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Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Mike Lowery

Frog and Bunny are the best of friend.  They swim together.  Fight monsters together.  Even share peanut butter sandwiches.  But sometimes something happens and they stop getting along.  Like when they find a robot with a key.  One of them ends up with the robot, the other with the key.  And they don’t want to share.  After a bit of alone time though, they come together ready to share and have fun once again.

Ryan’s text is such fun to read aloud.  It trips, gallops, dashes and dances on the tongue.  The rhythm of the book is a delight and the silly rhymes add joy to the book.  It is impossible to read it without grinning. 

Lowery’s illustrations have a wonderful modern, fresh feel to them.  Done in pencil, screen printing and print gocco, they are finished digitally.  They have a simplicity that works well here.  The soft colors have an intriguing pop to them and the texture from the screen printing adds to the appeal.

Highly recommended, this is a top choice for toddler and preschool story times.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC received from Bloomsbury.

Also reviewed by The Bookbag and Young Readers.

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Mad at Mommy by Komako Sakai

Released in October 2010.

A new book from the creator of The Snow Day, this book offers an accurate portrayal of child anger. 

Little Bunny is very angry at his mommy.  And he is more than willing to tell her exactly why.  She sleeps late on Saturdays.  She never lets him watch cartoons.  She always yells for no reason.  She is always telling him to hurry up and then not hurrying herself.  She always forgets to do the laundry.  She told him he can’t marry her when he is older.  So he’s decided to run away.  For a moment or two.

Sakai has created a very spare and minimal picture book.  The use of texture and roughness in the illustrations complements the frustration of Little Bunny.  Originally published in Japan, the book does feel different than American picture books, especially in its illustrations. The subject matter is universal.  The book is told in the child’s voice, which Sakai captures winningly.  The complaints are offered as a list, one to the next, as if they are occurring to him as he speaks.  The effect is a rather dynamic feel to the book, leaping from one idea to the next.

A beauty of a book that will make a great contrast to other anger books like When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry by Mollly Bang and Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth by Marie-Louise Gay

Roslyn woke up in the morning knowing just what she was going to do that day.  She was going to dig the biggest hole on earth in her backyard.  Over her breakfast of carrot flakes, she told her father about her plan and he thought it was a good one.  She just had to be back for lunch.  Roslyn careful chose the perfect spot for her hole.  But when she started digging there, a worm complained that she was digging up his front yard and should dig somewhere else.  She moved near the fence but then a grumpy mole stuck his head out and complained that she was digging up his bedroom.  She moved near the lilac bush and started digging again.  She dug until she found what she thought was a dinosaur bone!  But the dog that had buried it came and told her that she was digging up his stash of bones.  Roslyn gave up.  She lay in the bottom of the hole.  Just as she was despairing, her father arrived with carrot sandwiches to lift her spirits.

This book captures a child’s view of the world where the obstacle is not the big idea but the small hurdles on the way to fruition.  Gay has written a book about a child with plenty of ideas and energy who is supported by a loving adult.  Roslyn is told along the way by everyone except her father that the hole will never be that big, that she will never dig to the South Pole, that she should give up.  This is a lesson in perseverance that very nicely concludes before the goal is reached.

Gay’s illustrations are delightful.  Done in mixed media, they have a wonderful texture to them that is used to great effect to be the underground portion of the illustrations.  Complete with rough tears, the paper really captures the grit of the dirt.  Gay has also filled the dirt with small touches: worms, carrots, missing socks, leaves, and rocks.  It is a pleasure to pore over the illustrations to find the “treasures” underground.

A charming story that will inspire readers to follow their heart no matter what other say, this book is appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Brown Rabbit in the City by Natalie Russell

This book follows the story which began in Moon Rabbit about the friendship between Brown Rabbit and Little Rabbit, though this story focuses on Brown Rabbit’s point of view.  Brown Rabbit was headed to the city for the very first time to visit his friend Little Rabbit.  Little Rabbit is so excited to see him that she takes him on whirlwind tour of the city, dashing in and out of shops, sightseeing, and finally dancing.  But it’s all too much for Brown Rabbit, who finally heads out on his own.  Little Rabbit realizes then that she hadn’t really spoken to Brown Rabbit all day long and sets out to find him and make things right again.

Russell makes a nice exploration of friendship that children will easily relate to.  By mixing in the bustle and rush of the city with the excitement of a visiting friend, the story becomes about taking time in life in general and taking time with those we love.  It never gets too sentimental, but keeps it all simple and heartfelt.  Once again, it is the illustrations that really shine here in their simplicity and style.  Done in an organic palette of browns, greens, robin egg blue, and warm earthy yellow, the book is truly lovely.  Add to that the simple lines and hip styling and you have a modern classic.

Highly recommended, though you should start with Moon Rabbit first, this book builds on the first book and offers an unrushed look at our busy lives.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

Some dig early morning exercise…and some don’t.

Here's a pin up up I did for the comic Iron, or The Propagandist By the extremely talented S.M. Vidaurri, one of the reasons I'm grateful for the internet is introducing me to great people like him. The comic is amazing, please check it out.

Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu

The author of the marvelous Wonder Bear returns with a picture book that once again features the big white Bear.  This book however takes a different approach than the loosely plotted first book. 

The book is in three chapters, each featuring an scrape the bunnies get into which is resolved by Bear.  In the first story, Mr. Goat is driving past the bunnies on his tractor and splashes them all with mud.  They head to Bear for help and he fixes everything by putting them all in the washing machine.  On delicate cycle of course.  Then they are hung to dry.  In the second story, Mrs. Goat is vacuuming and accidentally sucks the bunnies right out of their burrow.  Mrs. Goat takes her broken vacuum to Bear who discovers the bunnies inside.  He blows the dust off of the bunnies and repairs the vacuum too.  The final story has the bunnies playing hide-and-seek in a white flowered hedge while Mr. Goat is pruning it.  He accidentally cuts the tails off of the bunnies.  But no worries, Bear once again rescues the situation by carefully sewing the tails back on.

These stories are entirely silly and whimsical.  The solutions are sure to generate giggles as children will immediately realize how nonsensical they are.  Nyeu’s art has a strength and simplicity that adds to the appeal here.  His use of thick lines and a limited color palette work very well, especially the use of one dominant color for each story.

Ideal for toddlers, this book will have plenty of appeal with its fresh-feeling art and simple story lines.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

This was a commissioned Christmas card I created for a friend. It's his idea, I've done a few for him, and each year it's about the beaver character getting his Christmas tree. If you click on the image you can see it larger, a last minute addition was the bunny slippers...

When the World Is Ready for Bed by Gillian Shields, illustrated by Anna Currey

It’s bedtime and the entire world starts to get ready.  The little rabbits are called back to their cozy cottage.  The flowers close, night birds sing.  The evening routine starts.  There is warm soup for supper.  Toys have to be tidied up.  Time for talking about the day.  Then baths, teeth, and faces.  Stories, prayers, and hugs.  And one final glimpse of a bright star in the sky. 

This quiet bedtime story has the warmth and feel of a very traditional English tale like Peter Rabbit.  The story is told in short rhyming verses that add to the feeling of tradition and also to the feeling of a gentle nighttime routine.  Currey’s art reflects that same sense of timelessness and coziness.  From the soft cozy furniture to the toys strewn across the floor even after tidying up. 

This is a book to sink into, read again and again, and make part of your regular bedtime routine.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

A Small Surprise by Louise Yates.

A very small white rabbit heads to try to get a job with a circus of animals even though the advertisement says that they don’t want small animals.  The rabbit has trouble getting his clown nose on, can’t tie the clown shoes no matter how he tries, and can’t walk the length of the tightrope without stopping.  Even eating proves to be messy but when the rabbit gets into trouble, something incredible happens that just may keep it in the circus after all.

The illustrations here tell the bulk of the story.  The quizzical animals are large but not scary at all.  They help the small rabbit get dressed and root for the little one when walking the tightrope.  When the rabbit displays its talent, the book turns riotously funny complete with spitting.  I especially enjoy the giraffe who spends the entire book with a leafy twig hanging from her loopy tongue, watching everything unfold around her.  A book of few words, this book repeats the few it has for most of the book, saying “I am too small to…” again and again.  With such great illustrations, this is the perfect amount of text, offering up support for the pictures but allowing them to tell the real story.

With one large word in the entire book and lots of repetition, this one would be good for emergent readers but it is also perfect for sharing with groups of children who will love the sudden transformation of the small rabbit into a true clown and the laughter that that brings.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

This Little Bunny Can Bake by Janet Stein

A group of animals begin their lessons at Chef George’s School of Dessertology.  The chef tries to start with more advanced concepts, but is forced to start with the very basics: pot, egg, stove, spoon.  The antics of the animals will have children in stitches.  Sharp-eyed children will notice that the pink bunny (the only animal in color) is hard at work and really cooking.  This is despite all of the noise, confusion and mess that the others are making.  By the end of the class, all of the animals have some sort of creation but none rival the cake of the pink bunny.

Stein has a flair for wordless humor with animals tossing eggs, weighing themselves instead of ingredients, cooking with shoes and socks as ingredients, and using pate as finger paints.  Her art is wonderfully busy, hectic but also clear and clean.  The ink drawings have a soft charcoal quality to them.  Each character has his or her own personality and approach to baking.  It is great fun to follow them from page to page until their baking is complete.  Each ends up with something that makes perfect sense.  The consistency and good humor of this title make it enjoyable to re-read too.

Great fun whether you enjoy baking or not.  This tasty book is appropriate for hungry 3-5 year olds.

Quiet Bunny by Lisa McCue

Quiet Bunny loves the many sounds of his forest home: the morning birds, the wind rustling the leaves.  His favorite time of day is in the evening when the meadow is filled with the night song of so many animals.  Quiet Bunny wishes that he could join the night song, so he wishes upon a star that he will get his own sound to make. The next morning, Quiet Bunny tries to sing like a bird, croak like a frog, hiss like a snake, and make other noises, but he still can’t make any noise.  An Owl seeing Quiet Bunny trying so hard, tells him to just be himself and he will find a sound. 

McCue’s illustrations are filled with the bounty of the forest and all of its inhabitants.  They are busy, friendly and beaming with warmth.  Quiet Bunny himself is very fluffy and shows his emotions clearly.  I see in McCue’s dedication that the book “targets sounds that are instrumental for early speech development and pre-reading/reading skills.”  I just know that children of all sorts will enjoy making the noises of the animals together and following the story of Quiet Bunny.  It is a gentle story that will speak to children with differing abilities.

A great read-aloud for spring and one to add to your pile of preschool read-alouds about rabbits.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

RABBIT'S UNEXPECTED PARTY



Rabbit was having a lovely summer afternoon somewhere in the English countryside. The kind of warm day with miniature breezes that call you to laze about. But on this day, Rabbit had an unexpected visit from her dear friend, Dog. Dog felt that the day was so warm and fresh that a party was in order. Dog brought hats and tea and jelly tarts. A nice time was had by all...BUT, something was amiss. There was a static in the air and a low howl far in the distance....

Until Next Time:
Kim
Garden Painter Art

Pretending to listen.

This is a rabbit character I've been working on... his name is Lester. (he's reading Tales of Pirate Rabbit)

And if you want to see an larger version. I’ve been struggling to draw the last few days and I think this helped.  For a change I had a lot of ideas as to what to do with the theme of ‘garden’.  And I wanted to work fast and do rough line work.  When I’m on [...]

Well, this is an oddity....I never blog in the evening. It's something that I've always enjoyed with my morning coffee. But alas...I've been so busy, I just haven't had the time to blog in the last few days.

What's keeping me so busy you ask?

Well, I've opened up a second shop on Etsy to clear out some of my supplies. I have pounds and pounds of photos, ephemera, scrapbooky type stuff and more. I've gone through and seperated out the items that I use, and I'm offering everything else to other collage/mixed media artists on Etsy. I figure, I can make a few dollars, do a little recycling, and give other artists the opportunity to adopt some extremely delightful items as well. Here's a link to my new shop:

Musty Boxes Ephemera

It's been lots of fun having a look at my collections of old paper and such, but it's been long hours and lots of hard work. Lots of picture taking!! I will be listing more and more each day.

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In the midst of all this wreckage, I've managed to finish a couple of pieces:

Martha Feeds The Goat (ACEO 2-1/2" x 3-1/2")



Guardian Of The Musically Inclined Rabbit (4" x 6")


Both of these pieces can be found ~Here~ These pieces can also be purchased through my blog. Or....you can requests prints of these pieces as well. Just give me a holler by clicking on my email, here on my blog, in the upper left hand corner.

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I'll be back in a day or two with an entry that isn't brutally marketing my shops!

Until Next Time:
Kim
Garden Painter Art