People Are My Favorite Places

 

Written and illustrated by Ani Castillo

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

978-0-316424660

40 pp.

Ages 4-9

January 2024 

While we are still living with a pandemic, we are no longer subjected to lockdowns and the isolation that came with them. For many, the inability to go places had more to do with not seeing people: family, friends, and newly-met acquaintances. As she did in her earlier picture books Ping and Spark, Ani Castillo shares an important message about appreciating those who are part of our lives, whether we know them or not. 

From People Are My Favorite Places, written and illustrated by Ani Castillo

Although a young girl recognizes all the things which she can no longer do or see when "I was stuck in my room, all alone, forever and ever," she realizes that it's the people involved in those activities that she really misses. Visiting places like her grandparents' house or the movie theatre or travelling is not about the place but the people with whom she spends time.

From People Are My Favorite Places, written and illustrated by Ani Castillo

She recognizes that there are a lot of people she knows and missed, from her piano teacher to her friends and the locals she meets when travelling. It's all the "sweet, lovely people who were once there with me" with whom she laughed, ate noodles, chatted, held hands, and more. And she recognizes the people she missed came in all shapes, colours, ages, and textures, but she missed them all for their touch, their smell, their warmth and so much more.

From People Are My Favorite Places, written and illustrated by Ani Castillo

But most of all, she realizes that she had learned an important lesson during that time:

Because now

I see clearly

that the landscape, the place

most precious to me

is the world inside someone

I love

very dearly.

From People Are My Favorite Places, written and illustrated by Ani Castillo

The innocence of the child in expressing how she feels will be very familiar to children who missed out on a lot of things during lockdowns, from schooling, and family visits, to travel and socializing. They will all remember how isolated they felt and how much they craved being somewhere other than their rooms or their homes. But this child has the insight to realize it wasn't just being someplace, it was being with someone that made it all that it was: rich in experience, embracing in affection, uniting in companionship. That insightful innocence comes through in Ani Castillo's artwork. Using black coloured pencil, watercolour, and gouache, Ani Castillo makes us see every one of those people who are the landscape of this child's life.  There are her peers, her teachers, her family, and those people that she might meet when travelling. Known or unknown, these people are what make those places vibrant and significant.

Though I worry that too many people have forgotten what it was like to be without the people in their lives, I hope that People Are My Favorite Places will remind them so that we don't have to go through further isolation such as lockdowns to appreciate the magnitude of their contributions to the fabric of our lives. They take our landscapes from barren to lush and vibrant, and even if we don't want to partake in that vibrancy every moment, knowing that we can reach out to it any time is important.

Love is for Roaring

Written by Mike Kerr

Illustrated by Renata Liwska

Bloomsbury

978-1-68119-124-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

January 2022

While I probably should have reviewed this lovely picture book in January when it came out so that it would be ready for Valentine's Day, I think that books about love in all its forms are important all year round, don't you think?

From Love is for Roaring by Mike Kerr, illus. by Renata Liwska

At school, the animals are given the assignment of showing their love as a crafty card. But this work distresses Lion who is perplexed by what is required.  Mouse can see the stress this causes Lion and tries to draw out of Lion what he understands love to be and what he might love. But that doesn't go well. Everything Mouse suggests, from hugs and kisses and sweet treats, are negated by Lion whose experiences with or perceptions of those are aggravating.

From Love is for Roaring by Mike Kerr, illus. by Renata Liwska

Finally when Mouse suggests activities like running and playing, roaring and chasing, Lion realizes that there are many things he loves doing, including being and having a friend.

From Love is for Roaring by Mike Kerr, illus. by Renata Liwska

As teachers, we know that understanding any assignment relies on both the teacher's ability to explain it and the student's ability to make connections with it. It's no wonder that Lion, a fearless creature, finds the homework assignment to "Show your Love" to be "impossible, the undoable, the unimaginable" and it causes him much anxiety. Thankfully Mike Kerr gives Lion a friend in Mouse, an animal with infinite wisdom and the patience to help Lion see that love is possible and even familiar. Mike Kerr may be an instructor of illustration at the Alberta University of the Arts but the text of Love is for Roaring suggests that he has the right words to tell a story beyond the artwork. Lion's distress is palpable as is Mouse's concern. And Renata Liwska's illustrations elevate the story with something special. It's a mixture of soft colours, cushioned textures and recognizable body language. From frustration to solemn introspection and playful exertions, Lion and Mouse and their classmates are the children who will read this book and see themselves within the digital artwork. They will know about frustration and wanting to help a friend. They will know distress and confusion and the relief of resolution. Love is for Roaring may be every child's story of uncertainty about school work and finding a connection where one might not have been evident initially.

Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story

Written by Aviaq Johnston

Illustrated by Tamara Campeau

 Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-297-0

28 pp.

Ages 0-3

September 2021

Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story is both love song and lullaby, wrapped up in an endearing dialogue between grandfather and young offspring. 

From Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story from Aviaq Johnston, illus. by Tamara Campeau

As a young bowhead whale asks their grandfather to tell them about the wonderful things he has experienced in his 200 years of life, Grandfather Bowhead recalls the marvels of the northern lights, of the animals he's met and friends he's made, of giant icebergs, of geese who travel halfway across the world, of the excitement of swimming mighty currents, and of the hard work he faced. With each request for more tales from Grandfather Bowhead's life, the calf, whom the grandfather calls Little Arvaaq, gets a glimpse of excitement, survival, appreciation and experience. But with each account, Grandfather Bowhead always admits that the wonders of Little Arvaaq are superior and preferable.

From Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story from Aviaq Johnston, illus. by Tamara Campeau

Grandfather Bowhead, tell me a story
of something amazing you have seen.

Little Arvaaq, I’ve seen walruses dive into the
very depths of the ocean to find clams to eat,
but that does not compare to the depth of my
love for you.

From Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story from Aviaq Johnston, illus. by Tamara Campeau

While focusing on an intergenerational relationship, Nunavut's Aviaq Johnston is still able to highlight the extraordinary life of the bowhead whale which is thought to be the longest-lived mammal on the planet. Still, with all the wonders the elder bowhead has witnessed, the wonder that is his Little Avaaq is greater. With reverence and adoration, Grandfather Bowhead tells his stories in richly emotive words but always with the caveat about this bowhead calf. 

Grandfather Bowhead, tell me a story
of the sweetest thing you have seen.

Well, Little Arvaaq, in all my two hundred years
I’ve seen everything you can imagine,
but nothing compares to the sweetness of
your sleeping breaths.

The depth of adoration, amazement and affection from Grandfather for Little Avaaq is epitomized in Tamara Campeau's profound artwork. Digitally rendered, the illustrations of Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story are both realistic and dramatic, depicting the greatness of the bowheads and the other sea creatures in an Arctic landscape of deep waters, massive bergs and vibrant northern lights. Tamara Campeau makes her art truthful, grounded in accuracy, but also ethereal, giving a spiritual essence through her use of colour and line that matches Aviaq Johnston's words.

If I was a grandparent, I would love to share this story with a grandchild to verbalize the depth of devotion and tribute extended between grandfather and young in Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story. After all, such affection should be the standard for all young.