Children’s Book Illustration
Project: Children’s Book
Write, illustrate, and design a children’s book.
I struggled with this project for the first eight weeks of class, trying to come up with something significant and relevant. I’d had several solid ideas, but nothing that I was particularly passionate about. With 4 weeks remaining of the semester, I began to freak out.
I asked my mother what kind of books I liked when I was little, to which she replied, "Trains, dinosaurs, and trucks.”
“Trucks? Really, I liked trucks?”
“Um…no…you liked unicorns.”
I’d found my inspiration.
Written & Illustrated by Frank-Joseph Frelier
To Mom & Dad. And everyone under five feet.
Within this Grimoire you shall learn
From page to page, and turn by turn,
The last great stories of creatures gone
The magical creatures of Avalon.
The Phoenix
In the land of Eternal Youth,
There lived a phoenix, loud, uncouth.
He strutted proudly, that arrogant bird,
The other birds, jealous, despised the turd.
Flamboyant golden plume and feather,
Made ugly birds feel under the weather.
Deciding to trick him, make him feel plain,
They set up a mirror to make him insane.
“What’s this? Who’s that? No one’s hotter than me!”
He screamed, going postal, “I’m steaming, you see?!”
The birds claim he exploded and appeared to ignite.
Content he was gone, they tossed his ashes that night.
Bigfoot
Excessive hair is quite grotesque
Especially involving the burlesque.
A hairy Italian is not as bad
As a Bigfoot’s finger pad.
Hair on elbows, legs, and toes.
Hair on cheeks, and lips and nose!
The Sasquatch is a hairy guy.
And the Yeti, who lives quite high.
Embarrassed by their furry kind,
They’re hard to spot, or even find!
The Chimera
The ground quakes then rumbles, mountains explode,
Under the weight of her three-headed load.
Two portions mammal, and poisonous snake,
She greedily ate all things in her wake.
Red bursts of flame spewed from her jaws,
Roasting the prey stacked on her claws.
Insatiable was she, and couldn’t resist
Eying her muscled plump ankle and wrist.
She started to gnaw, eat, chew, devour.
It seemed like her heads were not in her power.
The snake bit the lion, which chose to attack
The snarling disaster of goat on her back.
In a matter of minutes, she’d been eaten whole.
The Chimera had never learned portion control.
The Griffin and The Sphinx
A long time ago, an awful affair
Betook the creatures that flew the air.
The kingdom that used the griffin for force
Opposed land guarded by a sphinx of course.
When the two tribes of humans started to war,
The sphinx and griffin were brought to the fore.
They battled it out high overhead.
Far down below, the fields turned to red.
The battling nations looked to the sky
Hoping their sacred creature’d not die.
Unfortunately, the sphinx woman-cat
Fell to the ground with a large splat.
Not far behind, the great lion-eagle
Crashed to the Earth, very un-regal.
“Our two most sacred, now are both ceased.
Honor their valor, with statues at least!”
Both tribes united, laid down their gall
To remember the warriors that sacrificed all.
El Chupacabra
Of all creatures great and small
Most misconstrued one of them all
Is a dog-rat, jumping beast.
He’s not wicked, in the least!
Legend has it he is mean,
With waning hair and eyes that glean.
But the stories all are wrong.
The explanation is not long.
Like those Border Collie dogs
This creature herds sheep, goats, and hogs.
It guards the ewes from night attackers,
With the strength of pro linebackers.
Often times a stubborn goat
Will get a nipping on the throat.
Bleeding from two small round holes,
The goat would die there on the knolls.
Not wanting to waste fresh red meat,
The dog-rat would lap up the treat.
So you’ll see, no blood was shed
Maliciously, as farmers said.
Puck
There once was an imp named Puck
Who liked to toss, hurl, throw, and chuck
Small stones and frogs, and sticks and logs
Into creeks, ponds, lakes, and bogs.
Hurling a rock, that little imp
Struck a maiden who went limp.
The dainty lady, crowned with rose
Plopped in the stream, the story goes.
Obliviously, Puck heard no sound.
‘Twas not till later, Ophelia was found.
The Fairy
Supposedly, as legend tells,
A fairy found the Book of Spells.
So tiny was she, with dragonfly wings,
Wanting to be big and do human things.
Four inches tall with glowing bright skin,
Was trying to be different that big a sin?
A flick of her wand plus words from the paper,
Should have turned her wings into vapor.
But after the spell, she felt no more plain
Than a centaur with braided gold mane.
She flew to the woods, embarrassed her plan
Had not changed her into the size of a man.
Shocked to discover her spell had gone through,
Her dream to be different had come quite true.
She was still fairy, but the rest of her kind
changed to small insects with glowing behind!
Now she’s alone, more so than before.
Learn from the sprite, mind what you wish for!
Gargoyles
Peeping gargoyles liked to spy,
Crouching, perching, peering, fie!
Horned and hairy, winged and tall,
With glowing eyes, frightened all.
They drew the attention of a Magician,
Who was placed in an awful position.
“Rid us of each scary beast!”
Yelled the people to the priest.
“Frozen there on roof and stoop,
for eternity, birds will poop!”
He spelled the spell and sprinkled water,
“I turn you all to pigeon fodder!”
That is why you’ll always see,
Concrete gargoyles, never free.
Mermaids
In the crystal clear blue waters
Sang the lovely Triton daughters.
Flaxen hair with jewels and pearls,
Basking beauties, fish-tailed girls.
The melodies of these maids
Distracted pirates from their raids.
They came with net, snare, fishing pole.
To catch the merfolk was their goal.
Diving to their hidden lair
Hid the merrows, few and rare.
The silly fish were not that deft
And after weeks, the pirates left.
When recalling the human-fishes,
Pirates said they’d been delicious.
Banshees
In the highlands hid by fogs
Past the forests, mountains, bogs
Lived the Fair Folk, singing ladies,
Frightening men, worse than Hades.
Each fallen angel, banshee, fey
Would lie and gossip day by day.
These awful women blamed and lied
Until their queen, exhausted, died.
“Our cruel and mean, bitter banter
killed the Queen,” cried the cantor.
“Cursed to mourn, lament her death,
We shall wail for each lost breath!”
Now whenever someone passes,
You can hear the cries of lasses.
The spirit women, never seen
Grieve the world with eerie keen.
The Faun
Sitting by a babbling creek
Was a faun, with flute of teak.
His fur was curled, his horns were brown
And he wore a silver crown.
If one asked, “Are you a prince?”
He would frown, and give a wince.
“Hardly not, I must confess.
Not a prince, but a princess.”
No matter how you’d beg, insist,
Barter, plead, he would resist.
“It’s true, I am. A lovely maiden.
With crown and scepter, diamond laden.”
And there he sat, upon his lawn
That happy, mixed-up, little faun.
Unicorns and Pegasus
In the Elysian fields afar,
Unicorns and winged horses spar.
Both thinking their own kind divine,
Would fight to prove the best equine.
Rearing, soaring, here and there,
Both ivory gelding, silver mare.
‘Til one day, a bloody mess,
left the royal fields horseless.
Dragons
Pre Antiquity and Ancient East,
Thrived the flying serpent beast.
Drafting thermals, gliding, soaring,
Peacefully and never roaring.
Magically, earth lived in peace,
But that time was soon to cease.
Castles rose and farms shot forth,
Humans swarmed from the north.
They felled the forests, blazed the land,
Consumed the resources, sword in hand.
One by one, the dragons vanished,
Fled the future that men brandished.
Surely dragons will return
When more people start to learn:
Once the world is pure and clean,
Magical creatures will be seen.
