Rats! Pick of the Month by the Poetry Foundation

It’s always a pleasure to receive emails from author J. Patrick Lewis. This morning, in addition to pointing out that today (Nov. 2) is “Plan Your Epitaph Day”, he shared the terrific news that World Rat Day is the pick of the month by The Poetry Foundation. Thank you current Children’s Laureate Kenn Nesbitt for your kind words:

“With splendidly silly illustrations by Anna Raff, and poems about everything from ‘Dragon Appreciation Day’ to ‘International Cephalopod Awareness Day’ (and, of course ‘World Rat Day’) this cleverly-crafted collection includes shape poems, limericks, and enough rib-tickling rhymes that you can have fun celebrating ‘The Holidays’ all year long.”

Now I have to go revise my epitaph...

The Society of Illustrators: Original Art Show

Hello Hello! Word on the street is that The Original Art Show is already open for viewing at the Society of Illustrators. I am thrilled that World Rat Day was chosen one of the best illustrated children’s books of the year, and that my rats lineup will be representing. If you’ve never seen the show, it’s an amazing event, and one of few chances to see the actual art from these great books in person. On top of that, if you’re in New York City tomorrow evening (October 24th), the opening reception will give you the added opportunity to meet the artists.

A big shout out goes to the terrific folks at Candlewick—Art Directors Anne Moore and Kristen Nobles made this a really fun project for me, from beginning to end. World Rat Day was written by U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis, and is a collection of hilarious “Poems About Real Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of.”

The Original Art Show runs from October 23 through December 21 at The Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, between Park and Lexington. For more information, click here.

some very nice things about rats

I’m not going to lie about it...I did do a little dance around my apartment last week upon hearing that World Rat Day had been selected for The Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators. Established in 1979 and juried by an esteemed group of art directors, editors and illustrators, the exhibition showcases the year’s best in children’s book illustration. So in other words—I’m thrilled.

The show will be on view from October 23 through December 21, with an opening reception on Thursday, October 24, from 6–9pm. 

And as if that weren’t enough good news about World Rat Day, four images from the book were also selected for 3x3 Magazine’s annual picture book competition. Hoozah!

All in all, it’s been a pretty good summer for the rats. As for being a Raff, that’s not too bad either. I’ve just agreed to illustrate two picture books over the next year. But more on those another time.

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. 

Rizzoli, Rats and Raffs

On the heels of the big World Rat Day event at Rizzoli, I did a little traveling, so this post is over a week late. Still, I wanted to share a few photos—it was a fantastic turnout! Thanks to everyone who was there, bought books, and helped celebrate Poetry Month. And special thanks to the great people at Rizzoli—especially publicist Meg Parsont—and Candlewick for providing the bubbly and the big poster for the store window! Boy was my hand tired by the end, but in a really good way.

★ the WORLD RAT DAY trailer ★

Book trailers are all the rage in children’s publishing these days, so in preparation for its publication in March, I wanted to give World Rat Day proper attention. 

This meant investing a considerable amount of time teaching myself Adobe After Effects, but I think it was time well spent. As an illustrator, it’s so rewarding to make still images you’ve been working on for months and months actually move. If this weren’t already part of my profession, I’d take it up as a hobby.

So without further ado, here it is. Enjoy, share, post, tweet, whatever you choose, but mostly I hope it puts a smile on your face. 

WORLD RAT DAY - by J. Patrick Lewis and Anna Raff

Oh! One more thing—as if I hadn’t mentioned it a million times before—World Rat Day is available for pre-order here. :^)

it’s a book!

My advance copy of World Rat Day arrived the other day and in my excitement, I might have jumped up and down a few times. I guess it’s no secret that I really loved working on this book. (The official publication date is March 12th.)

Meanwhile, I’ve been finishing up illustrations for a book with Holiday House due out next fall, in addition to working on the trailer for World Rat Day. Somewhere in there, I need to find time to redesign my website. Oh yeah, and it’s Christmas...

In case you haven’t already seen it, here’s a link to my holiday card. Best wishes for a peaceful holiday season!

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On the afternoon of Saturday, April 13th, there will be a World Rat Day book party (and signing) at the Rizzoli Bookstore here in Manhattan. Details to come.

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happy mule day!...what?!...

Today is October 26th—also know as Mule Day—so in the spirit of metaphorically kicking some a**, I am pleased to share with you a sneak peek at the cover of World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of, by the wondrous J. Patrick Lewis, due out in March, but available for pre-order online. 

Last night was the reception for the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators, showcasing the finest in picture book art from the past year. In addition to being a great way to see some amazing illustration and catch up with my old pals in children’s publishing, it was the first time I got to meet some of the lovely people from Candlewick Press who made this project possible. Many thanks to art directors Kristen Nobles and Anne Moore, and editor Liz Bicknell. Happy Mule Day!

what the cluck?! just one more week of chickens...

Feathers have been flying high over on Ornithoblogical this April—a.k.a. “Chicken Month.” And there’s still one more week of new cluckers on the docket. Pictured here are a few of the high/low-lights so far (from top to bottom: Chicken Wire, Chicken Heart, and Chick Pees.) Very sorry to say, I really don’t have to stop after 30 days—there are countless more chicken-related opportunities—but all good things must come to an end.

And with the end of Chicken Month, I take a brief hiatus from birds to focus on rats...specifically, World Rat Day, by the wonderful J. Patrick Lewis. You can read more about that here, and for further reading, Kirkus Reviews posted a great interview with Patrick a few weeks ago.