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During the first week of March, I'll be doing a series of events about The Storm in the Barn for the Silicon Valley READS program.

Here are the events that are free and open to the public!

And here's more about the Silicon Valley READS program!

Please come out and say howdy!

Here's the fantastic band Black Prairie performing their gorgeous score for the Storm in the Barn play. This music couldn't be more perfect for my book and I'm am deeply indebted to these fine musicians.

They are currently on tour. Go see them because they are amazing and you'll love them. I just know it.

Oregon Children's Theater just released the press images for the play adaptation of The Storm in the Barn (it opens in late April). I'm rather beside myself with happiness. Look at that barn!

I am thrilled to announce that the Oregon Children's Theatre will be mounting a stage version of The Storm in the Barn in April of 2012! My book will be adapted by playwright Eric Coble (who's previous credits include an adaptation of Lois Lowry's The Giver for OCT) and will feature music composed by Chris Funk (guitarist for The Decemberists) and his band Black Prairie. Storm is in fine hands and I cannot wait to see this production!

More good Storm in the Barn news:

Here's a picture of little Mabel. Do you like it? Do you like it like it? Well, it can be yours if you go to the ABC's Not a Dinner and (Mostly) Silent Auction next Tuesday. There's mingling, the announcement of the E.B. White Award winner, David Weisner's keynote speech, and an auction of work by a gaggle of children's book illustrators. If you see me, be sure to say hello.

Happy May, everybody! Just wanted to post a heads-up for the New Yorkers in the audience...

If you are anywhere near Philadelphia this weekend, swing by the Free Library Festival! It's huge! It's fun! It's literary! I'll be there talking about the making of The Storm in the Barn and signing books on Sunday at 12:30!

I haven't actually seen one, but here's the "new" cover.

The Storm in the Barn has officially been named the 2009 Booklist Top of the List selection for Youth Fiction. You can read the press release here. I could not be happier about this honor. I wonder if this is the first graphic novel to be selected in this category...

I am very happy to report that The Storm in the Barn is a Horn Book Fanfare title for 2009! You can see the complete list HERE.

Storm in the Barn made the School Library Journal's 2009 Best Comics for Kids List! Storm's in some pretty great company on that list. Check it out.

Storm in the Barn has just received its 5th starred review! This one comes from the venerable Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. The review isn't online, but here's a bit of it:

"The spare, sketchy lines and soft washes of the mixed-media illustrations underscore the haziness of the dust filled air; it's a toss-up whether the rolling black dust clouds or the shadowy half-human form of the Storm is more of the threat... With its appealing format and touch of fantasy, this tale of coming of age in hard times will entice readers who may otherwise be indifferent to historical fiction."

I'd like to send a big thank you to the state of Texas for including The Storm In The Barn on the 2010 Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List! The complete list is on their site but (at least on my computer) the spreadsheet is a bit wonky (I'm listed next to Refresh, Refresh and it appears that Richard Sala is credited for Storm. It actually makes for an interesting match-up quiz.)

Hey teachers! Going to the NCTE and/or ALAN convention in Philadelphia this weekend? Me too. Here's my schedule:

If you are in the lovely Lancaster County area of PA this weekend, stop by Aaron's Books in the town of Lititz for their first ever Kid-Lit Book Festival! There'll be lots of guests and events for all ages, plus books, pretzels and chocolate. Stop by!

After Storm in the Barn, I'd imagine that I'm not the first illustrator to pop into a publisher's mind if there's a new bunny book. However, I assure you that I have nothing against bunnies.

Just a little drawing of Mr. Holmes in his later years. Pencil, color pencil, scanned paper/texture, and digital white.

Sketching with a Faber-Castell pastel stick and Conte Pierre Noire pencil just to shake things up.

A big thanks to all who turned up for the signings at Children's Book World and Books of Wonder! I had a fantastic time. Zipping to and fro NYC on Amtrak is a good opportunity to crack open the ol' moleskine. I realize that this sketch blog has been light on sketches for awhile and I intend to remedy that. There's lots to be drawn in the next year and I need to loosen up a bit.

I'll be at my home base bookstore, the great Children's Book World this Saturday at 11 am!! CBW is celebrating 20 years of being one of the best indie children's book stores in the world. Come by and say hello!

I'll be signing along with my pal Gene Baretta who will be there with his new book, Neo Leo! Because Gene is an even bigger Wyeth fan than I am, I've posted one of the reference photos that I took for Storm in the Barn. You know Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World? (of course you do). Well, this is the barn from that farm. Yep.

I had a great time at the NAIBA conference this past weekend where I met many, many great indie booksellers, applauded Peter Brown as he accepted a much-deserved award for The Curious Garden, and got to meet and hang out with Michelle Knudsen, author of one of my favorite picture books, The Library Lion, and now a novelist with The Dragon of Trelian! If you haven't seen these books, you really oughta.