How to use this Page

With the Forts series wrapped up, I've moved onto something else, and believe it or not that something else is getting released in March!


Goats Eat Cans is coming soon!

What the heck is Goats Eat Cans and why should you care about it?Trust me when I tell you that you're going to like this thing.

If you hated Forts and you hate me for writing Forts, you're still going to like this.

Goats Eat Cans isn't Forts. It's nothing like Forts.Nothing at all.

Click the picture below to head over the official Goats site.You won't regret it.


Maybe.

It's been a while since I updated over here, so what have I been up to?Working mostly.Was that a boring answer?I guess it was a bit of a boring answer and I guess I should elaborate.The final piece of the FORTS TRILOGY is on schedule and expected sometime before the end of the year (November). If you haven't yet scooped up a copy of the first two, my suggestion is to get on that. If you have no interest in scooping up the first two, prepare yourself for one of my patented knuckle sandwiches. Beyond that, I'm currently illustrating a picture book for Featherweight Press, and I've been slowly piecing together my next project.Check out the trailer below:The first volume of Goats Eat Cans is in the hands of my editor and set for release early next year. You can find more information at the OFFICIAL SITE.Even if you hated FORTS, give this one a try. It's nothing like FORTS.Nothing at all.Seriously.

Let’s Count Goats! by Mem Fox, illustrated by Jan Thomas

A manic and very funny counting book that will have readers laughing at the antics of the goats that they are trying to count.  Can you count the single seaside goat?  How about the goats buzzing by in airplanes?  How about the loud trumpet goats?  Or the ones in the snow?  The talents of Mem Fox and Jan Thomas are delightfully displayed here in one of the top counting books of the year.

Some counting books suffer from trying to maintain counting on each and every page.  Part of the success of this book is that Fox has written other silly goats into the book that do not needed to be counted.  So the book has a nice flow that really works well.  It feels much more like a picture book than a counting book.  Fox’s rhymes are simple, offering Thomas a grand place to build from with her illustrations.  Thomas takes innocent words and transforms them into scenes where her goats munch on the props.  The book is filled with goats doing all sorts of things, drawn in Thomas’ wonderfully simple style that children will immediately relate to. 

Highly recommended, this is a counting book that could be used very successfully in a story time.  The illustrations are large enough to work with a group and the text is readable as well.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.

Also reviewed by A Year of Reading.

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.

During the trip east, we stopped by the goat farm where my brother, Alex, and his smarter half, Margot live and work. We took this video of some kids running into the barn to be fed and it came out blurry, but it was just too good to resist posting. Here's a link to the farm website, Consider Bardwell Farm.