How to use this Page

Tao Nyeu presents four short stories in her latest picture book about two BFFs, or make that FFAs (Friends for Always).  The first story starts with a spat, as the two friends disagree on a chilly day whether socks or mittens should be worn on tentacles. Not a problem for most readers, but then we're not cephalopods.

The second story offers a surprise. When Squids dreams he has X-ray vision, readers get to lift the flap to see what's going on inside a giant submarine cruise ship. Story number three, "The Hat," is the strongest of the bunch. Octopus finds a cowboy boot and decides it's a hat. His confidence in his choice wilts as other sea creatures see the boot as a vase, flowerpot, and doorstop. Luckily Squid shares his friend's vision. In the final story, the pair imagine what the fortune in their cookie holds for them.

Nyeu creates a whimsical world for the friends to inhabit. Her silkscreen illustrations, in subdued pastel hues, are intricate and full of surprises. Beginning readers will pour over the witty details and asides, such as a pair of lobsters gossiping over bowls of soup. ("So I heard Lucy molted the other day." "You don't say!")

Squid and Octopus is a charming addition in the long tradition of fictional duos.

Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always
by Tao Nyeu
Dial, 40 pages
Published: June 2012

Add a Comment

Nursery Rhyme Comics
Edited by Chris Duffy
Introduction by Leonard S. Marcus
$18.99
ISBN: 978-1-59643-600-8
Ages 9-12
On shelves October 11, 2011

Nursery rhymes. What’s up with that? (I feel like a stand up comedian when I put it that way). They’re ubiquitous but nonsensical. Culturally relevant but often of unknown origins. Children’s literary scholar Leonard Marcus ponders the amazing shelf life of nursery rhymes himself and comes up with some answers. Why is it that they last as long as they do in the public consciousness? Marcus speculates that “the old-chestnut rhymes that beguile in part by sounding so emphatically clear about themselves while in fact leaving almost everything to our imagination” leave themselves open to interpretation. And who better to do a little interpreting than cartoonists? Including as many variegated styles as could be conceivably collected in a single 128-page book, editor Chris Duffy plucks from the cream of the children’s graphic novel crop (and beyond!) to create a collection so packed with detail and delight that you’ll find yourself flipping to the beginning to read it all over again after you’re done. Mind you, I wouldn’t go handing this to a three-year-old any time soon, but for a certain kind of child, this crazy little concoction is going to just the right bit of weirdness they require.

Fifty artists are handed a nursery rhyme apiece. The goal? Illustrate said poem. Give it a bit of flair. Put in a plot if you have to. So it is that a breed of all new comics, those of the nursery ilk, fill this book. Here at last you can see David Macaulay bring his architectural genius to “London Bridge is Falling Down” or Roz Chast give “There Was a Crooked Man” a positive spin. Leonard Marcus offers an introduction giving credence to this all new coming together of text and image while in the back of the book editor Chris Duffy discusses the rhymes’ history and meaning. And as he says in the end, “We’re just letting history take its course.”

In the interest of public scrutiny, the complete list of artists on this book consists of Nick Abadzis, Andrew Arnold, Kate Beaton, Vera Brosgol, Nick Bruel, Scott Campbell, Lilli Carre, Roz Chast, JP Coovert, Jordan Crane, Rebecca Dart, Eleanor Davis, Vanessa Davis, Theo Ellsworth, Matt Forsythe, Jules Feiffer, Bob Flynn, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Ben Hatke, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Lucy Knisley, David Macaulay, Mark Martin, Patrick McDonnell, Mike Mignola, Tony Millionaire, Tao Nyeu, George O’Connor, Mo Oh, Eric Orchard, Laura Park, Cyril Pedrosa, Lark Pien, Aaron Renier, Dave Roman, Marc Rosenthal, Stan Sakai, Richard Sala, Mark Siegel, James Sturm, Raina Telgemeier, Craig Thompson, Richard Thompson, Sara Varon, Jen Wang, Drew Weing, Gahan Wilson, Gene Luen Yang, and Stephanie Yue (whew!). And as with any collection, some of the inclusions are going to be stronger than others. Generally speaking if fifty people do something, some of them are going to have a better grasp on the process than others. That said, only a few of these versions didn’t do it for me. At worst the versions were mediocre. At best they went in a new direction with their mat

Add a Comment

Well, first things first!  The Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Awards were handed out two days ago, and at long last I can finally tell you the winners.  These awards are given out to new authors and illustrators of children’s books with no more than three books to their names that “portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world”.  This year, Laurel Croza wins the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for I Know Here:

And Tao Nyeu wins the New Illustrator Award for Bunny Days:

Congrats to both winners !

• How very interesting.  TIME for Kids has come up with a Summer Book Review.  Which is to say, they’re recommending books that will be new and in print this summer, from other publishers.  One wonders how they came up with this particular list.  Thanks to Mr. Schu for the link.

• The art of the clever blog post title is difficult to teach.  My method tends to be to come up with something vaguely interesting, or to simply quote somebody famous but obscure in the hopes of making approximately four other people in the world happy.  This is not an effective strategy.  Playing by the Book did it better when it came up with the recent This post has taken me 6 months to write … Seriously.  How on earth is a person supposed to resist that?  Warning: Contains Danes.

• NPR has looked at Wendy McClure’s Little House inspired title The Wilder Life.  This is not to be confused with the short lived Gene Wilder television show Something Wilder.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is your non-essential trivia of the day.

• I admit to being disappointed when I heard that Woody Harrelson had cornered the role of Haymitch in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, but only because I had my heart set on John C. Reilly.  Honestly, it’s not bad casting (he can actually act, so that whole drunk/charming/reliable/unreliable thing will go over like gangbusters).  It’s the casting of Stanly Tucci as Caesar Flickerman that has me baffled.  Honestly I just figured they’d get Regis Philbin, dye his hair blue, and be done with it.  Tucci will give the whole project a strange horror.  Seems the only big part in the film left to cast would be President Snow.  My vote?  Tommy Lee Jones.  An insane choice, but I can’t think of anyone more frightening you could put in that role.  And when was he last allowed to play a baddie anyway?  I think he needs to make Batman Forever up to us.  Not that they could afford him, I suppose.

• Aw.  I wish I could say I was surprised when I heard that Wonderland, the Alice musical update, was
  8 Comments on Fusenews: Your source for any and all Gene Wilder trivia, last added: 5/13/2011
  Display Comments
  Zoe said, on 5/11/2011 10:22:00 PM
  

  Ah! Will have to see if I can track down Laurel Croza’s book – that’s new to me. As to plant pots my favourite this week has been this (nothing to do with books, but such a clever use of cacti!) – http://etsy.me/jimdyd.

  And can’t you help me out with a lovely Danish picture book suggestion? I’m still searching….

  tanita said, on 5/12/2011 2:27:00 AM
  

  Hahahahahah! Poor Eragon. Donated mine to the library.

  I do think Woody Harrelson as mercurial, unreliable drunk will go over well — but I hear ya on Tommy Lee Jones – he is Scariest Man Ever when he plays the villain. I vote yes! And I’m glad to hear that the author of Anna Hibiscus is soldiering forward. I do get tired of other people trying to determine what an author knows, based on such flimsy assumptions. Those books really are cool.

  Jennifer Schultz said, on 5/12/2011 6:18:00 AM
  

  That Time magazine summer reads section is great-a mix of good lighthearted reads and some reads that are a bit more serious.

  Jennifer Schultz said, on 5/12/2011 6:21:00 AM
  

  Just read the reviews from the Time for Kids reporters. I’m impressed!

  Maureen E said, on 5/12/2011 8:58:00 AM
  

  I’m so glad I read to the end of this post. The Eragon line cracked me up.

  Brooke Shirts said, on 5/13/2011 9:46:00 AM
  

  Yeah, Tommy Lee Jones would be great as Pres. Snow — but my heart is set on having him portray the uber-scary Mayor Prentiss in the imaginary film version of The Knife of Never Letting Go!

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 5/13/2011 10:00:00 AM
  

  I’ll flip you for him.

  Children's Librarian said, on 5/13/2011 12:44:00 PM
  

  LOL Betsy on the “Eragon” quip! I’m not sure that book would even be good enough as a planter, but it would be a use for it at least. I, sadly, don’t feel like I can part with my copy because it was a gift from the dear friend that introduced me to my husband. And while the book was awful, her friendship and her match-making skills are bar none. She wouldn’t be insulted if she knew I gave it away, though!

  Add a Comment

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: January 31, 2010

This year, Chinese New Year falls on February 3, 2011. It is the Year of the Rabbit—the fourth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. The rabbit represents hope, and it is widely shared that “People born under the sign of the rabbit are gentle, sensitive, modest, and merciful and have strong memory. They like to communicate with others in a humorous manner. They cannot bear dull life, so they are good at creating romantic or interesting spice…”

The picture books listed below, offer solid introductions into the Chinese New Year and are then followed by some good-old bunny tales to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit.

Bringing in the New Year

by Grace Lin

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 34 pages

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (January 8, 2008)

Publisher’s synopsis: This exuberant story follows a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each member of the family lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. There will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the Lunar New Year. And the dragon parade in our book is extra long–on a surprise fold-out page at the end of the story. Grace Lin’s artwork is a bright and gloriously patterned celebration in itself! And her story is tailor-made for reading aloud.

Add this book to your collection: Bringing in the New Year

Celebrating Chinese New Year

by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith (Author), Lawrence Migdale (Photographer)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Holiday House (October 1999)

Source: Library

Publisher’s synopsis: A Chinese-American boy’s family observes a cherished tradition.

Add this book to your collection: Celebrating Chinese New Year

Celebrating Chinese New Year: An Activity Book

by Hingman Chan

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Asia for Ki

Add a Comment

A few days ago, I wrote about Bunny Days, Tao Nyeu’s beautiful new picture book.

Today, Jules of 7-Imp has posted a terrific interview with Tao Nyeu, complete with loads of illustrations, sketches, and a peek at what’s up next for Tao!

Enjoy!

Display Comments Add a Comment

I have a new favorite picture book – BUNNY DAYS by Tao Nyeu. 

Here’s why.  Exquisite Illustrations. Gorgeous design. Frameable dust jacket (!). Surprising Text.

I’m not an artist and while I *wish* I had the language/vocabulary to talk about BUNNY DAYS in a way that does it justice, I don’t.

BUT, what I do have is a deep appreciation for spare lines and meaningful use of color, and a general intuitive sense of “what works” from a design standpoint.

BUNNY DAYS has all this in spades.

Suffice it to say, that I think this book is absolutely Caldecott worthy.  (Perhaps Jules over at Seven Imp will do an interview with Tao???  Check here (scroll to the bottom) for a snippet by Jules about BUNNY DAYS.)

In the first chapter, “Muddy Bunnies,” curved lines abound.  In the hills, in the repeating shapes of flowers, in the arch of tree trunks.  The pallete is soft: “retro” blues, oranges, greens and browns.  White is used with intention.

The composition varies – double page spreads, spot illustrations on a sea of white set off by a few carefully placed clouds, and so on.

Bunnies abound, each with a personality of its own. One sleeps by a tree, another basks in the sun, arms spread wide, another leans in to study a small green frog.

I could go on about how the “feel” of each chapter is different because each has its own color palette – distinct from the others and yet complementary -  so that one chapter seems to lead easily to the next.

I could talk about the quality of the paper, the whimsy of end papers filled with tumbling bunnies, the dust jacket that is an actual POSTER (!) and the full-color casewrapped (I think that’s the term) illustrated hardcover.

Besides the stellar illustration and overall design, there’s the humorous and original story line.

• Muddy Bunnies swish swashing in the (delicate cycle) washer. Bunnies that dry on the line all day, all night, then hop off, happy and ready for a brand-new adventure.
• Dusty Bunnies dozing deep underground while Mrs. Goat vacuums up… grass, leaves, bunnies. “WHIRRRRR goes the fan”  A few quick fixes by Bear and all is well again.
• Bunnies without tails and tails without bunnies.  Poor Mr. Goat turns to Bear again. Of course, Bear knows what to do!  In the end, “everyone is happy.”

Want to know more? Drop in here – Tao Nyeu’s website.

2 Comments on Muddy, Dusty, Bunny Day LOVE, last added: 3/31/2010