Dark on Light

Posted on 12/11/2022

Beach Lane Books/S&S | 978-1534487895

 

It’s here! My newest book, DARK on LIGHT is out in the world! A companion to the other “color on color” books I’ve published with Beach Lane/S&S (BLUE on BLUE and GREEN on GREEN), DARK on LIGHT is a picture book about that gorgeous space of time between dusk and dawn.

              CLICK TO ENLARGE © text by Dianne White, illustration by Felicita Sala

I’m especially proud of these books because, for me, one of the most exciting parts of the picture book process is seeing the way an illustrator expands my words. This has been especially true for these “color on color” books. The text of each of the three infers kids play a key role in the story, but the characters are not named or described in any way. Hints about the setting are included in the text, but there’s plenty of room left for the illustrator to imagine and interpret the setting in any way she likes.

Who are the people in the story?
Where do they live?
Why are they on a walk through a garden and beyond?
What will they discover?

These are the kinds of questions an illustrator asks herself as she begins to consider the work. (As a side note, I remember reading this interview with illustrator Beth Krommes shortly before my first book, Blue on Blue, came out. It was fascinating to learn that Beth wrote six pages of notes as she considered the various ways she could approach the illustrations.)

Most readers are unaware that much of the illustration process happens outside the author’s reach. Starting with initial sketches, the editor and illustrator work through several revisions as the above and similar story questions are answered. It’s this magical collaboration between editor, illustrator, and art director that make the book so much more than words alone – a marriage of images and text, words and sound, all working together to create a narrative experience that is more than the sum of its parts.

Isn’t this illustration by Felicita Sala, simply stunning?

    CLICK TO ENLARGE © text by Dianne White, illustration by Felicita Sala

To learn more about the book, its awards and reviews, check out the DARK on LIGHT book page on my website.

Additional Resources:

 

Lolo’s Light

Posted on 12/04/2022

Chronicle Books | 978-1797212944

 

Days before school is to begin, 12 year old Millie Donally’s neighbors – the Acostas – ask Millie to babysit their 4 1/2 month-old daughter, Lolo. This is a first, a milestone that is both exciting and daunting. Millie’s older sister, Tess, is the one who usually watches Lolo. But Tess has a recital and all Millie will have to do is  “…listen for her and ‘keep the house company.'” What could be easier?

The Acostas put Lolo to bed, the house quiets, and Millie settles in downstairs to wait for the Acostas’ return.

When light changes from dusk to dark, Millie tiptoes upstairs to check on Lolo, before returning downstairs to watch TV. The evening passes and soon the Acostas are home and Millie is, too, pinching herself, “… proud and newly rich,” her first babysitting job a success.

Mr. and Mrs Acosta lock up, look in on Lolo – “her belly rising and falling – and soon, they too are asleep, knowing that sometime in the middle of the night, Lolo would wake, hungry.

“But the thing is, that didn’t happen.

Lolo didn’t grow hungry. She didn’t fuss or cry or make cooing noises into the monitor above her bed. Because sometime between the moon coming up and the middle of the night, when Mrs. Acosta slipped out of bed to see why the house was so, so quiet, Lolo Acosta stopped breathing.”

 

From the flap:

There’s nothing she could have done. And there’s nothing she can do now.

So how does she go on?
She does what you’ll do. She finds her way.

This poignant and profound coming-of-age story portrays a tragic experience of responsibility and its poisonous flip side: guilt. Emotional and important, this is an honest and empathetic portrait of a girl at her most vulnerable—a mess of grief, love, and ultimately, acceptance—who must reckon with those most difficult of demons: death . . . and life.

LOLO’s LIGHT by Liz Garton Scanlon is a heart-wrenching and difficult story, but it’s one of the “truths” about growing up – painful and difficult things can happen to any one of us, at any time.

Brilliantly and sensitively told, LOLO’S LIGHT is a book about grief, growing up, and learning that even in the most difficult times, we can look for the light – in our families, friends, and loved ones – to carry us safely through.

***

Keeping a young girl company as she walks through grief

 

 

 

From the Tops of the Trees

Posted on 11/27/2022

Carolrhoda Books | 978-1541581302

 

What does the world look like beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp? This is the question young Kalia asks her father. She hears the aunties talk about the little-known Secret War in Laos and the river they crossed as Hmong refugees fleeing to Thailand. But Kalia, having been born in Thailand, only knows her life in the refugee camp.

“You’re safe,” Kalia’s father promises.

He takes one of my small hands in his big one and tells me,
“Look at your hand.” He points down at the tips of my toes
and says,”Look at your feet.”

He says, “Your hands and your feet will travel far to find peace.”
His eyes are as serious as his voice, so I say, “Yes, they will.”

When Kalia wonders if all the world is a refugee camp, at first, her father has no answers for her. But the next day, he asks her mother to put her in the nice dress and hat she wears only on the rare occasion when she is having her picture taken.

Dressed in her fine clothes, with her hair combed, her father waits with a borrowed camera.

At the base of the tallest tree in the camp, her father tells Kalia to hold tight to his neck, eyes closed. Hand over hand, her father climbs to the top of the tree!  From there, she sees the world beyond the walls.

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE © text by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrations by Rachel Wada

“Father, the world is so big.”
“Yes it is,” he says.
“One day my little girl will journey far into the world to the places her father has never been.”

FROM THE TOPS OF THE TREES is the true story of author Kao Kalia Yang‘s childhood in a refugee camp. In tender, lyrical prose, with stirring illustrations by Rachel Wada, the author provides young readers with a heartfelt and honest story of resilience and hope in the midst of the harsh realities of life in a refugee camp.

 

  • Enjoy this INTERVIEW with author Kao Kalia Yang on the Lerner Books Blog
  • Learn more about the book in this INTERVIEW with the author on “The Picture Book Buzz” blog

 

Twinkle, Twinkle Winter Night

Posted on 11/13/2022

 

Clarion Books | 978-0358572046

 

Stars shimmering, lights glimmering, snowflakes “dressing trees in coats of lace. ” Is there anything quite as magical as a sparkly winter night?

Megan Litwin‘s gorgeous poem and picture book debut,Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night, (a lovely twist on the nursery rhyme), brings the season into focus, reminding readers of the warmth and coziness – the wonder – of winter. “Everywhere you look there’s LIGHT.”

“From quiet wood to busy town…” readers will delight in discovering the seasonal symbols of light from a variety of winter celebrations: Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, and Christmas.

With luminous illustrations by Nneka Myers, this dreamy book is an invitation to slow down, snuggle up,and gently tuck into bed where sweet dreams surely await… ✨⭐✨

 

 

 

My Paati’s Saris

Posted on 11/06/2022

978-0593324608 | Kokila

 

My Paati’s Saris is a vibrant expression of the special relationship between a grandmother and her grandchild. But it is so much more! It is colors – bold blues, muted tones – scents – jasmine and musky rose -and tastes and sounds – laddoos and spices, peddlers selling their wares, and family and friends dancing.

CLICK TO ENLARGE © text by Jyoti Rajan Gopal, illustrations by Art Twink

Paati’s sari swirls and sings, inviting her young grandchild to “EXPLORE. DARE. BE.” Jyoti Rajan Gopal‘s powerful text, gorgeously illustrated by Art Twink, is a beautiful celebration of heritage, tradition, comfort, and acceptance.

CLICK TO ENLARGE © text by Jyoti Rajan Gopal, illustrations by Art Twink

 

The Dark Was Done by Lauren Stringer

Posted on 10/24/2022

S&S/ Beach Lane Books | 978-1534462922

 

A world without dark is hard for us to imagine because we’re always surrounded by light. Not only during the day. But, also, at night. Our cities and towns, homes and bedrooms are ablaze. “Nightlights, streetlights, flashlights, and table lamps…” All push the Dark away.

Often, we don’t appreciate the Dark, afraid of what we can’t see lurking in the shadows.

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE © Words and illustrations by Lauren Stringer

“Even the boy who loved the song of crickets was afraid of the Dark under his bed.”

CLICK TO ENLARGE © Words and illustrations by Lauren Stringer

“And so…
the Dark decided to go.
All the world over,
continent by continent,
ocean by ocean,
the Dark left and did not return.”

CLICK TO ENLARGE © Words and illustrations by Lauren Stringer

After the Dark leaves, the world glows with yellow light. Everyone feels safe. No one misses the Dark. At first …

Then, one day the boy remembers the crickets. Along with their song, he misses the hooting owls, the flying bats, the twinkling stars.

And so begins a journey to bring back the Dark – its shadows and mysteries, poems and twinkling stars.

Written and beautifully illustrated by Lauren Stringer in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, THE DARK WAS DONE is a gorgeous invitation to welcome the gifts of the night.

 

Pair this book with: 

The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd

Blackout by John Rocco

 

 

 

The Underpants by Tammi Sauer

Posted on 10/16/2022

Scholastic Press | 978-1338740271

 

Put the word “underpants” in a picture book and you’re guaranteed laughs – lots of laughs. Put the word in the title and it’s as good as finding the golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 🙂

Tammi Sauer is a master picture book author with over thirty books to her name. THE UNDERPANTS, adorably and hilariously illustrated by Joren Cull, is her latest – a retelling of the Ukranian folktale about a lost mitten – but with an important twist. Instead of a mitten discovered in the snow, THE UNDERPANTS begins with an unexpected discovery on the top of a fresh pile of Farmer’s laundry:

“Ah!” said Kitty. “I love this cozy coat.”

CLICK TO ENLARGE © Text by Tammi Sauer, illustration by Joren Cull

The coat fits perfectly and off Kitty saunters for a trip around the barnyard. As you might imagine, other animals, each in turn, spy Kitty sporting the “coat.”

“Kitty,” said Dog, “what are you doing in those underpants?
Kitty looked as proud as a kitty could.
“It’s a coat,” said Kitty.
“Oh,” said Dog.
“Is there room enough for me”
And there was. Barely. “

CLICK TO ENLARGE © Text by Tammi Sauer, illustration by Joren Cull

As one animal, then another spies Kitty and her friends wearing the underwear/coat, things begin to get extra cozy, until…

Well, you can imagine what happens when too many animals try to squeeze inside the underwear. Ah-AH-MOO-CHOOOOO!  All six friends tumble into the air and out! What a day they had!

And Kitty? She still loves her cozy coat – even the now very-very-very stretched out version of it!

It’s difficult to imagine a more perfect update of Alvin Tresselt or Jan Brett’s The Mitten than this one. And while it’s hardly fair to compare The Underpants to The Mitten, in case you want to, here are the links to both!

THE MITTEN by Jan Brett

THE MITTEN by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Yaroslova