It’s Picture Book Idea Month! Click here to learn all of this writer’s *secrets*…

I’ve been busy! Visiting schools, writing books… looking forward to sharing pictures soon from my next book, BY MOUSE & FROG, to be published by Viking in April, 2015.

© photo by Dickerson Photography

I’m proud to be a member of the Nerdy Book Club. You may be too, and not even know it…

To see the rest of this banner and its band of readers, head on over to the club’s brand-new site! I’m truly honored that my artwork now greets the enthusiastic, generous, and openhearted readers who congregate there.

© Deborah Freedman 2014

Picturebook authors get the best snail-mail. A huge thank you to all who send it!

Inspired by the many wonderful teachers and librarians on Twitter who have “Be Brave” as a motto for their classrooms this year, I made this poster for downloading. A special thanks to all who have shared The Story of Fish & Snail with their students!

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Courage: Sheila Rae, the Brave, by Kevin Henkes; Swimmy, by Leo Lionni; When Jessie Came Across the Sea, by Amy Hest & P.J. Lynch; Mirette on the High Wire, by Emily Arnold McCully; The Scar, by Charlotte Moundlic & Olivier Tallec; Brave Irene, by William Steig.

Snail and I are hitting the road, slowly, with our book, The Story of Fish and Snail. Hope to see some of you! Here’s where we’ll be:

September 15 is International Dot Day, when over 1 million teachers and students, inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot, plan to celebrate “teaching and learning with creativity”. This is my mark — see others by some of your favorite authors and illustrators here, at “Celebri-dots“.

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Art and Imagination: Flyaway Katie by Polly Dunbar, The Paper Princess by Elisa Kleven, I Want to Paint My Bathroom Blue by Ruth Krauss and Maurice Sendak, Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty, How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird by Jacques Prevert and Mordicai Gerstein.

And More Picturebooks about Art and Imagination.

I’m guest posting today, at the Nerdy Book Club. Thanks so much to teachers Donalyn Miller, Colby Sharp, and Cindy Minnich for inviting me over!

And speaking of invitations, last week I had fun finishing the sentences of teacher-librarian John Schu, over at Watch. Connect. Read.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, ABFFE, will hold its Annual Children’s Book Art Silent Auction on Wednesday, May 29, at BookExpo America. This year’s auction will include some special pieces created in memory of Maurice Sendak — and this is my tribute, above. You can learn more about ABFFE and this special event here.

THE STORY OF FISH & SNAIL?

Coming from Viking Children’s Books, June 13.

Make a Snow Chicken

Lessons learned from Frog and Toad:

I’m on the road today, guest posting over at Writing for Kids.

AUTUMN SALAD:

Toss together:

Season to taste with fern fronds. Serve on a bed of pine needles; garnish with feverfew, mums.

Suggested Reading, RECIPES: Mudpies and Other Recipes, by Marjorie Winslow and Erik Blegvad.

Suggested Reading, Books about LEAVES: The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger; Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert; Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson and Tiphanie Beeke; Leaves by David Ezra Stein; Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace;

I’m sorry, Blog! I was finishing the art for my next book. But I missed you!

Oh. They don’t?

Sigh.

illustration © Deborah Freedman

It seems I decided by around age five, that I wanted to be Maurice Sendak when I grew up. I penciled my name in right next to his on this book that he illustrated for Ruth Krauss in 1952, which is one of my most treasured possessions and has been with me always. Over the years I’ve become an obsessive collector of his work and words, which have taught me just about everything I need to know about writing and illustrating for children. I can think of no more to add to all that’s been said about Sendak, or by Sendak, who died on May 8th at the age of 83.

“Hello, 
As you probably noticed, I went away forever. I am very experienced now and very famous. I am even a star…. I get plenty to drink, too, so don’t worry…. If you ever come this way, look for me. Jennie” *

Dear Jennie, I did notice. And I will certainly look for you. Love, Debbie.

Some Wonderful Interviews:

• Fresh Air Remembers Author Maurice Sendak, interviews with Terry Gross, including the last one in September 2011.
• Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak, a documentary by Spike Jonze and Lance Bangs. Excerpted here.
• Art Spiegelman Discusses Maurice Sendak, with a comic strip collaboration between Spiegelman and Sendak.

*As shared by Lynn Caponera, Sendak’s assistant and longtime friend, who perfectly closed a memorial service for him at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last week by quoting this letter and sharing this image of his beloved dog, Jennie, “from his favorite book”, Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More to Life.

Part II

Have you ever wondered how your favorite author’s or illustrator’s name is pronounced? TeachingBooks.net has a huge collection of brief recordings of authors & illustrators saying their names. It includes my own thirty-seven second story – about a shy first-grader and her name.

(“That’s My Name…”, Part I is here.)

But wait. Does one of the chickens want to help?

From Blue Chicken, Viking 2011

© Deborah Freedman

The Illustration Friday topic for March 2, 2012 is INTENTION.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Suggested Reading for Valentine’s Day: The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle and Who Was in It , by Carl Sandburg and Harriet Pincus; Henry in Love, by Peter McCarty; Bloom, by Maria van Lieshout; Ooh-la-la (Max in Love), by Maira Kalman.

x o © Deborah Freedman

I know that, BLOG.
And that’s actually why I’ve been
working on a “suggested reading” list –
picture books about chickens.

Thanks a lot, Blog.

Readers… I have my favorites; what are yours?

Suggested Reading, Splashy Picture Books: Art & Max by David Wiesner, I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont and David Catrow, Mudkin by Stephen Gammell, Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth and Stephen Gammell.

Wishing you all blue skies for 2012!

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Clouds: Cloudland by John Burningham, Little Cloud by Eric Carle, The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola, Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld, The Police Cloud by Christoph Niemann.

illustration © Deborah Freedman

Julie Danielson interviews me today over at her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. She’s brewed plenty of coffee… won’t you join us?

BLUE CHICKEN is available today, from Viking Children’s Books!

We will be celebrating it’s release at several events in Connecticut this fall; they are listed here.

Or find BLUE CHICKEN here:

• Indie Bound!
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Your Local Library

© 2011 Deborah Freedman

Hey, Blog, look at my new bag!
My husband gave it to me, to celebrate
the release next week of BLUE CHICKEN!

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Purses:
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes; The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott.