my blog 2010
January 6, 2010
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a nice holiday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc… Mine was nice and quiet and relaxing and I didn’t do very much work. As a result I’ve hit the pavement running this year. I’ve got some really exciting projects in the pipeline right now: two confirmed picture books; one more picture book in early stages of development; and one REALLY exciting project about which I can’t speak yet (but will hopefully have news about in the next couple of months).
This spring will see the release of ME HUNGRY! in board book form. I’m really excited about this as I think the smaller format will really suit the book. ME HUNGRY! was largely inspired by two of my all time favourite board books: Jez Alborough’s beautiful HUG and Peggy Rathman’s lovely Goodnight Gorilla. Chris Raschka’s Yo! Yes?
(although not a board book) was also a big inspiration. I have high hopes that the board book will be widely available and will find a permanent home in this format. Huge thanks must be given to Candlewick for the decision to make this book available in the smaller format.
Anyway, I hope your 2010 is full of marvelous good times and much happiness.
January 12, 2010
Here’s a link to another Boo Hoo Bird review. This one made me laugh because the reviewer’s daughter isn’t a big fan of the book. In fact she quite dislikes it at the moment. Hopefully she’ll come round. Still, I enjoyed the review. It’s nice to have people discussing my books.
January 12, 2010
Not exactly mind-blowing but hey, they can’t all be gems. Feels like a good one to start another year of sketches.
January 15, 2010
I started the new year with a couple of days visiting schools. Boo Hoo Bird is nominated for the Blue Spruce Award in Ontario this year so it’s a good opportunity to get out there and do some promoting with my audience (and if I’m lucky my audience will vote for me and Boo Hoo will win — not that I care about winning or anything!). Anyway, I wanted to share this photo with you. Lisa Hough, a teacher at Bridlewood Elementary School, baked these amazing Bird shaped cakes. She runs a little business called Markham Cakes and Sweets. Check it out. Pretty amazing, yes? So if you’re in the greater Toronto area and you’re looking for an excellent cake baker/decorator… highly recommended.
January 18, 2010
Another great Boo Hoo Bird review. This one from Sal’s Fiction Addiction blog. It’s short and sweet but she’s nicely nailed what the book is all about. Thanks Sal!
January 21, 2010
Here’s a link to a new Grumpy Bird review. It’s a little one, but good one. And, interestingly, these Bird fans are teachers at international schools. Hooray! Is Bird gaining a wider following?
January 22, 2010
Where did this blue flower come from?
February 7, 2010
I love this drawing. It was quick and spontaneous and captures something very real. My wife even stopped what she was doing when she looked over at my sketchbook and commented on it (she seldom does that). I’ve just finished reading The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman. It’s really excellent. This drawing isn’t really meant to be Bod, or a scene from the book, but it’s definitely inspired by some of the emotions conjured by reading it.
February 12, 2010
With the recent release of Me Hungry! in a board book format I’m looking forward to some new reviews. Here’s a recent one from Sal’s Fiction Addiction.
February 19, 2010
This is fun: I was featured on the delightful Papertrails Family Blog. The kids asked some good questions and I had fun answering. Go take a look! And if you’ve got the time take a read through some other entries on their site — they’re all fun!
February 21, 2010
I somehow missed this review when it came out. It’s a nice one! Thanks, Bianca! Nice to see another Boo Hoo Bird review.
February 22, 2010
I’m enjoying the resurgence of interest in ME HUNGRY! that has come with the release of the board book. So today I’ve got TWO new reviews to link to. The first is from the readertotz blog and the second is from Strollerderby (brilliant name for a blog, no?). Keep ‘em comin’! Go ME HUNGRY! Go!
March 4, 2010
I drew this guy reading and decided that it looked kind of like my son, Theo, who is only 9 months old. I think it’s the hair. Anyway, I thought it a funny picture so coloured it up and here it is.
March 12, 2010
I kinda like this one in a quiet sort of a way.
March 12, 2010
A new review of Grumpy Bird from InkyThink. I’m happy to report that it’s favourable. I’m tickled that Grumpy Bird is still getting reviews and that people are still talking about it. I guess this is what is called a slow burn?
March 23, 2010
I recently did a couple of library events in Brampton for March Break. The events were both well attended and saw lots of kids hanging out afterwords to talk with me and get autographs. I enjoy signing autographs for kids, they can really make you feel like a million bucks sometimes. Good for the ol’ ego! The local newspaper gave me some excellent coverage with two articles. You can read the first here. And the second one here. My favourite part is that the term authorstrator seems to be catching on when people talk about me. Ha!
April 6, 2010
I’m pleased to see Grumpy Bird in the company of Eric Carle and Mo Willems’ fine books on the Urban Moms blog. Go take a look — some nice recommendations for good books.
April 7, 2010
I like this drawing but wasn’t sure what to do with it. None of the backgrounds I tried worked particularly well so I’ll just let her sit on a bright yellow one. Hope you like her.
April 7, 2010
Here is a really nice little interview done by Taina Langevin. Her questions were thoughtful and fun to answer. I think you should go and check out her blog — it’s fairly new but she has some good stuff on it. Definitely a blog to keep an eye on.
April 13, 2010
I received a nice little mention on the Squidoo website today. They posted a list of Darn Good Kid’s Books. I’m in excellent company with Mo Willems , David Shannon, Oliver Jeffers and Peter H. Reynolds. Thanks Squidoo!
April 20, 2010
A rabbit who looks a little miffed. Not my most interesting sketch I suppose, but I really like the expression on his (or her — it’s hard to tell with rabbits) face.
April 20, 2010
I’m going to be visiting Vancouver Island next week for a number of public and school events. If you’re free and would like to meet me please come say hi at the following events:
Victoria
April 27th, Central Library (downtown) at 9:30am
April 30th, Vancouver Island Regional Library reading - Campbell River: 1-2
May 1st Nanaimo children’s festival
May 20, 2010
Two recent reviews of the Bird books from the Warren County Public Library. First up is their review of Grumpy Bird. And here is their review of Boo Hoo Bird.
May 31, 2010
I can’t believe I’ve been too busy to report this! Boo Hoo Bird WON THE BLUE SPRUCE AWARD for 2010!!!!!!!! I was as surprised as the next person. Here’s a link to the list of winners 2002 to the present. And here’s a link to all the winners from the Forest of Reading program.
July 1, 2010
My friends Ryan and Jenn met at the book launch for Grumpy Bird a couple of years ago. I still think it’s one of the best things about the launch. Check out Ryan’s little story about how he and Jenn met. It’s good!
July 2, 2010
I just saw this lovely little write-up about my books. I thought I’d share it. Thanks Erica!
July 7, 2010
ME HUNGRY! was the featured review on Word of Mouse the other day. Thanks Word of Mouse!
July 31, 2010
I thought I’d share this lovely review of ME HUNGRY! courtesy of B is for Books. She makes mention of the book being vegetarian friendly. It’s funny, I’d never really thought of that before. But I suppose it is. Thanks for liking my book so much Thao!
August 4, 2010
A tiger. I thought he was pretty cute.
August 5, 2010
A friend of mine just pointed me to this nice link. If you click on the Sarah Jessica Parker video under the LITERACY CHAMPIONS headline you can see a copy of Grumpy Bird prominently displayed behind Ms. Parker. Nice!!!!!!
August 5, 2010
Indulging my current interest in machines. I was accused by a grade two student a few months ago for the decided lack of trucks and vehicles in my books. I admit to having an aversion to drawing machines. So perhaps I can learn to overcome this by practicing a bit. Here’s a Sherman tank. I recently watched Kelly’s Heroes (an old Clint Eastwood movie) that I had remembered enjoying when I was much younger. It held up pretty well. Donald Sutherland plays Oddball, a Sherman commander. He’s almost the best part of the movie. World War 2’s only hippie. He enjoys riding in a Sherman. So this was inspired by Oddball and his Sherman. And I kind of like the idea of a cute tank.
August 16, 2010
Part of the dummy for an upcoming book. It might not be a cat in the final book though.
September 17, 2010
I’ve been wanting to do another tree drawing ever since that last one of the Panda watering a tree. So here’s another one. I think that’s a bear approaching. Love it!
Photoshop CS5 and Painter11.
October 12, 2010
Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 just posted this fabulous storytime suggestion on her wonderful blog. And, as if that weren’t enough, there’s even a video of Betsy demonstrating the book’s readability! Thanks Betsy! Now, everyone, rush out and purchase yourself a copy of ME HUNGRY! please.
October 29, 2010
November 11, 2010
With the exception of the tree trunks in the background this one is all digital. Mostly it was an experiment in colour and composition. I think it turned out pretty well.
November 22, 2010
Picture Book Depot, a new book review blog, has given Boo Hoo Bird a glowing endorsement. Thanks, Rita!
November 25, 2010
Kimberly, a friend on facebook, suggested I draw ninja pigs. So this morning, while speaking with a group of grade six, seven and eight kids, I drew a ninja pig. Just for fun. But he turned out great so I thought I’d share him here. Thanks to everyone at Thornhill Public School for being so awesome!
November 26, 2010
I think it’s awesome that Grumpy Bird is still being reviewed! A nice one on epinions.com. Check it out.
November 26, 2010
An excellent review for Boo Hoo Bird from Explore 0-4. Thank you Anna for the kind words.
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