Happy Birthday Jez Alborough - November 13

Happy Birthday Jez Alborough - November 13

Our last birthday celebration for Jez Alborough was in 2010! Many things have changed for our family in those three years; a new house, a new baby, and our children are growing up FAST.  Three years ago, I was celebrating the birthdays of picture book author and illustrators with these two:


Now "The Bigs," as I call them, look like this:


In 2010, we also had a 5-month-old little boy that was just learning to sit up and loved being on his belly to roll over:

Now, I call him and his little sister "The Littles" -- but I am afraid they won't be little for long.


At the beginning of the month I was planning out my blog posts for the month of November.  I saw Jez Alborough's name in my author birthday calendar. I thought, "I need to celebrate Jez Alborough's birthday again with my family."  I knew that "The Littles" would love his books and I couldn't wait to see which book they picked as their favorite.


Jez Alborough is celebrating 30 years in the business of making children's books. During this time he has published nearly fifty books including Hug, Where's My Teddy?, and Duck in the Truck. Most of his books are written in rhyme.  He told Barbara from Corner on Character, "I can't help myself" when it comes to rhyme.  On his website he states, rhyming is "fun, it's memorable, it tells the story in a very pleasing way and it brings out the rhythm of language." Jez has just published a new rhyming picture book series starring Nat the Cat and Friends.  The first book in the series, Nat the Cat's Sunny Smile, embodies everything that comes to my mind when I think of Jez Alborough; positive, caring, and infectious. He generously shares so much about his process of making picture books on his website. I love reading his palindromes, quotes and reflections on Facebook and I can't thank him enough for supporting me in my efforts in writing this blog.

Another thing that has grown over the years in addition to my children is the number of books that we own by Jez Alborough. Super Duck was the book from our collection that became our favorite this week. In this book, Goat, Sheep, and Frog really want to fly a kite. Super Duck shows up with his confident call, "Make way Super Duck is here!" He tries to help but without wind he fails at getting the kite to stay in the air.  While the crew discusses a plan, a breeze picks up the kite along with Frog. Before he sails too high Super Duck grabs the string to aid his friend, but is carried off too.  Super Duck's quick thinking and a little super-hero luck allow the two to land safely on the ground.

Since my youngest son loves dressing up, I thought it would be fun for him and his sister to dress up like Super Duck. If he had it his way, Halloween would be celebrated every month of the year.

We used old t-shirts to make two Super Duck costumes -- complete with masks and super cloaks.
I didn't think she would tolerate a mask, so I made her a head band.
They loved this book!
Make way Super Duck is here!
"The Littles" are a dynamic duo!
She wanted to jump off the couch too. Her brother helped her so she wouldn't get hurt.
They had so much fun with the costumes that they wore them to see their mom for lunch, then to bank.  Even two days later, my youngest son wore the Super Duck costume to a neighbor's house for a playdate.
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Thank you Jez for making picture books that have created memorable reading experiences for our family. I really appreciate your support of my blog over the years and we hope once again that you have a wonderful birthday!

Links:

2. How Jez Alborough Creates a Book - YouTube via HarperCollins
4. Follow Jez Alborough on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
5. Interviews - The Write Stuff
6. Jez reads BILLY the GOAT'S BIG BREAKFAST - YouTube
7. Jez talks about NAT THE CAT'S SUNNY SMILE - YouTube
8. How NAT THE CAT went from idea to publication - Jez's blog
9. Jez draws Nat the Cat - YouTube
10. Jez draws Bobo - YouTube
11. Jez reads SIX LITTLE CHICKS - YouTube
12. Jez read THE GOBBLE GOBBLE MOOOOOO TRACTOR BOOK - YouTube
13. Jez talks about HUG - "Need a Hug?" - Candlewick
14. Audio Interview - BOOKD Podcast, Blog Talk Radio

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