Suzanne F McGinness: 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Smells Like Snow

New Headphones and new winter playlist

Monday, November 14, 2011

Seven Impossible things before breakfast....

Great review at seven impossible things
"My Bear Griz (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, August 2011) is a story without a problem. It’s a tribute to the imagination of children, simply chronicling one day in the life of young Billy, who loves bears and whose bear’s name is Griz, “because he is a Grizzly Bear.” They explore, snack, play hide-and-go-seek, share secrets, nap, and much more. In the final spread, we see proof that this boy’s imagination is as big as his imaginary friend, though discerning readers will notice other clues before the closing illustration.

Publishers Weekly calls McGinness “a talent worth watching,” and the Kirkus review calls this a “visually distinctive debut.” And that’s just it exactly: McGinness’s art, particularly of this big grizzly bear, is visually striking, and I very much look forward to what she brings us next. The over-sized book format is a nice fit for this beautifully-rendered (and ginormous) bear, who looms from each page, yet still manages to communicate warmth and friendship to young readers.

Here are two more spreads. Enjoy."

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Book Signing Barnes and Noble

Review from Publishing Group West:
My Bear Griz
Suzanne McGinniss. Frances Lincoln (PGW, dist.), $17.95 (28p) ISBN 978-1-84780-113-5
Newcomer McGinniss spins a fantasy about a boy’s ideal pet: a docile and obliging grizzly bear. McGinniss draws Griz in all his furry, naturalistic majesty, his warm coat a mass of scratchy brown ink lines, his heavy head as big as his owner Billy’s whole body. Griz dominates most of the spreads, his bulk echoed in the book’s extra-large type. His body warms Billy as they sleep together (“Griz is great for taking naps”), and his massive claws grasp a slender tree trunk that does nothing to disguise him in a game of hide-and-seek. “I usually win,” Billy says. Billy confides in Griz, too (“I am scared of the dark,” reads wobbly childlike letters scribbled on the page between Billy and Griz. “Sometimes I pick my nose”). Despite his small size, it’s Billy who’s in charge, an impression bolstered by his newspaper crown. The discovery on the last page that Griz is really Billy’s regulation-size teddy bear isn’t a big surprise, but this visually playful ode to the strength of a child’s imagination establishes McGinniss as a talent worth watching. Ages 2–6. (Nov.)

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness