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.



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

How Do You Feel?

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-013-0

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

November, 2016

Little ones often have difficulty differentiating between feeling, the emotion, and feeling, the sense of touch, and Rebecca Bender, creator of the award-winning Giraffe and Bird books (Giraffe and Bird, Dancing Cat Books, 2010; Don’t Laugh at Giraffe, Pajama Press, 2012; Giraffe Meets Bird, Pajama Press, 2015), has some fun word play with that to compare textures of a variety of animals.

The little hedgehog guides the story, going from animal to animal–toad, snake, duckling, rabbit, snail, and kitten– asking how it feels.  Each animal answers with a descriptive adjective –bumpy, smooth, fuzzy, silky, slimy and soft–and a simile that expresses and clarifies what each feeling is like.   And then all the animals turn things around and ask, "Hedgehog, how do YOU feel?"  Though they suggest a variety of textural synonyms for prickly,  the hedgehog does a fun shift in declaring he feels…"happy, like a hedgehog having his tummy tickled!"

From How Do You Feel? 

by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press has started putting out these lovely padded-cover books for preschoolers that are so much more inviting to hold than ordinary board books.  With its soft, cushioned cover, the parade of animals within and the repetitive text, How Do You Feel? will become a popular read-aloud book for parents and teachers of preschoolers and kindergarteners.  The rhythm and predictability of the text offers great opportunities for little ones to suggest answers to each question.  It’s a great teaching tool.  I can just imagine parents and teachers asking, just as they often play that game asking what a dog or cat says, how a snake or a kitten feels.

From How Do You Feel? 

by Rebecca Bender

But, kids will see beyond the content of the book and fall in love with Rebecca Bender’s adorable creatures. Every one of them has darling eyes–all bright, some laughing, several inquisitive–and bodies of evocative textures that will delight little ones who will want to reach out and touch.  They’ll be surprised to only stroke paper but Rebecca Bender’s illustrations will still give readers starting points for further discussions.  It could be about the sense of touch–and the other senses as well– or about synonyms and the thesaurus or about similes and metaphors.  How Do You Feel? may be targeted for the pre-reader who will be charmed by the whole package of art and text, but teachers should look beyond the cuteness and see the book as having applications far beyond the very youngest.  That's how I feel.  How do you feel?