SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Mabel Wants a Friend
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://marc-rosenthal.com/
CITY: Great Barrington
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: SATA 193
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1949; married; wife’s name Eileen; children: Willem.
EDUCATION:Graduated from Princeton University, 1971; State University of New York, M.F.A., 1978.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Designer, sequential artist, and book illustrator. Worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for Milton Glaser, New York, NY; freelance illustrator, 1983—; clients include AT&T and McCann-Erickson. Creator of Earth 2U (traveling exhibition on geography for children), with Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society. Taught illustration for seven years at the Rhode Island School of Design.
AVOCATIONS:Ashtanga yoga, cooking, eating.
WRITINGS
Contributor to Little Lit Two: Strange Stories for Strange Kids, edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly, RAW (New York, NY), 2001. Contributor to periodicals, including Time, Newsweek, Fortune, New Yorker, and Atlantic Monthly.
SIDELIGHTS
Marc Rosenthal is a designer, sequential artist, and illustrations whose work has appeared in such publications as Time, Newsweek, and the New Yorker. He has also provided the art for several critically acclaimed children’s books, including First, Second by Russian author Daniil Kharms and Dig! by the husband-and-wife team of Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha. Rosenthal has also produced a self-illustrated title, Phooey!
Rosenthal’s first picture book, Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe, was a collaboration with his brother, author Paul Rosenthal. The work features a variety of humorous mnemonic devices to help young readers learn geographical terms. “Cartoony illustrations extend the academic antics,” a contributor in Publishers Weekly observed. The duo have also teamed up on Yo, Aesop!: Get a Load of These Fables, which includes zany retellings of well-known tales. Rosenthal’s “pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations elevate the tales with a 1940s color scheme and imaginative perspectives,” remarked a Publishers Weekly critic, and Susan Dove Lempke, writing in Booklist, stated that Rosenthal’s “illustrations are zippy and bold in shades of green, orange, and yellow, accentuated with black ink lines.”
Rosenthal served as the illustrator for Peter and the Talking Shoes, a cumulative tale by Kate Banks. According to Ilene Cooper in Booklist, “Gasoline Alley-style cartoon characters cavort through a funny retro-world where unusual shapings and offbeat perspectives will catch kids’ attention.” Mem Fox addresses themes of individuality and identity in The Straight Line Wonder, about a straight black line that decides to experiment with curves, much to the shock of its friends. “Rosenthal’s bouncy artwork catches the story’s frisky flavor,” observed Lempke, and a Publishers Weekly reviewer commented that the illustrator “succeeds in attributing the thick black lines with personality through a shock of wild hair, wire-rim spectacles or a bright baseball cap.”
Originally published in a Russian children’s magazine in the 1930s, Kharms’s text for First, Second follows a group of companions traveling through a fantastical landscape. Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman praised the “brightly colored cartoon-style pictures that extend the exaggeration and cheerful innocence of the nonsense world.” The Absentminded Fellow, a story by Russian author Samuel Marshak that was first published in 1928, follows the misadventures of an amusing but befuddled soul. “Defying gravity and exuding antic glee, Rosenthal’s figures hurl themselves across [the] pages” of this story, Joanna Rudge Long announced in a Horn Book review.
In Dig!, Zimmerman and Clemesha depict a day in the life of Mr. Rally, a construction worker, and his loyal dog, Lightning. According to New York Times Book Review critic Jess Bruder, in Dig! Rosenthal’s “illustrations in ink and watercolor are full of action and small surprises,” and a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the book’s “simple, good-humored art harks back to classic picture books with the appealing old-fashioned feel of Margaret Bloy Graham or Virginia Lee Burton.”
Rosenthal’s authorial debut, Phooey! centers on a bored youngster who unwittingly triggers a series of riotous events in his town. The action is more old-time movie than modern picture book,” noted Robin Smith in her Horn Book review of the original work. “In his pliable line drawings, sunny watercolor palette and quaint town setting,” a Publishers Weekly critic wrote, “Rosenthal salutes ’30s and ’40s comic strips and children’s classics.”
Rosenthal, who worked for designer Charles Eames and illustrator Milton Glaser earlier in his career, believes that those artists greatly influenced his own aesthetic. As he told an interviewer on the HarperCollins Web site, “I feel that all of our experiences shape us, and enrich our creative life. For example, in college, I studied architecture, and, at one point in my life, worked as a carpenter. The appreciation I developed for building, and for how things fit together, can be seen directly in Phooey! I studied design and was involved with filmmaking. Both of these disciplines are present in all of my work.”
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Rosenthal teams up with his wife Eileen Rosenthal for the first in the “Bobo!” series, entitled I Must Have Bobo! It is a picture book about Willy’s favorite toy, a sock monkey named Bobo. When Willy wakes up, however, Bobo is missing. He knows that Earl the cat also likes Bobo and sometimes takes it and hides it. Young readers will enjoy looking for signs of Bobo on the different pages. Eileen wrote the story, and Marc created the retro illustrations using soft pencil drawings on cream-colored pages.
In Booklist, Ilene Cooper acknowledged I Must Have Bobo! is a “one-joke story,” but she wrote that “it’s told with such an honest grip on a child’s world and emotions, and illustrated so cleverly” that it will receive repeated readings. Cooper particularly enjoyed the different expressions the cat makes. A contributor in Publishers Weekly agreed, writing that Marc’s “ability to capture Earl’s feline deviousness” is “one of the book’s chief charms.” They also praised the book’s “generally calm, bedtime atmosphere.” Other books in the series were I’ll Save You Bobo! and Bobo the Sailor Man!
Marc Rosenthal teams up with writer Kathi Appelt for the one-off picture book Mogie: The Heart of the House. Mogie is a dog who lives at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston, and this book was designed to highlight the work of the Ronald McDonald houses, as they host children who are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals along with their families. In the story, Mogie helps a boy named Gage and then a girl named Antonia adjust to living in the Ronald McDonald house, so that they can get well again. Rosenthal uses pencil, charcoal, and digital illustrations to set the mood and help tell the story.
A writer in Kirkus Reviews was enthusiastic about this offering, “Readers will be awfully glad they’ve met [Mogie].” They particularly appreciated Rosenthal’s illustrations, writing that they “wonderfully complement this emotional tale without tipping it into the saccharine.” Andrew Medlar, in Booklist, called the illustrations “appropriately upbeat,” and he predicted that readers will “appreciate Mogie’s gently told and optimistic tale.”
Rosenthal undertakes a new series when he partners with writer Elizabeth Verdick for Small Walt, a story about a tiny snowplow that perseveres no matter how bad the snowstorm. It is reminiscent of stories like The Little Engine That Could and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. The text features some rhymes as well as onomatopoeia and alliteration, and Rosenthal’s illustrations feature pencil artwork with color added digitally. In an interview on Verdick’s blog, Rosenthal talks about how he created the character design for the book: “I often model characters after people I know. . . . I do a lot of pencil sketches before I can refine it toward a finish.”
“Charming and endearing” is how a writer in Kirkus Reviews described the book. They particularly enjoyed the text’s central couplet “My name is Walt. I plow and I salt” and how that gets modified throughout the story. A reviewer in Publishers Weekly enjoyed the book, too. They especially appreciated the relationship between Walt and his driver Gus, and they loved the illustrations, writing that they give story its “verve” and provide a “compelling sense of place that recalls the stories of Virginia Lee Burton.” Other books in the series included Small Walt and Mo the Tow and Small Walt Spots Dot.
After working with Ariel Bernstein on We Love Fishing! and You Go First, Rosenthal teamed up with her again for the picture book Mabel Wants a Friend. Set on an animal playground, Mabel is a red fox in a pink dress, and she is not always a good friend as she sometimes takes advantage of the other animals. When the rabbit Chester decides to set appropriate boundaries with Mabel, she comes to realize that the other animals have feelings, too, and she needs to start respecting them.
A writer in Publishers Weekly was enthusiastic, writing that Bernstein and Rosenthal “once again dazzle at demonstrating social-emotional nuance.” They found the story’s lesson to be particularly effective, as the book’s final pages “model Chester’s humane adherence to boundaries and genuine forgiveness when asked.” A reviewer in Kirkus Reviews agreed, praising the book’s “sharp insights on honing social skills.” They called Rosenthal’s illustrations “gently humorous” and described the book as “immensely appealing.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 1, 1994, Ilene Cooper, review of Peter and the Talking Shoes, p. 1457; April 15, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review of First, Second, p. 1445; October 15, 1997, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Straight Line Wonder, p. 414; April, 1998, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Yo, Aesop!: Get a Load of These Fables, p. 1322; July, 1999, Susan Dove Lempke, review of The Absentminded Fellow, p. 1952; May 15, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Dig!, p. 1627; July 1, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of Phooey!, p. 66; March 15, 2011, Ilene Cooper, review of I Must Have Bobo!, p. 63; May 15, 2014, Andrew Medlar, review of Mogie: The Heart of the House, p. 58.
Horn Book, September-October, 1996, Lauren Adams, review of First, Second, p. 580; March-April, 1999, Joanna Rudge Long, review of The Absentminded Fellow, p. 198; September-October, 2007, Robin Smith, review of Phooey!, p. 561.
Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2009, review of Archie and the Pirates; October 1, 2011, review of Making a Friend; February 15, 2012, review of I’ll Save You Bobo!; August 15, 2013, review of Bobo the Sailor Man!; May 1, 2014, review of Mogie; July 15, 2017, review of Small Walt; July 15, 2018, review of Small Walt and Mo the Tow; October 1, 2018, review of All You Need Is Love; July 1, 2020, review of Small Walt Spots Dot; April 1, 2023, review of You Go First; September 15, 2024, review of Mabel Wants a Friend.
New York Times Book Review, September 19, 2004, Jess Bruder, review of Dig!, p. 16.
Publishers Weekly, November 9, 1992, review of Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe, p. 88; March 11, 1996, review of First, Second, p. 62; August 18, 1997, review of Straight Line Wonder, p. 93; March 23, 1998, review of Yo, Aesop!, p. 99; May 3, 1999, review of The Absentminded Fellow, p. 75; May 10, 2004, review of Dig!, p. 57; July 23, 2007, review of Phooey!, p. 66; December 13, 2010, review of I Must Have Bobo!, p. 55; July 31, 2017, review of Small Walt, p. 88; November 24, 2021, review of We Love Fishing!, p. 54; April 24, 2023, review of You Go First, pp. 66+; August 5, 2024, review of Mabel Wants a Friend, p. 56.
School Library Journal, July, 2004, Marian Creamer, review of Dig!, p. 90; September, 2007, Julie R. Ranelli, review of Phooey!, p. 174.
ONLINE
Elizabeth Verdick, https://www.elizabethverdick.com/ (December 21, 2020), author interview.
HarperCollins Web site, http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/ (September 10, 2008), “A Q&A with the Creator of Phooey!”
Marc Rosenthal website, http://www.marc-rosenthal.com (February 25, 2025).
Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast, http://blaine.org/ (October 4, 2011), author interview.
YA Books Central, https://yabookscentral.com/ (September 23, 2024), Cherokee Crum, author interview.
About
Marc Rosenthal is an editorial illustrator and the New York Times best-selling illustrator of many children’s books, including All You Need is Love written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the Small Walt series written by Elizabeth Verdick, the Bobo series written by Eileen Rosenthal. He has also published two books as author and illustrator, Phooey and Archie and The Pirates.
He has worked for most major publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Time and Fortune Magazine, The Atlantic and The New Yorker.
He was the sole illustrator for National Geographic’s Smithsonian traveling exhibition, Where On Earth.
For seven years, he taught illustration at The Rhode Island School of Design, teaching various courses. Aside from introductory classes, he also taught a class called The Designed Image, which focussed on conceptual illustration, but which also covered packaging, narrative art and sequential art.
His work has won awards from Print Magazine, Communication Arts Magazine, The Society of Illustrators, The Parent’s Choice Award, and The Art Directors Club.
He has lectured and given seminars at The Norman Rockwell Museum, The Rhode Island School of Design, Maryland Institute College of Art, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Design Madison in Madison Wisconsin.
Stay in touch
Follow me on instagram
Contact
Marc Rosenthal
rosenthal.draws@gmail.com
(413) 446-7831
Book Agent
Pippin Properties, Inc.
pippinproperties.com
Holly McGhee
hmcghee@pippinproperties.com
(212) 338-9310
110 W 40th St, Suite 1704
New York, NY 10018
A Conversation Between Author Elizabeth Verdick & Illustrator Marc Rosenthal
December 21, 2020
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poster - the art of Small Walt
As a picture book author, I get a little bit of an insider’s view of how children’s books are put together—but just a peek. Authors and illustrators work separately, with the publisher, editor, and designer as the go-between. So, for all these years of working with Marc, I’ve never actually had the pleasure of meeting him in person. I thought it would be fun to interview him about his work as an artist. I wanted that insider’s view so I could share it with you.
Elizabeth: I’ve always wondered what your studio looked like. Can you describe it?
Marc: My studio is on the third floor of our house in the Berkshires, in what was once the attic. When we moved in, we insulated it, adding big windows and a skylight. The space is very light (sometimes too light!). There are bookshelves running along the south side under the windows. It is full of art books, design books, and children’s books. I have a drawing table in the center of the room and a computer off to the side. I love to work, so I spend most of my time up there. In past years, most of my work was for magazines and newspapers. That work has dropped off a bit, so when I’m not working on a book or an assignment, I am usually painting. I’ve rediscovered oil painting (my original love) and now feel like a novice again.
A glimpse into Marc Rosenthal’s studioElizabeth: We’ve worked together on three books—Small Walt, Small Walt and Mo the Tow, and Small Walt Spots Dot. I’m always amazed when a picture book artist can take a writer’s brief words and then build an entire visual story from them. How do you do that? How do the words inspire you?
Marc: I think the job of the picture book artist is to expand on the writer’s words. In picture books, the words tend to be sparse, carefully chosen, like poetry. The illustrator’s job is to visually flesh out the words and to provide enough visual interest to encourage multiple readings. And maybe to add an extra level of meaning to the characters and story. I look for the feeling and the setting that the author provides. I try to create a visual space that I would want to live in. In Small Walt, I pictured a small town.
Elizabeth: When I was first writing Small Walt, I didn’t picture a small town; more like a city with big plows and snow flying everywhere. To help the writing process I’d put a photo of a yellow plow on a piece of paper and add “googly eyes” to make it seem like a character. Here’s what’s so amazing about the picture-book making process: you took the words of my story and created a whole illustrated world, complete with a small town, an adorable red-orange Walt, and a cast of human and vehicle characters. When I first saw your color art of Walt, I was like, “Oh! So that’s what he looks like.” I was completely charmed. Can you talk a bit about how you visualize your characters, and what your sketching process is like?
Marc: I often model characters after people I know. Gus (Walt’s driver) was based on an old friend: a talented woodworker, an agreeable guy, laid back and maybe a bit unconventional. Sue, the driver of Mo the Tow, is another friend. Sometimes I will Google images of people. The community officer in Small Walt Spots Dot was a combination of some actual policewomen and Frances McDormand from the movie Fargo. To create the various vehicles in the books, I looked at snowplows and trucks online and found a small sidewalk snowplow in our town (for Walt) and followed it around and took pictures. I do a lot of pencil sketches before I can refine it toward a finish.
Sketches and inspiration for Small Walt Spots Dot - 2 photos
Sketches and inspiration for Small Walt Spots Dot
Elizabeth: Many people have remarked that the illustrations in the Small Walt books have a kinship to the work of Virginia Lee Burton and yet have a modern quality all their own. Were you influenced by Burton’s work? What are some of your other illustrator influences?
Marc: Virginia Lee Burton—you nailed it! I have always been attracted to the styles of the 1930s and 1940s. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching Marx Brothers movies and love the picture books I grew up with and the worlds they created. I actually love the look of limited color lithographic reproduction, but I usually can’t get away with it these days. My other big artistic influences are Jean de Brunhoff (Babar), Ludwig Bemelmans (Madeline), and Robert McCloskey. (I literally borrowed an image from his classic book Make Way for Ducklings for my book Phooey!)
Elizabeth: Can you talk about the color palette you chose for the books? And the medium you use for these works? How did these choices come about?
Marc: The Walt books have a little different palette than I am used to using. Often, I will go for the look of old Sunday comics on yellowed newsprint. For the Walt books, I needed a bluish wintery cast. Though I began my career using watercolor, recently I have moved to digital color. Publishers want artwork delivered digitally, so it made sense to create it digitally. To achieve that wintery feeling, I gave each image an underlay of pale blue that bleeds through all the colors. In the work, I always start with an actual drawing in pencil or ink. This is scanned, and then color is added.
Elizabeth: When you’re illustrating a picture book, do you work on the pages in chronological order? Or maybe find the story’s dramatic climax and focus on that first?
Marc: When I first see the story, it is usually just a few pages of text. First, I try to think of it in terms of pages or spreads. I also consider pacing—where are the page turns, when should there be lots of little images on a page, and when do we need a big double-page spread. I go back and forth with the editor (in this case, Sylvie Frank of Paula Wiseman Books) about this. There’s also lots of fussing to make it fit into a 32-page picture book. I do the work in chronological order because I want to feel the flow of the story. The important moments are revealed this way. While working with the talented designer of all the Small Walt books (Lizzy Bromley), the art direction and feedback was spot on and resulted in better books each time.
Elizabeth: I noticed that the name Doris occasionally appeared in the art of our story Small Walt Spots Dot…do you want to share who Doris is?
Marc: I’m glad you noticed Doris! Doris is the name of my new grandniece. It was also my mother’s name. Over the years, I have managed to sneak the names of my son, Will, and his cousins, Malcolm and Maggie, into almost all of my books. Once, I even put the name of my son’s best friend, Colin, into a book. It started to get out of hand, so for now “Doris” will be it.
Elizabeth: Thank you sharing your creative process with me. I am especially excited about the newest book, Small Walt Spots Dot, because you got to add a furry friend for Walt (Dot). My furry “writing assistant,” Hugo, was the inspiration for some of Dot’s antics.
Chatting with Author Ariel Bernstein and Illustrator Marc Rosenthal (Mabel Wants A Friend), Plus Giveaway~ US ONLY!
September 30, 2024No Comments
Written by Cherokee Crum, Staff Reviewer
Posted in Authors, Giveaways, Interviews, News & Updates
Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Ariel Bernstein and Illustrator Marc Rosenthal!
Read on to learn more about them, their book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: Ariel Bernstein
Ariel Bernstein is the author of I Have a Balloon and Where Is My Balloon?, both illustrated by Scott Magoon, as well as We Love Fishing! and You Go First, both illustrated by Marc Rosenthal. I Have a Balloon received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and it was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Where Is My Balloon? was a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and We Love Fishing! received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. You Go First was a Junior Library Guild Selection, named a Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, and received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. Ariel lives in New Jersey with her family. Learn more at ArielBernsteinBooks.com.
Website * Instagram
Meet the Illustrator: Marc Rosenthal
Marc Rosenthal is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of many books for children, including the Small Walt collection by Elizabeth Verdick, All You Need Is Love by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal, We Love Fishing! and Mabel Wants a Friend by Ariel Bernstein, and Archie and the Pirates, which he wrote. He lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Learn more at Marc-Rosenthal.com.
Website * Instagram
About the Book: Mabel Wants A Friend
From the acclaimed duo Ariel Bernstein and Mark Rosenthal comes a new humorous and earnest story about a young fox who learns that making a new friend takes more than just wanting one.
Meet Mabel. She always gets what she wants. No matter what it takes. Meet Chester. He’s Mabel’s new friend, but…he doesn’t always agree with Mabel’s methods.
After a disagreement, Mabel decides she’s better off alone. But when Mabel starts to miss Chester, she realizes that to get what she wants most of all, she’ll have to learn what it means to be a good friend.
Purchase
~Chat~
What gave you the inspiration to write/illustrate Mabel Wants A Friend?
Marc Rosenthal: The main inspiration was Ariel. I love her sense of humor and really enjoyed working on her other books.
Who is your favorite character?
Ariel Bernstein: I hope it’s obvious that it’s Mabel! I really loved writing a character who starts off being so anti-social, and is actually kind of okay with it, until she experiences a friendship and realizes it’s something she wants even more than being alone.
MR: I liked drawing Mabel and the turtle.
What scene in Mabel Wants A Friend are you most proud of, and why?
AB: In the beginning of the story, Mabel likes being left alone and is happy it’s easy to be by herself. Later, when she loses Chester’s friendship, she realizes it’s a little too easy to be left alone because she now knows what she’s missing out on. I’m really proud of that scene which shows so much of the story and character development in about 14 words of text.
MR: I guess it is the movie theater line—I got to add some extra textual jokes!
When did you know you wanted to be a writer/illustrator?
MR: I have always drawn, so I knew I wanted to be some kind of visual artist. In high school, it made me more interesting to girls.
AB: When I was younger I thought someone like Beverly Cleary must have the best job in the world. It seemed on par with being an astronaut in that it could happen, but was statistically so rare that it just didn’t seem like a realistic possibility. It wasn’t until I was older and researched how to even start writing children’s books that I gave it a real shot.
How do you keep your ‘voice’ true to the age category you are writing/illustrating within?
MR: I look at lots of kid’s books—and I figure if I make the characters expressive and relatable, it will work.
AB: I read a lot of picture books, and am at the local library almost once a week to pick up newly published ones to read. I liken it to learning a foreign language, and how it helps to immerse yourself in that other language so that you’ll eventually feel comfortable with it. The more picture books I read, the easier it is to get into that ‘voice mindset’ when writing.
If you could only work in one genre, what would it be?
MR: I think it might be comics or sequential art as it is now called. They were my first love.
Which character gave you the most trouble when writing Mabel Wants A Friend?
AB: I don’t know if I’d call it ‘trouble,’ but when I first wrote the character of Chester, I had used him mostly to show Mabel’s progression. The editor wanted him to be more of a presence in the manuscript so I had to sit and think a bit about who he was on his own and what he could bring to the story.
If you were able to meet them, would you be friends with your main character?
AB: It depends when in the story I’d meet Mabel! If it was at the beginning of the story, I’d probably find her interesting but not the best kind of character to make friends with. By the end of the story, I think she’d be open to a genuine friendship.
What is your favorite holiday?
MR: I would have to say Halloween. I love making and wearing costumes. You can act differently when in costume.
What is your favorite writing space?
AB: In my living room on a comfortable chair, looking out onto the street. We have lots of trees on our block which can be very peaceful to look upon in between staring at my laptop.
What is a cause that is close to your heart?
AB: Donating to food banks, which can be done at any time of the year of course. The Human Needs Food Pantry in Montclair, NJ is a great one!
MR: These days, it would be promoting democracy. And kindness.
Title: Mabel Wants A Friend
Author: Ariel Bernstein
Illustrator: Marc Rosenthal
ISBN-13: 9781665940405
ISBN-10: 1665940409
On-sale date: Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Imprint: Paula Wiseman Books
Ages: 4-8; Grades P to 3
Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Marc Rosenthal
h1October 4th, 2011 by jules
My visitor for breakfast this morning—designer, editorial illustrator, children’s book illustrator, and sequential artist Marc Rosenthal—has a brand-new illustrated title coming out … well, actually today. (Really. I don’t plan these things. I’m hardly that organized and haven’t even seen the book yet. I just have really lucky timing sometimes.)
But I have to say: He illustrated an early 2011 title that I still claim to be one of the funniest books of the year. You haven’t forgotten it, have you, dear readers? Written by Eileen Rosenthal, Marc’s wife, I Must Have Bobo! (Atheneum, January 2011)—as I wrote in January—is the story of a straight up showdown between one young boy, Willy, and the family cat, the dilemma being that the object of their affection is one beloved sock monkey, named Bobo. Bobo, however, can only be with one creature at a time. In a book full of subtlety and understatement, which was also Eileen’s picture book debut (so promising, too, and I’m eager to see what she brings us next), Marc brings Willy and Earl (the aforementioned and very funny cat) to life with warmth and wicked humor, nailing the emotions of a young child. The Kirkus review wrote that it’s “an exercise in self-recognition and empathy for the intended audience.”
So, back to today’s release: You can read a bit more about it below and see a sneak-peek inside it. It was written by Alison McGhee and is called Making a Friend. As I said, I haven’t seen it, but according to IndieBound anyway, its publication date is today. And the School Library Journal reviews tells me this:
The digitally manipulated pencil illustrations have a retro look and are reminiscent of the work of Louis Slobodkin. There is a lot of white space, particularly on the pages where only the boy and the snowman are depicted, giving the impression that they are in their own special private world. A simple but deeply nuanced story that should resonate with children.
Sounds promising. I look forward to it.
And let us not forget that Eileen and Marc will be bringing us some Bobo sequels—score!—and that previous to these newer titles, Marc has had a busy career of illustrating children’s books and creating editorial art. So, let’s get right to breakfast and have him tell us more about that. “I make my own granola,” he told me, “which I eat almost every day, mixed with other cereals, and several cups of strong coffee with steamed milk.” Ah, yes. An illustrator after my own heart. Strong coffee. Let’s do this breakfast thing.
And I thank him for stopping by.
Note: The interview is interspersed with some of Marc’s editorial art, as well as some of his personal pieces of artwork.
* * * * * * *
Jules: Are you an illustrator or author/illustrator?
Marc: Illustrator / Author.
Jules: Can you list your books-to-date?
Marc: Books I have illustrated:
Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe by Paul Rosenthal (my brother!) (A.A. Knopf)
Peter and the Talking Shoes by Kate Banks (A.A.Knopf)
First, Second by Daniil Kharms [Farrar Straus Giroux]
The Absentminded Fellow by Samuel Marshak (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)
The Straight Line Wonder by Mem Fox (Mondo Publishing )
Yo, Aesop! by Paul Rosenthal (Simon & Schuster)
The Runaway Beard by David Schiller (Workman Pub)
Dr. Broth & Ollie’s Brain-Boggling Search for the Lost Luggage: Across Time and Space in 80 Puzzles by Michael Abrams and Jeffrey Winters (Simon & Schuster)
Dig! by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal, 2011 (Atheneum)
Making a Friend by Alison McGhee, coming out in 2011 from Atheneum
I’ll Save You Bobo! is also by Eileen Rosenthal, and will be coming out in 2012
Books I have written and illustrated:
Phooey!, HarperCollins, 2007
Archie and the Pirates, HarperCollins, 2009
Jules: What is your usual medium, or––if you use a variety—your preferred one?
Marc: My mediums have changed and continue to change. I had mostly worked in ink and watercolor, adding pencil shading for Phooey! and Archie. For the Bobo books, I used a much more casual pencil and digital process. I am not sure what I will use next. Maybe I will draw with my own blood.
Above: Early tests from Archie and the Pirates
Illustrations from Archie and the Pirates (HarperCollins, 2009)
Jules: If you have illustrated for various age ranges (such as, both picture books and early reader books OR, say, picture books and chapter books), can you briefly discuss the differences, if any, in illustrating for one age group to another?
Marc: I think the differences are mostly in the complexity of the writing. The approach to the art seems more connected to the feeling of the story. That said, books for older kids need to have lots of levels of engagement. I like to put in elements that might not be noticed until the third or fourth reading.
Some of Marc’s sequential art
Jules: Where are your stompin’ grounds?
Marc: I live with my exceptional wife, Eileen, in Lenox, Massachusetts (the western edge of MA in the Berkshire mountains/hills). It is very pretty and quiet.
Jules: Can you briefly tell me about your road to publication?
Marc: I had been an editorial illustrator for many years before I tried my first book. Eileen was once a children’s book designer at Knopf and is friends with a wonderful editor, Frances Foster. Frances asked me to illustrate [Kate Banks’] Peter and the Talking Shoes in 1992. I brought my next project, Where on Earth, a wonderful book my brother wrote (a sort of anti-textbook on geography), to her.
Jules: Can you please point readers to your web site and/or blog?
Marc: www.marc-rosenthal.com.
Some of Marc’s personal works
Jules: If you do school visits, tell me what they’re like.
Marc: I have done some library and school visits with small kids. I generally read a book or two and then draw pictures on an easel. I enjoy showing kids tricks about drawing—stuff that seems very simple, like making a square into a three-dimensional-looking box really goes over big with 6-year-olds.
I have been volunteering at our local elementary school, teaching a five-week cartooning class to third graders. That is a great age.
Eileen and Marc signing books
Jules: If you teach illustration, by chance, tell me how that influences your work as an illustrator.
Marc: I have taught a few college workshops and will be teaching a class in conceptual illustration at RISD this fall.
More of Marc’s personal works
Jules: Any new titles/projects you might be working on now that you can tell me about?
Marc: I have just finished illustrating the next Bobo book, I’ll Save You Bobo!, which will come out January 2012. I will be drawing pictures for the almost-written, third Bobo book (where Willy and Bobo go outside!).
Sneak peek of 2012’s I’ll Save You Bobo!
(Click each spread to enlarge)
I also illustrated Making a Friend by Alison McGhee, coming out fall 2011. This was a real change of pace and a challenge for me. I was looking at very early Sendak drawings for inspiration.
Color test
From Making a Friend
(Click on second image to see entire spread from which the two images come)
(Click to enlarge)
I am in the early stages of a new book idea which is top secret, though it looks like it will be lots of fun.
Mmm. Coffee.Coffee’s ready, milk is steamed, and the table’s set now for six questions over breakfast. Let’s get a bit more detailed, and I thank Marc again for visiting 7-Imp.
1. Jules: What exactly is your process when you are illustrating a book? You can start wherever you’d like when answering: getting initial ideas, starting to illustrate, or even what it’s like under deadline, etc. Do you outline a great deal of the book before you illustrate or just let your muse lead you on and see where you end up?
Marc: Generally, I start by finding the character — or characters. Then I start laying out the book: the pacing, where the page turns are, what becomes a spread, etc. One of the last things is deciding on the style/medium, though sometimes that’s in my head from the start.
If it is a book I am writing, I write it as if it were a comic strip, words and images happening simultaneously. When Eileen and I worked on the Bobo books, I would be drawing pictures as we went along. Sometimes the pictures would suggest to her a new line of text.
(Click each image to see the entire spread from which it comes.)
Illustrations from I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal (Atheneum, January 2011)
(Click to enlarge spread)
2. Jules: Describe your studio or usual work space.
Marc: My studio is the third floor of our Victorian house — lots of space and lots of light. It is a bit like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party—I have several drawing tables, and I tend to move from one to another.
3. Jules: As a book lover, it interests me: What books or authors and/or illustrators influenced you as an early reader?
Marc: For picture books, Babar was my favorite, though I also loved Garth Williams (The Sailor Dog) and Robert McCloskey.
When I started reading chapter books, the Oz books (they were SO strange) and Doctor Doolittle were ones I loved. I hadn’t realized what a socialist Hugh Lofting was until I read them to my son. There were long passages about workers in the factories.
4. Jules: If you could have three (living) authors or illustrators—whom you have not yet met—over for coffee or a glass of rich, red wine, whom would you choose?
Marc: Maurice Sendak, Mo Willems, Philip Pullman.
5. Jules: What is currently in rotation on your iPod or loaded in your CD player? Do you listen to music while you create books?
Marc: Currently on my iPod: Vampire Weekend, Édith Piaf, Leon Russell, Fats Waller, Steve Earle, various Cuban and Italian singers from the 1950s.
6. Jules: What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
Marc: People who don’t know me don’t know that I am a bit of a yoga fanatic (Ashtanga) and that I love gin martinis.
Bottom four images are samples of Marc’s editorial art
* * * The Pivot Questionnaire * * *
Jules: What is your favorite word?
Marc: “Hapless.”
Jules: What is your least favorite word?
Marc: “Loser.”
Jules: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Marc: Creatively: looking at art; spiritually: a beautiful day; emotionally: sharing a good meal with Eileen.
Jules: What turns you off?
Marc: Pomposity.
Jules: What is your favorite curse word? (optional)
Marc: “Fuck” (of course).
Jules: What sound or noise do you love?
Marc: Light rain.
Jules: What sound or noise do you hate?
Marc: Leaf blowers.
Jules: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Marc: I would like to be a cabinet-maker.
Jules: What profession would you not like to do?
Marc: I would not like to be a surgeon.
Jules: If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Marc: “All your friends have been waiting for you.”
* * * * * * *
All artwork and images used with permission of Marc Rosenthal. All rights reserved.
I MUST HAVE BOBO! Copyright © 2011 Eileen Rosenthal. Illustration © 2011 Marc Rosenthal. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York.
The spiffy and slightly sinister gentleman introducing the Pivot Questionnaire is Alfred, © 2009 Matt Phelan.
Bernstein, Ariel MABEL WANTS A FRIEND Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $18.99 10, 1 ISBN: 9781665940405
Mabel learns about making and keeping friends.
FollowingYou Go First (2023), Bernstein and Rosenthal have once more created a world of winsome, sportily dressed, anthropomorphic young animals whose all-too-human behaviors will be immediately recognizable. Mabel, an egocentric fox in a pink frock, gets to the front of the long line for the ice cream vendor by tricking the others: "Mabel always [gets] what she [wants]," we're told. Obtaining privacy is a breeze for Mabel (who has no friends), and she finds a way to rationalize disappointments. ("I don't want it anymore," she tells herself when another child is enjoying a playground ride she's initially interested in.) When she inadvertently helps an adorable, red-sneakered rabbit named Chester, she discovers the advantages of friendship. It's easier to play catch when you've got a pal, and at last she can use the seesaw. Unfortunately, her selfish instincts overcome her better side until Chester becomes frustrated. Gently humorous art shows Mabel trying--unsuccessfully--to convince herself that she's better off alone. Mabel practices being patient, helpful, and kind, all of which pay off in unexpected ways. This simply told, funny, and charmingly illustrated tale delivers sound lessons in friendship, without ever verging on preachy or sentimental--no mean feat. Bernstein and Rosenthal demonstrate a keen understanding of the way children see the world, in both their desire to have their own way and their strong capacity for generosity.
Sharp insights on honing social skills, wrapped up in an immensely appealing package.(Picture book. 3-6)
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"Bernstein, Ariel: MABEL WANTS A FRIEND." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A808342961/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=74405287. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Bernstein, Ariel YOU GO FIRST Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $18.99 6, 13 ISBN: 9781665911511
Duck really wants to try out the new playground slide, but Cat keeps creating new ways to stop her.
Two simple statements on the verso of this book's first spread set up the premise that Duck and Cat are close friends on their way to the playground to slide. Another full-page spread depicts a delightful, stylized playground populated by anthropomorphic animals, with bright-yellow, pink-ribboned Duck leading wide-eyed Cat across the foreground. But something is different today. Their usual slide has been replaced with a newer, bigger, curvier one. Expressive art with cleverly inserted dialogue shows how the new slide produces wildly different emotions in the friends: excitement in Duck, high anxiety in Cat. And with each page turn, Cat finds a way to postpone Duck's trip down the slide. Little ones will giggle and nod knowingly as the unseen narrator continues to inform us that Cat is doing all this from friendship; the art and dialogue clearly show otherwise. Duck willingly submits to every ridiculous excuse--even donning goggles and a helmet--until Cat finally convinces her not to go down the slide. Will Cat learn a lesson about true friendship? Spoiler alert: of course, and brilliantly. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Both extremely funny and spot-on sensitive. (Picture book. 3-6)
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"Bernstein, Ariel: YOU GO FIRST." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743460699/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=18bbfc13. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Ariel Bernstein, illus. by Marc Rosenthal. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-5344-3864-4
Though pals Bear, Otter, and Porcupine profess the titular love of fishing, Squirrel, contrary to the insistence of Bernstein's (the Warren & Dragon series) perky narrator, does not: "Fish smell too fishy," he says, holding his nose, tongue out. But he joins his friends on their bucolic fishing expedition anyway, becoming increasingly cranky--about the walk through the woods to the watet ("I stepped on a pebble"), the sheer boredom of sitting in the boat ("I ate all my nuts already. Nuts"), and the sudden rainstorm that Bear finds refreshing ("Rain makes my fur frizz"). When Squirrel lets Bear's big catch slide back into the water ("It's so slippery!"), the mood darkens for a moment, but the bonds of friendship are quickly restored--it helps when Squirrel summons a taxi and offers to pick up the dinner tab. Rosenthal (the Small Walt series) slyly sabotages his own sunny drawing style as he portrays the irritation that inevitably arises out of close relationships: Squirrel's misery is both relatable and funny, and the pals both oblivious and well meaning. Ages 4-8.
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"We Love Fishing!" Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 48, 24 Nov. 2021, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686559635/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5cad3201. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Verdick, Elizabeth SMALL WALT SPOTS DOT Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $17.99 9, 8 ISBN: 978-1-5344-4284-9
Will the eponymous, anthropomorphic snowplow and his driver, Gus, be able to help a stray dog in the snowy city?
Of course, the resounding answer is yes—and with their characteristic teamwork and compassion. As always, the fun of watching the team do their careful work of plowing in areas too tight for the larger plows is enhanced by simple sentences, easily learned jingles, and plenty of onomatopoeia. In this episode, astute viewers will notice signs of the dog before Walt does; he in turn is ahead of Gus. When Gus—who presents as white—calls for help in rescuing the dog, a police SUV named Bea shows up with her dark-skinned, female driver, Officer Chance. Young readers are again given opportunities to speculate and predict: Will Walt’s open cab door help the humans as they stumble about, trying to catch the “blur of fur”? The climactic chase scene ends with the SUV taking the dog away, acknowledging Walt’s contribution: “Take a bow, plow.” Later, Gus drives a somewhat saddened Walt to the animal shelter. The anticipated ending includes a new rhyme that presents the new threesome. The retro-style illustrations include diversity in humans. As in previous books, universally lauded human values come through with no trace of didacticism. And the carefully crafted sentences with limited, repetitive vocabulary work well for both beginning readers and the read-aloud crowd. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Every young child deserves to know Small Walt. (Picture book. 3-6)
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"Verdick, Elizabeth: SMALL WALT SPOTS DOT." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A627920112/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ab0e2510. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Lennon, John ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $17.99 1, 29 ISBN: 978-1-5344-2981-9
Yet another famous song gets the picture-book treatment, and yet another song's lyrics are revealed to be less than the sum of the tune's parts.
The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" was born in the Summer of Love, and its chorus reflects that. The verses, though....As Barry Miles quotes Paul McCartney in his book Many Years from Now, "The chorus...is simple, but the verse is quite complex; in fact, I never understood it...." Young readers are no more likely to get it than McCartney, and even adults reading, "There's nothing you can do that can't be done," are likely to say, "Duh." It's best just to go with it and stick around for the chorus. Rosenthal's artwork begins with a bear in a den made of rocks listening to some birds in a nest: "Love, love, love." Two more successive spreads show the bear inspecting the birds' nest up close and then, walking on two hind legs, starting a parade through the forest to the outskirts of a town and then right through it, forest animals and a pair of children, one brown-skinned with short black hair and the other a pale-skinned blonde, joining behind, with the whole parade leaving blooming flowers in its wake. Along the way, diverse people stop and watch. While bright and colorful, the pictures don't elucidate the verses' meaning any better than the text, though love comes through loud and clear. Final art not seen.
Beatles lovers should stick to sharing just the tune and skip this. (Picture book. 3-8)
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"Lennon, John: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A556119043/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f7501f52. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Verdick, Elizabeth SMALL WALT AND MO THE TOW Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $17.99 10, 30 ISBN: 978-1-4814-6660-8
Walt--a small but powerful, friendly-faced snowplow--continues to work with his driver, Gus. How can they help a green car that has gone off the road?
Fans of Small Walt (2017) will not be disappointed. Along with a new, simple-but-satisfying plot, a few new characters, and new, whimsical motor noises, the text includes the winning refrain readers will recall from their earlier encounter with the team: "We're Gus and Walt. / We plow and we salt. / We clear the snow / so the cars can go!" This time, the pair is clearing a road "slick with ice" when they see a green car slide into a ditch. Walt is eager to scoop up the car, but Gus warns him to wait, as plows are for snow only. As Gus lends a hand to the green car's driver, Walt hears the "brumm-brumm-humma-hum" of Mo the Tow. Sue--a "lady in blue"--steers Mo toward the green car to tow it. Snow has been falling steadily, and the green car's owner sits in Gus' cab to stay warm. Before the story ends, Walt and Gus must rumble into action to help Mo and Sue drive close enough to rescue the car. Special kudos for the gender-stereotype-defying scenes of Sue confidently hitching and driving Mo. Delightful, retro artwork and clever text offer another tribute to teamwork and friendship. Gus is depicted with pale skin and Sue and the green car's driver with brown.
Three dynamic duos: Gus and Walt; Sue and Mo; Verdick and Rosenthal. (Picture book. 3-6)
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"Verdick, Elizabeth: SMALL WALT AND MO THE TOW." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A546323224/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=33bfc661. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Verdick, Elizabeth SMALL WALT Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $17.99 10, 31 ISBN: 978-1-4814-4845-1
The smallest in a fleet of snowplows always gets picked last in a snowstorm, but he and his driver, Gus, show that teamwork and perseverance pay off.Artwork reminiscent of Virginia Burton's classics begins with a double-page spread of eight snowplows--eyes and eyebrows on their windshields--facing out in front of a tall fence. Lights gleam from town buildings with snowclad roofs, and large flakes of snow fill a darkening sky. The sixth plow from the left is the only one that is tiny and red, but the text simply mentions that the city plows are "ready to fight the snow." At the turn of the page, readers learn what they have probably suspected: all the big, yellow plows are always picked first. At last, Walt is cheerfully chosen by Gus--light-skinned, like the other men. There follows a sweet sequence that shows Gus carefully checking the little plow's readiness, and then off they go. The text is full of onomatopoeia, alliteration, and sudden rhymes as the pair salts roads and pushes through snow. "My name is Walt. / I plow and I salt" is a droll, easily remembered couplet that assumes additions and variations throughout. At the climax, the intrepid team ascends a steep hill--defying the intimidating plow Big Buck--and the expected end is magnified with a special treat from Gus to Walt. Charming and endearing: "ChuggaMmmm-hmmm!" (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Verdick, Elizabeth: SMALL WALT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A498345027/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=baec951b. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Appelt, Kathi MOGIE Atheneum (Children's Picture Books) $17.99 6, 10 ISBN: 978-1-4424-8054-4
Mogie finds his purpose in this true story about the Houston Ronald McDonald House.Gage is a "ball-chasing, race-running, back-flipping little boy"...until he gets too sick to do any of those things, and his family flies to a very special house in a Big City. He's lost his mojo. And there, Mogie, a "ball-chasing, tail-wagging, moon-howling pup" who has failed at training for everything else, wanders in and knows just what to do. He intuits when Gage needs him to sit next to him quietly and when his antics will help him remember and look forward to brighter, healthier days. And slowly, Gage gets better and goes home. Mogie misses Gage, but now he's watching out for Antonia, "a toe-dancing, jump-roping, cartwheel-spinning girl" who's lost her cha-cha-cha. "Give this dog a bone and he'll chew it. Give him a stick and he'll fetch it. Give him a kiddo who is bluer than blue, and Mogie will be truer than true." Rosenthal's pencil, charcoal and digital illustrations wonderfully complement this emotional tale without tipping it into the saccharine. Colors help set the mood of each spread, and the scribbly style against a white background lends the illustrations a slightly retro feel. Wheelchairs and bald heads on a few children are the only indications of illness, aside from subdued posture.Mogie's one good dog, and readers will be awfully glad they've met him. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Appelt, Kathi: MOGIE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A366617226/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=74f5cd14. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Rosenthal, Eileen BOBO THE SAILOR MAN! Atheneum (Children's Picture Books) $15.99 9, 24 ISBN: 978-1-4424-4443-0
Willy--the small boy whose self-absorbed attachment to a household sock monkey is shared by Earl, the family cat--has grown into a more adventuresome fellow (I'll Save You Bobo!, 2012, etc.). On an expedition outdoors, Willy boldly kicks at some "[p]oison mushrooms," notices acorns and delicate flowers, lets a caterpillar crawl up his shirt, and finally launches Bobo, the sock monkey, into a small creek in a found vessel--a red pail. Too smart to venture far on the slippery rocks to rescue Bobo, who has sailed into the middle of the current, Willy returns home for the proper rescue turnout and reappears in bright rain gear, fishing pole at the ready to snag the bobbing bucket. Meanwhile, readers get to see Earl step delicately across the rocks to claim Bobo. The ever-watchful Earl stands in sweetly for a vigilant protector--not of Willy, but of Bobo, which lets Willy's adventure seem quite independent. The story unfolds clearly through the illustrations, offering an opportunity for young listeners to return to retell the tale. The generous white space and bold lines of the illustrations, Earl's expressive, scheming face, along with the nicely visual, slapstick punch line all invite very young readers to identify with Willy. Endearing as a slightly exaggerated solo adventure with a stuffed animal--but then there's Earl, who adds a lovely dose of spice. (Picture book. 2-6)
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"Rosenthal, Eileen: BOBO THE SAILOR MAN!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2013. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A339393431/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b085e841. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
I Must Have Bobo!
By Eileen Rosenthal. Illus. by Marc
Rosenthal.
2011. 40p. Atheneum, $14.99 (9781442403772).
PreS-K.
Knuffle Bunny, move over. There's another lost stuffie in town, although this one is not so much lost as stolen. When Willy wakes up, he freaks out. Bobo is gone, and if there's one thing Willy needs, it's his monkey, Bobo. After reciting the reasons why, he spots a monkey tail, and sure enough, there's Bobo under his covers with Earl, the gray cat. Earl seems to need Bobo as much as Willy does, because whenever the boy is the least bit distracted, Earl is grabbing Bobo's tail and dragging him off. Although this is a one-joke story, it's told with such an honest grip on a child's world and emotions, and illustrated so cleverly, that there's plenty of sustainability. Little ones will also enjoy finding Earl on the buff-colored pages. Willy, Earl, and Bobo are the only colorful spots in the art, but that doesn't mean it won't take readers a bit of looking to find the gray cat, who has plenty of expressions--mad, surprised, sly--for such a simply drawn feline. This will resonate, and it's cute as all get-out.--Ilene Cooper
Cooper, Ilene
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 American Library Association
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Cooper, Ilene. "I Must Have Bobo!" Booklist, vol. 107, no. 14, 15 Mar. 2011, p. 63. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A252847429/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0e921a12. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
McGhee, Alison MAKING A FRIEND Atheneum (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 10, 4 ISBN: 978-1-4169-8998-1
The early-children's-book feel of Rosenthal's pencil-and-digital illustrations is what will first strike readers of McGhee's rather morose celebration of the forever nature of friendship. A young boy looks forward to winter's snowy fun. When it finally arrives, he crafts the perfect snowman friend, complete with nose, mouth, eyes, arms and the bright-red ball cap taken from his own head. He labels him, "My Snowman." But while it is obvious that the boy spends some time admiring the snowman, the wordless pages devoted to their relationship fail to develop it fully, and readers may be left wondering why he is so sad when spring melts his friend. Where is he? Intuiting concepts beyond his apparent years, the boy finds his friend in the falling water and rain, in the fog and frost (although it is never explained to young readers how this is scientifically so), proving that McGhee's unsubtly stated message is true: "What you love will always be with you." And when the seasons come full circle, the two are reacquainted. Rosenthal's illustrations are blotches of color on a stark white background, echoing the wintry setting and the boy's sorrow, as well as the sparseness of the slow-paced text. This retro salute to friendship simply tries to be too much to be successful--it does not hold a candle to McGhee's prior works such as Someday or Little Boy, both illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds (2007, 2008) (Picture book. 4-6)
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"McGhee, Alison: MAKING A FRIEND." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2011. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A268238735/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b0f6af17. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Rosenthal, Eileen I'LL SAVE YOU BOBO! Atheneum (Children's Picture Books) $14.99 4, 3 ISBN: 978-1-4424-037-9
Earl the cat is back--hurray! Willy, the young narrator of I Must Have Bobo! (2011) here puts down the book he's reading in order to create a more exciting story himself, while his sock monkey Bobo serves as audience for his crayon drawings and narrative about a jungle adventure. Earl, the cat who also loves Bobo, provides the action in this drama. The (mostly) unruffled feline antagonist does not deliberately interrupt the crayon story but manages to do so just the same in his determination to carry out his own mission: acquiring Bobo. And without Earl, there would be little tension in this simple story. He creeps over the back of the armchair, only to be casually rebuffed by the hero; he reacts, all his fur on end, to the part in the imaginary narrative where a large snake eats the cat; he climbs atop the "tent" Willy assembles with a couple of chairs and a sheet. The cartoon illustrations create a kind of spotlight for the story: boy, drawing table and crayons, armchair, Bobo and cat. Earl, with his small gray body and round eyes remains both steadfastly catlike and slyly, charmingly funny: a constant companion for Willy, even as Bobo is a more favored and predictable one. Both help to circumscribe a childhood in which adventure is appealingly tolerable and safe. Endearing and inviting. (Picture book. 2-6)
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"Rosenthal, Eileen: I'LL SAVE YOU BOBO!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2012. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A279907941/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a33c4d1e. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Rosenthal, Marc ARCHIE AND THE PIRATES Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins (Children's) $$16.99 Oct. 1, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-06-144164-6
An utterly splendid bit of storytelling that acts like a cross between My Father's Dragon and Curious George, with a little Babar thrown in for good measure. When a monkey named Archie accidentally washes up on the shores of a tropical island, it's not two minutes before he's found food and built himself a jaunty shelter. The island provides friends in the form of an ibis named Clarice and the tiger Beatrice. Unfortunately, cruel pirates (led by the deliciously named LaFaargh) soon come ashore and capture Beatrice. Using his monkey smarts, Archie outwits the nasty foes and all the local animals build homes by his side. Rosenthal's remarkable style has all the pizzazz of modern storytelling with the look and feel of old-time picture-book classics. Brightly hued watercolors repeat shades of orange, black and green, giving the book a lively feel. Bound to be a family favorite oft repeated, this is one swell book. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Rosenthal, Marc: ARCHIE AND THE PIRATES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2009. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A208123038/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b9eade27. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.