In the end,
The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on
and gained by those who let go.

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

The New York Times Reviews 'My Bear Griz'

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/books/in-the-company-of-bears.html

In “My Bear Griz,” the first book written and illustrated by Suzanne McGinness, a young boy wearing a paper crown declares, “My name is Billy and I love bears” in immense text that mirrors the size of Griz, a grizzly, of course, and the bear he loves best. He goes on to describe the ins and outs of their friendship –- they like to eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches, snuggle up for naps and stargaze in tandem. The sequence feels like a warmhearted coda to Jez Alborough’s “Eddy and the Bear” series.

There is no story here to speak of, but it’s a sweet portrait of an imaginary friendship. The book’s strength is the illustration, which combines a scratchy, colorful Paul Galdone-like bear along with mixed media images: the boy with a collaged hat, intervals of childish penciled handwriting, watercolor washes and pen-and-ink drawings.

Why I love being a Children's Book Illustrator

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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

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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

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