Richard Torrey's Blog, page 4

ALLY-SAURUS receives PAL Award

This month, the people at PLAYONWORDS.COM awarded ALLY-SAURUS AND THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL a  2015 PAL award given to books, toys, games, etc. that encourage language, spark fun, and invite creative play.  Click here to read more about the award as well as a review of the book. 

MY DOG, BOB Receives Junior Library Guild Award

While I am proud of each and every one of my books, none of them have ever won an award-until now. Today my book, MY DOG, BOB received an award from the JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD. The accompanying letter states, "The Junior Library Guild Selection designation is unique in that it is typically awarded so early-often in advance of publication. With its distinction as one of the first awards given, it is often viewed as a bellwether of future success."  Thank you Junior Library Guild. I am very proud and honored to receive your designation.  

Never Forget

My interview with Holiday House

A conversation with author and illustrator

Richard Torrey

Like all dogs, Bob enjoys breakfast, riding in the family car, and digging for bones. But unlike other dogs, Bob cooks breakfast for himself and his family, drives the family car and digs for dinosaur bones with a paleontologist. Author and illustrator Richard Torrey discusses the inspiration behind his hilarious picture book MY DOG, BOB....

Click here to read more. 

School Library Journal Review calls MY DOG, BOB, "A fun addition to any collection"

 

PreS-Gr 1–Bob is an amazing dog. He can cook breakfast, drive a car, play golf, and dig for dinosaur bones. When neighbor Mimi comes over singing the praises of her dog Truffles, Jeff has to agree that Bob can’t hold a candle to Truffles when it comes to fetching a stick, sitting, and barking. So it goes that Mimi believes that her dog is the best, but in the end it is Jeff and his family who are enjoying a delicious pizza made by Bob. This humorous story is great for beginning readers. The bright cartoon illustrations follow the text perfectly and will catch the eye of any child. VERDICT A fun addition to any collection.–Betsy Davison, Cortland Free Library, NY

NY NEWSDAY INTERVIEW

I was recently interviewed by Jennifer Berger, the news manager for NY Newsday's Family and Travel section:  

[image error]

Richard Torrey, author of "Ally-Saurus and the First Day of School" and son of Islanders Hall of Famer, Bill Torrey, pens new children's books. Photo Credit: Sterling

Shoreham children's book author Richard Torrey, author of "Ally-Saurus and the First Day of School," is the author/illustrator of 14 books and is also the creator of greeting cards for Recycled Paper Greetings.

Torrey began doodling as soon as he could hold a crayon. In fact, in third grade, he was inspired by comic strip creator, Charles Schulz. He's also the son of Hockey Hall-of-Famer, Bill Torrey, and has two children, ages 24 and 19. Here he talks about his family, his books and more.  

Q. Did your kids struggle with the first day of school?

A. "I think my wife and I had a harder time with the first days of school than our kids. I also think all kids have a tough time in their own way. It's a huge step, especially for those who never went to pre-K or camp. It's like being sent to another planet filled with unknown creatures (the other kids). That first week or so is life-altering."

Q. What was your inspiration behind "Ally-Saurus?" 

A. "I had been thinking back on how my son, when he was four or five, would describe himself as a big fierce dog with a spiked collar and big sharp teeth. He was very precise in his description and made sure to repeat it quite often, in case we had forgotten anything from the previous 400 times he had told us the same thing. It suddenly dawned on me that my son had probably used his imagination (thinking of himself as something big and powerful) to help him throughout his preschool and early elementary years. That idea, combined with the simple crayon 'aura' of Ally's dinosaur persona are what drove the story. Ally herself is the spitting image of my daughter at that age, who thought she was Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast.'

Q. Do you let the images in your books direct the words or vice versa?

A. "Charles Schulz once said, 'there are artists that write and there are writers that draw.'
I would say I'm an artist that writes. In other words, I think visually. My first book, 'Beans Baker, Number Five' was the only story I ever wrote the traditional way -- sitting at the computer and typing. It worked in that instance, but I soon discovered that if I instead storyboarded my work out with small thumbnail drawings and hand-written text, I felt much more in touch with my work. I literally have hundreds of large sheets of paper divided into sixteen or eighteen 'spreads' with tiny pencil drawings and writing on them. That's how I work -- it allows a constant ping-ponging back and forth between words and pictures."

Q. What do you and your family enjoy doing on Long Island for fun?

A. "For the better part of the past 10-12 years my son has played travel hockey before heading off to play at prep school and now college. So much of our 'free time' has been spent in rinks, or traveling to and from them. As a side note, with my kids loving hockey as much as they do, I do lament that they were not yet born during the heyday of the Islander Stanley Cup run, when my dad ran the team. I try to describe how much fun it was during those years, but I don't think I can possibly do it justice. We have always enjoyed Long Island's beaches and spent many a summer day at Cupsogue or out in Montauk. I also golf (badly). And with the great summer weather we get, one of my favorite things to do on Long Island (especially when my family is all together) is to sit by the pool and do nothing."

Q. What's up next for you?

A. "This has easily been the busiest year I've had. I have three books coming out in a ten month span. 'Ally-Saurus and the First Day of School' (Sterling) came out in May. 'My Dog, BOB' (Holiday House) will be out this month. And in February, 'The Almost Terrible Playdate' (Random House/Doubleday) comes out, which will be my 14th book. I'll be busy promoting the three books. I'm currently working on three to four more story ideas, including a second 'Ally-Saurus' book."

 

Pictures From NY NOW Show Book Signing

I had a great time signing books at the NY NOW Show/Javitz Center in Sterling Publisher's booth. A long line of wonderful people-and in less than 30 minutes we had run out of books!  Thank you Sari Lampert, Josh Redlich and everyone else at Sterling for making it a really fun afternoon!

Crazy

It still surprises me when I'm talking to an auditorium of students about my books and one of them says, "I've read that!" or "My brother has that book!", or best of all, "Oh, I love that book!".  The thought that something I dreamed up and scribbled into a notebook ends up being enjoyed by total strangers is just crazy to me.  It's even crazier to think that some of those people live on the other side of the world.

Speaking of which, I just received copies of my book, BECAUSE, translated into Korean....  

...Not to be confused with the Korean version of my book WHY?...

...Or the Hebrew version of my book ALMOST.

   Like I said, crazy.  

Happy Birthday Winnie the Pooh

One of the most famous characters in the history of children's literature, Winnie-the-Pooh, actually started out as a real-life teddy bear presented by author, A.A. Milne to his son, Christopher Robin, as a birthday present on August 21, 1921.  To find out more, click HERE to go to Brain Pickings-one of the best sites you will ever visit on the internet.