| Tom Lichtenheld | |
What Are YOU So Grumpy About?
Tom Lichtenheld...in his own words: I came up with the idea for this book while I was on an airplane on the way to California. It seems like I come up with most of my ideas in weird places: on an airplane, at the hardware store or in a crowded elevator. I think it's because being somewhere unusual makes our brains think more creatively. That's why it's easy to think up geniusy thoughts when you're way up in a tree fort or hiding inside a big cardboard box. Most of the things in this book came from remembering what made me grumpy when I was a kid. For instance, the part about falling into the toilet after someone leaves the seat up came from my own experience. When I was about six years old, I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and didn't bother to turn on the light. When I sat down, my skinny little butt went straight down into the cold water. It was quite a shock, and I remember thinking "who in the world would have such a big butt that they would need to put up the seat in order to fit it on the toilet?" Some of the other crabby-causing situations in the book came from talking with kids to find out what makes them grumpy. I've learned that there are about a million things that make kids grumpy, but the leading causes are: 1. siblings (looking at you, touching you, being on the same planet as you), 2. food (mixing things together, leftovers, just plain gross), and 3. getting bossed around by adults. The hardest part of writing this book was coming up with an ending. My wife, Jan, said I should think about things that make kids un-grumpy. So I came up with the tickling situation, which cures even the worst case of grumpiness, and also makes a pretty good ending for a book. Thank you for reading about my book, and remember; it's impossible to be giggly and grumpy at the same time. |
 Tom Lichtenheld grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where he doodled his way through school and worked as a sign painter before attending college. He developed an interest in book design and illustration at the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a degree in fine art.
Tom has worked as an advertising art director for 20 years, the last 16 with Fallon Minneapolis. His advertising work has won every major award in the industry and he has taught and lectured at advertising schools around the country. He is currently working in advertising on a freelance basis, which gives him time to write and illustrate children's books. Tom's first book, "Everything I Know About Pirates", (Simon & Schuster, 2000), was written by accident after his nephew requested a drawing of pirate. In response, Tom drew twenty pages of silly pictures of pirates, accompanied by explanatory text. It was, literally, everything he knew about pirates, most of it made up on the fly. The book has gone into multiple printings and was named one of the best children's books of 2000 by Newsweek. His newest release "Everything I Know About Monsters," is billed as a "collection of made-up facts, educated guesses, and silly pictures about creatures of creepiness." Following that will be "What Are YOU So Grumpy About?," to be released by Little, Brown & Co. in the spring of 2003. Tom lives in Geneva, Illinois with his wife Jan. When not drawing silly pictures and making up stories, his favorite activity is getting other people's kids all riled up then sending them home to their parents. |
Everything I Know About Monsters: A Collection of Made-Up Facts, Educated Guesses, and Silly Pictures About Creatures of Creepiness
"I'M NO MONSTEROLOGIST, but I do know enough about monsters to draw some pictures. And I can make up more stuff, so I can draw more pictures. The most important thing about monsters is that there really are no such things! No monsters, ever, nowhere, nohow.... But, monsters DO exist in our imaginations. And, as you know, our imaginations are immensely HUGE. (Your imagination is so huge that sometimes it leaks out of our ears as earwax." And so it begins. Stories about Under-the-Bed Monsters, Bunk-Bed Monsters, Closet Monsters, Basement Monsters, Attic Monsters, Shadows (good at pretending to be monsters), School Monsters, Man-Made Monsters and much much more. Great treat to read! Pick one monster a night. Ages 6-9 (and especially adults)
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Everything I Know About Pirates: A Collection of Made-Up Facts, Educated Guesses, and Silly Pictures About Bad Guys of the High Seas
Find answers to pressing questions: Where do pirates get their ears pierced?
Ages 6-9 (old pirates too)(share and spread the laughter) From book jacket:
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Everything I Know About Cars: A Collection Of Made - Up Facts, Educated Guesses, And Silly Pictures About Cars, Trucks, And Other Zoomy Things What's Your Car I.Q.? The fastest kind of car:
Cars were invented by:
Souped-up cars are made with what kind of soup?
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WHAT'S WITH THIS ROOM?
What's With This Room? takes you deep into the murk and stench of one boy's messy room and presents a hilarious dialogue between parent and kid. For every complaint that Mom or Dad has, our hero has a reason. Yesterday's moldy lunch in the corner? It's a science experiment. Piles of junk everywhere? It's art. Underwear hanging from the ceiling fan? It's an air flow study. Full of laugh-out-loud details that readers will love returning to again and again, What's With This Room? starts with a mess and ends with a bang! ORDER!AMAZON |
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