Simple Machines — now available

Did you know that your teeth are wedges? Or that a screw is just an inclined plane wrapped around a straight metal nail? Until I started working on this project, I hadn’t given it much thought. But, wow!

The second collaboration between the prolific David A. Adler and me is now available. SIMPLE MACHINES explains the workings of wedges, wheels, levers, pulleys in our everyday lives, and how they make little tasks easier.

As with our award-winning THINGS THAT FLOAT AND THINGS THAT DON’T, I created a simple visual story that takes place behind the scenes of the main text. Below are a few of my favorite images, and detail of a character who doesn’t play much of a role other than to amuse me.

Thanks again to the lovely folks at Holiday House for creating this fun and rewarding partnership of words and pictures.

★ things that float my boat ★

It’s been a sweltering July in New York City thus far, but a few cool things have been happening that I’d like to share.

A big stack of Things That Float and Things That Don’t arrived in the mail today—a bit earlier than expected, since the book isn’t officially due out until September. Written by David A. Adler and published by Holiday House, it received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. 

So if you’re looking for an excuse to beat the heat while learning about buoyancy, this one is for you. For a peek at some of the illustrations, visit my portfolio site. In the meantime, stay cool!

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?