New-Work Illustration

KYLE M. STONE

AWARDS AND EXHIBITIONS

-Exhibited at the Museum of American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, Original Art Show 2006

-Exhibited at the New York Public Library Children's Books 2005: One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing

-Original art exhibited at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library and part of the permanent Collection

Credit: Toledo-Lucas County Public Library

REVIEWS

The New York Times Book Review
..."The illustration by Kyle M. Stone, of a young rabbit wearing a top hat inside a bigger top hat work by a
geezer rabbit, is funny, bold and slightly, deliciously weird, amd fits perfectly."
Copyright ©2005Jan Bnezel, The New York Times Book Review

Horn Book
Fifteen poems in many forms extol the wonders of reading, books, and words.Some are barely more than rhymes:
"A children's book is a classic / If at six, excitedly / You read it to another kid / Who just turned sixty-three."
Not all of the poems read smoothly or easily ("I and Lantern-Eye, / my book-mad mate"), but many of them display
wit and humor, as in the title poem: "...Where the Kids' Books dance / With True Romance / And theDictionary dozes.
/ Please bury me in the library / With a dozen long-stemmed proses."
Stone's layers of paint and other media enhance the text without over-explaining, as so many pictures with poetry do.
He combines playful versions of real animals with comical imaginary creatures,like a graceful lavender and ochre bird,
or a blue-furred semi-human grandpa. Lewis adds a sixteenth poem acknowledging some of his literary predecessors:
"To Shel and Jack, and Myra Cohn, / Who always gave this pup a bone." S.D.L.
Copyright ©2005 Horn Book Magazine. All rights reserved

Booklist
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. This homage to reading salutes all the essential elements: letters, words, books.
Lewis' poetry is continually clever, whether pithily summing up children's classics (a book that is excitedly read by a kid of
6 to another kid of 63) or capturing the thrill of reading in the dark. There are laughs in a poem called "What If Books Had
Different Names?" that posits such titles as Goodnight Noon and Green Eggs and Spam as well as slightly more serious
thoughts in the title poem. Despite the picture-book format, it will take children older than the preschool crowd to
appreciate the wordplay, which on occasion is quite sophisticated (Lewis credits Lear, Carroll, and X. J Kennedy as his
inspirations). The acrylic and mixed-media artwork (see cover, this issue) adds whimsy to the words. Case in point, a
bibbed lamb eating the Dr. Seuss special. Ilene Cooper
Copyright ©2005 American Library Association. All rights reserved

Starred review in Kirkus
In 16 poems, all but two appearing here for the first time, the Midwest's cleverest living comic poet enjoins readers, "Please bury me in the
library/With a dozen long-stemmed proses." He suggests altering classic titles ("Green Eggs and Spam"), offers reading-related haiku, a library
acrostic--and even literary criticism, from "A great book is a homing device/For navigating paradise" to "A bad book owes to many trees/A forest
of apologies." Stone debuts with broadly brushed, page-filling acrylics to match: Children in pj's rest beneath or teeter atop piles of books; mice
and owls peruse large volumes by moon-and candle-light; an elderly, rather Seussian creature listens contentedly to a young reader. Finishing with
"Acknowledgements" to "Shel and Jack and Myra Cohn," plus other "word wizards," this offering from the prolific Lewis won't stay buried long, no
matter where it's planted.
Copyright ©2005 Kirkus Review. All rights reserved

BookPeople
Austin, Texas
Please Bury Me in the Library is a collection of clever, funny, sweet completely original poems that will remind you of
such favorites as Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. J. Patrick Lewis has written a picture book of poetry all about books.
What brings these poems to life is the debut of illustrator Kyle M. Stone. The art is so endearing that readers will be
falling into the pages before they even have the chance to hear the poems. The poetry is outstanding and with this
incredible art, the book is a combination of talent that is irresistible.

Field Guide to Parenting
“Please Bury me in the Library” by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Kyle M. Stone (Harcourt) is another of our favorites
this year because it is full of imaginative,humorous poems with fantastic illustrations that celebrate reading.

Children's Literature
Lewis has chosen aspects of books and libraries as the theme of this collection of 16 of his always clever and well-crafted
poems. He plays with words, with rhymes, with form, and with ideas. Each poem has its own page, with an illustration usually
opposite. "Are You a Book Person?" offers a thought to ponder. "Summer Reading at the Beach" is really pure fun.
"Ab-so-lu-tas-ti-cal" almost demands reading aloud; most of the verses can be heard several times with pleasure.
Even Lewis's "Acknowledgments" are in a respectful rhyme at the end.
As with most poetry, the accompanying pictures have lives of their own. Stone matches Lewis's linguistic play with visual
imagery in acrylics and mixed media. He offers an anthropomorphic flea named Otto in a nighttime garden
composing his "Ottobiography." A double page of mixed birds just hanging out shows just some of the "million and
twenty-six birds" from a textless book in "Pictures, Pictures, Pictures." The scenes on the front and the back of the
jacket/cover of three mice reading by a single candle light set the properly delightfully light-hearted scene to carry through the pages inside.
2005, Harcourt, Ages 6 to 10, $16.00.
Reviewers: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature
An entire collection of poems about books and libraries - silly poems that give different names to favorite titles like "Furious George"
or "Goodnight Noon," commentaries suggesting that "A bad book owes to many trees/A forest of apologies," and the way to identify
a classic: "A children's book is a classic/If at six, excitedly/You read it to another kid/Who just turned sixty-three." Librarians
may enjoy choosing a poem to read aloud to introduce youngsters a storytime or library visit and there are many simple patterns for
children to follow in writing their own verses. The rhyme and the rhythm are not always elegant, but some of the images are clever
and it's all a good reminder of just how rich and wonderful a library can be.
The illustrations are a bright and fanciful compliment to each poem.
Reviewer: Karen Leggett
2005, Harcourt, Ages 7 to 12, $16.00.ISBN: 0-15-216387-5

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