LOOKING FOR SMILE by Ellen Tarlow, illustrated by Lauren Stringer

Posted on 11/22/2020

LOOKING FOR SMILE  by Ellen Tarlow, illustrated by Lauren Stringer

Beach Lane Books/S&S  | 978-1534466197

 

Each morning, Bear awoke to find his friend Smile nearby. They liked the same things – nuts and berries for breakfast, honey from a hive, splashing in a waterfall. They enjoyed the same adventures – “as long as they weren’t too scary.” The two were inseparable.

One morning, Bear awoke and Smile was nowhere to be found. Not under the bed, nor tucked in the closet. He didn’t even appear in time for their favorite breakfast.  The two had always been together, until suddenly… they weren’t.  Poor Bear. What was he to do?

This charming story is a gentle exploration of the journey from joy to sadness back to joy, and the ways in which a good friend can make all the difference.

***

Ellen and I met over ten years ago when I was a grad assistant at Vermont College of Fine Arts and she was completing a semester in the program. Over the years, we’ve managed to stay in touch, and I’ve been anxiously looking forward to the publication of her newest book. I’m pleased to introduce Ellen and her work to readers!

DW: Welcome, Ellen! Congratulations on LOOKING FOR SMILE, illustrated by Lauren Stringer. It’s such a tender story about friendship, but also about the reality that our days are not always vibrant and sunny. Sometimes, without warning, our joy is replaced by sadness. We’re blue, and we don’t quite know how to change things.

How did you come to this idea about a bear who had lost his smile? Did you hear the first line in your head and know exactly where you wanted the story to go? Or did the idea of a character who became sad and eventually found his way back to joy begin differently? What was the genesis of Bear’s story?

ET: The idea first came in bed one morning; I think on a day when Smile seemed a little far away. For a while, I fiddled around with various characters who had lost their smiles and how they found them. (I had just written a Bear manuscript so didn’t want it to be a Bear but in the end it had to be.) But the story didn’t come to life until a few months later when I got the idea of personifying Smile. Then I wrote about 75% of it in one sitting.   Making Smile a character allowed me to write about Bear before the loss of Smile which makes the loss more meaningful and poignant. You feel Bear’s aloneness because you knew them together. The character of Smile also gave the story a “lift” and prevented it from being too sad. After that burst, I put the story aside for a few months. (I’m not sure why other than a natural tendency not to finish.) But also I wanted to get the ending just right. I wanted to make it real and meaningful to kids. I’m not sure when the idea of just sitting and singing with his friend Bird came to me but it seemed like the simplest and truest of all the ideas and it was the only version I wrote out. I sent it to The Writing Barn about a week or two later.

© Lauren Stringer CLICK to ENLARGE

DW: This book has quite an amazing backstory.  How were you able to find the perfect editor (Allyn Johnston of Beach Lane Books), an amazing illustrator (Lauren Stringer), and your agent (Rubin Pfeffer), all in one big serendipitous meeting? Can you share the story?

ET: Well, there would be no story at all if not for you! A year after taking your class at the Writing Barn, you wrote suggesting I go to a Picture Book Intensive Weekend there as I might be a good fit for Allyn and Rubin. This was in May of 2019.  To make a short story shorter, Rubin read “Looking for Smile” for my critique and shared it with Allyn and Lauren. And by the time I met with him, he said he wanted to represent it/me and an hour or so later, all three called me over to a picnic table and told me that Allyn wanted to buy it and Lauren wanted to illustrate it! I wobbled my way back to my room and barely slept for the rest of the weekend. The book came out in pretty much record time for a picture book — about 15 months later.  The fact that we all spent that first weekend together felt like a special bond and the creation was a real team experience.

DW: I adore the illustrations! The sunshiny colors that open the book – aqua, green, yellow – and the gentle contrast that happens as the story reaches that one unlucky morning when “Smile didn’t come.” Bear goes from a rosy-cheeked, happy-go-lucky guy with a bright smile to one sad fellow, drenched in a soft blue that makes the reader ache over his sadness.

As you wrote the story, did you have any particular images in your head? What were some of the nice surprises when you saw the finished art for the first time? Do you have a favorite illustration?

ET: The illustrations are so much MORE than I imagined:  so much more beautiful, so much more full of feeling, so much “smarter” in conveying the nuances of story.  I was surprised and delighted by the color switch when Smile doesn’t come. But really every page has some magic in it. Also, the book ended up being 48 pages which allows readers to go on the emotional journey with Bear in a very intimate way.

If I had to pick just one illustration, I think it would be the page where Bird begins to sing and Bear is looking down at her. The expression on Bear’s face — of both sadness and the recognition that something could be happening that would change the sadness — is amazing to me. It seemed like an impossible moment to capture and Lauren did it so beautifully.

© Lauren Stringer CLICK to ENLARGE

DW: You’ve been working as a writer and editor of early childhood classroom materials for a long time, and it has to have informed the voice you’ve developed as a picture book writer. Do you have any tips for those who are hoping to find their own voices as writers of books for kids?  What feeds your creativity?

ET: In my day job, I have written and edited hundreds of stories for early childhood classrooms. Often, we have to use very simple language as the stories teach children to read. That certainly taught me a lot about how to put a story across economically and how to think about what role pictures can play.  In terms of inspiration, I would say my personal stories come from a very different place, often feelings from my own childhood. I seem especially drawn to those childhood moments when the world opens up in a new way, of facing life with limited experience but still managing, the wonder and surprise and raw emotion that come from it all being so new.

And I guess my advice is boring.  It can take long time find the right way to say what you want to say. And because of the time involved, write something you really want to spend time with. Also maybe try other forms of expressing what you want to say. I started out (decades ago!)  writing novels about animal characters and gradually made my way down to the picture book format. I am not sure my voice changed as much as finding the right way to use it. That was a long time coming.

DW: What are you working on? What can readers look forward to from you next? 

ET: I am lucky enough now to have several books with Allyn Johnston and Beach Lane. I have three more picture books signed up. The next one is called Becoming Blue which is a little different for me.  Knowing that my husband is a color theorist and painter, Rubin challenged me to do a book about colors. It is really about a character like my other books (Blue and his journey of self-discovery) but the color angle added a whole new really fun dimension.  In addition to the picture books, Allyn and Beach Lane also have  an early reader series and I am working on the second book. 

DW: Fantastic! Congratulations again, Ellen, on LOOKING FOR SMILE. I cannot wait to read Becoming Blue and look forward to the books that will follow. 

 

Readers can learn more about Ellen on her website: https://www.ellentarlow.com

Follow Ellen on: 

  • Instagram: @tarlowellen
  • Twitter: @TarlowEllen

 

World Kindness Day

Posted on 11/18/2020

Friday, November 13th was WORLD KINDNESS DAY, a day set aside by the World Kindness Movement, a nonprofit established “to highlight our good deeds in our communities, cities, and nations; it is for us to further focus on the positive power and common thread of kindness, which binds us together.”

In recognition of the day, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), put together a reading list of books for kids highlighting kindness and other, related, topics. I’m proud to have SOMETIMES A WALL, illustrated by Barroux, included on the list.

Of course, we don’t need to limit celebrating kindness to just one day a year. Here are some other picture books I can recommend that seem especially fitting this time of year:

BE KIND by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill

DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD: POEMS, QUOTES AND ANECDOTES FROM A – Z by Charles Waters and Irene Lathan, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini

FINDING KINDNESS by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Irene Chan

COUNTING KINDNESS by Hollis Kurman, illustrated by Barroux

 

 

Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell, illustrated by Corinna Luyken

Posted on 11/08/2020

Dial Books | 978-0735230378

 

Seeing with kindness.

Listening with kindness.

Suppressing the impulse to jump to judgement.

These are the things that came to mind as I scrolled through social media today and ran across a conversation that stopped me in my tracks. Someone I knew had expressed some opinions I disagreed with. They were disturbing, not because I was unaware of our differences  – there have been many areas in which we haven’t seen eye to eye over the years. More – I was surprised by how quickly the conversation had turned ugly, as the person I knew and the other I didn’t attacked one another online.

It made me think about opinions in general. Mine. And those of others. Sometimes we’re right. Often, we’re wrong. And that made me think about empathy and the power of books. And in particular, the picture book ADRIAN SIMCOX DOES NOT HAVE A HORSE., written by Marcy Campbell, illustrated by Corinna Luyken.

This is a picture book about a boy, Adrian Simcox, who sits by himself, gets the free lunch at school, has a messy desk, and holes in his shoes. “And Adrian tells anyone who will listen that he has a horse.” Chloe doesn’t believe him, and is angry about his lies. The teacher says, “We must try to be understanding. We have to be patient.”

One day when Adrian continues to spin tales of his “beautiful horse with its white coat and golden mane” and the “biggest, brownest eyes of any horse, anywhere,” Chloe gets fed up. Tired of being patient and understanding, she yells from the middle of the playground,”He’s lying! Adrian Simcox does NOT have a horse!”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, Chloe realizes the harm she’s caused. She sees the sad look on Adrian’s face and knows she has spoken too soon.

How Chloe learns to deal with the conflicting feelings she has about Adrian is heartening. As it says on the flap copy:  “Sometimes we have to learn to see with kindness.” And while that may not be the answer in all times and all places, we can all learn a thing or two about stopping to see a person as more than the sum total of the words they say in a moment of conflict.

As President-elect Joe Biden said in his acceptance speech, “it’s time… to see each other again. To listen to each other again.” We all know this is not an easy thing to do. But, I’d like to think we can try.

Pair this book with THE DAY YOU BEGIN by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López, or BE KIND by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill.

 

BECOMING A GOOD CREATURE by Sy Montgomery, pictures by Rebecca Green

Posted on 11/02/2020

HMH Books for Young Readers | 978-0358252108

 

Two years ago I had the good fortune to hear author Sy Montgomery speak at the Charlotte Huck Children’s Literature Festival. I had read her picture book, KAKAPO RESCUE: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot (and included it in a RKZ post HERE), as well as other books, including INKY’S AMAZING ESCAPE: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home, illustrated by Amy Schimler Safford, but this would be my first time to hear her speak.

Her keynote was a beautiful ode to wonder and gave me and the other conference goers a sense of her eminently gentle heart and the fascinating path her life had taken. I left the conference with her book, the good good pig: the extraordinary life of christopher hogwood. (highly recommended!)

Fast forward several years –  a friend recommended BECOMING A GOOD CREATURE, a picture book adaptation of Montgomery and illustrator Rebecca Green‘s NYT’s bestselling memoir for adults, HOW TO BE A GOOD CREATURE. I ordered it right away and am so glad that I did, as it seems like the perfect book for a time when we could use some of the hope offered by this “beautiful, friendly guide for anyone who wishes to be a better creature in the world.”

Author Sy Montgomery ends the book with a gentle reminder to “Trust Tomorrow” and that “even in the darkest times, there may be wonderful new teacher waiting for you, right around the corner.”

WOODLAND DREAMS by Karen Jameson, illustrated by Marc Boutavant

Posted on 10/25/2020

Chronicle Books | 978-1452170633

I’ve known author Karen Jameson since the mid-90s when we were both teachers at Peachland School in Newhall, California. The summer I moved from teaching upper grade students down to first grade, Karen took over the incoming class. Over the next 15 or so years, with each of us teaching different grades, our paths overlapped mostly at staff meetings and school-wide events.

But then, for my last three years at Peachland, Karen and I became 3rd grade teammates. That’s when we really got to know one another. Shortly before I retired and moved to Arizona, Karen shared her dream of writing picture books. And so began a fun journey for the two of us. First, as critique partners and, then, cheerleaders for the new books we were each selling!

Karen’s latest, WOODLAND DREAMS, is a gem. Soothing and lyrical, this cozy bedtime read, with luminous illustrations by illustrator Marc Boutavant, is sure to be a new classic.

DW: Welcome, Karen! First things first. Congratulations on your second book, WOODLAND DREAMS. It’s the perfect picture book/poem to send little ones off to sleep. The words are beautifully written – so comforting. And the illustrations?  Simply glorious!

KJ: Thanks, Dianne! I hope it brings sweet dreams to young readers. Marc’s art is stunning with its brilliant showcase of autumn colors and attention to detail!

DW: This picture book had an interesting journey to publication. I think of it this way: Conference + Editor Roundtable = One Happy Ending! Can you share the story behind the sale of Woodland Dreams?

KJ: Absolutely! I’d just arrived at the 2017 SCBWI Golden Gate Conference, checked in and picked up my registration packet. A quick glance revealed I’d been assigned to the Editor Roundtable led by Naomi Kirsten of Chronicle Books.

Soon after the opening keynote, I made my way to the assigned building and nervously sat down with six other hopefuls. Following an explanation of the roundtable format – ten minutes for each author to read and receive feedback- the event began. When my turn came, I passed out copies of Woodland Dreams, read it in its entirety, and paused for feedback. Little did I know the next few minutes would be life changing! Naomi didn’t skip a beat before pronouncing it wonderful and asking to take it to acquisitions! It was one of those serendipitous moments authors dream about.

DW: What an amazing story! This is your second rhyming picture book (MOON BABIES was first), and you have two more (FARM LULLABY and WHERE WEE ONES GO) in what I’ll call your “lullaby series” with Chronicle Books.

Each of these books is in rhyme, and your talent is obvious, but rhyming is not as easy as it looks. Can you talk a little about your process? I’m particularly interested in hearing how you arrived at the 2-part structure for each animal’s poem:

Come home, Big Paws.

Berry Picker.

Honey trickster

Shadows deepen in the glen.

Lumber back inside your den.

The first line – Come home … – sets up a structure that you repeat with each animal, and the effect is like snuggling up in a cozy blanket, peaceful and calm.

Was that beginning there from the start? Or was it something that you discovered as you worked? Talk a little about the process of choosing rhymes that not only move the story forward, but are also surprising and simply perfect!

KJ: Yes, the Come home… line was in my first draft. I’d been thinking about how mothers call their children in for the night and imagined what Mother Nature might say to each woodland creature. I wanted her words to be sweet and playful – endearments or nicknames offering clues to the animals’ identities.

I was playing around with some potential structures and remembered a literary device called kennings, which poet, Laura Purdie Salas, used very effectively in her A Leaf Can Be… and other A _ Can Be titles.  Shortly thereafter, the lines, berry picker/honey trickster came to me and set up the pattern for the rest of the book. It was a lot of fun coming up with the kennings – a process of trial and error.

A nonfiction couplet completes each stanza, revealing the animal homes and setting the stage for sleep.

© Marc Boutavant

DW: People who don’t write picture books don’t always realize that even informational fiction, like WOODLAND DREAMS, can require a fair amount of research. Can you talk about the animals you chose and the setting you had in mind when writing this book? Did you include illustrator notes when you submitted the text?

KJ: North American coniferous forests were my inspiration and I researched the animals found in that habitat. I intentionally chose animals that were fairly well known and included a mix of mammals, birds, reptiles, etc. There were no illustration notes attached.

DW: Were there any pleasant surprises working on this book?

KJ: Being paired with talented illustrator, Marc Boutavant, was a dream come true! His artistic vision of a little girl sketching in the forest, added a new and exciting dimension to the story.

DW: What can your readers look forward to next?

KJ: As you mentioned above, two additional lullabies are forthcoming from Chronicle Books! Farm Lullaby releases in Fall ’21 and Where Wee Ones Go releases in Spring ’22. Although I can’t give any details just yet, a new nonfiction title is awaiting announcement. More picture books are in the works!

Learn more about Karen on her website: karenljameson.com

Follow Karen:

Interviews and Lists that celebrate WOODLAND DREAMS: 

 

COUNTING KINDNESS by Hollis Kurman, illustrated by Barroux

Posted on 10/18/2020

Charlesbridge | 978-1623542290

 

Did you know that more than half of the world’s refugees are children? It’s not hard to imagine the upheaval of leaving all that is familiar, including your homeland, friends, and family members in search of a place of safety and hope.

COUNTING KINDNESS: Ten Ways to Welcome Refugee Children:  by Hollis Kurman, illustrated by Barroux is a gentle introduction to the topic of immigration and the ways in which small kindnesses can lift a child’s spirit and help bring a measure of security at a time of extraordinary vulnerability.

One boat helping us on our way.

Two hands lifting us to safety.

Three meals filling us up.

A bed, a book, a gift of things that are liked and needed (a soccer ball and clothing), a welcoming teacher, and new friends. Can such simple kindnesses make an impact? I believe they can.

In a complicated world where sides are chosen and solutions are nuanced and often harder to implement than we would like, each smile, each extended hand, each small kindness reminds readers of the power of a welcoming community.

How easy it is to forget that – as the old Joan Baez song (written by Phil Ochs) goes -“there but for fortune go you or I.”

While the ability to understand and share the feelings of another may not be quite as simple as “putting yourself in another person’s shoes,” it is, at the very least, a place to start.

Other picture books on Kindness:

SOMETIMES A WALL… by Dianne White, illustrated by Barroux

Posted on 10/12/2020

Owlkids Books (2020) | ISBN 9781771473736

Each Monday for the past 2 weeks, I’ve shared a brief lesson that invites students into a conversation about empathy, friendship, and the path from conflict to resolution.

Today’s post is the third in the series of three. Together they are a unit called “TOGETHER. APART. REGRET. NEW START?” that I’ve designed to accompany my newest book, SOMETIMES A WALL…,  illustrated by Barroux.

A day in the neighborhood begins with a chalk wall to draw on, a water wall to splash in, a climbing wall to clamber up, and a great wall of kids playing together. But it isn’t long before a wall comes between them, and one child is left out. After all the name-calling and hurt feelings, reflection and regret, is there a way these exfriends can make amends?

Simple rhyming text is layered with playful illustrations to explore the many forms that walls can take – as well as the myriad feelings that accompany them. SOMETIMES A WALL… will inspire readers to scale walls of their own, with imagination and empathy.

 

BEFORE

Before leading students in a modified PICTURE WALK, use a post-it note or something similar to conceal the phrase (“A valuable lesson in friendship, one wall at a time”) on the back cover, leaving the illustration visible.

Begin with the front cover. Ask: What’s going on in the picture? What will this story be about? Who will be the characters in this story? What do you see that makes you say that?

What might the title, SOMETIMES A WALL… mean? Notice it includes an ellipsis (three dots) to indicate a pause or omission. It’s meant to get the reader thinking: “Sometimes a wall… what?” How would you finish the sentence?

Now, open the book to reveal both the front and back covers. (NOTE: the phrase “A valuable lesson in friendship, one wall at a time” should still be concealed.) Ask: What’s going on in the picture? Does seeing both front and back covers change your predictions about what the story will be about? What do you see that makes you say that?

Uncover and share the phrase on the back. What might “A valuable lesson in friendship, one wall at a time” mean? Make a prediction about what will happen inside the pages of the book between the image on the front and the image on the back cover.

 

DURING

Guided by the open-ended questions – What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find? – continue to encourage students to “read” the story by sharing their interpretations and thoughts about the developing art and narrative.

Additional things to consider when reading: use of color and white space and use of the gutter – the inside margin at the center of a book.

 

AFTER

  • Have each child draw an act of kindness on their own 6×6 paper square. Piece the squares together to create a classroom Friendship Quilt.
  • Make a Double Bubble Map comparing and contrasting SOMETIMES A WALL with I WALK WITH VANESSA or DRAW THE LINE.
  • Work with the students to create a “path to peace” poster. What steps did the two characters take to resolve their differences? (see resources below for more about the Peace Path)

 

EXTENSIONS and RESOURCES:

      • Journal: Can you think of a time you experienced a similar type of disagreement with a friend? How did you feel? Were you able to work things out?

OTHER BOOKS TO EXPLORE: