About the Author

Janet Stevens is the author and illustrator of many beloved picture books, including Tops & Bottoms, a Caldecott Honor Book. With her sister and co-author, Susan Stevens Crummel, she created the acclaimed best-sellers The Great Fuzz Frenzy, Help Me, Mr. Mutt!, The Little Red Pen and more. She is also the illustrator of the Epossumondas books, written by renowned storyteller Coleen Salley. Janet Stevens lives in Colorado. Visit her online at janetstevens.com.

Janet Stevens is the author and illustrator of many beloved picture books, including Tops & Bottoms, a Caldecott Honor Book. With her sister and co-author, Susan Stevens Crummel, she created the acclaimed best-sellers The Great Fuzz Frenzy, Help Me, Mr. Mutt!, The Little Red Pen and more. She is also the illustrator of the Epossumondas books, written by renowned storyteller Coleen Salley. Janet Stevens lives in Colorado. Visit her online at janetstevens.com.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2‘Author/illustrator Janet Stevens is seen onscreen introducing this video version of her Caldecott Honor book (Harcourt, 1995). She explains how household items inspire her art work. The book is then depicted iconographically, preserving the book's illustrations and adding motion by panning and scanning them. The narration is done by noted stage and film actress, Frances Sternhagen. The plot involves a rabbit who tricks a lazy bear out of his share of the harvest. The artwork is somewhat frantic, with lots of sketchy lines and colorful watercolor washes that don't look as clear onscreen as they do in the book. There are some fun details to the illustrations, such as the carrot print shirt worn by the rabbit. They xylophone and synthesizer soundtrack is well-suited to the story. The video concludes with a vocabulary lesson, defining words in context, with examples from the text of the book. Best suited to school libraries where the book is used in the curriculum.‘Penny Peck, San Leandro Public Library, CA