A Growling Place

by Thomas Aquinas Maguire

One girl's amazing adventure begins in her bedroom, on the night the wind blows her bear away. In vivid dreamscapes, little Aril follows after her bear with the help of a sparrow, through the air and over land and water, until she finds herself in "a growling place," in the company of bears! Thomas Aquinas Maguire's streaming, broad-frame illustrations capture movement and mood in this captivating picture book — perfect for young readers just before bedtime.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2007

About the author

An Industrial Designer and Picture Book Artist, Thomas currently focuses his Industrial Design work on concept sketching for toy design and instruction of drawing and rendering techniques.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl follows her teddy bear out the window in this dream-like picture-book, riding a sparrow through the air, across the land, and over the sea - all the way to "a growling place," where she must confront three grouchy bears, in order to win back her toy.

Intrigued by the cover image, in which bear and girl growl together, and with evident abandon, I picked up this rather unusual picture-book on an impulse, and I'm glad that I did. I'm not familiar with Maguire's work, but I certainly hope to see more of it! The detailed illustrations - done in pencil? - are immensely engaging, with a surreal quality that really spoke to me. I can't say I was as thrilled with the narrative, which seemed intentionally disjointed, but for a first effort on Maguire's part, this is a lovely little book. I even liked the design, with its unusually oblong shape.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by my very own brother!
IT's THE BEST!

[Mysgydid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cataloging my books has let me put hands on every book I own and some gems I forgot I had. This is another one that I completely forgot. The art is beautiful. The story is very simple but it fits. I think my favorite picture is of the bears crying. I love their crocodile tears. Just gorgeous. *happy sigh*

[Sara Serna · Rating 5 out of 5]

We picked up this children's book at the Wordstock Festival in Portland several years ago. The modern, streamlined design and gorgeous illustrations appealed to my husband and me, and both my stepdaughter and 2 year old daughter have grown to love the story or Aril as well. The language is lush and unusual, but the tale understandable by everyone in your family. Shelve this up high away from sticky, destructive little fingers because it's a treasure to keep for years.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book. About a girl rescuing her stuffed bear from the wind. It has a unique table of contents that are keyed to particular words in the story. Book has full picture illustrations that help tell the story along with pages with a line or two of text (about 1 page text for every 2-3 pages pictures). It's a simple story but quite adorable.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best children's books ever. Buy it for all your friends.

[Clementine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and an open-ended book that leaves room for multiple stories.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations but felt it was a somewhat less interesting version of Where the Wild Things Are.

[Tim Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

We bought this book for our daughter before she was even with us. Stunning drawings, a good story and some clever little touches have made this a family favourite.