The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone - Hardcover

Ering, Timothy Basil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763613827 ISBN 13: 9780763613822

Publisher: Candlewick, 2003

Synopsis

"FROG BELLY . . . plants the idea that with some strategy, good communication and goodwill, you can grow wonderful things." —PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

"Frog Belly Rat Bone,
one, two, three . . .
the specks in the earth
are protected by me.
You must be patient and
then you will see. . . ."

Once upon a time, in a dull, gray endless place called Cementland,
there lived a very special boy who wished to find a treasure. After much searching among piles of greasy toaster ovens and wet smelly socks, he
spies a box filled with specks and a wrinkled note that says, "Put these
wondrous riches in the earth and enjoy." Horrified to learn that thieves
are after his treasure, the boy scrounges the junkyard and conjures a creature to stand guard - a scarecrowlike gardener with crooked bony arms, a giant belly, a jaunty crown, and preternatural wisdom: Frog Belly Rat Bone, king and protector of the specks.

With subtle, delicate tones, fantastical figures, and bursts of glowing color, the surreal artwork and hand-lettered text of Tim Ering’s picture book debut exude all the whimsy of an inspired imagination - and the wonders of a natural world that awaits discovery, even in Cementland.

Included with each book: a whimsical full-color bookmark offering a
behind-the-scenes glimpse at the artist, his technique - and his inspiration!

About this title

About the Author:

Timothy Basil Ering says that THE STORY OF FROG BELLY RAT BONE was inspired by a visit to Descanso Gardens, a botanical garden in Pasadena, California, where there is a private garden for urban Los Angeles schoolchildren. "For as long as I can remember, I have loved to mix up words and phrases into silly little combinations that would make me laugh," he explains. "I’d make up songs while meandering down the outer beach of Cape Cod to favorite fishing spots, and ‘Frog Belly Rat Bone’ was always a favorite string of nouns. Then one day in Pasadena, I sat at a tiny picnic table in the children’s garden and began to sketch the garden’s scarecrow. I knew at that moment that Frog Belly Rat Bone had found a home." Timothy Basil Ering’s artwork has appeared in books, magazines, theater sets, private murals, and fine art galleries. A resident of Somerville, Massachusetts, he is enamored of the sea and has a passion for nature and the outdoors. This is his first picture book with Candlewick Press.

From Booklist:

K-Gr. 2. Welcome to Cementland, "a dull, gray, endless place" of ruined buildings, exposed plumbing, and things in corners that nobody really wants to see. In that gloomy land dwells a special boy who finds a treasure. But it is one thing to find a treasure and quite another to keep it when thieves are around. To protect the loot, the boy (a round-headed, neckless stick figure) builds a creature from wire; wet, smelly socks; and other things at hand. And so is born Frog Belly Rat Bone, and before kids can say "junkyard dog," Cementland is transformed into a garden of Eden. The story is both predictable and a tad didactic, but the art and the design are extraordinary. Ering's combination of hand-lettered text and scribbly, muddy, scratchy pictures looks like a collaboration between Tim Burton and Ralph Steadman (in a good mood). Even better, the book's covers are embossed to offer tactile pleasures that the textured inside art only implies. Children will skim the story, but savor the art. Michael Cart
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About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0763613827
• ISBN 13: 9780763613822
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Ering Timothy Basil