Some Notes on ZORA and Meet Author Katherine Pryor, or At Least Please Eat Some Zucchini...

I’m not sure if I even knew how to spell z-u-c-c-h-i-n-i when I started illustrating Zora’s Zucchini late last year, but I’m really good at it now.  

Zora has been out for a few weeks, and the response has been great. For those of you on the West Coast, author Katherine Pryor has several signings scheduled in the coming weeks:

Aug. 28 — Mockingbird Books, Seattle, WA, 11am
Aug. 29 — Powell’s City of Books, Portland, WA, 11am
Sept. 3 — University Book Store, Bellevue, WA, 11am
Sept. 23 — Village Books, Bellingham, WA, 3:15pm
Sept. 26 — Eagle Harbor Book Co., Bainbridge Island, time TBD

Speaking of Powell’s, here’s a photo a friend took of Zora in the window. She seems suitably proud...

It’s always fun to see your work out in the wild. It’s especially fun to see it being shared right in front of you. That’s what happened on a recent trip to Rhode Island, when my sister-in-law gave a copy of Zora to her young, next door neighbor. Completely unprompted, the neighbor brought her own string bean to munch on during story time. Ah, yes...everything is working just as I planned. Heh, heh, heh...

It’s hard to believe that end of summer is upon us. Since Zora’s  release, the zucchini crop has come in, and if you follow  Zora’s page on Facebook, you’ve no doubt been marveling at the recipes Katherine Pryor has been posting each day. Inspired by that, and a few gorgeous specimens from my mom’s garden in Connecticut, I assembled my own zucchini quiche with great results. (Note: this photo shows the unfinished, unbaked version; the cooked version was pretty darned delicious.)

Finally, I’ve been getting a lot of queries about my dedication in Zora, which reads, “For the Committee.” Who is the Committee, you ask? No, not the editorial committee. Not the band of kidlit authors and illustrators I meet with over beers in Brooklyn each month. No, the Committee is this motley crew pictured below, albeit with a few members missing. It all has to do with a legendary summer some thirty years or so ago, when everyone’s zucchini crop came in in abundance, and we all had to deal with it. Just between you, me, and the internets, those recipes on Facebook sure would have come in handy. xo

 

We didn’t sink!

What a wonderful day it was at the Queens Museum Children’s Book Celebration this past Saturday. We bookmakers were set up in the main atrium—a gorgeous open space, filled with natural light—where kids and parents filed through, pausing for conversation, art-making, reading, you name it...and a general good time.

If you’re unfamiliar with this area of Queens, there’s great history behind the space too. The museum is located in the New York City Building, which once housed the New York City Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair. It’s the building next to the iconic Unisphere, a 12-story globe surrounded by a fountain, or what I like to call the best sprinkler in the world.

I was paired up with the Discovery Team from the Queens Children’s Library who created a great program for kids to test their theories of sinking and floating, using some of the experiments from Things That Float and Things That Don’t.

Not only were some of my pals in the New York City kids’ book community there, but I got to meet several authors and illustrators whose work I’ve been admiring from afar. Fingers crossed for this to become an annual event.

The Queens Museum Children’s Book Celebration

Join me and a great group of local award-winning children’s book authors and illustrators this Saturday, July 11th, from 12 to 4 PM for the Queens Museum Children’s Book Celebration! Best of all—it’s free!

illustration by Tim Miller

There will be live readings, art-making, and other fun activities from this list of characters: Mike Curato, Melissa Guion, Frank Dormer, Roxie Munro, Kelly Light, Kat Yeh, Joyce Wan, Sergio Ruzzier, David Ezra Stein, Anna Raff, Adam Auerbach, Kirsten Hall, Dasha Tolstikova, Mike Herrod, Sam Ita, Jen Hill, Ame Dyckman, Zachariah OHora, Carla Torres, Adam Lehrhaupt, Isabel Roxas, and Rowboat Watkins!

The day’s events were organized by the incredibly talented Tim Miller in partnership with the Queens Library Summer Reading Program. And wow!—the first 200 attendees get a free poster! (See Tim’s great illustration above.)

As for me, I’ll be pairing up with the Queens Library Discovery Team to present Things That Float and Things That Don’t, the first in a series of books by David A. Adler that I’ve had the pleasure of illustrating. We’ll be testing out all kinds of experiments to see what sinks, what floats, and how salt water effects buoyancy—so bring your future scientists!

When not stooped over a tub of water sinking stuff, I’ll be at my table located on the first floor sharing my book-making process, a few sneak peeks at some future projects, and tips on how to draw rats and other important things.  I mean everyone needs to know how to draw a proper rat, don’t they?

I’ll also be selling copies of my books, prints and other wares with plenty of free stuff to give away.

And if this line-up of children’s book luminaries wasn’t enough, and you’ve never visited The Queens Museum before, did you know that it houses a gigantic panorama of the city of New York? I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago, and it is truly amazing.

For more information, visit the Museum website. I hope to see you there!

What’s News with Me: You Are Not a Cat…

…and neither am I, but they are really fun to draw.

I just finished the first round of sketches for You Are Not a Cat, the first picture book by Sharon G. Flake to be published by Boyds-Mills Press. Best known for her multiple award-winning young adult novels such as The Skin I’m In, Money Hungry, and Begging for Change, Sharon is a real superstar in the world of children’s literature. So as exasperated as this little cat might look, it’s no reflection on my current mood—I’m having a great time.

The Making of a Cover: The Wrong Side of the Bed

Legendary librarian, teacher, and children’s book advocate John Schu (aka @MrSchuReads in the twittersphere) was kind enough to unveil the front cover of The Wrong Side of the Bed on his blog the other day. Written by Lisa M. Bakos and illustrated by yours truly, the book is scheduled for release by G.P. Putnam’s Sons on March 8, 2016.

It’s been a long time in the making. In fact, next week marks two years since I was first approached about illustrating Lisa’s hilarious text. As anyone in publishing knows, that’s just how things go sometimes. But hip, hip, hooray!—today I turned in the last bit of art for the book, the endpapers.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to have the chance to show off the front cover, and since you’ll have to wait a bit longer for a view of the interiors, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a bit of the cover-making process.

first thumbnail sketches

The first challenge was fitting all ten characters in the story onto the jacket. As you can see above, I tried a couple of variations, with the main character surrounded by, or next to the rowdy group of animals with whom she contends. But none of these really seemed to convey enough mayhem. (One note: even though the sketch on the lower right didn’t make it as a cover, I used a similar arrangement for the endpapers.)

For the second round of sketches, my fabulous Art Director, Cecilia Yung thought that a bed should be used as a component coming in between the main character and the animals—to literally show her on the wrong side of the bed. I had been worried that such a static element might be too dull, but I tried it anyway. Here’s what I came up with, and I even worked it up into several finished variations. We thought we were there, but...

from the second round of sketches

a color finish

It turned out, this worked much better as a black and white sketch than a full-color illustration. So it was back to the drawing board. Our book designer, Annie Ericsson had the brilliant idea of using the bed as a graphic element, rather than making it too realistic. In this option, she suggested hiding the main character under the blankets, thus accentuating the craziness of the animals, who could be peaking over the top.

I loved the idea, and ran with it. As you can see in the first sketch below, on the left side—which would have been the back of the jacket—I pushed things a little too far with the farting penguins (note the dazed and repulsed hippopotamus). As all good art directors do, Cecilia reined me in just a tiny bit. That’s what you see in the final sketch, and in the finished cover.

jacket sketch, third round

final jacket sketch

The Wrong Side of the Bed hits bookshelves in March, but it’s currently available for pre-order through the Penguin Random House website. Thanks for reading, if you made it this far!

Summery Summary

Since my last update to this page, I was on the brink of finishing a year-long marathon of picture book painting. Today I’m happy to report, it’s pretty much done. 

Zora’s Zucchini comes out first, this August, just in time for the bounty from your own garden. I’ve added a new section to my website, where you can get a few peeks at the illustrations. The image above, of Zora’s neighborhood, is one of my favorites.

Zora is also available for pre-order, if you are so inclined.  

Today, I spent the better part of my day looking over proofs for A Big Surprise for Little Card, due out in February 2016. The designer geek in me is thrilled that this will be my first book printed on uncoated stock. Thanks Candlewick!

Now it’s onto the next project—I’ve started sketching a picture book written by the great Sharon G. Flake, to be published by Boyds-Mills Press late next year. But more on that in a future post. 

Next week I begin my month-long teaching gig at the School of Visual Art Summer Residency in Illustration. It was such a rewarding experience last year, and I hope to share some of my students’ work here in the coming weeks.

Happy Summer to you!

What’s News with Me . . .

It’s been a busy spring at my drawing board, which explains the silence on this page. Here are a few of the things that I have brewing…

Once again, I’ll be teaching illustration at the School of Visual Arts Summer Residency in June. There’s still time to apply, if you are making summer plans, and would like to study with a great group of industry professionals (led by the venerable Viktor Koen) while exploring New York City. For more information, click here.

Simple Machines received a terrific review from Booklist. Here’s a favorite tidbit: “The charming illustrations, featuring children, adults, and even a cat, enhance the impact of the message by depicting a small community going about their lives and using simple machines to make work easier.” You can order Simple Machines here.

Cue the confetti drop! The final art for A Big Surprise for Little Card by Charise Harper is done! I’m really excited about this book, due out in spring 2016 from World Rat Day publisher, Candlewick Press. What a pleasure it was working with Charise, art director Ann Stott, and editor Mary Lee Donovan.

Also due out in spring 2016, is The Wrong Side of the Bed, by Lisa M. Bakos, to be published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, with pictures by me. It’s a hilarious story about a thoroughly bad day, with an equally hilarious resolution. When I turn in the art, I’m certain I’ll be doing something like this guy here.

And last, but not least—due out this fall will be Zora’s Zucchini, my second collaboration with Sylvia’s Spinach author Katherine Pryor, to be published by Readers to Eaters. It has been a long, dreary winter in New York City this year, so having some bright summer colors on my desk is kind of nice. Also, a good reminder to eat my veggies.

SIMPLE MACHINES is a JLG Selection

I’m very happy to announce that SIMPLE MACHINES has been named a Junior Library Guild Selection. Now if I could just find the other pin I received for THINGS THAT FLOAT… I could fashion myself a fine set of earrings.

I turned in some finished art this week...

...and this is how I feel. There’s still much more to do, but hitting the “send” button feels pretty satisfying during my marathon year of picture book making. Be on the lookout for The Wrong Side of the Bed in 2016 (yes, another year to wait) written by Lisa M. Bakos, and illustrated by me.

We Tell Stories

It was just five years and some months ago that I graduated from the School of Visual Arts MFA program, Illustration as Visual Essay, a two-year experience that, to be blunt changed my life. On view now in the school’s Chelsea galleries is “We Tell Stories,” an exhibition showcasing the vast array of work produced by three decades worth of graduates. Organized over two years by founding Chair Marshall Arisman and Director of Operations Kim Ablondi, it covers the breadth of the illustration world with editorial work, children’s books, graphic novels, and more on display. 

Very near and dear to my heart is the room dedicated to children’s books, designed with extraordinary florescent flare by alumni Aya Kakeda and Sara Varon—I mean, just wait until you see their rugs! About a month ago, the two hosted a bunch of us children’s book artists to paint an assortment of furniture for the room. (I had the pleasure of painting a lamp—grumpy on one side, happy on the other). But it’s the impressive display of picture books that takes center stage, from the likes of Brian Floca, Lauren Castillo, Paul Hoppe, You Byun, Stephen Savage, Andy Rash, Dasha Tolstikova, Sybille Schenker, John Hendrix…I could go on, and on. I am so proud to have some of my work included—some of my birds even made the cut.

There’s a public reception this Tuesday evening which I’ll be attending, since I spent almost all of my time socializing at the alumni reception last week, and not looking at the walls. It’s really an amazing show for fans of illustration; I hope to see you there. And finally, many thanks to this amazing duo who have nurtured the lives of so many artists — viva Marshall and Kim!

Re-Imagining Sendak at the Enoch Pratt Library

If you’re a fan of the work of the late, great Maurice Sendak and in the Baltimore area this fall/winter, head over to the Enoch Pratt Free Library for  Maurice Sendak: The Memorial Exhibition. Illustrators (including yours truly) have submitted images inspired by the master that have been collected and curated by illustrator and Maryland Institute College of Art Professor Shadra Strickland. It should be a lot of fun. Here’s a sneak peek at my contribution, fondly titled “Higglety Pigglety Pooch!”…

NY Comics and Picture-Story Symposium

I’ll be giving a talk this Monday evening, August 4th, 7pm at Dixon Place on the Lower East Side as part of the New York Comics and Picture-Story Symposium. My pal, the fabulous Sophia Wiedeman will also be speaking about her process creating comics. For more information, click here.

What’s Up?

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this page with what’s on my drawing board. A lot, it turns out…

First up, I’m finishing the cover art for another non-fiction picture book by David A. Adler, called Teeth, Slides, Seesaws and Other Simple Machines, to be published by Holiday House next Spring. If you ever wondered how a small cat could push a box of bowling balls up a hill, and perhaps a few more relevant things, this book is full of answers.

I’m also having a great time painting the raucous art for The Wrong Side of the Bed, a picture book by Lisa M. Bakos, to be published by the fine folks at G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 2016.

Next up is Little Card by Charise Harper to be published by Candlewick Press in 2016, and is a book I’m super excited about.

And if you’ve every grown zucchini in your garden, you’ll understand how Zora’s Zucchini by Kathy Pryor will sneak in here in abundance, to be published by Readers to Eaters in Fall 2015.

Whew! I need to get back to work, but one last thing—in case you missed it on my tumblr last week, here’s a bit of my work for Kiwi Magazine. In the most recent issue, we learned how to shuck corn, so of course I turned the spots into a striptease. It plays quite well with any soundtrack of your choice, but I’m partial to Atomic by Blondie…

Earth Day and everything…

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

I hope fans of Ornithoblogical aren’t too disgruntled, but I haven’t had much time for birds lately. However—lucky me—on this Earth Day, I’ll be painting a bucolic setting for an upcoming picture book full of mountains and trees. I might even go out and hug a tree for real later, before the rain starts.

I’ve also been working on a few new pieces for Kiwi Magazine’s regular “Cooking with Kids” feature. Last issue, we learned how to prepare an artichoke for slaughter…

In the next, we learn how to shuck corn, or in my anthropomorphized version, perform a cornhusking striptease. You’ll have to wait a few months to see that full frontal, but if you want a little teaser, I do share details and sketches of what I’m up to over on Instagram.

Speaking of Instagram, here are two sneak peeks at some details from the same book I’m working on today (sorry, Facebook and Twitter friends—old news to you)…

Okay, it’s back to the picture book trenches for me. I hope your Earth Day is full of sunshine and daffodils.

BIG NEWS: I have an agent

There are certain milestones in every career that serve as a kind of validation for the course you’ve chosen. I reached one of those this week, and am proud to announce that I now have a literary agent: Marcia Wernick of Wernick & Pratt.

Just shy of five years ago, I finished graduate school, switching careers from design to illustration. It has been a whirlwind getting it all going, but despite my twenty-plus years in children’s publishing, I’ve learned a lot managing it all on my own. This year promises to be my busiest year thus far as an illustrator, and also marks the moment when I realized I needed some help. 

Wernick & Pratt has a great reputation in the industry, and represents some of my favorite artists of the moment, including the brilliant Mo Willems, and recent Caldecott Honor winner Aaron Becker, among others. I could go on and on, but if you want to learn more about them, visit their website here. Meanwhile, for all book inquiries, please contact Marcia. Now, back to the drawing board!

the story of a groundhog

When my friend, editor Tracey Keevan, asked if I’d like to help her with a belated holiday card to send to her authors and colleagues, I really wasn’t sure if my schedule would allow. 

Then she described what she wanted, and I was hooked. It had been a few months since I’d sent out any promos of my own, and with a small window in between a few large projects, I knew it would be even more months before I’d get my act together for a mailing. I decided if I could figure out a way for the piece to serve me as well, I’d do it.

On the surface, Tracey’s idea was simple: a groundhog in winter, at work on his home typewriter, composing letters. But she wanted a way to personalize the cards with a note of her own. This would be in the form of a separate piece of paper emerging from the typewriter that she could compose, cut out, and affix to the card for mailing. 

I also knew in the interest of time management, I’d have to collage some of the more complicated elements—namely the typewriter and wallpaper. I haven’t done that much in my work, and but it seemed like a really good solution in this case. For Tracey’s version, I added a little holiday card on top of the bookcase which reads “Keevan’s Greetings.” Get it? Here’s the sketch...

I love a puzzle, and this one seemed to satisfy my designer and illustrator brains. But I knew I wouldn’t have time to compose and assemble letters for my entire mailing list of 100 plus children’s book editors and art directors. The card also had to function as a simple two-sided postcard to suit my time-crunched needs.

Lately when I’ve been sending out mailings that aren’t associated with one of my books, I like to tell somewhat of a story with the images. I remembered a painting I did around the holidays of a little village where I could imagine this groundhog fellow vacationing or something. Here it is...

And below is the final product, dummied up with a letter. This was such a fun project, I wrote a really long process blog entry for it. And I think there’s potential for a complete story for this little guy too—I do seem to like painting rodents.

If you’ve read this far, thanks and here’s hoping the little guy doesn’t see his shadow—this winter has been brutal. Happy Groundhog Day!