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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
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Jeffrey and Sloth
AboutWinters, K. (2007). Jeffrey and Sloth. Illustrated by Ben Hodson. Victoria: Orca Book Publishers. Finalist for the 2008 BC Book Prize and sponsored tour. Nominated for the BLUE SPRUCE Award and Winner of the ABCs of Education best books of 2006-2007. Read more at Wikipedia. See also an early incarnation of this book, “Jeffrey’s Wor(l)ds Meet Sloth,” in Chameleon Magazine, 2004. Purchase
Author visitsKari is available to visit schools, libraries, birthday parties, workshops … Please see more about author visits. Reviews
CM Magazine 13:20, May 25, 2007: Jeffrey and Sloth. B.C.’s Orca Books is known for its paperback series for different ages, but it also publishes thoughtful non-fiction and a fine range of picture books. Jeffrey and Sloth is an example of the latter. Author Kari-Lynn Winters, who is billed on the jacket copy as an educator, performer and writer, says that the inspiration for writing Jeffrey and Sloth came from a lack of inspiration to write anything at all. And the only lines of type on the first page of the book say, “Jeffrey looked at the blank page. It glared back.” This is a statement any blocked writer can truly appreciate. Instead of telling a story with words, Jeffrey decides to tell one with pictures. The sloth character he creates takes over events, commanding Jeffrey to draw it a chair, a pillow and blanket. The sloth’s rude behaviour moves the artist to begin shaping the animal’s actions in the direction he wants, and the tables are turned. By the end, effrey’s story is one of visual and textual art. Ben Hodson’s wonderfully comic illustrations make readers appreciate Jeffrey’s transformation from downcast to jubilant. The sloth, too, changes from the most elemental schmoo-like outline to a three-dimensional creature with moods and facial expressions that will make readers laugh out loud. Jeffrey and Sloth is a story of the development of artistic expression and empowerment. Bravo to both of its creators. Recommended. Ellen Heaney is Head of Children’s Services at the New Westminster Public Library in New Westminster, BC.
Georgia Straight, July 26 2007:Jeffrey and Sloth “Good writers have lots of ideas,” the Sloth says, after Jeffrey doodles him magically to life. “You don’t have any!” Not much gratitude from the critical, demanding Sloth, which backfires on the imaginary creature as Jeffrey comes to realize the power an author has over his creations. Not only is the story charming and the moral inspiring (we all have the power to create; ideas lie all around us), but it’s explicitly set in Canada to boot. Makes you want to pick up pencil and paper and see what happens next. Suggested ages: four to eight.
Kids’ reviewsfrom orcabook.com. What my primary students think about Jeffrey and Sloth: “I think it’s a good book for kids to learn stuff like writing stories and encouraging kids to use their imagination.” (Stella, grade 3) “I like it when the sloth dug to India.” (Paulo, grade 2) “It was funny. My favorite part was when the sloth went across Canada.” (Stu, grade 3) “I think it’s great for kids over five.” (Helen, grade 3) “It was funny when the sloth was trying to find the blanket.” (Emma, grade 2) “I like it when the sloth came alive.” (Braeden, grade 2) “I think it was an interesting and wonderful story.” (Ally, grade 3) “I like the pictures. They explain what happened to the sloth.” (Amy, grade 2) “I think kids will enjoy this book because it’s funny and it teaches them about sloths, Canada, geography.” (Amit, grade 3) What my intermediate students think about Jeffrey and Sloth: “I would rate this 5/5 for kids ages 4 - 10. I loved the moral to the story. Do not be a sloth. Being lazy will not help anyone or help yourself.” (Gary, grade 5) “I think the book would appeal to all age groups because it is so funny and full of imagination. It really inspires people to write more. It should be for kids aged 5 - 11 because there are some powerful words that older kids might find useful for writing projects.” (George, grade 5) “This was a good book about thinking outside the box. The book teaches not to take people for granted.” (Gail, grade 5) “I am 10 and I thought it was the best picture book I have read so far. I really liked how the sloth was so mean and bossy until Jeffrey found his weakness and used it against him. I think that kids from preschool to grade 7 or 8 will absolutely love this book!” (Daya, grade 5) “This is a creative story about doing your homework and being imaginative. The way Kari-Lynn writes the story is very fun for children about 6 or 7 years old.” (Diana, gr.5) “This book was so hilarious! It shows kids that even though you think you are not good at something, you are actually great if you really try.” (Kyleah, grade 5) “I think the book teaches us not to be lazy when it comes to homework.” (Elaine, gr. 5) “It gives people ideas if they don’t know what to write about.” (Jacky, grade 5) “A wonderful book about a boy and a sloth.” (Anthony, grade 5) “It’s a very well written book about a lazy sloth who traveled many countries to find his cozy blanket.” (Amanda, grade 5) “I think this book would be great for grades 1 and 2. They might learn about making fabulous stories while creating pictures in their minds.” (Alex, grade 7) “This book is for grade 2’s. It would tell them that drawing can give you writing ideas.” (Kevin, grade 7). “There’s a lesson to learn and an idea you can do when you’re stuck in writing. Awesome pictures. (Melissa, grade 7) “I really liked the book. The pictures had so much detail; it was fun to look at. I think this book could be for grades 4 - 6.” (Linda, grade 6) “This book teaches little kids to be creative and not lazy. It teaches kids to have power over things that are bothering them.” (Kate, grade 7) What my intermediate students thought about power and powerlessness in Jeffrey and Sloth: “Too much power is slavery.” (Jan, grade 7) “This book should be recommended for grade 2’s. It would teach them how to respond back when someone tries to control them.” (Wilson, grade 7) “If I had no power, I’ll feel awful because I have no choices. My decisions are controlled and I’ll have no choice but to do as I was told. I’ll feel like I’m just a doll and nothing more. If I had all the power, I’ll feel great and maybe become mean. I’ll have all my choices back and I can do whatever I want. I could command things / people to do my homework.” (Vivian, grade 7) “I think to have power is to be fully confident. It feels good to have power. But you have to use the power responsibly. You use it to help people, not order them around. If you had no power you’d feel miserable. People ordering you to do stuff. I have power over my little brother. He does everything I tell him to do. I have no power when my parents are talking to me.” (Angela, grade 7) Other comments: As a teacher, parent, and writer, I’m always on the hunt for an indispensable resource. It’s what I pack if my day is going to contain anything unpredictable: a new teaching situation, the hook to launching a unit, an unexpected wait in the doctor’s office. Jeffrey and Sloth is that rare kind of book that works for kids of all ages. Jeffrey and Sloth is a literacy teacher’s tool for inspiring children with a month’s worth of ideas for their creative writing. Primary teachers will want this book as a fun hook for studying Canada. It’s a substitute teacher’s solution to a blank or boring dayplan: scrap the busy work and create a Social Responsibility mini-unit around themes of power and powerlessness. An art teacher could create weeks of exciting lessons exploring the book’s illustrations: patterns, colors, cartoon animation, and teaching students to illustrate their own stories. And I’m just getting started. Imagine what an educator could come up with if she, like Jeffrey, started brainstorming or doodling on a scrap piece of paper. Jeffrey and Sloth is a multi-age enjoyable read. My preschooler loves the situational comedy. My grade sevens enjoy Winters’ fresh approach to writer’s block. This is a book children and adults - formally or informally - will enjoy for years. Interview with Lori Calabrese, published 2/14/2008From loricalabrese.blogspot.com/2008/02/author-interview-kari-winters.html : Jeffrey and Sloth, by Kari-lynn Winters (author), Ben Hodson (illustrator) Orca Book Publishers (March 2007) Suffering from writer’s block? What do you do? Most of us doodle- even if all we can draw are stick figures! Are you a doodler? ‘Jeffrey and Sloth’ will make you think about WHAT you doodle! Jeffrey suffers from writer’s block so what does he do? He begins to doodle and one of his doodles comes to life. His doodle is a long armed sloth that keeps bugging Jeffrey so he can’t write his report. The sloth bosses Jeffrey around asking Jeffrey to draw certain things for him. Winters tells a creative and fun story about taking control of your life and not letting little things distract you. Find out what happens to Jeffrey and Sloth in this creative picture book that confronts the power of the written word! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kari was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Her urge to travel and explore different cultures has led her to live in locations all across North America. She now lives in Vancouver, BC. She attends the University of British Columbia as a Ph.D. candidate and instructor in the Language and Literacy Dept. Kari enjoys being in the classroom, as a student, a teacher, and as a presenter. She has recently completed her masters thesis on exploring the efficacy of using the arts to strengthen less proficient students’ reading comprehension (part of her multimedia thesis presentation is available online). Before that, she taught in North Carolina for three years and in Toronto for 2 years. Kari holds a teaching degree from the University of Toronto, in regular and special education for children ages 3-13. She is also a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada (in Montreal), where she earned a certificate in technical theatre. Kari has also written numerous magazine articles. ‘Jeffrey and Sloth’ has received many positive reviews and was a top-10 finalist for the Blue Spruce award. How did you get the idea for ‘Jeffrey and Sloth’? I got the idea for Jeffrey and Sloth from a professor at UBC. I was asked to write a story, but couldn’t think of anything to write about. I told my professor that I was struggling and he said, “If you can’t think of anything to write about, write about having nothing to write about.” And that is what I did. How long did it take you to get from idea all the way to published with this book? I love that this picture book is about the daunting task of overcoming writer’s block. Do you have any suggestions for writers on ways of overcoming writer’s block? There are strategies for overcoming writer’s block right in the book. When in doubt do what Jeffrey does. Doodle to Write Jeffrey has writer’s block. He can’t think of anything to write about. So he doodles instead. Writers can:
Doodling Details Doodles can say a lot about a character’s particularities. Writers can decide how their theme/big ideas are supported: Writers might use adjectives to describe their doodled characters. For example, Sloth is lazy and bossy. Once the particularities of the characters are determined, the writer can assign goals for their characters. For example, Sloth is lazy. He wants to sleep. Next, writers can support their ideas through their characters’ objectives. If Sloth wants to sleep, what will he need to sleep or to sleep better? Writers might think about what stands in the way of their characters achieving these goals (e.g. another character, their environment, themselves, and more). In Jeffrey and Sloth, Jeffrey’s own goal of getting his homework done stands in Sloth’s way. Stories All Around You Stories are everywhere. As a writer it is your job to find them. Writers can look for story ideas in their environment. After reading Jeffrey and Sloth, study the first illustration as Jeffrey looks at the blank page. What do you notice about Jeffrey’s environment—the sloth poster, the fish, the map of Canada, and so forth. Writers could look closely at their own environment and incorporate some of these ideas into their stories. I understand that you also wrote a children’s play, ‘The Meaning Maker’. Compare the differences of writing a play and writing a picture book. There are differences between writing a picture book and a play. First of all, there are limitations of space when you write picture books. Only so much can happen on one double page spread. I try to have 30 words or less and only 1 or 2 major bits of action per double page spread. When dealing with plays, there is less of a concern about the physical number of words per paragraph, but there is a restriction on the types of actions that can happen. For example, a stage character might have trouble doing a triple flipping twirl (particularly without copious amounts of rigging). Also things can’t transform as immediately on stage as they can in a picture book. Without magic or expensive special effects Sue cannot be transformed into a dragon right before your very eyes. When writing picture books, the writing is more of a finished product than a stage play, (especially when you act in your own plays). On stage, the audience feeds me. As a writer, I have an opportunity to alter each performance based on the audience’s needs and reactions. Picture books can have numerous characters. However, if you take a look at the Plays section of The Writers and Illustrators Marketplace, a high percentage of the guidelines listed in this useful resource call for plays with only three to four characters: a very small number. Many of the companies buying rights to original plays are ensemble groups with a small core of actors — and small budgets. Dialogue in picture books might be short and snappy, but it is complete. In plays dialogue is broken, overlapping, repeated, questioned, interrupted, and shortened. Illustration and words can reveal much about a character in picture books. Beyond images and words, there are other ways to convey meaning in plays (e.g. music, lights, set design, costumes, props, and so forth). Writing a play is not only visual and verbal, it is a 3-dimensional experience that is visual and verbal, but also sensory and embodied. How did your experience as a teacher influence your career as a children’s writer? My background influences me in so many ways. Besides picturing some of the children I have worked with (e.g. remembering what they thought was funny, how they acted, and so forth), I also bring to the page the connections that I have made in the past and the ideas that are important to me. I have strong ideologies about literacy and pedagogy (e.g. all children deserve the opportunity to read and write, writing can empower a child, and so on); I can’t help but bring these to the page. Tell us about your upcoming books. Runaway Alphabet is an alphabet book that is coming out with Simply Read Books (An award-winning local company) in the fall 2008 or spring 2009. It is a book like no other. It focuses on the sounds of the letters. I can’t wait until this book hits the shelves. It is exactly the kind of book that I needed as a child. When Chickens Fly was accepted for publication by Raincoast Books. However, unfortunately because of a recent business decision (Raincoast will no longer be creating books) this project has been abandoned. I do hope another company picks up this book though. It is a story about a chicken that isn’t allowed to compete in the Olympics because she is a chicken. In many ways this is a story about discrimination. PunctuACTION is a book about punctuation and the meaning of these wriggly little symbols. This book empowers the main character and helps her to learn grammar in the process. This book will be coming out with Gumboot Books (another great local company) in 2010. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Yes. A few things. I am currently working on a sequel to Jeffrey and Sloth. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Orca Book Publishers will accept it. I also enjoy writing for Magazines. I have two new stories out this month. One is in ChickaDEE. Extreme Rollers is all about a boy who likes to sleep in and the advantages/disadvantages of technology. The other story is with KNOW Magazine. The Mightiest of All is a circular story about Australian food chains. It’s a great piece to act out. Teachers can find a lesson plan that accompanies Jeffrey and Sloth on the Orca Book Publishers’ website under teachers’ guides. Cheryl Rainfield’s Children’s Book Reviews, May 2007from cherylrainfield.com.
My rating: Have you ever stared at a blank page, not knowing what to write? That’s exactly what the boy in this book faces. In Jeffrey and Sloth, Jeffrey can’t think of what to write–so he doodles instead. And one of his doodles, a sloth, comes alive–and starts insulting Jeffrey and telling him what to write. At first Jeffrey co-operates, but pretty soon he gets tired of being bossed around by the sloth, and rebels by writing a story about the sloth, making the sloth do what he wants. Jeffrey and Sloth touches on something many writers, artists, and anyone who’s faced homework they hate will identify with–the blank page. Winters’ concept of having the doodle come alive and having Jeffrey be prodded into creating a story is both creative and fun. The beginning text moves quickly and completely swept me into the story, but later some of the dialogue felt a bit clunky, and the story slowed down, particularly when the characters were trying to control each other. I also would have preferred a little less telling and more showing, or allowing the reader to pick up on what was happening. Canadian readers may enjoy spotting the Canadian references. At first the story Jeffrey writes is funny; after being put down so much by the sloth, he writes that the sloth is pudgy, and readers will likely chuckle or side with Jeffrey as the sloth protests. But the book quickly moves into a fight for power, and for me, there was a bit too much negativity–the sloth putting Jeffrey down, and then Jeffrey controlling the sloth and making the sloth go to extremes. I actually started to feel sorry for the sloth, and when Jeffrey smiles when the sloth is thirsty and he makes him swim through a cold lake instead of allowing him to drink, I lost a bit of empathy for Jeffrey. Still, the story ends on an upbeat note, with the sloth “admitting” that the Jeffrey is a good writer (although he admits this under some duress and one wonders how sincere it really is), and Jeffrey finally allowing the sloth to relax and curl up under his blanket, Jeffrey’s homework completed. Through the sloth’s protestation that Jeffrey can’t make him do anything, and Jeffrey’s realization that indeed he can by writing about him, the book may help readers see that through writing their own stories, they can decide what happens, and perhaps feel a sense of control over their lives. Hodson’s acrylic-and-colored-pencil illustrations are bright, lively, and cartoonish, and make the book visually appealing. Hodson has a strong sense of design; Patterns appear on the wallpaper, the floor, and the furniture, bringing a pleasing visual touch. Well-drawn perspective and some use of light and shadow add depth to many of the illustrations. Vibrant colors repeat throughout the illustrations, visually pulling the book together; a rich yellow is especially used in most backgrounds, and purple, blue, orange, and grey also repeat often. The backgrounds often have great washes of color, with little or no details, except in Jeffrey’s room, where there are many believable objects befitting a young boy, including a toy robot and airplane, a shell, a goldfish bowl, various balls, a model volcano, and posters on the wall. Jeffrey’s doodles, appearing as black pencil on white paper, are sweetly drawn and come alive, the line moving from a smaller image of Jeffrey and his page to a larger page where readers can see what he’s doodled. In other illustrations, Jeffrey’s doodles appear on his page in front of him, where readers can view what he’s drawn. This has great visual appeal. The objects Jeffrey draws for the sloth that appear in his room are 3-D, like the rest of Jeffrey’s furniture, and fit in beautifully. White lines are drawn around the images as they “appear” in the room, bringing a sense of magic. The illustrations bleed right to the edges of the pages, and vary from one per page to a full spread, with some smaller illustrations appearing on top of others. Two different fonts make a nice differentiation between the story and the story Jeffrey writes, and this distinction is increased by Jeffrey’s story appearing on small pieces of white paper. There is a bonus illustration on the inside title page that adds to the story, where Jeffrey arrives home carrying his backpack and hat, staring glumly at the blank pages of paper and the pencil waiting on his desk. Observant readers will enjoy spotting the sloth appearing on a pinned-up poster on Jeffrey’s wall before he even begins to doodle him, and noticing that the map that the sloth travels over is also pinned up on Jeffrey’s wall. Jeffrey and Sloth encourages creativity, creative writing, doodling, and art. Readers may want to try to make their own doodles come alive, putting words to their own stories. | ||||||
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Jeffrey and Sloth by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Ben Hodson
