Barnyard Boogie!
Harry N. Abrams | Written by Tim McCanna | Hardcover + Board Book Formats | May 2017
The Barnyard Band is performing today! Each animal musician knows what to do, but Cow can only moo. This charming, read-aloud book features musical sounds and a refrain children will love repeating. Barnyard Boogie! is full of rhyming and nonsense sounds that will enrich and delight.
In Barnyard Boogie, I created an energetic, jazzy-club scene for the barnyard band. Bold, monochromatic backgrounds with soft textural details set the stage, while a bright off-set palette brought the main characters to life. I incorporated hand-written text that played up the sound-effects in the manuscript.
The scenes with Cow gave me an opportunity to showcase the farm in a colorful but more natural state. I included extra characters using instruments to showcase how every animal on this farm naturally knows how to boogie…well everyone except cow!
“…Black’s digitally created, colorful illustrations resemble paper cutouts decorated with chalk. The animals have a Matisse-y look to them, and the full-bleed backdrops, which merely suggest a barnyard, are as bright as the big-eyed animals.” (Kirkus May 2017)
Click the image above to watch Barnyard Boogie’s book release video, made by author Tim McCanna!