This is a story by Central Valley author Karen Moore. Dan Dunkley (HBE Publishing) offered me the story to illustrate. It's a story about a bear who decides to write his own story... and at first he has trouble creating something new. He is encouraged by his editor, Mr. Fox, and eventually Oogie creates something wonderful. I thought it was an inspiring tale for any creative person.
See the GALLERY page for some examples of art from each book.
Queen Calafia, the mythic heroine of a sixteenth-century Spanish romance, rules an island overflowing with gold and populated by Amazon-like women. Calafia is incensed when she hears that Californians have adopted her name for their state. Being the reasonable queen that she is, she’s willing to hear from twenty-six animals about why California is worthy of her name. But if she decides it isn’t, she’ll launch her army of griffin-riding goddesses to wreak her vengeance! Each animal characterizes California in a key cultural object or historical event: for example, the swordfish describes the tomols of the Chumash people, while the gull tells Calafia about the Gold Rush. Large, intricate illustrations display a wealth of research into every subject, rendered with the highest level of artistic skill.
California, the Magic Island is a majestic ABC book and a delightful exploration of what makes California worthy of its regal name.
Guess who just arrived in California? Aesop! Here among the plants, animals, and places of the Golden State, his timeless fables from ancient Greece take on a new vitality and immediacy. From blackberry-munching grizzlies to Hollywood house mice, this is a book to delight the eye, stimulate the imagination, and teach us some very important lessons.
The text of this book is the pure vintage Mother Goose of your grandmother’s childhood but set to a new illustrated backdrop of California landmarks such as Half Dome and the Golden Gate Bridge, and inhabited by conquistador cats and sailor squirrels!
Celebrate California's native plants, animals and historic places in this creative adaptation of the Mother Goose rhymes!