Wake Up, Island

Written by:  Mary Casanova

Illustrated by:  Woodcuts by Nick Wroblewski

Published by:    Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (February 24, 2016

Ages:    4 -7 years

Theme:   nature, animals, woodlands

Opening Lines:   While you sleep, the day is dawning. Sunlit fingers touch the shores. Water tickles island’s edges.

Synopsis:   on amazon:  Wake up, little one, a soft voice beckons, the world around you is already stirring. As Wake Up, Island gently rouses the sleepy child; it summons a world of nature coming to life on a summer island in the magical North Woods. Sunlit fingers touch the shores, pine trees stretch their limbs, and lichen warms on ancient rock. Doe and fawn rise from their grass bed and pearls of dew bead a spider’s finely woven web. Mallards skim the water’s surface. Ravens perch and gargle greetings, chickadees call dee, dee, dee, and a heron swoops—minnows flee! The moose and her calf wade, munching on plants. The red squirrel chatters. The black bear lazily scratches her back against a tree.

Conjuring the morning life around a cabin fragrant with berry pancakes, this timeless book wakens the child in every reader to the wonders of nature that greet every new day in the charmed world of a northern woodland island.

Why I like this:   With its beautiful soothing words the lyrical text feels like it is stretching and yawning with the reader. Noticing the wonder of nature, stirring, and shimmering awake the well-chosen word of sparse text leaves much to the illustration.  This book makes for a great mentor text for writers of children’s picture books.  “Sunshine pokes inside your window…”  isn’t that interesting word choice?  Apparently Mary was inspired by an early morning canoe ride around an island in her pajamas when she then wrote this. The full page wood carved illustrations give it that lovely woody look and feel.  This is an interesting book reflecting the author’s surroundings, for both small children and adults alike. What better way to interest the little ones than discovering the surrounds and what little animals live in their own back yard or local park or on a walk. You’ll be surprised at what you find!

Mary Casanova has written more than thirty books from picture books to novels, and her books have received many awards. She lives in Minnesota near the Canadian Border.

Nick Wroblewski specializes in handmade woodcut blockprints and printsfrom his home in Wisconsin.    Check out Mary’s blog with links to Nicks website  below.

Resources: 

Mary’s Website…    https://www.marycasanova.com/pages/books/bk_wake-up-island.html

Nick’s website.  Watch him prepare and woodcut one of the pages for Wake Up, Island…     http://nickwroblewski.com/

This is a great book to use in the classroom with discussions on the words used and the language.

Also ask the students to write down all the animals in the book and what they know about them.

Also list down the activities they would do if they were stranded on an island.

Also list items they would take if they were to spend a night on an island.

I’m always happy reviewing Picture Books that come my way and share them with you.  If you would like to see more please pop over to Susanna Leonard Hills Blog where there are hundreds of books reviewed by other like-minded authors and writers.  Thank you for popping in and I hope you return again soon.