Thing-Thing

Thing-Thing was neither a Teddy bear nor a rabbit; not a stuffed dog or cat. It was something like each of those, and nothing at all you could name. But it had something special. It had the hope that one day it would find a child to love it and talk to it and make it tea parties and take it to bed. A child it could love back.

Certainly Archibald Crimp was not that child. He had just thrown Thing-Thing out the open sixth-floor window of the Excelsior Hotel.

Oh, dear, thought Thing-Thing to itself. This is bad, this is very bad.

Cary Fagan and Nicolas Debon have created a story so rich in words and images that, despite taking place in a matter of seconds, Thing-Thing will be remembered as vividly as a child’s favorite toy.

Cary Fagan is an author for adults and children. Among his awards are the Toronto Book Award, the Jewish Book Committee Prize for Fiction, and the Mr. Christie Silver Medal. His picture books are Gogol’s Coat, The Market Wedding, Ten Old Men and a Mouse, and My New Shirt. His novels for children include Daughter of the Great Zandini, The Fortress of Kaspar Snit (Silver Birch Honor Book), and Directed by Kaspar Snit (Silver Birch nominee). Cary Fagan lives in Toronto.

Nicolas Debon was born and educated in France. He came to work for the French consulate in Toronto, stayed for ten years before returning to his homeland, and was granted Canadian citizenship. An illustration course opened new doors for him and his first picture book, A Brave Soldier was published in 1999. Since then, he has illustrated several books for European and North American publishers and has twice been nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award. His graphic novel, The Strongest Man in the World, won the 2007 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for children’s nonfiction.