Back in the U.S.A.

Aaand, I'm back! Paul and I had a wonderful two weeks touring around France and Germany~All I can say is, to thoroughly cover 4 cities in 15 days is H-A-R-D! I managed to take over 1000 photos, yet a pathetic amount of drawing was done--we were on the move way too much for that (still, I will post the few that I have later on this week)! I successfully gathered more than enough reference for my upcoming book, CITY CAT (by Kate Banks). YAY for travel books!!!

Here's a little overview of our journey (click to enlarge):

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!