Photo by Angie Quantrell
Text by God
The Ocean Calls, A Haenyeo Mermaid Story
Written by Tina Cho
Illustrated by Jess X. Snow
Kokila, An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; August 2020
I was super excited to win a copy of The Ocean Calls, A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho, illustrated by Jess X. Snow, from Kathy Temean’s Writing and Illustrating website. You can read more from Kathy and check out her post at https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2020/07/21/book-giveaway-the-ocean-calls-by-tina-cho/ . Thank you, Kathy and Tina!
The Ocean Calls, A Haenyeo Mermaid Story is the fascinating story of women divers who use the skills passed down from generation to generation to dive and gather the fruits of the sea. Living on Jeju Island in South Korea, the mostly mature and elderly women dive into waters off the island, up to 30 meters deep. They do not use breathing equipment and can hold their breath up to two minutes! I am amazed!
The story focuses on Dayeon, a young girl, and her grandmother, one of the diving mermaids. Grandma is trying to encourage Dayeon and teach her the skills necessary to become a Haenyeo Mermaid. I love the way the young girl struggles with the fear of jumping into the wild ocean, even as she dreams of being able to do what she sees her grandmother doing.
This engaging story is delicious! I loved learning more about a new subject, one I had never heard about before. What an encouraging picture book, one that invites readers to explore a new world with their eyes, ears, and hearts!
Why I Love This Book:
~ The story is wonderful
~ The fascination I felt as I read about Haeynyeo Mermaids
~ The underwater world of women divers
~ The illustrations bursting with color and extra details
~ The setting on and off an island of South Korea
~ The history and the traditions of generations of courageous women
~ Fabulous backmatter
Amazon Blurb:
A breathtaking picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear, and connecting with our natural world.
Dayeon wants to be a haenyeo just like Grandma. The haenyeo dive off the coast of Jeju Island to pluck treasures from the sea–generations of Korean women have done so for centuries. To Dayeon, the haenyeo are as strong and graceful as mermaids. To give her strength, Dayeon eats Grandma’s abalone porridge. She practices holding her breath while they do the dishes. And when Grandma suits up for her next dive, Dayeon grabs her suit, flippers, and goggles. A scary memory of the sea keeps Dayeon clinging to the shore, but with Grandma’s guidance, Dayeon comes to appreciate the ocean’s many gifts.
Tina Cho’s The Ocean Calls, with luminous illustrations by muralist Jess X. Snow, is a classic in the making.
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Text by King Solomon
sunflower forest
winter’s fat, avian feast
loud feathered hot spot
beware, tasty treats
understory stalker waits,
cat infestation
tasty treats by Angie Quantrell
photo by Angie Quantrell
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Text by God
Not Your Typical Dragon
Written by Dan Bar-el
Illustrated by Tim Bowers
Viking, 2013
I first heard Not Your Typical Dragon being read aloud on Julie’s Library, a podcast by Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. For a wonderful read aloud, check out then July 29th podcast at: https://www.julieslibraryshow.org/episode/2020/07/29/not-your-typical-dragon-rooster-wore-skinny-jeans .
After hearing Julie read Not Your Typical Dragon in her beautiful voice, I had to get a copy of my own. I fell in love with Crispin, the not-so-typical dragon. Truly an individual, Crispin fell far short of expected dragon-y behaviors and disappointed his father, family, and even a few knights. This book is a fun and surprising read!
What I Loved About This Book:
~ The not-your-typical dragon, Crispin
~ The humor and unexpected happenings once Crispin grew into his dragon abilities at the age of seven
~ Help that comes from unexpected places
~ Fun, colorful illustrations
~ Clever story and interactions between characters
Amazon Blurb:
Everybody knows your typical dragon breathes fire.
But when Crispin tries to breathe fire on his seventh birthday, fire doesn’t come out—only whipped cream! Each time Crispin tries to breathe fire, he ends up with
Band-Aids
marshmallows
teddy bears?
Crispin wonders if he’ll ever find his inner fire. But when a family emergency breaks out, it takes a little dragon with not-so-typical abilities to save the day.
With wry humor and whimsical illustrations, Not Your Typical Dragon is the perfect story for any child who can’t help feeling a little bit different.
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Text by God
Playing Possum
Written and illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt
Clarion Books, July 2020
What joy! Playing Possum is such a delightful book! I fell in love with Alfred and Sophia and the way fear and anxiety dictated their actions. I enjoyed their many interactions and the way the forest creatures joined their adventures, many of them with their own responses to fear. The illustrations and story captivated my imagination and I couldn’t wait to turn the pages to see what happened next.
How does one make friends when burdened with such a built-in fear factor? Calmly and patiently! Jennifer Black Reinhardt has skillfully woven the story of kindness and friendship between unlikely friends in a magical woodland. I invited Jennifer to visit and tell us more about Playing Possum.
Here’s Jennifer!
Welcome, Jennifer! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi, Angie, thank you so much for having me visit. I grew up with a mother who was an artist, and her mother (my MomMom) was an artist as well. So, I was always encouraged to create. When I was in second grade, I discovered that I could put words with pictures to tell even more of a story—- I was hooked.
I grew up in Pennsylvania and got my degree in Illustration from Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating, I worked as a freelance illustrator and had success illustrating pretty much everything except picture books. Finally, after many, many years of being persistent, I’m now getting to live my dream of writing and illustrating books for kids.
One is never too young (or I hope, too old) to write stories and draw pictures!
What was your inspiration for Playing Possum?
One night several years ago, my husband was taking out the trash and called to me to identify the animal in our trashcan. Sticking out of the top of the can was a snarling, frozen, possum! I remember feeling sorry for him. He looked so scared and I thought that it was probably even scarier not being able to run away.
Poor thing!
What was the writing and illustrating journey you took as you created this beautiful picture book?
I wrote the initial draft of the story (we all know there are many, many, drafts, and revisions) quite quickly. It is sparse text, but once I had my characters, this story seemed to fall into place (It’s not always like that). I shared it with my critique group and then sent it to my agent. We had interest from editors right away who wished to acquire it (again, not usually like that). Illustrating-wise it was important to me to find a believable balance between what is real and what is imagined. I wanted readers to feel Alfred and Sofia’s kindness toward each other and then having the desire to spread their empathy to help others.
Wow, you are right! Playing Possum fell together quite easily, but it’s not always like that.
How did you celebrate the July 2, 2020, release of Playing Possum?
Well, a bit differently than for past books, of course. I teamed up with a local bookstore, Sidekick Coffee and Books, and held a virtual Zoom launch party.
Good for you! It is an odd year for book releases and gatherings. Sounds like you had a perfect plan.
Surprise us. What else would you like to share?
One of my earliest and warmest memories is of my mother reading me The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore and illustrated by one of my very favorite illustrators, Gyo Fujikawa. There is a tiny mouse that she has hidden on some of the pages. I can remember so clearly how much I adored looking for that little detail with my mom. It made me extremely happy that I could put so many hidden ‘critters’ in Playing Possum for other young readers to find. I hope they enjoy all those secret surprises.
I love surprises! I can’t wait to go back and reread my book and see how many I can find. Fun!
Thank you, Jennifer, for visiting today! Thank you so much for sending me a copy of Playing Possum via Picture Book Builders. I am very grateful to meet such wonderful characters and read about their adventures.
We send all the best wishes to you and much success with Playing Possum. I hope we get to meet Alfred and Sophia in a new adventure!
Here’s how you can support and get in touch with Jennifer:
Website: jbreinhardt.com
Instagram: jenniferblackreinhardt
Facebook: @jenniferblackreinhardtillustration
Twitter: @jblackreinhardt
Check out the book trailer for Playing Possum.
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Text by God
Note: I used Canva to create this post.
feathered friend visits
statuesque, leggy, brooding
seeks knee-deeps snack
knee-deep by Angie Quantrell
photo by Angie Quantrell, Yakima Valley, Washington
Love, Laughter, and Life 