#170 of 1001 · January 17, 2021

Where are we? What has happened? Is anybody there? These are the questions that leap to mind at the start of The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone by Timothy Basil Ering. A nameless boy exists alone in a blighted, junk-strewn expanse called Cementland, dearly wishing to find a treasure. One day he comes across a box filled with strange little specks, and in accordance with the accompanying written instructions buries them in the ground. However, he soon finds the pellets have been dug up and stolen away. To guard his efforts, he scavenges refuse and old clothing and erects a colossus, a trash golem, a bulbous green scarecrow whom he dubs Frog Belly Rat Bone. Why put the little beads into the earth? Just who are the sneak-thieves who dug them up? What lies ahead for Frog Belly Rat Bone and the boy? These are the questions that will be answered by the story’s end. Ering, with potent imagery, irresistible rhyme, and deliciously loose and kinetic line art, has created a dazzling world—lonely and grim, to be sure, but never so frightening as to snuff out the last ray of hope for positive change. #cement #scarecrow #seeds #planting #garden #gardening #thieves #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks