I had a terrific time sharing A BIG SURPRISE FOR LITTLE CARD and THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED with kids in two bookstores this weekend. And a big shoutout of thanks for all the hospitality to Watching Booksellers in Montclair, NJ and powerHouse on 8th in Brooklyn, NY for hosting me and my pink bunny slipper. Illustrating can be a very isolating experience, so nothing compares to sharing a book you've labored over for months...years!...with its intended audience. And these kids were great!
The Wrong Side of the Bed is (almost) here!
It's a book! A box full of copies of The Wrong Side of the Bed by Lisa M. Bakos (and me) arrived on my doorstep from Penguin Random House today. It's always a thrill—after months and months of hard work—to receive finished, bound books, with your name on them…for real! The Wrong Side of the Bed will be in stores on March 8th, but if you'd like to pre-order a copy, you can do so here.
A BookCourt Party for Little Card!
Thanks to everyone who came to Little Card's party at BookCourt in Brooklyn on Sunday! We read, sang (well, I did briefly), made Little Cards and ate cookies—not a bad way to spend the afternoon.
Here's…You Are Not A Cat!
Today, teacher-librarian Mr. Schu (aka John Schumacher) unveiled the cover of YOU ARE NOT A CAT on his blog "Watch. Connect. Read." alongside a short interview with author Sharon G. Flake and me. It's obvious that we're both pretty excited about this book, due out in the fall from Boyd Mills Press. And if you are too, it's already available for pre-order.
"Let's Get Busy" podcast
A few weeks ago, Charise Harper and I were interviewed by school librarian extraordinaire, and All the Wonders co-founder, Matthew Winner for his "Let's Get Busy" podcast. We discussed our collaboration for A BIG SURPRISE FOR LITTLE CARD, how the story developed and changed, giving a behind-the-scenes peek at our work processes. Since we live on opposite coasts, Charise and I have yet to meet, so this was the closest we've come. If you've never listened to the podcast before, there's a great archive of interviews with a huge assortment of kidlit folks at All the Wonders.
And as a big surprise for Anna Raff, my friend, the amazing illustrator Lori Richmond drew some of her graphic notes while she listened to the podcast! Lori's first picture book, A Hop is Up will be published by Bloomsbury later this year. Just look at this thing...it's incredible!
Graphic Notes by Lori Richmond