Randomly Reading: Two for Thursday: Lucy and Douglas written and illustrated by Randy Cecil

Lucy written and illustrated by Randy Cecil

Candlewick Press, 2016, 144 pages

Every morning, in the town of Bloomville, a little stray dog named Lucy wakes up and runs through the streets until she comes to an apartment building with a red door. There, a young girl named Eleanor Wische, who lives on the second floor with her father, opens her bedroom window and lowers a bit of sausage on a string for the little stray dog. Meanwhile, in another room, her father Sam Wische, practices juggling before heading off to work as a grocery clerk. More than anything, Sam wishes for a vaudeville career as a juggler, since he is a juggler of exceptional ability. That is, until evening when he is onstage in front of a live audience at the Palace Theater. There, his stage fright paralyzes him and he ends up always gets the hook. With little variation, except in the street scenes, this is pretty much how each day goes for Lucy, Eleanor and Sam.

But one day, there is no tidbit waiting for Lucy from Eleanor's window. Eleanor is watching her dad practice juggling. Without realizing it, as an audience of one, Eleanor seems to instill a confidence in Sam that he's never had before while juggling in front of someone. Excited, Sam goes out and successfully starts practicing on the street, even as more and more people begin gathering to watch him. Meanwhile, Eleanor has missed Lucy, who is in the park napping and dreaming about her old life when she belonged to someone, and wishing she belonged to someone again. Missing the little dog whom she wishes were her own, Eleanor takes the sausage bit and goes out to find Lucy.

Later that day, Eleanor finds her dad sitting in the park, and not far away, Lucy is awakened from her nap by the faint scent of sausage. As Eleanor and her dad head to the Palace Theater, Lucy follows the scent of the sausage bit Eleanor has in her pocket. When the three characters finally come together in the theater, will the wishes of the two Wisches and one little dog be granted? After all, they have been giving each other what they needed all along.

Though Lucy feels a bit slow for today's kids living a more fast-paced life, it is still a very satisfying story. It is written in four acts in the third person, and though the duotone oil painted illustrations are simple, they are loaded with wonderful details throughout. The first three acts are told from the perspective of either Eleanor, her dad, or Lucy, while the fourth act belongs to all three. There is also a definite old fashioned feeling of the vaudeville theater in the simple, straightforward text, and while somewhat repetitive for plot purposes, not a word is wasted or gratuitous. Young readers will immediately be drawn to Eleanor's kindness, and relate to her father's wish to succeed at what he loves to do, and cheer for Lucy as she looks for food scrapes and a new home. Pair this with Douglas to use as a picture book for older readers or for your transitional readers.

Douglas written and illustrated by Randy Cecil

2019, Candlewick Press, 120 pages

Once again we return for more thrilling adventures in Bloomville in this companion to Lucy. Every Saturday afternoon, Iris Espinoza puts on her sister's blue sweater and, following the tantalizing scent of fresh popcorn, heads to the Majestic Theater for the matinee movie. On her way to the theater, Iris passes a big cat with six toes on each paw lazing on one stoop, and a boy named Everette, who wants nothing more than to have a nice pet, stilling on another stoop.

Arriving at the Majestic, Iris buys a bag of popcorn and a theater ticket, then heads to her favorite seat in the front row. As she watches the film and eats her popcorn, she's joined by a little mouse, who also enjoys popcorn, and who decides to take a little nap in the pocket of the sweater Iris is wearing.

When Iris gets home and discovers the little mouse has come home with her, she decides to name it Douglas, after her favorite actor, Douglas Fairbanks, not knowing the mouse is female. But when Iris hears her sister coming, she quickly hides Douglas in the sweater pocket, the very sweater Adriana has decided to wear to meet her boyfriend's parents. On her way to his house, she is followed by the six-toed cat, a champion mouser who has caught Douglas's scent. Imagine everyone's surprise when it is discovered that Adriana has a mouse in her pocket, including Douglas. She now has to escape the boyfriend's apartment, and find her way back to the Majestic Theater, facing all kinds of perils and even more cats besides the six-toed mouser.

Organized into four acts, written in the third person, and each presenting a characters point of view, this book's story and format echoes the old silent movies Iris loves to watch. Like the movies, there is no dialogue, and the oil painted illustrations are done in black and white, with the exception of the two-page spread that introduced each act. These are done in a circle that has the sense of looking through a camera lens. Sandwiched within the story are entertaining subplots and astute readers will recognize people and places from Lucy. And the ending...well, who knows what further adventures Douglas will have after she and the new friends she meets along the ways, and whom Iris names Pearl after a favorite actress, Pearl While, both decide to take a name in the pocket of the sweater Iris is wearing. Pair this with Lucy to use as a picture book for older readers or for your transitional readers.