/about
'Animal Crackers' is a mix of poetry and art, a creative effort by the brothers Kraynak. While Scott is primarily the artist and Jeffrey is primarily the writer, to say that one wrote while the other illustrated would be a gross generalization. For our creativity has bridged the divide and neither half would be as good without the input from the other side.
The goal from the start was to create something along the lines of an adult Dr. Seuss book. And to that end it was written in anapestic tetrameter, the poetic meter most often used by him. The illustrations were done in the same fashion typically employed by Scott with his other artwork, a style he has come to term 'linelism'. At first glance it might seem child-friendly with all the pretty little animals. And what kid doesn't love animal crackers? But then you open it and the truth is revealed. This book is not for kids. It is brutal and vulgar and not for the faint of heart. But neither is what we're doing to the environment. And that's the point. Though if I may take a step back and recant a prior statement, this book IS for kids. They need to see what we're doing wrong. While the change needs to start with us, it must continue with them. They are the future. They are the unfortunate shoulders upon which our hopes reside. They are not inheriting the best of worlds, nor an easy one to grow up in, but, as noted by Samuel Daniel, "by adversity are wrought the greatest works of admiration."
It may not seem like it after going through this book, but we are not violent people. The violence here spawns from a deep sense of anger, frustration, and determination. We are angry with how human beings have been treating the Earth and its inhabitants like shit for decades. We are frustrated that it still occurs even after mountains of statistics show us the consequences of our actions. But we are determined to open your eyes to a new way of viewing this destruction of nature.
To our knowledge a book like this has never been made. There are many beautiful books extolling the virtues of nature and its unspoiled land. There are books which chronicle the methodical destruction of nature's beauty. Poets like Muir and Thoreau have penned odes to the splendors and benefits of the natural world, written with a beauty that mirrors the subject itself. Individual species have been covered from their ancestral beginnings, through their importance in the circle of life, and up to their current plight. Books have called for action and change and have warned of what's to come if we don't start that change now. But of everything we have read, we have yet to come across something that throws what we have done, what we are still doing, right back in our arrogant face, making us the victims of these horrendous acts, showing humans gratuitously butchered and slaughtered for no reason, putting all the power into the hands of nature, and making homo sapiens the endangered species counting on the common sense, logic, humanity, or complete lack thereof from the dominant forms of life to ensure their survival. Well here it is. Our contribution to the literary world and the environmental movement.
We don't really think there is much room here for a middle ground. You'll either love it or hate it. To those who love it: thank you! We'll see you soon in nature. Let's start changing the world! And to those who hate it: too bad! Go back to your idiot box of American Idol or Real Housebitches of Whore County. This book is meant to cause a stir, to open your eyes, and to present a new way of thinking about how we view nature.
The truth hurts. Though not nearly as much as a bullet, so be grateful.