TODAY!!! “THE BAT CAN BAT: A BOOK OF TRUE HOMONYMS” is available wherever books are sold! Hey MUPPET Peeps, you may just see your cameo in this book!

Thank you, School Library Journal for the wonderful review for: The Bat Can Bat: A Book of True Homonyms.”

Gr 2-4–Sports and animals are perennially popular, and Barretta uses them as the common denominator in this collection of illustrated homonyms. It begins with the easily understood “The bat can bat!” featuring a bat playing baseball, then progresses to more difficult examples. The font is simple, in black or white, depending on the background color of the full-bleed illustrations. The homonyms are printed in capital letters. The use of horizontal and vertical spreads is helpful in explaining the finer points of homonyms. One of the vertical illustrations features a two-tiered, high diving board—the top deck hosts an angry, red-faced rhino who is throwing a fit over the fit of his ridiculously tiny swimsuit. For comic relief, on the lower diving deck, a young girl casts a nervous glance upwards. A “Note to the Reader” includes useful definitions of homonyms, homophones, and homographs. VERDICT More concept book than storybook, this is a fundamental purchase for school libraries and public libraries with heavy educator usage.–Lisa Taylor, Florida State College, Jacksonville

THANK YOU, KIRKUS! For the wonderful review of my next release, The Bat Can Bat: A Book of True Homonyms. (Feb 2018)
“Homonym pairs describe the action as an array of unlikely animals play sports with varying degrees of success and hilarity. The titular BAT wields his BAT for a home run, causing the president to announce a new law declaring that all animals have the RIGHT to play sports. “That’s RIGHT!” he says. Double-page spreads depict a variety of animals taking part in all kinds of sporting events, employing one or more sets of true homonyms, which stand out in bold uppercase letters. (A note to readers orients them on the nuanced differences among homonyms, homophones, and homographs.) Some examples involve pairings with straightforward meanings that are easily understood by young readers. Rabbits TRAIN for races by racing a TRAIN. In other examples, details in the illustrations highlight possibly unfamiliar meanings. The dolphin can STAND on a wave as it faces the judges’ STAND, where there is a sign over a diverse group of people in a structure helpfully labeled “Judges.” Barretta is a master of wordplay (Dear Deer, 2007; Zoola Palooza, 2011), and his hugely expressive, brightly hued watercolor cartoons certainly depict both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, all with endless humor and charm. That poor water buffalo is totally embarrassed when his horn is caught in the basketball net, and the monkey looks absolutely gleeful when he deliberately throws the football in the wrong direction. Youngsters will laugh out loud while they are unconsciously, painlessly learning. (Picture book. 6-9) “

Timeless Thomas is mentioned on a list of 26 Top Science and STEAM Books. Thank you, Amanda Dodge!
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Here’s an interview I did for The Art Side of Life!
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Watch my second presentation! Follow this link. Tue, Nov. 1st at 10:30am EST. I’ll be back at the 92nd St. Y in NY with Author/Illustrator Don Brown speaking about “Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare.” He’ll be speaking about his book, “Aaron and Alexander.”Check It Out

Lincoln and Kennedy was given a Carolyn W. Field Honor Book Award! Thank you, PA Library Association!

I’m doing an interactive event at First Sundays for Families at the Brandywine River Museum. 12pm

The students at Carey Elementary, in Carey, Ohio, paid me a wonderful honor. They chose my giraffe painting from “Dear Deer” as their favorite painting at the prestigious Mazza Museum.

A new NY Times review for “Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born!”
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