rodney loses it!

            A truly hysterical search for a missing pen.

               Words: MGB    Pictures: Chrissie Krebs

 

REVIEWS:

This charming tale about a forgetful rabbit is a perfect example of text and illustrations working together to tell an engaging and hilarious story. Bauer’s effortless rhyming text tells Rodney’s sad tale. Kreb’s frantic illustrations perfectly capture Rodney’s manic energy and frustration … an excellent choice as both a story-time and bedtime read … a read again, and again, and again, favourite. (Tina Cavanough – Magpies Magazine)

Rodney Loses It! is a fun book, with text from Michael Gerard Bauer that is perfect for a read-along with any young reader. The illustrations by Chrissie Krebs are gloriously colourful and funny. Rodney with his glasses, his floppy ears and his own artwork are sure to be a hit with any young reader still learning the fun of reading and rhyming. (Verushka Byrow – CBCA Reading Time)

Rodney Loses It! is a humorous picture book, written in rhyming text which scans well and is a delight to read aloud.  The digital illustrations show Rodney  as a simple, but very expressive rabbit, with his eyes, ears and whiskers all used to show his emotions with delightful effect. Sure to be loved by kids and adults alike. (Sally Murphy – Aussie Reviews)

This is Bauer’s first picture story book after his successful books for teenagers including the Ishmael series which I truly enjoyed. In this hard cover book for children as young as 4, the text and action is crazy and chaotic and it rhymes, making it fun to read aloud as well as for the listener. The illustrations by new illustrator Chrissie Krebs are bright and full of energy and they make you laugh as well. The surprise ending is a great lead in to further discussion with children. (Joan Steinman – 99.9 Voice FM Ballarat)

Here’s a picture book I’ve chosen for kids 5 plus because I think they will truly appreciate its clever use of language. Its rollicking rhyme and rhythm make it great for memorisation, and it definitely begs to be read aloud. I loved the clever twist at the end, and kids will too. The illustrations really add to the fun. Krebs proves she is game for all the linguistic challenges Bauer throws at her! Rodney Loses It makes a hilarious gift for any child, but particularly those very special kids who love to play with words. (The Book Chook)

Poor Rodney cannot cope when his favourite pen (Penny) goes missing. A wonderfully funny story about the resulting temper tantrum. (Jackie Hosking – Pass It On)

Unlike some picture books this book can be enjoyed multiple times and different themes can be explored. Tantrums, hobbies, favourite things and boredom to name a few. This is Michael Gerard Bauer’s first picture book and let’s hope it is the first of many. A tantrum is a part of the life of young children and Rodney does it well with the help of illustrator Chrissie Krebs. The book is in verse and a pleasure to read out loud. It’s great! (Megan Stuart – Bug in a Book)

CBCA JUDGES REPORT: WINNER EARLY CHILDHOOD CATEGORY:

AWARDS and SHORTLISTINGS:

• CBCA Notable Book 2018
• CBCA SHORT-LISTED Book 2018
• CBCA WINNER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 EARLY CHILDHOOD.
• WINNER: Speech Pathology of Australia Book of the Year for Years 3 – 5.

Fabulous illustrations and Rodney soft toy by the amazing Chrissie Krebs ….

  

 

BELOW: Speech Pathology Australia Awards in Melbourne at the State Library of Victoria.

Below is the beginning of the original manuscript as submitted to the publishers. It included some explanations of how I thought the text would work.

Now for any keen (and perhaps frustrated!) reader of Rodney Loses It! who discovers that one of Rodney’s lost items really does seem to be totally missing, the original uncropped image below of the first page of the story, might help finally solve the mystery for you.

If it doesn’t, then try not to lose it!

BACKGROUND NOTE: This is my first published picture book but it’s not the first picture book story I’ve written. A number of years before my first novel The Running Man was accepted I wrote (and tried to illustrate) a story called Joseph’s Discovery. It was based on my then toddler son Joe who was obsessed by dinosaurs and also loved to draw. I sent the manuscript to various publishers but without success.

While the overall story-lines of Rodney and Joseph’s Discovery are quite different, they both involve a frustrated artist who ‘loses it’. You can find out a little bit more about Joseph’s Discovery in this BLOG.

My son Joe Bauer continued with his love of drawing and went on to brilliantly illustrate my Eric Vale and Derek ‘Danger’ Dale books. Today, along with his wife Rita Artmann they are ARTSPEAR ENTERTAINMENT. You can check out all their hilarious TOON SANDWICH movie trailer spoofs and the rest of their work HERE.