Meet the illustrator Chuck Groenink

From Rufus the Writer by Elizabeth Bram 

Why have a lemonade stand when you can have a story stand? That’s what Rufus, a boy with a big imagination, decides. And once he’s in business, he starts creating little gems for his friends and family. Millie and Walter trade a shell for his story called “Why Orange Is the Best Color.” Rufus writes little sister Annie a story for her birthday about a girl who shrinks to the size of a teacup. Sara trades flowers for a story about a family of buttons. And then they all sit down and read the wonderful stories together.

I will share a new book filled with ten-word stories in a few days. The author Joseph Coelho invited twenty illustrators to contribute to his book. I knew many of the names but there were a few I needed to investigate. One name that was new to me is Chuck Groenink. His name really caught my eye.

His webpage tells me: Chuck grew up in the Netherlands, where he spent his formative years climbing trees, drawing, reading, and cycling. He attended the Artez Institute of Visual Arts in Kampen, graduating from its department of Illustration in 2004. Since 2010 he has resided in the United States, going from Portland, Oregon, to Kinderhook, New York where he lives with his wife, dog, three cats, and several rowdy chickens. 

Here is his instagram page.

Read a few blurbs:

16 Words by Lisa Rogers: This simple nonfiction picture book about the beloved American poet William Carlos Williams is also about how being mindful can result in the creation of a great poem like "The Red Wheelbarrow"--which is only sixteen words long. "Look out the window. What do you see? If you are Dr. William Carlos Williams, you see a wheelbarrow. A drizzle of rain. Chickens scratching in the damp earth." The wheelbarrow belongs to Thaddeus Marshall, a street vendor, who every day goes to work selling vegetables on the streets of Rutherford, New Jersey. That simple action inspires poet and doctor Williams to pick up some of his own tools--a pen and paper--and write his most famous poem. Kirkus Star review - Groenink’s richly layered, chalky illustrations expressively realize in muted earth tones the all-important everyday elements of Williams’ world.

Grandpa is here by Tanya Rosie: Grandpa is finally here to visit! He’s brought a suitcase smelling of Persian spices, walnuts picked from his trees at home, and sparkly saffron to make yellow rice. And Grandpa and granddaughter have so much they want to see and do together. She shows him all her favorite things: the mountaintops, the tunnel she discovered, and the horse in the field. If only Grandpa could stay longer, then he could see the spring—but when time together is limited, it feels all the sweeter and more special. (sequel to Mum me and the Mulberry Tree). Read the Kirkus review. 

I am not a fox by Karina Wolf: When Luca first arrives at the dog park, the other dogs turn him away. "You're not a dog," they say, "You're a fox." But . . . Luca likes to chase cats. He likes to yip at mailmen. And he likes sniff other dogs you-know-where. Still, Luca has to admit, he doesn't look like the other dogs. So . . . he must be a fox, right? But when Luca finds a trio of foxes in the forest and asks to join them, they don't think that Luca is a fox at all. After all, Luca acts just like a dog. Luca can't seem to find anyone quite like him, but then he meets a caring little girl and finds something even better--a friend. In this heartwarming tale, Karina Wolf and Chuck Groenick remind us that you don't need a label to find just where you belong.

The Friend Ship by Kat Yeh is a book to share with your young class at the start of the year. My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has a teacher who reads this and then the class fill a ship wall mural with their own faces. Such a terrific way to remind everyone in a class that we can all be friends and support one another on our learning journey. Speaking of journeys, the end papers of this book show firstly a world map and then the same world map with the dotted outline of their long journey of discovery. (A mapping unit idea). I also love the double meaning of the title - friends in a ship who eventually work out they have actually found friendship. The characters in this story are a few of my own favourite animals - beaver, hedgehog, and a capybara. I adore the repeated line 'yes, yes, yes, yes-yessity-yes.' Oh, and you can see a lighthouse in this illustration. 

Kirkus review: Yeh makes effective use of dialogue and repetition, investing her characters with personality with just a few lines. Groenink employs sunny, warm hues that increase in saturation as the boat fills and Hedgehog becomes surrounded by friends. A sweet, simple story with a nicely offbeat heroine.

 I previously talked about another book by Kat Yeh:

Just one Little Light

Life in a Hollow by David Gullan illustrated by Suzanne Houghton

"The rosellas were noisy and made quite a mess, but the hollow was perfectly made for a nest. Two rosellas came in to rest as a pair. After a while, another was there!"

This is a book that should be added to every Australian Primary school library. It is the perfect combination of an engaging narrative, life-like illustrations, and extra fact pages plus a glossary for curious readers. You might also like to explore and purchase other terrific books from the CSIRO.

"Tree hollows are home to an incredible variety of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals of all shapes and sizes. Small, young hollows house hungry little insects, such as termites and beetles, that eat away at the wood making the hollow bigger."

As the hollow becomes bigger and bigger different animals make use of the space in a variety of ways. 

I love the scribbly gum that contains the hollow - scribbly gums are among my own favourite trees. And in this book children will meet some different animals - Longhorn Beetle; Three-toed Skink; Yellow-bellied sheath-tailed bat (at 7-9am they are so tiny); Crimson Rosella and Brushtail Possum.

From this link you can find the CSIRO teachers notes for Life in a Hollow. Here is the webpage for Suzanne Houghton. I previously talked about her wonderful Christmas Beetle book. 

The simple beauty of this book allows the reader to seamlessly follow the narrative, and then be directed to conduct more research if desired. Kids' Book Review

In this beautifully illustrated new book from CSIRO publishing, teacher/author David Gullan not only shares the story of one such hollow but makes the reader aware of their importance in nature’s life cycles, and how fire, land clearing and storms can have a devastating effect on the availability of such important habitats. The Bottom Shelf

The book doesn’t just tell a story; it also imparts important information about the significance of tree hollows in the ecosystem. It explains how these hollows are created, how different species adapt them to their needs, and why protecting the trees that provide this valuable shelter is crucial. Reading Time

Companion book:

One Little Dung Beetle by Rhian Williams illustrated by Heather Potter and Mark Jackson

"One little dung beetle rolling up some poo, 
working very hard like a beetle likes to do."

In this clever jaunty rhyming, counting book we meet ten different beetles. MG Leonard, author of Beetle Boy, Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles would adore this book - hope it reaches her from Australia. (Note these are for readers aged 10+). Read about Beetle Boy here. And look for Masterpiece by Elise Broach - another wonderful reading experience. 

Now back to this book - yes, One Little Dung Beetle is told in rhyme and hooray the rhyme works so well. But this book is so much more. Yes, it is a counting book too, but it is also filled with rich words such as:

• nudges
• insistently
• drumming
• zooming
• glint
• breeze

And there are so many interesting beetles with more of them illustrated on the final pages - Pie Dish Beetle; Water Penny Beetle; Whirlygig Beetle; Texas Beetle; Jewell Beetle; Bombardier Beetle; and Tortoise Beetle. The ten special beetles from the main book are profiled on the final double spread and yes there are some of my favourites - the Christmas Beetle; Click Beetle; and Rhinoceros Beetle along with a new one (to me) the Feather Horned Beetle. Look out for the Ladybird on the end papers - yes she is a beetle too. And one more bonus - all of the beetles in this book are Australian or found in Australia! Special mention - the end papers are spectacular. Surely these will make you even more curious about beetles.

This book is another fabulous nonfiction discovery. This needs to be added to your school or preschool library - pop it on your list. It's not too expensive (thank goodness). AND I am certain we will see this book on the CBCA (Children's Book of the Year) 2025 Notables list and hopefully even the short list. Here are the teachers notes from the publisher Wild Dog.

With stunning endpapers, and accurate anatomical illustrations throughout, this offers an insight into the prevalence of beetles in the landscape and the critical role they perform in keeping it healthy and vibrant.  ... Give it with the gift of a magnifying glass and see the joy and wonder explode.  The Bottom Shelf

Here's another new counting book I talked about recently:

One Tiny Treefrog

And look for this one too:

Rex the Rhinoceros Beetle

And this one is essential reading:

Where are all the Christmas Beetles?

Albert's Tree by Jenni Desmond

Never, never underestimate the power of a great story twist! And appealing illustrations and brilliant end papers. This book has it all. Jenni Desmond - well done!

Look at that face on the cover. Bear looks so content. We can guess he has found HIS tree! 

"Spring had arrived and Albert woke from his long sleep. 'Horray!' he shouted. As the snow was quietly turning to water and trickling down from the mountains, Albert raced to his favourite place. His tree."

This tree is perfect. Not too hard, soft, slippery or prickly. This is a place of peace and quiet.

BUT all readers know that at this point there is sure to be a complication. And yes, there is. Albert hears a noise. It sounds as though his tree is crying. Albert decides to ask his forest friends. Rabbit explains that digging holes makes him happy so the pair of friends dig lots of holes but the tree keeps crying. The Caribous suggests gathering lots of grass because it is delicious to eat but the tree keeps crying. The crying becomes louder and more intense.

Bear is at a loss what to do so he climbs his tree and he "gave the tree a huge, kind, bear hug." There are ten more pages in this book but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Bear does make a discovery about his tree but I am certain you will never guess the truth. This is a book you should add to your read aloud list. It would be perfect to share with a preschool group.

The picture book is as cozy and familiar as a teddy bear’s embrace, but smart touches elevate the story. They include vignettes against white space that contrast beautifully with more detailed and colorful spreads that give a wider view of the world around Albert. And by naming Albert alone of the characters, Desmond keeps readers’ sympathies squarely on the well-meaning mammal. If that weren’t enough, the endpapers include a lovely cutaway view of underground hibernation and a hilarious offhand joke that add beauty and charm, respectively, to an already endearing effort. There are lots of children’s books about cute bears who talk like people, but few are as cleverly put together and as witty as Albert’s little adventure. Kirkus Star review

Here are some other books by Jenni Desmond:

I have previously talked about these:

Puffin 

On the Night of the Shooting Star

The Zebra who ran too fast

Rain by Anders Holmer

Bookseller blurb: This haiku collection will enchant both nature lovers and budding poets. The spare, lyrical text describes a series of short vignettes, each of them taking place in a different kind of rain, from thunderstorms to falling flower petals. The poems 'some serious, some gently humorous' depict scenes from all over the globe: a horse struggling to plow a field, a father changing a tire while his children play, and two friends making up after a fight. 

Koja Agency: Rain has just fallen, a baby tooth is loose, a beetle stands up soaked and dazed on the gravel, a mole is lurking underground while a guy on a horse gets a phone call from his grandmother. In other places the snow is melting, and the butterflies soon expected to arrive. Today’s paper is dropped from a suspension bridge and two best friends forget to be angry when a rain of flowers falls. On the overall theme of rain, this book depicts different magnificent and extraordinary places around the world. Each spread represents a new world full of subtle details and ingenious humor. Anders Holmer portrays in his unique way what is going on in that moment in that specific place. Short haiku texts accompany the grandiose spreads.

Yesterday was my third visit to one of our large chain bookstores. They have a number of sale tables filled with children's books acquired by the store before 2019. Every time I visit, I pick up another book or two. There are still heaps of treasures on these tables. My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything picked up nine splendid titles. I will talk about some of these once she puts them into her school library and I can borrow them. We BOTH picked up this book because luckily there were two copies Retail price AUS$28.50 bargain price $14.25 - and two copies have been on the shop shelf since December 2018. Maybe no one picked it up because they read this very negative review from a Swedish newspaper? 

In contrast this book gained a Kirkus Star review: While these poems do not strictly follow all the characteristics of haiku, they do evoke different moods, such as the gathering darkness of a crocodile swamp. They also break stereotypes by juxtaposing technology and rural life—a cellphone rings amid a group of bareback riders galloping across a steppe. Most of all, they invite readers to pore over each colorful, expressive illustration to discover visual clues contained in the spare verse. A unique read-aloud that blends world cultures, poetic form, and natural splendor.

On each rainy spread, life happens in haiku, with all its cultural variety and complexity: A crane observes two children resolving a quarrel, a goatherd wiggles a loose tooth while surveying the flock, a lighthouse keeper discovers an unmoored boat as puffins glide by, rangers monitor a dying forest fire while creatures scurry away, and travelers with llamas climb a steep hillside, stopping for a beetle in their path. Visual details encourage readers to learn more about the countries of origin of the peoples and animals depicted throughout. School Library Journal (quoted by Barnes and Noble)

Okay - begin with the cover and title - Rain. If you look closely you can see rain or snow falling on this young Inuit child and his or her reindeer. But then think about rain and rein. Now flip to the back cover. You will discover this is a book of haiku poems. Each page can almost stand alone. A brilliant resource for teachers looking to inspire their students to write poetry in this beautiful form. This book is a book of poetry or course, but it also fits into my new category of Poetry with Pictures - these are picture books with no narrative.

My favourite page has puffins AND a lighthouse. To be honest this is probably why I bought this book. Here is the text from that page:

Slowly the boat drifts,
drifts away from the lighthouse -
never tied it up.

I also love the image on the page with a group of people (probably in Bolivia) trekking up a mountain with their alpacas only to be stopped by a tiny beetle.

Half-awake and drenched,

a beetle stand guard in the

middle of the path.

Rain is titled Regn in Swedish. It was published in 2018 so is sadly out of print. His debut book was It Happens! (2017). 

Anders Holmer is a Swedish architect, artist and author living in Gothenburg. He has been writing and illustrating children's books since 2017. His haiku album, Rain, was shortlisted for the ALMA Prize, Sweden's most prestigious children's literature award. In 2018, Anders Holmer's work was selected for the art exhibition at the New York Society of Illustrators. 

About Farewell (also translated as Leave): After a sad conversation with her mother, a child sets off on a long journey strewn with pitfalls, an imaginary journey inspired by the elements that populate her daily life. Along the way, she collects different objects, using a butterfly net: cloud, trumpet or diamond. From these, she makes something even more precious. When she returns, she is ready to be herself again.

About Utflykt (Excursion): In Anders Holmer's new picture book, we meet two children who saunter around in enigmatic fantasy landscapes. One is snuffy and sure of what he is doing, and the other is more questioning about what is going on. They try out different identities and take on different guises. You and I and the world are mixed together. We hear the echo of an adult's voice. Existential comedy ensues when they take on a concept they don't fully understand: Excursion. A celebration of children's ability to create hopeful playfulness and make sense of the world. A metaphor of how we in our lives grope for comprehensibility but instead have to accept that not everything can be understood, and that it is also okay. Maybe we won't be any wiser, but we'll have fun along the way.

One Day by the Numbers by Steve Jenkins

"A lot goes on in 24 hours, from the 100,000 beats of your heart to the dozen of deadly natural disasters that take place around the world."

To show one day in numbers Steve Jenkins (1952-2021) uses charts, diagrams, graphs, and illustrations. This book is visually so interesting. It presents a myriad of facts about our world using infographics. 

Definition of the word Infographic: an infographic is a visual representation of any kind of information or data. A good infographic is worth a thousand words. Complicated scientific information can be made more accessible by using infographics. 

Here are a few fun facts (but when you grab this book these will be even more interesting because of the way Steve Jenkins presents them.

In one day:

• 12 million people fly somewhere
• 41 million trees are cut down
• In Australia each person uses 1.821 litres of water
• Lightning strikes happen some where on the earth four million times each day
• Humans blink 17000 times
• The walking record for 24 hours is 229km
• The bar-tailed godwit flies 1207km (yes that is in one day!)
• Across the world we eat 1.5 million sheep; 4 million pigs; 180 million chickens and 2 million turkeys.
• A panda eats 18kg of bamboo
• The blue whale eats 3630kg of krill

You could use this book with a class for maths or as a springboard for further research. The page on animal discoveries and extinction is one I would use. The Golden Toad from Costa Rica - extinct 2004); the Spix's Macaw from Brazil - extinct 2000; the Hawaiian tree snail - extinct 2019. Newly discovered the Olinquito from South America; and a new cave dwelling beetle found in China. I read one comment from a reviewer who found the page about our daily consumption of animals quite confronting (I did too especially the number of wild fish - 2700 million and cows).

There are other books in the series - I highly recommend these for your school library. They are small in format, paperback and quite inexpensive.  See inside one from this series here. 

Ten-Word Tiny Tales by Joseph Coelho

Notice the subtitle: ‘To Inspire and Unsettle.’

Colby Sharp mentioned this book as one he read to his fifth-grade class in April. I was immediately intrigued and then I went down a huge rabbit hole where I discovered more and more about this book which I think would be a wonderful stimulus for class writing. Part of my rabbit hole came from investigating the 21 artists who have illustrated this book. I looked for familiar and unfamiliar names and was not at all surprised to see our own Shaun Tan as one contributor.

Bookseller blurb: Is it possible to spin a tale using just ten words? It most certainly is! In this unique and magnificent compendium designed to spark the imagination, Joseph Coelho brings us stories of underwater worlds, demon hamsters, bears in outer space, and portals to places unknown ... all in just ten words! Each tale has been paired with one of the finest illustrators working today – and, together, the words and pictures will create a space for creativity as young readers imagine how the story might unravel. They might even be inspired to pen a ten-word tiny tale of their own!

Here is a list of the illustrators (my links take your to their webpages): Alex T. Smith, Camilla Sucre, Chuck Groenink, Daishu Ma, Dapo Adeola, Dena Seiferling, Flavia Z. Drago, Freya Hartas, Helen Stephens, Julia Sarda, Katie May Green, Karl James Mountford, Maja Kastelic, Mariachiara Di Giorgio, Nahid Kazemi, Raissa Figueroa, Reggie Brown, Shaun Tan, Thea Lu, Yas Imamura and Yoko Tanaka.

On this blog I have talked about books illustrated by Alex T Smith; Dena Seiferling; Karl James Mountford; Maja Kastelic; Mariachiara Di Giorgio; Nahid Kazemi; Shaun Tan; Yas Imamura; Yoko Tanaka; and Julia Sarda - just pop their name into my search bar. I want to especially mention Yoko Tanaka who illustrated Sparrow Girl - a favourite book of mine and also her wordless book Dandelion's Dream. You could also explore some of these illustrators on the Let's Talk Picture books web page. I would LOVE to see Here and There by Thea Lu - it looks amazing but of course it is way too expensive here in Australia. 

My question (after watching these fifteen minute videos) is how Joseph Coelho assigned the stories. Did the illustrators pick the one they wanted to work with or did Joseph just send each illustrator one random ten-word tale. If that is the case, then somehow Shaun Tan ended up with the perfect text. 

"Every year they honoured their son by decorating his skull"

What comes into your mind with this ten-word tale: "My splintered oars are lost as my boat speeds onwards." Now click here to see the illustration by Alex T Smith. 

Here are some other ten-word tales:

• We watched the teacher lead the children through the portal.
• "Invite me in," she says outside my tenth storey window."
• The fisherman's catch is full of astronaut suits and skeletons.
• The diver swims into the carnival: radio contact is lost.
• The second giant’ who ‘cam crashing out of the white cliffs.
• They say they can’t see me, and now they’re fading

" ... this is a book for older children to pore over and let their imaginations flower. With twenty-one different illustrators representing many styles, media, and settings, each of the spreads stands apart so viewers can concentrate on a single page or read the book through for a disquieting experience." The Horn Book quoted by the publisher.

I don't usually talk about books I have not actually opened, touched, experienced - but this one just seems SO good and I have seen many of the pages and watched several of the videos between Joseph Coelho and his illustrators that I feel I can share this book here. I have popped it onto my own enormous shopping list but I might wait for the price to be reduced a little. 

Invoking multiple dimensions in his notes to readers and the tales themselves, Coelho invites illustrators to consider interplanetary space, undersea caverns, and realms between. The interplay of words and resulting double-page spreads—at turns, inexplicable, sweet, or sinister—evokes the work of Edward Gorey and Chris Van Allsburg. Kirkus

In the classroom, this would be an amazing tool to help pupils unlock their creative writing skills. The blank page is often the enemy of the writer however given a ten word tale and the amazing illustration which accompanies it, a young writer would be able to add their imagination by expanding the story. They would be thinking about the character development, what happened before, after, scene description and so much more. Reading Zone

Writing ideas page from Ten-word Tiny Tales

You will want to pair this with the wonderful predecessor by Chris van Allsburg. I once owned this book in the form of a set of charts - I gave them to a teacher - I hope she has made good use of them: