Itty Bitty – Carnival Photo Cut-Out!

This carnival photo cut-out will make it’s debut at today’s Itty Bitty Launch Party! (That’s Cece, of course.)

Itty Bitty happenings…

This is cool … the illustrated interview that Cece did with BookPage is now online. It’s worth a look if you haven’t had a chance to see the print version. (Guess what? I’m in it! Yep, Cece drew a little picture of me in there!)

A nice review from Kids’ Book Corner! (They liked Bee-Wigged, too!)

And kind words from Becky at Young Readers!

And, believe it or not, you can purchase Itty Bitty from AnarchismToday.org — as well as B&N, Amazon, Powell’s or your favorite local bookstore.

PubWeekly digs Itty bitty!

Cece’s newest book Itty Bitty got a great review from Publishers Weekly to go with the nice Kirkus review a little while back. Yeeha!

[A] sweet and silly picture book that introduces a sunny pup of small size but big personality.

and

[H]is pinpoint eyes, gentle smile and frequent exclamations of delight (”Satisfactory!”) give him lots of warmth.

You can read the whole review over at B&N and, heck, why not buy the book while you’re there?

Itty Bitty Read Poster

Get the scoop on Itty Bitty over at Amazon or Powells or BN.com.

Itty Bitty’s biggest fan!

Cece got a box full of Itty Bitty books the other day — stores should get them in another week or two — and Sue Bee couldn’t wait to pose with the book…

Serious Cece Bell fans will recognize Sue Bee from the Monday Shirt video  which Cece made for a Scott Brookman song.

YipYipYip! Good reviews for Jerry Bee & Itty Bitty

I like Jerry Bee. Hopefully, you like Jerry Bee, And School Library Journal likes Jerry Bee, too!

Here’s an excerpt from their review of Bee-Wigged:

Engaging, digitally combined ink and acrylic illustrations in bold colors with black outlines highlight this funny and ultimately cheerful tale of acceptance.

Meanwhile, Kirkus is already digging Itty Bitty!

Children will do the same [nestle down for a cozy nighttime read] with this terse, appropriately diminutive but definitive assurance that size really doesn’t matter.

Those are some big words, but they’re all good words!

Jerry Bee fan art…

Cece received some wonderful fan art following a recent school visit. Lots of great drawings of Sock Monkey and even a couple of Cece herself! Here’s a great Jerry Bee from Jaymari!

What’s going on around here…

Cece has been busy lately trying to prepare several new manuscripts for her super new agent. It’s great stuff, but I’m totally not allowed to tell you about it.

But here are a few things I am allowed to tell you:

It’s almost Itty Bitty time! And we’re mighty happy to announce that Itty Bitty (and Cece) are going to be featured in BookPage magazine! Yahoo!

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Jamie Michalak — Cece’s first editor and the mastermind behind both “Larry and Rita” and “Joe and Sparky” — has some nice words to say about Bee-Wigged on her blog.

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Are you Sock Monkey’s #1 Fan? Well, you better step it up in the shameless flattery department because super-fan Ali is off-the-hook!

Here’s a sample:

i love sock monkey to! and im in the sock monkey fan club! i like sock monkey and cece bell sooooooo much! i even like them better then……. the president and the prminster!

-your absoltle #1 fan (no one is in fornt of me nooooo way!) Ali

Happy Easter from Sock Monkey, Cece and Tom

Sock Monkey 101

What with “sock monkey” being a red hot search term these days, I thought I’d reprint the Sock Monkey 101 post from my own blog over here…

What is the difference between a sock monkey and Sock Monkey?

This is a sock monkey. Cece did not invent it. No one knows who made the first sock monkey. It has been decreed by the United States government that sock monkeys are part of the public domain. (We learned this at the Midway Museum, in Rockford, Ill., the one-time home of the red-heeled sock plant that made the socks that folks used to make the monkeys.)

This one sold for $29.99 on Amazon, in conjunction with the Mr. Magorium movie. That’s a lot of money for something you can make yourself from a pair of socks.

Yes, a sock monkey is a monkey made from socks. (Although some pre-fabricated monkeys were likely never socks.)

 You can make your own sock monkey. (And Cece says you should if you want a really great sock monkey.)

You can buy a kit: 

Or use your own socks and online instructions.

There are many thousands of sock monkeys. You can see wonderful pictures of some of them in this book:

Sock Monkeys: 200 out of 1863

(We love this book!)

Now here is Sock Monkey (note the capital letters.)

There is only one Sock Monkey. He is a sock monkey named Sock Monkey. He stars in a series of picture books by Cece Bell.

Sock Monkey Rides Again: “Kids will giggle, and moms and dads won’t mind reading this tale again and again. And again.” — Entertainment Weekly online, ew.com

 Furthermore, he is a famous toy actor, whose latest starring role was “Red Reardon” in The Happy Canyon Hoedown. (see Sock Monkey Rides Again for more information.)

 Sock Monkey himself has made a sock monkey. That sock monkey was made from argyle socks, likes cupcakes and named himself “Sock Buddy.” (see Sock Monkey Boogie Woogie for more information.)

 Sock Monkey has three other friends, Miss Bunn, Blue Pig and Froggie who are also free-willed toys. (see Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood for more information.)

Of course, these books only feature drawings of Sock Monkey. (Mighty fine drawings, though!)

Sock Monkey is indeed a real sock monkey, who lives with Cece Bell. He is frequently photographed, but his photo is rarely seen online. Though you may find it on this Website if you look around a bit…