A Prairie Boy

Author/ illustrator of the best-selling children's book trilogy 'The Moccasin Goalie', Bill Brownridge has a new picture book: 'A Prairie Boy'.

With a story that opens your eyes, and artwork that opens the rest of your senses, Brownridge reveals a new world to kids with his thick 'pointillism' paintings presented in wow-ly colorful double-page spreads.

For Tony LaDrew, living on the farm with his grandparents is a lonely life. He only has his pony Trix and his dog Bingo for company. And as a Metis boy, it isn't easy making friends. But playing hockey makes all the difference to Tony - whether on a slough, on a road, or on a rink - he loves the action. Swooping down the ice is like flying, like another world.

Too bad his grandfather doesn't like hockey. On top of that, there's a local tough guy giving him problems. At every turn, Tony seems to face another challenge. And now, with his big chance to join the team coming up, he has to take drastic action.

* * *

Brownridge opens a new dimension to kids with his impressionist paintings of kids at play. His application of dabs and dollops of 'fat' acrylic paint in the Van-Gogh technique of pointillism accentuate tone and dimension, the vivid swathes of colour and diagonals exclaim action, while the moody blends heighten the wideness of the world and us in it. As the books says, it's like another world. And the door's open. Take a step.

Imagine reading a picture book together. You and your boy and girl look at the pictures together, take turns reading the words, compare words to pictures, talk about the people and the story. And then you talk about the 'art'. But is it art or just funny drawings and amateur scribblings - it's hard to tell.

For once it's nice to have the real deal. Real fine art. With Brownridge, a renowned Canadian artist with galleries across the country, with his introduction of fine art into the picture book, he opens the door to talk about colour and texture, light and shadow, style and theme, feelings and fears and awe and wonder - using kid's language, of course, so they can understand.

You see, that's the learning part, your exchange - the talking. The book doesn't teach. It's you and her and him, you're all teachers, all learners.

Take a step.

Author: David Brownridge, William Roy Brownridge
Publisher: William Roy Brownridge
Published: 10/31/2019
Pages: 36
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 8.50h x 8.50w x 0.25d
ISBN: 9781999259013
Audience: Ages 9-12

About the Author
Brownridge, David: - "Says the artist: "In a world preoccupied with the sensational, the bizarre and the vulgar, I find great enjoyment watching children at play. Their laughter, enthusiasm and naivete are a source of endless fascination, especially when the setting is a hauntingly beautiful prairie or foothills landscape." William Roy 'Bill' Brownridge grew up on the Canadian prairies during the Depression with only one leg. It wasn't easy but he went on to become a renowned artist and the author of three best-selling children's books - The Moccasin Goalie trilogy. Bill's somewhat allegorical stories inhabit a simpler time of horses and farms, and yet even then the challenges were great. Bill himself experienced such a challenge back then - he was a teenager when his right leg had to be amputated. But Bill's family, and his love of hockey and its ideals, helped him survive that challenge. A number of years after losing his leg, Bill moved to the city and enrolled in art college. He graduated and has been a professional artist even since - over 60 years. His paintings have been exhibited in the National Museum of Science & Technology, Ottawa; the Glenbow Museum, Calgary; the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto; his serigraph prints were used in Calgary's Olympic Games bid presentation to the IOC - a bid they won, hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics. His artwork has been on the front page of the national media and he's been featured on CBC TV and Radio. Bill's original paintings and prints and his books are in collections across North America and Europe, and can be found in libraries, corporate headquarters, government offices, downtown building lobbies, NHL team offices and players homes, and of course within the homes of hundreds of individuals. His most recent original paintings are available in art galleries across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver. Bill is not just a writer and an artist but a strong advocate for social justice. He's been a social democrat his entire life, a tough row to hoe living in Alberta back then, and Bill has fought hard in the interests of the poor and disenfranchised -- he once journeyed to the Nicaraguan jungle with Tools for Peace. On his crutches of course. Bill's books and art can also be seen at www.heartofhockey.com"

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