RECENT BOOKS
LATEST BOOKLIST REVIEW . . .
To the horror of his hairy parents, Little Good Wolf cleans his room, brushes his teeth, and plays with piggies rather than eating them. So off he goes to the Big Bad School for reprogramming . . . Readers will applaud both his gift for derailing set lesson plans and his ultimate solution, which is at once satisfying and open ended.
REVIEW FROM KIRKUS . . .
“What to do when your kid can’t help but be good?
Papa Wolf and Mama Wolf are concerned for their son. They’ve tried everything, but he still keeps doing good things, like taking baths and playing nicely with pigs! Determined to have him carry on the family legacy of being a Big Bad Wolf, his parents send Little Good Wolf off to Bad School. But the lessons don’t go as planned. . . .This fun inversion on several classic Western fairy-tale characters is full of laughs at all the ironic turns of events, with a wholesome message about acceptance and family bonds.
NOT JUST GOOD—GREAT!”
BY Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
Bear doesn’t want to work on his farm. He’d rather sleep all day. Good thing Fox knows exactly what Bear needs—a donkey! And Fox just happens to have a donkey egg that’s almost ready to hatch. But wait! Donkeys don’t come from eggs . . .
Is Bear in for a fruity surprise?
BY KAREN BEAUMONT
A group of animals strut their stuff, showing how proud they are about their big teeth, round bellies and long necks. Great for helping young children learn to love themselves.
BY JANET STEVENS AND SUSAN STEVENS CRUMMEL
The Little Red Pen must grade the papers or it's the END OF THE WORLD! She is stressed out and asks for help, but all her school supply friends can say is, "Not I!" The Little Red Pen goes it alone and finally tumbles with exhaustion into the Pit of No Return (the trash!). Will the Little Red Pen be lost forever? Will it be the end of the world?
BY JANET STEVENS AND SUSAN STEVENS CRUMMEL
Responding to disgruntled dogs nationwide, Mr, Mutt, Canine Counselor, has solutions to the most sticky dilemmas. But Mr. Mutt has his own problem to solve: the cat (aka The Queen), who has her own idea of who;s in charge. Now Mr. Mutt is the one who needs help, quick!
BY JANET STEVENS AND SUSAN STEVENS CRUMMEL
Ruff! Ruff! Yip! Yip! Dog is rounding up whatever he can find in his urban apartment, even chairs. He is also driving his bird companion crazy with the commotion. Bird sends him to the countryside to find something more appropriate to herd, such as a cow. But since dog has never seen a cow, he finds all the wrong animals.
CLASSIC BOOKS
BY JANET STEVENS AND SUSAN STEVENS CRUMMEL
Every night the rhyme gets read. Every night Dish and Spoon run away. And every night they return--until tonight! Where can Dish and Spoon be? The rhyme can't go on without them, so Cat, Cow, and Dog set out to search for their missing friends. But where to start?
BY JANET STEVENS
Caldecott-Honor winning retelling of the classic tale of wily Hare tricking lazy Bear into giving up half the crops, be it the top, or the bottom. A story so deep in the ground even the paper is made from gardening pants!
BY JANET STEVENS AND SUSAN STEVENS CRUMMEL
"Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!" crows Big Brown Rooster. "Let's get cooking!" So Rooster and his eager assistants: Turtle, Iguana and Potbellied Pig, set out to make the most wonderful, magnificent strawberry shortcake in the whole wide world. Rooster's glad to have help, but there's one big problem, none of his friends know how to cook!
BY JANET STEVENS AND SUSAN STEVENS CRUMMEL
Violet lost her ball, and it wound up somewhere very new. How will these (much smaller) dogs deal with this confounded fuzz? Everyone will be wrapped in this adventure told in fiber.
VISITS
JANET STEVENS would love to visit your SCHOOL, LIBRARY, CONFERENCE
OR CONVENTION!
CLICK IMAGE FOR PRINTABLE VERSION
SOME BOOK CHARACTERS DESIGNED BY KIDS!
ABOUT ME
A LIFETIME OF ART
Janet Stevens began drawing as a child. Pictures decorated her walls, mirrors, furniture and school work -- including math assignments. While this didn't always sit well with her teachers, it was what she loved to do.
Janet’s father was in the Navy therefore she moved a great deal and attended many schools while growing up.
After graduating from high school in Hawaii in 1971 she landed a job creating Hawaiian designs for fabric. The printed fabric was then made into aloha shirts and muumuus. After she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts Janet began compiling a portfolio of “characters”, bears in tutus, rhinos in sneakers, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. In 1977, she attended “The Illustrator's Workshop” in New York City, where it was suggested that her characters might find a home in a children's book. Luckily for libraries (and children's book readers in general), publishers agreed and her first book was published in 1979.
Janet is the author and illustrator of many original stories and frequently collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Her trademark humorous animals also accompany the texts by such authors as Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley,
Janet has received numerous book awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award, Time Magazine’s Ten Best Children’s Books , the Wanda Gág Best Read-Aloud Book. Child Magazine’s Best Books of the Year.. Janet's books have been named ALA Notables and have repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.
She is particularly proud of her state book awards, voted on by children -- which include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Nebraska and Washington. Janet has received the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award twice.
Me as a Kid
My Family
I have two children, my daughter Lindsey, a veterinarian in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Blake, an actor, juggler and mime in New York City. I
also have two grandchildren, Margot and Ellen.
My Pets
Over the years I've had many furry companions, sometimes they sneak into my books. I like to imagine what it would be like if my pets walked, talked and took over the story. Can you spot the real-life inspiration for my characters?
MY STUDIO
My studio is where I put together all my books, for the past several years I have used a combination of painting, drawing and digital media to create my illustrations.
Using the computer allows me to include lots of different real images and photos alongside the paintings, manipulate my layout on the computer and get exactly the look I want, without having to redraw the whole thing. My hand gets tired!
Stay tuned, I'll be adding a lot more images, videos and details about how each of my books were made in the near future!
Here I added real images and textures to my drawings from "Cook-A-Doodle-Doo"
The process starts by scanning the sketches, images and paper. I do a rough color version on the computer to get an idea of what it will look like. After working with the Art Director and Editor, I decide on a final layout for the page (I have to leave room for the words!).
Once the layout is ready, I add the colors and textures, real strawberries and a cheese grater for Iguana's skin! Then I add the digital images, a spoon, measuring cup and bowl, the final image is then printed on the handmade paper and ready for the book.
