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These books arrived unsolicited from the publisher this week. I don’t have time to review them, but I wanted to make mention of them because Liesbet Slegers is one of my favorite authors for this age group.

Is bunny playing on the swings all by himself? And who is gliding down the slide? This playful, interactive book offers a surprise on every page, inviting children to slide the flap to look at a whole new picture. A delightful little book in which toddlers can look and move to find the hidden pictures at the playground.

Is the pilot flying all alone in his plane? And will the fast car win the race? A delightful little book in which toddlers can look and move to find the hidden pictures. The unique extending system in this playful, interactive book offers a surprise on every page, inviting children to slide the flap to look at a whole new picture.

It’s a nice day today. I put on my bib and eat breakfast. Yummy. Then I go and play. I also take a bath today. I wash myself and play with my boat. Then it’s time for bed. An ideal book for babies, toddlers and preschoolers to learn all about what happens in a day.

How fun the four seasons are! In winter I love to play in the snow and in spring beautiful blossoms grow on the trees. In summer the sun shines nice and warm and in fall I love to jump in the puddles. Everything about the seasons of the year that toddlers and preschoolers would want to (and need to) know. Filled with recognizable pictures, these books stimulate the language development of young children. Printed on thick and sturdy paper, with round corners and a soft quilted cover, it makes a sturdy and delightful gift.

I got a pingback on yesterday’s post and it got me to thinking about another item between family members and friends.

Dreams flow well in letters, don’t they? I think we’ve lost part of that connection, especially because of the internet. No anticipation flutters our heartbeat when we think of getting an email. That sensation came when we waited for real mail, on paper, with ink covering the page like so much ivy growing out toward us, carrying dreams, images, and speculations. Secrets huddled within the lines of word leaves, providing us with tiny thrills and mysteries.

These were the reasons we wrote to cousins, best friends on vacation, or pen pals. Most of that is gone now with the arrival of internet. That loss is what I regret, for now, instead of picking up fountain pen and paper, I reach for a keyboard, and the thought and care that would had gone into writing to a love one has dissipated into a mist of remembered pleasure.

Can you imagine how much of our world’s history, knowledge, and philosophy would not exist if it weren’t for written letters?

Much of the ancient world would be a mystery to use without those letters between philosophers and historians. The treatise is a simple extension of the letter. Those documents formed the very foundation of what we know as literature, scientific notation, constitutions, etc.

Family members wrote to one another, knowing that they might never get a response from the one who’d moved so far away, or the one who’d stayed in the old neighborhood/country. Hope clung to fragile ink-covered pages, written with love, despair, anticipation, disgust, and all the rest of human emotion. Did those pioneers recognize the tradition they followed from a thousand years before?

As we move further into a new world that disdains the tangible personal letter, we need to look back for a moment to imprint in our minds what we’re giving up. Physical remains of letters have survived for thousands of years. One badly timed lightning strike can wipe out years of work or correspondence.

Mother Nature doesn’t care about electrons that floated around or are stored in the ether around us. A scrambled atmosphere can do as much damage in the long run as a flood. All communication is vulnerable to disaster, computer driven no less than the Pony Express.

At the end of the day, though, we choose to use our time to communicate with dreams, aspirations, and secrets from one person to another, or merely to open a channel and punch keys.

The individual decides. Quick and dirty or thoughtful and fulsome? When is the last time letters arrived in your mailbox?

here is my contribution to this week's i.f. theme of 'mail'. i painted it last year so that i could use the image for my 'contact page' of my website.
http://www.theenchantedeasel.com/
it's me...in my uggs;)
btw, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all my friends out there! thank you for traveling with me on the road to becoming a successful children's illustrator:)
can't wait for lots of new endeavors in 2011...

In My Mailbox explores the contents of my mailbox on a weekly basis. It will give you an idea of what I have on tap to read and what I may be offering in a giveaway. If you would like to participate and have your own “In My Mailbox” post, you can! (This post was inspired by The Story Siren.)

Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline

The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen

Hello!

So far, January has been a very exciting month! After the holidays, a plethora of great books are arriving from amazon.com, and I have been flying through graphic novels and trades such as Invincible, the Goon, Joe Mad's Ultimates 3, and Jim Lee's Superman run (hey, I am a fan of the last two. I don't care what other think). I also picked up two volumes of Drawn to Life, a series of books showcasing the teaching materials of Disney animator Walt Stanchfield. Its a real "back to roots" type of approach from what I've skimmed so far. And I just finished Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell; its a very interesting read and really inspiring. I recently read Gladwell's Blink, and I also recommend it if you are interested in how you make unconscious decisions. I think both of Gladwell's book have helped me with my previous post about how I am reading up on why we draw, how the brain works for artists, etc.

Wow, when do I have time to work with so many books?!? Well, honestly, I'm sleeping less to fit everything in!

Also, as a holiday treat, I purchased the new imac to replace this slowly eroding G4. Its so cool. Sadly, I have not had time to set everything up on it so I am still working on the ol' battle-axe until I turn in some projects on Monday. So once final art is approved I will allow this sleek new technology to seduce me.

What else is going on? Well, I just started an illustrator collective called Illostop. We are a group of young illustrators with similar interests and goals. Check out our blog featuring art and sketches here. We are also on facebook and twitter if you would like to be updated regularly on new work.

Speaking of blogs, I also want to share fellow illustrator Pete Ryan's blog, nonslick. Pete is a smart conceptual illustrator, and nonslick is a blog where he interviews art ditectors and illustrators. Its definitely a worthwhile place to spend your time!

And now for some art. Here is a new editorial recently completed for Carli at Macworld. The article's focus was using IMAP to link all of your email accounts/locations so that you can access any of your email from anywhere. Whoa, technology. I can't wait for the future beyond 2010. the final art:


And here are the sketches:
The article spoke about how one would be able to access desktop email remotely via iphone.

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