{"product_id":"9780060203856","title":"Bently and Egg","description":"  Bently Hopperton is an artistic frog, pressed into egg-sitting by his friend Kack  Kack the Duck. Bently can't resist painting Kack Kack's egg, and thanks to his  dazzling brushwork, his charge is soon mistaken for an Easter egg and kidnapped.  How Bently gets the egg back to the nest, and what happens when Kack Kack  returns, proves to be an adventure of a lifetime for a young frog.\"Bently is miffed when his friend Kack Kack the duck ignores him to brood in her nest.  After she leaves him in charge of her single egg, Bently decides to paint it.  [But] when a boy mistakes it for an Easter egg and runs off with it, Bently knows his duty. . . . A book that revels in the joys of spring and song, friendship and fatherhood, and the spirit of adventure . . . a classic tour de force.\" —H. \u003cp\u003e  Notable Children's Books of 1993 (ALA)\u003cbr\u003eBest Books of 1992 (SLJ)\u003cbr\u003e100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1992 (NY Public Library)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor Biography:  William Joyce, author-artist of \u003ci\u003eRolie Polie Olie\u003c\/i\u003e lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, with his lovely wife, Elizabeth, and their children, Jack and Mary Katherine.  They also have a dachshund named Rose. Here Mr.Joyce talks about his collection of children's books, his influences in creating them, and even the Rolie Polie family!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: What's new and different about \u003ci\u003eRolie Polie Olie\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003cbr\u003eA: Everything in \u003ci\u003eRolie Polie Olie\u003c\/i\u003e is a robot or a machine. Beds, cars, kitchen appliances, and even the toilet have a personality. But rather than it seeming cold and remote, as computer animation can often feel, I wanted to see if we could make a robot world that felt warm and kind; an almost old-fashioned version of what the futurecould be. I wanted to take the cutting edge of cybertechnology and create something that felt as though it was done in the 1930s. It's sort of like \u003ci\u003eLeave It to Beaver\u003c\/i\u003e meets \u003ci\u003eThe Matrix\u003c\/i\u003ex or \u003ci\u003eBlade Runner\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: How does the Emmy Award-winning animated TV show \u003ci\u003eRolie Polie Olie\u003c\/i\u003e relate to the book?\u003cbr\u003eA: I had been working on a book about robots when I was approached to do a computer-animated television series. Previously, I had worked on \u003ci\u003eToy Story,\u003c\/i\u003e which was an amazing experience, so I decided to merge my robot paintings with the computer — to paint with the computer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI had never collaborated on anything visual before, but with the help of 300 artists and technicians on 3 different continents, I was able to realize this vision. I was able to create an entire 3-D robot universe without ever leaving my desk in Shreveport, Louisiana. My sketches, stories, and songs traveled from my home to Toronto, Paris, and Ho Chi Minh City. I would design every antenna, tree, and doorknob, and the computer would then render my drawings. We didn't know if it would work, but here we are with an Emmy Award-winning television show on the Disney channel and two beautiful picture books.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: What was your inspiration for \u003ci\u003eRolie Polie Olie\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003cbr\u003eA: The Rolie Polie family is a caricature of my own family, even down to the family dog!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI wanted to evoke the blithe, optimistic feeling of an old Mickey Mouse cartoon or The Little Rascals. Some kind of \"Once upon a time\" Americana in the robot world, or a \"future that never was.\" The Polie family harks back to what we all wanted as kids; everything is uncomplicated and magically naive. This is a bright and shiny sun-drenched world, moving and swaying to its own catchy oom-pa-pa beat. Everything is round, everything is alive, everyone does the rumba dance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: In your latest picture book, \u003ci\u003eSnowie Rolie\u003c\/i\u003e, you bring a winter wonderland to Robot Land. Tell us about your new character, Mr. Snowie.\u003cbr\u003eA: I thought that it would be great if a snowman could really come to life . . . and on this robot planet where everything is living, naturally a snowman would have to be alive too!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen you make a snowman, you put so much effort and personality into something that is going to melt. It is a very poignant process, for no matter what you do, soon you will still have to let go and say good-bye. In \u003ci\u003eSnowie Rolie,\u003c\/i\u003e I wanted to actually save a snowman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: What is the theme of \u003ci\u003eSnowie Rolie\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003cbr\u003eA: Snowie Rolie is about how your life can change in a single day. Olie and Zowie wish for snow in the beginning of the book, but in the end they have gained a friend. They have learned so much about friendship and farewells, all in the course of one miraculous, snowy day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: Now another one of your classic picture books, George Shrinks, has a new animated TV series on PBS. Where did the idea for \u003ci\u003eGeorge\u003c\/i\u003e come from?\u003cbr\u003eA: Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved stories about people who were the wrong size. King Kong was too big for everything, and Stuart Little was way too small. One day I found some of my old toys in a box. Mixed up with all the dinosaurs and army men was a little airplane that had a tiny pilot, and that got me thinking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat if a boy named George shrank one day while his parents were away?  What would he do? Would it be fun? Would it be scary? What would he eat?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo that's what I made \u003ci\u003eGeorge Shrinks\u003c\/i\u003e about — how neat it would be if, just for one day, you were the same size as your toys. And of course I had George fly in that toy airplane.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: What influences you as an artist and author?\u003cbr\u003eA: I'm a first-generation TV brat. My brain was welded to the solid-state circuitry of our RCA Viewmaster black-and-white television set. Every day and night I saw all the past, present, and future pulp the tube had to offer. Plus there were comic strips, my family, and other illustrators.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eGeorge Shrinks\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003ci\u003eKing Kong\u003c\/i\u003e in reverse. \u003ci\u003eNicholas Cricket\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003ci\u003eCasablanca\u003c\/i\u003e with bugs. In \u003ci\u003eThe Leaf Men\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBently \u0026amp; egg\u003c\/i\u003e the characters are as dashing and heroic as \u003ci\u003eRobin Hood\u003c\/i\u003e. In \u003ci\u003eSanta Calls\u003c\/i\u003e there are elements of \u003ci\u003eThe Wizard of Oz, Davy Crockett, The Lone Ranger, Rin-Tin-Tin, Little Orphan Annie, Jules Verne,\u003c\/i\u003e and the Warner Brothers cartoons. For \u003ci\u003eDinosaur Bob\u003c\/i\u003e I thought about \u003ci\u003ePaul Bunyan\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCasey at the Bat\u003c\/i\u003e. Not only does a dinosaur become the family pet, but he also plays baseball and the trumpet, and dances the hokey-pokey. \u003ci\u003eA Day With Wilbur Robinson\u003c\/i\u003e is a combination of \u003ci\u003eDr. Doolittle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Absent-Minded Professor\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eInvaders from Mars\u003c\/i\u003e, and an exaggerated version of my own childhood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ: How does your childhood show up in your picture books?\u003cbr\u003eA: I was raised by a congenial horde of southern screwballs. We had artists, bongo players, photographers, opera singers, actors, and geologists in our family. Everyone over fifty had dentures, which were always being mixed up or misplaced. We sometimes played shuffleboard with them. My grandfather had the added bonus of a glass eye that he swore could see even when outside his head. I had an uncle who convinced me he was from another planet. With a household like that, writing and illustrating came easily to me.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47009993523440,"sku":"9780060203856","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780060203856_p0.gif?v=1763618896","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780060203856","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}