Tag: Loreen Leedy

Picture Book Review: How the Sea Came to Be by Jennifer Berne (illustrated by Amanda Hall)

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Author: Jennifer Berne
Illustrator: Amanda Hall
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
25 April 2023
56 pages

This month’s PB review is by Ryan G. Van Cleave (Owner/​Operator of Only Picture Books) and Florida-​based author/​illustrator Loreen Leedy.

 

–Ryan’s Review of the Writing–

Jennifer Berne’s new picture book, How the Sea Came to Be, is an evocative and captivating exploration into Earth’s aquatic history. The storytelling (divided into three parts—The Birth of the Sea, The Birth of Life, and All That the Sea Came To Be) combines elements of geology, oceanography, biology, and evolution. Written in rhyming verse quatrains, the narrative is as much a lyrical journey as it is an educational resource, offering readers an overview of over 4.5 billion years of oceanic history. Yeah, that’s a lot of room to cover, and she manages it on in a robust 56 pages.

The vivid imagery created by the text grips from the outset, with descriptions that bring to life the primal chaos of the earth’s formative years. I’m also a fan of how Berne goes beyond rhyming to include alliteration (“They blazed and they blasted and boomed”) that add to the meter (mostly iambic) which makes this a fun read-aloud.

Accompanying Berne’s textual journey are Amanda Hall’s mixed media illustrations. I’ll let Loreen dive deeper into those (like the watery pun?), but I find them to be integral components of the learning journey, adding richness to the storytelling. The layout of each spread invites exploration and appreciation, with the varied marine life forms being depicted in their natural, multi-​layered aquatic habitats. I wish there were clearer labels directly on the art, but most of what’s shown is either in the main text or the extensive back matter. The full-​page notes from both creators, glossary, full-​spread chart of “Ocean Creatures Over Time,” and recommended readings and resources adds an extra layer of depth (is that another ocean pun?) that will no doubt be a welcome addition for the home school and classroom market.

It’s a challenge to simplify and present complex scientific concepts in a way that’s both accessible and engaging to young readers. For the most part, that’s what happens here. Ultimately, this picture book inspires curiosity and invites questions about our world’s natural history, making it a solid resource for young scientists or anyone with a keen interest in the marine world.

4.5 out of 5 pencils

 

–Loreen’s Review of the Illustrations–

The rhyming text and impressive illustrations in this nonfiction book present a whirlwind tour of the earth’s oceans from the earliest moments in prehistory up to the present day. Colorfully complex endpapers give a sneak peek of the visual delights to come. Every page invites readers to explore the vastly different environments that once existed (or still exist) on our planet.

Earth’s early period of cosmic bombardment and erupting volcanoes appear in dramatic compositions of orange, black, and white. Monochromatic scenes depict a cooling, rainy world with brand new oceans full of crashing waves. Life begins microscopically small yet with pulsating energy, pictured as tiny circles/​cells that expand into more numerous and complex forms. Soon, simple but more recognizable animals such as sponges and jellyfish cling to rocks or float in the salty waters.

A delightful close-​up view of a worm wriggling along the ocean floor conveys an important milestone in the history of life: the ability to travel in a desired direction. Hard-​shelled arthropods scuttle and swim through a viridian and magenta frieze. One illustration requires a 90-​degree turn of the book to explore the dark depths of the sea where unusual, even glowing creatures dwell. Each spread moves forward in time as cephalopods, fish, reptiles, and whales wander the seven seas in their turn.

The animals are drawn and painted in a lightly stylized, realistic way with a hint of friendly charm. Technical jargon is avoided in the main text, while the back matter provides additional in-​depth information such as an illustrated fold-​out chart of geological eras. Curiously, plants are not mentioned despite their vital role in the food chain. Aside from that quibble, this is a terrific book to engage young readers in learning about major ocean-​related developments in prehistory. The beautifully designed artwork is outstanding throughout with numerous details for young readers to examine and enjoy.

4.5 out of 5 crayons

Loreen Leedy is the author and illustrator of over 45 picture books for children. Most of them include educational content such as math, science, language arts, and social studies topics, presented with humor and enthusiasm. Her titles include My Teacher Is a Dinosaur and Other Prehistoric Poems, Jokes, Riddles, & Amazing Facts; Fraction Action; Measuring Penny; and Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story. She lives with her husband on a rural property in central Florida.

Picture Book Review: Growing An Artist by John Parra

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Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son
Author: John Parra
Illustrator: John Parra
Simon & Schuster/​Paula Wiseman Books
10 May 2022
40 pages

This month’s PB review is by Ryan G. Van Cleave (Owner/​Operator of Only Picture Books) and Florida author-​illustrator Loreen Leedy, a friend of the OPB family.

Ryan’s Review of the Writing

In Growing an Artist, author/​illustrator John Parra shares the first time he finally got to go to work with his dad, a landscape contractor. After picking up Dad’s helper, Javier, the three headed to a house that had a wild yard. From his dad, John (“Juanito”) learned some of the tricks of the trade, such as shaping and trimming bushes, and mowing perfect lines.

This fun, proud moment for young John was darkened when he noticed a schoolmate (Alex) in a nearby house purposefully ignoring him. It didn’t make sense because at school, the two boys always talked. It’s not said in the text, but it’s easy for adults to infer that the boy was literally and metaphorically looking down on the yard workers–the art communicates that clearly. Yet John couldn’t quite figure that out at the time, though something about it really bothered him.

Already an artist, though, John noticed a nest of baby birds and sketched what he saw. But he still fretted about Alex ignoring him. As John ate Mami’s famous burrito (chorizo, avocado, and egg) while on a lunch break, he asked his dad if he’s proud of his job, almost as if voicing the disapproval Alex must feel.

Dad responded with: “You have to work hard and sometimes you are treated like you are invisible, but when you do something you love and get to be creative, you feel proud.” Dad might as well be talking about being an artist instead of being a landscape contractor.

The other stops in the day were rewarding and pleasant, and the people they met were the opposite of Alex–happy to see the team. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll in particular were quite excited. “Together [with John’s dad] they discuss how to transform the overgrown yard into a special place.” With his artist’s way of thinking, John realized, “I look around and start to see its potential too.” Later that night at home, John used his budding artistic skills to create his own landscape design, which his father loved and planned to use for the Carroll’s yard because the Carrolls loved it, too.

The conclusion of the book might as well serve as John’s artist manifesto: “I will use my art to tell the stories of hardworking, passionate people who make the world more beautiful.” The recurring memory of a disapproving Alex is lost to the passion of this final statement and his commitment to a life of creativity, beauty, and purpose.

An Author’s Note details how John’s father launched the landscape business after serving in the United States Army, and how John worked alongside him for twelve years before taking illustration and fine art classes in college and embarking on a career as an artist.

There’s a lot of room for discussion here beyond the scope of what many picture books offer. Being proud of your parents and what they do for a living. Not making snap judgments or being overly worried about what your peers think. How encouragement can grow a passion into one’s life’s work.

Ultimately, Growing an Artist is an intriguing book that would be a nice addition to libraries and private collections.

4 out of 5 pencils

Loreen’s Review of the Illustrations

Blueprints of a landscaping design serve as endpapers for Growing an Artist, foreshadowing a big project to come. Young John narrates the action when he accompanies his father on the job for the first time. The crisp, hand-​painted illustrations have plenty of details for readers to enjoy, including a variety of plants, animals, and people as well as the tools and machines of the trade.

After picking up Javier, the three drive to several houses to mow, trim, and spruce up the yards. They buy a special rose at the nursery and drop off the yard waste at the city dump to be recycled into mulch. John draws several pictures in his sketchbook along the way. When a new plan is needed for a couple’s overgrown yard, he assists in creating the new design as well as helping to put the plants into the ground.

Every 2‑page spread depicts one scene (with one exception where a left and right page show different scenes.) This allows for expansive views of the nursery, the city, and the yards where the work takes place. The well-​chosen color scheme enhances the lively paintings.

One critique is that the text is long winded at times, including unnecessary information that slows down the narrative and sometimes does not sound like a child narrator (e.g. “Papa demonstrates how to shape and trim bushes.”) Some particulars could have been shown in the illustrations or just left out. For example, the sentence about the “registration booth” at the dump is not needed.

In the end, the charming sketches by the young boy revisit the various events and support his conclusion that making the world a more beautiful place is important work worth celebrating.

4 out of 5 crayons

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Loreen Leedy is the author-​illustrator of more than 40 popular picture books that have received many rave reviews and honors. Her titles such as Measuring Penny, Amazing Plant Powers, and Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story often include math, science, and language arts content. Her most recent book, Step by Step, features footprints made by baby animals including a puppy, duckling, and fawn in a page-​turning question and answer format. It makes an appealing nonfiction choice for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade age levels.

To see Loreen’s work and download free book activity printables, please visit www.LoreenLeedy.com.

Picture Book Review: Hello, Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers, by Matthew Cordell

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Hello, Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers
Author: Matthew Cordell
Illustrator: Matthew Cordell
Neal Porter Books
6 April 2020
40 pages

This month’s PB review is by Ryan G. Van Cleave (Biggest Mister Rogers Fan at Only Picture Books) and Florida author-​illustrator Loreen Leedy, a friend of the OPB family.

–Ryan’s Review of the Writing–

Hello, Neighbor, an authorized biography, takes a direct chronological approach to the life of Fred McFeely Rogers (1928–2003). A lot of care is given to establishing the motivation for Fred’s later commitment to creating quality educational TV programming, starting from being bullied as a child to his growing faith to his sincere interest in becoming a minister.

Then came this: In those days, television was new and just beginning to become popular. And Fred didn’t like what he saw.

Fred decided he could do better. So, what he did was learn the industry from the inside out, then he brought his love for puppetry and music to bear with the première of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood in February 1968. Fred’s interest in welcoming and accepting others was key to all he did–it’s why “Police Office Clemmons was the first African American character to appear in a recurring role on a children’s television series.” Through the many guests to The Neighborhood, viewers also encountered artists, musicians, and people from all walks of life.

One noteworthy linguistic technique is the shift to first-​person plural–we–once Fred’s own show is underway. That might be a choice that represents Fred’s inclusivity or the lasting impact of his work, though many young readers of today won’t be as familiar with The Neighborhood as their adult reading companions will surely be, so they’re not exactly part of the aforementioned “we.” But no doubt, they’d like to be after reading/​hearing so many good things about Fred.

The nonfiction element of Fred’s story doesn’t quite allow for the richness of language and the poetry of sound to emerge within the lines themselves, though perhaps that sense of beauty instead is found in the accompanying artwork done in Cordell’s sketchy-​scratchy style. Cordell is a skilled artist and his soft imagery has a leisurely sensibility that fits the mood of Fred’s life.

The back matter–archival images, a robust About page, visual glossary, and more–is necessary to give a deeper sense of all that Fred did to earn his lasting legacy. And inspirational quotes that get to the heart of who he was and what he believed in are prominently displayed on endpapers.

There are few adults I can think of who are more universally beloved and respected than Fred Rogers. This book serves as a welcome tribute to this admirable, kind-​hearted man.

4 out of 5 pencils

– Loreen’s Review of the Illustrations–

Scrapbook pages from Fred’s childhood reveal his early interests in music, puppetry, and storytelling. As a young man, he questions the frivolous content of children’s television programming. Instead of endless pies in the face and rude behavior, he is inspired to create something gentle, empathetic, and educational. On his show, Mr. Rogers would speak directly to young viewers, engaging with their questions, joys, and fears as well as their imaginations. Author-​illustrator Matthew Cordell takes readers behind the scenes to visit the set with its familiar front door, bench, trolley to the Neighborhood of Make Believe, plus the lights, cameras, and crew.

The illustrations recall a variety of moments from the over 900+ episodes. Fred sings the show’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor theme song in a sequence of TV-​shaped spots, accompanied by delightfully wonky, rainbow-​hued hand lettering. Framed portraits of recurring cast members, scenes from field trips, and famous visitors like Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West enliven the pages. The back matter showcases several photographs of Mr. Rogers in action. The familiar fish tank is one of the notable elements included in a handy visual glossary.

Both young and old will enjoy a tour of Mr. Rogers’ friendly neighborhood with the help of this picture book biography.

Disclosure: Many of Loreen’s picture books have been published by Holiday House.

4 out of 5 crayons

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Loreen Leedy is the author-​illustrator of more than 40 popular picture books that have received many rave reviews and honors. Her titles such as Measuring Penny, Amazing Plant Powers, and Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story often include math, science, and language arts content. Her most recent book, Step by Step, features footprints made by baby animals including a puppy, duckling, and fawn in a page-​turning question and answer format. It makes an appealing nonfiction choice for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade age levels.

To see Loreen’s work and download free book activity printables, please visit www.LoreenLeedy.com.

Picture Book Review: The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood

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The Panda Problem
Author: Deborah Underwood
Illustrator: Hannah Marks
Dial Books
2 April 2019
48 pages

This month’s PB review is by Ryan G. Van Cleave (Biggest Panda Fan at Only Picture Books) and OPB review newcomer, Florida author-​illustrator Loreen Leedy.

–Ryan’s Review of the Writing–

One thing that we’ve come to expect from Underwood’s books is how stories themselves are often part of the story. In her latest picture book, The Panda Problem, that’s exactly what’s happening. A Narrator (yes, that’s with a capital N since this one’s quite the active character here) is trying to set up a story about Panda in a “beautiful bamboo grove,” but despite the Narrator’s insistence that a main character has to have a problem, Panda claims to not have one. “Looks like you’re the one with a problem, buddy,” Panda explains to the Narrator.

The story gets fairly chaotic from there in a fun way that will delight readers, especially once the setting moves far from the bamboo grove. Thankfully, the art clearly showcases the two distinct voices. Panda’s words are always in cartoon-​style speech bubbles, and those by the Narrator look like regular text on the page, which gives the words an adult, authorial seriousness to them. Together, they create a fast-​paced dialogue that roars along as Panda tries to help make the story, well, a story. Sort of.

A bonus is that Underwood includes plenty of kid-​pleasing sound effects, as well (witness a spider who says “BRAAAAP!” and the GLUG GLUG SLOSH of Panda’s paper boat wipeout).

While other picture book authors have had characters who wrest control of the story from a narrator/​author, Underwood’s adorable Panda does it in a fun, memorable way that doesn’t get overly meta and also introduces readers to storytelling techniques (such as dialogue and the escalation of stakes).

Even though I’m an admitted panda bear fan, this is a highly entertaining, witty read regardless.

4.25 out of 5 pencils

– Loreen’s Review of the Illustrations–

The premise of this cheeky picture book can be found on the book jacket as Panda disputes the title The Panda Problem right on the front cover by asking, “What problem?” Mysterious round purple characters hint at mysteries to unfold. On the back cover, Panda is smirking after drawing a line through the floating headline NO PROBLEM, NO STORY and rewriting it as NO STORY, NO PROBLEM!

Continuing the theme, the front flap copy originally stated that the author “…puts readers in control of this story.” However, our main character has revised it to read “…puts readers PANDA in control of this story.” The back flap copy has likewise been extensively revised by the irrepressible bear.

The color scheme is at first limited to black, white, olive greens, and purple only. The digitally painted illustrations include bamboo stalks with a subtle cloth texture and energetic dry brushed leaves, while Panda has loosely drawn line work enclosing the white parts of the body. Backgrounds are primarily white space in the beginning of the book, keeping the focus on Panda and the argument with the Narrator about whether or not Panda needs a story problem to be solved. The empty white space can also be an indication of the (seemingly) unfinished state the story is in.

As the debate continues, one spread is filled with possible problems proposed by the Narrator such as “Are you afraid of spiders?” or “Is your paw sore?” and Panda’s repeated answers, “Nope.” Once they’re mentioned, comical spiders appear in the artwork. The Narrator’s words are in a clean sans serif font while Panda speaks with lively handwritten words inside expressive speech balloons with oval, undulating, or spiky shapes. When the Narrator gets especially frustrated, her words are set in ALL CAPS.

Rich photographic textures add interest and additional colors to the illustrations, such as woven fibers in a hammock, wood grain in a banjo, and crumpled paper in a sailboat. As Panda induces a multi-​hued torrent of jelly beans by merely mentioning the possibility, the Narrator loses control of events. At this point the aliens arrive, portrayed as happy purple fuzzballs who accompany Panda to Antarctica.

The scenes become increasingly chaotic as spiders, penguins, aliens, and (suddenly) twin pandas sail across the icy waters then are shipwrecked. Panda’s worried face is seen in extreme close-​up while finally giving in and admitting there’s a problem. After wailing about their hunger and the complete lack of bamboo in Antarctica, the two pandas make a deal for the Narrator to take over again, sort of. The last page is blank except for the Narrator’s final, satisfying word.

Self-​taught illustrator and designer Hannah Marks lives and works in England; The Panda Problem is her first picture book released in the United States. The design of the type and illustrations perfectly complement and extend the concepts within about the power of words, creativity, writing, characters, illustration, and of course, story problems.

4 out of 5 crayons

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Loreen Leedy is the author-​illustrator of more than 40 popular picture books that have received many rave reviews and honors. Her titles such as Measuring Penny, Amazing Plant Powers, and Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story often include math, science, and language arts content. Her most recent book, Step by Step, features footprints made by baby animals including a puppy, duckling, and fawn in a page-​turning question and answer format. It makes an appealing nonfiction choice for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade age levels.

To see Loreen’s work and download free book activity printables, please visit www.LoreenLeedy.com.