Mouthful of Minnows

John Hare worked as a production artist, graphic designer, and art director before realizing that he wanted nothing more than to bring stories to life for young readers. His popular debut picture book, Field Trip to the Moon, was called a “close encounter of the best kind” by Kirkus Reviews and was named to numerous best-of-the-year lists. He is also the author-illustrator of the acclaimed A Mouthful of Minnows and Duck, Duck, Goose! and the illustrator of Stubby: A Pencil’s Journey written by Sydra Mallery. John Hare spent much of his youth drawing comics, writing silly stories, and exploring the countryside of Southeast Kansas. The artist lives in Missouri with his family. John Hare worked as a production artist, graphic designer, and art director before realizing that he wanted nothing more than to bring stories to life for young readers. His popular debut picture book, Field Trip to the Moon, was called a “close encounter of the best kind” by Kirkus Reviews and was named to numerous best-of-the-year lists. He is also the author-illustrator of the acclaimed A Mouthful of Minnows and Duck, Duck, Goose! and the illustrator of Stubby: A Pencil’s Journey written by Sydra Mallery. John Hare spent much of his youth drawing comics, writing silly stories, and exploring the countryside of Southeast Kansas. The artist lives in Missouri with his family.

“Alphonso is an alligator snapping turtle, a species with a wormlike tongue that attracts unsuspecting fish. . . . He parks at the bottom of the pond with mouth open wide and tongue wriggling, waiting for breakfast to swim in. But when a school of minnows decides that the “worm” would make a perfect birthday present . . . Alphonso is so overcome that he not only loses his appetite, he also saves [them] . . . Hare’s spot-on characterizations are matched by the beauty of the book’s digitally finished acrylic settings.” — Publishers Weekly“Alphonso, a snapping alligator turtle with a pink, worm-like tongue that baits unsuspecting prey, plunges to the bottom of the pond, opens his mouth wide, and waits for breakfast to appear. Soon one minnow arrives, then several more . . . Hare's digitally enhanced acrylic-on-hardboard paintings are richly hued . . . [and] an appended note offers additional facts about this Ankylosaurusesque species, including suitable real-world cautions.” — Booklist