Timothy Basil Ering says that THE STORY OF FROG BELLY RAT BONE was inspired by a visit to Descanso Gardens, a botanical garden in Pasadena, California, where there is a private garden for urban Los Angeles schoolchildren. "For as long as I can remember, I have loved to mix up words and phrases into silly little combinations that would make me laugh," he explains. "I’d make up songs while meandering down the outer beach of Cape Cod to favorite fishing spots, and ‘Frog Belly Rat Bone’ was always a favorite string of nouns. Then one day in Pasadena, I sat at a tiny picnic table in the children’s garden and began to sketch the garden’s scarecrow. I knew at that moment that Frog Belly Rat Bone had found a home." Timothy Basil Ering’s artwork has appeared in books, magazines, theater sets, private murals, and fine art galleries. A resident of Somerville, Massachusetts, he is enamored of the sea and has a passion for nature and the outdoors. This is his first picture book with Candlewick Press.
