Book Review – Playing in the Mud by Jordan Lukrich

Available at Amazon.

I read this book as an eBook. This is an unsolicited review.

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The Review:

Jordan Lukrich’s poems for kids was a delight to read. The illustrations are bright and engaging and the poetry has just the right mix of cleverness and silliness without getting grotesque (as many children’s books tend to get these days). I smiled my way through the book, as I’m a sucker for well-made children’s books and quippy wordplay.

Lukrich is brilliant in the delivery, including brightly drawn illustrations for nearly every poem, and expert poetry. Some of my favorites were “This is Not a Poem” which asserts that it is not, in fact, a poem at all, yet turns into one. “Circle Poem” and “Tiny Poem” were a treat, with their shape, message, and delivery. “Puppy Eyes” with lines like ‘big and sad and filled with grief, you know I see you sitting there, staring at me while I eat’, which I think any of us with pets can relate to. “Unwritten” in which the page, seemingly covered in something slick, allows the letters to slip right off the page. It’s that sort of skilled writing which draws young readers in and (hopefully) helps form life-long readers.

My Overall Score:

The book earns a solid 5/5 stars from me. From the length of the book (perfect for the content and ages, which I’d put solidly at 6-12 years old… though as an adult, I too enjoyed it immensely) to the illustrations, the fun font, the writing (which varies in length from four-lined poetry up to two-page poems) – Lukrich nails it all.

Highly recommended to those who enjoy rhyming poetry, children’s poems, those who have children 6-12 years old, and anyone who enjoys silly poetry to make them laugh and smile. A real feel-good read.

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be a good writer: read.
~tara caribou

Here’s a conversation I had with Jordan:

How long have you been writing and illustrating?

This is the first book I’ve written, but I have always found enjoyment in writing short stories or ideas for stories. I have been drawing my entire life though, I was the kid in class that always had a notebook full of drawings from cover to cover. From drawing my entire life I moved into working in the animation industry which I have been working in for over 15 years. 

If you were describing yourself to someone else who did not know you, what would you want them to know about you?

Fun and positive, I always love telling a joke to make someone smile. Laughter really goes a long way in this life. 

Do you, or have you in the past, written (or drawn) other styles? What drew you to creating children’s art?

I have always had a cartoony style of drawing, it’s just something that clicks with my brain. I have tried drawing more realistic stuff but I just find that cartoons are my style so I really leaned into it. Plus I feel like you can have more fun with childrens art. 

Are there other artists or writers who inspire you? Who and how?

A lot of my art was inspired from when I was a kid and from comic books and art books I picked up. My two biggest influences are from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and the comic book Joe Psycho. Later I just started refining my art to what I found to be visually satisfying and kind of molded my own style. 

How do you envision your artistic journey in, say, five years? What do you hope in terms of where you will find yourself?

I would really like to be doing my art for my full time job. Writing and illustrating this book has been an absolute joy and I would love to just keep writing them. On top of that I am working on a few television pitches for kids shows so that would be a dream come true if I went from watching cartoons as a kid to creating one. 

Is there anything you’d like to share with your readers? 

I hope that these poems bring wonderment and joy to kids and adults alike and help bring the same imaginative worlds that I enjoyed growing up. 

Do you have any advice you’d like to share with other artists and authors?

Create something that fills you up inside, and at the end of the day regardless of how well it does out there, brings you fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment. 

Check out Jordan’s work on his website KidsTallTales.