Mr Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo
by Kevin Waldron
Great fun from cover to cover, this quirky picturebook warns its readers of the dangers of unguarded words, and making assumptions from partly-heard remarks.
Mistakenly dressing in his small son's jacket one morning, Mr Peek goes on his zoo round bemoaning his apparently increasing girth and his unattractive appearance.
As the animals overhear his remarks, each assumes he is criticising them and becomes miserable. Once Mr Peek discovers his mistake, his cheerful remarks during his evening round restore their happiness.
Readers (invited by a ticket to 'admit one reader') can interrogate every page for humorous detail within the images, which cleverly capture the comedic essence of each animal.
Each spread uses varying sizes, shapes and designs within the text itself.
Publisher: Templar
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Kevin Waldron
Kevin Waldron was born in Dublin and, after graduating with a degree in graphic design, he travelled for a year and then moved to London where he studied for an MA in Illustration at Kingston University. After deciding that children’s book illustration was for him, Kevin found a studio in central London where he works with other illustrators.
Kevin’s first book, Mr Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo (Templar Publishing), which unveiled Mr Peek, his eccentric and amazing new character, won the Bologna Ragazzi Award Opera Prima Award in 2009. He illustrated Tiny Little Fly (Walker Books) a witty book of rhyme by Michael Rosen, in 2009 before emigrating to America. He now lives in New York.
He was chosen for a Booktrust Best New Illustrators Award in 2011.Illustration Technique
Kevin works with gouache, pen and ink (he broke lots of nibs making the pink scratches you see on the hippo in Tiny Little Fly!), charcoal, whatever is lying around and whatever he can use to get the texture he is after. Sometimes this involves placing the paper on the cement ground in the studio and drawing with charcoal or a heavy pencil. Then he scans it in and manipulates the colours on the computer (he had a rubber stamp made for some of the text and borders) using his computer like a screen printer.
http://www.kevinwaldron.co.uk/
Kevin Waldron
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Reading Age: 7+
Interest level: 3+
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