"Perhaps most fascinating, the movie, app, and book taken together present an entirely kid-friendly opportunity to talk about the interplay between content and format."

Another kind review of The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore picture book, this time from ALA's Booklist Online:

"Perhaps most fascinating, the movie, app, and book taken together present an entirely kid-friendly opportunity to talk about the interplay between content and format." Read more...

"The best part? Lingering quietly while savoring the atmospheric scenes of Joyce’s narrative vignette."

School Library Journal wrote a lovely review for The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore picture book:

JOYCE, William. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. illus. by author. 56p. S & S/Atheneum. 2012. ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6489-6; Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5702-7.

Pre-Gr 3–Joyce’s Academy Award-winning animated short-film-turned-app that celebrates those who care about  (and receive nourishment from) books is, ironically, now a picture book. The wonder and mystery inherent in the wordless film and the ability to manipulate the visuals and play the soundtrack on the app’s piano beg the question: Can the book compete? As it turns out, the book has its own rewards. Clarity comes from Joyce’s well-chosen words. In the opening on a New Orleans balcony, readers learn that Morris “loved words…stories…books.” Every day he would “write of his joys and sorrows, of all that he knew and everything that he hoped for.” When an Oz-like storm turns everything topsy-turvy, the melancholy man in the pork-pie hat spots a lady held aloft by a “festive squadron of flying books.” Her gift leads Morris to a book-filled sanctuary set in a landscape staged and lit like a Maxfield Parrish painting. He tends to the volumes, distributing favorites to visitors, whose once-gray bodies blossom with color. Every life and story ends, and those struggling with their own goodbyes (and yearnings about printed books) may find comfort in seeing the fading elder revert to his younger self in order to be transported by the joyful squadron–just as a little girl arrives to choose Morris’s story. The author’s motivations (explained on the flap) will resonate with adults in the reading business. The best part? Lingering quietly while savoring the atmospheric scenes of Joyce’s narrative vignette.
–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

Check out the book from your local library or pick up a copy.

Introducing IMAG•N•O•TRON

NEW YORK, JUNE 29– Simon& Schuster Books for Young Readers, Academy Award ™ winner William Joyce, and Moonbot Studios have partnered to share extraordinary digital content for TheFantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (available in book stores everywhere now).  

Moonbot Studios has created a digital app called IMAG•N•O•TRON“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” Edition, available now oniTunes. This app gives readers a thrilling new reading experience through access to augmented reality features. The genius of IMAG•N•O•TRON is that, unlike other “app-centric” apps, it is unabashedly “book-centric.” Users can download the app for 99 cents starting today and use their physical version of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore to unlock exciting content on every page. The augmented reality experience will combine the real scenes from the book viewed by the reader with virtual scenes generated by the handheld device. Books fly off the page, Humpty Dumpty befriends you, and you get a sneak peek into a different part of Lessmore’s world, not shown in the book or movie. The app currently works on iPads 2 and 3 and iPhones.

Originally created as a short film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a remarkable bridge between the book world and the digital world. Inspired by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, and The Wizard of Oz, the book and film are a love story to people who devote their lives to books and to how books return the favor. The short film received an Oscar at the 84th Academy Awards™.

“What excites me is how William Joyce and Moonbot are constantly pushing the envelope, but always in service of the book,” said Justin Chanda, Vice President and Publisher of Atheneum Books for Young Readers.  “This groundbreaking app allows readers get more out of the book they were able to purchase anywhere.  How terrific to have something that is looking to enhance the printed experience, not replace it!”

Book Signings

Joe Bluhm and William Joyce at the Shreveport, LA Barnes & Noble book signing.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore picture book is now in stores!

In New Orleans this Friday? You don't want to miss a special New Orleans Center Creative Arts Academy event, hosted by Octavia Books.  Beginning at 6 PM, the evening will include a screening of the The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore film, a book signing, and Times Picayune Book Review Editor Susan Larson will conduct an interview with William Joyce. The interview will be broadcast on WWNO's The Reading Life . For more info, check out NOLA.com.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore Picture Book

The story that inspired the Academy Award®-winning animated short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is now a picture book! Select your favorite retailer from our list at morrislessmore.com and pre-order your copy today!

Experience Mr. Morris Lessmore's story once again, this time in the classic picture book format. Filled with 50 pages of beautiful illustrations, the book has earned a Kirkus Star and will be in stores on Tuesday, June 19th.

William Joyce at Book Expo of America 

Will you be attending the Book Expo of America?  The event takes place June 4-7 2012 at the Javits Center in NYC. William Joyce will be in Simon & Schuster Booth (#3657) signing copies of the Morris picture book  on Tuesday June 5th at 12:30 PM.

Future Events

• Tuesday June 19th at 6 PM: Book Signing in Shreveport, LA Barnes & Noble 
• Friday June 22nd: Book signing in New Orleans, details TBA
• Sunday June 24th: ALA Conference, Anaheim, California, details subject to change
• September 7th-9th: Southern Independent Booksellers Convention, Naples, FL, details TBA

Rise of the Guardians Trailer

The Jade Sphinx James Abbott has published his review of Book Two of The Rise of The Guardians series: E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core!.  

Joyce’s imagination is like a great attic filled with comics, old TV shows, pulp novels and adventure stories, toys and Americana, and tumbled and jumbled together until it forms something uniquely its own.  Part of the great fun is running a mental finger down the line of his inspiration and watching him tickle the source.

Book Events
Book Expo of America, NYC: June 5-7th 2012, details TBD
American Library Association, Anahiem, CA: June 21-26th, details TBD

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore picture book will be released mid-June 2012.

In Rise of the Guardians movie news, Dreamworks recently hosted a preview of the film along with the first theatrical trailer. You can catch the trailer in theaters starting April 6th. The film is set for release mid-November of this year!