Timothy Basil Ering

Once upon a time, in a dull, gray endless place called Cementland, there lived a very special boy who wished to find a treasure. After much searching among piles of greasy toaster ovens and wet smelly socks, he spies a box filled with specks and a wrinkled note that says, "Put these wondrous riches in the earth and enjoy." Horrified to learn that thieves are after his treasure, the boy scrounges the junkyard and conjures a creature to stand guard - a scarecrowlike gardener with crooked bony show more arms, a giant belly, a jaunty crown, and preternatural wisdom: Frog Belly Rat Bone, king and protector of the specks.With subtle, delicate tones, fantastical figures, and bursts of glowing color, the surreal artwork and hand-lettered text of Tim Ering’s picture book debut exude all the whimsy of an inspired imagination - and the wonders of a natural world that awaits discovery, even in Cementland. show less

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
and now this
Am I the only one who thinks that each title inspires the next, at least by cadence, melody, like that??
Do the stories or characters or themes have anything in common??

Ok done with this one. I don't remember Fikry well enough, and have not read Prufrock, so I still don't know. What I do know about this one is that you're going to want to preview it before sharing it with a sensitive child. Or a literal-minded show more one.

But it's certainly original & creative, and the pictures are vibrant and apt (though again with the disproportion that I find ugly :sigh:). 3.5 rounded up for being unlike anything else that I've read lately. show less

I am most definitely not the target audience. Even when I did live in a fairly blighted area, it was never as ugly as this. And what makes the boy already special, as we're told that he is when we meet him? And why did his golem get the appellation that he did, when in this post-apocalyptic world there are surely no frogs?

This is more like a draft for a movie, or a giftable fable for hip city kids.
I'd give it two stars for myself, but it's not for me....

See also: Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, Puffling by Margaret Wild

Advanced vocabulary ("magical glow," "burning desire," "ascent") adds a layer of difficulty to a story that most kids will understand on at least two levels: the bravery required to try something new and scary, and the dangers balloons can pose to wildlife, including birds and sea creatures. The paintings are marvelous and the sandpipers are expressive. Back matter includes a note about balloons and wildlife.