What the Lizard Said is the first in a series of illustrated poetry books that chronicle the adventures of Wise Dog and his younger friend, Jimmi, two dogs on a quest to learn important lessons about the world we live in.
I just love your illustrations. One could get lost in their stories for hours. The colors are so striking too.
Amazon Customer
The poetry is enchanting, the artwork colorful. Highly recommended!
Lizard News
Both Josie and her cousin Levi have really enjoyed What the Lizard Said. Levi and family are in Hawaii this week and he took it with him to read on the plane. Josie looks at the pictures, won't allow anyone to read the words, and gabs about it, though I can't understand much of what she's saying :)
From Aleena Ortiz
Jimmi and Wise Dog meet a lizard, a turtle, a hen, and a gopher. Each animal shares its story in a sentimental, rhyming format, and each story is laced with somber morality and introspection. For the gopher, for example, “juicy roots” are akin to a pirate’s treasure, while silver and gold are mere tin. And the Lizard knows that he must reconcile himself to his past by letting his tail go, remarking:
I drop one tail and grow another as Lizards use a single rudder to chase the sun and catch the light before today becomes the night. The accompanying illustration of the lizard on a magic carpet evokes a message of letting go. And elsewhere, a turtle’s shell is depicted as a home with windows, doors, and a chimney.
The illustrations are fanciful, creative, and carefree, evoking coloring books, handcrafted work, and collages. They feature stark yellows, greens, blues—the colors that shape the pages . . . And the settings are enlivened by flowers, stars, and fruits, shown in eye-catching patterns of movement.
In the vibrant picture book What the Lizard Said, two friends are made privy to the lessons learned by fellow animals.
Individual poems from the Wise Dog and Jimmi books have appeared in Paradise Review, Halycon, The Wardrobe, Parody, vox poetica, and Enter the Gateway Anthology.
