Why Michael Ian Black wrote I’M BUSY, plus our cover reveal!
I am delighted to finally be able to share the cover of I’M BUSY, the newest in the I’M picture book series written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by me, launching from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers on Feb. 24, 2026. Don’t you love Laurent Linn’s brilliant cover design? Here’s how it looks with the other covers in the series:
I soooOoOOoOooo identify with this book! And yes, there were times during the illustration process (especially right before deadlines) where I had to tell friends that no, I couldn’t get together because I was too BUSY working on I’M BUSY….ironic, I know!
“I wrote I’m Busy as a reminder for the over-scheduled kid (or parent) that even though we’re so lucky we get to do so many amazing things, it’s also important to take some time to hang out with your buddies and just look at the clouds.” – Michael Ian Black, I’m Busy author
Please consider pre-ordering? Pre-ordering helps the author and illustrator in many ways. Pre-orders help let our publisher know there’s interest in the book, and might adjust print runs or marketing plans as a result. Pre-orders contribute to first-week sales. Pre-ordering helps indie bookstores decide how many books to have available in their stores once the book is published. Pre-orders are often listed with a pre-order sale price, so you can sometimes get a better deal if it’s a book you were thinking about buying anyway. Here are some of the places you can pre-order:
👉🏽 Save your receipts! I’ll be doing a pre-order giveaway starting later this year. 👈🏽
Synopsis:
In this fifth book in the series from New York Times bestselling author Michael Ian Black and celebrated illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi, a flamingo, a girl, and a potato tackle what it’s like to feel super-busy-all-the-time.
Title: I’M BUSY Author: Michael Ian Black Illustrator: Debbie Ridpath Ohi Editor: Justin Chanda Art Director: Laurent Linn Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers Publication date: Feb. 24, 2026
So much to do and so little time! How can a girl get everything done?
Especially when Potato and Flamingo are asking her to hula hoop or play superheroes, when she has more important things to do, like piano practice, Spanish lessons, solving mysteries, and getting into the right college. Okay, that might be too much…
Can friends can help her find some balance and understand that no matter how busy you get, you should always find time for your friends?
Creating the cover for I’M BUSY
Laurent Linn is my art director at Simon & Schuster Children’s. We’ve done four other covers together in this series. For I’M BUSY, Laurent sent me the cover idea below on the left to see what I thought; I loved it! Note that for the figures, he took some of the character sketches I did for an early version.
I imported the cover sketch into Photoshop and then drew the illustrated characters on separate layers. Once he approved the basic positioning, I added color and details.
I had a lot of fun adding the tiny details to the notes and notebooks (this spot illustration also appears on one of the interior illustrations). Even though I’m probably the one who will know the significance of all the notes, the process still brought me joy.
Michael and I can’t wait for you all the see the final version of I’M BUSY!
