Good Toes or Naughty Toes?

I'm really enjoying the inaugural International Picture Book Month, which is celebrating my favorite kind of book throughout November. As part of the celebration, I want to share with you a new book from Tiger Tales--a small independent publisher that happens to only create picture books.

Naughty Toes, written by Ann Bonwill and illustrated by Teresa Murfin, was actually first published in April 2011 by Oxford University Press in the United Kingdom. Tiger Tales then published it a few months later, in September 2011, in the United States. Here's the cast of characters from the book:

• Chloe is the narrator and main character. She dances with gusto...but not with much grace. 
• Belinda is Chloe's big sister. She's a natural ballerina.
• Madame Mina is the girls' ballet teacher. She makes Belinda the star of the ballet show and casts poor Chloe as a rock!
• Mr. Tiempo plays the piano during ballet class. Chloe and her creative spirit make him smile again and again.

"Float like clouds!" says Madame Mina, and I spin around the room like a dust cloud, clap like a thundercloud, whoosh like a rain cloud...SMACK! straight into Anthony. "What were you thinking?" asks Madame Mina. "I was a cloud with gusto," I say. Before I hang my head, I think I see Mr. Tiempo smiling.

It is clear from the start of the book--even before ballet class begins--that Chloe might not be the perfect candidate for a ballerina. She prefers a purple and green leotard over a classic pink one, and her fuzzy hair just doesn't want to be wrapped up neatly into a bun. 

As the book continues, it becomes more and more apparent that Chloe is out of her element. But Chloe also becomes more and more comfortable and confident with that fact. By the end of the book, with help from a secret supporter, she realizes that instead of a ballerina she is actually a tap dancer!

The art by Teresa Murfin nicely complements the text and the unique qualities Chloe possesses. Murfin apparently gets some of her inspiration from papers and fabrics, which show up in the tutus of some of the dancers and in other objects, like Mr. Tiemp's piano bench and a bouquet that Belinda receives after the girls' ballet show. 

I would love to see more of Murfin's art, which mixes her paper-and-fabric style with interestingly proportioned drawings of the characters. I'm also curious to find out what happens next to Chloe, as she starts her new tap class. I guess I will have to hope for a sequel!

If you want to learn more about author Ann Bonwill's inspirations for Naughty Toes, you can read my interview with her here. 

I Love to Dance!

November is Picture Book Idea Month (better known around the blogosphere as PiBoIdMo), and this is the first year I'm participating. Like the other 300 or so writers and illustrators taking part, I've been busy trying to come up with 30 new picture book ideas before the month is over. Luckily, I've been finding tons of inspiration on Writing for Kids (the official PiBoIdMo blog) and on a new website celebrating November as the first annual International Picture Book Month. But I'm still on the lookout for additional inspiration wherever I can find it, be that in dreams, in everyday life, or in picture books themselves...

Given this context, November seems the perfect time to talk about the picture book I Love to Dance, by Australian author and illustrator Anna Walker. The words in the book are few (only 88 of them) and the illustrations quite simple, but the book resonates with me strongly and inspires me deeply.

My six-year-old thinks the main character of the book, Ollie, is a zebra. My four-year-old thinks he's a dog. I'm not quite sure what I think he is, but perhaps this is one of the reasons I love the book so much. When I read it, I pretty much forget about...or don't even care...whether Ollie is a zebra, a dog, or some other creature. I only care that he loves to dance, and I feel happy for him that he dances so easily and with such abandon.

Ollie loves to dance loudly, and to dance quietly. He loves to dance like jelly. He loves to jump, roll, and flip. And he loves to hop! However, I think it is really Anna Walker's illustrations that let readers get to know Ollie and how creative he can be. When he jumps, rolls, and flips, the illustrations show him doing it all inside of a cardboard box. And when he hops, he doesn't hop the way you might expect he would. He does it upside down--in a one-arm handstand!

I love that Ollie thinks up new and exciting ways to perform classic movements...not unlike how picture book writers and illustrators think up fresh ideas to make stories that have been told before seem new.

Picture books and the ideas behind them can inspire. They can touch the hearts of readers and make them feel connected to the characters in a book. That's how I feel about Ollie, and that's what makes me want to read other books about him. For now, though, I'm going to take the inspiration that Ollie has already given me and try to come up with some more picture book ideas of my own!

I Love to Dance is just one book in a series about Ollie and the many things he loves. He loves to sing, he loves birthdays, he loves vacations, and he loves the special people in his life. You can see a partial list of the books in the series (those available in the United States) here.