France+Germany=bliss

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 :)
So long, au revoir, tschüss!!! Catch y'all at the end of September~

Buffalos nominated!

Some FUN news just in! Buffalo Music is one of 2o books nominated for the 2009-2010 West Virginia Children's Choice Book Award. This Fall, the Committee will be inviting children all across WV, who are in grades three through six, to read the list of books and vote for their favorite. The award is based solely on children's votes, which allows young readers to have a voice about the types of books they enjoy and would read more often~What a lovely honor to be included on this list :)

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!

Raccoons are sneaky

BCP blog love

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!

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!

Melvin and the boy, on their way!

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 :)

Check this out!

The official announcement of the June Franklin Naylor Award
Thanks again to the committee members, Dr. Barbara Immroth, Dr. Viki Ash, and Linda Plevak!

Yippie, Buffalo Music won a state award!

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!

The Naylor Award, endowed by the family of June Franklin Naylor and sponsored by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, is given annually to the author and/or illustrator of the most distinguished book for children that accurately portrays the history of Texas, whether fiction or nonfiction. A former schoolteacher and long-time resident of Odessa, Mrs. Naylor served as President General of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Inc., from 1989-1991.

Tonight is the Historical Dinner where the award is presented. Sadly, I am not in Killeen, Texas and won't be able to accept it. I'm not sure if Tracey will be there either...unfortunate! But nonetheless, I am very thrilled and honored that Buffalo Music was chosen as this years recipient--thanks to the DRTL committee!

BIG CAT PEPPER release

Yippie, today is Big Cat Pepper's official release! Please check it out the next time you're wandering up and down the isles of your local bookstore. And of course you can purchase it online if you like~ There have been some kind reviews coming in over the past month--
here are a few snippets:

Big Cat Pepper Elizabeth Partridge, illus. by Lauren Castillo. Bloomsbury, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-59990-024-7

“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