A Date, Egad Agee, Tada! - Our Palindromic Fun with Jon Agee
- lindsey4824
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
When he was still a child, Jon Agee heard his first palindrome: “No, Jon!”
Undeterred, Jon became not only a master of those phrases that read the same backward as forward, but also one of the funniest children’s book creators of our time.
During our adults-only evening of wordplay with Jon on April 11, he wowed the crowd, demonstrating how he illustrates palindromes, oxymorons, and anagrams. We haven’t laughed so much in a long time, and that’s not just the signature “Tahiti Hat” cocktails talking…
On Saturday, April 12, kids and families joined us for two Alien Art workshops with Jon. After an interactive reading of his book Life on Mars, attendees used folded paper to draw a variety of creatures.
As part of our ongoing print series where children’s book creators respond to the prompt, “Reading is Resistance,” Jon drew a striking image of a snake constricting around a boy reading a book about… snakes.
The snake is symbolic for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that in the 1990s Jon and Rabbit hOle co-founder Pete Cowdin saw the movie “Anaconda” in theaters together, which became a bonding moment, leading to lifelong friendship that Cowdin describes as “surprisingly not slimy.”
“It started with an image that I doodled years ago,” Jon said, explaining the origins of the illustration for the print. “There’s a symbiosis – there’s no fear about this snake. A book is bringing them together.”
The limited-edition collaborative print is available for in-store purchase at The Rabbit hOle's bookstore, Lucky Rabbit Books.
