Tweak, Tweak

I'm in that strange space between finishing art for one book and waiting for sketch okays on another. Time to pull out a story I've been needing to tweak for the longest time. I've missed it! It's funny how hours spent illustrating other people's stories gives you ideas on how to deepen your own. I love how creativity works sideways like that.

This was in the drawer. Drawers are good for when you need a total break in order to come back to your story with a fresh mind.

Now it's back on the wall.

Hard to ignore the wall. After a while your story speaks, sometimes softly and sometimes loud, and hints at ways to make it real. You can't rush the wall.

This is fun.

Still Life With Cat & Sketchbook

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!

Nice Review!

I'm very happy that Sled Ride has been included in this list of new winter books for children! Read about all of them here.

Thank you, International Reading Association, for the nice review!

Make Art While the Sun Shines*

Sketches filling up the wall:

Roughs piled on the table:

And final art accumulating in the drawer:

Not really sure how much I can share right now, but more details about these projects to come soon, I promise!

(*Okay, the sun is not literally shining today. I just like the proverb.)

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.)

Dates & Links

Here are some upcoming Sled Ride events I'll be attending with my wonderful author, Rebecca Rule! We'll be reading, talking, showing art and signing books. Hope you'll stop in!

Saturday, January 19th ~ Pineland Farms
15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester, Maine
12:00 - 2:00 pm - Reading & signing

Saturday, January 19th ~ The Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine
142 Free Street, Portland, Maine
3:00 pm - Reading & signing

Sunday, January 20th ~ L.L. Bean Flagship Store
95 Main Street, Freeport, Maine
11:00 am – 2:00 pm - Reading & signing

Friday, February 22nd ~ The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
125 West Bay Road, Amherst, MA
2:30 pm - Storytime & signing


And... here are some links I've been meaning to post:

• Sled Ride received a nice mention in a New York Times article about the Let It Snow exhibit at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT.

• A fun interview with Rebecca on the Kirkus Reviews blog.

Fun stuff!

Happy 2013!

Take a deep breath and here we go... wishing everyone a happy, healthy year full of joy, and at least a few good runs on the sled.

(Art from The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever!, written by Rebecca Rule, illustrated by Jennifer Thermes, Islandport Press, 2012)