January 17, 2012
Piggy Bunny video
I made this short video about PIGGY BUNNY, my book with Rachel Vail. Available everywhere books are sold at the end of February, 2012.
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my blog 2012January 18, 2012 Starred Review for PIGGY BUNNYPiggy Bunny, my book with Rachel Vail, just got its first review. It will appear in the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books in their February issue. What a great start for this book! Vail, Rachel Piggy Bunny; illus. by Jeremy Tankard. Feiwel, 2012 [32p] ISBN 978-0-312-64988-3 $14.99 Reviewed from galleys R* 5-7 yrs “All the other piglets wanted to be pigs when they grew up. Liam wanted to be the Easter Bunny.” That’s a peculiar and lofty ambition for anybody, let alone a young pig, and Liam’s perplexed immediate family tries to point him toward pragmatism (“‘You are a piglet,’ said Liam’s big sister. ‘Deal with it’”). It’s Liam’s grandparents who heroically defend his dream (“They just have the imagination of a kumquat, the lot of them,” sniffs his grandmother), rustle him up a bunny suit (“We will order one on the Internet”), and see him through to the fulfillment of his fantasy. Vail’s high-spirited and highly comedic text just begs for a whole-souled readaloud with rich vocal characterization that’ll make the most of both the humor and the touches of poignancy (“This is the kind of problem,” sighs Liam, “that is called heartbreaking”). It’s a hilariously absurd story about a pig, but it’s also a cheerful championing of the kind of role play for which “pretend” seems a dismissive term and which sees little kids wearing their superhero capes to the supermarket; even beyond that, it’s a subtle reassurance about finding workable ways to explore a dream or an identity that may seem initially impossible. Tankard, author-illustrator of Grumpy Bird (BCCB 3/07), employs thickly solid yet fluid brushstrokes in figures that have a touch of Japanese graphic flavor in their streamlined cuteness; digital color makes the piglets a luscious pink that stands out against gently patterned tone-on-tone backgrounds in stripes and spots. This will be an enjoyably loopy and stealthily reassuring readaloud any time of the year, and it would make a terrifically offbeat Easter entry. Oink. DS January 18, 2012 Run like your life depends on it!Well, it’s been a little while since I updated the bunny story. So, finally, here is a new instalment. And, for those of you following this little drawing exercise, you’ll be happy to know that I’ve got a couple more coming in the coming days. Enjoy!
January 26, 2012 Grumpy Bird fan movieSome 6th and 7th grade students at Elmwood School produced this wonderful “fan” video of Grumpy Bird. I really enjoyed it. I hope you do too. It made my day. February 1, 2012 Another Piggy Bunny ReviewAnother Piggy Bunny review, this time from Daily Kos. And it’s a good one too. February 16, 2012 GRUMPY BIRD top 100 books for kidsSome great news! Grumpy Bird made Parent and Child Magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Books for Kids”. How do you like that? My little book! What an honour! February 17, 2012 PIGGY BUNNY reviewA nice, fresh review of Piggy Bunny from Everything Mom. Thanks, Everything Mom! March 16, 2012 ShelfElf review of Piggy BunnyAnd finally a fantastic review from Shelf Elf. I love Shelf Elf. She hired me to draw her banner a couple of years ago and I’m very happy to see that she’s still using it! Thanks, Ms. Elf. March 16, 2012 Publisher's Weekly review of Piggy BunnyThis one’s from Publisher’s Weekly: PIGGY BUNNY by Rachel Vail; Illustrated by Jeremy Tankard: A small piglet with a big dream — to be the Easter Bunny — will have readers laughing out loud in this spunky outing about self-esteem. Liam is not good at hopping, doesn’t like salad, fumbles egg deliveries, and doesn’t have much family support. But with help from his Web-savvy Grandma, Liam achieves his cotton-tailed vision. Vail excels at conveying childlike emotions and a realistic family dynamic (“You are a piglet… Deal with it,” says Liam’s sister). Liam’s perseverance and his parents’ steadfast support provide a welcome, positive undertone, while Tankard’s stocky, black-lined pigs pop off the pages. Ages 4-6. March 16, 2012 Kirkus ReviewThis is the KIRKUS reviews of Piggy Bunny. I thought I’d post it here in-case you didn’t feel like going to the link in my previous entry. It’s a good one. PIGGY BUNNY (reviewed on March 1, 2012) Another entry in the well-populated genre of animals that experience an existential crisis features a pig who wants to be the Easter Bunny. Liam the piglet practices hopping and delivering eggs. He tries to like salad. And he copes with his siblings, who tease him, and his parents, who offer lots of advice about what a perfect piglet son he is, without any need for change. His grandparents, however, are more supportive of his unusual ambition, and they provide him with an Easter Bunny suit. (They order it from the Internet, as they are modern grandparents who don’t do homemade costumes.) The costume isn’t perfect, but it gives Liam the confidence to believe in his transformation, and others then accept his new role as well. The understated conclusion could even be interpreted to mean that Liam becomes the Easter Bunny, but each reader can decide what Liam’s role really means. Simple cartoon-style illustrations with thick black outlines are set off against bright backgrounds with lots of pink accents playing up the porcine premise. Though the believe-in-yourself theme has been told in many ways, Liam holds his own with his quiet determination. Who can resist a piglet who introduces himself with “Hello, my name is Liam and I’ll be your Easter Bunny”? (Picture book. 3-6) Pub Date: Feb. 28th, 2012 ISBN: 978-0-312-64988-3 Page count: 32pp Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Review Posted Online: Feb. 15th, 2012 Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1st, 2012 March 16, 2012 PIGGY BUNNY reviewsI’ve been negligent about updates here. It’s a long story, but I’ve been busier than I’ve been in ages and there’s hopefully some exciting news on the horizon. So here are some recent reviews for your reading pleasure: The Sacramento Bee newspaper In The Pages blog Everything Mom, because I forgot to link to this one before! Over a Steaming Cup of Tea (this may have been linked from somewhere else, not sure) March 26, 2012 PIGGY BUNNY at 7 Impossible ThingsThis was a lot of fun. Jules over at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast asked Rachel Vail and I to write-up our thoughts about Piggy Bunny and she would share them on their blog. This was a lot of fun. If you’ve ever wondered about the collaborative nature of book making here’s a unique glimpse into how a book can come together in unusual ways. Enjoy. March 26, 2012 Another batch of reviewsHere are some more fantastic Piggy Bunny reviews for you to check out. First up is this one from Sal’s Fiction Addiction. Page Appropriate’s review. Nice. Parent Map. I quite like this one, especially the photo of the kid wearing the space suit. And finally the Winnipeg Free Press gives this very small review. April 25, 2012 Piggy Bunny review from Instantly InterruptibleReviews of Piggy Bunny can also be found on these blogs: This one is cute. It’s from a class blog. April 25, 2012 Quill and Quire review of PIGGY BUNNYHere is a fantastic review of Piggy Bunny from Canada’s own Quill and Quire magazine. April 25, 2012 Chicago Tribune review of PIGGY BUNNYA nice, if short, review of Piggy Bunny in the Chicago Tribune. |
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