#779 of 1001 · September 18, 2022

Surrender to your wild side with this ethereal trip into the dark: Thomas Aquinas Maguire’s A Growling Place. One moonlit night, a sudden breeze sweeps young Aril’s teddy bear right out the window. She quickly enlists the help of a giant sparrow and rides to the rescue. The bird carries her tirelessly over land, sea, and air to a cave where she finds her beloved stuffed friend amid of a sloth of barbarous bears. With an angry outburst, Aril stuns the great creatures, who soon repent their wicked ways. After making amends by dressing the bears in elegant attire, she returns to the warmth and safety of home. Maguire unfolds the story through simple, hypnotic text, coining original words and phrases (“mouthcave”, “merry-bear march”, “warm-orange homeful”) that evoke tangible imagery. His stylized, sepia-toned illustrations give off a powerful energy, at once quirky and compelling. A final tableau suggests that the journey may all have been a figment of Aril’s extraordinary imagination. #teddy #bear #bears #teddybear #cave #night #journey #imagination #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks