ARMANDO'S ISLAND: A Picture Book Review, Author Interview, and Giveaway

From the publisher:

Armando's home is the rainforest—he knows its sights, smells, tastes, and sounds. He even knows its moods. From the bottom of the forest floor to the top of the emergent layer, the trees are also home to a multitude of creatures. When outsiders begin laying claim to and destroying the surrounding landscape, the displaced animals find refuge with Armando in the only remaining pocket of untouched forest, his "island." As people come in and animals are forced out, this poignant tale shows the cumulative and disastrous effects of Amazonian deforestation. (The Creative Company: 2023)

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It is always a pleasure to review one of Marsha Diane Arnold's beautifully written picture books. For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, you may remember Badger's Perfect Garden, Mine. Yours., Lights Out, or Galapagos Girl. (if you're new to my blog, check those titles out!). 

Marsha's love for animals, nature, and conserving the environment is present in her newly released book, ARMANDO'S ISLAND. This time, as the book blurb indicated, it's a story about a young boy growing up surrounded by the animals of the Amazon rainforest.  

REVIEW

The book sets the stage with this word picture:

Beneath a canopy of trees, flowing like green ocean, 

in an ancient forest

lived Armando.

and this illustration: 

Marsha describes Armando's life in sensory language:

Walking barefoot, leaves crunching beneath him, 

playing among riverbanks, mud squishing between toes

skipping across fallen logs, grasshoppers jumping, 

climbing liana vines, lizards scrambling beside him

he felt connected to his leafy refuge.

Armando grows, as does his love for the rainforest.

Men and women come to Armando asking him to sell his land. They promise him great wealth in return. Repeatedly, Armando refuses.

"I am rich already," said Armando,

gazing at the emerald green surrounding him.

Each conversation is followed by a scene showing the machinery destroying the rainforest and the animals and birds fleeing to Armando's land.

In the morning, to the east, a great hammering and

sharp drilling 

wailed through the air.

Dolphins stopped swimming.

Otters stopped sliding.

Capybaras stopped bathing.

Hummingbirds left their dance beneath the waterfall

as they fled, to the west, to Armando's. 

The expressions on the animals' faces reflect their emotions as they face their homes destruction.

 

In the end, 

Now, Armando's home stands crowded and apart,

an island of emerald green, shimmering in the sunlight.

Sometimes the people to the north, south, east, and west

glance at Armando's island, fragile in the mist.

Armando hopes that some morning with the first song of the toucan,

a long-ago memory will come to them...

Anne Yvonne's lush illustrations compliment Marsha's lyrical language and immerse readers into the interconnections of the rainforest's ecosystem. I loved how she even showed the feelings of the animals who are displaced.

Several pages show Armando on one side of the text along with the machinery destroying the forest on the other. 

 

To read the backstory behind Armando's Island (and how long it took to get this book out into the world!), please see Beth Anderson's blog post.

CURRICULUM RESOURCE

I picture Armando's Island used in Pre-K through third-grade classrooms. The back matter includes three pages of information and illustrations of animals in the Amazon rainforest. An activity guide will be available on the publisher's website on September 1--just in time for back to school!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: What was your inspiration for this book? It is so rich with detail—did you go to the Amazon yourself or is this from research?

MARSHA: I wish I could say I traveled to the Amazon, but the book came from research and from my great love of nature and rainforests. 

As I note in my Activity Guide, "There is a difference in knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by knowing information. We may never travel to the Amazon rainforest, so we will not know it by acquaintance. But we can immerse ourselves as much as possible with videos, audios, books, and activities and we may know and appreciate it a little in this way."

I started researching Armando’s Island thirty years ago! At that time, I was involved with a number of conservation organizations, some working to protect the rainforests. Later, I visited Costa Rica and fell in love with the rainforests there. My husband and I built a casita in the rainforest years after that first visit. Macaws, monkeys, and toucans were our neighbors. 

CAROL: How did you get Armando’s name? Is he from a particular tribe?

MARSHA: I have no remembrance of where the name Armando came from. The rhythm of phrases is always important to me and I do think this has a lovely rhythm - Armando’s Island. I suspect I researched names common in Latin America. Armando is a multicultural name. In Latin America, it is associated with strength, courage, and a fierce loyalty to friends. The Armando in my book is certainly all of those.

The name is not from a particular tribe. I wrote the story as a fable, an ode to the rainforest and its animals and those who stand with them. Anne Yvonne did scrupulous research. She deliberately made Armando’s face paint and headdress non-specific, but he is identifiable as an indigenous Brazilian tribesman.

I love that a man named Armando, the only person I know with that name, invited me to join the 2008 Artists in the Back Country group of seven artists, chosen to spend a week in the High Sierras, painting, photographing, and writing. Another natural island. Serendipity?

CAROL: Do you consider this free verse poetry?  (seems so to me!)

MARSHA: I have always thought of it simply as lyrical writing, but free verse poetry sounds very nice to me. Thank you!

CAROL: Were you involved in the choice of the artist? Anne Yvonne is perfect for this book.  What medium does she use?

MARSHA: In a roundabout way you might say I was involved. At the end of Armando’s Island’s thirty-year journey, there were two publishers who offered a contract. I knew that The Creative Company published beautiful books and in 2020 they had found the perfect illustrator, Susan Reagan, for my book on light pollution, Lights Out. I trusted them to find another perfect illustrator. They did not let me down. I was thrilled and humbled that someone of Anne Yvonne Gilbert’s caliber would be illustrating my book. She used colored pencils over-layered with sepia drawing ink. So beautiful.

CAROL: Whose idea was it to frame some of the text between an illustration of the machinery and the animals? That is brilliant juxtaposition. 

CAROL: The layouts were Anne Yvonne's ideas, approved by the art director, Rita Marshall. It is indeed a brilliant juxtaposition.

Thank you, Carol, for having me on your blog and for your insightful questions.

GIVEAWAY

To enter the giveaway, please leave me a comment along with your email address if you are new to my blog. U.S. addresses only. If you prefer, you can shoot me an email instead. If you are a home school educator, teacher, or librarian please let me know. You'll get two chances. The giveaway ends August 15. 

ONE SMALL THING: A Picture Book Review and Giveaway

Marsha Diane Arnold's lovely friendship/nature picture books are no strangers to my blog. I've had the privilege of sharing several: May I Come In?, Badger's Perfect Garden, Mine. Yours Lights Out and Galapagos Girl. She's back again with her newest book, One Small Thing (Beaming Books) which comes out next week! You can find the story behind this story on her website where you'll also find a downloadable activity guide. The child-friendly illustrations are by Laura Watkins.

REVIEW

Quickly, the reader is drawn into the story. Something awful has happened in Brightly Wood!

The animals care that Raccoon lost his home, but they don't know what to do. Mouse feels too small to help, Rabbit hopes someone else will help him, Squirrel sniffles and is sad. Those three go home and return to their normal lives.

Beaver, on the other hand, can't get a nagging question out of his head. "Where will Raccoon live now?" Badger has his own worrisome problem. What happened to Raccoon's friend, a silly cricket? He goes on a quest to find him.

While Beaver builds a new house for Raccoon and Badger hunts for the cricket, the other three friends realize that there really is "one small thing" they each can do for Raccoon. 

In the end, Raccoon has a new home, and his friends learn that even small acts of kindness are big.

CONVERSATION STARTER

Although this story may seem obvious to adults, we need to see it through the eyes and experiences of young children. They hear about people getting sick, losing their home or a loved one.  Little ones will identify with the characters' feelings of helplessness. Hopefully, they will be inspired when they see a small (or big!) way to help a friend in trouble and take away the importance of caring even through small acts of kindness. 

I picture a librarian or teacher holding this book up and sharing it with a group of young listeners. The obvious questions the adult asks will be, "Have you ever felt like any of these animals?" and "What did you do to help a friend?" or "What could you do in the future?" 

GIVEAWAY

Please leave a comment with your name and email address if you are new to my blog. You can also email me if you prefer. U.S. postal addresses only and educators or librarians get two chances. The giveaway ends May 6th.  Don't worry if you don't see your comment immediately. I need to vet all comments before they go live.

Lights Out: A Review and Picture Book Giveaway

Congratulations to Kathy Wiechman who won the ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of EQUAL from last week's blog. For those of you who didn't win, I'll be posting a review at a later date and you'll have an additional chance to win the book.

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Marsha Diane Arnold is another author who is no stranger to my blog. This week I'm delighted to be a part of the launch of her newest book, Lights Out with magnificent illustrations by Susan Reagan. As I think you'll see in the review below, Susan does a great job of amplifying Marsha's text. 

For centuries, people on Earth looked to the night sky for navigation, for inspiration, for wonder. But today, we can barely see that sky through all the artificial light. In fact, we see less than 1 percent of the night sky compared with people of the 1600’s. Author's Note

Today's children learn about air and water pollution, but what about light pollution? As a child, Marsha was surrounded by Kansas farmland. She remembers climbing out on the roof at night and being enthralled by the constellations. In 2008 on a Sequoia National Park Foundation's Authors in the Back Country adventure, she spent a week camped at 10,000 feet. She looked out of her tent at the darkness and dreamed of writing a picture book about the dangers of light pollution. Lights Out is the result of that dream.

REVIEW

Look at this beautiful opening:

Little fox peeks out from her den. Beetle flies above her. "Lights out!" she barks. But the lights stay on.

Fox and Beetle begin a journey to find a place where lights do not
disturb nighttime darkness. Unfortunately, that place is hard to find.
Instead, they discover all sorts of lights: Traffic lights, floodlights, blinking lights, and flashing lights. 

Where is Darkness? Where is Night, where coyotes sing, owls hunt, and birds fly across continents, where foxes move through the dark and beetles are more than beetles? 

The two begin their search around the world for Darkness.

They find a songbird who is confused by all the light because there are no stars to guide her. 

The songbird joins their search through the whole world--but everywhere is the same. Lights. No Darkness.

In the wetlands, Frog quietly waits for a nighttime chorus. Without Dark, only silence.

Frog joins the trio and so does a bear who can't hibernate because of the light. 

Through the forests and the meadows, across highlands, deserts, dunes, on tundras, prairies, and high mountains, they search.

When they come upon baby turtles on the seashore who can't make it back into the ocean, the friends take action and shepherd the hatchlings back to the sea.

The baby turtles follow Firefly and moon's glow, patterns of the Night emerge. Hatchlings paddle safely away.

The book closes with the right "lights" on and well,....you'll just have to purchase the book to see the perfect ending!

Children will get the message: light pollution is harmful to animals. Teachers, parents, and grandparents can add that human biorhythms can also be affected by too much light. This will be a great classroom resource for pre-school through third-grade students. 

Here is a link to several downloadable STEAM activities to go along with Lights Out. 

GIVEAWAY

One fortunate reader will win this book! Leave me your email address (if you are new to my blog) and I'll enter your name. Giveaway ends August 22; U.S. addresses only. For additional chances, share this on social media or start following my blog--just let me know what you do in the comments. 

Mine. Yours. A Nearly Wordless Picture Book Review, Challenge, and Giveaway

Congratulations to Mary Jane Coward who won Daddy, Can You See the Moon? from last week's blog.

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Marsha Diane Arnold is back with another new picture book. This one is practically wordless! But yet an important story is told through three words and Qin Leng's exquisite, detailed illustrations. 

Mine. Yours. (Kids Can Press, 2019)  follows Little Panda in his exploration of what belongs to him and what belongs to others.  Important lessons about boundaries and possessions are told as he is "sternly" instructed by Big Panda and the other animals in the forest. When his beloved kite becomes a source of conflict among the animals, Big Panda teaches them all a sweet lesson about "Ours". This book will be useful in the Pre-K through first grade classrooms as a great conversation-starter about ownership and sharing. 

Join me in this interview with Marsha as she shares insights into writing this almost wordless picture book.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Carol: It’s my understanding that publishers don’t want illustrator notes from the author, they just want the text. So, how did you “get away” with breaking the rules?

MARSHA: It’s true that many editors prefer manuscripts without art notes. It’s also true that most of the writers in my writer’s group use art notes as needed. I think one reason I see more art notes on mine and other writers’ manuscripts is because picture book texts are much shorter than they were when I began writing. My first picture books had no art notes at all, but they were also 1200 to 1500 words long. Today, most of my manuscripts are less than 500 words so visual cues are sometimes helpful.

There are always exceptions to the “norm.” Of course, for a minimal text manuscript like Mine. Yours. art notes are necessary. There are only 3 different words, 25 words in all. As in any story, the writer determines the setting, the characters, and the plot. The art notes were written and revised and revised, just as any manuscript would be.

Here’s an example from my manuscript:

[Two Yellow-throated Martens make orchid flower crowns/necklaces on top of a rock.

Kite dips down entangling several strings of flowers in its tail, trailing them into the sky.]

Mine! 

Mine!

[A Golden Snub-nosed Monkey plays Chinese Jianzi with a shuttlecock (feathercock) in the

branches of a tree. Kite whips up, the tail snatching the shuttlecocks.]

Mine! 

[As the wind whips and dips more wildly, Little Panda tries to untangle the items in kite’s

tail.  Suddenly, he too is lifted off the ground. He grips the string as he and kite fly off the

page, exiting right.]

CAROL: Was your agent involved or did you negotiate it yourself?

MARSHA: My wonderful agent, Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary, negotiates everything for me. I’m so grateful to have her.

However, I was lucky to meet someone from Kids Can Press at ALA a few years ago. She was the one who opened the door for me to send my manuscripts. Kids Can Press is a Canadian publisher and most often works with Canadian writers and illustrators.

CAROL: What was your inspiration for Mine. Yours.?  

Mine. Yours. came about in a very different way from most of my books. It was meant to be a follow-up to my picture book Lost. Found., but that didn’t work out. I rewrote the story with different animals. It took awhile to decide on the setting in China and Asian animals, but I’m so happy that’s where the story landed, just as I am happy the book landed with Kids Can Press.

Check out more of Marsha's picture books on her blog. Parents and educators, click on this link for a downloadable pdf of two activities you can do with your children. (Make sure you click on "View File" in the blue box on the top left. It takes a few minutes to load.)

NOTE AND CHALLENGE: I recently watched a television ad for an investment company. It used about 25 words to tell the story of a man's life--from birth to caring for his invalid mother. The viewer got the message! Lots of ads tell stories. Can you create an almost wordless story? What images would you use to tell it?

GIVEAWAY 

Leave a comment and your email address (if you are new to my blog) to enter this giveaway. A winner will be chosen on April 18. Continental US only. 

Badger's Perfect Garden - A Review, Author Interview, and A Zoom Author Visit Giveaway

When Sleeping Bear Press asked me if I was interested in joining Marsha Diane Arnold's blog tour, I was happy to agree. I blogged about May I Come In? here, and look forward to sharing her other new book, Mine. Yours. next month. Diane is a prolific picture book author with over a million copies of her books sold!

REVIEW

When Badger decided to plant a garden with all the different seeds he had stored in the spring, he received help from his friends Red Squirrel and Dormouse.

Badger made sure that the bumpy seeds were planted in one row, round ones in another, and whirly ones in a third. He was excited thinking about his perfectly planted garden with its orderly rows.

Until...a huge storm came. 

Badger grabbed his umbrella and rushed outside. He ran up and down the rows, trying to cover his seeds...The ground began to slide.

His garden and his hopes are ruined. Badger's friends tried to comfort him with hopes of future plantings, but to no avail.

One summer day Badger's friends drag him out of the house to see a wonderous sight.

"It looks like a celebration, it's the most wonderful garden of all!" 

This picture book, beautifully illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki, will delight both children and the adults who read the book to them. The message of joy in spite of what looks like hopeless disaster, can be a great starting point for a conversation.

INTERVIEW

Carol: What was your inspiration for Badger’s Perfect Garden? 

Marsha: When I lived in Sonoma County, California, I had a wondrous half acre flower/fruit tree garden and a manzanita/oak forest that was home to forest creatures. That may have been the impetus to begin this story about gardens and sweet animals.

Images from Marsha's garden and forest in California.
Truly inspirational!

Carol: Were you trying to “educate” your readers about being open to new possibilities when something doesn’t work as they expected?

Marsha: I don’t think of my writing as “educating,” but simply writing a story my readers will enjoy. Naturally, my values and personality peek through. For much of my life I have been somewhat of a perfectionist, so the story is about “letting go,” about surrender, and about appreciating the “imperfections” in life, imperfections that are “perfect” in their own way, like Badger’s jumble-tumble garden. 

Carol: Years ago, anthropomorphized animals were frowned on in the children’s publishing industry. Obviously, your books break that rule and I suspect you’ve had no problem selling them! Do you ever receive negative feedback about this? 

Marsha: I see this warning fairly often in essays with titles like “Ten things not to do when you write a picture book.” 

I suspect these warnings spring from editors having read too many substandard stories with talking animals. But many popular writers anthropomorphize animals, food, and even furniture! It’s all in how you write the story. Editors have their preferences and some do not appreciate anthropomorphism. The lesson is to read popular and award winning authors and see what they’re doing and to know what a particular editor’s preferences are.

Carol: Do you take care to make sure your animals show some of their animal traits? For example, Red Squirrel seems friendly and curious. 

Marsha: I like my animal characters to possess characteristics of the real animal, but the story is always my highest priority. Squirrels, though timid, are also curious and social, like Red Squirrel in my book. Badgers can be quite aggressive, but that’s not at all like my Badger. 

I also like my fictional animals to be from the same country or ecosystem. The animals in Badger’s Perfect Garden can all be found in England - the European Badger, Red Squirrel, Dormouse, and Weasel. 

GIVEAWAY

We're switching up the giveaway this time.  Marsha is giving away a free 15-minute Zoom video chat with an educator and his or her classroom. Please leave me a comment by March 21 if you would like to be entered, along with your email address if you are new to my blog. Media specialists--this includes you! Please share this blog post with your favorite teacher or librarian. 

Picture Book Bonanza #2 PLUS Two Giveaways!

This week I'm sharing three spanking new picture books with your chance to win two of them. (See rules below).

OOTHAR THE BLUE by Brandon Reese (Lion Forge, 2018)

Written and Illustrated
by Brandon Reese

You first heard about OOTHAR on my blog two months ago. (If you didn't read that blog please stop now and go back and read it. Lots of great process drawings and background information!)

We all have moments when we don't feel ourselves. But what does a barbarian do when he's feeling blue? He no longer wants to slay dragons or banish uberwaiths to the ninth dimension. Even the forest wizard's spell of enchantment doesn't make him feel better. 

The answer to Oothar's blues comes in an unlikely manner. Since I don't want to give away the perfect-problem-solving-ending, here are some of Brandon's amazing illustrations for clues.

Here, Oothar expresses some of his frustrations:

Next, he receives an unexpected response from the resident minotaur:

And finally, he ends up with...oops, sorry! That's the spoiler! You'll have to buy the book for your favorite little reader to see the clever way Oothar resolves his dilemma.

SCOOP THE ICE CREAM TRUCK by Patricia Keeler (Sky Pony Press, 2018)

Written and Illustrated
by Patricia Keeler

When you're an old ice cream truck "who has seen a lot of summers" and only sell vanilla ice cream cones, then you get a little down in the dumps when fancier ice cream trucks roll into town.

But, if your name is Scoop, you try lots of things to beat the competition. You get more flavors and neon lights that zoom around your roof. Sadly, Scoop's plan fails.

Scoop's ice cream started to melt. He gave away seventy-two flavors of ice cream.

The ice cream got soft, so he gave seventy-two flavors of softserve.

Then the soft serve ice cream melted, so he gave away seventy-two flavors of milk shakes.

He had nothing more to give. 

  
But Scoop is not defeated! He and his faithful friend who has followed him all through town, come up with a perfect plan that will leave adults and children as satisfied as the most perfect ice cream cone ever. Patricia's lively illustrations are as yummy as the text!

MAY I COME IN? by Marsha Diane Arnold, illustrated by Jennie Poh (Sleeping Bear Press, 2018)

By Marsha Diane Arnold
Illustrated by Jennie Poh

Raccoon's search for shelter from a scary storm reminded me of a little of The Three Bears. Each friend finds a different reason why Raccoon won't fit into his house. Raccoon is to big to fit into Possum's den; he's too wide for Quail's brambles; and Woodchuck only has room for one.

Eventually Raccoon goes, "Swish, plish, Swish, plish, Swish, swish, PLISH" until he comes to Rabbit's house. (Little readers will love the onomatopoeia!) Where he is greeted by,

He is not only welcomed into their tight little home, where "There's always room for a good friend," but becomes a part of the greeting committee when the other three animals come knocking at Rabbit's door.

This sweet book tells a friendship story in a way that little ones will understand and their parents will enjoy. Jennie Poh's warm illustrations welcome the reader inside the book...just like coming inside on a stormy day!

GIVEAWAY

I am giving away OOTHAR THE BLUE and MAY I COME IN?

To enter, please leave a comment by May 25 with your email address if you are new to my blog. Feel free to mention which book you are interested in winning. For extra chances, share on social media or follow my blog (please tell me what you do!) and I'll enter your name twice.