Ideas Are All Around

Children's book creators are often asked where they get their ideas. What if they run out? "I have to write a story today," Stead (Sebastian and the Balloon) starts. "But today I don't have any ideas." Instead, he takes his dog, Wednesday, for a walk, recording his journey in an unassuming collection of drawings, prints, and snapshots in Polaroid-style frames. There's no drama, yet the pages are filled with incident. He and Wednesday see a turtle and some ducks. Stead exchanges greetings with his friend Barbara, whose wise voice warms the pages. ("It's such a waste," she says when the subject of war comes up. "We could all go fishing instead.") He notices the line at the church's food program. Animals are drawn in close-up, vivid detail (excepting, perhaps, a horse made of blue paint), while the people are small and roughly drawn; they might be anybody, anywhere. Stead's thoughts come to life in lines structured like verse, the animals he sees and words he hears merging into dreamy half-stories. A long, rich visit with Barbara follows: "Did you know that ten thousand years ago this spot was the bottom of a lake?" she asks. As Stead and Wednesday return home, the things they have talked about and the animals they have seen--all the ideas he's collected--follow them in a somber parade. Stead's bits and pieces of drawing and observation, his willingness to lay bare his uncertainty, and his rough sketches of the natural world don't form a polished or seamless whole. Yet their very fragmentariness tells an important truth about the way artists begin to create. Ages 4-8. Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Mar.)

K-Gr 3--With the unassuming conceit of a woolgathering walk with his dog, Stead provides readers with snapshots of his creative process as he synthesizes seeds of ideas, conversational tidbits, and artful suggestions from the natural world in surprising and delightful ways. The illustrations--a mixture of Polaroid images, monoprints, and collage--are sheer Stead and simply brilliant.

The art is glorious, creatively mixing small photographs presented as Polaroids with ink and watercolor paintings a provocative, artful journey. School Library Journal, starred review

In all, Stead has given readers a deeply felt, deeply connected story that is homage to creation and really quite brilliant. Kirkus Reviews, starred review

The multimedia artwork is amazing, with photographs, collage etchings, and splatter art (example: a blue splash of paint transforms into a horse) mingling across vibrant spreads. Booklist, starred review

Stead s bits and pieces of drawing and observation, his willingness to lay bare his uncertainty, and his rough sketches of the natural world don t form a polished or seamless whole. Yet their very fragmentariness tells an important truth about the way artists begin to create. Publishers Weekly, starred review

"It will reward those receptive to the notion that the world speaks to those who
listen." The Horn Book"