Seuss-like Dinosaur Tale Entertains while Teaching

Welcome to Day #1 of the “Sticks ‘n’ Stones” Blog Tour

To celebrate the release of “Sticks ‘n’ Stones ‘n’ Dinosaur Bones,” written by Ted Enik and illustrated by G.F. Newland, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content about this humorous tall tale and giving away chances to win a copy of “Sticks ‘n’ Stones ‘n’ Dinosaur Bones.” 

Sticks ‘n’ Stones ‘n’ Dinosaur Bones: Being a Whimsical ‘Take’ on a (pre)Historical Event

Written by Ted Enik and illustrated by G.F. Newland

Schiffer Publishing, Philadelphia, and Pixel Mouse House, New York, September 2017

“I’ll tell you a story – and some of It’s true – that explores and explains what the Bone Hunters do.” So begins this story about a feud between two paleontologists during America’s Gilded Age in the 1870s and ‘80s.

The story is told in a rollicking rhyme with lots of humor, and is reminiscent of Dr. Seuss in its writing style and sense of fun. It is about the frenzied competition to find dinosaur bones that grew between Edward Drinker Cope of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and O. Charles Marsh of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, New Haven, CT.

  

“Each paleontologist used less-than-ethical methods to outdo the other – lying, stealing, blackmail, even destroying fossils,” writes Enik in a prologue. “Both obsessed and vengeful men attacked each other in professional journals as well as in newspapers targeted at the general public, in an all-out attempt to ruin his rival’s credibility and have his funding withdrawn.”

Enik is a master of rhyme and rhythm. A Goodreads reviewer said she found herself nearly singing when she read the book aloud to her daughter.

The story begins:

“Wrinkled professors from northeastern colleges/ saw there was room to expand certain knowledges.”

“Edward D. Cope was the man that School “A” / felt was perfectly suited for digging away!

“O. Charles Marsh represented School “B.” / Who could think of no Bone Hunter better than he!”

“If any bone promised a glimmer of glory, / a scout set about telegraphing the story

To big city newspapers – holding their deadlines -- /and poised to report it in EXTRA LARGE headlines.”

Before long, both paleontologists decide to stoop to less ethical means of winning the most accolades.

“To heck with science,” Marsh hissed to his shovel, / Outshining my rival’s the goal, far above all.

“It’s much more important to outdo my foe, / and if fibbing comes into it, who’s going to know?”

Both men spread rumors that they found something far greater than any bones so far discovered. Each gathers crowds and crows about their amazing discoveries.

“Behold!” bellowed Cope/ like a one-person chorus. / An animal never on Earth seen before!!!!

“My NeverTopThisOne-Ginormous-asaurus!”

His opponent Marsh tries to one-up him:

“Exclaiming, ‘Good People, look here! Feast your eyes! / What I’m holding before you – though tiny in size—

“Is by far-and-away, of the hundreds I’ve found, / quite the topmost dead treasure I took from the ground!”

Despite the scientists’ raving superlatives, their audiences see through their insincere claims.

“Like that! The Bone Hunters were fired, and broke. / Where once they were famous they now were a joke.

“And why not/ They were phonies/ and Bone Buccaneers

“Who swindled their sponsors and spoiled their careers.”

Regardless of their childish competition, these two scientists each discovered the bones of many dinosaurs and the two of them were responsible for the flowering of the science of paleontology, Enik writes.

Marsh discovered and named the Allosaurus, the Apatosaurus (originally named Bronotosaurus), the Diplodocus, the Stegosaurus, and the Triceratops. Cope discovered and named the Camarasaurus, the Coelophysis, and the Dimetrodon. He named the Elasmosaurus, which was discovered by another paleontologist, Dr. Theophilus Turner.

G.F. Newland’s illustrations are charming, stylistic, and colorful, and keep the story moving at a gingerly pace. Their old-fashioned look suits the historical subject.

This is the second time “Sticks ‘n’ Stones ‘n’ Dinosaur Bones” is being published, now by Schiffer Publishing, Philadelphia, with Pixel Mouse House, New York, and available in hardcover.  It was originally published in 2013 by Pixel Mouse House and was selected as a Finalist for American Book Fest’s 2014 Best Children’s Nonfiction and a Finalist for American Book Fest’s 2014 International Book Award for Best Children’s Nonfiction.  It is an Unhinged History Book, the first in a Seuss-inspired series about history and science that Ted is writing and Newland is illustrating for children.

About the Author

Ted Enik has worked as an illustrator for most of the well-known New York publishing houses, applying his versatility to both original art as well as classic and current children’s book characters, including the Magic School Bus, the Eloise books, and the popular “Fancy Nancy I Can Read” series. This is the first picture book Ted has authored. It was first published in 2013 by Pixel Mouse House, New York, and honored as a Finalist in the American Book Fest’s 2014 Best Children’s Nonfiction and a Finalist in American Book Fest’s 2014 International Book Award for Best Children’s Nonfiction. Learn more about his books at unhingedhistory.com and his illustration at tedenik.com.

About the Illustrator

G.F. Newland is a part-time illustrator and the systems administrator at the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY. His doodles have found their way onto buttons, bags, posters, and T-shirts, and have been published by Scholastic, Hachette, and Pixel Mouse House. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and a pet fish named Enki. Visit his website at gfnewland.com.

Schedule of Blog Tour

November 6: Can You Read Me a Story?

November 7: A Fuse #8 Production

November 8: Books My Kids Read

November 9: Rockin' Book Reviews

November 10: Kid Lit 411

November 11: Shelf Employed

November 12: Frog on a Blog

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‘The Night Gardener’ Spins Gorgeous, Magical Tale

The Night Gardener

Written and illustrated by The Fan Brothers

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016

“The Night Gardener” is a gorgeously illustrated picture book that tells a magical tale of the transformative power of art and the kindness of an old man.

The story begins as the orphan William traces an owl into the dirt and a strange old man walks by carrying a ladder, a bag of tools, and a rolled-up rug over his shoulder.

During the blue-tinged night, the old man clips away at a tree in front of the dreary Grimloch Orphanage.

William wakes up and looks out his window to see a commotion on the street. He quickly dresses, runs downstairs, and races outside. As if by magic, the tree has been shaped into a wise old owl like the one he drew in the dirt. William spends the entire day staring at it in wonder.

As the days go by, every morning brings a new animal shape in a tree: a cat, a rabbit, a parrot, an elephant, and finally a dragon. William is very excited, and more and more people are coming out to see the artistry.

The pictures begin in black and white, but as the town’s excitement grows, more dabs of color appear in man’s blue suspenders, a boy’s red tricycle, and a man’s yellow tuba.

Finally, many townspeople gather and enjoy a day outdoors next to two trees that make a dragon.

As William begins to head home, he spots the night gardener. He turns to William and invites him to help him transform Grimloch Park.

They work together deep into the night until William falls asleep under a tree. In the morning, William awakens to the sound of happy families walking by and a gift of garden sheers from the night gardener.

The whole town comes out to admire the night gardener and William’s work. Every tree is a different animal: a giraffe, a dinosaur, a rhinoceros, a whale, and a bear. 

As the seasons change and time goes by, the trees lose their animal shapes. The night gardener never returns, but the townspeople are forever changed. Now instead of a dreary black and white, the town is full of color and life.

And William becomes an artist with his sheers. On the last page, he is cutting a squirrel from a shrub.

“The Night Gardener” won the 2016 Dily Evans Founder’s Award, which is given by the Society of Illustrators, New York, to the most promising new talent in children’s book illustration.

   

About the Author and Illustrator

Terry Fan received his formal art training at Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada. His work is a blend of traditional and contemporary techniques, using ink or graphite mixed with digital. He spends his days (and nights) creating magical paintings, portraits, and prints. “The Night Gardener” is his first book. Born in Illinois, he now lives in Toronto. Visit him online at Krop, Society 6, and Facebook.

Eric Fan is an artist and writer who lives in Toronto, Canada. Born in Hawaii and raised in Toronto, he attended the Ontario College of Art and Design, where he studied illustration, sculpture, and film. He has a passion for vintage bikes, clockwork contraptions, and impossible dreams. “The Night Gardener” is his first children’s book. See more of his work at his Society 6 shop and on Facebook.