The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone

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Description

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

Once upon a time, in a gray endless place called Cementland, there lived a boy who wished to find a treasure. After searching through piles of toaster ovens and wet smelly socks, he spies a box filled with specks and a note that says, "Put these wondrous riches in the earth and enjoy." Horrified to learn that thieves are after his treasure, the boy scrounges in the junkyard and conjures a scarecrow-like creature to stand guard: Frog Belly Rat Bone, king and protector of the specks. With subtle tones and bursts of glowing color, Tim Erings surreal artwork and hand-lettered text exude all the whimsy of an inspired imagination and the wonders of a natural world that awaits discovery, even in Cementland.

A NICK JR. FAMILY MAGAZINE Best Book of the Year

A New England Book Show Juvenile Category Winner

A New York Book Show Childrens Trade Hardcover Winner

Reviews

Timothy Basil Ering's THE STORY OF FROG BELLY RAT BONE provides a dark-colored picturebook with handwritten pages as it tells of a boy's find of a strange, wonderful box filled with magic.
Children's Bookwatch

. . . 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).
Booklist

The big revelation here is newcomer Timothy Basil Ering's jaw-dropping illustrations: his moody, dramatically layered acrylics plunge us into a surreal otherworld about to flower.
FamilyFun

This compelling fantasy with whimsical illustrations celebrates the natural world and the world of imagination. It's a find for Earth Day.
Yellow Brick Road

Ering's illustrations ooze personality . . . FROG BELLY RAT BONE offers a rich harvest for adults and children alike.
Star Tribune

Author Bio

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. "Id 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 childrens garden and began to sketch the gardens scarecrow. I knew at that moment that Frog Belly Rat Bone had found a home." Timothy Basil Erings 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.