Tag: illustrated book

Truman is an instant classic on a child (and a turtle’s) trepidation

Turtles, hermit crabs, rabbits and hamsters are what I call, fringe pets. Granted they are domesticated animals, but they’re way down in the pecking order of pets. Either due to space or one of the parents putting the kibosh on getting a kitten, these are the pets that you’ll remember from your childhood. I was right there with you as I had rabbits and a crow. Yes, a crow. Truman, however, is a turtle and his human is Sarah. She’s about to start going to kindergarten this is story is about how Truman handles it.

Truman is a feel-good, instant classic of a book that deals with a child’s trepidation about new experiences. It’ll be in your kidlit library for generations.

Bravery, independence and being excited about new experiences all happen on a two-way street. Sarah is somewhat of a solitary kid. She’s not a two-legged, shell-less version of a turtle, but there are some similarities.  They’re both a little shy and are both about to embark on a paradigm shift to their lifestyle.

Until now, it’s just been Sarah and Truman all day. She’d feed him seven green beans each day. He would lie on the floor while she colored and life was simple, slow and just the two of them. One day she gives him two extra beans, reminds him to be brave and closes the door. This of course, freaks out Truman out because her backpack, she’s dressed up more than usual and she was a tense (she’s never tense)-something is wrong.

Truman is a feel-good, instant classic of a book that deals with a child’s trepidation about new experiences. It’ll be in your kidlit library for generations.

This leads Truman to go on a mighty quest to investigate what’s the problem with her today. Alas, Truman is in a glass container (as all good turtles are) and sometimes just getting from the piece of lettuce to the water can be challenging. What is a concerned turtle to do?

Be brave and explore things that you’re uncomfortable with, that’s the answer. That is just what Truman does. From a turtle’s perspective we see him explore, as much as he’s able to, on his rescue mission to see what’s become of Sarah.

Truman is an instant classic on a child (and turtle’s) trepidation

Truman works on so many levels as a children’s illustrated book. First up the art is immediately appealing. The vantage points that Truman sees and the emotions that his little turtle face convey will hook young readers. It hooked me and I’m far older than a young reader. The art is also great for this book. Some pages are corner to corner with color and landscape. Other pages are sparse and illustrate how big the room is relative to the Truman. The one constant is that the colors in the book are the colors. The colors are bright, with a slight retro hue that will remind older readers (me) of comic strips in the Sunday newspaper. However, they have that timeless vibe that will bring in elementary school readers.

Truman is a great, illustrated book with a timeless feel. It’s got lessons for anyone and will appeal to boys or girls aged 5 and up. Those in early through middle elementary will laugh at his adventures and those younger ones will relate to the new, scary experiences, like pre-K or kindergarten.

Nobody Hugs A Cactus, tells kids everyone gets grumpy and that’s OK

This is an ode to the surly children. Those kids whose moods are more often than not, negative. These are the dour children who want to be happy, but don’t want others to want them to be happy. They want to have friends and be loved, as long as it’s on their terms. Picture a pint sized Louis Black, albeit with fewer words and absolutely OK for children and you’ve an idea of the main character in Nobody Hugs A Cactus. Hank is the cactus who behaves like the prickliest human you’ve ever met-and believe me, you’ve met people like him before.

Nobody Hugs A Cactus is an illustrated book that demonstrates that everyone gets grumpy-and that there’s usually a friend around to help you out.

Hank simply hangs out in a pot on his window sill all day. Nothing really happens in front of him, after all it’s the middle of the desert. When something does pass by like a tumbleweed, jackrabbit, tortoise or cowboy he’s more apt to yell at them. At best he’ll raise his cacti voice and tell them that they’re on his property and to get off it ASAP.

That is until a very lanky cowboy walks by and suggests that he needs a hug. “It’s too bad nobody hugs a cactus”, he says as he saunters off into the sunset. For record we say something similar to our 7 year-old when he acts this way, except ours is slightly more condescending. “Is someone feeling grumpy?”, we’ll say when a certain someone needs a nap or is feeling a bit too big for their britches.

After the cowboy leaves Hank’s first comment to a wandering lizard is to immediately proclaim that he does not need a hug. When the second creature, this time an owl swoops by, Hank is slightly more amenable to the fact of hugging someone. After a couple more moments Hank is in full on hug mode, but can’t get anyone to give him the time of day. That is, until a cup gets caught up the in wind, which then gets stuck to his prickly face. He’s unable to remove it due to his dinosaur arms, so Rosie the tumbleweed swipes it off his cactus mug when she passes.

Nobody Hugs A Cactus is an illustrated book that demonstrates that everyone gets grumpy-and that there’s usually a friend around to help you out.

This unleashes a torrent of kindness from Hank. He grows a flower to thank her and waits patiently for her to blow by again. Does our formerly curmudgeon cactus ever get that hug?

Carter Goodrich does the art and story for Nobody Hugs A Cactus. He’s designed characters for Brave, Ratatouille, Despicable Me and many others. Hank is a cactus with personality. Initially all of that is negative and it’s expressed in a variety of tans and browns to perfectly convey the atmosphere of the American southwest.

Nobody Hugs A Cactus is an illustrated book that demonstrates that everyone gets grumpy-and that there’s usually a friend around to help you out.

Hank evolves throughout the story. Initially being the grumpy get-off-of-my-lawn plant, to the erstwhile friendly cactus who is in search of a hug. It’s in this friendly period that Hank’s emotions are best displayed. He’s still a relatively tiny cactus, but the minute movements that his face and tiny arms tell speak more than the words on those pages. At times Hank reminds me of teenage Groot and the perfection that both of these characters reflect the age or mood they’re going through.

Nobody Hugs A Cactus isn’t just for children that can be grumpy or crabby, because everyone can be that given the wrong circumstances. This is the go-to book now for our 7 year-old. We read it to him at night and let him handle the sentences that he’s comfortable with.

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