Hurd, Thacher Books

Watercolor: For the Artistically Undiscovered (Klutz)

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Klutz Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $4.54

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Instructional & How-To -> Watercolor Painting
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Painting -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Painting -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

If you are a beginner (like I am) get this book! 5 out of 5 stars.
49 of 52 people found this review helpful.

I am extremely intimidated by painting, so I took baby steps and bought this book. It comes with some beautiful watercolors that are rich and color--and a brush as well.

They start you off with painting some small pictures, even blobs if you are comfortable with it, and you will be amazed to see how much your lil paintings look like paintings instead of a piece of crap (which is what i expected---can i say crap?) anyway, they give you pages where you can "play" and you don't start color mixing and other frightening things until later.

Later on, you do landscapes and play around with some light and shadow. Its like the fisher price version of learning to paint!! Sometimes, my pictures blended in with their little pictures along the way, which made me happy. They just turn something very scary, into something a lil more easy.

If you run out of paints or brushes, or you want some more paper, there's a phone number in the back you can call to order some more!! I love klutz products, cause I am one!! Highly recommended!!

Editorial Review:

Most of the pages are actual watercolor paper, with blank space reserved for the use of the reader/painter (that's you). Complete with a palette of artist-quality watercolors, and the inspiration and encouragement of renowned illustrator Thacher Hurd.

Art Dog

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $2.32

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Dogs -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Who is Art Dog? 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

By day, Arthur Dog, Dogopolis Museum of Art security guard, and lover of paintings by Vincent Van Dog, Pablo Poodle, Henri Muttisse, and Leonardo Dog Vinci. By night, Art Dog, masked grafitti artist painting the city in beautiful color. "No one knew who Art Dog really was... until one night at the museum." Yikes! Someone has stolen the Mona Woofa! After being falsely accused, Art Dog paints his way out of jail, lifts his nose in the air..."I can smell art a mile away," and saves the day in superhero fashion..... Thacher Hurd has authored an entertaining, wacky picture book that's sure to tickle the funny bones of young and old alike. His delightful, high-spirited text begs to be read aloud, and is full of terrific sound effects, wordplay, and dog puns. But it's his bold, bright, and splashy illustrations that really make this book stand out and sparkle. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Art Dog is a funny, engaging, rip-roarin' adventure you don't want to miss. "Who was Art Dog? Who was this painter in a Brushmobile, catcher of crooks, bringer of light to the Dogopolis night?" Only readers will know!

Editorial Review:

Arthur Dog, guard at Dogopolis Museum of Art and ardent fan of Leonardo Dog Vinci, leads a quiet life--except when the moon is full. On those nights something happens to Arthur. His eyes grow bright and his fur seems to glisten... and soon he is hatted and masked and out on the streets painting secret masterpieces. No one knows who the mysterious Art Dog is, until the night when Brrringggg! the museum alarm goes off, and Arthur finds himself in the middle of a Mona Woofa heist. Can Arthur extricate himself from this terrible predicament and point the paw at the true criminals? Thacher Hurd's wacky story and fabulously splashy illustrations, with witty nods to many famous artists, would dazzle any young reader. Budding art aficionados, especially, will be thrilled to recognize the works of Pablo Poodle, Henri Muttisse, and Vincent Van Dog, among others. A delightful book! (Ages 4 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Mama Don't Allow

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Alligators & Crocodiles

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An irresistible tale for young children 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Every parent knows that children depend on certain books being read to them ritualistically nearly every evening at bedtime. This was for a very long time one of those books for my daughter and me. The story is delightful. Miles lives in a swamp and loves to play music. But his mother hates his music, and chases him away from the house whenever he plays. Going further into the swamp, he finds a number of others who also can't play their music at home, and they form a swamp band. As they are playing, they are overheard by an alligator, who instead of eating them, invites them all onto a riverboat to play for the alligator ball! They go, they play, are a bit hit, and are about to become a bigger hit, because the main item on the menu that night is Swamp Band Soup! The band escapes.

The illustrations are just extraordinary. My daughter's favorite were the two pages that showed first all the alligators going onto the riverboat, and then the two pages that showed them all dancing at the alligator ball to the Swamp Band singing their song "Mama Don't Allow Any Music Playing in Here."

I have recommended this book to other parents, and they all report that their kids loved it just as much as mine did. This book is best suited for children between the ages of two and six. Good story, great illustrations, and it helps if you can come up with a nifty little tune to go with the lyrics of the song.

Editorial Review:

Saxophone-playing Miles and his Swamp Band find a bevy of sharp-toothed, long-tailed alligators who love to listen to their music. But little do Miles and his band know what the alligators plan for them at the close of their jubilant all-night ball! Inspired by a traditional song, this vibrant picture book is "ebullient, fast-paced, and funny."

1985 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Illustration
A Reading Rainbow Featured Selection
Children's Books of 1984 (Library of Congress)

Zoom City

Thacher Hurd

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperFestival Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hurd, Thacher

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Is a Car Crash an Appropriate Topic? 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Clever colorful drawings and fun noises to read aloud, but as other reviewers have noted, I'm not sure I want to read this book to my son given its subject matter. Maybe I sound like an overly fretful mother, but there are so many great books out there, it might be best to forgo this one.

The book that turned my child onto books 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow - this book was SUCH a hit with my son. Before we found this at a local bookstore, my son would actually get mad when I tried to get him to sit and listen to a story. He even took books out of my hand and flung them across the room. One day, I was DETERMINED to find a book that would be a hit. When I read this one, I knew I had found a hit: all the sound-effects, stop signs (he loved those) and the CRASH! (yes, I saw that the crash was given as a reason to dislike this book, but my then-1-year-old found it great fun to smack the book on the page with the crash, eagerly anticipating it each time). Thacher Hurd was my hero, as my son soon came to love all books, and due to our hours spent enjoying books, is quite advanced in his language arts skills now that he's in school. Thanks, Mr. Hurd, for a book that so appeals to little boys. :)

Editorial Review:

For active toddlers exploring their world, this energetic book bursts with the noisy sounds children love to imitate.Honk! Honk! Beep! Beep! Zoom City zooms with cars—and dogs!— on the go. Active toddlers, busy exploring their world, will love this energetic book that's filled with the noisy sounds they love to imitate.

Honk! Honk! Beep! Beep! Zoom City zooms with cars—and dogs!— on the go. Active toddlers, busy exploring their world, will love this energetic book that's filled with the noisy sounds they love to imitate.

Moo Cow Kaboom!

Amazon Price: $13.49 List Price: $17.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $3.92

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Farm Animals -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Rip Roarin' Fun 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Who would've thought a story could combine cowboys and space aliens? This book took us completely by surprise. The farmer's moo-cow was kidnapped by Zork, a cowboy from a planet far away in outer space. Zork plans to ride the earthling Moo-Cow in the Intergalactic Rodeo.

My 4 year old son was delighted with the western and space themes and intrigued by the active plot and silly words. I was pleased to find such a neat, adventure-filled book with such a uniqueness to it. Great read-a-loud!

Editorial Review:

One night, while the pigs and chickens are sound asleep -- KABOOM! -- Farmer George's Moo Cow disappears! A low-down Space Cowboy has whisked her off to a galaxy far, far away. What's this sweet cow to do now, forced to become the Wild Beast Earthling Moo Cow at the Inter-Galactic Rodeo? Saddle up and get ready to ride Thacher Hurd's zany trip to Planet 246 and back!

Axle the Freeway Cat

Thacher Hurd

List Price: $12.89 By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $3.75

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hurd, Thacher

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fabulous book! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My son fell in love with this book when he was young. He took it out of the library every single time we visited, which was very often. Thacher Hurd is incredibly creative. He writes and illustrates a wonderful story that will always be fascinating!

Editorial Review:

A lonely cat meets a new friend in a traffic jam.

River of Words: Images and Poetry in Praise of Water

Amazon Price: $11.01 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Heyday Books Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $0.04

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hurd, Thacher

Editorial Review:

Water is the inspiration for the River of Words contest, an annual challenge that highlights the art and poetry created by children from all over the world.

River of Words: Images and Poetry in Praise of Water offers a powerful selection of the finest work from the contest’s first six years. With selections by children from places as diverse as Azerbaijan and the U.S., China and Ivory Coast, as well as Thailand and the Ukraine, it is colorful and passionate evidence of fertile minds creating fertile visions of the world. From the hearts and minds of children come expressions of pure joy and exultation, as well as sorrow and longing, all inspired by water.

River of Words is proof that children have the capacity to be intelligent, articulate, caring, creative, humorous, inventive and most of all, passionate. For many adults, busy in their day to day lives, how could we not feel a pang of envy for those heady times, when, as children, the natural world was what it has always been, a wonderful place full of discovery.

Little Mouse's Big Valentine

List Price: $5.99 By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Squirrels -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great For Little Kids! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Most of the Valentine stories available don't work well as read alouds for preschoolers, but this one is always a hit, AND it has a nice underlying theme of sharing with friends.It's also a wonderful story to be told with puppets at a story hour, especially if you end by giving all the children a little red valentine of their own!

Pleasant Valentine's Story! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The watercolor illustrations are cheerfully colored, and loosely rendered. There's very little detail, which I can appreciate with simple stories. Author/illustrator Thacher Hurd conveys his ideas simply, without fanfare. The age recommendation is preschool to first grade, which is appropriate, but I think an alert 3-year old might have the attention span to listen all the way through as well. Hurd succeeds in writing and illustrating an original story about Valentine's Day that deals with friendship and sharing in a positive way. Unlike so many tales associated with this holiday where the main characters compete for the biggest or best valentine, this one is actually about giving and making new friends.

Editorial Review:

Little Mouse, in an excess of creative enthusiasm, makes a valentine so enormous that no one wants it. Chagrined, he sets out on a journey [to find someone with whom to share his huge red heart]. This beguiling fable is both told and illustrated with disarming simplicity; Hurd's minimal lines are deftly expressive of his hero's subtle feelings, while his rich, watercolor tones make each page a delight. A splendid addition to the Valentine's Day shelf.

Wheel Away!

Dayle Ann Dodds

List Price: $14.89 By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hurd, Thacher

Editorial Review:

A runaway wheel takes a bouncy, bumpy, noisy journey through town.

Sleepy Cadillac: A Bedtime Drive

List Price: $15.99 By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $3.45

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> Bedtime & Dreaming
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

a perfect bedtime read 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I borrowed this book from the library for my 2 1/2 yr old son. It's requested not only every night but during the day. The story is a delight to read and the illustrations wonderful, enchanting. I am looking forward to adding this to my son's bookshelf.

Bedtime book 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is definitely a bedtime book because it is sooo dull and boring to read. Neither my 21 month old nor my 4 1/2 year old took any real interest in this book. Skip it and pick one of Thacher Hurd's better books like Cat's Pajamas, Zoom City, Mama Don't Allow or Moo Cow Kaboom.

Great Bedtime 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My 1 1/2 yr old daughter absolutely loves this story. At first I wasn't sure it would fly, but we borrowed it from the library and we both quickly fell in love with it. We ended up getting our own copy and every night she wants to read it. The story stimulates the imagination. The sounds and rhythm make it a very soothing and sleepy kind of story.

Editorial Review:

A sleepy car floats up to a small boy's bedroom window and takes him for a nighttime drive. So begins a dreamy journey high above the clouds and over the moon -- all the way to Pajama Land, where cars circle and dance, and sleepy people dream the night away. Luminous pastels seem to glow with moonlight. Words, soft and soothing, will coax the most reluctant sleepyhead into bed.