Picture books by The Okee Dokee Brothers
Can we read? No. 89: A guest post from Stephanie Amargi
Hiya! 👋
I’ve got a fun guest post for you today, from someone I met through this newsletter, fellow writer and book lover, Stephanie Amargi.
Stephanie is a professional copyeditor and grant writer based in Oregon, where she lives with her husband and son. A couple of months ago when I was trying to think of someone I’d like to guest post, she immediately came to my mind — she often replies to my posts and we talk books, so I knew I’d be interested in whatever ideas she had.
People, she did not disappoint. When she told me she wanted to write something about her love for the children’s musicians The Okee Dokee Brothers, including reviews of their two picture books, I was thrilled — namely because it’s a topic I know nothing about myself, and would never have come up with on my own.
Enjoy!
Hello Can We Read? readers! I’m honored to write for Sarah’s amazing newsletter. As a mom and picture book enthusiast (and burgeoning picture book editor!), I really value Sarah’s thoughtfully curated book recs and her practical wisdom on how to raise readers.
When Sarah asked me to write about anything related to children’s books, I had no idea what I could write about that she hasn’t already covered. But one day, while instinctively singing along to the tunes of the family music band The Okee Dokee Brothers, I remembered that they are also children’s book authors. And then my task became clear.
I’m thrilled to share my reviews of the two children’s books written by The Okee Dokee Brothers. But I should warn you: it will get mushy. Simply because I can’t talk about their books without talking about their music. And truth be told, their music has saved my family and me during the hardest parts of the pandemic.
I’ll begin by telling you a little bit about these guys, The Okee Dokee Brothers. They are Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing, two Americana folk musicians with big hearts and tons of talent to boot. They met when they were three years old and grew up playing music and exploring the outdoors together — which is really the foundation of their band. Their music gained widespread attention with their three Adventure Albums: Can You Canoe?, Through the Woods, and Saddle Up. Each one is inspired by a month-long trip they took together, canoeing the Mississippi river, hiking the Appalachian trail, and horseback riding out West.
The Okee Dokee Brothers’ most recent album, Songs For Singin’, is two discs full of jovial, foot-stompin, knee-slappin’ songs intended to connect and bring people together. These guys had no way of knowing that at the time of their album’s release, COVID-19 would drop onto the scene and put an abrupt pause on social gatherings of any kind.
And yet, the songs found my family when we needed them most. Through the uncertainty and isolation, the lyrics urged us to “keep that hope machine runnin’ strong”...so we did. Well, we did the best we could. Faced with the loss of connection to the places and people we loved, the simplest, most accessible form of family therapy was to turn up the music. We sang and danced as often as possible. My three-year-old son made a new custom of running back and forth through our small house while belting out the words to songs like The Boatman’s Dance (us parents right on his heels). When the mood turned somber, we swayed to gentler songs like Baby Mine, and they became our son’s lullabies. Eventually, the music also brought us closer to the two families in our “pandemic pod” as the soundtrack for practically all our outdoor adventures.
The Okee Dokee Brothers’ music didn’t take away the other reality we were living, that everyone was living. But it held us together. It taught us to believe in the better times ahead and to also see the goodness in the present. In the best possible timing, this past June, right after our son was vaccinated, The Okee Dokee Brothers went on tour and put on a show that we attended near Portland, Oregon.
Listening to The Okee Dokee Brothers’ music eventually led us to their children’s books. These books are special to us now, and I hope they find a way into your hearts and homes too.
“Saddle up,
settle in,
every story must begin,
and this one is tall but it’s true…”
The Okee Dokee Brothers’ first book, Can You Canoe? And Other Adventure Songs, is not a children’s book in the conventional sense. It’s a collection of 12 illustrated songs from their Adventure Album series, and each, I assure you, has their own story. In these pages you’ll encounter campfire tales, a hungry mama bear on a mission to feed her cubs, an enchanting bullfrog opera, and much more.
It definitely helps if you are already familiar with the songs before picking up this book, but I see no reason why they couldn’t also be read. Or even sung in your own tune (I’m sure Joe and Justin would approve). These songs, like all their music, inspire curiosity and creativity and exploration of the outdoors. They also contain life lessons about resilience and friendship without being preachy (which is key!).
I adore the style of illustrator Brandon Reese, who also does the artwork for The Okee Dokee Brothers’ albums. In this book, his detailed drawings perfectly evoke the sights, sounds, and smells of nature and the outdoors.
Jamboree is an upbeat song that celebrates “a little country store, in a country town” where every Friday night folks engage in an old type of dance called flatfooting to the tune of a live band. As you may know by now, audience participation is important to The Okee Dokee Brothers, and children will enjoy anticipating and shouting — fists raised! — the refrain, “Jamboree!”
The song Jackalope is about this mythical animal the Jackalope that people have heard of but have never really seen (“it’s almost like they don’t exist at all”). It’s a silly song, but underlying the playful tone is also the truth that resides in the line: “You might find you don’t need no proof to believe in the thing that gives you hope.”
One of my personal favorites, Echo, is about finding yourself at the top of a canyon and deciding to fill all that open space with a positive message. And that message is, of course, about love: “You know, love is like an echo, If it’s pure and it's true, And sing it out to the world, And it’ll come back to you.”
Joe and Justin love to put twists on familiar words and concepts, which is especially true for the song Mr. and Mrs. Sippy, about a couple who marry and then ramble and roam together. If your children do not already know how to spell Mississippi, they will learn it (along with some southern US geography) by way of this clever song.
If you want to know more of the stories behind these songs and others, you don’t have to search far. In the back of the book are short blurbs about each one. And — bonus! — the book includes a disc of the 12 songs featured.
“If you’re always wishin’,
You’ll miss the point of fishin’.
Livin’ life while you wait
Has always been the best bait.”
Thousand Star Hotel is The Okee Dokee Brothers’ second book (and hopefully not the last). It is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Muskrat, two river rats who live in a ramshackle house by a river. Each day they go fishing for their meals, and always catch just enough to get by. But one day, Mr. Muskrat feels a strong tug on his line and out pops an enormous golden catfish that promises to grant them one wish if they release him. Mrs. Muskrat, being the practical rodent of the two, is content with the life they have. Mr. Muskrat, on the other hand, dreams of a bigger, better life. When the catfish finally grants them Mr. Muskrat’s wish for a thousand-star hotel, it’s not what he expects. But it just might be what he needs.
This story is inspired by the folktale The Fisherman and His Wife, but since I’m not familiar with that one, I can’t say how The Okee Dokee Brothers’ version compares. I love it just as it is though. The story is written with Joe and Justin’s signature humor, using phrases like “hold your fish feathers!” and bouncy words such as “tugglin’” and “lunker.” There’s a pleasing balance of suspense building and showing the love and tension in the Muskrats’ relationship, culminating in a magical ending and subtle message about appreciating the life you have.
Illustrator Brandon Reese is responsible for this beautiful artwork, too, which offers an intimate view into the Muskrats’ river home environment and Mr. Muskrat’s grandiose visions. Best of all is the amazing mystical catfish and its gorgeous golden scales. There is nothing more I could want.
This book also includes a disc of 11 soothing songs from The Okee Dokee Brothers’ albums — which is the perfect entryway into their catalog of music.
So there you have it: book reviews (and my own sappy love story) that I hope, to some degree, inspire your own reading and listening. I’ll end things here in the form that feels most appropriate for this post.
“Move em out,
move em in
Every story has to end,
But some stay in your heart
They go round and round
They get lost and then found
‘Cause the end is just another place to start.”
-Last Lullaby, The Okee Dokee Brothers
…By the way, I mentioned that I am a burgeoning picture book editor! I have been a freelance editor for adult fiction for almost a decade but my current passion is children’s books. I would love to work with you on your picture book draft or idea. To learn more you can email me at editor@stephanieamargi.com or visit my website. Thank you!
A huge thank you to Stephanie for not only saying yes when I asked her to do this for me out of the blue, but for writing such a lovely post.
🎖 Looking for books for Veteran’s Day?
Segue! If you are looking for books for Veteran’s Day — coming up on November 11 — check out my 2021 mini issue on the holiday, which is (and always will be) public so that anyone can access my recommendations for titles that recognize all those who have served in war or peace, dead or alive. (Long-time subscribers know that I come from a military family, I’m married to a disabled veteran, and I have Opinions about Memorial Day versus Veterans Day.) In this mini issue, I go into my feelings about the absence of titles that address the Iraq and Afghanistan wars specifically, if that is of interest to you.
That’s it! If you enjoyed today’s post, would you pass it along to someone else who might, too? Every Wednesday issue is free, so let this one wing its way across the light ✨ to a friend, fellow book lover, or Okee Dokee Brothers fan.
Thanks for your help, and thanks for reading!
Sarah
Definitely checking out these books! Our 3-year-old grandson is all about songs and music and would enjoy these.
I’ve never heard of these guys but I am looking them up right now!