SteamPotVille

Welcome to the heart of the eclectic and magical world of SteamPotVille, with its costumed animals and bright swirling landscapes. Your journey begins just like every other day in a town of teapots, birdhouses and chores. But that night when you fall asleep you begin to dream that the world turns upside-down. Cows say meow and cats say moo on a hysterical adventure that will make parents and kids laugh out loud. SteamPotVille sits somewhere on a bookshelf in a circus library, right between MC Escher and I-Spy.
click to see images from the book

Reviews

“I recommend SteamPotVille to any family who wants to share a vibrant world of imagination and creativity with their kiddo’s. Definitely recommend this book for the Best Children’s Book of 2009.” - Morgan Siler, Single Parents Magazine

“I just received my copy today. I *love* this book! It’s a modern day Suess-like tale with fun twists and playful fantasy” - Sarah Bullo, Second grade teacher

Please Review For others, we’re Indie!

Enter to win an autographed canvas print of Mayor Earl Gray by reviewing SteamPotVille. Record your video, post it to YouTube and send us the link. (must be under 10 years to win)

This adorable book has some great pictures as well as an interesting story that will keep kids reading all the way to the end of the book. Parents can enjoy it with the kids repeatedly. It has a unique concept and is well executed. - Viva, An Amazon Customer

SteamPotVille will be released in Spring of 2010!

Teachers

Here are some ideas for using this book in the classroom:

Early Ages: —>Find things in the pictures. The illustrations are complex enough to lend themselves to “I Spy” games, and they’re also great for alphabet searches. On the first page, find a coffeepot, a cow, and a camel to represent the letter C. This can be a good visual skills practice book, in class or in a center.
—>One of the repeated themes is animal sounds. Use the book with kindergartners to finish up a lesson on what various animals “say.”

Older Kids: —>The poetry doesn’t follow the rules we’re teaching our students about poetry. Here’s an example verse:

“The bee said buzz
and the bird said peep.
Until last night when you fell asleep,
You had to find the animals, and strange things you did meet.”

I’d love this for a class editing or rewriting project. You’ll have chances to discuss rhyme, meter, scansion, and whether poets have to follow rules or not. The entire text is in this PDF file, so you can print it out to work with it with older classes. Read the book aloud first — why should the little ones have all the fun?

—>The Steampot pressure gauge varies from picture to picture. Chart and graph the changes.
—>There are lots of words and numbers tucked into the illustrations. Find them and see how they fit with the story.
—>The shape of the terrain varies a lot throughout the book. Challenge students to create a map of Steampotville, or use salt dough to recreate its spatial vagaries.
—>The odd visions in the book turn out in the end to be a dream sequence. Use the book as a prompt for students to write about their own dreams.

Ouch

Hi there.

My name is Steve Ouch- pronounced like the sound you make when you hurt yourself. I was born in 1975 in the flat lands of eastern Montana. Growing up there my friends and I had to create worlds in order to have any fun. I found myself dreaming everyday about the bigger world. The moment I was old enough, I started traveling. I found stories scattered around the world in odd jobs and people. My first job was cooking cheeseburgers for McDonalds. Since then I have been a UN Arabic translator, truck driver, pumpkin picker, marketing director, English teacher, cabbie, Victoria Secret bra salesman, farmer, designer and artist. During my free time I illustrated and wrote. SteamPotVille is the culmination of my skills. It is a story about my childhood.

I have a degree, but I learned what I know about children’s books from my long term interest in them. I started creating photomontages when I as 16 years old using a program call ULead Photo. It has become my main medium in my expression of visual arts.

My second book is in the works, however I am interested in some collaborations to experiement with different styles.

I have a blog if you want to check it out:
Steve Ouch Blog

* My current infatuation is with the letter “Q” because it is the spare tire that keeps my feather pen from being ill.

Contact

We guarantee that talking to this contact form won’t be anything like talking to your forearm, so chat it up like you have a high fever- (translation: Thank you for contacting us. Fell free to ask any questions). We’ll be in touch soon.

Heres a gift for you:

Thank you for stopping by!

-Steve Ouch