Post by dvandom on Jul 1, 2012 11:42:14 GMT -5
Here's a cut and paste from what'll be my July review column (and it's possible I'll change things before final posting).
The Enormous Egg: Little, Brown & Company (Little Brown Books/Hachette imprint) - It's not often something as large as a Triceratops can sneak past you, but this book managed to do so not once, but twice. The first time was in the mid-70s when I was a dinosaur- crazy and book-crazy little kid. Oliver Butterworth wrote this book in 1956, so there should have been a copy (albeit battered) somewhere in one of the libraries I had access to, yes? But I never saw it. And then, in 2009, this new edition came out with illustrations by Mark Crilley...and despite moderating one of his fan boards, I somehow missed it then too. I finally found out about it when Mark posted his cover roughs to deviantArt, and after a little searching I found the right edition on Amazon (after not finding it in the local bookstores).
The story is pretty low-key save for a little drama with Congress near the end: kid's chicken lays a huge egg that hatches out into a Triceratops, word gets out, etc. Things are rather un-frenzied until the end, but keep in mind that back in 1956 dinosaurs were a fairly minor part of popular culture (Sinclair stations notwithstanding). And it was a year before Sputnik, so the whole science frenzy hadn't yet gripped the public. But the story shows its place in time in other, more obvious ways...telephone operators routing calls manually, sending of telegraphs, a live Washtington D.C. television show trying to avoid controversial topics...weird stuff like that.
Butterworth writes in a very engaging style, it's worth going slowly so as to not miss any of the turns of phrase. The opening line pretty much sets the tone: "My name is Nate Twitchell, but I can't help that."
Crilley's art is sprinkled throughout, mostly half or third of a page pieces with a few larger ones. The grayscale work appears to be mostly pencil and maybe charcoal or watercolors, but some pieces show definite signs of computer texturing and fills. Basically, whatever medium will do the job. Thematically, it's right up his alley.
A great book, I'm glad I finally discovered it. And now I'll be mailing my copy to my nieces, at least the elder of which should be at the right reading level by now, if not both of 'em. Strongly recommended. $6.99/$7.99Cn (ISBN 978-0-316-11920-7)
The Enormous Egg: Little, Brown & Company (Little Brown Books/Hachette imprint) - It's not often something as large as a Triceratops can sneak past you, but this book managed to do so not once, but twice. The first time was in the mid-70s when I was a dinosaur- crazy and book-crazy little kid. Oliver Butterworth wrote this book in 1956, so there should have been a copy (albeit battered) somewhere in one of the libraries I had access to, yes? But I never saw it. And then, in 2009, this new edition came out with illustrations by Mark Crilley...and despite moderating one of his fan boards, I somehow missed it then too. I finally found out about it when Mark posted his cover roughs to deviantArt, and after a little searching I found the right edition on Amazon (after not finding it in the local bookstores).
The story is pretty low-key save for a little drama with Congress near the end: kid's chicken lays a huge egg that hatches out into a Triceratops, word gets out, etc. Things are rather un-frenzied until the end, but keep in mind that back in 1956 dinosaurs were a fairly minor part of popular culture (Sinclair stations notwithstanding). And it was a year before Sputnik, so the whole science frenzy hadn't yet gripped the public. But the story shows its place in time in other, more obvious ways...telephone operators routing calls manually, sending of telegraphs, a live Washtington D.C. television show trying to avoid controversial topics...weird stuff like that.
Butterworth writes in a very engaging style, it's worth going slowly so as to not miss any of the turns of phrase. The opening line pretty much sets the tone: "My name is Nate Twitchell, but I can't help that."Crilley's art is sprinkled throughout, mostly half or third of a page pieces with a few larger ones. The grayscale work appears to be mostly pencil and maybe charcoal or watercolors, but some pieces show definite signs of computer texturing and fills. Basically, whatever medium will do the job. Thematically, it's right up his alley.
A great book, I'm glad I finally discovered it. And now I'll be mailing my copy to my nieces, at least the elder of which should be at the right reading level by now, if not both of 'em. Strongly recommended. $6.99/$7.99Cn (ISBN 978-0-316-11920-7)