Inkwater Press

King Snozzle of Snozz was published this February to the fanfare of big-nosed trumpets. When King Snozzle the Eighth must marry, his countrymen urge him to pick a snooty, large-snouted duchess. Will the king instead choose the sweet and clever commoner as his bride?

Mike Reiss, author of King Snozzle of Snozz and City of Hamburgers, appeared on AM Northwest on April 30th, 2010.

You can view Mike’s appearance here.

Sometimes a kid just needs to laugh with a funny book. Mike Reiss, who writes for “The Simpsons,” understands that perfectly, shining light on enormous noses in King Snozzle of Snozz.

Mike Reiss will visit Portland later this week, and he has several events that are open to the public:

• Talk for Writers: April 29th at the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne at 7 PM.
• Reading: Thinker Toys in Multnomah Village at 11 AM on May 1st.

Imagine a plateful of hamburgers and hot dogs springing to life, dancing and cavorting to the tunes of a live “oom-pa-pa” band.

The creators of a new Brooklyn arts organization did.

Using rod puppets of hamburgers and hot dogs, the nonprofit poetry and theater group Alphabet Arts has adapted the Inkwater Press children’s book City of Hamburgers into a puppet show, which will debut Sept. 12 and 13 in two Brooklyn neighborhoods.

City of Hamburgers, written by Simpsons writer Mike Reiss and illustrated by Xeth Feinberg, tells the story of an imaginative boy named Jeffrey, who asks his German grandmother to describe what it was like growing up in the city of Hamburg. She recalls her youth as a Hamburger and her eventual marriage to a Frankfurter.

Photo by Kirsten Kammermeyer

“The characters in City of Hamburgers are begging to be puppets,” said Kirsten Kammermeyer, a puppeteer, arts educator and co-founder of Alphabet Arts. “You want to see that little girl burger jump up and down and see her insides separate into the different burger toppings. You want to see the burger lady on the beach take her ‘top’ off.”

The show came about after a chance conversation with Rutgers professor Pheroze Wadia, who suggested Kammermeyer and her friends create a puppet show based on a book his grandkids loved. With a generous donation from Wadia, they formed Alphabet Arts and delved into the book with relish.

“A story as good as City of Hamburgers deserves to be brought to life through an art form as rich as puppetry,” said Amber West, a playwright, teaching artist and co-founder of Alphabet Arts. “We’ve adapted the story into a script but have left some room for improvisation and experimentation during the rehearsal process to develop the characters and bring out some of the important themes of the story, such as acceptance of differences, ‘interracial’ relationships, and what it means to become an American.”

The book, with its laugh-out-loud illustrations and clever wordplay, recently won ForeWord magazine’s bronze “Book of the Year” award.

“Probably 90 percent of everything for this show is made from scratch, including our ten-foot, two-panel wooden puppet stage,” West said. “We’re hoping to tour City of Hamburgers to other kid-friendly venues in and beyond New York in the future and to develop a post-show hands-on workshop in which our young audience members will create ‘puppet poems’ connecting their own stories, words and designs to themes in the play.”

Hamburgers and frankfurters will dance off the page and onto the stage this September when a group of New York artists adapts the children’s book City of Hamburgers into a puppet show for neighborhood children in Brooklyn.

The free performance will debut Sept. 12 at a block party in Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. Alphabet Arts, the nonprofit theater company creating the puppet show, hopes to tour the show to other local neighborhoods.

City of Hamburgers is a collaboration between “Simpsons” writer Mike Reiss and illustrator Xeth Feinberg, co-creators of Showtime’s hit cartoon “Queer Duck.” The book recently received a bronze “Book of the Year” award from ForeWord magazine.

Last week we featured some great non-fiction reads.  This week we’ve turned the page to suggest a few works of fiction for all ages and preferences.  If you are going to the beach or just planning to relax at home, the following books should keep you and your children entertained:

• A new book from Inkwater Press heads up our list.  If I Catch You Reading This is a sophisticated book reader’s dream, a book of contemporary short stories by author Jeremy R. Benjamin that are as witty and ironic as any we’ve read.  
• Repeat Business is a heart-breaker of a book with an occult theme and a happy ending.  Author Joe Carufe set much of the book in a beach town in Florida, and this book is the next best thing to being there .  
• Author E. A. Sunden has written a book teenage girls will love with Domain of Illusion.  A fantasy with a strong female protagonist, the book has all of the elements great fantasies share.  
• Mike Reiss of The Simpsons wrote City of Hamburgers, a read-aloud picture book that both you and your children will enjoy. Imagination, as well as ketchup and mustard, flow through this delightfully quirky book.

All of these books are available at inkwaterbooks.com and other popular online retail outlets.

City of Hamburgers, by Mike Reiss of The Simpsons fame, was recently named a finalist in the 2008 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards in their Children’s Picture Books category.

ForeWord’s Book of the Year Awards program was designed to discover distinctive books across a number of genres. According to the award committee, these books represent some of the best work coming from today’s independent press community.

At Inkwater Press, we are excited that this delightfully funny book for children is earning this well-deserved recognition.

Our hometown Portland is notorious for one weather phenomenon:  rain, and lots of it.  Portlanders know two seasons:  wet and less wet.  So when white flakes of frozen rain (AKA snow) fall here, Portlanders get excited.  It must really be winter if ice and snow cover the roads, right?  That’s a completely new season for us!

Inkwater staffers have braved treacherous roads and marathon bus rides to make it into the office over the last couple of days.  Our office parking lot is slick with ice, and our coffee and hot chocolate intake has increased to compensate for the chilling view outside.  During this cold, introspective season, we wish all of our authors and readers joyful, relaxing holidays.

If you’re still seeking the perfect gift, here are a few recommendations from our bookshelves:

For the sports buff: Sorcery at Caesars is a fascinating read for any sports enthusiast.  Author and long-time Boston Globe columnist Steve Marantz provides a thrilling insider’s view of one of the most controversial fights in boxing history:  Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvelous Marvin Hagler at Caesars Palace in 1987.

For Children and the Young at Heart:  City of Hamburgers introduces young Jeffrey, who’s tired of the same old fairy tales and wants to hear about Grandma’s life growing up in the old country as a Hamburger. Imagination, as well as ketchup and mustard, flow through this delightfully quirky book.  Written by Simpsons writer Mike Reiss and Queer Duck animator Xeth Feinburg, City of Hamburgers is sure to please animation nuts, Simpsons fans, and small fry alike.

For the Traveler: Encourage and congratulate your favorite globetrotter with a book by consumate traveler Dave Fox.  As an award-winning humor and travel writer and Scandinavian tour guide for Rick Steves, Dave Fox had more than enough material for two highly amusing and informative books:  Getting Lost: Mishaps of an Accidental Nomad, and Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip!)

For Francophiles, Anthropologists, and Cultural Aficionados: Not sure what to get your academic adventurer?  We recommend the Africa Trek series.  Africa Trek follows the incredible three-year journey of French citizens Alexandre and Sonia Poussin along the length of Africa.  The Poussins’ story was adapted into a television series which is currently being shown on public television stations across the country.  Learn more at AfricaTrekSeries.com.

There are plenty of other great titles to choose from at InkwaterBooks.com, our online bookstore, and our books are also sold through Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com.  Order today so your books will arrive by the 25th!