A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And for family members who have dropped by, I have a little something for the Little Somethings.
Cover art, and an Amazon Associates link:
However, these are introduced in order to demonstrate that the protagonist is not solely a killing machine, but is human. And, one of the essential components of being human is the ability to give and receive love. Or so they told me.
Personally, though, I have never cared for love stories. During the times when I felt unloved, they only served to make me sad. Today, sheltered as I am in the love of my gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA, love stories are but a poor, pale imitation of the love I experience every day. Thus: I don’t care for love stories.
But THIS is a love story I am delighted to read! This is a story about sister love; about the love of two older sisters, for the youngest sister who never learned how to read, although she tried and tried. This love story says, “You have always been the Cute Moose, and if you got loose, our search would be profuse!” This story describes that search for the missing Cute Moose.
Sanderson provides both the text and the art for this read-aloud children’s book.
Alas, lovers of blank verse, these lines RHYME! And, amazingly, they rhyme with MOOSE! Hey, the BOOK is about a moose! Wow! What a coincidence! Only the most irritatingly picky would suggest that one or two of the rhyming words might not actually exist in the wild, but I wish to point out that words are for communication, and even those theoretical neologisms, IF they are such (a point I have not yielded communicate with precision and beauty.
Speaking of beauty, let’s turn to the artwork. I have as near zero technical ability in art as anyone I’ve ever met; thus, I cannot say “this is water-color, this is pastel, this is oil, this is a jelly stain.” I can, however, discriminate between TWO types of artwork in the story: color, and black-and-white.
My terminology may be off, but some of this artwork is what I would describe as cartoons, or caricatures. These would include a cute moose wearing Groucho glasses, complete with nose, mustache, and cigar.
Other art is more ...detailed? (I just don’t have the terminology!) For example, a picture of a hen is painted with such detail in the head and neck, that I expect it to cluck any second now.
And finally, there are her GORGEOUS landscapes. Sanderson spent much time in Alaska; it shows. These are works I’d give my friend Susan, who grew up there, to give her a feeling of home.
Apart from color, Sanderson sprinkles pen-and-ink drawings throughout the book. My favorite, I believe, is the armored knight, equipped with a lance, mounted on a sturdy steed. Whimsy is introduced: the knight sports dragonfly-like wings, and the steed is a rhinoceros. Some are near photo-realistic, such as the raccoon wearing an Inspector Gadget hat. Inktail, a dragon featured in two of Sanderson’s Amazon coloring books, also pops up, both in color and in pen-and-ink.
It took just over five minutes to read this aloud to 14-year-old Alicia Ann, who agreed to be my test subject. I plan on reading this to my grandchildren, but I expect it will take longer, as they will be more interested in finding the moose hidden in some of the artwork.
I obtained my copy through the Kindle Unlimited program, but I believe this will make a great gift for my pre-school grandkids if it’s available in a dead-tree version.
I hope the Cute Moose enjoys the book about her, and recognizes the love that went into making it. It’s a lovely accomplishment.
Peace be on your household.
Oh, thank you. I'm crying now. This was to be her Christmas gift this year, and I poured my heart into it. I'm so glad it's touching other people, too.
ReplyDeleteAll the illustrations in this book were created digitally. Some were, yes, supposed to look like watercolor! Thank you again.