just 1 book: animator/ author mr. warburton (& signed book giveaway!)

Are up for a Monday morning riddle?  If you’re a lover of books and appreciate the kind of illustrations that stick with you–the ones that make you think, help you to dream, and inspire you to do great things. . .then this one’s for you.

Read on and see our most backward, totally wacky, incredibly interesting just 1 book post by animator and author, Mr. Warburton.

(And there’s even an awesome signed book giveaway with this one but I was asked to keep it all a secret until the end. . . so read on, my friends!)

 

• just 1 book: animator/ author guest post by mr. warburton

 

I think that I shall never see

A poem as lovely as a tree.

Joyce Kilmer

 

A beautiful quote,

no?

Well, actually…

No.

 

I mean yeah, it’s pretty and all…

But it’s also one of the greatest examples of

misquotification in, like, the history of forever.

Kilmer’s actual quote, revealed below, is much more eloquent, p

oignant, and well…

See for yourself:

 

I think that I shall never see

A party as awesome in a tree.

 

Obviously Kilmer was speaking about this:

 

Uh huh.

The greatest book spread ever.

You heard me:

 

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEERRR.

Of the many things Joyce Kilmer and I have in common,

(like my frequent use of her eponymous rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike)

I think our mutual love of P.D. Eastman’s GO DOG GO is the greatest.

 

This book spoke to us.

It inspired us.

It made us who we are.

 

I mean, how could it not?

The book has EVERYTHING.

Like, for instance:

 

Dogs.

Dogs in cars.

Funny hats (on dogs).

Dogs sleeping.

Dogs swimming.

And a great big dog party on top of a tree.

 

I can’t prove it, but I’m willing to bet that I spent a much greater part of my childhood

staring at this spread than Joyce Kilmer did.

And no one ever quoted me regarding what I thought about it.

No, I’m not mad.

It’s just…

 

Anyway.

 

GO DOG GO.

 

This is one of those books that have been infused with some kind of magic that just

sucks kids in the very first time you read it to them.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE has it.

GOOD NIGHT MOON has it.

And GO DOG GO has it.

(It also has a big dog party on top of a tree.)

 

Is it any wonder that a certain animated sooper triple smash hit TV show

(that contrary to popular belief, was NOT created by Joyce Kilmer)

featured sooper triple giant treehouses for its characters to live (and party) in?

Like this one:

 

And this one:

 

And who can forget this one:

 

Hmmmmmm…

I wonder if Joyce Kilmer ever built a treehouse?

To be honest, I never did either.

I’m not very handy.

But I hired some pretty awesome artists to draw them for me.

So who should have the famous quote about trees?

Answer: Me

 

 

Anyway, back to the book.

I can’t claim that GO DOG GO is what inspired me to learn to draw.

Or to make books.

Cartoons.

Or plant trees.

(Kilmer, of course, has claimed all these things and more– which is absolute rubbish)

But GO DOG GO did leave me with a lasting impression.

A kind of intense curiosity.

And I see that same fire in my two boys when I read it to them.

They stop and stare at the same places I did.

The cars.

The sleeping dogs.

The ferris wheel.

And obviously…

 

They will never EVER see

A party as awesome in a tree.

 

 

about the author: Mr. Warburton is the creator of Cartoon Network’s sooper smash hit animated series Codename: Kids Next Door, author and illustrator of HarperCollins sooper fun picture book 1000 Times No, and currently works on Disney Channel’s awesome new animated series Fish Hooks. He was totally shocked to find out Joyce Kilmer is a man. Follow his many adventures at www.warburtonlabs.blogspot.com

 

WOW! Seriously the most revved up just 1 book post we’ve had to date! Many, many thanks for guest posting for us, Mr. Wharburton–your refreshing and fun spin on this feature is a super-cool way of starting off a new week!

 

GIVEAWAY: A signed copy of 1000 Times No of your very own!

**Contest is closed as of 3/21.  Winner was Heather from Maryland! Thanks for your interest!

Do you want to win a signed copy of 1000 Times No by the amazingly talented Tom Warburton?

• Leave a comment here (along with your email address) simply sharing a book you loved for its illustrations.

• For extra entries,  you can share this post with a friend (just tell me who you shared it with!) OR Tweet this: Win a signed book by (shhh! it’s top secret!) on @teachmama  http://teachmama.com/?p=1526 #weteach #ece

This contest ends on Monday, March 21, 2011 at midnight ET.

 

Do you want to share a book that moved you? Let me know!

The just 1 book feature gives everyone a chance to share their love of literature and the power of books. Guest writers are invited to share a book that moved him or her:

‘all it took was just 1 book’. . . to get you thinking, get you moving, get you arts-and-crafting, get you talking, get you writing, get you counting, get you traveling, get you thinking, get you cookin‘, dancin’ or dreamin‘.

And if you’re interested in guest posting for the just 1 book series, please let me know! Anyone and everyone is welcome; just drop me an email at [email protected]

Try something NEW this week–anything!–and share with a link-up for this week’s New For Us Friday!