#560 of 1001 · February 11, 2022

There’s an uncommonly tactile energy pervading the visual world of Stephen Gammell’s lighthearted fantasy adventure story, Twigboy. The plot opens in a dark and sinister Weedland. Twigboy, a sentient, ambulatory stick is trapped by a gang of hostile Snackerpinchers. Luckily, an animate rock comes rolling uncontrollably down from above, scattering the wicked bugs before plunging headlong into a swamp. Twigboy pulls him to safety, names him Rockwell, and brings him home to meet Granma and Granpa Twig. Later, the new friends hatch a plot for revenge, and jump willingly back into Weedland, the story ending on a raucous cliffhanger. Gammell’s earthy story is enhanced by his illustrations, which writhe and pulse with snarled landscapes and spattered bursts of color. #stick #rock #stone #bugs #swamp #storm #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks