Moose at Books of Wonder

Stephanie, Moose, and I had a great afternoon at Books of Wonder this past Sunday!
I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Thanks, Books of Wonder!

Save the Date

In a little over three weeks, just in time for MOOSE'S release, I'll be signing at Books of Wonder in New York City along with my awesome author, Stephanie Calmenson, and this fabulous line up of folks:

Books of Wonder ~ October Picture Book Bonanza
Sunday, October 13, 2013
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Hope to see you there! (I'm SO excited!!!)

Special Storytime at the Carle

Please join me and author Rebecca Rule this Friday, February 22nd at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, for a special Storytime and book signing!

Here are the details... hope to see you there!

Our Whirlwind Maine Book Tour

We had a blast this past weekend in Maine, with 3 venues visited, 587 miles driven, a whole bunch of books signed, and more laughs than I can count. I was especially glad to have my daughter along for the ride. She was a huge help, acting as Chief Navigator, Crackerjack Photographer, and My Spare Brain.

Here's author Rebecca Rule and me reading at Pineland Farms....

... and the Portland Children's Museum. (I wish we'd had more time to explore Portland... I was too busy trying not to crash into city buses while attempting to find our way there.)

And here we are at L.L. Bean, or what Becky has dubbed "The Mothership." I look like I'm about to bust a gut. (Becky must have said something funny again. She's good that way.)




















This is my favorite shot...

Fun times! (Plus, we made it home in time for Downton Abbey on Sunday night. Sweet.)

Afternoon at the Bruce

Yesterday's visit to the Bruce Museum was a blast! For me, the best part was talking to the children up close and one on one about how picture books are made. (See how low my chair was? Perfect kid-eye-level!) I brought along lots of show and tell-- my sketchbook, thumbnail sketches, cleaned-up sketches, and final art.













I think the kids were most surprised by the scribbles in my sketchbook, and how messy the beginnings of a book can be. But maybe that gives them permission to explore their own ideas without trying to make them "perfect" the first time around. I hope!

Once again, I wish I had taken more pictures. But here's a shot of the museum shop...

... and Sled Ride art on the wall!...

The exhibit runs through February 24th, 2013!

I'm the Map

It's a week of waiting-for-okays and working-on-maps.
And I can't get this song out of my head...



In other news,  I'll be signing copies of Sled Ride at the C.H. Booth Library in Newtown, Connecticut this Saturday from 10 am to noon. (More info here.) Hope you'll stop by!

Sunday Event!

I love my local library. And my local children's librarian. She includes me in so many special events.

On Sunday, November 18th I will be signing books from 1 to 3 pm with three other really well known children's book authors and illustrators– Nancy Tafuri, Leonard Everett Fisher, and Paul Meisel. I am totally honored, humbled, and intimidated all at the same time!

This event is part of the C.H. Booth Library's 75th anniversary celebration. There will also be Author Friendship Quilts on display– sewn together by local volunteers from individual squares signed and decorated by different children's book authors and illustrators. It should be a lot of fun. If you're in the area come on over and say "hi!"