Dawn by Marc Martin

Less a story and more a series of illustrations paired with poetic text, 

the book is a testament to Martin’s immense artistic talents.

Truly stunning. Kirkus Star review

The series of single words in this book feel like a visual poem:

dawn

dew

deer

sound

spring

still

conceal 

reveal

Other words resonate with richness and meaning such as glimmer; shimmer; forage; formation and chorus.

Blurb from author web page: As the sun slowly rises, many things happen in a small window of time. The world comes alive with the actions of animals, plants, clouds, and sky. A deer drinks, an owl wakes, a dandelion shimmers in the light. A ladybug climbs, a fish jumps, birds call in a chorus. Geese fly away in formation. A flower blooms. Beautifully illustrated with glowing imagery and written with a charming simplicity holding appeal for new readers, Marc Martin’s ode to the slow-blooming beauty of a sunrise and the life that unfolds in its radiance narrows the lens to show the wonder of time passing.

You can see inside Dawn here. See more of his work on Instagram.

The book’s thoughtful visual pacing echoes its rhythmic text. Martin mixes single-image scenes with combinations of vertical and horizontal panels to guide readers through small, quick happenings—for example, a series of four vertical panels depicting snapshots of a ladybug climbing a dew-laced blade of grass (“climb / quench / drip / drop”), and bigger events that demand pause, such as the panoramic final full-bleed, double-page spread of the rising sun. Horn Book Star review

When you share this book with your young reading companion you should slow down and take your time and then on subsequent readings notice the way the frames of the illustrations change and the way the light increases and also the link between the dewdrop and the ladybird from the title page with other images later in the book. Then get up early and watch the dawn - it usually takes about ten minutes - notice the light, but also listen for the dawn chorus and maybe do this more than once to see changes over different seasons. This idea reminds me of The Night Walk by Marie Dorléans. I also need to mention the beautiful book design and wonderful paper quality. This is a book to own, to cherish and of course to also add to your school library.

Image source: Marc Martin

You can see and hear Marc Martin sharing his book on Instagram.

One of the best parts of attending an author or illustrator talk is the discovery of the back-story about the writing of a book. Here are some things I learnt today at Gleebooks Kids about Marc Martin (this is my third post about him so you would think I know all of this, but I didn't. Click on his name in the labels for this post to read about other books and more):

• Trivia - his first job was at KMart and he likes eating coffee eclairs.
• Books - his new book due in October is about Antarctica - I should have asked "Have you been there?"
• A staff member from Candlewick posted some photos over a period of just seven minutes to show the dawn - this gave Marc Martin the idea for his book. (I would love to find those photos).
• The text came first then the illustrations and it took three years to make this book. (It is always good to tell this to your students - the craft of writing and illustrating takes time)
• This book is not a traditional narrative but Marc Martin hopes it will open up conversations between children and their parents.
• His own favourite page has the text treetops and tree trunks and beautifully shows two different perspectives of the forest with the deer from earlier in the book looking straight at the reader but also ready to run if startled. The page with the dandelion blowing in the breeze took the most time to create. He included a deer to give this book a universal feel and also because this book comes from a US publisher Candlewick.  (Here in Australia and the UK this publisher is called Walker Books). 
• As an illustrator he has a filmic perspective. His illustrations allow the viewer/reader to zoom in and out just like a camera. 
• His favourite films are from Studio Ghibli such as My Neighbor Totoro; Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away. He also mentioned The tree of life by Terrence Malick.
• The US copy of this book from Candlewick comes with a dust jacket - what a pity our Australia copies do not include this - and under the dust jacket is a different image - I should have taken a photo!
• The US edition also has a subtitle: Watch the World Awaken
• He writes and illustrates his books, but some have a text by another writers such as We are Starlings by Donna Jo Napoli and Every child a Song by Nicola Davies. 

As always the event at Gleebooks here in Sydney was so well organised by Rachel Robson. She had a display of the page layouts used by Marc Martin, a set of Marc's books with fairy lights, an art activity for the children (and adults) and really fun prompts to encourage participants to draw sequences like the ones Marc Martin used in Dawn. I liked the prompts - "Unwrapping a present"; "Blowing out a candle"; and "Playing in the rain".

Hope I don't jinx Marc and his book but I am sure this will be a 2026 CBCA Picture Book Notable and surely also make the shortlist. Check out my previous post about picture books like Dawn that I called Poetry with Pictures. 

Red Clover Book Award Vermont US

The Red Clover Book Award is presented to the book selected by children in kindergarten through fourth grade. Each year thousands of Vermont school children read the 10 nominated picture books and cast their votes for their favorite in the spring. The award has been presented annually since 1997.

I have a children's book-loving friend in Vermont. She sent me a message that one of our Australian authors was a winner of their local children's choice award the Red Clover Award. I immediately thought Anna McGregor (Spiro) had flown to the US but then another friend corrected and reminded me that this was more likely to be a Zoom event - and she was right!

Here is the judge's report

Author page blurb: Fergus lives down in the deepest, darkest depths of the sea and is scared of just one thing … the light! Who’s Afraid of the Light? is a fresh and funny new narrative nonfiction picture book from the award-winning creator Anna McGregor. Come on a trip to the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean. There are many fascinating creatures that call it home. There’s nothing to be afraid or … is there?

This fiction/non-fiction mash-up from McGregor contains a factual guide to some of the creatures of the deep ocean at the end, and some fantastic illustration of some fascinating and mysterious fish. There’s an enjoyable anarchic feel here which will appeal to lots of children, and a big surprise reveal too. Great fun. Book Trust

I am so curious about how this Australian book reached the US market. The publisher in Australian and the US is Scribe.

The US bookshop Barnes and Noble said:

This book is ideal for:

• Educators and librarians looking for humorous stories to use as a launching pad for further non-fiction investigation into the ocean environment;
• Parents and carers looking to combine narrative and non-fiction to entertain and educate their children simultaneously;
• Kids who just want funny books!

Awards for Who's Afraid of the Light?

🌟 Yellowhammer Book Awards Picture Book of the Year (Alabama, USA)

🌟 Red Clover Book Award (Vermont, USA)

🌟 dPictus 100 outstanding picture books (Globally) 2024 selection

🌟 WIA World Illustration Awards 2024 Children’s Book Shortlist

🌟 Winner ABDA Book of the Year

🌟 Winner ABDA Best Designed Children’s Book

🌟 Winner of Best Children’s Reader in the Whitley Book Awards

🌟 Shortlisted ABIA Best Children’s Book (Small Publisher)

🌟 Shortlisted Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2024 Children’s Literature 2024

🌟 The Guardian: The best Australian children’s books of 2023

Who's afraid of the Light was also a 2024 White Raven selection.

Other books by Anna McGregor

Here is the 2024-2025 nominee page:

I have previously talked about Ancestory

Take a look at the 2025-2026 nominees.

Other winners of the Red Clover Book Award:

I was interested to see the 2022-23 nominees included Watercress by Andrea Wang. This book won the Caldecott medal BUT it has never arrived here in Australia.

Ling Li's Lantern by Steve Heron illustrated by Benjamin Johnston

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.” 

Martin Luther King Jr quoted by Steve Heron interview with Just Kid Lit

The wise man of the village has three children. He wants them to be good, kind and honest "but above all he wanted them to obtain wisdom."  Da Zhi sets his children a challenge. He takes them to the three pagodas and gives them each a small sum of money:

"With these coins, your task is to fill the emptiness of one of these pagodas with anything. You only have one day. Spend wisely."

The first son, Jingming, invests in huge quantities of bamboo. He pays workers to fill the pagoda right to the top with sticks and leaves. His father is pleased declaring this is a sound investment. The second son, Miao, buys feathers and down from a village duck farm. He fills the pagoda with sacks of feathers. His father is pleased with Miao's hard work.

The third child is Ling Li. She walks into the village where she sees a young boy sobbing because the eggs he was taking home have been dropped and all of them are broken. Ling Li takes his hand and back in the market she buys another basket of eggs for the boy. She continues to wander through the market where she sees a little girl who is lost and hungry. Ling Li buys the little girl some bamboo rice and then helps the child to find her mother. Next Ling Li sees a magician performing for the crowd. No one gives him any money - his bowl is empty so Ling Li gives him a few coins to thank him for his entertainment. Then Ling Li sees an old lady selling necklaces. After talking Ling Li with her discovers the lady has not sold any of her work today. 

"Ling Li placed a coin in her hand. ... Ling Li had bought a smile to everyone she met that day."

But what of the task set by her father? Ling Li only has two coins left and night is falling. She sees a lantern seller. Since it is the end of the day he agrees to sell her a lantern for her last two coins. She arrives home feeling that she has disappointed her father:

"Without a word, Da Zhi put his arm around Ling Li and led her inside. As they walked into the pagoda, Da Zhi held up the lantern. ... 'Not only have you filled the pagoda with the light from the lantern, you have also filled the village with the light from your heart. This is special wisdom."

When I start a post about a book I like to research the author and illustrator. I had not heard of Steve Heron or Benjamin Johnston but here are some things I discovered:

Steve Heron

• lives in Western Australia
• awarded an OAM for his contribution to the social and emotion well being of children
• he has published a middle grade novel in 2018 called Maximus

Benjamin Johnston

• is the illustrator of My Grandad marches on ANZAC Day
• he lives in Melbourne
• he is an architect

Take a look here to see some of the illustrations from Ling Li's Lantern. Look for a link to an extensive and thoughtful set of teaching notes for Ling Li's Lantern and a book trailer. I highly recommend Ling Li's Lantern as an essential purchase for a school library. I predict Ling Li's Lantern will be included in the CBCA 2021 Notable titles.

While the theme of this story may be familiar, it’s refreshing to read this modern interpretation which demonstrates that some values are timeless and universal. The Bottom Shelf

This beautiful story, reading like a fable telling us of the true nature of wisdom, the things learnt from the tale reflect Ling Li's traits; compassion, sharing, empathy, and these outshine those of her brothers only interested in making a sound investment. Read Plus

Like many of the best picture books, this is a deceptively simple tale, with a timely message of kindness. Charming Language

I found this extensive list of Chinese folktales many of which you are sure to find in a library. I would link Ling Li's Lantern with these books:

The duck and the darklings by Glenda Millard illustrated by Steven Michael King

Readers of this blog will know I adore the work of Glenda Millard.  I need to say this again I adore every word Glenda Millard writes and The Duck and the Darklings shows how her writing just gets better and better.

The Duck and the Darklings is short listed for the CBCA awards for 2015.  It is a tough competition but I do hope this book receives an honour at the very least.

Why do I love The Duck and the Darklings?  First of there are the magical words - real and invented - which perfectly convey life in an underground world.  Something has happened to the world above ground.  Many years have passed.  We do not need to know what has happened. Peterboy and his grandfather have carved out a warm and loving home and even though life is a daily struggle they have each other.  One day Peterboy finds a duck.  This new family member could disturb the precarious balance of their lives but instead the duck helps to bring Peterboy's grandfather back to life.  His depression lifts and in turn their lives lift, quite literally back to the world above where everyone (including the reader) makes a startling discovery.

Now onto some of those wonderful words.  Here is a list.  You, do however, need to find this book to fully appreciate each of these writing gems.

"almost everything had been disremembered"
"only when the heavenlies were deepest indigo and earth was darkest violet"
"Peterboy found Idaduck"
"in return she cosied his toes"
"Grandpa played oompapas on his curly brass tootle"
"rusty latchkey of his magnificent remembery"

And here is my favourite line :
"gathering fiddlesticks for firewood, filling billies with trickle"
I think trickle the most perfect word for water - especially scarce water.

There is so much to talk about with this book.  Even a simple sentence such as the opening one "In the land of dark great a child called Peterboy".  Where is the land of dark?  Has this child always lived in this place?  How do you know?  Why would his name be the combination of Peter and boy?

One very clever device in this book is the use of different sizes of type.  I found when reading this book aloud several times this week that this sizing helped me to pace my reading as well as making me become quieter as the words grew smaller.

When you look closely at the illustrations in this glorious book you can see all the little trade mark favourites of Steven Michael King - teapots, umbrellas, red fabric with yellow polka-dots and those little dot eyes which are some how so very expressive.  Make sure you spend time talking about the possibilities depicted in the final illustration.

The Duck and the Darklings is a book to treasure.  Here is a set of teaching notes.  It is difficult to give you an exact audience for this book.  We will share it with our students in Grade Three right up to Grade Six.  If you need to know more try this review.  Here is a quote from Inside a Dog :

This is the most extraordinary book – 

it is a tale of hope, and triumph and resilience; 

of love and friendship and family; of connection and belonging. 

But what sets it apart is the most magnificent language that Glenda Millard has used – language that is so evocative and imaginative and expressive that you are just absorbed into the story 

as it wraps around you.