Smash

Written by Adam Schafer

Illustrated by Noel Tuazon

Red Deer Press

978-0-88995-635-3

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

January 2023

 

This child likes to smash stuff. He smashes his own stuff and other people's stuff. He smashes with a bat, his trike, his hands–anything that can destroy.

From Smash by Adam Schafer, illus. by Noel Tuazon

But it's soon revealed that his smashing has more to do with what he can't do, like read or draw, than what he can do. Still, his frustrations are not making him a lot of friends.

From Smash by Adam Schafer, illus. by Noel Tuazon

Then he realizes that the same hands that destroy can just as easily build. He puts a couple of pieces together here and then a few there and, with simple assembly, he makes himself and others quite happy. 

This child is any toddler who lacks the power to do more complicated things, like reading or writing, and, as a way of coping, takes matters into his own hands, and that means destroying what he can. At first glance, it's simple destruction and upsetting to others. But, unknowingly, he's learning. He's learning how things fit together, how they can be manipulated, and ultimately self-control. I suspect Adam Schafer is a father who has witnessed a toddler being destructive because he sees the normalcy of a very young child trying to take control of his situation in whatever way he can. The child wants to feel good about what he can do–don't we all?–but realizes, after seeing the reactions of others, that destroying things only makes him feel good and only temporarily. When he switches to building, then everyone gets happy as does he with his sense of accomplishment.  

 

Adam Schafer has written a book for very young children about very young children. There are fewer than 100 words in the whole book and most are in sentences of two or three words. (Children will be able to read this book soon enough because of its structure.) Your little ones may be in their destructive phase but Smash will help them see the joy that comes from the building phase too as well as giving them that reading boost when they realize they can read Smash on their own.

From Smash by Adam Schafer, illus. by Noel Tuazon

Noel Tuazon's artwork of ink and watercolour gives the child's actions the power of movement both in his destruction and construction. He makes the child the center of his world, as is the case for toddlers, when he is destroying things but then Noel Tuazon introduces more colour once the child extends himself into his structures, as he builds and creates.

If you have a little one at home who loves to smash, then Adam Schafer's story will be all too familiar. But, Adam Schafer, with the illustrative assistance of Noel Tuazon, demonstrates that the frustration of powerless can be set aside when the energy is put to building whether it be structures, self-actualization or friendships.

A Good Day for Ducks

Written by Jane Whittingham

Illustrated by Noel Tuazon

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-188-5

26 pp.

Ages 1-4

February 2021

From Jane Whittingham and Noel Tuazon, the collaborative duo who brought us Wild One (Pajama Press, 2017), comes a play date on a rainy day that may be A Good Day for Ducks but a great one for young children too.

 

A brother and sister delight in watching the rain from indoors before prepping for their outing into the wet wilds. In simple free verse, Jane Whittingham lets us join the two from indoors to outdoors and back inside.

Getting dressed,

Raincoat, rainboots,

Tug tug, pull pull,

Off we go.

Out they go to jump in puddles, splash down the lane and watch ducks swimming in the pond.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

The ducks "Quack quack, flap flap" and the worms "Wiggle squiggle" before the lightning and thunder come with a "Zig zag, boom bang" and the children hurry home with their mother.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

It's still a good day for ducks as they children get out of their wet things and don cozy outfits and bunny slippers to hop around the room. Finally there's hot cocoa and some painting to remember their outing before they witness the rainbow that culminates their rainy day.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

For very young children who always delight in rainy day play, Jane Whittingham gives words to their amusements. The play is so organic–jumping, watching, feeling, hearing–that Jane Whittingham's repetition of key words, relating to the sounds and actions of the children and the elements of the day, reinforces that simplicity of experience. They "Tug tug, pull pull" on their boots, they "Splish splash, Splish splash" down the lane and are "Waiting, waiting" for their hot drinks to be made. And don't Noel Tuazon's watercolour and ink illustrations just emulate the wetness of the day? There's a fluidity of motion from the children, the rain and nature in general that comes across in Noel Tuazon's lines and shapes that makes the reader feel like they're floating along in the children's ventures. Like the ducklings, we follow along, going with the flow.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

Originally published in 2018, this board book edition of A Good Day for Ducks features "Touch & Feel Raindrops" which your little ones are sure to enjoy, between scoping them out and relishing the sensory feel of their glossy lines. With spring looming and the opportunities for rain across the country inevitable, A Good Day for Ducks will herald more play in the rain and remind us of the value of taking delight in the world around, whether it be wetness from the sky, bunny slippers, hot cocoa, ducks on a pond or mud on a laneway.

Wild One: Book launch (Vancouver, BC)

Join debut author

Jane Whittingham

for the launch of her charming picture book

Wild One

Written by Jane Whittingham

Illustrated by Noel Tuazon

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-036-9

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

November, 2017

Reviewed here yesterday

on

  Saturday, November 4, 2017

1-3 p.m.

at

Book Warehouse

4118 Main St.

Vancouver, BC

There will be:

• activities for kids

• snacks

• prizes

• books for purchase

and

• author signing.

Wild One

Written by Jane Whittingham

Illustrated by Noel Tuazon

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-036-9

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

November, 2017

From morning to bedtime, this little girl is go, go, go!  She's not just a wild thing, she's the Wild One!

From Wild One 

by Jane Whittingham 

illus. by Noel Tuazon

The story of Wild One is told as a series of daily activities: going to the park, playing with friends, climbing monkey bars, swimming, running, eating and preparing for bed. On each page, front and back, the young girl is doing something that is then compared to an action of an animal on the opposite side of the page.  She stretches like a cat, hangs from the monkey bars like a bat, swims like a guppy but trudges home, reluctantly, like a snail.  Regardless of the animals she emulates during the day and evening, she is her parents' wild one to whom they affectionately say goodnight in the final illustration.

From Wild One 

by Jane Whittingham

 illus. by Noel Tuazon

Wild One is Jane Whittingham's first picture book and it's a charming recount of a child's day filled with play and activity. Kids love pretending that they are animals–how often do they imagine themselves to be bears growling or dogs barking or snakes slithering?–but here Jane Whittingham demonstrates, playfully, that we belong in the animal kingdom, sharing many attributes with animals far and wide.  (I know Wild One is not a commentary on animal classification or our position within it, but I think a wise teacher would find a way to incorporate Wild One into a great lesson about the characteristics of living things.)

Toronto artist Noel Tuazon may be a name unfamiliar to me but he has several books under his illustrating belt including picture books and graphic novels and does art for magazines, comics and Nelvana Studios.  His style here is appropriately light, subtle and simple, as complements the story of a preschooler's life.  The detail is unnecessary as the pairing of an activity with an animal is all that is needed, especially for the very young for whom this book is written. (Pajama Press' soft padded cover with rounded corners is perfect for them and those fortunate enough to hold it,)  It is only in the final illustration of the child sleeping in her room that we see the mayhem of a day well lived.

From Wild One 

by Jane Whittingham 

illus. by Noel Tuazon

Wild One may be about the little girl being one but the last words belong to the child's parents who bid her goodnight in a rhyme that resonates like a lullaby. After all, she is their wild one and loved no matter whether a cat, a bear or a snail.



🐕🐈🐻🐟🐌🐇🐋🐋

Check out tomorrow's post about the book launch for Wild One in Vancouver on November 4, 2017.