Back in 2015, I challenged myself to come up with a story that would invite a lot of audience participation. I also wanted to tell a story in a way that I hadn’t seen done before. The happy result? KNOCK KNOCK is my new book with oh-so-awesome Illustrator Guy Francis. …
I do not possess an MFA. I can count on one hand the number of formal writing workshops or classes I’ve attended as a student. I’m sometimes confused on the more complex parts of speech and still can’t easily spout the definition of “second person.” I’m a voracious reader of …
As per usual with how I’m finding books these days, an instagram cover photo once again caught my eye. It was called Looking After William by Eve Coy. I responded with google search, read the summary, and hit order. Another “gut” feeling book purchase. While I could have easily talked …
We recently had a bat in our house. I was home alone and discovered something with fur on my bathroom vanity. I could tell you that I calmly set down my hair dryer, put on gloves, and removed the bat to the great outdoors. But…
I’m working on the illustrations for my next book and frantic to make the deadline in 4 days. For my post today, since all I’ve been thinking about for the past month or so is these illustrations, I thought I’d share with you my process of one page, number 11. …
It’s hard to write a classic. Most picture books are released, get a bit of fanfare — or not — and then are forgotten in the next year or two as more new books come out. It’s sad, but true. So when a book has staying power, it’s an impressive …
A few years back, I was given the happy opportunity to mentor Cindy Chambers Johnson through SCBWI-IA’s mentorship program. She was hugely talented, but she was also witty and charming and soon felt like a friend. So I couldn’t be more excited about her debut picture book, RUSSELL WRESTLES THE …
In August 2017, Truck, Truck, Goose! debuted. I wrote this book about Goose and his pals, and Zoe Waring illustrated it. Last summer, Zoe was kind enough to stop by Picture Book Builders. She answered some questions and told us a little about her process. You can find that interview …
A few weeks back, I was fortunate to interview Katherine Roy, author and illustrator of the Sibert Honor Book Neighborhood Sharks and her title from this past spring, How To Be An Elephant. And also (lucky me!) my partner as illustrator of our upcoming picture book Otis & Will Discover the …
Well it’s time for the conclusion to this short series on how I get from a book idea to a book deal. As I’ve said previously, this is obviously specific to my own experiences and working with the folks I do, but I’d imagine there will be similarities for your …