Welcome, April!

I decided to skip a March blog because everyone knows the month of March isn't any fun. Sure there's St. Patrick's Day, March Madness and Spring Break, but I rarely stop at the pubs these days, I didn't fill out a bracket and I'm too old (and my son's too young) for Spring Break. So welcome, April! Where the hell have you been?

I'm a bit behind (shocking!) on my #kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge, but I'm starting to pick up the pace. Here's a sneak peek at character from my book drawn on our driveway on an extremely rare warm/dry March day.


I'm playing illustration ping pong with fellow #kidlitart(ist) - Michael Smith. Based on a silly concept a few of us were joking about during the first #kidlitart PBDummy chat (a pirate giving a pig a piggy back ride), Michael did a great illustration of a viking riding a pig. How awesome is that? So it was my turn to illustrate something based on Michael's drawing. Here's what I came up with...


I call it "Super Awesome Sunny Wicked Fun Lemonade Day!" Can you guess why? Michael's going to set up a blog for our illustration game. I'll post the link and add to my links section as soon as it's up.

Had a great time at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art back on the 19th of March attending a program titled, "Overcoming Challenges: A Program for Writers and Illustrators". Here are the official details:

"Four veteran authors and author-illustrators participate in a two-part program that addresses the challenges we all face as writers and illustrators of children's book. A book sale and signing will round out the day.

Mary Newell DePalma has illustrated twenty picture books and is the author of five, including A Grand old Tree, an IRA/CBC Children's Choice in 2006.

Jo Knowles is the author of Lessons From A Dead Girl and Jumping Off Swings. She teaches
writing for children in the MFA program at Simmons College. Awards include the PEN New England Discovery Award, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults and Quick Picks Top Ten.

Brian Lies is the award-winning author-illustrator of more than twenty picture books, including the New York Times bestsellers Bats at the Beach and Bats at the Library, and his recent Bats at the Ballgame.

Barbara O'Connor has written seven middle grade novels, including The Fantastic Secret of
Owen Jester and How to Steal a Dog. Her numerous awards include ALA Notables, Parents Choice Gold and Silver, Massachusetts Book Award, and several state children's choice awards."

The panel was amazing and answered a number of pertinent questions, adding many suggestions and humorous stories based on their years of experience in the industry. I think I did a pretty decent job taking notes and promise to get them posted on their own blog entry some time this week.

Wendi and Jake were nice enough to make the drive out with me (actually, Wendi drove), dropping me off at the Carle for the morning session (they passed the time at Trader Joe's and Michael's Craft Center) returning for the lunch break with some food from Panera (sweet!). They enjoyed the Carle's art studio and story time in the library while I was in the afternoon session. Get to the Carle if you can. It an amazing place. Here are a couple of pics from our trip...



Got a great gift from the always wonderful Wendi last week - a ticket to Opening Day at Yankee Stadium! How cool was that? Very cool, right? Here's a photo of me in the stands during Mark Teixeira's 3rd inning 3-run HR...


See me in the white circle? I swear that's me. Anyway, it was really cold and windy, but it was awesome to walk around the new Stadium and see the Yanks win the first game of the season. Hoping to get to another game (at least) this season.

PictureBook Dummy Challenge, Illo ping pong, a family trip to the Carle for a writers/illustrators conference and Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. Maybe I owe March an apology.

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