Hot Dog by Doug Salati

It is a hot day. The dog is hot but luckily his owner has a plan. First they have to navigate the hot and busy city streets. The pavement is so hot and everything is way too noisy and busy. In fact the little dog finally collapses and refuses to walk on. 

Luckily the lady is able to hail a taxi and they travel, slowly, to the train station. Then there is a ferry ride. Their intended destination is the beach so it is lucky that there is a beach umbrella shop right beside the ferry wharf. On the beach the dog is free to run and roll and enjoy the ocean spray. He collects rocks and pebbles and his owner makes a beautiful picture on the sand. Finally, it is time to go home so she gathers the pebbles and the pair of friends retrace their journey by ferry, train and on foot. The city is so much better now that the weather has cooled down. At home they enjoy a snack and then head to bed for a night of sweet dreams. 

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has been waiting for this book to arrive in Australia. Hot Dog won the Caldecott Medal in 2023 but until this year the price was way too high for a school library budget. In the US this book was published by Alfred K Knopf but the copy we have here is from Pushkin Press UK.  Now that this book is a good price AUS$25 I highly recommend you consider adding it to your library - a perfect book to read on a very hot summer day.

In Australia we would call this a Sausage Dog but in the US he is a Wiener Dog which you could associate with hot dogs (the food)! Weiner is a German word meaning sausage. 

In this conversation Doug Salati talks to Horn Book. See other books by Doug Salati here.

Salati expertly captures the stifling claustrophobia of hot and crowded city streets. One can almost feel the palpable temperature shift when the colors on the pages move from vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows to blues and greens, like a tonal reprieve. Happily, the book avoids demonizing cities in favor of the country, showing instead how a bad day affects your every sense. Spare poetic text also perfectly captures this small canine’s mindset. Kirkus Star review

Practically a wordless book, the storyline delves deep into the mindset of an average dog, an average owner, and the cool seaside breezes that can pivot a day from miserable to marvelous. ... For my part, the thing that struck me about the book right from the get go was the way in which you empathize with this little dog. You feel the heat that it’s experiencing. The loud sounds. The crowded streets. Is it possible to convey sensory overload through the printed page? If so, Salati has mastered it. SLJ Betsy Bird. (Click this review extract to see Doug Salati talking about his book)

Minimal, impressionistic free-verse text beautifully sets scenes and conveys character and emotion, expertly matched by the illustrations. Claustrophobic vertical panels, angular lines, and hot oranges, reds, and yellows (of the city) give way to expansive, sometimes full-spread horizontal panels and cool blues and greens (of the island escape). Horn Book

When I read Hot Dog I thought of this very old book:

The Station Cat by Stephen Hogtun

 

The Station Cat: A story of kindness and hope

"This train is not for you, and you have no ticket, you will have to save to come aboard."

A small skinny cat arrives at the old train station. People waiting for trains do not notice her.

"The colour drained from this place a long time ago."

You will have to save lives and save she does. This young half-starved cat connects with various people at the train station as each face a life crisis. 

"Crowds of people went about their sorrow without noticing her at all."

"If they had only looked closer they would have seen ... Eyes of radiant, jade green staring back."

There are wonderful words used in this book. Here are the colours: ginger, cinnamon, lilac, fawn, amber, carmine and violet. Other rich words: sombre, vapour, spectrum of colours, wistful, and vivid.

Share sentences like this with your older students:

"She paced softly upon graceful, pink paw pads ... "

"Waxed wooden herringbone floors reflecting the light blue sky which chorused the light footsteps that now skipped along it."

Publisher blurb: A lonely little kitten wanders into a dull, gray station, full of dull, gray people. Her colorful fur and bright green eyes bring warmth and life to this weary place, and soon people begin to notice the kitten. As she learns about the different travelers and their struggles from loss and loneliness, the little kitten wants to help fill their world with hope and color, too.

Adult readers will probably see deeper themes in this book (you can see these in the labels I assigned this post) as we watch each person engulfed by the despair of their life circumstances but I think readers aged 8+ will simply appreciate that a small act of kindness can mean so much to each of us.

The narrative itself is grave, detailed and evocative, matching the mood created by the colours and is set out as unrhyming verse so that the line breaks emphasise particular words and images. The movements and expressions of the cat are beautifully observed and the depiction of different passengers invites readers to imagine the stories of their lives and what has brought them to the colourless state at the start of the book. Just Imagine

This is a sophisticated presentation of an important message of the value of community and reaching out to others. ... The story stays with you long after you close the pages. More About Books

Every now and then when I go into the city, I decide I just HAVE to buy myself a treat - which for me is a Picture Book. It can take me a long time to decide what to buy because I am fussy, I want to spend my money wisely and I have three main criteria:

• The book has to touch my soul.
• The illustrations have to be exceptional
• If possible the book should be fairly new (this is not essential)

The Station Cat meet two of my three criteria. And I should add I prefer to buy picture books that cost less than AUS$30 although this criteria now needs revising because so many absolutely beautiful and truly special picture books are now closer to AUS45. The Station Cat was published by DK in London and it only cost AU$19.98.

Stephen Hogtun is an author/illustrator who lives on the west coast of sunny Norway in an old house overlooking a lovely fjord. His picture books cover serious topics in a very gentle, child-friendly way and feature visually stunning illustrations.

Here are some other books by Stephen Hogtun - I am curious about his work and how it came to be published in the UK and in English.

Everybody! by Elise Gravel

When discussing picture books it is important to understand that while the best examples of this form do, of course, contain text and pictures the real magic comes from the way these two are combined - especially when the illustrations take the reader way beyond the text. In the best books the relationship between text and illustrations is a symbiotic one. The illustrations depend on the text and the text is enriched by the illustrations.  

In Everybody the text when viewed in isolation does contain deep ideas expressed in a simple way:

"Everybody is unique and different. But we are more similar than we think. Everybody has fears. Everybody has moments of joy and moments of sadness. Everybody makes mistakes and everybody can learn from them."

But when you open this book each page is filled with humour and pathos. 

The book serves to reassure children they are not alone and that what they might be experiencing is widely shared by others or rather, EVERYBODY. As well, an important element of Everybody!, while not overt, is reinforcing in children the need to respect others. From the opening page to the end, the book is uplifting, cheerful, and encouraging, but the subject matter has a serious intent. Canadian Review of Materials

Who is everybody? Elise Gravel gives her readers a huge range of the every bodies. Different sizes, shapes, colours and personalities. You can see some of them on the front cover above and in this illustration: 

Image Source: Scholastic Canada 

I dare you to share the book trailer for Everybody with your library group - it is very funny (and slightly rude). One of my favourite pages is when we see one of the characters reading a book (on the toilet) and then we discover it's a real book also by Elise Gravel:

The two covers above are the editions available here in Australia (top) and the US edition. 

 I do hope you are familiar with the unique and brilliant work of Canadian illustrator Elise Gravel. I highly recommend adding some of her books to your library or home book collection and you could also look for books by Elise Gravel in your local library. Read more about Elise here. 

Here is my post about The Worm

This is a new book due out later this year

These are some Board Books by Elise Gravel

Everyone Sang: A Poem for every Feeling by William Sieghart illustrated by Emily Sutton

Begin with this beautiful book trailer from Walker Books. 

Blurb: The right poem at the right moment can feel like a magic charm. And whether you want to make your heart lighter, or the world seem brighter  - whether you want to lift yourself out of a bad mood, or to calm your thoughts after a busy day - this is the book to turn to.

This is the third absolutely stunning poetry anthology I have added to my shelves in recent times.

I am the seed that grew the tree

In this book you will find 170 pages of poems by well known poets such as Maya Angelou, Roger McGough, Lemn Sissay, Jackie Kay, Carol Ann Duffy, Joseph Coelho, Kae Tempest, W.B. Yeats, Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson, and many others. The poems are divided into four sections:

• Poems to inspire you
• Poems to make you smile
• Poems to move you
• Poems to calm and connect you

You can see a few pages inside Everyone Sang on the Walker Books UK web site. Here are a couple of poems from Everyone Sang that touched my heart:

Give yourself a Hug by Grace Nichols

Give yourself a hug,

When you feel unloved

Give yourself a hug,

When people put on airs

to make you feel a bug

Give yourself a hug

When everyone seems to give you

a cold shoulder shrug.

Give yourself a hug –

A big, big hug

And keep on singing…

‘Only one in a million like me,

Only one in a million-billion-thrillion-zillion

like me.’

Make Ordinary come Alive by William Martin

Do not ask your children

to strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable,

but it is a way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder

and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting

tomatoes, apples and pears.

Show them how to cry

when pets and people die.

Show them the infinite pleasure

in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself.

Don't go into the library by Alberto Rios (Source Poets.org)

The library is dangerous—

Don’t go in. If you do

You know what will happen.

It’s like a pet store or a bakery—

Every single time you’ll come out of there

Holding something in your arms.

Those novels with their big eyes.

And those no-nonsense, all muscle

Greyhounds and Dobermans,

All non-fiction and business,

Cuddly when they’re young,

But then the first page is turned.

The doughnut scent of it all, knowledge,

The aroma of coffee being made

In all those books, something for everyone,

The deli offerings of civilization itself.

The library is the book of books,

Its concrete and wood and glass covers

Keeping within them the very big,

Very long story of everything.

The library is dangerous, full

Of answers. If you go inside,

You may not come out

The same person who went in.

I have previously talked about other books illustrated by Emily Sutton.

One Christmas Wish

Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day

How to recycle your feelings by Amy Molloy illustrated by Melissa Mylchreest

 

Emotions - we all have them.  

Worried; angry; shy; sad; lonely; or hurt.

"They're all part of the bits and pieces of life"

This is not the style of book that usually appeals to me but I found myself appreciating the advice found here.  "You can recycle your feelings - reduce them, reuse them, swap them, share them, store them or repair them."

I liked the idea of borrowing a confidence coat from a friend (when you feel shy) and when you feel lonely putting the feeling in a jar with a label. 

Melissa Mylchreest’s clear, graphic illustrations support the minimal text to help the reader locate their feelings and then use them in positive and constructive ways. Reading Time

A couple of weeks ago we were given multiple copies of this book (published January 2020) at the Westmead Children's hospital Book Bunker. In this video the author reads her book. Amy Molloy is a qualified counsellor. Her adult books include 'The world is a nice place' and 'Wife Interupted'.  I think this book would be a good addition to a Primary school library or a preschool bookshelf. How to recycle your feelings won two awards - Purple Dragonfly - Health (First Prize) and Growing Pains (First Prize).

Publisher blurb: Sometimes, we all end up with too many emotions, Or emotions we don’t have a use for anymore… But that doesn’t mean you have to throw them away. Because no emotion is ever really a waste. The first title in the series, How to Recycle Your Feelings is a children’s book with grown-ups in mind too. The fictional story – which shows that 'no emotion is ever really a waste' – draws on therapeutic techniques such as reframing, reflection and detachment packaged in a way that is understandable (and enjoyable!) to readers of all ages. Perfect for parents, grandparents, carers and educators alike, it shows the power of imagination and positive intention to cope with the overflow emotions that can clutter our emotional worlds!

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

I like bees, I don't like honey by Sam Bishop illustrated by Fiona Lumbers

I do hope the title of this book caught your attention. This is a new discovery for me and I am so excited to share it here because this book is wonderful. How did I miss this book back in 2017? The premise is simple - can you answer these two questions?

What do you like?  What don't you like?

Here is the publisher blurb:

There's nothing like a small child to give you an honest answer, and so we asked a group what their likes and dislikes were. Their answers were enlightening, funny, and also profound - so we've gathered them together in a beautifully illustrated package to encourage other young children to express their feelings too. This charming, delightful and thoroughly entertaining book is perfect for anyone trying to gently broach a conversation about individuality, fears and hopes with their child. Allen and Unwin

There are so many beautiful ideas in this book - from the funny to the poignant. Here are a few that touched my heart.

I like rainbows. I don't like being tapped on the shoulder.

I like skateboarding. I don't like being asked lots of questions

I like running. I don't like secrets.

I like chasing balloons. I don't like people going away.

I like woolly mammoths. I don't like being rushed.

I like pulling silly faces! I don't like war.

I like steam trains! I don't like people dying.

This book just begs to be used as an inspiration for children and their writing. Here is the plan used by one Kindergarten teacher.

Fiona Lumbers is the illustrator of another book that I loved and recently talked about The Secret Sky Garden.

Mr Huff by Anna Walker

Cloudy with a chance of rain

Life is all about perception.  How we see the day can affect our mood.  How we react to friends or events can also 'cloud' our feelings.

Mr Huff is another title listed on the CBCA Notables for 2016.

Everyone has bad mood days.  Bill explains this by imagining Mr Huff - a large, grey blob that over shadows his day.  Mr Huff begins as a small, dark cloud when Bill wakes up but through the morning as things go "wrong" Mr Huff grows.

"He couldn't find his favourite socks
He spilt the milk and his cereal was soggy"

After two days Bill of torment realises he needs to take some action.  He tells Mr Huff "I hate you ... I wish you were never here."

One of the deepest parts of this book comes at this point.  Having confronted Mr Huff,  Bill now looks into his face and sees the reflection of his own sadness.  This where the story turns.  Bill can stay sad and keep seeing the world as a gloomy place where his is alone and perhaps 'depressed' or he can take charge and change things for himself.

Bill decides to see the world in a new way. The puddles are fun.  The sun is shining.  The footpath glistens. The neighborhood kids are ready to play.  Make sure you look at the end papers which reflect this change in Bill.

Here is a review you might like to read.  Here is the web page for the talented Anna Walker and my review of her previously short listed book Peggy. You might also enjoy visiting an exhibition about this book in Melbourne.  Here is a review in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The day was cloudy with a chance of sunshine