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Calef Brown’s words make you see Sir Dance-A-Lot and the Tattlesnake. His words make you hear a magic electric guitar and feel the pain of wearing wooden sneakers - his poems are that good. To experience all fourteen, you need to read Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers .
Whether you are by yourself or in front of a group of children, Brown’s poems are fun to say aloud. They rhyme, they surprise, then before you know it, they are over. Paired with their illustrations, these poems are even better. The author/illustrator’s imagination must have gone into overdrive to concoct and color the characters in this book, including such oddities as the Donut Beetles and the Jack in the Bucket.
To draw us into his poems, Brown uses curious titles and silly subject matter. How could you pass by a title like Sugar Beach, Gumbubble Monday, or my favorite, Mysterious Fish?
“Mysterious Fish”
Mysterious fish tank.
Mysterious fish.
Green like asparagus.
Flat like a dish.
Toss in a peppercorn, then make a wish.
Mysterious fish tank.
Mysterious fish.
Brown is just as creative in his artwork, using color to surprise. Skin is blue or green, a crab is purple, and the moon is polka-dotted orange. He also adds details such as glasses to a tooth or legs and arms to a waffle to make the reader smile. Children say and imagine the darndest things - they will love that Calef Brown does, too.
Calef Brown is an author, an illustrator, a teacher, and sometimes a blue elephant. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design, his poems appear in the books Soup For Breakfast, Tippintown, A Guided Tour, Flamingos on the Roof, and Polkabats and Octopus Slacks. He has illustrated for several newspapers and magazines, and exhibited his paintings in North American and European galleries.
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Tanya Boudreau/2009 for curled
up with a good kid's book |
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For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews,
visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)
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Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers: 14 More Stories