Category: Guest Post

I Am Smoke
by Henry L. Herz
Illustrated by Mercè López
Hardcover, 36 pages
Published September 14th 2021 by Tilbury House Publishers

BOOK BLURB 

Smoke speaks in mesmerizing riddles: “I lack a mouth, but I can speak…. I lack hands, but I can push out unwanted guests…. I’m gentler than a feather, but I can cause harm….”This rhythmically powerful narration is complemented by illustrations in which swirling smoke was captured on art paper held over smoky candle flames, and the dancing smoke textures were then deepened and elaborated with watercolors and Photoshop finishes. With this unique method, Mercè López “let the smoke decide how the idea I had in mind would dance with it, giving freedom to the images.” The resulting illustrations are astounding, and they resonate with the otherworldly text.

MY REVIEW 

Smoke is both an ephemeral and illusive subject to capture, especially in a children’s book. At first, I thought this book might be full of safety lessons for kids about what to do if they encounter smoke in various situations. However, I Am Smoke is a beautifully illustrated story of how humans have used smoke to benefits throughout the ages.

Starting off with a simple explanation of what smoke is and traveling around the world, through the ages, the story still manages to keep things simple for kids, yet leaves the door open for inquisitive minds to follow up on various subjects like soothing bees or creating smoke signals. The wee little chemist in me gave an approving eyebrow lift to the little atomic drawings of water vapor and carbon dioxide. Science for the win!

The tour of smoke wraps up with circle of life and the joys of campfires. I also loved the follow up at the end with more in depth info. Then there are source of info included as well in case you have older kids who want to look up more info. The illustrations for this book are top notch, some being quite fascinating. I can totally see prints of some of these illustrations hanging on my wall and bringing me contemplative peace. All around, Herz and López have made a great team bringing us a wonderful children’s book. 5/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

GUEST POST 

Using Creative Nonfiction to Inspire Young Readers by Henry Herz 

Just like kids need a balanced diet in what they eat, young readers also benefit from consuming fiction and nonfiction. Even when I write fiction, I figure out a way to include some nonfiction elements, offering entry points into developmental conversations between child and parent or teacher. My fictional Little Red Cuttlefish has an author’s note offering some interesting tidbits about cuttlefish and tiger sharks. My fictional Good Egg and Bad Apple is loaded with word play not critical to the story, but great for English language learning. My 2 Pirates + 1 Robot includes a tiny flying robot who asks questions about what’s happening in the story. The math and physics  underlying the answers are laid out in an author’s note for when the child is ready for them.

But what about when I’m writing nonfiction? It should come as no surprise that I sprinkle in fiction, like salt enhances food’s flavor. Fictional elements can entertain young readers, increasing their interest in the underlying facts in a subtle, engaging way. Fiction can be the melted cheese we pour on top of the broccoli of nonfiction.

There are some picture books with anthropomorphic characters, but I’d never seen smoke treated as a character. And who better to explain the various ways in which people have employed smoke over the ages and across the world than smoke itself? With that approach in mind, I researched the chemistry of smoke. It turns out that wood smoke is primarily carbon dioxide, ash, and water vapor. One thing leads to another in planning a book. Water vapor got me thinking about the water cycle—water evaporates from rivers, lakes, and oceans to form clouds. Eventually, the water precipitates as rain or snow. Rinse and repeat.

Then I considered the carbon dioxide given off by wood smoke. Two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. Carbon… Inspiration struck like lightning splitting a tree. Plants are the lungs of the Earth. They breathe in carbon dioxide through their stomata. They drink up water through their roots. Sunlight provides energy to split those molecules. The plant forms cellulose from carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, sequestering more and more carbon as they grow. Conversely, burning tree branches releases the stored carbon. Eureka! Smoke has a “cycle” too.

Subverting expectations is a tried and true writing technique. When people think of smoke, they often think of fire. And both are dangerous. But what about the beneficial uses of smoke? More research followed. Be forewarned—research is a risky undertaking for the intellectually curious. For we can easily tumble down the rabbit hole of Google and forget why we’re doing the research in the first place. But what fun things I discovered.

Smoke has been used to coax seeds to sprout, to drive out pests from homes, to send signals over long distances, to cover foul smells, to calm bees when harvesting honey, to flavor and preserve food, as part of religious ceremonies, and even to heal. I wreathed all these uses within the framework of the aforementioned smoke cycle.

“I am smoke. I twirl in dark dance from every campfire.”

Praise for I AM SMOKE

“Herz presents a provocative and unique look at the lifecycle and benefits of smoke throughout the millennia. López’s multimedia artwork further illuminates the ethereal nature of smoke as it drifts and dances across the page.”
– John Rocco, author/illustrator of the Caldecott Honor book BLACKOUT

“A fascinating, refreshing, and beautifully atmospheric take on something often taken for granted. I’ll never look at smoke the same way again!”
– Matthew Cordell, author/illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning book WOLF IN SNOW

“I Am Smoke is an absolutely beautiful book, where smoke is both poetry and science. Readers will rest, float, and dance along with smoke’s quiet power across time and traditions. I have lingered over its pages more than once, and I’m sure young readers will, too.”
– Doreen Cronin, author of the Caldecott Honor and NY Times bestselling book CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE

“Wowwwwww”
– Raina Telgemeier, #1 NY Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Publishers Weekly bestselling author/illustrator

All About the Author

Henry Herz authored 11 traditionally published children’s titles: MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES (Pelican, 2015), WHEN YOU GIVE AN IMP A PENNY (Pelican, 2016), MABEL & THE QUEEN OF DREAMS (Schiffer, 2016), LITTLE RED CUTTLEFISH (Pelican, 2016), CAP’N REX & HIS CLEVER CREW (Sterling, 2017), HOW THE SQUID GOT TWO LONG ARMS (Pelican, 2018), ALICE’S MAGIC GARDEN (Familius, 2018), GOOD EGG AND BAD APPLE (Schiffer, 2018), 2 PIRATES + 1 ROBOT (Kane Miller, 2019), I AM SMOKE (Tilbury House, 2021), and THE MAGIC SPATULA (Month9 Books, 2022).

He sold the children’s short stories: “Born to Dance” (Highlights for Children), “Pay the Piper” (Highlights for Children), “Maria & Maslow” (Highlights for Children, 2020), “A Proper Party” (Ladybug Magazine), “Bar Mitzvah on Planet Kishka” (sci-fi MG story in COMING OF AGE anthology, Albert Whitman & Co., 2021), “The Castle on the Loch” (YA story in CASTLE OF HORROR anthology, Castle Bridge Media, 2020), and “Cheating Death” (dark sci-fi YA story in THE HITHERTO SECRET EXPERIMENTS OF MARIE CURIE anthology, Blackstone Publishing, 2022).

Henry edited three anthologies: BEYOND THE PALE adult dark fantasy (Birch Tree Publishing, 2014) – stories by Saladin Ahmed, Peter S. Beagle, Heather (Zac) Brewer, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, and Jane Yolen. COMING OF AGE: 13 B’NAI MITZVAH STORIES middle grade #ownvoices (Albert Whitman & Co, 2022) – stories by Sarah Aronson, Barbara Bottner, Stacia Deutsch, Debbie Reed Fischer, Debra Garfinkle, Alan Katz, Nancy Krulik, Stacie Ramey, Jonathan Rosen, Melissa Roske, Laura Shovan. THE HITHERTO SECRET EXPERIMENTS OF MARIE CURIE young adult horror (Blackstone Publishing, 2022) – stories by Mylo Carbia, Stacia Deutsch, Sarah Beth Durst, Alethea Kontis, Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Scott Sigler, Scott Westerfeld, Jane Yolen.

Henry is an editor at Running Wild Press. He’s an SCBWI member and moderates author panels yearly at San Diego Comic-Con. He earned a BS in Engineering from Cornell U., an MS in Engineering from George Washington U., and an MA in Political Science from Georgetown U.

Facebook ~ GoodReads ~ Website

All About the Illustrator 

Mercè López has a degree in illustration at Llotja Art School in Barcelona. She has illustrated many projects for different markets from design, editorial, cinema, and theatre to publishing with Spanish and international book publishers. She recently moved to Mallorca, Spain, for a new adventure.

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