“On Fridays, there’s Assembly.” Mr. Ross makes announcements. Sometimes there’s a guest, sometimes not. And if the kids are good, one of them “gets to do something for the whole school. A performance… called ‘Sharing Gifts.'”
One week a student plays the tuba. Another week, there are magic tricks. Another jokes.
“He put on a white leotard.
He put on black pants.
He put on black slippers.
Then he was ready.”
Mr. Ross makes another anouncement. The kids sing a song. And all the while, the reader feels the tension rising. How will the kids react when John steps out from behind the curtain and begins to dance?
The curtain moves and there is John, in first position, hands carefully poised in front of him. Some of the kids laugh. Mrs. K shushes them, but John looks worried. As a reader, I worried, too…
JOHN’S TURN by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kate Berube is a book about facing your fears, the courage it can take to share your passion, and the importance of following your heart and being your true self.
For writers and illustrators, this book is a master study in using the picture book format to build anticipation, and make powerful use of the page turn and wordless spreads to build emotion. Warm and tender illustrations in ink and paint pair perfectly with this exquisite text.
I loved this book so much and highly recommend it for every classroom and home library.
***
Enjoy this interview with author Mac Barnett talking about vulnerability, art, and picture books:
What if the new table they choose is too big? Will Claire be able to reach the pancake syrup? Will she need to shout across the table to be heard?
While the family dreams up all the things they’ll be able to do on their bigger table – crafts, puzzles, baking – Claire “wants to sweep all their ideas onto the floor.”
Why do things have to be different? This change won’t be as easy for Claire as for the others in the family. Their house “already felt like home,” and Claire can’t stop thinking about it.
Try as she may, her anger grows until “fists slam down” and “tears well up.”
“I miss our old table,” I tell Mama.
“I’m sure Grandpa is going to miss his old home too,” Mama says,…”But now we get to make room for new memories.”
DIANNE: Welcome to ReaderKidZ, Robyn! I couldn’t be happier to introduce you to readers and celebrate your newest book.
The bio at the back of your book mentions that you spend “countless hours” at your kitchen table, a hand-me-down from your grandma. Like your protagonist Clare, you love nothing better than time at the table “playing games, puzzling, and making new memories with family and friends.” What’s one of your favorite childhood memories from your family’s table?
ROBYN: Hi Dianne, thank you for having me. I’m so eager for readers to meet Clare and her community! Tables play an important role in all our lives, and dinners especially are a time to connect and recap about the day. Growing up I enjoyed spaghetti nights the most! While the spaghetti was delicious, I loved that my mom made us all wear giant bibs. (To protect our clothes of course.) And not just me, my parents also joined in. For me, those dinners represented being accepted just as you are. It felt silly to see grownups with bibs on, but I also knew that meant I could be a little sloppy with my spaghetti slurping, and no one would judge me.
DIANNE: Claire loves her family’s small, round table! The memories she has made, the food they have shared, and the conversations they have had. But things are changing and one of those changes will mean the family will need a larger table when Grandpa moves in. While Claire’s excited to have Grandpa live with them, she’s not too happy about losing the table that’s been the center of so many special times.
I’m curious – which came first? The idea of a story about a grandparent moving in? Or the story of the family table? What was the inspiration for THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM for ONE MORE?
ROBYN: Ah, great question. I had so much fun in the evolution of this story! It started out as a book about tables and all the ways in which we use tables: homework help, crafts, conducting experiments, and celebrations. But the more I tinkered with edits, the more questions I started to ask about the potential characters. Why would a family need to get a new table? What would they be celebrating? And who would be involved? As I was writing, my family was discussing what it would be like for one of my parents to come live with us. So, when I discovered the story would be about a grandpa moving in, I decided to name the main character Clare, after my own grandfather. The more questions I asked, the more the manuscript developed into a story with a narrative arc, character development, and a community with big heart.
DIANNE: There’s always so much more to the development of a story than meets the eye. Thanks for sharing that!
There’s a scene in this story when the emotion of all the changes bubbles up inside Clare and tears and anger spill out. It’s a pivotal moment that many kids will relate to. Tell us more…
ROBYN: Tables play a significant role in our lives. Family mealtimes especially have a positive impact on a child’s sense of self. When families gather at the table it fosters a feeling of security, inclusion, and togetherness. As a child therapist, I believe ALL feelings are welcome. It was important for me to show readers that the table is a safe space to connect, laugh, cry, or just sit in silence. In Clare’s story we see her experience a range of emotions. And when her BIG feelings overflow at the table, her family is there to support her. In the end, my hope is that more families utilize their tables as an opportunity to nurture their relationships and reconnect.
DIANNE: Yes! Nurturing and reconnecting around the table is a beautiful way to build relationships with family and friends.
Can you share what you’re working on now? What can your readers look forward to next?
ROBYN: Absolutely! Next up is my second picture biography, A MIND OF HER OWN, THE STORY OF AGATHA CHRSITIE. I’m very eager for readers to learn about the innerworkings of the “Queen of Crime!” And I have another unannounced picture book on the horizon for 2025. This one was inspired by the long summer drives to my grandma’s house at the beach. I think many readers, and parents, will be able to relate to those long-cramped car rides.
Thank you for inviting me to share my story with ReaderKidZ Dianne! I’m a huge fan of your books so this was a true honor.
DIANNE: Two new picture books! We’ll be looking for those in 2024 and 2025.
Thanks again, Robyn, for stopping by ReaderKidZ and for sharing some of the story behind the story of THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE. 🙂
“Keep an open heart
that’s where curiosity likes to start.”
— Georgia Heard
Entry to the Wonder House starts with curiosity. The first poem, by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, begins as a series of questions like those a child might ask …
Why do diamonds wink
and shine?
What is quartz?
What is lime?
What fossils still sleep underground?
How does our Earth
keep spinning around?…
A collaboration of poet/teachers Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard, this stunning collection invites readers into the rooms of an imagined house – a room of praise, a room of ordinary things. Rooms of time and place, quiet and imagination.
With each turn of the page, readers encounter luminous, mixed media illustrations by Deborah Freeman. And the wondering magic continues.
WELCOME TO THE WONDER HOUSE is a poetry collection like no other I’ve read. The poems beg to be read aloud, studied, and reread again. The illustrations slow us down, as we search for the connections of words and art, imagery, ideas, and questions.
Once you’ve finished enjoying the poems and art, treat yourself to this conversation with librarian, Betsy Bird, the authors, illustrator, and editor, Rebecca Davis, as each talks about the genesis of the book, the collaboration process, and the creation of the art.
” … from the moment I open my eyes I can tell it’s a Pool Day.”
I didn’t grow up with a pool nearby but, for a few years, we lived next-door to neighbors who had recently built a pool in their backyard.
Whenever my sisters and I heard splashing at their house, we’d run to the wide clearing between the trees that separated our homes and look longingly towards their yard, hoping for an invitation…
OUR POOL, written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins, brought me back to Springwood Path and the joy of jumping in the neighbor’s pool on a hot, humid day.
“You can feel TALL
in the shallow end.
And OH-SO-SHORT
in the deep end…
We “Marco!”
And we “Polo!”…
We make our way from wall
to wall underwater or on the
surface, racing, laughing, and
hand-over-hand edge-bracing.
Do your memories of swimming include jumping in a neighbor’s pool like mine do? Or maybe yours are about the excitement of heading off to a community pool where people are swimming “in every direction. Breaststrokers, backstrokers. Butterfliers and doggie-paddlers.”
Either way, it’s a day full of games and snacks and flips and handstands and one final CANNONBALL! And then, tired and happy (and maybe, even, hungry again) it’s time to dry off, and head home, basking in the glow of a good time at the POOL.
Summer is soon coming to a close and some kids have already headed back to school. But the weather is still warm in many places, and even if you can’t jump in the pool any time soon, you can pick up a copy of OUR POOL from your local library or bookstore and enjoy revisiting some of your best summertime memories.
Earlier this month, my newest, THE SHARING BOOK, arrived on bookstore shelves. It’s a book inspired by my friendship with 7 other women who, among their many talents, are also writers. We met 18 years ago at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and we’ve been friends ever since.
In the years following graduation, we’ve gathered on both sides of the country and places in between. We write together, talk together, cook together, and share the things happening in our daily lives. We also celebrate — first books, grandbabies, moves to new homes, and our latest adventures.
In one conversation, sometime after the sale of Stephanie Parsley Ledyard’s first book, PIE IS FOR SHARING (illo. by Jason Chin) but before the book was published, we were gathered on the porch and one of us (I couldn’t remember who, but it turns out it was Stephanie Greene, author of over 30 books) said “Laps are for sharing.” Although those words aren’t actually in the book, the inspiration for the story began there, right there, sitting on the porch with good friends. At the time I promised that, if I were able to write this idea into a manuscript that sold, I would dedicate the book to these dear friends. And so, their names are included on the final page.
It took months to settle on the 225 words that would eventually become this book, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the way it turned out. My hope — when you read it — is that you’ll feel the same spark of joy that I did when I shared it with kids for the very first time.
I hope you’ll buy or request THE SHARING BOOK from your library and, if you’re willing, leave a review in all the places (Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, Amazon). These are some of the best ways to bring a book to a young reader’s, parent’s or caregiver’s, teacher’s or librarian’s attention. (Many thanks in advance!)
Looking for a song to pair with the book at storytime? Check out this “Hello and Goodbye” song from Jbrary.
Beetles are fascinating! They come in all different colors, sizes, and shapes. What’s not to love? And right up there with real live beetles are books about beetles.
As a long-time, primary-grades teacher, I know the importance of “just right” books for emerging and progressing readers: an engaging plot, eye-catching pictures that support the text (expertly illustrated by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn), along with repetition, decodable words, and familiar sight words. Add in a bit of “beetle math” – sorting bugs into child-friendly categories – and you know you’ve struck early reader gold!
Be sure to search out these books for your kiddos who are practicing their early reading skills!
Check out these FREE Downloadable materials to extend the book:
Every child is different. Some kids tend to be anxious, and others, not so much. Some of those worriers will, over time, learn strategies that help them deal with anxiety. BRAVE EVERY DAY, by Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton is a picture book about such a child. When she’s worried, Camila does what she does best – hide. Her “what if” and “I can’t” worries sneak up on her whenever she’s at school. Her “I’m scared” worries visit her in the dark of night.
Camila does not feel even a tiny bit brave. Not yet, anyway. But soon enough, on the day her class takes a trip to the aquarium, Camila has a chance to face her worries head on…
“When the big day arrives, Camila tries her best to blend in and avoid all the scary things she’s imagined might happen in this new and unfamiliar setting. But then, she bumps into Kai, another child who’s carrying his own set of worries. He loves reading about stingrays, but is too afraid to meet them “in-person.” Will Camilla accompany Kai to visit the stingray exhibit?
As it turns out, her heart is larger than the fear that has haunted her. “I’ll try,” she says. It’s a first step, and it’s enough because it allows her to open herself up to taking many more steps towards bravery.
A perfect book for the child who needs to know that small steps of courage, taken one-by-one and day-by-day, can make a BIG difference.
