My Dead Bunny includes a scene in a hotel lobby. It seemed like a natural opportunity to reference the classic horror film The Shining. My idea was rejected.
Continue reading “How ‘The Shining’ influenced ‘My Dead Bunny’”
Author: James Foley
James Foley makes children’s books for children who read books. If you’re a child and you’re eating his books, you’re doing it wrong. His books include the Secret Agent Mole graphic novel series, the S.Tinker Inc graphic novel series, and the multi-award winning Stellarphant. James lives in Perth with his wife, 2 kids, and a labrador. He is a massive Marvel movie nerd and comes from a long line of queuing enthusiasts. Follow him on socials ( @jamesfoleybooks ) or at www.jamesfoley.com.au .
My Dead Bunny in Top 10 Picture Books of 2015
Thanks to Zac from bestfriendsarebooks.com for naming ‘My Dead Bunny’ in his Top 10 Picture Books for 2015.
I’m very chuffed for Bunny Brad to be in such good company.
This year has been another great year for picture books. There has been a good mix of laugh-out-loud picture books to read aloud to groups and picture books with lots of details to share one-on-one. Below is my list of favourite picture books from 2015 (some with links to my reviews). I’ve been doing lots of school visits in my library role this year and most of the books below have been real winners with the kids I’ve read them to. Some of them I didn’t get a chance to review (these I’ve elaborated on) but they have proved to be very popular.
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The World’s Funniest Christmas Tradition
Catalonians have some unique Christmas traditions. Their nativity sets are often elaborate, and each set must include a peasant figure called the ‘Caganer‘. This figure sits in the corner of the stable doing a poo. Seriously. Last Christmas I made some caganer figures for friends.
El caganer means “the pooper” (that’s the kid-friendly translation, at least). The traditional caganer is shown in the photograph above. From the front he looks innocent enough. From behind it’s a completely different story. Click through to see what he looks like.
Last Viking Returns voted number one by WA kids
Norm and I have some good news: The Last Viking Returns has won the Hoffman Award!
It’s one of the WA Young Readers’ Book Awards and it’s given to the highest-ranked book by a WA creator. The Last Viking won the same award back in 2012.
Huge thanks to all the WA kids who voted for our book; it means a lot.
You can read more about the win on the Fremantle Press website.
Launching My Dead Bunny
What a mental month! My Dead Bunny is finally out in the world after launches in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne.
James Foley – Writing and Illustrating Picture Books – Adult program
Back in September I gave a presentation for adults at the Ipswich StoryArts Festival, on the process of writing and illustrating picture books. Thanks to Rachelle Sadler for the write-up on my session.
My Dead Bunny by Sigi Cohen and James Foley
Zac at ‘My Best Friends Are Books’ wrote this great review of my latest book ‘My Dead Bunny’. Cheers Zac!
So you like picture books about cute bunny rabbits who nibble on carrots or deliver chocolate eggs in a basket? Well this is definitely not the picture book for you. However, if you like picture books about gross, stinky, horrible creatures then this book is absolutely perfect for you. Meet Brad the zombie bunny in Sigi Cohen and James Foley’s new picture book, My Dead Bunny.
We first meet Brad when he is visiting his owner in bed one night and we’re told of how Brad came to be dead. Brad was just a normal, cute, fluffy bunny until the day he decided to chew through the TV cord and got electrocuted. The family bury him but the boy misses him and decides to dig him up and check on him. This is when Brad starts to cause a panic, scaring everyone silly, stinking up the house and making a…
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Seriously Spooky Month: Guest Post – James Foley
Here’s a post I wrote for Zac over at ‘My Best Friends Are Books’, talking about how I designed Bradley the zombie bunny.
Bringing My Dead Bunny to life – James Foley
www.jamesfoley.com.au/books/my-dead-bunny
I have never owned a rabbit, let alone a zombified one, so when I began working on ‘My Dead Bunny’ I had no idea how to approach the character of Bunny Brad. I knew plenty about zombies, having watched all of the Walking Dead and the original Romero film Night of The Living Dead; but I didn’t know how to draw a decent rabbit (or, as this book required, an indecent one).
In addition, I wasn’t sure what illustration style would suit the book; in the first few pages I needed to show a live rabbit being electrocuted, then coming back as a zombie, and I needed to accomplish this without making the audience want to stop reading, close the book, and burn it immediately. As you would expect, it was a challenge bringing a dead bunny to life.
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My Dead Bunny is out now!
My Dead Bunny is on the loose! He was officially released on Oct 1st, and he’s already been sighted in bookshops across Australia. If you’re after a signed copy, there are some at Harry Hartog’s in Bondi Junction (NSW), Beaufort St Books in Mount Lawley (WA), and the State Library of WA. I’ll also be signing copies in Melbourne this Saturday at the Federation Square Markets (Oct 10th, 12pm-3pm).
Thanks to everyone who’s grabbed a copy so far; I hope you like it!
My Dead Bunny coming to Sydney, Perth & Melbourne
There’s only 10 days until the release date of My Dead Bunny!
You’re invited to join myself and Bunny Brad at one of three events across the country in the next few weeks.
Continue reading “My Dead Bunny coming to Sydney, Perth & Melbourne”
James Foley 
