Map Fun ~ Arizona

Here's a recent piece in the ongoing series of maps-for-books I've been working on for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. These are fun to do!

On the Desk

Sketchapalooza around here. (Is it really almost the end of August?)

Just a Sketch

A Nice Kirkus Review For "Helen!"

From Kirkus:

Helen Keller’s life is summarized for younger children in this attractively illustrated biography that uses Keller’s love for dogs as a unifying thematic thread.

The story focuses on Keller’s childhood, summarizing her early life in rural Alabama and the arrival in 1887 of her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Keller’s favorite dog, an Irish setter named Belle, is beside Keller as she learns from her teacher how to communicate with finger spelling. Teacher and student travel to Boston together, where Keller begins to learn how to speak, and she is able to call her dog to her when they return home to Alabama. This portion of the book is structured in a traditional picture-book format, using limited text and large-format illustrations that will work well for reading aloud to young children. The final few pages shift to more complex text describing additional dogs owned by Keller throughout her life as well as a summary of her college education, lecture tours and philanthropic work in her later years. This dual structure makes the book suitable both for young children and for older children looking for biographical information for school reports.

While Helen Keller’s love of dogs isn’t an integral part of her personal biography, it’s an interesting hook to draw children into the story of this fascinating, inspirational woman. (Picture book/biography. 4-10)

Publication Date: Sept. 1, 2013 • Albert Whitman & Company • ISBN:978-0-8075-3198-3

3 x 3 ~ Children's Show Annual

One good thing about returning from vacation is collecting all the mail that's been piling up. (I love getting real, old-fashioned mail!) This was an excellent surprise: a copy of 3 x 3 Magazine's 2012 Children's Show Annual.

I'm thrilled to have illustrations from Maggie & Oliver included, along with the work of so many talented and much-admired colleagues. I'm still drooling over all the gorgeous artwork.

Thank you, 3 x 3!

Done!

Sending art out today.
I'm going to miss these guys!

(Happily, we'll meet again next spring.)

Art Stack

"Art Stack" sounds like a character name.

I've Been Working...

Well, the house and yard are beginning to resemble Grey Gardens, but that's pretty normal around deadline time. It's been a fun and busy spring!

There's much art in progress in my little studio. I'm a big fan of cozy clutter, can you tell?
(*Do you see the newest addition to our menagerie in the center of the photo?)









I'm painting, drawing, painting the next book, making notes to myself about where each piece is at. It's satisfying to see the check-marks accumulate, even though I'll go over each spread one more time at the end, for touch-ups.

 A snippet in progress, from a few weeks back...

*And below, our newest addition:

He's in training now, observing and napping...

... when not making mischief of one kind and another...