The Cybils - Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards - have been announced at the Cybils website - CLICK HERE. I love this award because they often-times choose books that weren't on people's radar. This year is no exception. The category winners are:

    Book Apps: DRAGON BRUSH by Small Planet Digital

   Fiction Picture Books: A HOME FOR BIRD by Philip C. Stead, Roaring Brook

   Non-fiction Picture Books: MRS. HARKNESS AND THE PANDA by Alicia Potter, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Knopf BFYR

   Easy Readers: A TRIP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD WITH MOUSE by Frank Viva, Toon Books (love them!)

   Early Chapter Books: SADIE AND RATZ by Sonya Hartnett, illustrated by Ann James, Candlewick Press

   Poetry: BOOKSPEAK! POEMS ABOUT BOOKS by Laura Purdie Salas (who I interviewed HERE), illustrated by Josee Bisaillon, Clarion Books

   Graphic Novels: GIANTS BEWARE! by jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado, 1st Second Books

   Fantasy & Science Fiction: THE FALSE PRINCE: BOOK 1 OF THE ASCENDANCE TRILOGY by Jennifer A. Nielsen, Scholastic

   Middle Grade Fiction: WONDER by R.J.Palacio, Knopf BFYR

   Nonfiction Books: BOMB: THE RACE TO BUILD - AND STEAL - THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON by Steve Sheinkin, Flash Point (This one has won just about every award out there - I HAVE to read this!)

   Graphic Novels: FRIENDS WITH BOYS by FAith Erin Hicks, 1st Second Books

   Fantasy & Science Fiction: SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman, Random House BFYR (I read this one and totally approve)

   Young Adult Fiction: ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL by Jesse Andrews, Amulet

Go to the Cybils website to read blurbs about each book - and put them on your reading list!

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HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
     Today I get to share TWO, yes TWO wonderful board books about LOVE. They are TIME FOR A HUG written by Phillis Gershator and Mim Green and illustrated by David Walker, and PIGS IN LOVE written by Teddy Slater and illustrated by Aaron Boyd. Each will give you a great big Awwwww! And two of my lucky commenters will win one - so comment below!



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Celebrate Valentine's Day with International Book Giving Day! What better way to say "I love you" to everybody, then to give them books? The website suggest giving books to friends and loved ones, leaving them in a waiting room or lobby, and donating them around the world. Click the logo above to learn more.
They even have a groovy poster by Priya Kuriyan!

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     Hugging koalas! Can you think of a fuzzier, squishier, sweeter love than that? HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. CLICK HERE for more coloring pages. And be sure to share your creations in my gallery so I can put them in my upcoming newsletters! (They don't have to be cards - share your kids' art too!)
     Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and... Check out my books...

     Learn more about my fun picture book Glitter Girl and the Crazy Cheese - click the cover.

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BIG NEWS! I'll be co-teacher of Picture Book Design at Hollins University's Certificate in Children's Book Illustration this summer in Roanoke, Virginia! I'll be co-teaching with the amazingly talented Ruth Sanderson. It's a six-week program in the luscious hills of Virginia, hanging out with fellow children's book passionistas. Can you imagine a more creative environment?
     Registration is open NOW - click the banner to learn more!

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It's a quirky Valentines card for you - but it's sweet.

Papa Cloudy ♥ from Akiko McQuerrey on Vimeo.

Thanks to The Kid Should See This for the heads up.

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illustrator in one (not so easy) step. Wow.

A Quiet Look - How to become a children's book illustrator in one (not so easy) step from mike kerr on Vimeo.

If you're not familiar with her, Renata Liwska (randmcollective.com) illustrated and wrote the New York Times Bestselling books THE QUIET BOOK and THE LOUD BOOK, etc. Yeah, I'm a fan.

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It's a cool idea. If you're a gamer, I'm thinking this will look pretty exciting to you:

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We are lucky readers indeed! Kirby Larson couldn't get Hattie out of her head (or her fan mail) after her 2007 Newbery Honor for HATTIE BIG SKY. We wanted to know what happened to that brave and daring girl after her claim didn't work out. And now we know - she heads to San Francisco to be a reporter in HATTIE EVER AFTER.
     You will love this book - as much or more than you loved the first one. The language/vernacular is so charming and spot on, the reader is right there with Hattie as she pays a dime for a grilled cheese sandwich at the local diner, or takes a plane ride in an open cockpit.
     Truly, Kirby is such a talented writer - I can't wait for you to read her latest. And I am honored to have her visit dulemba.com today!

Q. Why did you decide to write a second novel about Hattie?
A. My readers twisted my arm! I got so many emails and letters from readers who wanted to know what happened next, that I began to wonder myself. It took a few years to find the right story to tell, however.

Q. The language really placed me in the time period. How did you nail the lingo of the time so well?
A. I read as much as I can that was written in a particular time period -- journals, diaries, letters, newspapers and even novels -- to help me feel comfortable with the vernacular of a time. I also rely on the Oxford English Dictionary to make sure a word/phrase was actually in use during the time period I'm writing about. I also rely on resources such as A Dictionary of American Proverbs for local flavor.

Q. I love that Hattie is a career girl, when women really weren't. Her gumption and spirit is strong and endearing - much like you m'dear. Do you feel that Hattie is at all auto-biographical? Or at least similar to you in spirit?
A. I think Hattie and I are similar in two big ways: we take big leaps and we are terminal optimists. I can't count the number of times I've said yes to something without being sure I could really do that thing, much like Hattie setting out to prove up on a homestead claim. And I try to live my life as if there will be happy endings (somewhere!) and I think Hattie does, too. However, the person I have in my mind's eye when I'm writing Hattie is my maternal grandmother, Lois Thomas Wright Brown, who raised 4 daughters all on her own during the Depression and never let anything stop her. (This is Kirby's Grandma at age 14).

Q. The messages in HATTIE EVER AFTER are so profound. She wants to know who she IS before she weds and becomes somebody other people think she should be. Such an independent mind for the age! How do you think the time period reflects Hattie's verve?
A. When so many men went off to war in WWI, women had to step up -- whether it was running the family farm or business, or helping out for the war effort. When the men came back, not all the women were ready to go back to the kitchen. Though Hattie wasn't a flapper, that is a familiar cultural phenomenon that illustrates that women were ready to "bust loose" and do things previously thought unconventional or even scandalous. Honestly, no matter the time period, there have always been girls and young women who have bucked the norm.

Q. How did winning the Newbery Honor for HATTIE BIG SKY change your career and the way you write?
A. Winning the honor opened so many doors. I was actually un-agented at that point; the silver medal provided access to agents who would never have looked at me otherwise. I found a terrific agent in Jill Grinberg, who has saved me from myself dozens of time. The honor has changed the way I write in that I now am aware that I have readers out there and, sometimes, the pressure not to disappoint is overwhelming. At the same time, I am still the stubborn, ornery, determined writer I've always been, looking for an engaging way to bring the stories that speak to me to life.

Q. I always ask... what was your path to publication?
A. Do you have a couple of hours?! The short version: I always loved to write, but never dreamed of pursuing it as a career. Then I read Ming Lo Moves the Mountain by Arnold Lobel and something clicked in me. I wanted to do that! I spent 3 years writing really, really, REALLY bad manuscripts about Sammy Squirrel and Billy Beaver before finding SCBWI, fabulous and honest writing friends and, ultimately, my way to publication. My first book, pubbed in 1994, was a chapter book, inspired by Patricia Reilly Giff's Polk Street School series. I even typed out two of her books to get a feel for the pacing, etc. of that wonderful, wonderful genre. By 1997, I had 5 books published/sold (including 2 I'd ghost written) and then I had a seven year drought. NOTHING got accepted. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Then, in 2000, I heard a story about my great-grandmother homesteading in Montana and, without one bit of encouragement from the universe, set about to capture that story. The rest, as they say, is history.

Q. You left just enough of a window that I could see Hattie having yet another adventure (Alaska, perhaps?). Any plans for a third Hattie?
A. NO! Not to be rude -- and I adore Hattie-- but it's time to move on and write about other "Hatties."

And I can't wait to read whatever comes next! Thanks for stopping by, Kirby!

GIVEAWAY!
(Review and award copies provided by the publisher - must live in the continental US to win.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kirby is on her official blog tour for HATTIE EVER AFTER. Go visit her at:
2/1 Sharp Read
2/4 KidsReads.com
2/5 Read, Write, and Reflect
2/6 Nerdy Book Club
2/7 Elizabeth O. Dulemba
2/7 IRA Engage
2/8 A Dream Within a Dream
2/11 My Brain on Books
2/12 Kirkus Reviews

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Here are images of the ten most beautiful kindergartens in the world. Wowsa. Every child deserves such awesome learning environments! (Click here or the image above to go see them all.)
Thanks to SwissMiss for the heads up.

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     Zzzzzz. Bears sleep through the winter. Mmmm. Not a bad idea.
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. CLICK HERE for more coloring pages. And be sure to share your creations in my gallery so I can put them in my upcoming newsletters! (They don't have to be cards - share your kids' art too!)
     Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and... Check out my books...
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!

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You have to check out this positively charming video about award-winning children's book creator, Oliver Jeffers:

Some of Oliver's titles you may recognize are:
THIS MOOSE BELONGS TO ME
STUCK and
LOST AND FOUND
Thanks to SwissMiss for the heads up.

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I'm all the way up at The Essex in Vermont at the Kindling Words conference. Think the groundhog will see his shadow up here?
Click the image to download and color.

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Well, we sort of know from his famous self-portraits. But photographer Tadao Cern has truly brought Van Gogh to life:


Here's the work in progress:

Revealing The Truth from Tadao Cern on Vimeo.

Check out Tadeo's video "Blow Job" while you're at his sight. Pretty groovy work.

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When I was a kid, I loved project books - oh, the possibilities! Well, here's a project book for your budding scientist or for kids on a rainy day. It's called CANDY EXPERIMENTS, written by Loralee Leavitt (Andrews McMeel Publishing). Did you know that some candy is covered in a glaze of shellac, wax, vegetable oil, or starch? There's an experiment to make them shed their skins. Or did you know that you can make a marshmallow sink in water? Yup.
     Most of the experiments are simple enough for kids to do on their own, while a few require adult supervision. Either way, I can't imagine a more interesting and fun way to play with your food!
     Today I'm interviewing Loralee about her book...

Q. Loralee, congratulations on the release of CANDY EXPERIMENTS! What inspired this fun book?
A. Several years ago, my four-year-old daughter asked if she could put some Nerds in water. At first I was reluctant, because it sounded messy and wasteful, but I let her try it. A few days later, she wanted to do it again, and I realized: she was ready to dissolve all of her Halloween candy! We covered the table with bowls of water and went to town. The candy was completely gone within days, and we started noticing crazy things, like the way M&M m's float in water, or wet lollipop sticks unroll.
     After that, we were on a roll. I drew on my own science background to create demonstrations, asked experts for other ideas, and watched what happened when the children just played around. We've gone through a lot of candy!

Q. CANDY EXPERIMENTS is a little outside my familiar genre of picture books. Who is the target market and what section will readers find it in their local bookstore?
A. I wrote CANDY EXPERIMENTS for a target audience of children ages 7-10. Kids of that age should be able to do the experiments (with parental help, of course) and also understand the science explanations. But it has a broader reach than that. Even toddlers love trying candy experiments, although they don't always understand the science, and older children love the fun tricks, like soaking gummi worms in water.
     Parents also appreciate CANDY EXPERIMENTS. With so many concerns these days about sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes, and obesity, parents love having an alternate way to use candy. I've heard from parents of diabetics and dye-free kids who were excited to finally enjoy Halloween, and families all over American do candy experiments after Halloween to go through the excess trick-or-treat candy.
     Readers should be able to find CANDY EXPERIMENTS in the children's science section of their local bookstore.

Q. Did you and your family perform all of these candy experiments? Surely you have some stories to tell!?
A. We did perform all of these candy experiments, and many more. Many of our experiments came from accidental discoveries. When you put every kind of candy in water, or heat them, or smash them, you see crazy things.
     A lot of these experiments come directly from the way my children played with candy. For instance, my five-year-old son and his friend started sticking candy together to see if they could make it sink, which led to my Marshmallow Submarine experiment. I started doing the Sour Bubble Acid Test by dissolving sour candy in water and adding baking soda to make bubbles, but it got even better when a six-year-old boy dumped Pixy Stix into a bowl of baking soda water, making bubbling trails of candy color.


Q. Have any of the experiments led to - *ahem* - a sugar rush?
A. When we do candy experiments, I tell my children the candy isn't for eating, it's for experiments. Usually they start thinking of it as a toy instead of a treat, and happily destroy it all. When we're done, I throw the candy away. Technically it's still edible, but it's usually melted, smashed, dissolved, or full of baking soda, and doesn't look very appetizing anymore.

Q. Is this your first book? What was your path to publication?
A. This is my first trade book, but I've been writing for several years. I started out by writing magazine articles, first for local parenting publications, and later for children's magazines. Since then, I've written about candy experiments, gold panning, children doing amazing charity work, travel, saving money, and other topics for magazines including Cricket, Highlights, Mothering, and Scouting.
     Currently I'm working on an ebook about family car trips, because every time we take our kids on a long drive other parents ask us how we survive. I also have some novels on the back burner, and am collecting more candy science ideas.

Good luck Loralee and thanks for stopping by!

To learn more, visit the Candy Experiments website at www.candyexperiments.com.

GIVEAWAY:
      One lucky commenter will win a signed/dedicated copy of CANDY EXPERIMENTS. Must live in the continental US to win. Review copy provided by the publisher, winning copy provided by the author.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Children's Book Author/illustrator Oliver Jeffers (of THIS MOOSE BELONGS TO ME) recently gave a Creative Mornings talk which has been graciously shared online:

2010/04 Oliver Jeffers from CreativeMornings on Vimeo.

(You may want to click through to see it larger.)

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     Here's another one from the past - a slightly more complicated design than I usually share. It's the Snow Queen from Narnia. How's that for FROSTY!?
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. CLICK HERE for more coloring pages. And be sure to share your creations in my gallery so I can put them in my upcoming newsletters! (They don't have to be cards - share your kids' art too!)
     Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and... Check out my books...
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!

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Today the American Library Association will give out the top awards in children's books. This is where I will post them as soon as I knows 'em!

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We are thrilled to have Will Terry speak at our 2013 SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrators' Day this year on Friday, February 22nd in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with being a respected and established illustrator, Will gives great advice to new and working illustrators on his blog and keeps on the cutting edge of new innovations. He's an illustrator with a teacher's heart and I know our attendees will learn so much from him.
     Illustrators' Day is a great place for beginning and working illustrators to learn more about the children's publishing industry, have their work evaluated, and learn how they might break into the biz.
     Today I have the pleasure of hosting Will on my blog and asking him some questions.

Q. Hi Will, We're thrilled you'll be speaking at our 2013 SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrators' Day! Your topic is "Embracing Technology and Change." Can you give us a quick glimpse into your background with this quickly changing industry?
A. This is such a huge and important question. I feel I could write a few pages on this topic. So many different angles.
     1. I was getting tired of painting the same gradual blends in my backgrounds...they were taking me hours and in my mind I would often think, "I've done this before - I know how it turns out - if only there was a way to speed up this process - but if I rush I'll mess it up and then it will take even longer.
     2. My wife contracted an auto-immune disease and could no longer teach Jr. High - with that loss of income I had to get faster so I could make more money.
     3. Barnes & Noble opened up their doors to digital publishing at the end of 2010 allowing anyone to produce and upload their own ebooks.
     4. My brother in law, a programmer, was living with us - back from his world travels for a while. He made it possible for me to set up an online video tutorial page on my website.
     5. I read Linchpin by Seth Godin - it changed my life.
     6. I began teaching at UVU in 2009 and was exposed to many forward thinking teachers and students.
     Each one of these carries it's own story - I hope to be able to discuss some of these at the upcoming Southern Breeze SCBWI conference!

Q. But we also embrace the physical book! Can you tell us some of your titles?
A. Pizza Pat, Armadilly Chili, The Frog with the Big Mouth, The Three Little Gators, Senorita Gordita, Nasty Bugs, The Treasure of Ghostwood Gully, Little Rooster's Diamond Button.

Q. What is your illustration medium?
A. Digital

Q. How do you feel about traditional vs. digital?
A. I don't think they should be thought of as either - or...All children's illustration images end up in a digital form so how it gets into that form becomes irrelevant as far as the end result. The image is important. The look the artist wants each of his/her images to have is important. I think for the sake of time, ease, and making alterations - working digitally makes the most sense. However, if the artist cannot achieve the look they want or can't differentiate themselves digitally - working traditionally makes sense too. I do believe that any "look" can be achieved by working digitally or a hybrid of the two.

Q. Light plays such a strong role in your work. How do you approach light in your work?
A. I'm drawn in by moody pieces. To have mood you need light. I love interesting lighting situations. Sometimes I've made the mistake of placing a higher value on some of the beautification I try to put in my illustrations - so it's important to ask yourself what kind of light will help illustrate the context and message of the text. I'm also more literal I suppose in my artistic vision. Sometimes I get jealous of those who choose to ignore academic lighting rules in favor of making simple statements. In the end I think there is much room for all kinds of interpretations concerning lighting.

Q. How did you first break into children's books? (I love sharing path to publication stories.)
A. I never wanted to be a children's book illustrator. I was afraid of cute. I'm a guy what can I say? Guys are supposed to draw skulls and swords - dungeons and dragons - not cute little fluffy animals. Then I got married. And we had our first kid. You tend to come face to face with cute when you have a little "cute" of your own. Soon we were buying children's books and I started to look at them in a whole new light. After turning down Pizza Pat twice - the editor at Random House said, "what if we gave you a year and three months?" How could I say no to that after using lack of time as an excuse. I was flamboozled. "OK, I'll do it." - the fateful words that became my entrance into the children's book world.
      What I wasn't prepared for was the prestige that came with working on children's books that working on editorial pieces didn't bring. Everyone knows what it means to illustrate a children's book but many didn't know what I meant when I told them I was an editorial illustrator. (magazines & newspapers)

Thanks so much Will and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Know who else will be at Illustrators' Day and Springmingle 2013? Check out this list, follow the blog tour to meet them, then register to see them in person at www.southern-breeze.net.

Jan. 21: Will Terry, illustrator, at Elizabeth O. Dulemba's blog
Jan. 22: Beck McDowell, author, at Bonnie Herold's Tenacious Teller of Tales
Jan. 23: Nikki Grimes, author, at Gail Handler's Write From the Soul
Jan. 24: Jill Corcoran, agent, at Donny Seagraves' blog
Jan. 25: Chad Beckerman, creative director, at Laura Golden's blog
Jan. 28: Katherine Jacobs, editor, at Cathy C. Hall's blog
Jan. 29: Mark Braught, illustrator, at Vicky Alvear Shecter's History with a Twist
Jan. 30: Carmen Agra Deedy, author, at Ramey Channell's "The Moonlight Ridge Series" The Painted Possum

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     I live in Georgia, and winter in Georgia does not look like a Currier & Ives postcard, oh no. There is no white fluffy snow, not usually. Winter in Georgia is damp and grey and RAINY. It's a good thing I love rainy days! How about you?
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. CLICK HERE for more coloring pages. And be sure to share your creations in my gallery so I can put them in my upcoming newsletters! (They don't have to be cards - share your kids' art too!)
     Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and... Check out my books...
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!

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"Success is not counted by how high you have climbed, but by how many people you brought with you." - Wil Rose.

I love this.
Thanks to SwissMiss for the heads up.

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A brilliant writer friend, Michelle Knudsen, has a brand new picture book out which you're going to want to run out and snatch up for your little boys. It's called BIG MEAN MIKE and it's awesomely illustrated by Scott Magoon. Today, I am lucky enough to interview them both about this great new book about a bully with a soft side...

Q. Michelle and Scott, congratulations on an ADORABLE book! Although maybe that's too sweet of a word. I'll say awesome, stupendous and kick-bum instead. BIG MEAN MIKE has strong boy appeal - was that your goal and how did you set out to achieve it through both the writing and illustrations?

Michelle: I didn’t specifically have boys or girls in mind when I wrote this story, although I can see how Mike and his cool car (and the monster trucks!) might especially appeal to some boy readers. Most of the time when I write, and certainly when I’m working on a first draft, I’m thinking more about the story and the characters than the audience, and so I just end up writing about what I think is fun or funny or exciting or moving, and hope readers will be drawn to the same things that I like about the story myself.

Scott: Elizabeth, thank-you for having us here and for your kind words about Big Mean Mike! First, I should probably confess to you right away that are little white fuzzy bunnies everywhere here in my studio right now.* About a year or so ago when I was working on Mike—a story with a number of fuzzy bunnies as characters—I invited a few over for reference and they haven't left. Anyway, yes, I was mindful that this book could have a strong boy appeal but it didn't influence me to draw it any differently. I wanted it to appeal to boys and girls alike. I hope it does. Be right back, there's a bunny drinking my carrot juice on the couch.

Q. BIG MEAN MIKE is actually a great book to talk about bullies and bullying - in a fun way. Have you heard from any teachers using it to introduce the topic?

Michelle: I did a reading for a kindergarten class recently, and the teacher used Big Mean Mike as a conversation starter, asking the students to share experiences they had of being teased or made fun of, or to tell about a time they decided to stick up for a friend who was being picked on. I love the idea that the book can be used as a way to approach the topic of bullying, even though that wasn’t my original goal when I wrote the story.

Scott: Big Mean Mike is a great book to talk about bullies and bullying in a FUNNY way as well. Why funny? Well you've got this big tough guy Mike who gets all riled up at these teeny little silent bunnies who stand up to him because they either see he could be a good friend—or because they're mad as March hares. Its unexpected—and that makes for some very funny scenes. Teachers are skilled in using picture books in the classroom; I've heard that a number of them have used Mike in this way. This book is also an excellent story about sticking up for yourself—and for your friends. Oh no! Now I've got a fuzzy bunny turning on my TV watching Phineas and Ferb. Excuse me for a sec.


Q. Do either of you know any big mean Mikes? Where did the inspiration for the words and pictures come from?

Michelle: The first part of the story that came to me was actually an image: a big, tough main character (I don’t think I knew he was going to be a dog right away) surrounded by a whole bunch of soft fuzzy bunnies. I loved the contrast of the toughness and the cuteness, the hardness and the softness. I also knew that the bunnies would be more than just adorable; that they also had a toughness of their own (and a fondness for big, mean vehicles). Mike wasn’t based on any actual Mike that I know — the name just seemed to fit him, and I liked the alliteration of “mean” and “Mike.”

Scott: I wish I knew some Big Mean Mikes, I could ride around in his cool car and hit some Monster Truck shows, like he does! Originally Mike was going to be a bulldog, but we changed him to be more wolf-like. The inspiration for Mike's look came from a 1943 Tex Avery wolf cartoon with a dash of Brando in The Wild Ones.

Q. Michelle, on the writing... BUNNIES!? How in the world did this story come to you?

Michelle: I rarely know exactly where my ideas come from, but a while after I’d written the text for Big Mean Mike, I was working on a presentation about the story and suddenly realized that the scene where the other dogs are making fun of Mike is based on a memory of something that happened to me as a child. I was just at the age where I was maybe becoming a little too old to be playing with dolls and stuffed animals, but I still really liked to play with them. One day, I decided to put some of my dolls in my parents’ car to take on a trip, and some older boys from down the block walked by and started making fun of me. I remember being absolutely mortified — so embarrassed and hurting inside at the mean way they teased me. I hadn’t thought about that moment in years and years, but clearly it was still hidden away in my memory somewhere, because I can see its influence in that scene between Mike and the other dogs. Maybe some part of me wanted to recreate that experience and have it come out in a much more positive way this time around!

Q. Scott, on the illustrations... Can you describe your process to my readers?

Scott: Well, like I said I brought in some of these guys so that I could learn to draw them. I worked on their look with pen but it wasn't until I started painting them that they became super fuzzy. The brush I used created little puff balls that I kept dabbing until they were bunny-shaped. My process for all of the art in Mike was nearly entirely digital. That is, I sketched on paper but the next steps were completed on my Mac. Once I completed my sketch dummies—there were nearly two complete sketch dummies on this book before we got a layout and illustrations that worked well—I would paint the outlines first then go back in later with layers of color in Photoshop. Then I'd chip away at the color to give it a somewhat more painterly look, especially around the edges and on the linework. End result? Big bold illustrations for a big bold dog and his city.

Q. For both of you, what do you hope readers will take away from this story?

Michelle: I think what I’d most like them to take away is the idea that real friends like you for who you are, and that it’s okay to be friends with anyone you want to be friends with, no matter what anyone else thinks.

Scott: Would anyone like to take away some bunnies? I have too many! Seriously, though, I hope our readers remember how Mike kept open to making new friends. For me, that's a very important lesson as a busy grown-up. Friends can come into our lives in the most unusual and surprising ways, throughout our lives—and if we're open to the new experiences, points of view they bring to us, then we remain spry and full of energy and young at heart. Just like fuzzy bunnies.

*Not really. But can you imagine? Please? :)

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Saturday, January 26, 2013: Storytime at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY


Saturday, March 16, 2013: Storytime at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ

GIVEAWAY!
One lucky winner will receive a free copy of BIG MEAN MIKE. Must live in the continental US to win - review and winner's copy provided by Candlewick.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

BIG MEAN MIKE. Text copyright © 2012 by Michelle Knudsen. Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Scott Magoon. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

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Oh! How can I express how much I want do this!
School of Visual Arts (New York): Visualized | MFA Narrative
     Begins June 2013! The MFA in Visual Narrative program at SVA is a groundbreaking approach to visual storytelling. Comprised of three eight-week summer sessions in NYC and two academic years online, this low-residency program places equal emphasis on creative writing and figurative visual expression: the education of the artist as author.
      The program is chaired by editorial illustrator and comic book artist Nathan Fox, joined by such diverse professional storytellers as cartoonists and authors Jessica Abel and Matt Madden, art director and illustrator Jennifer Daniel, writer and information designer Alicia DeSantis, writer and illustrator Edward Hemingway, artist and printmaker Ross MacDonald, historian and critic Leonard Marcus (!!!), publisher and writer Dan Nadel, designer and artist Jeff Rogers, artist Jonathon Rosen, illustrator Matt Rota, author Mark Sable and writer/game producer Ben Zackheim.
      For more information, visit mfavisualnarrative.sva.edu, register for the information session on January 26, 2-4pm, or click here to apply now.

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This is an invention from a start-up out in California - Leap Motion. Looks like the way we use our computers will be changing again soon. Very cool. Very "Minority Report."

Read more about it at Readwrite.

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Tomorrow morning at 8:00am PT (11:00am EST), the American Library Association will broadcast LIVE the winners of this year's Youth Media Awards - such as the John Newbery Medal (best text), the Randolph Caldecott Medal (best illustrated), the Coretta Scott King Book Award and the Michael L. Printz Award, among others. This is the red carpet of award shows for children's literature.
     Afterwards, the ALA website will feature an award wrap up and post video messages by the winners to their YouTube Channel. That should be fun to see. Equate it to Sally Fields when she won her 1985 Oscar Award for "Places in the Heart."

     Can't wait!

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