How to use this Page

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Gorilla
Gorilla who?
Gorill-a my dreams, I love you!

If you like this knock-knock joke by Tomie dePaola, you’ll be even more tickled and delighted when you pick up Knock, Knock!, the companion title to Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road.  Knock, Knock! features fourteen well known children’s illustrators and showcases their take on the classic knock-knock joke.  Contributing artists/comedians include Chris Raschka, Peter Reynolds, Yumi Heo and David Small.  Children of all ages will be in suspense when reading the setup page and then laugh out loud when turning the page to reveal the funny and sometimes punny punch line.  Not only are the jokes comical, but the creative illustrations and pictures will send readers rolling on the floor laughing.

Growing up in a pet-less house, except for the occasional goldfish, I always wondered what it would be like to have a pet, especially an exotic one.  As a child, my top three picks consisted of the following: an orangutan, a dolphin, and a tiger.  A little boy named Jack also has a pet wish list of his own in the book What Pet to Get? by Emma Dodd. 

Excited that his mom agreed that he may have a pet, Jack explores his endless pet possibilities.  Jack suggests that potentially an elephant, polar bear, or even a T-Rex may work.  His mom simply replies that an elephant “might squash the car,” the polar bear may not like the central heating, and the T-Rex wouldn’t be an option because it “has been extinct for sixty-five million years.”  What pet did both mom and Jack agree on?  Well, let’s just say that Jack’s “little” pet named Fang has a fold out page all to his self.  This fun and humorous story with bright, larger-than-life illustrations is a book that young children will enjoy.

(That's what he's reading, but its too small to see.)

Polychromo colored pencils on illustration board, what else? (Well, I know I said I might do watercolor on this one, but changed my mind.)

I tend to draw the same furniture over and over. Do you do that? I draw pieces I like, or have, or would like to have.

This is for a story I'm doing about mice and socks. I invented these mice characters last Christmas, and I think they need to tell their stories. I will get to that next. (Well, after I finish about 12 hundred other things on my plate...)

Here is what they were up to last Christmas, in case you missed them:

Well worth reading. Brava. And thank you.