Toad and Turtle Conquer the World

Toad and Turtle leave their garden home to conquer the world and no one is going to stop them! They walk through the barn yard and the cow pasture, past the pond, and end up in the woods. Their journey is easy in some places and more difficult in others. They meet a lot of wild animals along the way. Toad almost drowns in a thunderstorm and a beaver falls a tree that nearly lands on Turtle. Eventually they find their way back to their garden home where Toad tells a butterfly, "We have conquered the world." We hope this story encourages little children to be brave and inquisitive. We want to inspire them to explore and discover new things in their world. Toad and Turtle conquered their world. Can you conquer yours?Be sure to search each picture for a heart. Some hearts are hard to see, some are easy.

Aaron Horrell and Barb Bailey are an award-winning author/illustrator team from Southeast Missouri. Aaron Horrell is a self-taught painter, nature photographer, and children's book writer. He is the owner of Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Aaron writes a weekly nature column in the Southeast Missourian newspaper called, "Through the Woods." Barb Bailey is a painter, photographer, and children's book writer. Her family raises dairy goats. Barb makes goat milk soap, which she sells at Painted Wren Art Gallery and local farmers' markets. Together these Southeast Missouri artists create paintings on 6" X 8" Masonite panels. They take turns painting on each of these minis, which they call BARBARON minis, and subsequently sign each one with the pseudonym BARBARON. Both Aaron and Barb are members of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, juried members of Best of Missouri Hands, and members of the Cat Ranch Art Guild. They won first place in the 2107 All Write Now! Conference's Artist/Illustrator Portfolio contest.