Hooray for Papa's Way!

The Cooperative Children's Book Center has just come out with their CCBC Choices 2010 annual best-of-the-year list, and That's Papa's Way is on it! The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) is a unique examination, study and research library of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The complete CCBC Choices 2010 publication will be available March 6th, and will include annotations and recommended ages for all of the books included, as well as an author/title/subject index, and a commentary on the publishing year. Thanks so much to this years panel of ladies, Kathleen T. Horning, Merri V. Lindgren and Megan Schliesman and Tessa Michaelson, for selecting Papa's Way!
*You can check out the complete list of titles right here

Feature on 7-imp

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 :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

Society of Illustrators Opening

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!

S.I. Original Art Show

If you live in or around NYC, and have interest in the book arts, then The Society of Illustrators is the place you need to be next Thursday evening October 22nd! It is the opening reception of the 29th annual Original Art Show, and I promise the exhibit never disappoints. I feel honored to be part of the show this year, and look forward to celebrating the work of this lovely industry~

And P.S. A big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Brian who won a Silver medal for Moonshot, his absolutely gorgeous book!

PAPA'S WAY en Español

Very exciting news: THAT'S PAPA'S WAY is going to be published in España by Editorial Juventud! UN DÍA CON PAPÁ is the Spanish title, and UN DIA AMB EL PARE will be the Catalan title. ¡Muy bueno!

Papa's Way for Father's Day

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!

PAPA'S WAY hits shelves

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!

Here's what School Library Journal has to say:
PreS-K–A father and his daughter start their fishing day by going into the woods to look for earthworms. Her methods are all her own since, “that’s my way.” Papa picks up worms with his fingers; she scoops them up with a shovel. This is a quiet story, just the telling of the small pleasures that make up an outing on the lake. Both catch fish and go home to have dinner with mom and baby brother. The illustrations in pastel and ink are perfect for conveying the sense of calm that the story requires. The full-bleed spreads show the expanse of the water and the pines, and the depiction of the wildlife is just detailed enough to be naturalistic. The only thing that really happens here is that a father and a daughter spend a lovely day together. And that’s something to celebrate.–Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

Kirkus = kind

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

First review in for Papa's Way--

--And it is a very nice one! It appears in the Feb. 1st issue of Booklist:

That’s Papa’s Way. Banks, Kate (author)
Illustrated by Lauren Castillo. Farrar/Frances Foster (9780374374457)
As the sun rises, a young girl and her father dig for earthworms in the woods, collect oars and life jackets, and row onto the lake for a day of fishing. In spare lines, the girl describes the day’s fun, noting the differences that make her and her dad unique. For example, Papa picks up worms with his fingers (“that’s his way”), but the girl prefers to use her shovel (“that’s my way”). What dad and daughter share is their affection for each other: when Papa gives his daughter an end-of-day hug, she says, “I hug him back, because that’s my way, too.” Small sensory details evoke the lake-house setting, from the sound of twigs snapping underfoot to the feel of the wind pushing the boat. But it’s the quiet, understated love between a parent and child that kids will connect with most. As in Emily Jenkins’ What Happens on Wednesdays (2007), Castillo’s winning artwork, rendered in thick charcoal lines and textured layers of paint, finds realistic, reassuring tenderness in a family’s everyday activities. — Gillian Engberg

Papa's Way in advance

An exciting package came in the mail the other day -- it was a SUPER early bound copy of That's Papa's Way (by Kate Banks)! The book won't be out till Spring next year. Will keep you posted as the time gets near!

Interview!

The wonderful ladies over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, kindly invited me to do one of their super-great illustrator interviews...and it is posted HERE today !!! Jules did such a fantastic job of putting it all together (I think I may even be a bit pink now, after reading it for the first time...how flattering). Thank you so very much 7 Things, for taking the time to share my work with your lovely readers!

Jacket illo for THAT'S PAPA'S WAY

Now I am officially 100% finished with THAT'S PAPA'S WAY (by Kate Banks)! Yesterday I turned in all revised interior art, and the jacket, which you can see a sneak peek of above. It was yet another great experience working with Frances Foster over at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. And of course Irene Metaxatos, my super designer :)
Already looking forward to my next project with them in 2008!

All finished!!!

I have just finished all the interior art (still jacket art to do) for my next book, THAT'S PAPA'S WAY written by Kate Banks! And it happens again - the tearing down of all art from my bedroom wall. An exciting, yet kind of empty, feeling. Now time to move on to the next project and fill up that wall again -- Break and mini-celebration required first!!!