CAVE DADA PICKY EATER by Brandon Reese: A Review, Author Interview, and Autographed Giveaway!

 Congratulations to Cindy Lynn Sawyer who won EQUAL and Lisa Fowler who won DRIVE from last week's blog.

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This week I'm featuring North Carolina author-illustrator, Brandon Reese, and his newest book, CAVE DADA PICKY EATER (Chronicle Books, 2021). Some of you may remember Brandon's book, CAVE DADA that came out a year ago. In this follow-up, the same relatable characters make a spontaneous discovery. Readers young and old will enjoy this fun picture book.

REVIEW

Baba wakes up and he is HUNGRY! 

Thus begins a search for a breakfast that Baba will eat. 

While Dada is searching for a breakfast that Baba will find acceptable, his wooly mammoth yanks the door off the pre-historic refrigerator (complete with Baba's drawings) and it falls on the fire. 

Not only has Dada lost the refrigerator door but unfortunately, there's no egg for Baba. 

Dada offers:

Of course, nothing is acceptable. Poor Dada is not given a day off from hunting and gathering and must hunt for an egg.

He finds one--under an ENORMOUS chicken!

But then...

Dada is defeated. He has to go find another egg. Until Baba points to the fire and Dada realizes he discovered,

The two enjoy their breakfast and Dada feeds the wooly mammoth. Suddenly, he smells a bad odor coming from Baba. A bath is announced but Baba returns the directive with,

Like the first Dada book, Brandon has included lots of fun details in the pictures so that even toddlers can "read" the story. I enjoy the way in which Brandon shows movement (and stink!) within the illustrations, and I LOVE the character's expressions!

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: How did you come up with this idea? Let me guess...

BRANDON: I worked up several ideas for my editor at Chronicle. One story had Dada climbing a tree for a breakfast egg, another had Dada chasing Baba for bath time. Ariel liked the idea of picky eating, so I rewrote the story and I included those elements. People might assume my son was a picky eater. He wasn’t at all. We were actually hard-pressed finding something he didn’t like! I do, however have nephews who had persnickety palettes! 

CAROL: Can you tell us a little about your creative process?

BRANDON: A few drawings of story beats came first in my sketchbook. Once I figured out the narrative, I type up the manuscript. Then it is back and forth to my editor with sketches and rewrites as I refine.

From Brandon's sketchbook

CAROL: What medium do you use for the art?

BRANDON: I create the artwork with a combination of techniques. The line art is hand drawn and shaded with colored pencil. That is scanned in and placed in photoshop where I colored it with a combination of digital brushes and gouache paint. I also photographed an omelet for egg textures.

CAROL: How was your first book received?

BRANDON: I think the first book was pretty well liked. It’s been translated for Chinese, Korean, and Italian editions so far.

CAROL: What's next? Is there another Dada book in your future?

BRANDON:I’m definitely up for a third CAVE DADA book, but nothing is set in stone… so to speak. 😀 I’m currently on submission with a new picture book and working on a graphic novel to pitch.

GIVEAWAY

Want to win this book for a child, grandchild, or grown son who is now a father? Please leave me your name and email address (if you are new to my blog) by May 21. I'll draw a name after 6 PM.  Share this on social media or start following my blog and I'll enter your name twice--just let me know what you do. 

Raccoon's Perfect Snowman: A Picture Book Review, A Giveaway, AND an Author Interview!

 Congratulations to Jana Leah who won T is for Thor from last week's blog.

Today I'm happy to share a new picture book by author/illustrator, Katia Wish. Raccoon's Perfect Snowman (Sleeping Bear Press, 2020) will delight the young reader in your life even as it communicates an important message.

REVIEW

Raccoon was very serious about building snowmen.

He practiced rolling, stacking, and decorating and knew that his friends would want his help making their snowmen.

 

But things didn't go as Raccoon expected. 

 Raccoon took out all of his snowman-building tools.

 

When it was time to decorate their snowmen, Mouse wasn't left with much to choose from. 

Raccoon loved his snowman but was very disappointed in what his friends' produced. None of them got it right! With shoulders slumped, Rabbitt, Fox, and Mouse left him alone... and miserable.

Before they were out of sight, Raccoon called them back. He had an idea for a truly perfect snowman. Working together,  they used whatever snow they found, stacked it however they wanted to and lastly, Raccoon told them, 

The new snowman wasn't very clean.

It didn't stand up straight.

And the decorations didn't match.

But it was perfect. 

 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: What role does SCBWI have in your life as a writer/illustrator?

KATIA: SCBWI is huge! All of my contacts, connections, classes, critique groups, and knowledge came from SCBWI. With every new workshop and conference, I gained more and more understanding of what I needed to do to develop my portfolio and improve my writing. 

CAROL: How did winning the 2011 Tomie DePaola Award affect your career? 

KATIA: Winning the 2011 Tomie DePaola Award so early in my career was amazing. Art directors and editors respect and appreciate Tomie’s work so much, so his recognition meant a stamp of approval for my work. Industry professionals noticed and started to pay close attention to the development of my work. It gave me confidence and encouragement to continue working on my illustrations and dummies.

CAROL: What gave you the idea for the story?

KATIA: The book is about friendship and rethinking what “perfect” means. The book is about my childhood memories of building a snowman. It’s such a sensory experience: how the snow changes color in the light, the warmth of the hat, the coldness of the snow, the sounds of the wind, the crunchiness of the snow.

CAROL: What was your publishing journey?

 

KATIA: When you start from a character, it’s quite a challenging experience. You try different stories on, try different directions. What you are doing at that stage is not developing the story yet, but getting to know your character.

This is something my wonderful agent coached me on through all the years I have worked with him. If the story comes from the character, the character is strong, alive, and believable. It doesn’t matter what kind of story the character will live in, it will still be true and relatable and honest.

We went through many many many drafts getting closer to the heart of the story. The first 5-7 drafts were not even close to the final book at all! But with each draft, the true character was revealed.

It’s an exhausting experience to build stories this way, but it’s worth it. If the story relies on one joke or one trick, it will not have re-readability.

When we were ready to submit, we found a great publisher for the story – Sleeping Bear Press. The editor and art director had more suggestions on how to improve the story and the artwork. They came up with the most brilliant solution to the ending of the book. Even though their solution was so obvious and so undeniably best, I didn’t see that solution even through so many drafts of the story. The fresh set of eyes makes a difference for any creative project or any situation in life!

CAROL: What medium did you use and why did you choose that particular medium? 

KATIA: At this point, I work primarily with watercolor and pencil. I start with idea generation, loose doodles, color studies. 

Then I transfer the sketch on watercolor paper and have a lot of washes and build up layers in watercolor. Things still look very ambiguous and not promising. So I have to stay in this uncomfortable stage for a very long time. 

But then in the last 20% of the process, I start adding linework and everything comes to life - characters’ expressions, details, depth. It’s sort of magic how things transform. 

GIVEAWAY

I'm happy to give away this book to one fortunate reader. Please leave me a comment with your email address if you are new to my blog. A winner will be drawn after 6 PM on November 13. 

AND ONE LAST THING...

I've been playing with Lumen 5 and creating short videos for the books I review. Here's the one for Racoon's Perfect Snowman.

Two New Picture Books--Two Giveaways!

Thanks to Sleeping Bear Press, I receive their new picture books. This is good news for all of you--more picture books to give away!

JUNK

What kid (or adult, for that matter) wouldn't be drawn to a book with the title of Junk? 

Where most people see trash, Sylvia Samantha Wright sees possibilities. But even she doesn't always see what the trash can be turned into--she just knows it's something. She collects leaky tires, a pack of gum with a few sticks left, empty paint cans, discarded pipes and motors. Each time, she's questioned what she's going to do with the discarded trash she answers, "I'm working on something."

But she really has no idea what she's going to do with her stuff. An encounter with Ezekiel Mather changes everything. He reassures her that she will indeed, discover what she needs to know. 

When the community's water tower springs a leak, the mayor finds herself with a serious problem.

A problem, that only Sylvia--and her junk--can fix. 

Written by Nicholas Day with whimsical illustrations by Tom Disbury, this adorable picture book will entertain and educate kids and adults. With a positive slant on creative recycling, this book is a great curriculum resource for ages 4-8.

BULLY

A bullfrog named BULLY. Why didn't I think of that? I guess because author illustrator Jennifer Sattler did! 

True to his name, Bully takes over a pond full of lovely lilies. He commanders everything from the lily's beautiful fragrance to the blossoms themselves. When a bee comes along and informs him that he's squashing the last remaining flower and Bully dismisses him, the bee has an idea. 

Suddenly, the bee, along with his insect friends, out-maneuver Bully. 

He's forced to leave his precious lily pad

and find a new home. 

In a humorous manner Sattler shows what happens when people bully others. Kids--and adults--will get the message.

Sattler closes this book, another great classroom resource for pre-school through second graders, with several suggestions on how children can exercise kindness.

Here's a lily pond that Bully would love!

(Although he might have to share it with a few gators)

The Villages, Florida 

GIVEAWAY

Please leave a comment by August 16 with your email address if you are new to my blog and let me know which book you prefer to win.