john stadler

A Back to School Mystery of the Heart

The Reviews Have Hopped In:

"The surprise conclusion delivers a big payoff." - *STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

"Sweetly surreal." -Kirkus Reviews

"Children will enjoy the silliness." -School Library Journal

"John Stadler builds suspense gradually as fold-out flaps follow the little bunny through an unusual day at school, including an amusing trip to the principal's office. All the while, Wilson tries to find Miss Lovely in this charmer that is just scary enough for young children." -Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Kids turn and unfold the pages in this intriguing picture-book mystery to find out why the young bunny's classroom has been abandoned. A great choice..." -Instructor

"Charming, funny and peppered with just the right amount of suspense, WILSON AND MISS LOVELY has all the right components of a great book kids will enjoy." -Orlando Press Register

"This is a book that throws convention on its big floppy ear and I think children - even kids who might not love school as much as Wilson - will love it." -Wichita Eagle

"... another great book for releasing the first day jitters of school... The suspense builds as open-flaps help with the intrigue. Kids will love this book!" -Meridian Magazine

"This enthusiastic bunny has finished one week of school and can't wait for the next. So he starts early, rising ahead of anyone else at his house. But what is the gigantic creature, whose scary body parts are revealed in a series of gatefolds? Just a wee bit of terror, against the background of which Wilson shows us all his beloved school activities before the comforting ending." -Chicago Tribune

"...the threads of the mystery come together in a way that is just right for a preschooler's sense of humor." -Times-Picayune

"Lift the flaps of this sweet, funny story and celebrate the silly ending." -The Post & Courier (Charleston)

Let the mystery unfold before your eyes...

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BIG & LITTLE:

It's not what you think!

Prepare to be amazed and astounded by how BIG on suspense, such a little book can be! You will gasp! You will laugh! You will not believe your eyes!
Be the first in your neighborhood to see for yourself how the magic unfolds!
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Read all about it today!

(No one will be admitted to or allowed to leave the book during the last six pages so as not to ruin the ending for others.)

BIG and LITTLE

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ALSO:

*It's always baseball season with the pop-up, double-sided baseball extravagansa;
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME
(from Little Simon/​Simon&Schuster)

This was the original cover. (See final cover & get more info by clicking on this title under "Children's Books" column at left.)

*A Parenting Magazine "Book of the Year"
*A Books of Wonder "Pick of the Month"

REVIEWS:
*School Library Journal*

"Fans of the national pastime will love this book. It opens to a view of the outside of Howler Stadium, where the home team is about to play the Growlers. Opening the flaps exposes a press-box view of the field, while the flaps themselves tell the story and gives the lesser-known verses.
Turning the pages leads to one delight after another, such as the octopi taking the tickets, the shark advertising "Eat at Fang's", and the lion blatantly ignoring the warning "Do Not Chew On Wall."
The paper engineering is well planned with the catcher flying up to grab a pop fly and the Growler batter spinning around and around as he strikes out. Looking at the pages from the back (or top) is fun as well, since all the parts are printed on both sides. The menagerie of fanged, furred, feathered, and ferocious beasts is detailed, colorful, and amusing. For libraries that can keep pop-up books, this one is a great addition."

*Publishers Weekly*

"Just in time for spring training, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, based on the lyrics of the well-known tune, inspires John Stadler's intricately detailed pop-up spreads. Howler Stadium, chock-full of animals, captures the bustling enthusiasm of the crowd.
A team of Octopi act as efficient ticket collectors, pull tabs allow children to decide whether a leopard successfully steals first or a bespectacled elephant rises to cheer for the home team."

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*Listen to John's interview on New Hampshire Public Radio's "Frontporch".
(Click on "NHPR-interview" at right)

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*CATILDA*

NEW YORK TIMES "BOOKSHELF" SELECTION (Sept. 21, 2003)

From Atheneum Books/​Simon&Schuster;
A Richard Jackson Book

Reviews for CATILDA:

*STARRED REVIEW, Publishers' Weekly*

"The wide-eyed, night-gowned heroine, reminiscent of Japanese anime, comes alive in flat, incandescent watercolors that lend her a look of calm even in the scariest of circumstances. Full-bleed paintings of calamities alternate with inset close-ups to create an adventure that tantalizingly teeters between fancy and dream. The conversation of Catilda's parents-the books only text, set within dialogue boxes-serves as a kind of reality counterpoint...By keeping the adventure solely from the child's perspective, Stadler conveys the full range of Catilda's emotions and affirms her ingenuity."

*Kirkus Reviews*

"Stadler uses multiple layers of watercolor to achieve unusual depth of hue in his flat, uncomplicated compositions, and his intrepid young cat makes frequent eye contact with viewers to draw them irresistably into the action. Deceptively simple at first glance, this suspenseful episode will keep a surprising range of readers rapt."

*A BWI "Top Pick" Picturebook for Jan. 2003*

"This gentle story about a child's love for her teddy bear has text that shows a conversation between two parents who are sure their child is safely in bed while the illustrations show that same child on a magical quest for her lost friend."

*Children's Literature*

"The illustrations, created through use of a watercolor-layering technique, are luminous and comforting. They pair companionably with the award-winning author/​illustrator's text, creating a gentle, heart-warming story suitable for many bedtime re-readings."

*Chicago Tribune*

"Catilda's adventures wildly fill the entire page. Bear-passionate readers will easily join the fantasy."

*Booklist*

"Executed in fruity colors- banana, lime, tangerine- and with blue skies and seas as backdrop for the rescue- the imaginative pictures keep their focus on Catilda, the Everychild who will go to any lengths to rescue her bear- and does so, spectacularly."

*School Library Journal*

"A cheerful palette of intense colors creates an upbeat atemosphere for this imaginative adventure. The watercolors fill up each page and pull the readers in... Children will relate to the heroine's desire to find her bear no matter what... they will love viewing and discussing all of Catilda's escapades."

*The Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books*

"The figures are simple yet strongly patterned... rising to the challenge of supplying emotional engagement... Audiences will enjoy the discrepancy between the conversation of the unsuspecting parents and the perilous adventures of Catilda."