Max's Boat | Picture Book Picks

Interview with Jashar Awan, STRUM & DRUM

All is quiet in the forest as the Great Star rises in the distance, and two little musicians, Strum and Drum, wake up from a deep slumber...

PRAISE FOR WALLY:

Picture Book Picks

by picture book
writers &
illustrators

Screen Shot 2022-10-03 at 12.17.38 PM.png

"What a delightful picture book. Competition, collaboration, wombats! The illustrations are bold and hilarious, the text is full of humor and heart. Like the wombats, they work together to make something wonderful."

– COREY R. TABOR, author/illustrator of the 2022 Caldecott Honor Book Mel Fell

Screen Shot 2022-10-03 at 11.57.30 AM.png

"Wally the World’s Greatest Piano-Playing Wombat is a charming story about competitiveness and creativity, told with sly humor and wit. It definitely resonated with us as artists, and its message will resonate with any budding artist, musician, or competitive creative. Both the illustrations and text are a delight."

– THE FAN BROTHERS, authors/illustrators of the 2021 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Book It Fell From the Sky

Screen Shot 2022-10-17 at 9.38.24 PM.png

"What a book. What a wombat! Wally is a wonder. Forget the piano, his true greatness is that he is every creative kid and adult everywhere. Through Tep’s humorous text and Pintonato’s hilarious illustrations, Wally reminds us all that we don’t have to be the greatest in the world at our creative pursuits to find the greatest joy in pursuing them."

– Jarrett Pumphrey, co-author/illustrator of The Old Truck, a 2020 Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly

"This rollicking fable will resonate with aficionados, dilettantes, and prodigies everywhere... Tep’s encouraging message about doing what you love despite not being the greatest of all time will spur children to explore life’s joys just for the pleasure it brings. (Regardless of cheeky parachuting wombats.)"

– KIRKUS REVIEWS