bugs at BEA and other news...

It’s a busy week! 

If you work in publishing, you’d have to be a bug under a rock not to be aware that Book Expo is currently taking place at the Javitts Center here in NYC. This was the first year I participated in the children’s book art auction to benefit the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and was very pleased that piece Buggy Too, pictured above, fetched a pretty penny in addition to a nice home. 

This weekend, I’ll be dropping off some stuff for the “Picture This!” show at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, Mass. If you find yourself in New England this summer, stop by for this juried exhibition of picture book illustration. Three of my pieces from World Rat Day, by J. Patrick Lewis will be on display.

And on my way home, I’ll be stopping off at my alma mater, Connecticut College, for an Alumni Author (and Illustrator!) book event. Any camels out there planning on attending Reunion Weekend? Come to the campus bookstore this Saturday, June 1st at 3pm for a signed copy of World Rat Day and/or Sylvia’s Spinach. 

The New York Times - Found Poetry Contest

This marks the third year that I’ve done some hand-lettering for The New York Times Learning Network Blog’s Found Poetry Contest. 

Students around the world are invited to submit poems sampled from articles found in the paper. Editor Katherine Schulten sends me a list of the year’s most popular subjects, and I take it from there.

As you can see above, the subjects chosen this year exhibit quite a range of interest—from heart-breaking and historic, to frivolous yet fabulous. For a look at my past interpretations, check out my website. 

Picture This! at the Danforth Museum of Art

“Picture This!” is an annual juried exhibition at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, Massachusetts showcasing new work by picture book illustrators. 

I’m thrilled that three images from World Rat Day have been included—flamingoes, and rats, and sloths—oh my! A big thank you goes out to judge Joann Hill of Disney/Hyperion for selecting my work.

The show runs from June 8—August 4, 2013. For more information and directions, visit the museum website.

Things That Float and Things That Don’t

I received a surprise in the mail this weekend—an advance copy of Things That Float and Things That Don’t, by David A. Adler, to be published by Holiday House this fall. This is a fun little non-fiction picture book that presented a few new challenges for me that I’ll go into in a later post. Meanwhile, here’s a sneak peek of the jacket and an interior spread. Is it wrong that my favorite part is the spine?