Frank the Seven-Legged Spider, written and illustrated by Michaele Razi. Perhaps it’s the interminable winter? The staggering cold? Remaining housebound for fear of slipping on the ice?I have been quite cranky lately. But finding this little gem absolutely made me smile and, quite FRANK-ly, I needed that. The first line …
A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to get look at a manuscript written by my friend Ann Ingalls. Right away, I knew it was something special. It was just one of those stories that grabbed you on the first page and had you giggling throughout. So you can …
As Jill reminded us in a recent post, this business can be tough. Rejection. Disappointing sales. Occasional unkind reviews that evoke this Taylor Swift song. So it’s extra important to celebrate the good stuff. Like, say, the arrival of new books! In fact, today just happens to be the pub …
In February 2018, Wordy Birdy (Doubleday), written by yours truly and illustrated by Dave Mottram, was released. Wordy Birdy is a bird who loves to talk, talk, talk. But she never listens. In fact, Wordy Birdy has so much to say, she has another book due out February 5, 2019. It’s called Wordy …
Today I have the pleasure of sharing a new book hot off the press (releases March 5) titled JUST READ! by Lori Degman, illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov. It’s a lovely story with a wonderful, universal theme of reading which probably makes other authors wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” …
Oh, people. Brace yourself for some serious cuteness. Would you expect anything less from a book called The Great Puppy Invasion? This book was written by Alastair Heim and illustrated by Kim Smith. What’s a town to do when not one, not two, but hundreds of adorable, wriggling puppies invade? …
I found this darling character story quite refreshing in the shadow of so many ‘deep-meaning’ picture books which I’ve read recently. The story is about little Argyle Fox who goes out to play on a windy day. Unfortunately for Argyle, his choices don’t work successfully in the wind. Building a …
I’ve been a Patrice Barton fan for as long as I can remember. She draws children as well as (or better) than perhaps any other illustrator. I remember being enchanted by her work in THE INVISIBLE BOY, SWEET MOON BABY and HELLO GOODBYE DOG. So I might have screamed just …
A year ago, I got real on Facebook with this post: The writing life.Here on FB, those of us who write tend to share the yippee stuff and clam up regarding our failures. Who wants to admit those and feel like a loser? Bleh. But a comment somebody made a …
Okay, sorry writers, this is really illustration-oriented. My illustrations have been called cartoon-like in the past, and I’m fine with that. In the most basic sense, my illustrations seem to be black lines with color fills. Which can be, well…cartoon-like. The second to the last book I did (Swamp Gas) …