Once upon a time, perhaps last week, or even last night, at your local dim sum restaurant there was an UGLY DUMPLING . . .
This ugly dumpling was ugly in its OWN ugly way.
Poor thing! Though the dumpling tried its best to be noticed by wrinkling its brow, standing up tall, or even wearing pleated pants, sadly it remained “uneaten and ignored.” But as fate would have it, along came a cockroach whose heart swelled with love, who wept upon seeing the ugly dumpling. It extended an arm (or a leg) in friendship, promising to show the dumpling “the beauty of the world.”
Peter Rabbit gets a lot of attention, as does Miss Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten and Squirrel Nutkin. In fact, they all have their own little books written about them. But not the Amiable one, who was actually the first guinea pig in Miss Potter’s work. She wrote a clever limerick about him that appeared in Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes (1917).
But one limerick does not a book make. Wouldn’t you feel a little slighted? To add insult to injury, initially Miss Potter’s publisher Frederick Warne & Co. wasn’t that keen on the Appley Dapply rhyme collection, which she had hoped to publish following the release of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902.
Duncan Tonatiuh is an award-winning author-illustrator. His work is inspired by the ancient art of Mexico, particularly that of the Mixtec codex. His aim is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to children nowadays. (Pictured here with his 9-month-old daughter Vida.)
☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Check out this video where Duncan expresses thanks for the Sibert Medal and Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor he was awarded earlier this year for Funny Bones.
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☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: Duncan chats with Viviana Hurtado from last summer’s Lunchtime Author Google Hangout. He talks about Funny Bones, how he got his first book contract with Abrams, and shares thoughts about creating diverse books for young readers in today’s publishing climate.
I enjoyed the story immensely, but I must confess it reminded me of my own tragic guinea pig experience (*shudder*). But more on that later.
This charming cautionary tale is about the time young Beatrix, who loved to draw and paint wild as well as tame animals, borrowed a guinea pig from her neighbor to use as a live model. She and her younger brother Bertram had lots of pets in the third floor playroom/science lab/art studio of their London home — pets such as snakes, snails, bats, ducks, rabbits, hedgehogs and salamanders. Though Beatrix loved all these creatures, we are warned early on that “she did not always have the best of luck with them.”
We are given evidence of several animal mishaps via journal entries that note an escaped snake and newts, a family of dead and dried up snails, and even a bat which was dismembered by a jay. And what of the unfortunate guinea pig? Beatrix especially loved painting animals doing “ordinary, everyday things, like reading the newspaper, working in the garden, or taking tea. (And why not?).” And the day came when Beatrix just had to paint a guinea pig and they didn’t have one at 2 Bolton Gardens. Not to worry, though, as quite a few of them apparently lived in Miss Paget’s parlor.
Linda Ashman is the author of more than thirty children’s books, as well as The Nuts & Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books. Her books have been included in the “best of the year” lists of The New York Times, Parenting and Child magazines, the New York Public Library and more. She lives with her husband, son and two dogs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: I have straight up black coffee first thing in the morning. Then, around 11:30, I have a soy latte with some sort of treat (for the record, a pecan scone today). My sister Liz gave me this mug as a reminder of growing up in New Jersey, and my very first job—waitressing at Dunkin’ Donuts.
☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES:Rock-a-Bye Romp, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House, January 2016); Henry Wants More!, illustrated by Brooke Boynton Hughes (Penguin Random House, January 2016); All We Know, illustrated by Jane Dyer (HarperCollins, March 2016). Forthcoming:Hey, Coach!, illustrated by Kim Smith (Sterling, August 2016).
☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOKS: We must have read Seven Silly Eaters a zillion times when my son was small. We also loved Susan Meddaugh’s hilarious Martha books (the magical power of alphabet soup!). Oh, andCooking with Henry and Elliebelly is really funny too.
☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Check out this great Welcome to My Studio feature at All the Wonders — you can see the different places where Linda likes to work in her lovely home.
☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: If you’re an aspiring or even a seasoned picture book writer, Linda’s Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books is a must read:
The Nuts and Bolts Guide is designed to work like a 9-week class. Each chapter includes detailed instruction on essential topics—things like building a story, experimenting with voice, creating memorable characters, writing rollicking read-alouds and pitch-perfect verse, playing with humor, and submitting your work—plus a reading list, interviews, tips, resources, and exercises to stimulate new ideas and apply to works-in-progress.
Click here for a free preview and to order your copy (available as a PDF or eBook for Kindle).
Jama's Alphabet Soup 