Don Quijote: Tower of Evil Cute

There are no imaginary enemies here-only sickeningly cute adversaries dressed in animal skins of every combination smiling behind neon, plastic boxes. Don Quijote (spelled phonetically-its praise is sung throughout in a synthesized kid, choir chant-”la-la-lah-la-la-lah-Don-Key-Ho-tee”!) is a discount chain store in Japan that offers everything from racks of eyelashes to questionable junk food. Sadly, Don Quijote is more yellow, shoebox grade of architecture than the literary, looming windmill (although, I wouldn’t put it pass the Japanese to create a windmill structure adorned with a deranged mascot promoting buying bliss).  It does, however, contain an epileptic arcade of flashing video games and fantastic vending machines of toys and plushies.

The vending machines house an array of creatures wearing pelt jumpsuits-rabbits are dressed in bear skins, bears are dressed in cat suits, etc. (the bi-curious species are both intriguiging and baffling). Everything within the arcade is dosed in cute. Stitched up dolls and bloody, clawed teddy bears are tempered by their adorable grins and cotton-colors. The arcade is manically brilliant and leaves one feeling a bit hopped up on Clockwork Orange stimulus overload.  ”La-la-lah, la-la-lah….”

Thanks to Optivion for the photos (and for being the prince of prizes who won a solar-operated Maneki Neko waving statue).

Time Out for Ruby Winkle

Here is a peek at my review for “Here Comes the Garbage Barge” which is being featured in the February issue of Time Out New York Kids.  Thanks, Carolyn!

Whittled World

There have been many campaigns to save extinct animals but none of them have been as effectively cute as the craftsmanship of Josh Finkle. Josh carves wide-eyed creatures on the brink of extinction out of another life form at the dangerous risk of disappearing-trees. The threat for each of the wooden species is outlined in a how-to diagram of icons and arrows depicting both their origins and their demise.

Paper Cuts: The Art of Emma van Leest

Chores by their very definition defy fun but as a kid, surrounded by miniature eye candy, it was eye-level adventure. Growing up, I was assigned the duty of dusting which gave me the chance to stare abymssmally into my Mom’s collection of Asian artifacts-tiny cabinets full of cork-art scenes of musing fisherman and ornate, crooked trees.   Artist Emma van Leest creates the same tiny worlds of incredible intricacy with her paper sculptures.

Submersible of Sugary Cuteness: The Octonauts

If Jacque Cousteau saw the world through blinking pupils of adorable optimism and tottered around in a rolly-polly plush toy scuba suit, he might be a possible recruit for the Octonauts. The Octonauts are an underwater team of animal explorers (crew members include Captain Barnacles and Professor Inkling) created by the dollhouse architects of delight, Meomi. From their octopod, the Octonauts encounter a lonely monster, a shadow stealer, a frown fish and in their most recent adventure, a ghost reef.  The aquatic adventures continue in CG splendor as a recently announced TV animated series.

The Octonauts and the Great Ghost Reef
$15.95 US, Hardcover
11 X 8 inches, 36 Pages

Robot Dreams and Machines: The Art of Mark Rogalski

Robox is more than meets the eye; a cardboard box contortionist that transforms into a four-limbed automaton with a window view of his bottomless tummy (which doubles as a convenient book package display). Robox emerges as the gastro-con solution to Renny’s slew of problems; a stalking feline, lugheaded bullies, tentacle veggies and of course, the perpetual plague of homework. Robox gobbles up all of Renny’s troubles in one metallic chomp until his hunger starts to consume the good along with the bad. Author and artist, Mark Rogalski, details Renny’s odyssey and Robox’s dietary oddities in fantastic 3-D detail inviting “I-spy” study of each graphic page. Multimedia touches such as vintage baseball cards, hand-drawn sketches and charts contribute to the hyperrealism of Renny’s world and this tale of “action, adventure and appetite”.

By far, Robox, is one of the most inventive and innovative children’s books that makes reading fun and functional. I immediately made my free-standing Robox which now stands on my shelf, displaying his impish Short Circuit cyborg cuteness. I’m convinced that when he isn’t digesting the worries of the universe, he is dreaming of Martian landscapes and rocketing across blue skies (photo: Optivion; Design: Corvus Blue Studio).

Rogalski’s custom signature of lush landscapes and interactive imagination also unfolds in Dream Machines; a World’s Fair wonder of fantastic vehicles from the Bubble Sub to the Steam Train Aeroplane. True to his packaging prowess, Rogalski also includes a dust jacket cover that doubles as a fold-out board game. Singsong clues ring throughout the book (“the star you seek is in the sky, get back on track and roll the die”) that advance both the dazzling story and spellbound player across a boardgame of contraptions and creatures.

Robox and Dream Machines are both published by Running Press.

Chicken Dance by Tammi Sauer, Illustrated by Dan Santat

There’s a whole lot of hoopla when hens Marge and Lola find a poster announcing The Final Doodle Doo and its grand prize to see none other than the cuck-a-doodle dooing crooner, Elvis Poultry, in Chicken Dance. Eager to win, the ladies search for a sure-fire talent that they can perform in spite of the boastful crowing from their barnyard rivals, the ducks. Marge and Lola finally take to the stage and strut their stuff striking iconic dance moves; winged interpretations of Madonna’s “Vogue”, “Walk Like an Egyptian” and “Staying Alive” stun the crowd but ultimately catch the King of “Bawk and Roll’s” coveted attention. Author Tammi Sauer humorously captures the fierce competition with fowl-humored jabs (“Get some floaties, chickens”) and throw back references to the DooWop pop phenomenon that ruffled the feathers of the ’60’s. Dan Santat adds to the retro romp with mixed media illustrations framed in nostalgic browns and oranges complete with a star-studded cover that pays homage to the King. Chicken Dance even includes chicken-scratch dance step variations on the inside cover for the footloose and fearless. Forget the embarrassing elbow flap stomp that strikes wedding receptions worldwide-Chicken Dance takes this classic shimmy out of the stuffy dance hall and puts it into the barnyard for an original and inspirationally funny read.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 36 pages
Publisher: Sterling
ISBN-10: 1402753667

Kawaii for Kids: The Art of Ami Suma

“George, I wish you’d look at the nursery” begins Ray Bradbury’s cautionary tale of childhood imagination, The Veldt. In true Bradbury fashion, technology runs amok at the mercy of the children’s subconscious, manifesting virtually everything they wish for and horrifyingly, more than the parents bargained for.  Although the story left me a bit scarred and ironically, a sucker for Cronenberg films, it also reflected my more optimistic belief in the thin slip of reality where a blank bedroom wall could easily dissolve into a technicolor world of fantasy.

Artist and muralist, Ami Suma, also transforms blank canvases into candy-colored dimensions with her kawaii-style menagerie. Suma enlivens kids’ bedrooms with vibrant creatures that, thankfully would sooner cuddle with you than cobble you up under a hot, savannah sun. Ami is also a freelance fashion writer living in New York City. Inspired by the likes of animator, Hayao Miyazaki, Ami also assures me (and other children) that what lies beyond your walls is really a welcoming wonderland.

Trois Raisons: Why I Love French Animation

“I Lived On the Moon”
Music video for the French band, Kwoon. Directed by Yannick Puig.

“Gobelins-Annecy 2009″
Promo produced by the French Gobelins School of Art and Aniation for the Annecy animation film festival.

“Flowers”
Music Video for Emilie Simon

The Pricker Boy: Interview with Author Reade Scott Whinnem

“He was a real kid once, just like any of us” begins the supernatural legend of the Pricker Boy; the son of a fur trapper hardened by lies and taunts transformed into a creature with a protective skin of thorns who haunts the woods. The Pricker Boy is a campfire favorite amongst Stuck Cumberland and his childhood friends who meet each Summer until a mysterious package containing mementos of their youth challenges their belief. Slowly, the truth begins to reveals itself hiding just beyond the Widow’s Stone, prickling the bond of friendship and trust. Reade Scott Whinnem is the author of  The Pricker Boy;  a paranormal fable that both plunges into the depth of darkness at the edges of reality and captures the darkness of human depth.

1) Was there a “Pricker Boy” story that you grew up with during your own childhood?
No, but we did have the story of old Carob Astor; a murderous hermit who lived in a house in the woods out by the reservoir. He grew crazier as he got older, eventually becoming nocturnal and wandering around town looking into people’s houses while they slept. Eventually, he started mangling people and the police had to hunt him down and kill him. But evil like that couldn’t die, of course. I’d tell the tale and then we’d head out into the woods in the dark to see his house. It was a ridiculous story but what a great scare. My early encounter with the Pricker Boy came in the form of a nightmare that I had when I was extremely young. In my nightmare, a boy whose entire body was covered with thorns lived in the bushes near my grandparents’ house. I could see him from the edge of the yard as he tried to crawl out and grab me. I knew he was going to drag me under the thorns but I was too scared to move. I woke up screaming. I was about seven or eight. Now, over thirty years later, I get to bring him to life for everyone to enjoy!

2) What stories (or movies) and legends scare you now?
I’m not scared by much but then again, I refuse to watch a lot of modern horror. Many modern horror movies just try to make people feel uncomfortable by showing torture and mutilation. As I said earlier, I was writing that kind of thing when I was a teenager. Doing that is a lot easier than writing a good, spooky ghost story.

I can’t remember the last movie that really scared me. I go back to the classics; all the way back to the original Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman. I’m not going to say that they’re still scary after all these years but they have great atmosphere and emotion. The only writer who really frightens me is H. P. Lovecraft, and that’s because he leaves so much of his work open for the imagination to play on. Right now, I’m reading Ancient Images; my first Ramsey Campbell novel which has great atmosphere.

3) What do you think are key ingredients for good horror and suspense?
The scariest real life stories are the ones that defy explanation and I mean unexplained phenomena as well as unexplained human behavior. Too many stories, especially movies, try to tie off all the loose ends and explain everything away. Take Jack the Ripper, for instance. That case still fascinates people today because it wasn’t solved and because his behavior was so bizarre. People have theories as to who he was and why the murders stopped but no one will ever know for sure.

Sadly, when it comes to horror, too many writers create wonderful atmosphere only to have the story climax with a chase scene and a gun fight. Fred and Velma pull the rubber mask off the monster and then explain away all the tricks he was able to perform. Perhaps there’s a cheesy wink to suggest that the monster isn’t really gone but usually everything gets packed away nice and neat.

I think that good horror isn’t afraid to leave the door cracked just a bit. I didn’t try to explain away every little thing in The Pricker Boy but I did try to satisfy the reader. The few things that aren’t explained in the end are hinted at and left up to the reader’s informed judgment. I hope that because of this, the story will stick with people for a while after the last page is read.

4) What sort of comments have you received from both adults and young adults who have read The Pricker Boy?
I tried as much as possible to avoid indicators of time in my writing, so my characters don’t spend much of their time texting, emailing, and playing video games during the course of the book. Because technology plays no significant role in the story, my adult readers have been able place the time period of the book during their own adolescence, which has made for a nostalgic ride for them. Consequently, the story seems to work for adolescents and senior citizens alike. I like the fact that the book is accessible across age groups.

So far, the response has been great. Several people have told me that they had to turn on a few extra lights in the house as they got towards the end, which is very gratifying. One adult friend, who isn’t familiar with YA fiction, said that she was surprised by how frightened and how moved she was by the story. She’d thought, ‘It’s a book for kids, so how bad can it be?’ She said that when she finished chapter four, she knew she was in for a bumpier ride than she’d anticipated. She got scared by the scary bits and she cried at the sad bits. I suppose it’s odd to say that I want my readers to get scared and to cry but I really do. I want them to be moved by the story and the early buzz is that they are.

5) If you travelled back in time, what is one thing that your present self you would tell your former self?
When I was in graduate school I had a friend (we’ll call him Clyde) who every once in a while would get a bit weepy and start calling friends up and telling them why he liked them so much. One night he called me. I’d given him some of the screenplays that I’d been working on and he wanted to tell me how much he liked my writing. He told me that he saw me writing novels one day. I said that I didn’t think I was a disciplined enough writer to pull something like that off, and that even if I could write one, the chances that it would be publishable were slim to none. He said I was wrong. Here we are almost fifteen years later and it turns out Clyde was right.

So I think that given the opportunity, I’d head back and tell my younger self that given time, I was capable of a great deal more than I thought I was. But since I can’t do that, I’ll pass it along to your readers. Chances are you’re capable of a lot more than you think you are. Given time and steady work, you’d be amazed at what you can create.

6) What is your approach to writing?
It’s tough to balance because I teach full time, which is why I do most of my writing during the summer. I find that the only way I can get a manuscript done is to get up early and work every day. I start at page one and work all the way through. I keep ideas on scraps of paper and tack them to a corkboard that I’ve divided up into sections by chapter. When I’m ready, I pull down all the notes, organize them as much as necessary, and write the chapter.

Sometimes I’ll produce ten or fifteen pages in a day, and sometimes I’ll only produce a page and a half. I try not to look back, just plow forward to the end. By the end of the summer I’ll have a working manuscript. I let it sit for a while and turn my attention to other projects. When it’s settled, I head back in and try a rewrite. This time I take rewrite notes, and using the corkboard again, I reorganize my thoughts. Eventually, I’ll have something ready for reader feedback. Then I rewrite again, and again, and again…

7) What advice would you give writers trying to publish their work?
Be stubborn, develop a thick skin, and learn the etiquette of the publishing world. There’s usually going to be a lot of rejection before your work gets accepted. There are a lot of people pounding on the doors of the publication houses because they’re convinced they’ve written something remarkable. Maybe they have and maybe they haven’t. But the point is that there is a lot of shouting going on and that’s going to make it difficult for the editors and agents to hear you sing. A little thing like learning how to write a proper query letter, doing research through some of the Writers’ Digest books, and targeting your submissions to specific people goes a long way. It takes time and patience. It has taken me years. But I love it enough that I’m willing to keep hacking away at it. So keep writing, keep writing, keep writing.

Thank you to Reade for kindly doing the interview and to Jessica Shoffel of Random House!