Today, Jules over at the fabulous Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog has featured my two books that came out this year~Thank you, Jules! Please drop on by and take a look at some of the art from That's Papa's Way, and Big Cat Pepper. Jules also highlighted some of the beautiful art from Leslie Evans newest title, Faces of the Moon. Maybe you are still in search of that last minute Christmas gift for a child you know...books are always a wonderful present :)
Christmas?? Yup, that's right. Well, in my studio that is. I've just started final art for a really awesome Christmas book project that will come out next year (Fall 2010). Lots of sheep and shepherd drawing! Will share more later on this year~
In front of my piece (from That's Papa's Way). It was fun that Peter's piece was below mine, and Julia's piece was to the left of mine~ Goooo Team Rodeen!
A small part of the crowd, right before Chris Van Allsburg came up to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award. It was so wonderful to hear him speak, especially because his incredible books were part of what inspired me to work toward a career in this field!
SVA MFA unite! Taeeun Yoo, You Byun, me, Paul Hoppe, and Chris Butzer. Congrats to Tae and Chris, and to all my other friends who had their work on display (AND to all my other incredibly talented and hardworking friends who did not, and should have!). It was a great exhibit, and an event that I look forward to every year. The show is up through November 25th, so go check it out if you can!
Well, the time is FINALLY here--I am headed to Europe to do research for a new book project (written by the wonderful Kate Banks)! The travel route will include Paris, to Ravensburg and Weingarten, to Meersburg, to Munich (arriving just in time for the lord mayor to tap the first keg at Oktoberfest!), and finally back to Paris. I am so so psyched to explore these cities and their landmarks, and hopefully fill up some memory cards and a few sketchbook pages! Oh, and my assistant (and official translator!) is pretty excited as well :)
UN DÍA CON PAPÁ is the Spanish title, and UN DIA AMB EL PARE will be the Catalan title. ¡Muy bueno!
BIG CAT PEPPER (written by Elizabeth Partridge) has received a couple of really nice reviews from the folks over at Curled Up With a Good Kids Book and For Immediate Release Reviews - Kids! Thanks so much to these two blogs for reviewing and recommending our book!
There have been some nice Father's Day gift recommendations from the San Fransisco Chronicle, Detroit News, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for THAT'S PAPA'S WAY. Maybe you are in need of a last minute gift for a Dad, and maybe, just maybe, you 'll find this to be a good choice? :) Happy Father's Day to all you dads!
Yesterday I packaged up and delivered most of the art for my first written book, Melvin and the boy! Henry Holt will be publishing it in the very distant Spring 2011, and I am both excited and terrified! I think the excitement outweighs the terror though :)
I received an exciting letter last month by the Daughters of the Republic Texas Library announcing that Tracey Fern and I won the 2008 June Franklin Naylor Award for our book Buffalo Music!
There have been some kind reviews coming in over the past month--“Because of their loyalty and innocence, the death of a pet is especially poignant, and Partridge gets it just right with this tale of a boy and his beloved cat, Pepper. Using simple rhymes, the comforting daily routines described at the outset forewarn tragedy. Sure enough, one day Pepper no longer wants to play. Partridge does not sugarcoat what happens next: “Is he gonna die, Momma, / is he gonna die? / Mama said she thought so, / cry, oh cry.” The discovery of the dead animal is not shown, but we do see the boy cradling a wrapped bundle that he and his mother place into a flower-bed hole. The rest of the book entails the boy’s grief with emotional pencil illustrations of too-dark nights and too-empty rooms. It’s all pretty darn sad, but the story is buoyed by a stirring ending: hoping to understand Pepper’s “spirit,” the boy closes his eyes and realizes the breeze feels just like his cat’s fur and whiskers. Pets come and go; best to have this one on hand.”— Booklist
“Mama, me, and Pepper,/ always been this way/ Never been without him,/ even for a day,” says the young narrator in introducing the main characters of this rhyming story. But Pepper, a big tabby cat, is “way too old” and within a few pages, he dies. Partridge (Whistling) and Castillo (Buffalo Music) don't try to smooth over or rush through the loss, giving their boy protagonist the respect his love and loss deserve (he comes to understand that Pepper will remain “always in my heart”)...Castillo's mixed-media domestic scenes, rendered in muted tones and composed mostly along the same, prosceniumlike plane, provide reassurance and emotional ballast for both the narrator and readers, as the boy and his mother care for the cat during its final days and bury it in the flower bed... Ages 3–8. — Publishers Weekly
“‘A young African-American boy sure loves his big cat Pepper, but one day Pepper won’t play. The next day Pepper won’t drink or purr. After the inevitable occurs, mother and son bury the cat in a flowerbed. When the boy asks if Pepper will be scared down there, Mama responds, “No, sugar, no, / I’ll tell you why. / His spirit is forever— / it can fly, fly, fly.” The boy doesn’t understand until one day he holds still: The grass tickles his ankles like Pepper’s fur, and he hears Pepper’s purr in the wind. The boy’s heart opens up, and he knows Pepper will always be with him. Castillo’s mixed-media illustrations of a rural, single-parent family are smudgily warm and comforting. The entirely secular explanation of death and the fact that there is no substitution pet added to the family in the end make this a very worthwhile addition to bibliotheraputic literature for the young.”—Kirkus Reviews
Today is the official release date of That's Papa's Way (written by Kate Banks). Please check it out online, or at your local bookstore!
Last week I received an advance copy of my book BIG CAT PEPPER. It was most exciting to hold and flip through the bound version for the first time. The paper has a beautiful uncoated finish, which I think gives the book that extra special touch.
MELVIN art progress is slow but steady. I look forward to when ALL the art will be hanging on this wall, because that will equal completion :)
Here's another very nice review of That's Papa's Way!
Father and daughter head out to fish in the early dawn; Papa picks up
the earthworms with his fingers, while the narrator scoops them with
her shovel. He whistles as he rows, "because that's Papa's way," and
she sings "Whoosh" with the waves, because that's her way. Banks's
gentle, present-tense narration captures the specificity of the moment,
as Papa lands a fish and narrator holds her breath, hoping she'll get a
bite. Their understanding of each other is deep and intimate, evident in
both text and Castillo's illustrations. Her soft, reassuringly thick
outlines contain this happy pair, even as they are cradled within their
boat, which in turn is held gently by the waves. Thick, matte stock
completes the warmly rumpled look of this loving snapshot.
(Picture book. 4-7)
--Kirkus reviews
--And it is a very nice one! It appears in the Feb. 1st issue of Booklist:
