Mokie and Bik

Jonathan Bean: Illustrator Extraordinaire

2011-12-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast � Blog Archive � Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Jonathan Bean

A wonderful interview with the talented Jonathan Bean, who illustrated the US (Henry Holt/Macmillan) editions of Mokie and Bik, and Mokie and Bik Go to Sea. He had a break for a while, and I'm so glad to hear that he's working again. His own One Night is another favourite on my shelf. Go have a look to see some of his amazingly varied work.

Title page spread from Mokie and Bik, and last page of Mokie an Bik go to Sea.

Jonathan Bean

lost and found awards

2010-02-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

Looking at Henry Holt's catalogue page I discovered that Mokie and Bik had won two awards I hadn't heard about: Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year;and CCBC Choice (Univ. of WI). What a lovely surprise!

I'd already heard (and celebrated!) the NYPL Book for Reading and Sharing.

missing messages

2008-12-06T19:04:00.001-08:00

I've just discovered that most of my emails have been blocked from November 23 till today. (I wondered why I was getting so few!) So, if you've emailed me, or posted a comment here that hasn't been accepted, please try again. I try to answer all my emails within a week, so if I've ignored you, there's a good chance it's because I didn't get your message.

New York Public Library's Best Books for Reading and Sharing

2008-08-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

Somehow I missed the email last February about this list, but it's still very nice to see it now: Mokie and Bik are included in the list of 6 books for children aged 6 to 8. YAY!

I was also thrilled to see that Jonathan Bean's own book At Night is on the picture book list, and Linda Urban's A Crooked Kind of Perfect on the list for 8 to 12 year old kids. (I got to know Linda through her championship of Mokie and Bik on her own blog!)

To see the whole list, go to: http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/bookletter/showlist.html?sid=5796&list=CNL9

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast � Blog Archive � EarlyEmergingBeginningInterChapterMediateReaders

2008-07-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

An early review of Mokie and Bik go to Sea - I can't help it, it's fun to read such nice things!

Eisha and I co-reviewed the first Mokie & Bik title here, in which we talked about Orr’s wordplay in these chapter books, which feature the adventures of two twins who live on a boat called Bullfrog, who “lived in it, on it, all around it—monkeying up ladders . . . over the wheelhouse and across the cabin floor.” As we said back then, Orr’s rhythmic language and clever wordplay (”Bik paddled as fast as a fisk, flick kick swick, back to the rowboat tied behind Bullfrog“) could easily be a bit too precious or unbearably cute, but she manages to stretch her words in such a way that bypasses cute and goes straight to captivating and hilarious and please-read-me-out-loud.

To read the whole review:

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast � Blog Archive � EarlyEmergingBeginningInterChapterMediateReaders

“You’ll Really Like This Character…” (I hope)

2008-02-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Interesting thoughts from Steven Engelfried of the Association for Library Services for Children

I like a good story, and appreciate eloquent writing, but the element that I seem to respond to most strongly in books is characterizations. And I think many kids respond that way too. In a year’s worth of children’s books, we get to meet so many very interesting people (and animals). My favorite 2007 characters include a girl who chases chickens (The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice Harrington) (I like Miss Hen a lot too), two boat-loving twins with a language of their own (Mokie and Bik by Wendy Orr), a girl who masters a Neil Diamond song on an organ (A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban), and a dog who serves in the Vietnam War (Cracker by Cynthia Kadohata).

To read the rest of his review:

ALSC Blog � Blog Archive � “You’ll Really Like This Character…” (I hope)

Children's Music that Rocks: Words are meant to be fun!

2008-01-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

Another lovely review, this one by Warren Truitt of the Donnell Central Children's Room, The New York Public Library. Could there be anything nicer for this than to be in a list with Dr Seuss?

"Words are meant to be fun!

Words are meant to be fun. Sure, most people use them to communicate, but think about certain words in the English language: squelch, thimble, gallon. Their sounds alone can induce giggles if pondered long enough.

By that reasoning, sentences should be chock full of silliness because you can bounce words and sounds off each other and make syllables and rhymes roll off your tongue and tickle your eardrums.

Here are six picture books and a short chapter book that are a hoot to read aloud in storytime or at home, books that take advantage of the creative possibilities of language:"

To read the list go to:

Children's Music that Rocks: Words are meant to be fun!

Writing and Ruminating - Mokie and Bik by Wendy Orr

2008-01-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Writing and Ruminating - Mokie and Bik by Wendy Orr

A lovely blog review by Kelly Fineman - and an interesting book conversation in the comments, including one by Loree Burns, who'd intended to review the book herself till she saw this one!

I do admire people who get around to doing such wonderfully detailed and thoughtful pieces, all for the love of books. As anyone who follows my blog knows, I find it hard enough to keep one up at all at the same time as writing a book!

Summer reading in Boise ID - Mokie and Bik!

2007-12-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

Mokie and Bik has been selected by the Boise (ID) Public Library for its 2007 holiday book list. Yay!

Each year they recommend several books in several categories, and MOKIE is one of 11 titles in the “Books for Middle Grade Readers” section. For the complete list, you can go to http://www.boisepubliclibrary.org/Kids_and_Parents/Booklists_and_Authors/Holiday_List_2007.pdf.

CROOKED PERFECT - Mokie and Bik

2007-11-29T01:09:00.000-08:00

a very special follow-up to the earlier review!
CROOKED PERFECT - Mokie and Bik

another little review

2007-11-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Entrepreneur.com

Another lovely blog review

2007-09-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast � Blog Archive � Co-Review: Mokie & Bik by Wendy Orr

School Library Journal review

2007-07-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

My lovely editor sent me this - what a nice way to start the day!

Preschool to Grade 4 - 7/1/2007 - School Library Journal

Gr 2–4—Mokie and Bik are fraternal twins who live on a houseboat. "They lived in it, on it, all around it, monkeying up ladders and down ropes, over the wheelhouse and across the cabin floor." They live with their artist mother and their nanny, Ruby, while their father is on his ship at sea. This active pair are "always overboard and underfoot," and Ruby uses a boathook to fish them out of the water. The twins have a colorful language all their own—cats are "hissers," fish are "fisk," potatoes are "tatties," and their Mum is always "arting" or "botormiking." Orr has created a memorable tale with vivid characters reminiscent of those in the "Pippi Longstocking" stories. The author has infused her tale with whimsical language ("Erik was humph, grumph mumphry thundercloud grumpy," and seagulls go "squawk wawk rawking") that will both surprise and delight listeners and confident chapter-book readers. Bean's pen-and-ink drawings and colorful cover capture the exuberant spirit of the twins and splendidly match their energetic adventures.—Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY

The Lilting House: A Booklist List

2007-07-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

My google alert picked up this blog - a very nice start to the morning! (And another blog that I could spend far too much time in...)Thanks to Sarah for the post, and Melissa for the blog!

The Lilting House: A Booklist List

Mokie and Bik - teachers' notes

2007-07-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

orrwen - Mokie and Bik - teachers' notes

Susan Green has created these excellent notes for Mokie and Bik. She's done them for the Australian edition, but only difference as far as the notes notes are concerned is the cover picture.

Susan has given permission for these notes to be used freely, but please credit them if passing them on.

Susan Green
Bach. Adult Learning & Development, Monash
MasterOrgLeadership, Monash
Learning and Development Consultant

Jonathan Bean's site

2007-06-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

Untitled Document

Here's a sneak preview, but have a look at Jonathan's site and see some of his wonderful pictures for this book, as well as his other work. He only graduated a couple of years ago – it's quite amazing what he's done already. I predict a grand future...

Mokie and Bik in North America

2007-06-22T02:30:00.000-07:00

Henry Holt and Company Books for Young Readers

This is quite a different book than the Australian one, in text as well as illustration. Here's the opening excerpt:
Mokie and Bik lived on a boat called Bullfrog. They lived in it, on it, all around it -- monkeying up ladders and down ropes, over the wheelhouse and across the cabin floor.

“Twins!” their mother shouted, because the lines of her Art jiggled and jarred when Mokie and Bik played bumpboats. “Get out from underfoot!”

So Bik bumped Mokie out the door -- splat! -- into nanny Ruby’s bucket as she was sploshing the deck.

“Twins!” shouted Ruby. “Get out from underfoot!”

So they sunned like seals on the wheelhouse roof for about twenty hours till Ruby finished sploshing.

Aussiereview.com

2007-05-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

Children's Book Review: Mokie and Bik, by Wendy Orr

gleebooks summer reading guide

2007-05-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

Better late than never: Being sent a lovely Kirkus review of the US Mokie and Bik today (not sure about the rules on quoting it I I did a search and foud that the Aussie Mokie and Bik was highly recommended on the Gleebooks Summer Reading Guide for 2006. A few other books to go on my own reading list too..

gleebooks review of

A Fuse #8 Production: Review of the Day: Mokie and Bik

2007-05-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Betsy for giving me the direct link, now you don't have to do all that hard work of scrolling... A Fuse #8 Production: Review of the Day: Mokie and Bik

Teacher Review of Aussie edition

2007-05-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

Allen&Unwin - Teacher Resources

Mokie and Bik Review: April 2007

2007-04-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

You need to scroll down to April 9 for the review - but have a good look along the way; this is a great forum about children's literature!

A Fuse #8 Production: April 2007: " "

Mokie and Bik Mornington launch

2006-11-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

Michelle Hamer launching Mokie and Bik at the Mornington library, with the help of twins Peter and Claire. They did a fantastic job of reading a script I'd prepared from the book! Very, very brave, because there were a lot of people there.

Mokie and Bik launch

2006-10-14T02:08:00.000-07:00

I've been worse than usual at keeping up with this blog lately, but here's one of the reasons; preparing for the Victorian launch of MOKIE AND BIK.The Western Australia launch was at Albany's Sprung Festival in September.

So, if you're in the area, come to meet the book and the author at

Mornington Shire Library, Vancouver St, Mornington, Victoria (Australia)
11:00 am 21 October, 2006.

Bookings: ph 5950 1820

Kids can learn to make paper boats, and win prizes for dressing up as twins or something to do with the sea.
Free morning tea provided. Farrells Book Shop will be in attendance - buy books on the day and have them signed!

Mokie and Bik cover

2006-08-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Mokie and Bik's blog, which I hope will give teachers some background information for using it in the classroom. I hope that when the book comes out people will feel free to add any suggestions of their own too.

There will eventually be two entirely different editions of Mokie and Bik, but as the American edition won't be out till June 2007, the illustrations and extracts here are all from the Australian edition, illustrated by Beth Norling, which will be released by Allen & Unwin in September 2006.

Mokie and Bik cover

2006-08-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

Front Cover of the Australian edition of Mokie and BIk

Mokie and Bik extract

2006-08-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

Here's the first couple of pages from the finished Australian book, coming out in September with Allen & Unwin.

Overboard or Underfoot

Mokie and Bik lived on a boat called Bullfrog.
‘When I’m big,’ said Mokie, ‘I’ll sail right across the harbour.’
‘When I’m bigger,’ said Bik, ‘I’ll sail right across the world!’

But Dad was sailing his ship-at-sea,
Mum was busy Arting
and Ruby was busy sploshing,
so Bullfrog stayed tied to the wharf - –

and Mokie and Bik played bumpboats
up and down the wheelhouse
bump thump rumping
from the steering drawers to the bouncy bunk
from sleepdog Laddie to the pot belly hotter .

Twins!’ their mother shouted
when the lines of her Art jiggled and jarred.
‘Get out from underfoot!’

Draft 8, out to both publishers

2006-08-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

This draft went to my Australian publisher, Allen & Unwin, and the American publisher Henry Holt, in early December 2004. The two books will end up quite different from each other despite being contracted from this same draft.

Moky and Bik lived on a boat called Bullfrog.
They lived in it, on it, all around it –
Monkeying up ladders
and
down
ropes
over the wheelhouse and across the cabin floor.

'Twins!' their mother shouted,
because the lines of her Art jiggled and jarred
when Mokie and Bik played bumpboats
bump thump rumpboats

Mokie and Bik - 5th draft , with editor's comments

2006-08-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

I think this was about the fifth draft, probably September 2004. My editor liked it, but had a few comments...

Overboard or Underfoot

Long ago, before your grandad was a baby,
Moky and Bicky lived on a boat.
The boat was called Bullfrog,
and Moky and Bicky were called The Twins.

‘Twins!’ their mother shouted,
because she was trying to read
and it gave her a headache
when Moky and Bicky played bumpboats in the wheelhouse.
‘Get out from underfoot!’

Drafting Mokie and Bik

2006-08-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

A bit of the first draft, from July 2003.

Long ago, when your grandfather was a baby, Anne and Anthony lived on a boat.

It was like living in a house, except that if they wanted to move, the house could go too.
Instead of a garden, the sea was all around them.
Instead of a sidewalk and a road, there was a gangplank and a wharf.

Anne and Anthony were twins.
They were born on the same day.
"I'm older!" said Anne.
"Only an hour," sais Anthony.
"That's enough," said Anne.

Mokie and Bik's father's ship-at-sea

2006-08-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

'The Malahat' -the real Mokie and Bik's father was first mate of this schooner when she was a rumrunner out of Vancouver

The writing of Mokie and Bik

2006-08-07T01:40:00.001-07:00

The writing of Mokie and Bik

If your father told you stories about growing up on a boat, speaking a language that only he and his twin sister (and sometimes their nanny) could understand, pulling his sister out by the hair when she fell overboard, being towed in his rowboat by the basking shark he’d hooked…. Well, you’d just have to write them, wouldn’t you?

From the age of three to six, my dad Anthony (Tony) and his twin sister Anne lived with their parents, their nanny or ‘mother’s help’ Ruby, a sheepdog named Laddie and a turtle, on a boat in the Canadian harbour of Vancouver. This was in the 1930’s, when the world was in the Depression and the United States was in Prohibition – which led to their father becoming first mate on the rumrunning ship the Malahat, a beautiful five masted schooner, and later the skipper of a rumrunning motorboat.

Their father returned from one of these trips with a puppy for the twins. Rabiot (meaning ‘scraps’, was a French cart dog owned by the captain of a French rumrunner who was not going to be able to keep a puppy in the Mexican jail he was being sent to… Laddie trained Rabiot to guard the twins and he grew into a brave and loyal dog. When he eventually died of injuries sustained in one too many dogfights, he was replaced by the spaniel Waggles.

During the years on the boat, my father and Anne spoke, probably made up of English words they couldn’t pronounce properly, combined with words from the various languages they heard on the wharf, especially from the Norwegian family whose boat was moored nearby. When the twins were six their parents suddenly realised that they didn’t speak English well enough to go to school, so the boat was leased out and the family moved into a house to civilise the children.

As a child I was fascinated by the twins’ adventures; as a mother I was somewhat horrified by the tale of Anne falling overboard and my father, equally unsupervised, rowing out to get the ‘golden seaweed’– he’s not sure whether or not he knew it was his sister’s hair when he went to rescue her. As a writer, I knew that their stories needed to be told.

And so, on and off over the years, I’ve been making notes. On a visit back to British Columbia five years ago, I spent a full afternoon with my aunt taking down her version of the stories as thoroughly as I could. A year or so later, with a comment from my publisher at Allen & Unwin, I suddenly saw the format for the book: not a picture book, not a novel, but something in between, more like linked short stories. I started writing, using their real stories, toning them down sometimes for believability, tidying them up and rounding them out. Fourteen drafts later, the Australian edition of ‘Mokie and Bik’ was ready for the typesetter. Beth Norling then got into the spirit with her lively, whimsical illustrations… a few more edits and changes…. in September the book will be born.

(And yes, my father and aunt, the original Mokie and Bik, have given it their seal of approval!)

A strange footnote

2006-08-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

Visiting my parents last July, with the manuscript of Mokie and Bik well under way, I did a lot more tidying up research, not simply quizzing Anne and Dad for details and further stories, but photographing wharf life and beaches for the things that children would have explored, as well as going through albums and boxes of old photographs. On the way to the airport for the flight home, we stopped for lunch at a pub in Sidney, Vancouver Island, named the Rumrunner.And what was the first thing we saw as we walked in the door? A photograph of my grandfather at the wheel of the Malahat, the beautiful rumrunning schooner.

Teaching Notes for Mokie and Bik

2006-08-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

Teaching Notes

STORY -

Wendy Orr based this story on her father and his twin sister's childhood. Do you think it's EXACTLY true? Why or why not? Which parts do you think might be true, and which ones might be exaggerated?

Do your parents, grandparents or aunts and uncles have stories about when they were little? Do you?
Write a story using a story or stories from your family. How could you change it to make it a better story? Do their real names suit the characters in the story or could you think of better names? (In real life, people's names don't always suit their personalities, but they should in a story.)

When do you think this story happened? What are some of the clues that it's not right now? How has life changed since then?

LANGUAGE –

Make a list of all the ‘twin language’ words in the story. What real words do they replace?

When you were younger did you have your own special words for things? What were they? Does your family still use some of them now?

Spoonerisms:

Saying ‘botormike’ instead of motorbike is a spoonerism. Spoonerisms were named after Reverend William Archibald Spooner, an English minister who often got his words mixed up and said things like, ‘a blushing crow’ when he meant to say, ‘a crushing blow.’

Tongue twisters are groups of words that are tricky to say together , like ‘she sells sea shells by the sea shore.’ Sometimes if you say tongue twisters quickly you end up with spoonerisms!’

Can you make up some tongue twisters or spoonerisms? Here are a couple to get you started:

Pinny gig (guinea pig)
Rubble bab ((bubble wrap)

TWINS

Are there any twins at your school or in your family? Did they have a special language that just they knew about? What are the good things about being a twin? What are the bad?

Develop a list of interview questions in class, divide up the questions among the students and get each child to interview twins and write up their answers.

From Romulus and Remus, the mythical twins who founded Rome, to Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, there have been lots of famous twins throughout history. What other famous twins can you discover?

ANIMALS

Laddie is a sheepdog. What work do sheepdogs do, and why would that make him a good dog to look after Mokie and Bik?

Waggles is a Newfoundland dog. What work do they do? Can you find any interesting facts about them?

The real Mokie and Bik's dog who came home with their father was a French cart dog - a big strong dog who was used to pull carts. What other kinds of working dogs can you find out about.

Slow is a 'tortle.' Do you think he's a turtle or tortoise? Find out what the differences are.

GEOGRAPHY - houses/boats

What would you like about living on a boat? What wouldn't you like?

Where in the world do people live in boats? Eg in Hue, Vietnam; barges on the Rhine and other rivers in Europe, houseboats in many cities – like Victoria in Canada.

Where in the world do people live right on the water but perhaps live on houses on stilts?
eg Myanmar (Burma) on Inle Lake

Find the places in an atlas.

Find out about the life styles of these people. do they spend a lot of time fishing and boating like Mokie and Bik? What foods do they eat?

Fnd out different types of house boats. What are they made of? Draw pictures of them. Design your own house boat.

The real Mokie and Bik

2006-08-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

"Egret" – the real Bullfrog.

Anne and Anthony, the real Mokie and Bik