FUN GIVEAWAY: Thunder Boy Jr. By Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales

7/25/2016

By Mira Reisberg

I am super excited about today's book peek and because I love this book and former student Yuyi Morales so much I'm doing a giveaway with it. Please read on and watch the video then comment on what was most helpful to you from this post and I'll ask Yuyi, if she can, to pick a winner. I'll be announcing it here on August 8th! So here goes...

Thunder Boy Smith Jr, named after his father, Thunder Boy Smith Sr., loves his father dearly. People call his father Big Thunder, which “is a storm filling up the sky,” while he is called Little Thunder, which he believes sounds “like a burp or a fart.” Thunder Boy Jr loves his dad, but he has a secret. He hates his name and wants his own name.

So, he begins to brainstorm new names that might represent him better. He has once touched a wild orca and wonders if “Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth” might be a better fit. He loves going to garage sales with his mom, so possibly, “Old Toys Are Awesome” would work. The dog likes to chase Thunder Boy Jr.’s tail, so perhaps, “Can’t Run Fast While Laughing” is the way to go. Little Thunder is tired of being small, but he doesn’t know how to tell his dad. He loves his dad. His feelings seem to contradict themselves; how can he explain them to his dad?

In Thunder Boy Jr, Sherman Alexie shows the importance of both remembering one’s heritage while also embracing one’s unique identity. It is an empowering tale that celebrates aspects of certain Native American cultures while hilariously exploring one boy’s journey to find himself and the love between a father and a son. Alexie’s writing weaves this poignant message through prose that is simultaneously thoughtful and very clever, while Yuyi Morales's art takes the story to a whole other level. The two are like a match made in heaven.

In the video below, I show and tell how the illustrations were made and also comment on the wonderful text. I hope you enjoy it.

Dr. Mira Reisberg is: the founder of the Children's Book Academy, an award-winning illustrator & published author, a former kidlit professor, & a former literary agent among other things. Mira was lucky enough to be Yuyi and many other extraordinary people's teacher, many of whom now contribute to her courses including the upcoming annual Illustration course starting Sept 5th. Co-taught with Random House editor Julia Maguire with contributions from editors, agents, & top illustrators, Mira and Julia will also be doing a fab free teaching webinar on Wed August 24th 5.30 Pacific/8.30PM Eastern. So save the date & get first notice right here http://bit.ly/CBAtribe And do leave a comment below. Yuyi & I would love for you to win a copy of this book!

44 Comments

Mary Flynn link

7/25/2016 02:31:24 pm

Thank you so much for introducing this book to me. I have read Sherman Alexie's grown up books, but I didn't know that he wrote picture books. I love this.

Mira

8/8/2016 04:26:16 pm

You're welcome Mary, it's good to hear from you again! Sherman Alexie does children's books as well, and he and Yuyi did a fantastic job with this one.

Kristi Veitenheimer link

7/26/2016 04:37:16 am

What a beautiful, fun book. I can't wait to read it! I love how the pictures extend the story. Gorgeous!

8/8/2016 04:28:35 pm

It's very fun, you'll love it Kristi. It's great to see you back again! Yuyi has a wonderful way of extending stories through her art, and this book is a great example of that.

Lori Ann link

7/26/2016 06:32:16 am

What a beautiful book. I loved your review, Mira. Thank you.

8/8/2016 04:30:17 pm

It's so lovely, it really is. Thank you Lori as well for commenting, I always love to hear what people think about fabulous books like this one.

Corine Timmer link

7/26/2016 09:03:28 am

Hello Mira (and Yuyi)
So glad that this book has come up again. I pinned it onto my board "want to read" on Pinterest. It´s lovely to travel through it with you. I was attracted to the book because it is so important for children to be allowed to explore and express their own identity without feeling guilty or scared. The text is funny at times which is a great ice-breaker and I just adore the illustrations by Yuyi Morales. They definitely take the text to a higher level. A beautiful example of " The whole is greater than the sum of its parts". It is an old dilemma in a modern jacket. Brilliant! Your analysis about the use of different textures and sizes is useful. I would personally steer away from showing visuals that do not appear in the text, but you have proven me wrong. It has taken me a long time to figure out the difference between an illustrated storybook and a PB.

8/8/2016 04:37:13 pm

Thank you Corine, and you're right--discovering and expressing self-identity is an important theme in children's books that children can all relate to. Yuyi's wonderful illustrations keep the subject on track but playful, and that's very important. Sounds like there's a lot of learning happening here, how wonderful! Glad to help.

7/26/2016 09:03:46 am

Joy Michael Ellison link

7/28/2016 04:54:13 am

I love this book. Two amazing creators together at last!

8/8/2016 04:38:02 pm

Absolutely! Thanks for sharing, Joy!

Kirstine E. Call

7/28/2016 05:35:26 am

I can't wait to read this book! Thank you for sharing it with us.

8/8/2016 04:39:23 pm

You're very welcome, Kirstine. Get your hands on it as soon as you can!

Angie Quantrell

7/28/2016 07:14:11 am

What a beautiful book! I appreciated learning about some of the ways the illustrator took the author's story and added to the emotions and strivings of the MC. I loved hearing some illustrator terms like conceptual artist and organic illustrations. Fascinating! Thank you for sharing with us.

8/8/2016 04:43:24 pm

You're very welcome Angie, thank you for sharing as well! Yuyi has a wonderful way of adding to a story's text and this book is a prime example of that. You can always really delve into her illustrations.

Angele Bourque

7/28/2016 08:07:43 am

Thank you for introducing me to the author and illustrator. It's a great book!! I am a watercolour artist but this made me realize how little I know about illustration. Really enjoyed learning about the movement from one page to the other, the effect of the thickness of the lines and perspective of which I have good knowledge. To date, I am more of a writer than an illustrator, mostly in French until now...

8/8/2016 04:49:21 pm

You're very welcome Angele, I'm always happy to share fabulous books like Thunder Boy, Jr. There's always more to learn, especially when it comes to illustration, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm glad to hear you're writing, but I'm sure you're a great illustrator as well--I'd take a look at our upcoming Craft and Business of Illustrating Children's Books course under the Art & Illustration tab. That would be perfect for you if you're interested in learning more about illustration, and possibly illustrating your own work as well!

Carol link

7/28/2016 08:43:49 am

Looking forward to reading this book. Sounds great. Thanks.

8/8/2016 04:49:48 pm

You're very welcome, Carol. Thanks for sharing!

Lynn B link

7/28/2016 12:12:33 pm

Beautiful illustrations, and I love the how the humor is mixed in with the deeper stuff!

8/8/2016 04:50:47 pm

Lynn, this book is so wonderful for that exact reason! Thanks for sharing, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Lauraine Gibbons

7/28/2016 09:48:43 pm

Hello, Mira, and thank you for showing us this gorgeous book. I enjoyed it, both for the story and the illustrations, and must now obtain it so I can see the ending.
What I found particularly helpful was seeing how Yuyi grounded her isolated characters and smaller illustrations with the textured ovals, which are almost like spotlights. I often feel that I have to fill in the whole page and make a complete, realistic scene, but her approach is very liberating. I shall try this in the future. Thank you!
Lauraine

8/8/2016 04:54:13 pm

Hello Lauraine, thanks for sharing. Yuyi is wonderfully conscious of her use of positive and negative space--sometimes filling in a background actually takes away from the illustration. Keep trying new ideas--sometimes a minimalistic approach is all you need!

eleni

8/1/2016 02:01:28 am

Hello Mira! Thank you for sharing this unique book with us! A great, fun story that really comes to life with the help of these beautiful illustrations. What really caught my attention is the minimalism of Yiyi's illustrations,it really proves that sometimes less is more. The simplicity of the characters in combination with the dynamic compositions and only a suggestion of background, give a playful feeling to it. Seeing this is a great inspiration for me, since i have always been struggling with the idea of filling in the whole page and the amount of details i should use!!

8/8/2016 04:57:31 pm

Thanks for sharing, Eleni! Yuyi's illustrations can leave quite an impact on the reader, and her control of positive and negative space is fantastic. The simplicity of her art keeps the focus on the character's journey, which is exactly what you want here. So glad this book inspired you, I love to hear that!

Nadine Gamble link

8/1/2016 05:06:16 am

Looks like another hit for Alexie & Morales!

8/8/2016 04:58:00 pm

Absolutely, Nadine! Thanks for sharing.

Nancy Kotkin

8/1/2016 10:36:17 am

I'm a big fan of Sherman Alexie and love this picture book. Highly recommend it to educators, librarians, and picture book lovers of all ages.

8/8/2016 04:58:45 pm

Glad to hear it, Nancy. Thanks for sharing--this is definitely a book that ought to be shared!

Annemarie Guertin

8/1/2016 10:03:24 pm

I love that you address that we need to see more books that are written by cultural insiders. I would love to win this book especially knowing the story behind this book!

8/8/2016 05:00:46 pm

Thank you, Annemarie. I am a big believer that diversity is very important, especially for younger readers, although we can all benefit from more shared points of view. Thanks for sharing!

Ann Wagner

8/1/2016 10:16:08 pm

Thunder Boy Jr. is one of those picture books that have that magic where the illustrator and writer together have created something greater than either did alone. As an example of what I mean, when Thunder Boy says he touched an orca, the illustrations show us that was his father in a mask; and when he says he climbed a mountain the reader sees the back of a chair. We see Thunder Boy's imagination because of the illustrations, whereas the text alone might give another impression. When Thunder Boy is angry, the illustrations show animals growling, howling at the sky! Picture book genius!

8/8/2016 05:03:48 pm

Ann, this book is definitely one of those picture books where there are stories within the story, largely thanks to Yuyi's fabulous illustrations. It really brings out the creative side of the illustrator and the imagination of the characters. I agree, picture book genius! Thanks for sharing, Ann.

Alexandra Alger

8/2/2016 11:41:53 am

Mira, thank you for taking the time to share Thunder Boy Jr. with us. As a writer who's in awe of illustrators (and doubly in awe of author-illustrators, like Yuyi), I loved hearing about her craft, how she created this effect and that effect. Story time but even better!

8/8/2016 05:08:09 pm

You're very welcome, Alexandra, thanks for sharing. I'm glad you enjoyed hearing the finer points of her illustrations. Have you considered becoming an author-illustrator? Anyone can be an illustrator if that's what you want to do.

Danette Byatt link

8/2/2016 12:16:19 pm

Wow, what a lovely book! I am absolutely smitten with Yuyi's illustration - the line, the texture, the playfulness... and the text is quite charming and funny as well. Both the story and the illustration has VOICE that's for sure! Thank you so much for sharing this with us Mira. I'm looking forward to reading this book and discovering it in its entirety.

8/8/2016 05:10:32 pm

Thanks for sharing Danette, this book certainly has a character all it's own. Yuyi's fabulous illustrations add an imaginative dimension to the text. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and buy it if you can!

Randy Bulla

8/2/2016 05:42:06 pm

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, is one of my all-time favs. Unfortunately, I've read nothing else by Sherman Alexie. I think Thunder Boy Jr. might be just the ticket. I think you, Mira Reisberg, might be even a greater find. I love your background. It's a win-win for me!

8/8/2016 05:17:42 pm

How lovely, Randy, thank you! Thunder Boy, Jr. is a wonderful next choice for one of Sherman Alexie's books, and Yuyi Morales' illustrations are a perfect match for the story. Thank you for joining us, Randy, and thank you for your truly lovely comment. You surprised me and made me feel kinda gooshy. It's so lovely to be appreciated.

Keila Dawson link

8/2/2016 07:16:31 pm

This book is such a wonderful celebration of heritage through story and illustrations.

8/8/2016 05:18:51 pm

Hi Keila, you are absolutely right. We can use more books like Thunder Boy, Jr. Thanks for sharing!

Jilanne Hoffmann

8/3/2016 10:44:19 pm

Wonderful analysis, Mira! I fell in love with Yuyi's work when I discovered Little Night, and I've been a fan ever since. She has such a distinctive touch. I'm a writer, not an illustrator, so I learned quite a bit while watching your video—particularly, that varying the width of lines gives an illustration a fine art feel, and that her rich textures are achieved, in part, by layering colors with different opacities. I'm thinking that she used these techniques for Little Night, too. I also agree with another commenter about how Yuyi adds more layers (and in may instances a layer of irony) to the story than is there in the text. So much fun to see! Such glorious work and such a perfect match for Sherman Alexie's story!

8/8/2016 05:25:06 pm

You're quite right, Jilanne. Yuyi did use layering in Little night--it's very fine, and done with layers of acrylic paint and water, so it has an effect similar to watercolors. Yuyi is certainly an expert in using layers in multiple ways in her illustrations, and matched Sherman Alexie's story perfectly. I'm glad you enjoyed the learning!

Also Jilanne, exciting news! You have been chosen as the winner for the Thunder Boy, Jr book giveaway! Contact me at mira@childrensbookacademy.com so we can get that sent out to you, and congratulations!!

8/25/2016 01:12:41 pm

Thank you, Yuyi and Mira, for your generosity! I've been away on vacation, so I just now found out that I am the winner. It's such a beautiful book! I have a copy from the library on my desk and was studying it before I went on vacation. Can't wait to have a copy for my own library! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

FUN GIVEAWAY: Thunder Boy Jr. By Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales

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