Shadow Of A Mouse

“Donald Crafton, our lively guide, shows us around a Tooniverse populated by performers, not just images, who engage us in all the ways their flesh-and-blood counterparts do, and then some. Taking classical animation as his terrain, Crafton nevertheless pushes ongoing discussions of performance, liveness, and corporeality in the directions in which they need to go if they are to help us describe and navigate our increasingly virtual worlds.” Philip Auslander, author of Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture "Every once in a while a book comes along that marks a transformational point in its discipline. Such a book is Donald Crafton's Shadow of a Mouse. Crafton skillfully draws together theoretical sources, animation history, technological development, and social analysis, deftly weaving together thinkers from Disney to Deleuze and Sito to Stanislavsky. The result is a substantial rethinking of animation that will reshape traditional approaches to the medium. Crafton's magisterial grasp of theory and history is livened by a true fan's passion for the subject and a keen sense of humor. Shadow of a Mouse is a must-read for anyone with an interest in performance, embodiment, popular culture, race, or reception." Mark Langer, Associate Professor of Film Studies, Carleton University

A brave shadow finds a more colorful life in this joyous picture book by the acclaimed author of The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles and illustrator of Sidewalk Flowers. Smoot the shadow has been living a yawn-filled life for years. His boy never laughs and never leaps, so Smoot never does either . . . until the day he pops free, and decides to hit the road in search of the life he dreams about. And as he enjoys his first colorful day—singing, dancing, and playing—other shadows watch him, and they become brave, too. The frog's shadow takes the shape of a prince, the dragonfly's shadow that of a dragon. Even the rock's shadow gets in on the excitement. But what will become of the timid beings their shadows have left behind? Will they finally be inspired to find their own daring?

A catalogue for an exhibition of works at the Royal Queensland Art Society Gallery of 10 artists who are also involved in animation.

Yilon is a young fox noble who's just come of age, in the city of Divalia, capital of Tephos. But apart from his best friend and sometime lover Sinch, he doesn't like much about living there. He only met his father, Volle, two years ago, when he left his mother and the city where he grew up. He would give anything to be allowed to leave Divalia.Or so he thinks. When a stranger arrives with a message that the Lord of Dewanne has died and appointed Yilon his heir, the young fox realizes that there are worse places than Divalia. Dewanne is one of the most remote cities in Tephos, where foxes rule, and mice are relegated to menial jobs and a slum outside the main city. Which makes it difficult for Yilon to explain why his companion is a mouse.Ever the schemer, Yilon hatches a plan to get sent home, but soon finds that even in a backwards town, there are complicated politics, ancient blood feuds, and family betrayals, old wounds that his clumsy steps have reopened. There are at least two different groups trying to kill him, and the foxes who might help him are the very ones he's done his best to alienate. Without Sinch, who's run afoul of a band of thieves in the slums and has his own death threats to deal with, Yilon will need all the stubbornness and cleverness he's inherited from his father just to survive to the next sunrise, let alone save his inheritance, his friend, and his own hide.

Star D'Apliese is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father - the elusive billionaire, named Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted by him from the four corners of the world. He has left each of them a clue to their true heritage, but Star - the most enigmatic of the sisters - is hesitant to step out of the safety of the close relationship she shares with her sister CeCe. In desperation, she decides to follow the first clue she has been left, which leads her to an antiquarian bookshop in London, and the start of a whole new world.

In this modern twist from Maggie Rudy on the classic tale of the city mouse and the country mouse, Will and Tansy meet and become friends. But Will loves the bustling city and Tansy loves the quiet country. Will these two friends find a way to live mousily ever after?

A gentle story about sadness showing that sometimes all you need to feel better is the openness of someone who accepts you as you are.

No one had time to think about what it was or how to react to it. With the energy of two million hydrogen bombs, the asteroid blasts through the atmosphere in a second—sweeping half the planet clean of all life. As a few lucky survivors stand in the darkness and look to the skies with gratitude for their lives, black snow starts falling and the great famine begins. It is 2012, and the world has changed forever. Shadow is a plains wolf who has always had food and shelter—all the things he needed to survive—until the great darkness arrived. The wolf is near death when a she-human happens upon him and frees him from his cage at the zoo. She and her dog Champ lead Shadow deep into the forest in a desperate attempt to survive. Eventually tragedy strikes, leaving Champ and Shadow alone. As Shadow and Champ venture high in the mountains, they discover a small wolf pack living on the carcasses buried under the soot-laden snow. As the sun returns and fresh buds form, Shadow must find acceptance within a new family.