​Judging a Book by Its Cover: Twitter Thread

Limiting colors to complimentary purple and yellow, opposites  on the color wheel, is brilliant.

Wild Swans by Xanthe Gresham Knight ill by Charlotte Gastaut

​Some tales get lost over time. They fall through the cracks of pavements or are washed out into the ocean. But some child, playing on the street or digging in the sand, will catch sight of a story gleaming like a chip of old china or lost silver. They will pick it up, hold it to the light and never rest until they have experienced every moment. Perhaps you are one such child.

And thus it begins. In the hands of a skilled storyteller, Wild Swans weaves its magic with lustrous words and images. The King of the North was blessed with eleven sons and one daughter Eliza. A plague swept through the land, taking the lives of many, including his wife. The king remarries a woman who possess powerful skills of healing and magic. She sends the brothers away to teach them about the world, as well as protect them from the plague. Casting a spell upon the boys, they become swans by day, human at night. Eliza grows up, far from the plague-riddled kingdom, learning to spin and knit. When she receives word that her father and stepmother have succumbed to the plague, she goes in search of her brothers. Eliza learns that she can reverse the stepmother’s enchantment by gathering nettles, spinning the prickly fibers into yarn and knitting a tunic for each boy. Time runs out. She completes all but the sleeve of the eleventh tunic. Tossing a tunic upon each swan, the boys permanently become human. One brother retains a white wing, due to the missing sleeve. The princes return to rule the eleven kingdoms of the north. Eliza is crowned Queen  and rules over all.

Meet Xanthe Gresham Knight

Introducing Charlotte Gastaut

Charlotte Gastaut is a talented French artist. Her work includes an extensive variety of projects. In addition to book illustration she has been commissioned by companies such as Godiva to create product packaging.   Her work has also been embraced by the fashion world.  Some of her illustrations were reproduced on dresses of Maison Fendi, for a fashion show at Rome's Trevi Fountain. The collection was designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Gorgeous design. Sumptuous art.

Love by Matt de la Peña ill by Loren Long

Follow the yellow clues carefully placed on succeeding pages.  The opening illustrations present several images of love:  faces of caring adults standing in a sunlit nursery, the warmth that suffuses a day in the park, dancing on rooftops and in city streets.  Each page is bathed in joyful tints and shades of yellow.  Love, as represented by this golden color is strikingly evident. But the scene changes and darkness dominates several images as pain and confusion enter into the picture.  Searching for yellow becomes a bit of a challenge. However the careful observer will find hints that gold still remains: a faithful dog, a cuddly teddy bear, a painting of a religious figure. While difficult to find, there are glimpses of yellow, glimmers of love in a world that is sometimes difficult and incomprehensible.  Love remains in caring family relationships, the glory of nature, and the joy of discovery.

Bonus

Deborah Marcero: Author and Illustrator

Ursa's Light by Deborah Marcero

"There were all the other bears... and then, there was Ursa."

Ursa's Light, written and illustrated by Marcero, introduces readers to a charming little bear aptly named Ursa.  From the beginning the double play on words is readily apparent. While her classmates are busily engaged in playground amusements, Ursa is fixated on the heavens above. She has a dream: she wants to fly.  Not one to be deterred, she observes, calculates, tries, fails, refuses to accept to defeat, and tries again and again. There must be a way to realize her dream. Eventually she finds a way.  Not in the manner she initially envisioned.  But she finds a way.

The pages are chock full of details:  Ursa's eyes always seem to be looking up; inserts of pages from Ursa's notebook; a brother named Orion; and a shirt emblazoned with the message "Live Delibearately."  The color pallet is bold, with plenty of black punctuated with strong shades of rust and gold. ​It fits Ursa perfectly.

Rosie and Crayon by Deborah Marcero

"Rosie's tears reflected all the colors that filled her world."

Meet Rosie and her beloved puppy Crayon. Once again Marcero has selected an appropriate name. This pet colors Rosie's days, making each one vibrant. Initial pages feature colors that reflect Rosie's relationship with the pup, "tickled greens and fluttering yellows." One day Crayon is gone. Text does not specifically mention death, but it is implied. Color leaves Rosie's world. With a tear-stained face, she puts away her crayons and the dog's collar. Eventually she sets aside her grief and helps locate a lost kitten. Color returns to her life in the form of friendship with the missing kitten and its owner. A tender story of grief and healing. ​

Rosie and Crayon effectively employs color to convey emotion.  Layout design is equally important to the story. Life with Crayon is busy, filled with a plethora of details. When Rosie is bereft, there are vast amounts of empty space on the page.  Observant readers will discover charming little details: R+C carved into a tree and letters for the title page  formed from crayons.

Twinderella: A Fractioned Fairy Tale
by Corey Rosen Schwartz illustrated by Deborah Marcero

"Gadzooks, I must be dreaming!"

Who knew that Cinderella could become a foray into the world of fractions? Corey Rosen Schwartz knew.  Twinderella: A Fractioned Fairy Tale is delightful little riff on the traditional story featuring not one, but two mistreated sisters: Cinderella and Tinderella. Chores are divided in half. They appear to share everything, from supper to a bed. But they do not share the same dream. Will their fairy godmom be able to extricate the girls from their life of servitude and grant each girl the wish of her heart?  Will there be not one, but two "happily ever afters?" Well, this is a fairy tale, so some extraordinary magic on the part of this godmom makes it happen. Schwartz tells this fractioned tale in clever couplets. Double good. Double fun.

End papers feature halves of sandwiches and oranges as well as pairs of shoes and gloves. Marcero ups the fantasy element with vibrant colors, including the sisters' bright red hair. Handsome Prince Charming has some serious moves and dances the night away with both girls.  Not to be outdone, Tinderella dips Charming, proving these girls can "dance with the stars." ​

The Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2017

​This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award — and the first year of the Times’ partnership with the New York Public Library on the honor. We’re unveiling a new name: The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award. The Times and NYPL share a mission: to recognize the best in children’s literature and bring great books to young readers.
As always, the winners were selected by a panel of three judges, who based their decision purely on artistic merit. The 2017 judges are Steven Guarnaccia, an associate professor of illustration at Parsons The New School for Design and the author and illustrator of numerous books; Marjorie Priceman, the author and illustrator of many children’s books and the winner of two Caldecott Honors and two New York Times Best Illustrated Books Awards; and Louise Lareau, the head librarian of the New York Public Library Children’s Center.   New York Times November 2, 2017

On a Magical Do-Nothing Day 
Written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos
Written by Monica Brown Illustrated by John Parra

King of the Sky
Written by Nicola Davies Illustrated by Laura Carlin

Feather
Rémi Courgeon

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality
Written by Jonah Winter Illustrated by Stacy Innerst

A River
​Marc Martin

The Way Home in the Night
Akiko Miyakoshi

Plume
Isabelle Simler

Town Is By the Sea
Joanne Schwartz Illustrated by Sydney Smith

Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters
Michael Mahin Illustrated by Evan Turk

Mayla Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines
​by Jeanne Walker Harvey ill Dow Phumiruk

Maya Lin was a student at student at Yale University when she entered and won a national contest to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This edifice honors the sacrifices of all who served in this war and includes the names of almost 58,000 soldiers who died fighting or were declared missing. Jeanne Walker Harvey tells the story of a thoughtful and talented artist. Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines opens with images from Maya's childhood and highlights her love of nature including a love of light and open space. The influence of her talented parents and her Chinese heritage are mentioned. The text emphasizes her extraordinary vision, dedication, and care for this project. Concluding pages include some of her other projects. The author's note provides additional background material.

Maya Lin standing in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Rolling Thunder
​by Kate Messner ill by Greg Ruth

Greg' Ruth’s full page spread illustrations are so realistic that you can hear and feel the power of the engines rumbling across the landscape. His art embodies a glowing tribute to the concept of “spacious skies" and the majesty of America, as the two travel across the country. Warm and glowing light floods the pages. With tender goodbye kisses, a military salute, and a star-spangled silhouette, emotion is packed into every page.

Companion Books

The Wall

The Story of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial

Creating Graphic Design: A Student Project

What makes a graphic design stand out? An examination of art created by Ford provides opportunities for observation. Why not distribute copies of these books to budding artists and discuss principles of effective design. Ask: How does the artist use color, contrast, size, scale, shape, and placement to create a graphic that is interesting and informative?

Students might be encouraged to try making a graphic design. A common item that students have is a backpack. Why not create graphic designs based on "What's in my backpack?" or "What's in my lunchbox?" Always up for a challenge, I decided to try making a graphic design using an item from my lunchbox. (In this case it is a chocolate chip cookie.)  Of course, that meant I would be starting with a capital letter "C." ​After locating a few simple materials, I was on my way. Solid colored heavy printer paper seemed like a logical choice for a background material.  Scissors helped a free-form cookie take shape. I added pops of color with some yellow and purple post-it notes. Waxy brown crayon markings served as the chocolate chips. A hole punch made short work on the remaining scraps and gave the design some pizzazz. Using children's board books to teach students principles of graphic design is a fresh and fun approach to teaching visual arts. This activity is suitable for students of all ages

Additonal Books in the Mrs. Peanuckle Alphabet Series

It was the shoes. It was definitely the shoes. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Hold on to your footwear. I'll come back to this later. Let's talk about All's Faire in Middle School, Victoria Jamieson's latest graphic novel. Florida Renaissance Faire, an annual festival celebrating that the customs, costumes, and crafts from 1600 England is the setting. Every autumn for eight weeks visitors are transported to the time of knights, dragons, feasts and jousts.This is eleven-year-old Imogene's world.  Imogene, affectionately known as Impy,  and her family thrive on being a part of this larger-than-life drama. Each year her mother manages “The Shoppe” and her father becomes evil knight Sir Hugo. She will finally become a cast member and serve as Hugo’s squire. While most of the work involves cleaning up after the horse, it has its engaging moments. During off season dad sells pool supplies. while Impy and her brother are homeschooled. Things are about to change. This year Imogene decides on a new challenge: attend middle school. Leaving the familiar world of faire and family, she ventures off on the quest for education in public school.

Shoes, Shame, and Middle School Pain

Now, back to those shoes. Impy gets ready for her first big day at school with the purchase of a custom pair of boots from the Faire's Tannery. To her dismay, she discovers that her boots are not considered de rigueur with classmates. In order to be part of the crowd, she needs a pair of brand name shoes., the ones that "everyone" is wearing. After some difficult moments and serious negotiating with her mother, she finally gets a pair of the stylish footwear. The shoes are not her size, and are actually knock-offs.  Imogene endures more humiliation when students pointedly remark on what they see as defects. From that point on, middle school experience only gets worse.

Illuminated Manuscript

Resources: Creating Illuminated Letters

Why Am I Me? by Paige Britt ill Sean Qualls & Selina Alko

But then there's that star... Observant readers will notice the first hint of a star on the title page.

​One of the year's most visually and philosophically intriguing covers is  Am I Me? The husband and wife team of  Sean Qualls and Selina Alko has created a stunningly bold and colorful cover image. Readers will find deeper concepts embedded within the art. Look at the shared faces, each maintaining a uniquely individual identity, while expressing a shared perception. One thing that immediately caught my eye was the use of stars. The shared eye becomes a star, symbolizing a united vision. I grabbed a heavy glass star and went in search of the numerous stars found throughout the book.

Companion Activity

If you enjoy the challenge of origami, try making origami stars. Includes two instructional videos.

Want something less intricate? Try these cut paper stars. Instructional video guides you through each fold.

Lots of stars! Printable templates to use for making stars with a variety of points.

Masterpiece Mix by Roxie Munro

I first met Roxie Munro in 2014 when she presented her forthcoming book Market Maze to a group of librarians. In her introductory remarks she used a term that was unfamiliar to me: gamification. The word intrigued me. I hastily scribbled it down on in my notes, determined to learn more about the concept: "the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts." * ​The genius of Munro's work lies in her ability to create a story, add a game element, and then take the book one step farther, creating layers of visual complexity within a picture book format.

Munro wants to paint what she loves: her neighborhood. So she moves beyond the walls of the National Gallery and sets this book in her own community. ​With the accomplished strokes of the artist's brush, she brings this masterpiece into her own environment. That's where the gamification commences. Her neighborhood becomes a repository for these masterpiece images. Readers will enjoy locating the art reproductions, referring back to the pages on which each is introduced and then, observing the clever placement of each classic showpiece within the neighborhood. For example, Cassatt's sketch of mother and child is located at the Day Care Center, The Degas sculpture of a ballerina is found in front of the Dance Studio.  A map key with corresponding images and descriptions of the art is located on the back pages. It's art. It's educational. It invites discovery and exploration. It encourages creation. It's gamification. It's brilliant!​

More Amazing Mazes

Maze Ways A to Z

Market Maze

Amazement Park: ​12 Wild Mazes