If you’re in the High Country of N.C., mark your calendars! I’ll be a guest at the Boone KidsCon at the Watauga Public Library on Saturday, October 20th. You can read the details in the newspaper feature below, but briefly: I’ll be appearing there with Rachel “Rei” Haycraft. In the morning there’ll be a closed …
Tag Archive: Children’s Books
Jun
27
M is for Mandarin Duck
“M” is a pretty rich letter animal-wise. I went with the mandarin duck mainly because of my love of the children’s book The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks. It’s for sure a lot of fun to re-read books from my own childhood (George and Martha, Tomi Ungerer’s stuff, Sendak, etc.) with my daughter, but I …
Jun
22
Playing With Watercolors
(Sorry about the bland title; I’d considered titling this post “Catch the Water in your Magic Paintbox,” which is a line from the totally hilarious psychedelic rock song “Rainy Day Sun” by Spın̈al Tap, but that song’s off their second record and I don’t think anyone other than me actually bought it.) Anyway… Here’s the …
Feb
21
Richard Scarry: an Appreciation
Richard Scarry is the “Kashmir” of children’s book illustrators; he’s so ubiquitous it can be easy to let rote familiarity blind you to how good the work itself is. Like any child who grew up in the 70s, I had a Richard Scarry book or two. My recent re-exposure to his work, though, is via …
Sep
17
Leonard Weisgard’s Secret River Illustrations
I’m fortunate enough to have a daughter who’s really interested in books. As a result, I’ve become immersed in the world of children’s book authors and illustrators over the last few years. She’s a fan of the old standbys–Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak–and I’ve subjected her to my childhood favorites, particularly the wonderful Tomi Ungerer, but …
Mar
20
Book Design and Illustration: My Bookhouse Series
My two year old daughter has always been really interested in books (as I’m sure most kids her age are) and so I’ve been thinking a lot about children’s books–specifically, I’ve been thinking a lot about how crappy looking and shoddily constructed most modern children’s books are. At some point, I’m going to maybe do …






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