• Age: 3 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 3 to 7

No one believes Larf exists, and he likes it that way. Larf, you see, is a sasquatch, the only sasquatch in the world (or so it seems). He has a very pleasant, and very private, life in the woods, where on any given day he might be found jogging, gardening or walking Eric, his pet bunny. But everything changes one morning when Larf discovers that another sasquatch is scheduled to make an appearance in the nearby city of Hunderfitz. What?! That must mean he's not the only sasquatch in the world!

Excited by the prospect of having a friend to share hair grooming tips with (and let's face it, teeter-tottering alone is no fun), Larf disguises himself as a city slicker and heads for Hunderfitz --- where he's in for a couple enormous surprises.

Ashley Spires once again shows her chops for creating irresistible, quirky characters and laugh-aloud stories and illustrations. Readers with little feet and big feet will fall head over heels for Larf.

 

Ashley Spires est diplômé de l'Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design. Artiste touche à tout, elle a créé des sites Internet, des livres et des marionnettes. Elle est auteure et illustratrice de plusieurs livres dont Quel génie!, la série Basile le chat de l'espace,Petit Paul, Chien recherche garçon et André est débordé. Ashley a également illustré Le Labo des malins par Shar Levine et Leslie Johnstone. Elle vit à Delta, en Colombie-Britannique.

 

Ashley Spires earned her BFA at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and went on to earn a graduate diploma in illustration from Sheridan College. She is also the illustrator of Binky the Space Cat. Ashley lives in British Columbia, but you can find her at www.ashleyspires.com.

Ashley Spires' profile page

• Short-listed, Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award, The Washington Library Media Association
• Short-listed, Shining Willow Award, The Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Award
• Short-listed, Treasure State Award, Montana University
• Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award
• Short-listed, Blue Spruce Award, Ontario Library Association
• Winner, Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street Children's Book Committee
• Commended, Best Bets, Picture Books, Ontario Library Association
• Winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre

Larf

Larf enjoys his quiet life in the woods, alone but for his pet bunny, Eric. He jogs, he observes nature and, on Wednesdays, he does laundry. If he were ever discovered, people would never leave him alone, for Larf is a sasquatch, you see.

While he enjoys his solitary existence, Larf is drawn to a newspaper article announcing a sasquatch’s appearance in nearby Hunderfitz. Sadly, Larf discovers that the small-footed character is nothing but a big fake. But what if Larf weren’t the only sasquatch drawn to Hunderfitz by the article? And what if Larf discovers that he’s not the only sasquatch after all?

In Larf, Ashley Spires has created another fun and engaging character. Kids will love the bright hand-painted illustrations and the ludicrous idea of a sasquatch who loves cheesy movies and eats vegetables with a knife and fork. As always, it is in the visual details that Spires’s humour is strongest — Eric the bunny being toted in a baby carrier, Larf’s mug that reads #1 Sasquatch when he is supposed to be the only sasquatch in the world, and red Mary Jane shoes adapted for enormous sasquatch feet.

As an illustrator and a writer, Spires allows her stories to grow organically from sketches of the characters. In Larf, as you would expect, this results in a fun, character-driven story that more than makes up for any minor narrative flaws with an incredible amount of humour. And who doesn’t enjoy a couple of Larfs from time to time?

Larf

Meet Larf, a hairy, seven-foot-tall sasquatch with enormous feet. Larf enjoys living alone with his pet bunny, gardening, going for long walks and doing his laundry on Wednesdays. When he goes to town to meet a “real” sasquatch, he discovers he’s not alone in the world after all.