Last week I wrote a piece about finding books at the library written or illustrated by friends. I also shared my friend Dandi's good news. On that same trip to the library, I saw the name Ohi on the spines of two books. At first I thought it might be works by my friend, Debbie Ohi, the illustrator who delights me with her daily doodle drawings. She is also the illustrator who is illustrating the new covers for the soon to be re-released Judy Bloom books.
The books I pulled off of the shelf, however, were written and illustrated by her sister, Ruth Ohi. It's not often that you find two such talented people in the same family, so I grabbed The Couch Was A Castle and Chicken, Pig, Cow and added them to my stack.
The Couch Was A Castle is an adorable book that reminded me of my very own living room couch that so often turns into a fort. You just have to love the imagination of a child who creates fantastic dreams from an ordinary every day item. Be it a castle, a leaky boat, or a dark cave, a couch can be an incredible thing. Ruth's book is also an incredible thing with adorable illustrations and incredibly cute characters.
Chicken, Pig, Cow was also a fantastic book. I loved the characters, I loved the illustrations, I loved the drooly dog that solved the barn door problem. I loved the fact that cow passed out when the drooly dog cuddle up to him, but claimed he had made a new friend when he woke up. A very fun book for children four to eight.
Not only do I find being an author incredibly fun, but I find exploring the works of my friends to be incredibly fun and rewarding as well.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
