged animals beautifully photographed are presented as a "find-the-critter" challenge. Snappy titles and delicious poems cleverly hint at the animals' identities (form and meter match each animal! Yowsa!) , and fold-out pages reveal the animals and cool information about them. Clearly written in a kid-friendly conversational style.


5) Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg

AUTHOR &
ILLUSTRATOR: Mia Posada
Millbrook Press

Posada's charming cut paper and painted illustrations zero in on the eggs of six different animals, her interesting angles and close-up views providing hints at which animals laid them. Rhyming couplets add more clues as readers are encouraged to "Guess what is growing inside this egg." Answers and more information about the animal appear on the following page. Backmatter includes a spread with all of the eggs drawn to scale, and another showing what happens inside a developing duck egg. A great egg readaloud.


6) One Thousand Tracings - Healing the Wounds of World War II

AUTHOR &
ILLUSTRATOR: Lita Judge
Hyperion

First person point of view (Judge's mother as a child) makes it easy for young readers to connect with this beautifully written and illustrated story of kindness and hope from a difficult time in history. After discovering hundreds of foot tracings and letters in her grandmother's attic, Judge learned of her mother's and grandmother's efforts to supply much needed shoes, clothing, food, and other supplies to Europeans left homeless and starving after WWII. An amazing story, told well. Good as a readaloud, but with brief text and easy language, it is also accessible to young independent readers.


7) Living Color

AUTHOR &
ILLUSTRATOR: Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin

A rainbow of familiar and exotic animals in gorgeous cut and painted paper pops from the page in this fresh approach to looking at animal coloration. Each animal, sorted according to colour, is accompanied by a short paragraph of supporting information subtitled with plenty of humour. Jenkins isn't afraid to have animals straddle spreads when colours overlap (cool!). Excellent for non-linear readers who prefer to browse and read smorgasbord-style -- a feast.

Congratulations to all of the authors, illustrators, editors, art directors etc., who created these gems. Now it's up to the judging panel to choose a winner from among them. It ain't gonna be easy, I tell ya.

And if you'd like to hear fellow panelist Tricia and I talk a bit about the process, head on over to Just One More Book!! where Andrea and Mark have posted a podcast interview. Anyone want to give me a nickel for every time I said "Uh..."? I figure that should finance at least one mocha cappucino at the local coffee bistro. With extra foam. And chocolate shavings. And sprinkles.

Links to all of the shortlists:

• Nonfiction Picture Books
• Fiction Picture Books
• MG/YA Nonfiction
• Middle Grade Novels
• Young Adult Novels
• Poetry
• Fantasy/Science Fiction
• Graphic Novels

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The Beaufort Scale by Peter Malone Putnam 2007 Piggy-backing a bit on my addition to Poetry Friday I discovered a unique non-fiction picture book that really illuminates a somewhat obscure (to landlubbers like me) bit of nautical lore and arcana and makes it fascinating and beautiful. Francis Beaufort was a British Naval Officer in the early part of the 19th century who, after five years of