Publication Date: May 1, 2002 | Age Level: 2 and up | Series: Platypus
A big rock. Some slimy seaweed. An old shoe. None of these is quite what Platypus wants for his special collection. Then he finds a beautiful curly shell--perfect! But the next morning his curly shell is gone. Where can it be? The star of a brand new series from acclaimed author-illustrator Chris Riddell, the thoughtful, lively, and always curious Platypus is a wonderful companion for every young child.
Determined to find the perfect item to complete his special collection (which includes, among other things, an old blue sneaker, a Popsicle stick, a bottle cap, and an acorn), little Platypus sets off to the beach. "He didn't know quite what he was looking for, but he was sure he'd know it when he saw it." After hemming and hawing over various treasures--seaweed, a big rock, a deflated beach ball--Platypus finds exactly the right thing: a lovely curly seashell. Unfortunately, what our funny little hero doesn't know (and what sharp-eyed readers might figure out sooner than he) is that the shell is currently occupied.
Young readers in a collecting phase of their own will enjoy watching Platypus's bewilderment as his prize item keeps sneaking out at night and creeping back to the beach. Chris Riddell's cute watercolors and cheerful story will please platypuses and humans alike. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Riddell's (illus. of Something Else) spunky hero has a bill the size of a clown's shoe and a comic case of the collecting bug. In one of the book's many crisp and austerely composed watercolors, Platypus proudly displays the contents of his big green collecting box: a blue sneaker, an acorn, marbles, a bottle cap, etc. a collection to be envied in any child's estimation. Yet something is missing. "He didn't know quite what he was looking for," writes Riddell as he sends Platypus down to the beach on a quest, "but he was sure he'd know it when he saw it." A beautiful shell seems to be just the ticket, except that it won't stay put: two tiny eyes and a single claw poke out of the green box as Platypus sleeps, and the next morning the shell is gone. The same thing happens when Platypus reclaims the shell. The reason, Platypus discovers, is that the shell already belongs to someone a hermit crab. Youngsters in the throes of a hoarding phase will sympathize with the hero (who sleeps with a tiny stuffed toy platypus), while Riddell's well-paced plotting makes the mystery and the resolution equally enticing. Happily, a second Platypus title is scheduled for next season. Ages 2-5. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
author spotlight Chris Riddell is the co-creator of the bestselling Edge Chronicles series, with Paul Stewart. He has illustrated many children's books including the award-winning Pirate Diary. He is also the political cartoonist for the Guardian and Observer newspapers.
Talking to Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell about the Edge Chronicles
Q. What was your inspiration for The Edge Chronicles? Paul: The Edge Chronicles started off with the map. Chris drew it and gave it to me saying, 'here is the world, tell me what happens there.' Chris: I drew a map that looked like the edge of a map because I've always been fascinated by the edges of maps - the place where the known world ends. Paul: My main inspiration for the Deepwoods was perhaps the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, though other books-Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Gormenghast, Gulliver's Travels- also played their part. Q: What was your favorite character(s) to create? Chris: My favorite character is the spindlebug. It was easy for Paul to write that it was see-through, like glass, but a challenge for an illustrator to draw. The creatures live an immense amount of time-up to four centuries -which means that they witness a lot more history of the Edge than other characters. Paul: My favorite characters are the banderbears. Chris drew them first as fierce, pyramid-like bear creatures. Because they looked so ferocious, I made their character more timid. We have enjoyed developing the creatures as the series has progressed, learning about their natural habits and habitat and creating a language all of their own. Q: Where did you come up with the names for your characters? The various personalities and life stories? Paul: Both of us hate the clichéd fantasy names and tried to make the names in the Edge world a little different. Woodtrolls have woody names, like Snatchwood, Gruffbark, Snetterbark. Slaughterers have 'meaty' names like Gristle, Sinew, Tendon and Brisket. The academics have Latin/Basque names with lots of ius's and x's. Cowlquape, who goes through lots of changes, has a name taken from the German for tadpole - Kaulquappe. While Twig, of course, is just a tiny bit of the forest. As the series has progressed, with prequels and sequels, the life histories of the various characters have become more deeply described. So Twig's mother, Maris, is only mentioned in Beyond the Deepwoods. In book 4, the Curse of the Gloamglozer, we meet her as a girl. And in the book we have just completed, Book 7 - Freeglader - we learn all about what happened to her after she abandoned her baby in the Deepwoods. The continuity revealed as the story unfolds is deeply satisfying. Q: What was your favorite book as a child? Chris: Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown Paul: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Q: Since you both work as a team from conception to finish, what is the creative process like? How exactly does the collaboration work? Paul: The pictures and words take shape simultaneously, each affecting the development of the other. Sometimes characters and creatures start with a picture, sometimes with a textual description. In addition, the plot is worked on constantly by both of us and, when they are around, our children! Similarly, the text is passed back and forth, being rewritten continuously, until both of us are happy with it. Q: What has been the most challenging part of writing the series? Paul: The whole process is challenging. More importantly, though, it is also rewarding. Both of us have immense fun playing with the Edge world. Beyond the Deepwoods was the simplest book, an episodic rite of passage novel where we, as well as the main protagonist, began to explore this new world. As we have gone deeper into it, the world has become richer and richer, and the storylines similarly, more involved. We are fascinated by the way the world is still developing as we learn more and more about its history and explore all areas of the political and natural world in increasing depth. Q: When did you first begin writing/drawing? Chris: At five years old in the back pew of my father's church. My mother gave me paper and pens to keep me quiet during Dad's (very interesting) sermons. Paul: From the moment I could write, I have been writing down stories. At seven, I was working on a series of stories about a snail called Oliver. At ten, I attempted to write a follow-up to The Phantom Tollbooth with ideas that took shape over the next 20 years and finally became a book entitled The Thought Domain. Q: In Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, Twig deals with the loss of two father figures. How is this important for his development? Paul: Twig has to grow up and assume responsibility for his father's crew and, when he learns of Tuntum's death, he realizes how he has grown and matured since he left the Woodtroll village. He hopes that Tuntum would be proud of him, and what he has achieved. Q: What scene did you have the most fun creating? Chris: Both of us enjoyed the wig-wig arena scene a lot. The whole Shryke slave market, with its platforms and walkways all hanging from the Deepwoods trees, was great fun to create as a home for the flightless Shrykes. The escape from it on Prowlgrinback was also great fun both to write and draw. Paul: Midnight over Sanctaphrax was the third in the series, and the book where we were beginning to reap the rewards both of close collaboration and of getting to know the world more deeply. The Prowlgrins (which I had originally described as being like hyena/leopard-like creatures, but which Chris had drawn as a curious cross between a whale and a toad) looked to me as if they were brilliantly designed for leaping from branch to branch. Therefore the pictures in Book 1 directly influenced the plot in Book 3. Similarly, in book 1, I had wanted a pirate-like punishment similar to keelhauling, and had come up with sky-firing. In Midnight over Sanctaphrax, this throwaway idea becomes pivotal to the plot- but we won't give it away just in case you haven't read the book yet! Q: The Edge Chronicles seems perfectly suited for film, with its fast-paced action, loveable creatures, and incredible comic-timing. Were you thinking along these lines during its inception? Paul: We did not deliberately set out to produce fiction which could be turned into a film. That said, both of us work in a very visual way, so a lot of the plotting, characterization and scene development is quite cinematic. It would be a great thrill to see The Edge Chronicles realized on the big screen!
My children ages 4 & 2 love this book. They find Platypus' reactions and innocence delightful and laugh everytime we read the book (currently 3-4 times a day). My two year old loves this book so much that he "reads" it to himself by retelling the story from looking at the pictures. Another great thing about the book is that it's taught my children about hermit crabs and not to carelessly "collect" objects from nature. I especially love the delightful and child-like illustrations.
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I chose this book for my kindergarten daughter. She loved it. The pictures have hints about what's going to happen next, and she loved finding them. The illustrations are sweet and we both loved the character. It has a lessons, "leave things the way you found them" and "be kind to creatures".
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This book about Platypus and his collection is priceless! It's a great read-aloud for preschoolers. The illustrations are large and beautiful. It also makes a great snuggle and read together book. While it is wonderful as a stand alone story, it is great as an introduction to marine life (hermit crab), collecting things, or to introduce egg laying mammals. Platypus has a stuffed animal "echidna." One of my all time favorite childrens books!
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