Stephen Cosgrove
Author of Leo the Lop
About the Author
Image credit: By J2J Creative - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5904231
Series
Works by Stephen Cosgrove
Can You Say Pterodactyl? 7 copies
Serendipity Compatible with CAP'N SMUDGE Stephen Cosgrove 1977 ILLUSTRATED Reader Robin James HC (1977) 6 copies
STEPHEN COSGROVE Wheedle on the Needle Serendipity Book 1974 Vtg Compatible with Monster Book 3 copies
The Castaway Pines 2 copies
Memily Paperback May 5, 1987 2 copies
Speedier than a Meteor 2 copies
Flynn "flea" Flicker: Sticking To The Truth (Cosgrove, Stephen. Bugg Books (Pci Educational Publishing), 6.) (2004) 2 copies
Leo the Lop (tail three) 1 copy
Die Flukse veldmuisie 1 copy
THE GNOME FROM NOME 1 copy
Patrick Bent Wing 1 copy
Rhubard 1 copy
CAPITAIN SMUDGE 1 copy
Gangalí y los Múgridos 1 copy
Fishing in Simplicity 1 copy
Rooty Rooty Snooty 1 copy
De Hamstersaurus 1 copy
Serendipity Series 1 copy
Betterfly 1 copy
Barley Bugg 1 copy
Buzz 1 copy
Stephen Cosgrove Collection of 8 Large Hardback Serendipity Books in Good Condition (Serendipity Books) (1978) 1 copy
Turtle Tom 1 copy
SERENDIPITY Books SET (of 6): "Misty Morgan", "Buttermilk", "Lady Rose", "Rhubarb", "Flutterby" & " Morgan Morning" (1988) 1 copy
Shadow Chaser 1 copy
Serendipity Box Set No. 3 1 copy
Sooty Fool 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1945-07-26
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Stephen's College for Women, Columbia, Missouri
Borah High School - Occupations
- children's author
toy designer - Organizations
- Serendipity Press
- Awards and honors
- 1990 PNBA Silver Jubilee Honor Award for "Ira Wordworthy", Education World, Storybooks Award,
- Agent
- Lauri Aibel
- Relationships
- Robin, James (professional partnership)
- Short biography
- “Stephen Cosgrove didn’t really take up the writing challenge until after he went searching for a reasonably priced, fun to read, book that had a message of sorts for his 3 year old daughter and only finding expensive hard covered books with not a story in them that he was looking for. That was in 1973, by 1978 he had sold over three million books.
Born and raised in the Northwest of USA, he now lives in San Antonio, Texas, and continues in a number of projects one such -developing web-enhanced stories. Stephen has written about 325 books for the first reader to young adult thrillers. All his books have a value-based issue in the story line.
Stephen Cosgrove says…”The internet is a wonderfully designed box, no more no less. Unless that box is filled with content, it is just that, a wonderfully designed box” .
http://www.equitainment.com.au/factsh... - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Metaline Falls, Washington, USA
- Places of residence
- Metaline Falls, Washington, USA
Kennewick, Washington, USA
Burley, Idaho, USA
Boise, Idaho, USA
Columbia, Missouri, USA
San Antonio, Texas, USA (show all 7)
Austin, Texas, USA - Map Location
- Washington, USA
Members
Discussions
Found: Vintage illustrated childrens story book involving a yeti (maybe?) and a white seal in Name that Book (September 2023)
Reviews
In the Land of Whim, under the shadow of the Quirk Mountains, lived the peaceful Whimsies—plump furry creatures who loved to garden, and who delighted in all of the fruits of the earth. Nothing pleased them more than green salad and vegetable soup, carrots and apples to munch on. The twins Blossom and Sprout were no different than their fellows, although they did dislike turnips. Through this (ahem) fatal flaw, the Switch Witch saw her opportunity, convincing them to put on her Sweet Tooth show more necklaces. Soon the twins would only eat sweets, gobbling and gulping them down and refusing all else, until Grandma Whimsie paid a visit, and showed them the decay under the sparkling white exterior of those teeth...
I have long been familiar with the work of author Stephen Cosgrove, whose prolific output stands at around 325 books, not to mention the games, toys and interactive websites he has created. Although I never seemed to pick them up myself, his Serendipity books, which featured magical creatures of all kinds, as well as moral messages, were ubiquitous in my childhood. Gobble and Gulp is one of his six-book series, The Whimsies, and like the Serendipity books, each title is meant to teach a lesson. Specifically, a lesson about some bad habit. Here that bad habit is gluttony, and the addiction to sweets and sugary treats. The negative consequences of Blossom and Sprout's behavior is apparent in a number of areas, from their growing rudeness to their parents to the corruption of their sense of taste, as sugary fare blinds them to the appeal of other foods.
To be honest, I sought this one out because of my interest in witchy picture-books, and my discovery that it featured a witch character—the Switch Witch. Reading the descriptions of the other books in the series, it appears this same character features in all six of the books about the Whimsies, although her role here was brief. In any case, I found this a sweet little tale, despite being alive to its obvious didactic purpose. It is a little text heavy for a picture-book, and the artwork is a little too cute for my taste, although I did (predictably) find the depiction of Switch Witch and her pet dragon, Wizard Lizard, to be interesting. Recommended to those seeking more light-hearted, fictional picture-books about limiting sweet intake and maintaining a healthy diet. show less
I have long been familiar with the work of author Stephen Cosgrove, whose prolific output stands at around 325 books, not to mention the games, toys and interactive websites he has created. Although I never seemed to pick them up myself, his Serendipity books, which featured magical creatures of all kinds, as well as moral messages, were ubiquitous in my childhood. Gobble and Gulp is one of his six-book series, The Whimsies, and like the Serendipity books, each title is meant to teach a lesson. Specifically, a lesson about some bad habit. Here that bad habit is gluttony, and the addiction to sweets and sugary treats. The negative consequences of Blossom and Sprout's behavior is apparent in a number of areas, from their growing rudeness to their parents to the corruption of their sense of taste, as sugary fare blinds them to the appeal of other foods.
To be honest, I sought this one out because of my interest in witchy picture-books, and my discovery that it featured a witch character—the Switch Witch. Reading the descriptions of the other books in the series, it appears this same character features in all six of the books about the Whimsies, although her role here was brief. In any case, I found this a sweet little tale, despite being alive to its obvious didactic purpose. It is a little text heavy for a picture-book, and the artwork is a little too cute for my taste, although I did (predictably) find the depiction of Switch Witch and her pet dragon, Wizard Lizard, to be interesting. Recommended to those seeking more light-hearted, fictional picture-books about limiting sweet intake and maintaining a healthy diet. show less
The Switch Witch strikes again in this entry in author Stephen Cosgrove and illustrator Charles Reasoner's series of picture-books about the Whimsies, a group of colorful soft-furred creatures who lived an idyllic life in the Land of Whim, in the shadow of the Quirk Mountains. Quiet, considerate Bluebell, who always liked to listen to others, is transformed into an insufferable chatterbox after an encounter with the Switch Witch and her pet, Wizard Lizard. Now wearing the Muddle Muffs, she show more only liked to hear her own voice, and was constantly talking over others. Fortunately, Bluebell's mother knew to consult with Grandma Whimsie, who knew just where the trouble lay...
Chatterbox is the second book from The Whimsies series that I have read, following upon Gobble & Gulp. I sought both titles out largely because of the Switch Witch character, given my interest in the depiction of witches in picture-books, early readers and other heavily illustrated texts. Like Cosgrove's better-known Serendipity series, each of the books in The Whimsies series teaches a particular lesson—a lesson about a bad habit. In Gobble & Gulp, the lesson was about gluttony, and eating too many sweets. Here the lesson is about talking too much, even when one has nothing to say and it is inconsiderate of others. In both books, the crisis is precipitated by the witch, who is evidently the antagonist in the Land of Whim, and whose interventions inevitably lead to otherwise innocent Whimsies developing bad behavior.
This is a fairly sweet story, despite the obvious didacticism, and felt very much like a product of the 1980s (which it is), recalling to mind any number of books available at that time, during the course of my childhood. I appreciated the fact that we see more of the witch here—we get to see her traveling wagon, and we learn she lives in the Land of Frippery—as she appears in only one brief scene in the other book. Given my tendency toward completism, I suspect I will eventually seek out the other four books in this series, just to see if the witch appears in all of them. Recommended to those seeking more light-hearted, fictional picture-books about learning to control one's impulse to babble, and resisting the impulse to try to dominate the conversation. show less
Chatterbox is the second book from The Whimsies series that I have read, following upon Gobble & Gulp. I sought both titles out largely because of the Switch Witch character, given my interest in the depiction of witches in picture-books, early readers and other heavily illustrated texts. Like Cosgrove's better-known Serendipity series, each of the books in The Whimsies series teaches a particular lesson—a lesson about a bad habit. In Gobble & Gulp, the lesson was about gluttony, and eating too many sweets. Here the lesson is about talking too much, even when one has nothing to say and it is inconsiderate of others. In both books, the crisis is precipitated by the witch, who is evidently the antagonist in the Land of Whim, and whose interventions inevitably lead to otherwise innocent Whimsies developing bad behavior.
This is a fairly sweet story, despite the obvious didacticism, and felt very much like a product of the 1980s (which it is), recalling to mind any number of books available at that time, during the course of my childhood. I appreciated the fact that we see more of the witch here—we get to see her traveling wagon, and we learn she lives in the Land of Frippery—as she appears in only one brief scene in the other book. Given my tendency toward completism, I suspect I will eventually seek out the other four books in this series, just to see if the witch appears in all of them. Recommended to those seeking more light-hearted, fictional picture-books about learning to control one's impulse to babble, and resisting the impulse to try to dominate the conversation. show less
My mom read me these books as a child and as such, I have a particular endearment for them. When I found these seven in a book shop, and realized I hadn't read any of them, I snagged them, eager to read more of these favorite stories.
Unfortunately, these seven tended towards the sappy and simple, instead of the imaginative and adventurous of the ones my Mom read. Perhaps she picked the best ones. Perhaps it is my own glossy memory of childhood. But the ones like Muffin Muncher, Wheedle on show more the Needle, Maui-Maui, and The Savepotmus are better. Still, owning these is important to me and I am glad I have them. show less
Unfortunately, these seven tended towards the sappy and simple, instead of the imaginative and adventurous of the ones my Mom read. Perhaps she picked the best ones. Perhaps it is my own glossy memory of childhood. But the ones like Muffin Muncher, Wheedle on show more the Needle, Maui-Maui, and The Savepotmus are better. Still, owning these is important to me and I am glad I have them. show less
I was first reintroduced to these books whilst digging through boxes of imported remainder books from the States. How delighted was I to stumble upon these books, which entranced me with their art and then brought with them a flood of nostalgia for my childhood. After discovering several different titles, I underwent a mission and visited every store of this particular chain in town and scrabbled to collect more. I collected a grand total of 9.
This one, Zippity Zoom, focuses on a type of show more critter that rush through life, always racing and trying to be the first. Our hero is named Whiz, and he is really, really fast. Until the day he trips over a turtle and shown that there is more to life than winning and rushing, and that by slowing down you can appreciate what you've got all that much more.
The language is, as always, quite delightfully lyrical and evocative and the illustrations charming to behold. Whiz is a sort of racoon-critter in running shoes and the colour reproduction seems slightly less saturated in these, later, reprinted editions (from 2003) whilst still being filled with brightness and details. show less
This one, Zippity Zoom, focuses on a type of show more critter that rush through life, always racing and trying to be the first. Our hero is named Whiz, and he is really, really fast. Until the day he trips over a turtle and shown that there is more to life than winning and rushing, and that by slowing down you can appreciate what you've got all that much more.
The language is, as always, quite delightfully lyrical and evocative and the illustrations charming to behold. Whiz is a sort of racoon-critter in running shoes and the colour reproduction seems slightly less saturated in these, later, reprinted editions (from 2003) whilst still being filled with brightness and details. show less
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- 272
- Members
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- Rating
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- ISBNs
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