Sock Monkey Boogies to Korea!

Here’s what I got in the mail the other day:

It's... magic!

The Korean Magic Pen Society bought the rights to Sock Monkey Boogie Woogie, so that it could be one of many books offered in its Smart English Project. The website I4U News explains how it works a lot better than I can:

The ‘magic pen’ has a camera based scanner built-in that reads codes hidden in the book. It matches the code with the data on the corresponding cartridge and reads the text or triggers sounds.

And it really works!

So, believe it or not, Sock Monkey is helping Korean kids learn how to read English! If only he would help me learn how to read Korean. Apparently, he does know how. He’s just not telling.

The Big City Awaits!

I’m going to the Big City to meet with some editors soon! And I do love a Big City, especially drawing one.

Here’s the Big City in Itty Bitty, which some of you may know:

Can you find Itty Bitty in this city?

And here’s another Big City, from a book I made for school that was never published:

Look at all them pigs!

My favorite Big City artist is Bernard Waber, hands down. Check out this cool Big City scene in his book, Rich Cat, Poor Cat:

And we’d all live in the Big City if we could live in the house on East 88th Street:

Greatest brownstone ever!

If you’re in the Big City, I’ll give you a wave when I’m there! But I’m still kinda glad that I live in the country.

Sweet Fan Art

I had a great visit to Mountain View Elementary School’s Reading Night in Roanoke, VA about a month ago. And just the other day I got this little note as a thank-you from one of the students. Sweetness! Thanks, Alexa.

Big Announcement!

Goodness gracious, Tom Angleberger’s new book in the Origami Yoda series has been announced! It’s called The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee, and here’s the cover:

Yahoo, Tom Angleberger!

I am extra excited about this book because… guess who made the fortune wookiee that is featured on the cover! That’s right: YOURS TRULY. And honestly, I can’t remember when I’ve been so excited about any book, including my own. Let’s face it. Tom’s books are amazing, and that’s because I’m pretty sure that Tom was put on this earth to write books. He is a natural at it in a way that I am not. So his books resonate with lots and lots of people… and I think more people will see this small bit of my “work” on the cover of this book, than will ever see of my other stuff. And that’s cool. Because who wants to look at average designs featuring Justin Timberlake and the other members of NSync? Not me! Anyway, the book comes out in August. And it’s gooder than good!

 

I sold my soul to Justin Timberlake

A long, long time ago, I did freelance work for a paper company in Virginia. They got the rights to put all sorts of imagery on their products. Designers and illustrators then took this imagery and created covers for notebooks, folders, pads of paper, you name it. I got to do a lot of illustrations for Crayola products (yay)! But I also sold my soul to the corporate machinations that kept the careers of the five members of NSync humming along. I was given oodles of photos of the members, and then told to create notebook covers that combined these photos with backgrounds and design elements of my very own making.

So… I am pleased to report that I had some small part in helping Justin Timberlake get something back (as his solo song claims); since there might be kids reading this from time to time, I will neglect to say what that something is. I am also happy to report that Justin and I both are closer to what we are meant to be doing: I am making kids’ books, and he is dancing and singing as the Cup O’ Soup mascot (and various others) on SNL. Cheers, Justin. I hope I did you justice with this layout (one of the zillions that I ended up making). And you, unlike me, have not aged a bit.

Wowza wow wow!

Sock Monkey for President!

Just in time for election season, I bring you these presidential buttons!

S.M. is totally non-partisan! Also, non-parmesan!

Today’s Shout-Out!

Today’s Shout-Out goes to the incredible Madelyn Rosenberg, who has TWO BOOKS coming out this fall: Happy Birthday, Tree, a Tu B’Shevat Story and The Schmutzy Family. And there’s gonna be so much more a-comin’, too, so keep your eyes peeled. I, for one, am very excited about what’s a-comin’. She has been toiling and waiting, and waiting, and waiting for so long. Seeing her books on the shelves for the first time will be like a national holiday in our house.

Who is Madelyn Rosenberg? I first met her when she worked with Tom at our local paper, the Roanoke Times; she was an ace reporter and features writer (and sometimes an editor, too) who could make you laugh and cry with just one story. And soon I found out that she had a zillion ideas, all of them good. A lot of them were hilarious get-rich-quick schemes. But what was and is great about Madelyn, is that she gets really, really excited about your ideas, maybe even more excited than she does about her own, and then she lights a fire under your be-hind so that you are helpless to do anything in her presence but to pursue that idea. She has been a huge support to both of us over the years, and I am particularly thrilled that Madelyn herself is soon gonna be OUT THERE.

I once did these little paintings for another friend (who will be getting her own shout-out soon). The paintings showed human organs anthropomorphized (if that makes any sense at all). Madelyn went wild about the idea of goofy organs. I mean, wild. I made her a little painting of a variety of organ friends, and she went wild again. So then, I made her newborn baby a quilt (which was probably intended more for Madelyn), and it had 26 organs on it, for each letter of the alphabet. Here are a couple of the quilt “squares”:

K is for Kidneys!

F is for Femur!

Madelyn, you are so #1!

Jackie’s Menagerie

Here’s what happens when the animals get to model Jackie Kennedy’s fabulous outfits from her White House days! (I covet these clothes and if I had an ounce of femininity, I’d try to find something close to them to wear on a daily basis. Really.) I made these into packs of 12 note cards and gave ‘em to pals for Christmas presents. In any case, these pics show that even a slug can look good, as long as she wears Jackie’s stylish clothes. I’m also experimenting with WordPress’s slideshow feature. TOTALLY EXCELLENT! Thanks, WordPress!

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(The clothes photos were by Karin L. Willis, from the book JAQUELINE KENNEDY: THE WHITE HOUSE YEARS: Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, by Hamish Bowles, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Rachel Lambert Mellon, ©2001 Metropolitan Museum of Art. The pics are purely for fun — not profit — because I didn’t actually get permission to use the photos!)

Tags: fashion, Jackie Kennedy

Oldie but Goodie: Over in the Meadow

I made this little book for my older kid a lifetime ago. It’s based on the old Over in the Meadow song, which he loved, and I altered it only slightly. It was sorta experimental for me — I scanned in little animal paintings and combined them with photos that I messed with to make them monochromatic.

Here it is, in its entirety:

R2 Kit2

I have cats on the mind this week!

Sent from my iPad