The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson illustrated by Beth Krommes

Krommes’s breathtaking scratchboard illustrations, in black and white with accents of yellow and gold, embody and enhance the text’s message that light and dark, like comfort and mystery, are not mutually exclusive, but integral parts of each other. Kirkus Star review

Having talked about a couple of recent Caldecott winners I decided to hunt out some of the past winners and honour titles that I had not seen. One that caught my eye was The House in the Night - 2009 winner. I wonder why I didn't buy this for my previous school library - I love it and it would have most certainly been a book I would have put into the hands of our very skilled art teacher.

Here is the key to the house.

In the house burns a light.

In that light rests a bed.

On that bed waits a book.

In that book flies a bird.

In that bird breathes a song ...

all about the starry dark.

Through the dark glows the moon.

On the moon's face shines the sun.

Sun in the moon, moon in the dark,

dark in the song, song in the bird,

bird in the book, book on the bed,

bed in the light,

light in the house.

Here is the key to the house,

the house in the night,

a home full of light.

This is as close to perfect as a picture book can get. Text and woodcut illustrations combine to create a superb artwork. We see the enchanting power of four imaginations becoming one: the author, the illustrator, the child in the book who reads, and you, the reader. The child reading in bed is transported by the book and we join him/her on a journey. We feel the comforting, enveloping warmth of home, and freedom to fly to the sun and the moon. A book within a book, where it begins it also ends, and in-between there is a whole other, tantalising world. Readings Melbourne

In 2024 I penned a blog post - Meet the Illustrator Beth Krommes - I should have hunted out The House in the Night for that post.

As well as a regular format you can also buy this book as a board book and even though I have not seen it, I think this book could work quite well presented that way. Very sadly, you were probably expecting me to say this, here in Australia the hardcover version of this book will be way beyond any school library budget at over AUS$37.

Take a look at this blog post from Seven Impossible Things where Beth Krommes talks about her art techniques and you can also see an original storyboard for The House in the Night.

I once had the idea that my former school library could place a large mural on the first landing as you walk up the 20 stairs to the library. I even created a Pinterest with ideas. The page in this book "On that bed waits a book" would be SO perfect if you could get permission from Beth Krommes to recreate it for the wall.

If you are lucky enough to be working with trainee teachers or even people studying to be a Teacher-Librarian or tertiary students enrolled in a Children's Literature course this is a book you must include as an exemplar of page turns, art, text placement, cover design, and so much more. The title page alone is worthy of close inspection:

Companion book:

Collage artist Shari Halpern

 

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree, up went the Pussy-Cat, and down went he, down came the Pussy-Cat, away Robin ran; says little Robin Redbreast: 'Catch me if you can!'. 

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a spade, Pussy-Cat jumped after him and then he was afraid. Little Robin chirped and sang' and what did Pussy say? Pussy-Cat said: 'Mew, mew, mew,' and Robin flew away.

I was reading some Mother Goose nursery rhyme books recently (Mother Goose Day is May 1st) and I found this beautiful edition of Little Robin Redbreast. The illustrations in this book are glorious. They are very similar to the work of the famous Eric Carle. I do love collage. 

Finding this book made me curious to see more books with collage by Shari Halper.

Here are some I have found - sadly nearly all are now out of print but you might be lucky and find one or two in a library - my former school library had this one The Apple Pie Tree.

Can't Catch me by Constanze von Kitzing

"I'm going to catch you' said Little Lion. 'No, you won't."

How do the animals such as the grasshopper, frog, rabbit and chameleon escape the Little Lion? They use camouflage of course which makes for truly scrumptious illustrations. Predator - Little Lion. Prey - other animals. Defence - successful. But what will happen when a rhinoceros arrives on the scene? 

Award-winning illustrator Constanze von Kitzing delivers yet again with another charming Little Lion picturebook for young children. The muted tones of her illustrations create a gentle backdrop for the mischievous tale. The text is printed in a thick font, and with just one simple sentence per double-page, the author uses her images to further the story. As they search for the hidden creatures, children can learn about the concept of camouflage while also enjoying a light-hearted read. Children’s Books Ireland

The call-and-response dialogue makes this a fun read-aloud with older toddlers and younger preschoolers who will quickly pick up on the rhythm and flow of the simple text. School Library Journal

Constanze von Kitzing was born in Poland. She now lives in Germany. Can't Catch Me was originally published in Switzerland under the title Cache-cache. Take a look here to see a few illustrations from Can't Catch Me. For more information about Constanze here is an interview with SCWBI in Germany. 

Just recently I have been reading A family of Readers and I found these two quotes. The art in Can't Catch Me is truly "breathtaking" and the ending is "not too tidy".

"A true picture book is so much more than a sequence of words and images - the most breathtaking art, the most memorable prose, is static and lifeless without compelling page turns." Sutton, Roger and Parravano Martha V., A family of Readers, Candlewick Press, 2011. p.29

"Speaking of endings - the endings of picture books are important. They can easily be too tidy, too finished, boxing reader in rather than releasing their imaginations or making them eager for more." Sutton, Roger and Parravano Martha V., A family of Readers, Candlewick Press, 2011. p.40

The paperback edition of Can't Catch Me was published in 2019 and so this book is currently available. There are two more books which are also available in this series by Constanze von Kitzing:

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds part three, Emotions

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

Here are some curious questions "is my dog happy?" "is my cat thinking ...? " "is my goldfish smiling?".  Our wild minds relate our own emotions to the curious creatures in our world and here is the perfect book to use as a springboard for this idea. In fact the very first word in the book is 'curious'.

Publisher blurb from Lemniscaat: The fish stand out in vibrant colors, showing a spectrum of emotions - from happy to sad, from angry to surprise - for the youngest book lovers to discover.

Clear, strong lines and radiant colors that seem to smile at the reader characterize Mies van Hout's drawings. In Happy, Mies shows all the emotions a young child encounters. Each double page spread is devoted to one fish, showing a particular emotion with its name in lettering that expresses the same feeling. Swim into Happy where the dazzling fish sparkle against the dark background and let the images spark laughter and empathy.

In every school library where there are Book Week celebrations Teacher-Librarians work hard to make displays that explore the slogan.  Happy by Mes van Hout might inspire your creativity.

Happy was originally published in Dutch under the title Vrolijk. It is a great book to use to explore emotions but I think it also neatly links with the 2020 CBCA slogan. You can see the whole book here. This is a book you could use in so many ways with children from all grades in a Primary school K-6. Here is some art from this book:

Can you guess the emotion for this page?

Here are some other books which explore the emotions of animals:

Here are two other titles by Mies van Hout:

This is my third post with ideas to explore the 2020 CBCA slogan:

1. The Curious Giraffe

2. Guessing

Susan Jeffers 1942 - 2020

Art from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy evening - by Robert Frost

Art from Thumbelina

Breathtaking and exquisite are two words I would use to describe the art of Susan Jeffers which can be found in some very precious picture books.  I have talked about her work previously as a part of my twelve books of Christmas.

"Susan approached her job, and most things, with exacting care and thoughtfulness. She created sensitive illustrations of animals and the natural world, as in Lassie Come-Home, and also nuanced portraiture, like the exquisite cover of The Nutcracker (Harper, 2007). She could draw anything, really, and her mastery of painting shows skill and a degree of control few can achieve." Martha Rago  in Publisher’s Weekly

Sadly, Susan died earlier this year. She was the illustrator of forty-seven books.  Here is the cover of one of Susan's earliest books which was based on a Mother Goose Rhyme.

Here are some classic books which I think school and public libraries should own. I hope they will shared with children for many years to come:

Here is an interview where Susan Jeffers talks about her illustrating process and shows some of her work for The Nutcracker. If you click the link to this interview by Kathy Temean you will see some of her glorious work.

I adore making connections. Some time ago I talked about an Australian book called 52 Mondays by Anna Ciddor. In her book she cites an older US title called Hitty: Her first hundred years published in 1930.  I now discover Susan Jeffers did an illustrated version of this book in 1999 with the story adapted by her friend Rosemary Wells.

Here are some other books illustrated by Susan Jeffers that you may find in a library.

Here are her very beautiful Christmas titles.

Susan Jeffers worked with Rosemary Wells on a series of books about a little Westie dog called McDuff. I do hope one or two of these might be in a library near me.