Jesse Draper
The UnValentine : "Think of a day that describes Valentine's day and rhymes with cupid."
It's nice to finally have a book out.
www.amazon.com/UnValentine-Sam-Beeson/dp/1590388437/ref=p...
""Exactly mid-way through the frigid month of February A day is celebrated by the dumb and ordinary. And all around me, notes are passed by idiots and stupids-- Packed tight with sugar-mottoed hearts and naked pudgy cupids. This ritual, conducted under heart-shaped, crimson flag, Does absolutely nothing for me, but to make me gag!"
Written by Sam Beeson.
Paintings by me. :)
Reviews:
Told in verse, the story is of young Lily and her distaste for the whole Valentine's Day hoopla until she meets a boy in her class who seems to find it equally distasteful. I thought the story was a cute one but the best things about the book was the artwork. I found it delightfully macabre in a way. I think Lily reminds me of a blond Wednesday from the Addam's Family. The whole book is like a Valentine's Day gift from Tim Burton. ( )
icedream | Feb 2, 2008 |
....................................................................
This is a lovely book. The illustrations are gorgeous, the poem cute but not sappy, and the sentiment is perfect. I was completely taken with the detail on each page and in each drawing. This is a perfect little book for the little piece of all of us who secrectly (or not secretly) hates Valentine's Day. ( )
ElizabethEWS | Feb 2, 2008 |
......................................................................
There are two ways to approach this little volume. The first is as a sumptuous, long-form Valentine-card-with-character. As such, it succeeds beautifully.
The other option would be to approach this as an actual book. In which case, you get a cloying and patronizing tale of a modern-day Harriet the Spy, documenting in her notebook her disdain for her schoolmates' Valentine's Day dither. However, she's merely a bitter wallflower! For when she receives her own Valentine---from a disaffected, pseudo-goth boy---she becomes a Valentine's Day Booster, and we close with a shot of her and her beau running hand-in-hand together through a field of...
...dead grass. (I have to admit, I do like the illustrator's sense of humor.)
Approach it as a Valentine's Card. And if you're going to give it to someone who's actually disaffected with the day, make sure to graffiti it first.
sanguinity | Jan 31, 2008 |
........................................................
The poetry inside the 32 page book describes a tween named Lily. A blond, blue-eyed, pigtailed girl dressed simply in the wonderful paintings by Jesse Draper, and is described by Mr. Beeson as "sour" and that she "didn't believe in love." He then describes her anti-love positions and her especially virulent hatred of Valentines Day (it makes her "gag").
Then, in true Valentines Day fashion, she receives a wadded up note of poetry from a kindred soul, a BOY named Ray! And love blooms between this anti-love pair, proving once again, love conquers all.
The last three pages of the book are real Valentines. Or should I say UnValentines. Two to a page, with perforations in the middle, the fonts are reproductions of the paintings in the book. On the back is a wonderful UnValentine statement. Very novel and useful.
The book is gift-book sized, designed to fit on the greeting card rack. Priced at $12.95 US, it fits in with the other gift-books and yet is definitely not your usual sugary poetry book. The paintings are also very realistic and when combined with the Victorian typefaces and adornments lend an air of elegance to the whole package. Overall I am reminded of Chas. Addams' cartoons in the New Yorker and the wonderful family he created in the type of ironic humor attempted. All in all an intelligent take on a holiday that is all too often inducing of a diabetic coma.
Get it for those you don't love. The UnValentine by Sam Beeson, paintings by Jesse Draper.
posted also on: speechguy.blogspot.com
Speechguy | Jan 30, 2008
................................................................
Lily doesn’t believe in love. Within her journal she chronicles her intolerance of cutesy Valentines and mocks the idiots who send them. Yes, Lily doesn’t believe in love UNTIL… you’ll have to pick up this Gothic inspired tale, as I’ll not give away it’s wonderful secrets.
So much can be said for this little book: imaginative, expressive, and heartening. The artwork, by Jesse Draper, is fantastic. I can’t wait to send out the Valentines included in the back!
This book may be marketed to the general public, but as a former secondary educator, I can promise this story will be a huge hit with the teen crowd. Guys, if you want to score points with your girl, skip the flower shop and head over to the bookstore.
Finally, a classic for this sorely unrepresented holiday.
Tasses | Jan 28, 2008 |
Copyright Jesse Draper
The UnValentine : "Think of a day that describes Valentine's day and rhymes with cupid."
It's nice to finally have a book out.
www.amazon.com/UnValentine-Sam-Beeson/dp/1590388437/ref=p...
""Exactly mid-way through the frigid month of February A day is celebrated by the dumb and ordinary. And all around me, notes are passed by idiots and stupids-- Packed tight with sugar-mottoed hearts and naked pudgy cupids. This ritual, conducted under heart-shaped, crimson flag, Does absolutely nothing for me, but to make me gag!"
Written by Sam Beeson.
Paintings by me. :)
Reviews:
Told in verse, the story is of young Lily and her distaste for the whole Valentine's Day hoopla until she meets a boy in her class who seems to find it equally distasteful. I thought the story was a cute one but the best things about the book was the artwork. I found it delightfully macabre in a way. I think Lily reminds me of a blond Wednesday from the Addam's Family. The whole book is like a Valentine's Day gift from Tim Burton. ( )
icedream | Feb 2, 2008 |
....................................................................
This is a lovely book. The illustrations are gorgeous, the poem cute but not sappy, and the sentiment is perfect. I was completely taken with the detail on each page and in each drawing. This is a perfect little book for the little piece of all of us who secrectly (or not secretly) hates Valentine's Day. ( )
ElizabethEWS | Feb 2, 2008 |
......................................................................
There are two ways to approach this little volume. The first is as a sumptuous, long-form Valentine-card-with-character. As such, it succeeds beautifully.
The other option would be to approach this as an actual book. In which case, you get a cloying and patronizing tale of a modern-day Harriet the Spy, documenting in her notebook her disdain for her schoolmates' Valentine's Day dither. However, she's merely a bitter wallflower! For when she receives her own Valentine---from a disaffected, pseudo-goth boy---she becomes a Valentine's Day Booster, and we close with a shot of her and her beau running hand-in-hand together through a field of...
...dead grass. (I have to admit, I do like the illustrator's sense of humor.)
Approach it as a Valentine's Card. And if you're going to give it to someone who's actually disaffected with the day, make sure to graffiti it first.
sanguinity | Jan 31, 2008 |
........................................................
The poetry inside the 32 page book describes a tween named Lily. A blond, blue-eyed, pigtailed girl dressed simply in the wonderful paintings by Jesse Draper, and is described by Mr. Beeson as "sour" and that she "didn't believe in love." He then describes her anti-love positions and her especially virulent hatred of Valentines Day (it makes her "gag").
Then, in true Valentines Day fashion, she receives a wadded up note of poetry from a kindred soul, a BOY named Ray! And love blooms between this anti-love pair, proving once again, love conquers all.
The last three pages of the book are real Valentines. Or should I say UnValentines. Two to a page, with perforations in the middle, the fonts are reproductions of the paintings in the book. On the back is a wonderful UnValentine statement. Very novel and useful.
The book is gift-book sized, designed to fit on the greeting card rack. Priced at $12.95 US, it fits in with the other gift-books and yet is definitely not your usual sugary poetry book. The paintings are also very realistic and when combined with the Victorian typefaces and adornments lend an air of elegance to the whole package. Overall I am reminded of Chas. Addams' cartoons in the New Yorker and the wonderful family he created in the type of ironic humor attempted. All in all an intelligent take on a holiday that is all too often inducing of a diabetic coma.
Get it for those you don't love. The UnValentine by Sam Beeson, paintings by Jesse Draper.
posted also on: speechguy.blogspot.com
Speechguy | Jan 30, 2008
................................................................
Lily doesn’t believe in love. Within her journal she chronicles her intolerance of cutesy Valentines and mocks the idiots who send them. Yes, Lily doesn’t believe in love UNTIL… you’ll have to pick up this Gothic inspired tale, as I’ll not give away it’s wonderful secrets.
So much can be said for this little book: imaginative, expressive, and heartening. The artwork, by Jesse Draper, is fantastic. I can’t wait to send out the Valentines included in the back!
This book may be marketed to the general public, but as a former secondary educator, I can promise this story will be a huge hit with the teen crowd. Guys, if you want to score points with your girl, skip the flower shop and head over to the bookstore.
Finally, a classic for this sorely unrepresented holiday.
Tasses | Jan 28, 2008 |
Copyright Jesse Draper