School Library Journal calls ALLY-SAURUS & THE VERY BOSSY MONSTER whimsical, clever, and effective!

TORREY, Richard. Ally-saurus & the Very Bossy Monster. illus. by Richard Torrey. 40p. Sterling. Aug. 2017. Tr $16.95. ISBN 9781454921233.

PreS-Gr 1 –Ally-saurus is back—“ROAR!” Ally, Kai, and his little brother Petey love playing together. Ally stomps and roars like a dinosaur. Kai dances across the porch stage, and Petey says “Bear!” while holding his teddy bear. Much fun and laughter is had until new neighbor Maddie intercedes.

Maddie is full of rules, all of which benefit her, and this day is no different. She insists that they play monsters, and the rules are very strict—no dinosaurs or dancing or saying Ta-Da! and no bears! When bossy Maddie takes Petey’s bear, she’s gone too far. Ally-saurus tells Maddie their rules for playing, which include all of those things and “nobody takes Petey’s teddy bear. That’s the rule!”

When Maddie comes back during their “super, amazing monster dance,” she takes one look at the fun and decides to join without a word about her rules. Later at the bus stop when Maddie start ruling, one “Roar!” from Ally-saurus reminds her that fun can be had without being bossy.

Torrey matches his spot-on text with even better illustrations. Using the same technique he employed in Ally-saurus & the First Day of School, Torrey uses pencil drawings with colorful crayon-like additions (dinosaur spikes and tail, tux and top hat for dancing, etc.) to deftly make the alter egos visible to readers.

This is whimsical and clever and effective in enhancing the story. VERDICT Torrey perfectly captures the words, feelings, and images of childhood imagination and friendships. Great for one-on-one and small group sharing, especially ones where the previous title was popular.–Catherine Callegari, Reston Regional Library, VA  

See the review at School Library Journal by clicking here.

A BIT OF THE PROCESS

As with all books-oodles of concept sketches and experiments with color preceded the final cover art for ALLY-SAURUS & THE VERY BOSSY MONSTER. 

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A Tightrope Walk Without A Net

I first posted this picture on my Facebook page in May of 2016 with the caption, "staring at a blank page, beginning the long-sometimes painful-but always exhilarating-process of turning a spark into a story..."
I then struggled for two months only to create a hash of a story which I subsequently buried next to the many other "misses". 

Having gone through this process many times, I know the best thing you can do sometimes is to put the story away in order to let it "ripen"...for a month...a year...sometimes ten. I probably have a hundred stories, or pieces of stories that I worked on for days, months, or in some cases years. Sometimes when I pull them out again, they will have indeed ripened. Other times...not so much-still rotten.

If there is one thing that separates an amateur from a professional, it is the massive amounts of time invested-with absolutely no guarantee of a positive outcome. It is understood going in that it often won't end well. iIt's a tightrope walk without a net.

That said, if you put in the work, learn from the gazillion mistakes you will make, and stay with it, you get better at generating ideas. You get better at fleshing them out. You get better at sensing whether you have something that is worth the investment of your time. You also start to love that tightrope. 

So, the story I posted about last May-and buried last July...well, I dug it up last month, ripped out much of what was rotten (most of the story), and just put the finishing touches on a new version-and Sue likes it!!!! (which is always the first test). Time to send it off to my agent. I'll let you know if anything happens.

FIRST LOOK AT MY NEW BOOK!

Arriving home late Tuesday night, I was greeted with a package containing an advance copy of ALLY-SAURUS & THE VERY BOSSY MONSTER.  Having started the process of brainstorming ideas for this book 18 months ago, the feeling of holding the finished product in my hands is indescribable.

ALLY-SAURUS & THE VERY BOSSY MONSTER BOOK TRAILER PREMIERES ON KIDLITTV

On Monday, the book trailer for Ally-saurus & the Very Bossy Monster premiered on KidLitTV along with a wonderful writeup.  

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Book Trailer Premiere: ALLY-SAURUS & THE VERY BOSSY MONSTER

KidLit TV is proud to premiere the book trailer for ALLY-SAURUS & THE VERY BOSSY MONSTER by Richard Torrey, the sequel to the award winning ALLY-SAURUS & THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Your kids will love the humor and fun in this book as well as the unique characters and illustrations!

See more by clicking HERE