Eye Witnesses! They All Saw A CAT by Brendan Wenzel

A CAT WALKED THROUGH THE WORLD

WITH ITS WHISKERS, EARS, AND PAWS.

A cat is a cat is a cat, and no more than that?

To a child the cat is a soft, purring pet.

But to the dog the cat is perhaps something fun to chase, perhaps a foe with sharp claws to fear.

To the fish the cat is a blurry and worrisome dark shape that appears above the water. To the mouse the cat is a sharp-toothed monster whose little bell warns "Run and hide." But to the flea on the cat's back, he is a prairieland of fur to be probed. And to the honeybee, the cat is a collection of pixilated dots; to the earthworm underground he is only vibrations above--something not to be considered deeply.

AND THE SNAKE SAW THE CAT... AND THE SKUNK SAW THE CAT...

And what does the cat see when he regards his own reflection in the pond?

Brendan Wenzel's top-selling new book, They All Saw a Cat (Chronicle Books, 2016), probes the difference between looking and seeing, exploring the different ways the common cat is seen by different viewers. In lovely flowing illustrations set against a white field, reminiscent of Eric Carle's classic work, Wenzel's multi-media paintings hint at a deeper premise--that we all see what we see in varied ways. A work that can itself be seen in different ways, Wenzel's first picture book can be appreciated on several levels, a kaleidoscope of sensory experience that points up the power of point of view. Says Publishers Weekly, "A powerful, rhythmic juxtaposition between word and image... it's marvelous," and Kirkus Reviews adds "A solo debut for Wenzel, showcasing both technical chops and a philosophical bent."

Getting to Know You! Hello Hello by Brendan Wenzel

HELLO HELLO

It begins quietly, with black and white--a white cat and a black cat.

And then there are those who are black and white--a panda and a zebra.

HELLO COLOR.  HELLO BRIGHT

Animals of varied hues and shades and markings follow--striped tigers and lizards, spotted leopards and spotted leopard fish.

HELLO GIANT HELLO NOT

Whopper whales and itsy bitsy chameleons follow.

In Brendan Wenzel's vivid and vivacious new picture book, Hello Hello (Chronicle Books, 2018), animals are in focus in all their glorious varieties. They come in a splendid array of shapes and sounds--tall and short, bulbous and sleek, with roars, peeps, chirps, and cheeps. They are strange as the platypus and pangolin, wild as narwhals and wolves, showy as peacocks and birds of paradise, all depicted in colors that put the rainbow to shame.

From aardvark to Atlantic sailfish, cassowary to kingfisher, they parade across the pages in all their splendor and diversity in artist Brendan Wenzel's stunning illustrations which dazzle the eye and nourish the mind, introducing the physical variety and names of many less-than-familiar creatures.

A Caldecott Honor Award winner for his They All Saw a Cat (Hardback) - 2016 Edition (see review here) Wenzel is an illustrator whose eye-candy art is evocative of that of Steve Jenkins and Eric Carle, and like Jenkins and Carle, the art serves his premise seamlessly, backed up by an informational glossary which describes the animals in order of appearance and ranks them as vulnerable, near threatened, or endangered. A first purchase for libraries, this is a picture book that hits all the marks for substance and kid appeal, useful for zoo trip day or Earth Day, or for any animal unit study.

Like a Rock! A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel

A STONE SAT STILL

AND IT WAS AS IT WAS
WHERE IT WAS IN THE WORLD.

A stone is just a rock, right?

It's always the same, right?

Yes, and no. To a chipmunk trying to chew into a nut in the early dawn, it's dark. To an owl in the moonlight, it is bright.

To a snail, its surface is rough. To a porcupine, it feels so smooth!

The stone can be green with moss or red with flowers.

To a struggling little bug, it's a hill..., but to a moseying moose...

...THE STONE WAS A PEBBLE.

For an otter, it's his kitchen table, and for a a royal lynx....

... THE STONE WAS A THRONE.

And when the waters began to rise around it...

... THE STONE WAS AN ISLAND.

And even as it is swallowed by the waves, but it is still there, in Brendal Wenzel's just published A Stone Sat Still: (Environmental and Nature Picture Book for Kids, Perspective Book for Preschool and Kindergarten, Award Winning Illustrator) (Chronicle Books, 2019). Author Wenzel's landmark stone seems timeless, but as he shows in his marvelously lyrical illustrations, each viewer sees it with a different perspective. Life changes and swirls all around it, as it too changes in its time. Wenzel's soft, muted and layered illustrations suggest the passage of time as viewed by an unseen observer, the reader, and an object which seems timeless, is nevertheless revealed to be in time as well."Profound and poetic." writes The New York Times Book Review.

Brendan Wenzel is also the author of the Caldecott Honor Book, They All Saw A Cat (Cat Books for Kids, Beginning Reading Books, Preschool Prep Books). (Read my review here.)

And The Winners Are.... : The American Library Association Children's Book Awards for 2017 Are Announced

The American Library Association leads off book awards for the year with their Youth Media Awards each January, honoring the best of children's literature.

Taking the Newbery, awarded since 1922 for the best in children's fiction and nonfiction, was Kelly Barnhart for her fantasy novel, The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Algonquin Books, 2016).

Newbery Honor winners were Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams, Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan Adam Godwitz' The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog, (Dutton, 2016), and Lauren Wolk's Wolf Hollow (Dutton, 2016).

The Caldecott Award for the best illustrator of books for young people went to Javaka Steptoe's Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (Little, Brown). Caldecott Honor Medals were given to Vera Brosgol for her Leave Me Alone! Freedom in Congo Square, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, Carson Ellis' Du Iz Tak? and Brendan Wenzel's They All Saw a Cat.

The sweeps-the-awards honor goes to March: Book Three, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell, which won four awards: the Coretta Scott King (author) Book Award, the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, and the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults.

Read all about ALA's books and media awards here.