Frank Viva
Author of Along a Long Road
About the Author
Works by Frank Viva
Associated Works
The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection (2018) — Contributor — 114 copies, 3 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Viva, Frank
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- Whigby Branding and design agency
- Organizations
- Advertising & Design Club of Canada, Past president
- Awards and honors
- Governor General's Award for Illustration finalist for Along a Long Road
The New York Times' 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011 for Along a Long Road - Short biography
- Frank Viva is an award-winning illustrator and designer living and working in Toronto. His first picture book Along a Long Road was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Illustration and was named one of The New York Times' 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011. His other books for children include A Long Way Away, A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse and Young Frank, Architect. His art has appeared in many places such as The New York Times and the cover of the New Yorker and on the illustrated stationary produced by his company Whigby. Frank runs a branding and design agency in Toronto and is past president of the Advertising & Design Club of Canada. But making books is his favourite thing to do.
- Nationality
- Canada
- Places of residence
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Map Location
- Canada
Members
Reviews
This book had an unexpected arc! I had thought that the whole book would be about the kid on the cover struggling to hold it, but in fact that's only part of the story, and the grown-ups - first the kid's mom, then their grandpa - are nonjudgmental, empathetic, and funny. The kid and the grandpa share the various dances they make up and name, and people in the background - who, it's revealed, are all waiting in line for the bathroom - get in on the fun too. The art is stylish, predominantly show more black and white with a textured, ombre yellow-orange spot color, and small amounts of other more sedate colors in the background. Very fun! show less
This is a perfect junior bildungsroman. The story of Eliot's summer holiday with his great-uncle on the coast of Nova Scotia accords with my own experience of youthful holidays, and with what I've observed of my kids' summer friendships. The characters are likeable and natural. The situation fits the size of the book. I mean it as the highest praise that the idea is not overly ambitious. The pacing is both lazy and busy, just like a good vacation. And, as a bonus, the illustrations are show more quirky and stylish. It arrived just in time to be some summer fun reading for a couple of members of the target audience. Bravo! show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I got this to review through the Amazon Vine program. This was a well done middle grade picture book. This is basically a coming of age story about a boy who spends his summer in Nova Scotia.
I liked some of the things that were done with the text and pictures throughout; they were very creative and fun to read/look at. For example text about walking up the stairs done in a stair form; there is also text about fishing that runs along the line of a fishing rod.
The lesson and story itself is a show more pretty typical coming of age story. Basically Eliot is forced to go to Nova Scotia and spend the summer with his grumpy old Uncle. He is absolutely livid, until he gets there. Then he learns a lot of things and realizes that not everything is how it first appears to be.
I thought this was going to be a graphic novel but it really isn’t. It is more of a chapter book with pictures aimed at middle grade and older peeps.
Overall I enjoyed this. The way the text in the book is formatted is interesting and creative. While this basically a typical coming of age story there are some other issues touched on in here as well. The book deals with friendship, bullying, ecological issues, and abuse. I would recommend it in general to middle grade and older readers. show less
I liked some of the things that were done with the text and pictures throughout; they were very creative and fun to read/look at. For example text about walking up the stairs done in a stair form; there is also text about fishing that runs along the line of a fishing rod.
The lesson and story itself is a show more pretty typical coming of age story. Basically Eliot is forced to go to Nova Scotia and spend the summer with his grumpy old Uncle. He is absolutely livid, until he gets there. Then he learns a lot of things and realizes that not everything is how it first appears to be.
I thought this was going to be a graphic novel but it really isn’t. It is more of a chapter book with pictures aimed at middle grade and older peeps.
Overall I enjoyed this. The way the text in the book is formatted is interesting and creative. While this basically a typical coming of age story there are some other issues touched on in here as well. The book deals with friendship, bullying, ecological issues, and abuse. I would recommend it in general to middle grade and older readers. show less
Frank Viva has won quite a few awards and a lot of acclaim for his Along a Long Road. I didn't care for it and it didn't work well in storytime.
But this new title really works for me. In stunning landscapes of color, shape and line mouse and a strange Charlie Brown-like figure travel down to the bottom of the world: The Antarctic.
Mouse adds a human element to the awe-inspiring landscape as he make silly comments and complaints, enjoying the journey but always a little doubtful about the show more trip. The design changes from four small panels to full-page spreads as mouse and his friend look at the vast world they're traveling through and then return to their own concerns.
Verdict: This won't have the instant appeal of Fly Guy, but it's well-written, beautifully illustrated, and has a great layout. Kids and parents looking for something a little different with some gentle humor (which might as well be the slogan for Toon) will enjoy this odd but stunning little book.
ISBN: 9781935179191; Published September 11, 2012 by Candlewick/Toon; Review copy provided by publisher; Purchased for the library show less
But this new title really works for me. In stunning landscapes of color, shape and line mouse and a strange Charlie Brown-like figure travel down to the bottom of the world: The Antarctic.
Mouse adds a human element to the awe-inspiring landscape as he make silly comments and complaints, enjoying the journey but always a little doubtful about the show more trip. The design changes from four small panels to full-page spreads as mouse and his friend look at the vast world they're traveling through and then return to their own concerns.
Verdict: This won't have the instant appeal of Fly Guy, but it's well-written, beautifully illustrated, and has a great layout. Kids and parents looking for something a little different with some gentle humor (which might as well be the slogan for Toon) will enjoy this odd but stunning little book.
ISBN: 9781935179191; Published September 11, 2012 by Candlewick/Toon; Review copy provided by publisher; Purchased for the library show less
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 10
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 767
- Popularity
- #33,178
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 85
- ISBNs
- 47
- Languages
- 7
