Ice Cream Work by Naoshi- Blog Tour & Review

Hi! Welcome to my tour stop for the children’s picture book em>Ice Cream Work by Naoshi! The tour runs September 28 – October 9 with reviews, interviews and more. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

About the Book:

Release: October 1, 2015
Publisher: Overcup Press
ISBN: 0­9834917­3­9
Price: $14.99 hardcover
Pages: 40
appropriate for ages 3 and up

Where will Ice Cream Man work next??

Ice Cream Man knows there’s lots of work to be done! Whether it’s cheerfully posing next to chocolate cake, beaming team spirit as 1/8th of a sunflower, or glowing bright as he becomes a fabulous night light, Ice Cream Man is ready for the job!

This delicious, quirky children’s book by internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Naoshi combines a whimsical story with colorful sunae (sand art). A “Look & Find” section challenges youngsters to scour the pages for small details, and a “How To Make Sunae” section guides readers step‐by‐step through a “sand painting” art project of their own.

“Ice Cream Work is a meticulous and stunning piece of art. The story exudes a loopy, anarchist joy: chronicling the adventures of a hard­working and stylish frozen dairy confection and his eclectically industrious week.” ­­ Dale Bayse, author of Heck, Where the Bad Kids Go series

About the Author:

Naoshi is an internationally acclaimed Japanese illustrator whose  distinctive characters and original style are recognized around the world. She uses  shiny colorful sand to create surreal people living  in the real world. She has participated in a wide range of projects including gallery exhibitions, commercial work, and children’s workshops. Naoshi is a Tokyo based artist currently living in Los Angeles.

*My Review*

Ice Cream Work by Naoshi is an interesting and unique children’s book. The story line itself is rather simple- where will Ice Cream Man work today- but it is written in such a unique format. I really enjoyed looking at the pictures. I really find it fascinating that the pictures are made using sunae. If you look closely you can see all the colored grains of sand. The artwork is very colorful, bright, and fun and I loved how we got to see an ordinary picture come alive with fun characters.

*JT Says*

“I liked your book. It’s yummy. It would be yummy in real life because of all the ice cream and strawberries. I liked the work Ice Cream Man does.”

*Connor Says*

“Hi, I’m Connor and I’m 9. I liked the book and I like ice cream. I really like how the first pages of the work places were like mystery pages because you don’t know where everything will be. Then on the next pages everyone popped up in different places. The sunae is really cool. I had a different type of sand art at one of my parties before and I’m thinking about doing sunae at my party this Saturday.”

Advance Praise for Ice Cream Work: 

“Naoshi’s work is original and unmistakably recognizable. With a dry sense of humor, appreciation of fashion, video games, fine pastries, and just plain fun, each piece by Naoshi is a finely made confection with a charm all her own.” — Ben Zhu, owner of Gallery Nucleus

“Naoshi represents everything I love about contemporary Japanese art: one foot in history, one foot in pop culture, two skilled hands, and her head firmly in a cloud of unadulterated enthusiasm for making art.” — Matt Wagner, author of The Tall Trees of Portland and The Tall Trees of Tokyo

“Naoshi’s pure approach to her art form is inspiring: knowing that the shiny bright colors that bring her stories alive are tiny grains of sand always transfixes me. Naoshi is one of today’s greatest artists.” — Carrie Gifford, founder & creative director of Red Cap Cards

“Some people bury their heads in the sand. Some draw lines in the sand. Sunae artist Naoshi does both: creating surreal worlds alive with wit and whimsy, one vibrantly colored grain of sand at a time. Ice Cream Work is a stunning piece of meticulous­ yet ­oddly spontaneous art that is as sweet and cool as a pint of hand­crafted ice cream. The story has a loopy, anarchist joy about it, rather like The Point by way of Cibo Matto, where a hard­working and stylish frozen dairy confection guides readers through his eclectically industrious week, even divulging how much he is paid for his days of outlandish toil. Children, hipsters, and anyone with an eye for the absurd will thoroughly lap up Ice Cream Work: from the top of its rainbow sprinkles right down to the tip of its sugar cone.” ­ Dale Bayse, author of Heck, Where the Bad Kids Go series.