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Trizzella The Witch of Woods Cove – a book review

Aaron R Winterhalter Leave a comment

Trizzella The Witch of Woods Cove – by: Sandra Harvey

Trizzella The Witch of Woods Cove is another example of Ms. Harvey’s non conventional, inspired, and creative approach to storytelling.   The main story of the book is told in a wonderful poem that spans over 76 Full color pages to tell that story of one magical moonlit night in Woods Cove.  Some people say rhyming books are easy to write, and this may be true to an extent. Everyone can find a rhyme for Sun right? -Did you just think Fun?  But,  every once and a while an author really comes through with a story that is told in Rhyme with no typical or forced rhymes.  This is  one of those books, the pace is almost hypnotic, there are no extra syllables, there is not a trace of the story being driven in a direction for the sake of keeping the rhyme alive, and their are no typical easy rhymes.  This is just FUN to read, it’s easy to get in the flow and to absorb all the humor, magic, and adventure while rhythmically flowing from page to page.  This book is great when read out loud, and did I mention it is FUN?
Some of the  other aspects of this book worth noting are: The Hand drawn cartoon art  matches the characters and story very well. The entire book is colored in blues, purples, and greens on black paper and is very soothing to look at and also creates a real feeling of night.    While the main story is written in rhyme, the characters also have non rhyming dialog with each other through the use of comic book style captions… What?  … Yeah you read that right! Comic Book style dialog and thought bubbles that tell a story all of their own. And in addition to that there are subtle words hidden in the background on some pages, that are not only fun to look for, but also convey a general message related to the story.  This combination of elements works amazingly well without one ever stepping on the other. This is distinctively a Sandra Harvey creation. How Sandra keeps  pulling out fresh and brilliant ideas I’ll never know.  I am currently trying to get her to sit down with me  for a YouTube interview.

In a way it is also a bedtime book, but it is a bed time book in which the children stay up and play all night, get lost in a scary fog, end up at a mysterious  tower, and actually do not go to sleep until the sun starts to come up.  This is yet another example of Sandra and her deep understanding of children.

 Another aspect of this story I found to be fresh  is through the Characters Annie Blue, and Lily. Through these 2 characters the book briefly  touches on abandonment and loss but manages to keep it light and comforting.
Trizzella has magical powers, she can talk to animals,  and cast spells but to her it is just part of everyday life.  Where Trizzella’s real magic power is, is in her heart and her sweet gentle soul.  She has a magic sewing needle that has the power to mend hearts and sew stars into blankets. Trizzella doesn’t  hesitate to use her magic to help out a hungry caterpillar who arrives at an apple tree before apple season, or to clear a scary fog.  This story has pirates, ghosts, adventure, food, fun, and an devious little kitty cat (with an amazing hat collection) who has decided his purpose in life is to destroy any chance Trizzella has for finding love.
Like every Sandra Harvey Book I’ve reviewed so far, this book is intended for children, but adults will love it too.

Trizzella The Witch of Woods Cove is available here.

There is also a collection of Free Trizzella cartoons available at
This is one of my favorite Ryhmes from the books.
Underneath the bookcase lives her strangest little cat
his room is full of pirate things like skulls, and books, and maps.
his name is Edward Villain.
He eats birds, and rats, and mice.
Trizzella calls him E.Vil because he’s really not that nice.
 He goes on vast adventures in his vivid little dreams
to destroy Trizzella’s chance for love
he plots and plans and schemes.

THE WRITING PROCESS BLOG HOP – Aaron Winterhalter

Aaron R Winterhalter Leave a comment

Invited by: Author Sandra Harvey

http://sandraharvey.blogspot.com/

What am I working on?

I just finished the art on Trizzella’s Bedtime Picture Book ( Release date May 8th.) not to long ago.   This week I am starting Trizzella on the art for Trizzella in the Deep Dark South this week.  I am also working on some Trizzella cartoons.    More information is available at www.trizzella.com

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Well, I have a very heavy hand with color, and a really soft hand with hard lines. I like to use very  dark colors and environments and balance that out with almost neon like heavily color saturated blues, greens, and purples.  I have a cartoonist / comic book approach to art, I like my characters to be memorable even if they are just background characters.  My style is pretty unique for the children’s picture book genre.  As I do not use 3D software to create environments and characters,  nor do I use watercolors,   I draw everything on a sketch pad with a regular number 2 pencil, then apply digital color.  I have tried a lot of the fancy pencil sets. The thing is when i first started drawing,  it was like most kids.  at my desk in school with a number 2 pencil, and a piece of notebook paper when I was supposed to be taking a test.  And all these years later I still get the best results that way. 

<Cover Art Trizzella’s Bedtime PictureBook>Image

 

Why do I draw this way? 

This style of drawing and coloring evolved from 4 decades of being a child and refusing to see the world as an adult.  Being a huge fan of classic Disney. You know real Disney, the pre-Pixar hand drawn, character driven art that really spoke to people.  I am also a huge fan of  Comic Books, and Children’s Cartoons from every decade.  I Never really grew up, I tried to make a point to hang on to my childhood.  I can remember hearing my parents having conversations when I was a boy about how they wish they could be children again.  Then I lost my mother at a very young age, and I think the combination of losing her, and knowing how important her childhood was to her and my father both somehow allowed me to just Freeze myself at 11 years old.  I still don’t relate to adults very well.  I don’t watch shows or movies that are violent, or sexual, or intended for people over 18 years of age.  I do not watch the news, I have no interest in Main stream music.  So my view of the world and my influences have not changed much since I was a little boy.  I have a great comic book collection, a great toy collection.  I love all the same things at 38 years old that I loved at 8 years old, and I love them for the same reasons.  My art style is simple, fun, heavily character driven,  and appealing to children. Simply put I drawn what I want to see in children’s books myself,  not what I think other people want to see, or what the current trend is.

 

How does my creation process work? 

Typically I start on a sketch pad.  Sometimes a piece of notebook paper.  Its very rare that I start in a digital format.  I usually do a very rough sketch of scene,  So I don’t forget any of the details.  Then I will revise that sketch. Sometimes making changes and additions. Sometimes removing objects, or changing characters expressions, or body language.  Once I am happy with the way it looks,  I will convert it into a digital format.  From there I use my drawing tablet.  I put down the outlines, then start adding color,  next comes textures, then shading, then special effects.  The process takes 2 and sometimes 3 different pieces of software.