three cheers for Chelmsford
I knew I was in the right place when I arrived at the Center Elementary School in Chelmsford for two days last week. The halls are alive with color and art on display. I spent Thursday with first grade classes, reading Seven Days of Daisy, talking about how I made the book and shaped the story. I gave them blank booklets to begin writing and drawing their own story. They knew just how to add visual detail. Before moving to another classroom, a few volunteers shared their story. The best part is meeting kids, seeing their curiosity and listening to their ideas. Thanks to Mrs. Mackinnon, Mrs....
Read Moremuir meander
Curious City recently invited me to be part of a panel discussion about children’s books with the venerable Baxter Society, a fine flock of bibliophiles who meet monthly in Portland, Maine. I was honored to join Daniel Minter and Stephen Costanza to chat about how we do what we do. I always learn something new about my colleagues. In a nod to esteemed illustrator/bookseller/author/Vice President of the Baxter Society, Michelle Souliere, I shared this gem from my 2013 Sketchbook Project. Michelle is the owner of The Green Hand Bookstore, where a booklover can swoon all day with the...
Read Morebeard up
Any idea who this bearded wonder might be? It’s John Muir, subject of the current non-fiction picture book I’m working on with Charlesbridge Publishing. The story, by Julie Danneberg, is spun directly from Muir’s own journal, about an event in Yosemite in 1871. Drawing Muir’s beard has become quite the challenge, and now beards are on my brain. In one scene, Muir gets soaked by a waterfall. Hmm, what happens to a wet beard? I found the curious social network, Wet Beards, but it wasn’t much help. I noticed a colleague at Maine College of Art has a very Muir-ish...
Read Moresketch bookin’
Ever since doing the Sketchbook Project in 2011, I have a new respect for the sketchbook practice. Before doing that, my sketchbook was a spiral bound scrapbook of sorts, including drawings, clippings, tickets, any bit of ephemera crossing my desk at the time. Thanks to Charlesbridge, I am now working on a non-fiction picture book about John Muir, an avid sketcher of his travels in the wild. He’s considered the father of the National Parks system, visionary author, and founder of the Sierra Club. Muir discovered Yosemite in his youth, and built a sawmill along a stream that kept him...
Read MoreSeven kickers
1- With yesterday’s news that I am on the New York Public Library’s first Top 100 books of the last 100 years, I am OVER THE MOON. Hooray for Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins! To see what amazing company I am in, see the full list here. This chapter book was my first children’s book published, and Mitali remains an amazing mentor for me in the field of children’s books, leading the way in my first outings at schools and libraries. My portrait barely catches her brilliant smile. 2- Cool news: I will be illustrating another Mitali title, Tiger Boy, still in the...
Read MoreCelebrating whales at Portland Public Library
Once upon a hot Saturday a very happy crowd dove into the ocean at the Portland Public Library in honor of Here Come the Humpbacks! According to Native American wisdom, a whale is like a swimming library, carrying the history of Mother Earth and knowing the memories of ancient knowledge. It was both striking and fitting to see Istar fill the Rines Auditorium, thanks to Children’s Museum & Theater of Maine. (All photos © Greta Rybus) This 15 foot inflatable humpback was crafted for the museum by George York and is 15 years old, modeled after a real whale (named Istar) who just...
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