1 Month to Pub Day!

Almost here! 

As much as it is a tricky thing 

to have a book born in the middle of a pandemic 

when we are all stretched thin and gatherings and book conventions are off, 

it also feels very much that THE STARKEEPER is meant to be born in this dark time.

My wish for this book is that it will bring light and hope, 

and spark more of the same in the readers who meet it. 

June 9, friends! 

Also available for preorder at your local indie booksellers- 

or via Penguin Random House website, 

or at bookshop.org

Guess what we did to celebrate?

That's right. 

When your book birthday is a month away, 

it's a great time to paint some shoes

with stars!

Introducing...

Well. 

We've had a bit of excitement this week.

First of all, the twins and Birdy are all having birthdays.

We are aswirl in cupcakes and magic.

And Birdy has mastered her solo glue gun skills, 

which means she is all set to conquer the world.

Having said that...

Chess pieces! 

But the sweet week is just getting started. 

See what arrived in the mail? 

Hooray!

Meet ONCE UPON A TIMELY, by Lynn Parrish Sutton, 

illustrated by...Faith Pray (!!!),

published by Kane Miller books. 

 What a magical feeling to see all of the art together in a book!

 It feels like an extra-special birthday gift - for all of us.

Especially because my very first illustrated book 

is dedicated to the wildebeests. 

I'm so grateful to them for putting up with my long work hours

and messy house and shoddy meals 

so that I can pursue this dream. 

To Lynn Parrish Sutton, 

Kira Lynn and the team at Kane Miller books,

and to Molly O'Neill and Root Literary,

thank you, 

with all of the adverbs I can muster. 

(The wildebeests made me this sign. Sweeties. I think we're all a bit excited.)  

ONCE UPON A TIMELY 

is being sold here:

http://www.friends.kanemiller.com/once-upon-a-timely.html

Parlez-vous party?

It's birthday week for my three girls.

It took them awhile to agree on a theme.

Paris + kitty cats + French pastries.

Kitty cat cafe ?

Ooh la la. 
And you know me - I love any chance to make art,
especially for a party.

After researching all manner of things French,

I sat down to sketch in the book fort.

(Avec iced coffee in a jar, no less.)

Oh, happy day, mes petits.

I think I'll make some hanging art

and some tiny, cupcake art.

I should probably figure out games. 

I'm no good at games. 

Anyone?

Hide the baguettes? 

Name the French cities? 

Guess the French words? 

Some French books we love:

This is Paris - Miroslav Sasek

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

The Story of Babar - Jean de Brunhoff 

The Fantastic Drawings of Danielle by Barbara McClintock

Madame Martine by Sarah S. Brannen

The Story of Diva and Flea by  Mo Willems & Toni DiTerlizzi

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell, ill. by Terry Fan

 
 

Aloha

A small friend is turning 6 in two weeks.

She lives across the country,  

and we can't make it to the luau party.

We can't come for cake and balloons and birthday hugs,

but we can send pineapples

and kitties

 

and fancy toothpicks.

 They're like tiny, paper aloha hugs.

 

So, in shuttling wildebeests to soccer camp lately, 

I have discovered a few good surprises 

in being the carpool soccer mom.

 Books on CD. 

Car-goofy kids.

And sketchbook time

 while all my soccer players 

do their runs and drills.

Big chunks of sketchbook time 

help when working out new ideas.

 It's funny that I can sketch happy around a crowd, 

but I can't write a drop.

My thoughts turn to stone and my stories sink.

 But then, that's kind of a theme for me with words anytime lately.

I know some writers who scribble serious magic 

in coffee shops and airplanes. 

What about you?

When do you do your deep story work?

Can you create masterpieces with everyone there?

Do you thrive with hum and buzz?

Or do you like a hush when you create?

 

Wherever you find yourself this week,
I wish you peaceful breezes, sweet surprises, and
aloha.

Books {and CD books} we're enjoying this week:

Captain Cat by Inga Moore

Dream Friends by You Byun

Ling and Ting Share a Birthday by Grace Lin

Ling and Ting: Together in All Weather by Grace Lin

A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, ill. by Catia Chien

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin 

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko

The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof by Annie M. G. Schmidt 

 

 

Happy birthday

Happy birthday, Beverly Cleary. 

Thank you for Henry, Ramona, and Beezus.

Thank you for Klickitat Street.

Thank you for your books. 

Deep Blue Birthday

My little buddy turns seven tomorrow.
He's kind of smitten with the ocean lately,
especially the big guys, the scary guys, 
and the whales.
I love discovering new beauties in the creative process.
Coloring is something I'm both awed and fascinated by,
so I decided this would be a great opportunity
to experiment with how I color my sketches.

I sketched in buttery soft oil pencils,

and layered colored pencils on top.
No paint this time.

After that, I scanned my colored sketches on to the computer
and played with laying in textures with Photoshop.

Now I get to take my sketches 

and turn them into the party - 

cupcake toppers, 

fishy "paper dolls,"

sharks on a stick, perhaps.

More to come...

Whale-y wonderful books:

Whale Song - Tony Johnston, illustrated by Ed Young
The Storm Whale - Benji Davies
The Blue Whale - Jenni Desmond
Big Blue Whale - Nicola Davies, illustrated by Nick Maland